Returning to Guan Village

"Aji, Aji!"

"What are you daydreaming about? Wake up, Aji!"

"Look what's floating down the river!"

Jiekan shouted loudly in front of Zhou Yang.

His clothes were already soaked with water, and he was holding an object wrapped in a white hada scarf in his hands. He placed the object in front of Zhou Yang and shook it vigorously, trying to "awaken" Zhou Yang, who was communicating with the real Aji.

Gonpo, Gemei, Zeweng, and the others looked at Zhou Yang, who seemed lost in thought, with some concern on their faces.

Fortunately, Zhou Yang opened his eyes at this moment, a smile on his face, "I just woke up from that dream, and my head still feels a little dizzy."

Now, although Aji has awakened a sliver of Mindfulness, he still cannot perceive his own body or control this physical form.

Therefore, for external matters, he can only ask his "Abba Jangpo Che" for help.

After speaking, Zhou Yang's gaze immediately fell on the object in Jiekan's hand.

When Jiekan saw him looking over, he grinned and proudly untied the layers of the wet hada (a ceremonial scarf) on the object in his hand, revealing a dark clay figure underneath. "Look, Aji! A clay figure! The clay figure you sculpted in your dream has floated up from the bottom of the river!"

The doll in his hand, though made of clay, had incredibly lifelike features. The woman was wearing a robe and sitting cross-legged. Her face was exactly like Sangsang's, and the robe she was wearing was the same one Zhou Yang had used to wrap Sangsang's body in his dream.

"This is the Sangsang River."

Zhou Yang feigned sudden realization.

In fact, when Jiekan took out the clay figure, his soul was stirred.

Sangsang's Dalu Primordial Right Consciousness once again became closely connected with Zhou Yang.

"For you!"

Jiekan chuckled, quickly wrapped Sangsang River's "body" with a hada, and handed it to Zhou Yang.

Seeing this, Zhou Yang was somewhat surprised and looked at Jiekan, asking, "Aren't you taking her with you?"

"No, no!" Jiekan his head repeatedly, but his eyes gleamed with cunning. "If she comes back to life, I can't handle her. I can't. You should keep her..."

Jiekan talking abruptly halfway through his sentence.

He realized he had inadvertently revealed his true feelings. Those around him looked at Jiekan and burst into laughter.

"Don't worry, Sangsang River has returned peacefully and will no longer become Tsen Demon to disturb the living." Zhou Yang stood up from the ground, patted the dirt off his bottom, and then took the clay figure from Jiekan's hands. "However, it's definitely better for her to stay with me."

The moment Zhou Yang received the clay figurine, Sangsang's singing voice echoed in his ears:

"Om da le, du da le, du le so ha..."

As the singing continued, a phantom-like, graceful female figure emerged from the clay figure like water, instantly permeating Zhou Yang's mind.

Zhou Yang immediately felt a sense of peace and clarity, and even the scenery he saw became much clearer.

He knew in his heart that Sangsang had returned to his soul.

"I wonder if the two Primordial Right Consciousness of Zhuoma and Sangsang that remain in my soul will also return to Guan Village Guan Village with me after I return this time?"

With these thoughts swirling in his mind, Zhou Yang put the clay Sangsang, which held so many hopes for him, into his bosom.

He turned to look at the Zeweng couple. "Master Zeweng, Zhima Aja, the matter has been resolved."

"Sangsang won't bother you anymore, don't worry!"

"You've really worked hard, Aji." Zeweng nodded heavily. "We will definitely repay you!" "We both live at the foot of Narong Mountain, we're both corpse dismantlers, it's only natural that you help me and I help you." Zhou Yang shook his head and said, "If I help you, you have to repay me. If we don't owe each other anything, then we'll be strangers, right?"

His words were quite philosophical.

The crowd pondered his words, and the more they thought about it, the more they realized how reasonable he was.

"Alright, then I won't say anything more about that." Zeweng shook his head, then smiled and said, "But according to Aji, it's only right that I send some gifts to my closest neighbor."

"No, no!" Gonpo replied on Zhou Yang's behalf this time. "We've almost run out of tsampa and ghee at home, so naturally we should send plenty of gifts!"

After he finished speaking, the people around him burst into laughter again.

"If you encounter such a gruesome corpse again, please bring it to me."

After the laughter of the crowd subsided, Zhou Yang said, "From the Lung Madness Disease, I have come to understand a way to allow the dead, who have died in danger, to let go of their grievances, quell their karmic debts, and return to peace."

"For things like this happening around here or further afield, they can also come to me!"

Upon hearing Zhou Yang's words, Gonpo quickly tugged at his sleeve, trying to silence him. But Zhou Yang wouldn't listen; the more he pulled at his sleeve, the louder Zhou Yang spoke.

Finally, Gonpo murmured, then sighed dejectedly, "How can you do this? You haven't even learned to walk yet, and you're already thinking about running? This is going to cause a huge disaster, a really huge disaster!"

Gonpo was unaware that, for Zhou Yang, each of the Tsen Demon here was the true secret of this place.

The crowd roared in agreement with Zhou Yang's words. Seeing that it was getting late and all matters had been resolved, they decided not to linger and returned together to their lodgings at the foot of Narong Mountain.

When they parted, Zhou Yang specifically called out to Jiekan and asked him to come visit him often.

Compared to the others at the Narong Mountain, Jiekan, though a simpleton, did not have the prejudices, ideas, or blind faith in the secret religion that people here might have.

Zhou Yang even felt that Jiekan, this mentally challenged person, was more normal than many others.

He planned to test Jiekan for the presence of "Mindfulness" when Jiekan came to his house.

When I got home, Zhuoma Ajia was in the yard repairing several nine-square plaques that people in the neighborhood had given her.

