Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Buddhism was originally meant to deliver all sentient beings through compassion, but it was exploited by the people of the Chiyou Tribe, who forcibly inserted elements of their sacrificial culture. They used human skin and bones as ritual implements and promoted various preposterous doctrines, attracting a large number of die-hard followers.

It wasn’t until the liberation of the serfs that the practice of using corpses for ritual implements significantly decreased.

However, there were still plenty of fanatical believers who voluntarily contributed their bones.

We talked for a long time. The next day, we headed to the airport, with Dorje personally driving us.

The scenery on both sides was beautiful; the sky was high, the clouds were vast, and the endless grassland was covered in nameless wildflowers.

The car drove for a very long time until a massive lake appeared ahead.

I gripped the token in my pocket tightly.

“This isn’t the way to the airport.”

Dorje slowly brought the car to a stop, rolled down the window, and lit a cigarette.

“Qiao Moyu, do you know what Dorje means in Tibetan?”

“It means Vajra.”

I was puzzled. “What, does your dad like gorillas?”

Dorje gave a light chuckle.

“Vajra subdues demons. My father was also a lama.”

“There is no Demoness in Tibet; she is the Buddha Mother. No one can stop her from descending upon the world once more.”

He looked at the lake before him, his eyes gradually filling with fanaticism.

“This is the Holy Lake Yamdrok. The Buddha Mother will be reborn here. We are about to succeed.”

He was a human, not a demon or a ghost; my Seven-Star Sword and Thunderstruck Wood would be useless against him. Unfortunately, he suffered from a common villainous trait: talking too much.

While he was rambling on, Jiang Haoyan had already lunged forward, grabbing him by the neck from behind.

Dorje struggled violently, his arms and legs flailing, and he accidentally restarted the car.

The vehicle sped straight toward the massive lake and then plummeted off the edge.

The road was at least ten meters above the water. The car plunged into the lake with the three of us inside. Whether we could survive such a fall depended entirely on the strength of our fate.

Fortunately, both Jiang Haoyan and I were survivors. We exerted every ounce of strength we had and struggled to the shore.

I lay on the grass, soaking wet, looking up at the azure sky and feeling utterly exhausted.

I still couldn’t remember exactly what that diagram deep in the Xinjiang Desert was.

I had a constant feeling that Chiyou’s Great Shaman was carrying out a major conspiracy. I had already been sucked into this vortex, unable to escape, as if it were destiny.

(End of Main Story)

Side Story

The final exam results were announced, and unsurprisingly, both Jiang Haoyan and I failed.

The two of us stood dejectedly in the teacher’s office, begging him to show some mercy and give us some key study materials for the retake.

Professor Li gave a cold snort.

“I’m not surprised at all about Qiao Moyu, but Jiang Haoyan, you shouldn’t be in this position. You were a scholarship student last semester.”

Jiang Haoyan mumbled something under his breath, and Professor Li’s face darkened.

“What’s your excuse?”

Jiang Haoyan said, “Professor, I didn’t fail on purpose. My brain got struck by lightning.”

I hurriedly chimed in, “Professor, I’ve got it worse! I was struck twice!”

Professor Li calmly pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

“Get out.”

I refused to leave and stayed by his side, pestering him.

Professor Li’s phone rang. He picked it up, and perhaps because of his age, he habitually turned on the speakerphone. The voice from the other end was exceptionally loud.

“Second Uncle, you can’t just ignore us! You’re the most capable one in the family; you have to help us find a master!”

Professor Li’s face flushed red as he hurriedly turned off the speakerphone.

“What nonsense! I’m a university professor; where would I know any of those shady masters? Don’t come at me with that feudal superstition.”

The person on the other end started crying.

“The boy wasn’t killed in a normal way! Who kills someone like that? They put a red flowered dress on a young boy and hung him from the rafters. Everyone says his life was taken by an evil ghost, and even his soul won’t find peace.”

“I’m useless. The boy is dead, but I can’t let his soul suffer too! Wuuu… Second Uncle-”

Professor Li awkwardly hung up the phone and looked at Jiang Haoyan and me with a serious expression.

“Fine, this has nothing to do with you. Go back.”

I shook my head.

“Professor, consider this matter handled by me.”

———-(THE END)———-