The Ghost King died in confusion, with too many things he wanted to ask, too many answers he wished to know.
For example, where exactly did the young man who claimed to be his neighbor come from, was he human or ghost, and who was his master?
And whether his Empress was alive or dead, if truly dead, what was the purpose of the other party stealing her remains?
Could his neighbor perhaps have a peculiar hobby...
Unfortunately, as the ghost fire in his eyes extinguished, all these questions went unanswered.
...
At this time, in Linjiang County.
The Divination Master Bai Qiuyu was setting up a stall for fortune-telling on Underground Street.
In front of her, a little boy with a shaved head was arguing with her.
"Your fortune-telling is inaccurate, return my sugar figure!"
"Don't be impatient, it must be a problem with the feng shui here, let's change locations, and sister will divine for you again."
Whether or not about the sugar figure, Bai Qiuyu mainly wanted to prove her point.
Thinking herself a dignified white fox from Qingqiu, how could she be unclear about a little kid's fate?
Bai Qiuyu ran from the door of the coffin shop to the street opposite, and once more calculated with her hand raised.
Yet, despite her fingers almost sparking from calculating, she couldn't come up with a second result.
According to the divination, the child named Chen Liu'Er before her was indeed a dead child.
And it was a child who had died in infancy seven or eight years ago.
Twice, having divined twice, Bai Qiuyu hesitated for a moment and unwillingly took out the sugar figure she had hidden in her sleeve.
Chen Liu'Er tugged vigorously several times before he finally snatched back the sugar figure.
Just as Bai Qiuyu felt deeply frustrated, a poor monk who had been lounging in the corner suddenly removed the ragged fan covering his face. He sat up, pointed his fan at Bai Qiuyu, and said with a smile:
"People should have perseverance, how could you stop divining after just two attempts?"
Bai Qiuyu turned her head to look, only to see the little bald-headed boy arguing with her now scampering over to the poor monk. He took the banana leaf fan and, while eating the sugar figure, started fanning himself.
The cicada's song at the alley mouth continued, Bai Qiuyu explained, "One should not ask more than three times, and I've already divined for him twice today, so I won't ask a third time."
The poor monk chuckled, "You really are particular."
Bai Qiuyu sighed; it wasn't about being particular, but she had suffered losses before, being lame for several months before recovering.
Since then, she strictly adhered to the rule; there's a reason why adages are passed down through generations.
"Master, where do you cultivate in peace? Isn't this little monk your disciple?"
The poor monk waved his hand dismissively, "Ah, I'm no master. As for where I cultivate in peace, this monk never picks a place.
Even a bar or brothel can be my temple, spreading out a tattered straw mat is just as good a cushion. In this mundane world, where isn't a dojo?"
"As for this monk...," the poor monk chuckled, "With head raised it's a road, head lowered it's a path, sitting on the ground is before the Buddha. You're asking me where I cultivate?
"Everywhere in this world is cultivation."
Bai Qiuyu was stunned for a moment, then began to savor the monk's words.
After explaining his cultivation ground, the poor monk turned his kind gaze to the child fanning and eating the sugar figure.
"As for this little monk... he's not my disciple yet. But when he grows up, he might become my disciple."
The monk and the divination lady chatted idly at the alley mouth. Yet, during this peaceful moment, a layer of red gauze unexpectedly covered the sky's dome under the blazing sun. Then countless fiery snakes danced chaotically, ultimately transforming into a fire curtain that covered the sky, falling towards the east.
That was where the direction of the Baisha River was.
Chen Liu'Er forgot about eating his sugar figure; while fanning with Xin Yuan, he stared at the sky, exclaiming in amazement: "Master, look, the sky is on fire! The sky's burning!"
Xin Yuan looked towards the sky, his expression froze.
Bai Qiuyu's hair stood on end, the entire fox bristling in an instant.
"It's the Celestial Fire!"
Xin Yuan stood up, deeply displeased in his heart.
What heartless scoundrel dared to hide here to avoid a catastrophe, creating calamity in a place devoid of people!
Yet just as Xin Yuan worried that the Celestial Fire might harm the innocent, the sky to the east covered by the fire curtain suddenly burst into brilliant light!
It was a grand dharma image over a hundred feet tall, fully formed by immeasurable merits.
Chen Liu'Er was stunned, "Lady Bao Sheng, it's Lady Bao Sheng manifesting!"
What Bao Sheng Bao Shou?
Xin Yuan had never heard of the sacred title of Lady Bao Sheng.
He gazed at the glorious, divine dharma image that lit up the skies, momentarily mistaking it for the arrival of the Buddhist saints to the mortal realm.
Only Bai Qiuyu didn't focus on the identity of the dharma image; she was shocked, saying, "This fragrance..."
Her junior sister Xuan Yu's incense offerings from her management of the Cat Immortal Hall were considerable, but the fragrance here was obviously different from ordinary virtuous incense. Bai Qiuyu distinctly noticed that the wishing power and dignity of the incense before her were higher than that of typical incense.
In a flash, the power of countless living beliefs bearing the merit of protecting life already confronted the ruthless Celestial Fire powerful enough to incinerate mountains and boil seas!
With flames searing and wind raging, the dharma image of Lady Bao Sheng shone with supreme radiant merit.
In just a moment, the imposing flames and scorching winds recoiled and rolled back, as if Lady Bao Sheng's dharma image was the burning coal, and the Celestial Fire, the hand touching it.
The fire curtain in the sky dispersed, and Lady Bao Sheng's dharma image lingered for a moment before fading into glowing embers and disappearing.
"It shouldn't be, it's impossible, how could..."
"Is this still the Five Filthy Evil Worlds? How could a deity of such merit exist in this secular world?"