People here often string the Nine Palaces Talisman and the Tuojia together, either hanging it around their necks or on their waistbands.

Because of the constant friction of the leather cord, the nose buckle of the Nine Palaces plaque can easily become thin or even break, at which point some goldsmiths, silversmiths, and coppersmiths are needed to help repair it.

Making a few ritual implements was the first job Zhuoma received.

When she saw Gonpo leading Aji back, her face immediately lit up with a smile, "Uncle Duobudan, Aji, you're back!" However, when she saw that the two of them had returned empty-handed, she couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

She didn't know how things were going with Uncle Gonpo, but she knew she really didn't have much food left.

She had thought she would get some reward for going there, but now it seems she can only wait until she has repaired the few bronze items in her hand to exchange for some food.

"Haha, you're back, Zhuoma!"

Gonpo had a big smile on his face.

"What are we having for dinner tonight, Ajia?" Zhou Yang asked, following behind the head chef.

"Tsampa." Zhuoma forced a smile.

"Is there no ghee?" Zhou Yang asked.

Zhuoma's smile became even more forced; she didn't want to pay any attention to this foolish younger brother.

"We're having dried meat tonight, Zhuoma," Gonpo said. "And buttered tsampa too. We're going to have a delicious dinner!"

"There's very little ghee left..." Zhuoma whispered, "And absolutely no dried meat..."

"Someone will bring it right away, don't worry, Zhuoma!" Gonpo smiled even more broadly. He patted Zhuoma on the shoulder, then turned to Zhou Yang and said, "Go and tidy up the mani stones first; it's your daily homework!" "Okay!"

Zhou Yang responded and went outside the courtyard to tidy up his mani stones.

He added another Shitou to the stone tower, placed Sangsang's clay figurine in front of the tower, closed his eyes and pretended to chant a few incantations. When he opened his eyes again, he saw several white lights emerging from the cracks in the mani stones, moving like loaches in the cracks.

After he finished his homework and put the clay figure in his arms, he turned his head and saw Ajia standing at the gate of the courtyard.

"Aji, is there any payment this time?"

With expectant eyes, Zhuoma asked, "I heard from Uncle Gonpo that the reward this time is quite high."

"Yes!" Zhou Yang nodded with a smile. "Master Zeweng will bring the payment shortly."

"Ajia, this payment is enough for the three of us to eat for many days!"

"That's wonderful!" Zhuoma exclaimed with delight.

She and Zhou Yang walked into the courtyard together. When they were near the door, Zhou Yang asked her, "Ajia, is Maji's family also around Linzang? How far are they from here?"

"Maji's house..." Upon hearing Zhou Yang's words, Zhuoma paused, then reacted, looking at Zhou Yang warily, "What are you doing, Aji?"

"Don't think about avenging your father now, we need to gather our strength! Loading... Zhou Yang urgently needs a Visualization Method to deal with the dangers during the Revelation Ceremony."

Previously, Aji was in a daze, and Zhou Yang found it difficult to have effective communication with him.

It is often only when something truly secret appears before Aji's eyes that his corresponding consciousness is triggered.

Zhou Yang could never attain the method of Visualization Method.

This time, Aji's consciousness had recovered somewhat, so Zhou Yang took the opportunity to obtain a visualization ritual.

This ritual is not a fundamental practice, but rather a ritual that integrates the four activities of "pacifying, increasing, magnetizing, and subjugating." The core of this homa offering is the complete visualization ritual of the "Lord of the Charnel Ground."

Lying on the bed, Zhou Yang studied the technique for an hour or two. Gradually, he grasped the key points and then dispersed his visualization. Before long, his consciousness gradually sank into chaos.

As dawn broke, he heard again the rustling sounds of Ajia adding firewood to the hearth and setting up the kettle to boil water.

He was about to get out of bed when he suddenly felt a chilling aura descending upon the top of his head.

It felt like someone was blowing air onto the top of his head.

This chilling feeling instantly and completely sobered Zhou Yang.

--The chilling aura landing on Zhou Yang's head all came from the Ghost Head Averting God! He placed this Averting God outside his body, stationed beside his bed in Guan Village. Whenever he noticed anything unusual, or when it was nearing dawn, he would have it continuously blow air onto Zhou Yang Zhou Yang's head to help him escape from Karmic Retribution Body.

Looking back now, it seems the time has come!

Zhou Yang jumped up and sat on the bed, staring blankly at Zhuoma, who was tending the fire pit.

Zhuoma was startled by the sudden sound of him getting up, and when she saw his expression, her heart skipped a beat. "Aji, what's wrong?"

"Ajia, I feel like my head is fogged up again."

Zhou Yang said, "I will have to sleep for a few more days, two or three days at the shortest, and five or six days at the longest, before I wake up from the fog."

"In the meantime, tie me up!"

"At that time, my Lung Madness Disease will drive me mad, making me say and do crazy things. You must not believe what I say!"

"Until one day, when you see the Dakini resting on the protruding rock of the black mountain opposite the house, and you call her Zhuoma, and she responds with a cacophony—that is when I return, that will be my true self!"

"Apart from me, those other 'people' who seemed conscious and begged you to untie them were not me!"

After saying this, "Aji" collapsed and fainted!

Zhou Yang deliberately left these words behind to prevent "Luodu" from taking advantage of the situation when his soul left his Karmic Retribution Body and causing trouble. Luodu was injured this time and would most likely no longer be able to summon Ghost Rhyme with secret incantations.

However, Zhou Yang must also be wary of it using Aji's identity to manipulate things!

The "secret code" he left with Zhuoma Ajia was that no matter what, as long as he returned to his karmic form, little Zhuoma would definitely fly back to see him!

This code is impossible to decipher!