Qiguan Yuan walked up to the hideous clay statue and looked up at it for a moment.
There were still incense ash and half-burnt yellow paper left on the offering table. The handwriting on the paper was messy, but a few names could still be vaguely made out.
These are likely the names of the pilgrims who were tricked into coming.
Qiguan Yuan reached out and gently tapped the base of the clay statue twice. The sound was not very loud. After tapping, he turned his head and smiled at the gray-robed monk who had just gotten up from the ground.
He was supposed to be laughing, but there wasn't a trace of a smile in his eyes; he just looked listless.
It was as if he were casually asking, "Who authorized you to worship this statue?"
The gray-robed monk clutched the wound on his wrist, blood seeping from between his fingers and dripping onto the blue brick floor.
He took two steps back, his back against the edge of the offering table, staring at Qiguan Yuan: "This is the guardian Buddha enshrined in this temple. You have damaged the Buddha statue and desecrated this sacred Buddhist site. You will be punished!"
Qiguan Yuan turned his gaze from the clay statue to the monk's face.
He took a step forward, slowly and deliberately, but the gray-robed monk felt as if that step was stepping on his chest, and his breath caught in his throat.
Qiguan Yuan slightly, his silver hair slipping down his shoulders, appearing to shimmer faintly.
"A Dharma Protector Buddha? Which scripture mentions this Dharma Protector? What is his Dharma name? What is his rank? What is his role? Since you are a monk in this temple, you should be able to answer these questions. Tell me."
Qiguan Yuan has seen a variety of things over the years. Although he is not particularly interested in what Buddhism conveys, he still knows quite a bit about it.
This so-called Dharma protector Buddha never existed; it is clearly a fabrication.
The gray-robed monk opened his mouth, a hint of panic flashing across his face.
He had no idea how to answer. This clay statue wasn't the Buddha recorded in Buddhist scriptures at all; it was moved from some abandoned temple by the people above, and even the name was made up later.
He hesitated for a few seconds, then forced a shout, "The affairs of this temple are none of your business, an outsider!"
Qiguan Yuan didn't look at him again, and turned back to the clay statue.
He raised his right hand, extended his index finger, and gently touched the center of the clay statue's brow with the tip of his finger.
Then he withdrew his hand, turned around and walked to Pei Yubai's side, leaned against the pillar by the palace gate, crossed his arms, and remained silent.
After his fingertips left, a thin crack appeared between the eyebrows of the clay statue.
The slits extended downwards, spreading rapidly like a spider web across the entire face, torso, and limbs.
The surface of the clay sculpture made a faint clicking sound.
Then the entire clay statue split in two from the middle, crashing onto the offering table and shattering into pieces on the ground.
The hall was silent for about three seconds.
The gray-robed monk's face was as white as incense ash on the ground, and his lips trembled as he couldn't utter a single word.
He was clearly taken aback by the scene.
How could someone casually touch a Buddha statue, causing this completely solid statue to shatter into several pieces?
Some worshippers in the courtyard had already noticed the commotion and were peeking into the side hall.
Qiguan Yuan patted the dust off his sleeves and said to Lu Zhao, "Take care of the ones outside too." Then he walked to the incense burner in the middle of the courtyard and slowly took out his phone from his sleeve.
He leaned against the incense burner, holding his phone in one hand and slowly swiping the screen with the index finger of his other hand.
Pei Yubai stood next to him, took out his phone, and dialed Meng Xu's number.
Meng Xu was sitting outside the temple, nervously watching the footage being filmed and transmitted.
When it involves cults, the nature of the situation changes. He was genuinely afraid that his show would suddenly disappear.
Although the show didn't earn much money, it took up a lot of his energy. He didn't care much about the money he invested, but he couldn't make up for the time and effort he put in!
And also...
His Chenbao said he would watch the show once it airs.
Chenchen originally said he wanted to watch the live stream, but because he had just been discharged from the hospital, he was still very weak and needed to sleep a lot.
So Meng Xu made it a condition that a edited version of the show would be broadcast later, allowing Chenchen to rest properly. If the show was canceled, what would his Chenbao watch?
He didn't want to be a father who broke his promise.
Just as I was staring at it, my phone suddenly rang.
Meng Xu answered, "Hello?"
Pei Yubai's voice came through. "Call the police, and send a few people over as well."
Meng Xu blankly for a while, feeling utterly hopeless, then sat up straight and called the police.
At the same time, he immediately notified all the photographers to turn on all their equipment.
The online discussion about cults has already reached a fever pitch and is generating a lot of buzz. If filming is stopped now, it could very well backfire.
Then why not just take the photos openly and honestly?
If all else fails...
