“Get out of the way!”
Just as Qin Yue was speaking to Nan Zhi, a boy with a large head emerged from a secluded alley, holding a steaming paper cup and rushing straight toward them.
“Don't block the path! Out of the way, quick!”
The boy wore an ill-fitting, oversized T-shirt on his upper body. Due to years of wear and tear, its original color was no longer discernible, and it was stained with yellowish-black grime. A Buddha amulet hung half-exposed around his neck.
This was a common theft tactic in Manggu—pretending to sell coffee to tourists while taking the opportunity to pick their pockets.
These children, who did not look very old, had sharp and keen eyes. This boy had stared at Nan Zhi for a long time, only daring to act after confirming that no one was following them.
Nan Zhi stood still, merely smiling as she looked at Qin Yue. Receiving the signal, the latter grabbed the little boy's wrist with hands like iron pliers. With an expressionless face, she spoke a stream of fluent Thai:
“Stealing is bad. If you get caught, you'll go to jail. Someone your age should be in school.”
Qin Yue could actually speak Thai?
Nan Zhi raised her eyebrows but did not ask further. Instead, she stared thoughtfully at the Buddha amulet hanging around the boy's neck.
It was a rather crude Buddha amulet of poor craftsmanship. The image of the deity depicted on it did not belong to any famous god in Tailande.
With his outstretched hand caught, the boy instinctively tried to throw the cup in his hand at them. However, the woman before him was incredibly strong; no matter how hard he pulled and tugged, she remained firmly rooted to the spot.
She was simply like a monster!
“Mind your own business! Let me go, you wretched foreign woman!”
The boy let out sharp, piercing screams, kicking and flailing at Qin Yue, his eyes filled with terror.
Not far away in the market, several men carrying guns on their backs showed hostile expressions, faintly closing in from all directions.
“Oh, get lost! These are General Basong's distinguished guests! Do you want to die? Do you want to be hung from a banana tree and have your bellies gored open by bulls?”
Seeing this, Nawa, who had been waiting in the car, jumped down in his slippers. He picked up a tree branch from the roadside and lashed it viciously across the face of one of the men:
“Are your eyes stuffed up your asses? Don't mess with these Huaxia people! They are here to bring us money! Lots and lots of money! Take your men and get lost right now!”
The man, suddenly struck across the face by the branch, instinctively revealed a murderous glare. With a click, he flipped off the safety of his gun, preparing to shoot.
But upon hearing the name “Basong,” the other burly men showed a hint of terror in their eyes. They immediately bowed their heads respectfully and slowly retreated into the crowd.
The child collapsed onto the ground in sheer terror upon seeing that he had been abandoned by his accomplices and hearing the general's title. His lips trembled as he incessantly begged in a low voice:
“Forgive me, forgive me, kind guests, forgive me! I didn't mean to offend you...”
As he spoke, a hazy film seemed to cover the boy's eyes. Like an overly terrified dog or cat experiencing trauma, his body began to twitch uncontrollably.
Qin Yue practicedly extended two fingers and pressed them against the boy's neck, but Nan Zhi signaled Nawa to translate her words for him:
“Don't misunderstand. I'm just very interested in the Buddha image around your neck. If possible, I'm willing to pay to buy it.”
The boy was completely unable to register her words, merely sitting on the ground in a daze.
“Did you hear that, you wretched thief? Hand it over, quick!”
Nawa seemed to be afraid that Qin Yue would do something to the child, so he roughly ripped the Buddha amulet from the boy's neck, gave his backside a gentle kick, and cursed harshly:
“Get lost! Don't let me see you again, or I'll definitely send you to the police station!”
Hearing the words “police station,” the boy was scared out of his wits. He scrambled to his feet and ran away.
Yet after he had run only two steps, Qin Yue silently caught up, stuffed two banknotes into his arms, and whispered:
“Go home quickly.”
The boy was still shaken, but when he saw they were two large-denomination bills, his eyes lit up. He snatched them and bolted.
