Chapter 985: My Brother Possessed by Someone, Right?

Master Duanchen gathered the three pilgrims in the side hall, leaving them to fret over their own miseries while he washed his hands of the matter.

"I must apologize for letting you gentlemen witness such a farce," Master Duanchen said with a penitent smile. "Ordinarily, this poor monk does not resort to physical altercations when receiving pilgrims."

"The Master is a man of true conviction," Meng Jingzhou remarked, a single hand pressed against his chest in genuine admiration of the monk's recent display.

Master Duanchen let out a heavy sigh. "In truth, those like the third pilgrim have become strangely common in recent years, for reasons unknown to me."

"It is as though they have fallen under some bizarre spell. Conceiving their wives, children, and households to be nothing but shackles, they abandon their families to seek refuge in the Buddhist order. Yet after a few months or years, when their minds clear, they wish to return to secular life. I cannot speak for distant monasteries, but from what this poor monk gathers, every temple in this vicinity has encountered similar cases."

"Could such a thing truly be?" Lu Yang murmured, lost in thought, sensing that something about this state of affairs was profoundly amiss.

"Fairy, do you discern anything unusual about that third pilgrim?"

The Immortal Fairy swept her divine consciousness across the adjacent side hall. "He appears perfectly ordinary, a completely normal fellow. He has simply been beaten rather wretchedly and lacks the courage to strike back."

Lu Yang knitted his brows. Had he overthinking the matter?

"Old Meng, what do you make of this?"

"The Master wielded his staff superbly."

"..."

The pilgrims received afterward were far more conventional. Master Duanchen was, after all, an eminent monk who had taken great vows and possessed genuine capability. Watching and learning from the sidelines, Lu Yang and his companion gleaned much benefit.

Though his method of enlightenment consisted merely of filling a bottle with water and pouring it out, Master Duanchen’s speech and demeanor were so perfectly measured that he could draw the pilgrims into his rhythm step by step.

"To make others believe your words, the background, the lighting, the speech, the demeanor, and the expression... all are crucial," Lu Yang noted, constantly analyzing the monk’s techniques to see where his own conduct fell short.

The final pilgrim of the day took Lu Yang somewhat by surprise. She was the young girl who had nearly collided with him the previous day. Though her clothes were a patchwork of repairs, betraying her destitute origins, both her garments and her face were clean, evoking an immediate fondness in those who saw her.

According to her own introduction, her name was Tang Qiaoqiao, fourteen years of age, and she shared a life of mutual reliance with her elder brother, Tang Chuanwu.

"Master, I do not know what has come over my brother lately. He seems entirely changed, constantly plagued by suspicion and paranoia. He spends the whole day practicing boxing, using a technique I cannot trace. When I ask him what has happened, he refuses to speak."

Remembering the sinister methods of demonic cultivators described in storytelling scripts, Tang Qiaoqiao’s eyes welled with tears. She bit her lip in hesitation before asking, "Master, do you think it possible that my brother’s soul has been usurped by another?"

Master Duanchen activated the scriptures hanging upon the wall to soothe the girl’s troubled heart, a warm, reassuring smile gracing his features.

"Young patron, your brother's actions demonstrate precisely that his soul has not been usurped. A person whose body has been stolen by another will strive to maintain their original demeanor to prevent those around them from noticing any anomalies; they would not undergo such a drastic shift in temperament."

"Those who seize another's body are mostly cultivators of accomplished realization. Such individuals are meticulous in thought and would never leave such obvious flaws. Even those intimately acquainted with them would fail to detect any difference during close contact."

Unlike the Great Xia Empire, where governance was exceedingly strict, the Buddhist Kingdom occasionally bore witness to instances of soul-usurpation. There were even those who, after seizing a body, cultivated with such diligence that they rose to become abbots. Master Duanchen had encountered such individuals a few times and knew their characteristics well.

Lu Yang nodded in agreement. The Master spoke the truth. When the Fairy had possessed him, she had also tried her utmost to mimic his behavior, though her imitation had been thoroughly beyond words.

"Then what is wrong with my brother?"