Try to get someone to help your show.
The live stream was briefly turned off, and when it came back on, viewers saw a panoramic view of the Cidu Temple courtyard.
Qiguan Yuan stood beside the incense burner, his silver hair fluttering slightly in the mountain breeze. Pei Yubai stood half a step behind him. Lu Zhao walked out of the side hall, followed by the pale-faced gray-robed monk.
Following Qiguan Yuan's instructions, the other guests stood at a distance from the entrance of the Hall of Heavenly Kings and did not approach.
At this moment, they all moved closer to Qiguan Yuan.
The viewers in the live chat were initially discussing why the footage had been cut, but when they saw all the guests reappear on camera, they all breathed a sigh of relief.
Everyone knows there's something wrong with this temple.
What if there are extremists out there? What if such people are prepared to fight to the death and hurt us?
With all the guests gathered together, and Meng Xu himself carrying security guards on the go, the safety level will be much higher.
Qiguan Yuan waited for the photographers to set up their cameras, then gave a slight smile to the lens.
That smile was still his usual lazy and casual demeanor, completely different from when he had just smashed the clay statue.
The monk was somewhat terrified. His fear of Qiguan Yuan was now palpable.
The monk relied on these supernatural and ghostly tricks to deceive people, and he believed in the existence of gods more than others. Qiguan Yuan easily shattered the statue, which was a great shock to him.
"Everyone," Qiguan Yuan's voice came through the phone and was clearly heard by every viewer in the live stream, "I have some things to take care of, so it might be a bit boring. But since you've all followed so many episodes, I'll show you something different today. Consider it... a special episode."
"If this isn't explained clearly, the impression I and a junior colleague might not be good."
He said it so casually.
The live chat was also stirred up with a flurry of discussion.
[What special episode?]
[What does Yuanyuan want to do?]
[I sense something big is about to happen.]
[No, no, I like Yuanyuan no matter what, I won't say anything bad about her.]
Qiguan Yuan pulled a red thread from his sleeve and slowly wrapped it around his finger.
Qiguan Yuan stopped speaking to the camera and glanced at Lu Zhao.
Lu Zhao understood, walked to the middle of the courtyard, and took out the Marriage Register from his sleeve and spread it out.
Because an anchor point was established through that Tree of Fate that day, the names of people from the Northwest region all appeared in Lu Zhao's Marriage Register.
At that moment, the pages of the book flipped by themselves without any wind, turning over with a rustling sound and stopping on a certain page.
Lu Zhao glanced down at it and began to read.
" The Compassionate Ferry and Fate-Guiding Hall forcibly bound more than 340 couples who were not destined to be together through karmic entanglements. The Obstacle-Breaking and Fate-Illuminating Hall forged 'heartbreak contracts' to intimidate believers into becoming monks or nuns; 27 people were deceived, five of whom have been sent to unknown locations and their whereabouts are unknown."
" The Self-Sacrifice and Fate-Fulfilling Hall' tricked believers into fasting by claiming they would shorten their lifespan in exchange for their lives. One of the victims has already been hospitalized due to organ failure caused by starvation."
" The Heart-Locking Hall uses unknown drugs to impersonate love potions, and several victims have already experienced severe allergic reactions. The Continuing Lost Bonds Hall charges exorbitant fees under the guise of 'tethering the dead with black threads'."
" The Life-Exchange Bonds Hall' entices believers to shorten their lifespan in exchange for a new one, and has handled over 500 yellow paper burning rituals in the past three years."
As the current Yue Lao, Lu Zhao is fairly clear about the current level of development.
Therefore, the difficult-to-understand text in the Marriage Register was translated into language that everyone could understand.
More and more worshippers gathered in the courtyard. When they heard the numbers, some people in the crowd gasped in shock, while others muttered curses at the monks.
Those who had been scammed were also in the crowd; some were pale-faced, some were clutching their companions' arms, and one person even squatted down and cried.
After Lu Zhao finished reading, he closed the Marriage Register and walked back to Qiguan Yuan's side.
Qiguan Yuan leaned against the incense burner, held the red thread in his hand up to his eyes and examined it against the light.
Sunlight streamed through the red thread and reflected in his pupils. He lowered the red thread and waved it at the camera, as if greeting the audience.
"Children, did you hear me clearly?"
With such stunning good looks before them, and Lu Zhao's explanation being so clear and concise, the audience responded to Qiguan Yuan with great enthusiasm.
Qiguan Yuan wrapped the red thread around his finger, round and round, finally tying a standard Yue Lao -ring knot.
"So that means none of this has anything to do with me, the Yue Lao. You are the witnesses."
[The Moon... the Yue Lao?]