“You gave way too much. Ten thousand Thai Baht is enough to buy many, many Buddha amulets like that.”
Nawa could not help but sigh with regret when he saw Qin Yue return.
“You were cheated. That money isn't for him. There are many thugs. If he doesn't hand this money over, he will be beaten—beaten with a whip, you know?”
Qin Yue remained noncommittal, standing beside Nan Zhi without speaking.
Nan Zhi was holding the Buddha amulet and examining it closely. Hearing this, she merely smiled.
Although that money might not necessarily end up in the boy's hands, at the very least, it would save him from a beating when he went back.
Qin Yue had likely realized this, which was why she had deliberately stuffed the money into the boy's hands in front of those people.
Nawa could not understand at all why anyone would pity a thief.
So on the way back, he kept muttering to himself in Thai, likely saying things like “foolishly kind” and “rich people are all idiots.”
...
It was not until they returned to their diplomatic hotel room that Qin Yue, who had been silent the entire way, finally spoke and asked Nan Zhi:
“Little Aunt, is there something wrong with this Buddha amulet?”
“Pretty much.”
Nan Zhi held up the Buddha amulet and gestured for her to come closer and observe:
“Although the craftsmanship is crude and the materials are of poor quality, the image of the deity looks somewhat similar to the one on the Buddha amulet worn by General Basong. Most importantly, there is a very faint trace of ghostly energy on it.”
“Ghostly energy?”
Qin Yue did not understand, but following Nan Zhi's guidance, she circulated the spiritual energy in her body and focused it in her eyes. Sure enough, she spotted something amiss.
On the tiny wooden Buddha amulet, a bizarre statue of a deity was carved. This so-called “god” had a strangely rounded head embedded with countless human faces, each with a different expression: sadness, joy, melancholy, anger, greed, despair, cheerfulness...
And beneath the massive head was a body only the size of a grain of rice, making the overall appearance look extremely ominous.
A faint, greyish energy hovered around the wooden plaque, wispy and incredibly weak.
The closer one looked, the more they realized this “god” statue was filled with a bizarre wickedness, completely devoid of any sacred or solemn feeling.
“As far as I know, this is not a traditional deity of Tailande.”
Qin Yue pinched the bridge of her nose.
“So, Little Aunt, do you suspect that Basong Zhalunpeng reached a deal with the evil spirit on the Buddha amulet, sacrificing commoners to maintain Manggu's superficial peace?”
“Exactly. From our observations along the way today, I noticed that this ‘deity statue’ is placed in the most prominent positions in many shops, and quite a few people are wearing similar Buddha amulets.”
“It is extremely difficult for an evil spirit to become a true ‘god.’ Generally, there are two ways for a spiritual body to achieve godhood.”
“First is enfeoffment by the Heavenly Court, which grants authority, divine office, and sacred territory, making them Enfeoffed Gods with specific and detailed responsibilities—such as mountain gods, the River God, the Dragon Kings of the Four Seas, the Land God, and the City God.”
“Second is becoming a god through incense and achieving sainthood through merit. By performing great deeds of merit in the mortal realm and earning the veneration of the people, they ascend to godhood and gain the recognition of heaven and earth, like the Sea Goddess.”
“Why are there so many unauthorized shrines and wild temples in the mortal world? They refer to small temples occupied by nameless, statusless wandering spirits or even evil spirits. One must not worship them blindly, as doing so easily invites trouble.”
Nan Zhi placed the Buddha amulet on the table, glanced at it, and then raised her voice:
“Basong Zhalunpeng comes from a monastic background, so he understands these things better than anyone. How could he suddenly switch to believing in another deity, especially when this ‘god’ is of questionable origin and is the incarnation of an evil spirit?”
“The Ghost City of Ultimate Bliss secret realm is about to open. This evil spirit might become an obstacle for us, so it is best to find out its origins first.”
As for who to ask?
The two looked at each other, both having already found the answer in their hearts.
Rate on N.U.
