Chapter 82: Abbess Jingxin

Chapter 82: Abbess Jingxin

Li Huowang could barely suppress his laughter, suddenly realizing how utterly absurd it was for a Daoist priest to seek help from Buddhist nuns.

"Ahem, Reverend Masters, please, no more laughing. My predicament is truly urgent; if it isn't resolved, it'll cost me my life," Li Huowang said, struggling to contain his mirth as he spoke the truth.

"Follow me, we'll go ask the Abbess. Oh, and the guide fee is two gold beans."

A greasy, oversized hand was thrust right into Li Huowang's face.

Li Huowang wasn't afraid of the nuns asking for money; problems that could be solved with coin were no problems at all.

Handing over the two gold beans, Li Huowang followed the plump nun outside.

As he was about to step out the door, Li Huowang glanced back at the other nuns with a hint of reluctance, feeling that spending every day with their carefree selves was quite joyful, making even the stench in the air seem less offensive.

Back on the narrow path between the dwellings, Li Huowang said to the nun leading the way, "I am Xuanyang of the Qingfeng Temple. May I ask for your Dharma name, Master?"

"Miaoyu," replied the plump nun, her face bulging with flesh as she picked her nose.

"Ahem, what a fine name." Li Huowang held back his laughter for a long time; that name truly didn't match her appearance in the slightest.

After walking for a while, a row of low thatched cottages appeared before them, and the plump nun walked straight in. "Wait here for a moment, I need to take a dump."

"Very well, may Master Miaoyu have a smooth and comfortable visit to the privy," Li Huowang said, cupping his hands and bowing while stifling his laughter.

"Ah~ hehe." Smiling, Li Huowang stood beside the thatched cottage, lazily stretching his arms, feeling utterly at ease.

Everything Li Huowang looked at now made him want to laugh; the surroundings felt incredibly amusing.

Just as he recalled what had just happened and was about to burst into laughter, he suddenly felt everything begin to collapse; white hospital walls started to replace his surroundings, and some illusory figures began to materialize.

The previously relaxed Li Huowang instantly wore a ghastly expression, his face contorting as he clutched his head tightly with both hands.

"No, not now! Hold on a little longer, shh, shh!! Please, help me! I beg you, be quiet, quiet, shh~ shh~~~ shh..."

Li Huowang's pleas seemed to work, and before long, everything around him settled back into silence.

His complexion turning grim once more, Li Huowang wiped the cold sweat from his face and stood up.

The effects of the Black Tai Sui were wearing off, and those hallucinations would be returning soon.

Yet Li Huowang had no choice but to push those matters aside for now. In the face of life and death, hallucinations were trivial matters.

His mood souring, Li Huowang thought back to what had just happened, but he could no longer find it in himself to be amused.

"Sigh..." Li Huowang let out a heavy sigh.

Just then, he suddenly heard a sound and stepped toward the back of the privy.

When he saw the scene behind it, he was genuinely shocked.

Behind the latrine was a bamboo fence, inside of which were kept some black-skinned, long-haired pigs.

Inside was the yellow filth currently being expelled, along with the grunting black pigs; the sight instinctively made Li Huowang feel profoundly nauseated.

He had heard before that the nuns of the An Ci Nunnery raised pigs, but he never imagined they would use such filth to feed them!

Looking at the pigs before him, Li Huowang's impression of the entire An Ci Nunnery steadily declined; the nuns here were strange, exceedingly strange.

As the black pigs scattered with grunts, Miaoyin walked out of the privy. Seeing Li Huowang standing by the pigsty, she said nothing and led him onward.

"Hurry up, I still need to take my afternoon nap later."

"Do you eat the pigs raised this way yourselves?" Li Huowang suddenly asked.

"Nonsense! Can't you see we're nuns? We believe in the Bodhisattva! We don't eat meat. And you call yourself a Daoist, not even knowing this."

Miaoyin's tone was thick with disdain, but immediately after, she changed the subject, her demeanor turning somewhat dejected.

"Sigh, we don't want to raise pigs either, but with no one burning incense or making offerings, we have to do something to earn our keep. One can't survive on thin air."

"Indeed, indeed," Li Huowang echoed casually, following closely behind her as they walked on.

After winding through the paths, Miaoling stopped with Li Huowang in front of a building.

"The Abbess is inside. I won't go in; to be honest, I'm a bit afraid of her. Oh, right, the Abbess's Dharma name is Jingxin."

Without waiting for Li Huowang to reply, she turned and left.

Glancing at her retreating figure, Li Huowang chuckled softly and walked inside.

The room was pitch black, filled with the sounds of gulping food and an even more pungent stench. This bizarre atmosphere made Li Huowang instinctively reach for the bamboo slips on his back.

Just as Li Huowang lifted his right foot to step into the darkness, he felt he had stepped on something shriveled and quickly pulled his foot back.

"Light a lamp. I am blind and have no use for it," an aged voice echoed from the darkness.

"Very well, Abbess." As Li Huowang took out the luminescent stone and tossed it in the direction he had just stepped, he was instantly jolted in terror by the grotesque thing inside.

It was an exceedingly fat and elderly woman wearing a nun's cap, her eyes nothing but empty black voids, the sagging flesh of her face pulled downward by the fat on her neck, as if it might tear off at any moment.

Such an appearance in a dimly lit room was undeniably terrifying.

Her face wasn't even the most horrifying part; the most important thing was her body.

Her massive, corpulent frame nearly filled the entire room. The filthy fat was covered in bloody, suppurating sores, and something inside those sores seemed to be writhing!

And this very woman was cradling a large basin, her hands pawing through the greasy food inside.

"Hehe, what a rarity; it is not often a Xin Su comes seeking me out," the terrifying old nun said, opening her toothless mouth before continuing to eat.

Although her appearance was exceptionally horrifying, her voice was remarkably gentle; if the lights were extinguished, one would likely assume it was just a frail, elderly woman.

But Li Huowang had no time to ponder such things; upon hearing her mention Xin Su, his heart tightened to the extreme, ready to retreat at any moment.

"Why the panic? One look tells me you're a clueless brat. When has our An Ci Nunnery ever needed other ingredients? We're just too lazy to bother. Actually, my son is also a Xin Su."

"Oh?" Li Huowang perked up. "Then Abbess Jingxin, where is your son now?" This was the first time Li Huowang had heard of another Xin Su.

"He went mad. The fate of a Xin Su is usually tragic; going mad is considered a relatively good ending."

As Abbess Jingxin spoke of her son's story, her voice sounded somewhat low and somber.

(End of Chapter)