I did not explain my thoughts clearly to Mr. Gong directly, but instead, I stacked the bodies of Luo Kang and Luo Yong together, including their heads, and sealed them all with several talismans.
Later on, I called upon Ma Wang and had him notify the village chief KangBu. Soon enough, many villagers had gathered.
Witnessing the two headless corpses, they all appeared bewildered and uneasy.
I simply explained the reason. The SongBa family was being exploited, and these two evil people wanted to use the actions of the SongBa family to bring about the appearance of a fierce zombie ghost, which they referred to as GongBu.
The SongBa family, themselves, would be turned into a zombie ghost, and they even wanted to slaughter the entire village, causing all the villagers to suffer misfortune. In doing so, they aimed to forge an even more ferocious zombie ghost.
Upon finishing, the timid ones were scared pale, their souls departed.
Ma Wang and others, such as the village chief KangBu, continuously bowed and thanked me for my kindness.
Looking at their lively appearances, I couldn't help but think that if I really followed the advice of the Lama A Gong as described, they should all be dead by now?
Luo Kang and Luo Yong would cheer and be elated.
I, on the other hand, was enduring the torment of my conscience while also going to the next place as an observer?
This incident, when told to He YouTian, probably would make him no longer defend me.
That is what it means to be heartless!
"Burn them all," I said to Ma Wang.
Ma Wang, however, appeared uneasy and replied in a low voice: "Only officials of high rank or enlightened monks can be cremated."
"Not like I'm asking you to burn them all to ashes, put them up for worship, don't you understand what it means to crush their bones and scatter the ashes?" Old Gong muttered beside me.
Ma Wang jumped in surprise and looked at Old Gong with a stunned expression, saying: "Who is this?"
Old Gong is essentially a ghost, and unless he wants to, ordinary people cannot see him.
At this moment, he allowed everyone to see him.
"How many questions there are, can't you understand what I'm saying?"
"The village entrance is just a river, burn them to ashes and scatter their remains into the river, hmm." Old Gong frowned with his eyebrows all scrunched up.
At this moment, KangBu looked at me with a visible hint of doubt, and then turned to look at Old Gong, saying: "I must remind you, scattering ashes also requires someone of virtue. These people have committed numerous evils, can they truly be released?"
Old Gong showed a rare puzzlement and silence.
Then I finally understood that this was due to different customs.
Now, Ma Wang has also told me that being buried is a form of punishment.
For those beyond this land, it seems to be completely the opposite.
"Old Gong, go select a place to bury them so that they cannot cause trouble," I instructed.
Old Gong's corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and I could hear him muttering something.
He summoned Ma Wang and KangBu, leading a group of people to carry all the bodies. Meanwhile, he walked towards the hill.
They did not return until before dawn.
When he reached my side, he still looked very unhappy.
Ma Wang and other villagers such as KangBu showed even more sincerity.
"By the way, Master, I've told the village chief about your request, and he has found out. Twenty kilometers south is a village called Mangniu. There was an incident there, that is, something happened during the day; Gongbu hurt someone," Ma Wang said solemnly.
"I'm not going over there," I answered.
"Oh?" Ma Wang looked perplexed. KangBu glared at him and said: "The master needs rest, and after you've gotten some rest, you can drive him there."
I shook my head again and said, "If I rest, you all won't rest either. Ma Wang, go to the Mangniu Village and tell the villagers that if they encounter any hardship or misfortune, they should go to the Wula Monastery. This is the request of Lama A Gong. Although the monastery is closed, it does not retreat from the world. He will not allow any evil spirits to harm people or bring suffering in places where Buddha's light shines."
After I finished speaking, the unhappiness on Old Gong's face disappeared completely!
Ma Wang and other villagers such as KangBu were extremely surprised.
They turned around, facing the direction that should be the Wula Monastery, clasping their hands together in prayer, and bowed in respect.
"Remember, if anyone tells you to leave the Wula Monastery and says they don't care about this matter, then they are the Gongbu. Even if Lama A Gong said so, you must not believe them. The Gongbu will impersonate him to deceive you, and Lama A Gong will not stand by and watch any suffering occur."
I gave a solemn warning again: "He is simply using the closure of the Wula Monastery as a means to expose some evil hidden in the grass, waiting for you to unveil it. Not only in the Mangniu Village, but across the entire territory under the protection of the Wula Monastery, there will undoubtedly be many strange occurrences. You must ensure that everyone is notified."
"I must leave."
After saying that last sentence, I started walking away towards the distance.
The darkness of the night before dawn was so dark that it was not possible to see even five fingers, and it disturbed the mind.
Old Gong hummed a tune with a gruff voice, and only after I had walked some distance did he say, "Oh Master, so high! I never thought that confronting a cunning strategy with another cunning strategy, you let him watch while you burn his eyebrows. Hmm, if he doesn't want to interfere, when someone is at the foot of the mountain, can they not help?"
"However, Your Lordship, if you do this, what will happen to the Lord? This is equivalent to turning against Lama A Gong."
I remained silent for a long time before I said, "There will be a way, this time, you just watch and see what happens."
Old Gong's eyes rotated even faster, and he said no more.
In an unconscious manner, the first sunlight broke through the clouds, and a trace of purple hue lingered in the sky.
I was walking towards the Wula Monastery.
Since it was walking, it was especially slow.
However, this slow pace is what I want, and it would be bad if it was too fast.
The drive would take several hours, but I walked for two whole days before I could finally see the red buildings of the Wula Monastery.
The sunlight was dazzling.
The crowd at the foot of the mountain was strange, and more and more people were still coming from afar.
I did not appear in the line of sight of those people, standing far away and hiding my shadow.
Finally, I stopped in a concealed location where I could see everything at the foot of the mountain, and especially the local people at the forefront. They all seemed particularly devout yet confused.
The night frost on the grass was heavy, and I could see that their clothes were damp, clearly they had stayed there for the night.
Lama A Gong was not here.
I had timed my arrival specifically to witness the scene of Lama A Gong being forced to descend from the mountain.
He actually, hasn't appeared yet?
A dozen or so Tibetan monks stood before the mountain path, their clothes ragged and worn, with particularly heavy calluses on their hands, especially at the knee area where the clothes were more damaged.
These are all ascetic monks.
The ascetic monks blocked the path, stopping the locals from going up the mountain.
Finally, someone couldn't bear it any longer, shouting in Tibetan, causing the ascetic monks to show signs of distress and struggle.
At this time, someone else came down the mountain quickly, seemingly to console the crowd.
But this caused even more commotion, and for a moment, the crowd became unruly and wanted to charge up the mountain!
Witnessing this scene unfold, my heart grew even quieter.
Lama A Gong, from his initial panic, should have calmed down by now.
What is he waiting for if he doesn't descend from the mountain?
The number of ascetic monks who came out to quell the unrest increased, but there were still some ascetic monks on the slope who seemed very unstable.
Clearly, the people have a request, and they cannot bear the heartache within themselves.
And I, observe the situation and wait for a change.