Master Duanchen told his Buddhist beads, pondering for a moment before replying, "Perhaps you are indeed in some form of peril. Your brother may have caught wind of the danger through some channel, and out of fear of worrying you, he has kept it to himself."

From his sleeve, Master Duanchen produced a yellow talisman, bound it with a red cord, and hung it around Tang Qiaoqiao’s neck. "Keep this talisman safe. Should you encounter danger, it will ensure your protection."

"But... I have no money," Tang Qiaoqiao whispered, her gaze dropping to the tips of her toes. Her voice was tiny and fraught with anxiety, terrified that the monk might cast her out.

"It matters not. If the young patron performs acts of kindness in the days to come, it shall serve as payment for this talisman."

"Ah? Thank you, Master!" Tang Qiaoqiao’s head snapped up in delight.

Master Duanchen pressed his palms together, reciting the name of the World-Honored One. "Those who have left the home-life regard compassion as their primary duty. This poor monk hopes you will have no cause to use this talisman."

To have no use for the talisman meant encountering no danger, which was naturally the finest outcome.

When Kaihuang Temple closed its gates for the evening, Lu Yang followed Tang Qiaoqiao in secret. He worried that if Tang Chuanwu had indeed been possessed, and the usurper happened to be a clumsy novice ignorant of disguise like the Fairy, the situation would be dire.

The environment where Tang Qiaoqiao resided was utterly wretched, thick with a foul stench. Shacks crowded against one another along twisted, chaotic paths that defied all planning, built at random, completely blocking out the sunlight.

"Brother, I am home." Comforted by Master Duanchen’s counsel, Tang Qiaoqiao was in a much better mood than usual. On her way back, she had even purchased a few fish bones to stew into a broth.

Tang Chuanwu stood bare-chested, drenched in sweat, his gaze resolute. As though he had practiced a thousand times over, every movement he executed was flawlessly precise.

"Brother, you do not need to practice martial arts so bitterly, do you?" Tang Qiaoqiao said, her heart aching for him.

Tang Chuanwu drew in his breath, checking his stance, and patted his younger sister’s head with deep affection. "Only by becoming stronger can I protect you."

"But I am perfectly safe."

Tang Chuanwu let out a sigh, his eyes gazing toward some unknown distance. "It is always right to be prepared."

"But I have heard the masters at Kaihuang Temple say that they drink Great Tonifying Decoction every day during their training to replenish their bodies. Our family cannot afford such medicine. What if you ruin your health by practicing like this?"

Their household was poor; they could only afford fish bones to nourish her brother, hoping it might offer some small benefit.

"Do not worry. I will find a way to earn money."

Concealed in the shadows, Lu Yang raised an eyebrow, finding Tang Chuanwu’s movements strangely familiar. "The Long-Arm Boxing?"

In the nearby cities, only the monks of Kaihuang Temple were supposed to know this particular martial art. How could Tang Chuanwu possess it? He hardly looked like someone who had been initiated into the temple.

Fearing that the person possessing Tang Chuanwu might be of a higher realm than himself, Lu Yang refrained from using his own consciousness to investigate, lest he startle the prey. Instead, he requested the Immortal Fairy to step forward.

"He is just a child. There are no signs of soul-usurpation," the Immortal Fairy declared.

Lu Yang subtly touched the three Immortal-Seeking Tokens nestled in his robe; they remained entirely inert.

"That is well, then."

Since he had not been possessed, he must have covertly learned the Long-Arm Boxing. However, such a minor infraction was not worth his interference, so long as the boy was unharmed.

Before departing, Lu Yang paused. He surreptitiously left a few small gold nuggets inside Tang Chuanwu's home. Tang Qiaoqiao spoke the truth; if the boy continued to train in this manner, his body would genuinely break down without medicinal supplements.

Seeing that these two children were mature beyond their years, they likely understood the wisdom of concealing one's wealth and would not flaunt the gold nuggets. He would consider it the forging of a benevolent karmic bond.

Moments later, Tang Chuanwu discovered the gold nuggets upon the table. A cold shiver ran down his spine as he cried out, "Who goes there!"