[Although I myself say that Yuanyuan is the Yue Lao, when Yuanyuan says that she is the God of Yue Lao, I still have a strange and absurd feeling.]
[+1]
"Let me briefly introduce myself. My surname Qiguan, and my given name is Yuan. Many people may not know that the Yue Lao) is in charge of all marriages. The person you usually pray to at the Yue Lao Temple, if there are no accidents, is most likely making a wish to me."
The comments section was momentarily stunned.
"By the way, this young man next to me Lu Zhao, is the current Yue Lao who took over my job after I retired."
Qiguan Yuan pointed at Lu Zhao, and Lu Zhao nodded at the camera.
The barrage of comments was beyond explosive; the number of viewers in the live stream multiplied several times within minutes, and the server started to experience delays.
at last...
It's collapsed.
It took a while for it to return to normal.
Someone took screenshots of every moment Qiguan Yuan spoke and posted them on Weibo, with only two words in the caption.
"Holy crap!"
Ignoring the reactions from the comments, Qiguan Yuan straightened up, walked out from beside the incense burner, and went to the center of the courtyard.
The Dust-Settling Red Cord his wrist floated up from his skin and slowly unfurled in the air, the light on the ribbon changing from a faint dark red to a dazzling blood red.
" Cidu Temple. A good name, meaning compassionate salvation. Your method of salvation is quite unique..."
"Severing ties between people, sowing seeds of karmic entanglement, deceiving people into self-sacrifice, forcing people to shave their heads in monastic vows." Qiguan Yuan made the pilgrims stop what they were doing, and the monks froze in place.
He raised his right hand, Dust-Settling Red Cord, like a living snake, slithered out from his wrist, splitting into countless hair-thin red threads in the air, shooting out in all directions.
The red thread darted precisely into every side hall where someone was present, binding the wrists of the monks.
At the same instant, the monks felt their wrists being tightly bound by something. Looking down, they could only see a red mark embedded in their skin, not the actual object, but the feeling of being bound was so real that it sent chills down their spines.
Several monks tried to struggle, but the red thread immediately tightened, causing them to scream and fall to their knees.
After Qiguan Yuan finished doing this, he withdrew his hands and put them back into his sleeves.
He smiled at the camera, his eyes crinkling slightly, then turned and walked towards the side hall area where the fake Yue Lao statue stood.
As he approached the entrance of the first side hall, he glanced at the statue of the Yue Lao inside.
The Dust-Settling Red Cord flew out from his sleeve, wrapped around the neck of the clay statue, and with a gentle tug, the entire clay statue fell off the altar and shattered into pieces.
He didn't stop walking; he made his move as he went.
The Dust-Settling Red Cord, like a streak of red lightning, darted between each side hall, precisely shattering each statue of a deity.
The statue in the Compassionate Ferry and Fate-Guiding Hall was cut in half at the waist; the Guanyin scissor statue in the Obstacle-Breaking and Fate-Illuminating Hall was severed at the wrist; and the medicine bottle in the Heart-Locking Hall was swept to the ground and shattered by a red thread.
He walked and dismantled as he went, his posture as casual as if he were strolling leisurely in a scenic area, but every red thread he pulled out carried an irresistible force.
The monks were so frightened that they didn't dare to even lift their heads.
When he reached the entrance of the last side hall, he stopped and looked back at the courtyard behind him. The ground was littered with broken clay sculptures and overturned incense burners. The monks, whose wrists were bound with red threads, knelt in their respective halls, not daring to move.
Qiguan Yuan stood in the center of the courtyard, the mountain wind blowing his silver hair loose, and his red robes fluttering in the wind.
He looked at the shards scattered on the ground, then glanced down at the Dust-Settling Red Cord hadn't yet put away from his wrist.
He addressed the camera calmly, saying, "I personally don't like using violence to solve problems, but in this situation, violence is the most effective solution."
After he finished speaking, he slowly pulled the red ribbon back onto his wrist and wrapped it around again, one loop at a time.
Then, rubbing her slightly sore wrists, she said, " Pei Yubai."
Pei Yubai walked to Qiguan Yuan's side, and before Qiguan Yuan could say anything, he had already taken Qiguan Yuan's hand and gently massaged his wrist.
In addition to the fans who were already watching, many casual viewers joined the live stream.
There is no shortage of people who are completely unbelievers.
These people were initially mocking Qiguan Yuan when he claimed to be the Yue Lao, thinking he was just trying to get attention.
But when Qiguan Yuan made his move...
When his Dust-Settling Red Cord shattered those statues right before the eyes of all the spectators.
Aside from those who insisted that the show was staged to attract attention, everyone else remained silent.