Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 162 Worshiping Bodhisattva

Ran Qing's expression changed slightly.

The Long Zongshu behind him reacted most violently.

He stepped forward directly, and his tall and thin figure of about 1.9 meters rushed to Ran Qing's side, stepped forward on one foot, and clenched his hands in front of his mouth, one high and one low.

Flames ignited on Long Zongshu's shoulders and head at the same time.

Seeing this scene, Ran Qing quickly stopped him.

"Don't do it!"

The flames in the darkness disappeared due to the obstruction, and Long Zongshu finally saw the pale white face in front of him.

It was a white porcelain statue half a person's height, standing quietly in the dark cave.

Her kind, white face was round and plump, with eyes narrowed in a smile. She held a golden bottle made of mutton-fat jade in her left hand and a green willow branch in her right hand. She was standing on a lotus seat, and it was a statue of Guanyin.

Long Zongshu was stunned for a moment: "Bodhisattva statue?"

The young man looked at his third brother and said, "Third brother, is there anyone worshiping the Buddha in this cave?"

Long Zongshu's third brother also saw the white porcelain statue clearly and was puzzled: "There hasn't been one before... Who brought in such a large Bodhisattva?"

Ran Qing looked at the half-human-height statue of Bodhisattva, feeling a little uneasy.

He slowly kept a safe distance and circled around the Bodhisattva statue.

Judging from the appearance alone, there is nothing unusual about this ceramic Bodhisattva statue.

But he didn't know whether it was a psychological effect or the atmosphere in the cave was too gloomy, but he always felt that this statue of Bodhisattva did not have the slightest sense of sacredness. Instead, it looked eerie and inexplicably scary.

Mo Li said, "Don't worry about it for now. This Bodhisattva might have been invited here, or it might have come in on its own... But don't provoke it, and it will generally be fine."

Long Zongshu also nodded repeatedly: "Yes, that's right, this kind of wild Bodhisattva should not be provoked, just leave it alone."

The two of them didn't seem particularly surprised by this strange statue of Bodhisattva.

Ran Qing looked at Mo Li in confusion. The girl explained, "Many people in the rural areas of Zangke worship Buddha statues. This kind of porcelain Buddha statue is very common in Zangke."

"We invite Bodhisattvas to our homes to protect the peace and tranquility of our homes. However, sometimes the Bodhisattvas clash with the host family, or cannot protect the home, so we often have to ask the Bodhisattvas to leave the home and invite a new one in."

"And the Bodhisattvas who are invited out of their homes will be abandoned in the wilderness. Some will leave on their own, while others will be invited back home by others."

"Generally, don't mess with wild Bodhisattvas like these that are abandoned in the wild."

"As long as you don't provoke it, it generally can't harm you."

"But if it's broken or smashed, it will be a big trouble..."

Ran Qing was a little confused by Mo Li's words.

This is not recorded in "Witchcraft, Ghosts and Magic".

This incident is not recorded in "The Trial of the Second Sister and the Demon-Slaying Story".

Perhaps it's because this kind of thing is too common and ordinary to be written into a book?

Judging from the reactions of Mo Li and Long Zongshu, this kind of wild Bodhisattva seems to be very common.

Even Long Zongshu's third brother, an ordinary person, was not surprised.

The four continued to move forward, but Ran Qing couldn't help but look back at the porcelain white Bodhisattva statue behind him, watching the white Guanyin Bodhisattva disappear into the shadows.

Ran Qing still felt a strong sense of discomfort in his heart, and he always felt that the thing was watching them in the dark.

Ran Qing couldn't help but ask: "But isn't this Guanyin Bodhisattva..."

In the common people’s perception, this is a righteous god, right?
Although the righteous gods mentioned in "The Trial of the Second Sister and the Demon Slayer" have some eccentricities, they are much more reasonable and friendly than the evil ones.

But the worship model that Mo Li talked about is clearly that of evil spirits in the mountains, monsters and guardian gods... How could it be a Bodhisattva?
Ran Qing looked puzzled.

Long Zongshu glanced behind him and whispered, "It's the shell of Guanyin Bodhisattva, but there's something else inside."

"In the Qianghe area, people who worship the Bodhisattva use a Guanyin statue to bring the Bodhisattva into their homes. So they are worshipping the Bodhisattva, not Guanyin." "Although every family worships the same Guanyin, they are not worshipping the same Bodhisattva."

"Even within the same family, if the family splits up, the Bodhisattvas must be worshipped separately. The person who splits up must invite the Bodhisattva back and worship their own Bodhisattva. They cannot worship the Bodhisattva of another family, nor can they allow others to worship their own Bodhisattva."

"If someone worships your Buddha, something bad might happen."

Long Zongshu and Mo Li's explanations made Ran Qing vaguely understand the nature of this Bodhisattva.

He was a little horrified: "Borrowing the shell of a righteous god to receive incense?"

What a weird thing...

Long Zongshu smiled bitterly and said, "So if you encounter this kind of wild Bodhisattva, don't provoke them. They are very evil, and once you get entangled with them, it will be very troublesome..."

Ran Qing glanced back again, and the half-human-height Bodhisattva statue had disappeared into the darkness and could no longer be seen.

But that eerie and strange gaze seemed to be following behind him.

Ran Qing felt like a thorn in his back.

There is actually a wild Bodhisattva deep in this cold and damp cave... This is really weird.

Could it be that the existence of this wild Bodhisattva scared away the group of witches?
But a monster like the Changeling wouldn't be scared away so easily, right?
Ran Qing instinctively felt that something was wrong.

The four of them continued to move forward. At this time, Long Zongshu's third brother suddenly let out another low cry of fear.

"Again...again!"

The dark-skinned young man retreated to his cousin's side in fear, and Ran Qing subconsciously stepped forward.

The flashlight shone forward, and in the shadow of the cave, a pale Buddha stood quietly on the side of the road.

She still had the same kind and wealthy smile, holding a mutton-fat jade bottle and a willow branch, and was almost exactly the same as the Bodhisattva statue she had just seen.

Long Zongshu's third brother whispered in fear, "It's following us!"

Ran Qing frowned and looked at it for a few seconds, then said, "It's not the one just now. This Bodhisattva is a smaller one..."

Although similar in appearance, this Bodhisattva statue is indeed smaller.

The pale light shone on the statue of Bodhisattva, and the Bodhisattva's kind smile turned out to be a little hideous.

The same smile, the same Bodhisattva, the previous one looked sinister, while this one looked ferocious...

"Let's go around it..."

This time, Ran Qing walked in front and carefully avoided the Bodhisattva that was blocking the road.

Fortunately, the damp cave was spacious and a statue of Bodhisattva could not stop them.

The four continued forward, and the team quieted down temporarily.

But a vague feeling of uneasiness emerged in Ran Qing's mind.

And this conjecture was soon confirmed.

The four of them walked forward for less than three minutes. When the flashlight swept through the darkness, they saw another statue of Bodhisattva blocking the road.

The white Bodhisattva stood in the cave with a smile, as if waiting for Ran Qing and the others.

"How many Bodhisattvas are there in here?" Long Zongshu's third brother murmured in a trembling voice.

The honest and decent young man had never seen such a strange scene before.

It is really creepy to see so many Bodhisattva statues deep in a dark and damp cave.

Ran Qing and the other two were also depressed and felt tremendous pressure.

There are quite a lot of these Bodhisattva statues. I wonder if there are more ahead...

(End of this chapter)