Chapter 540
Chapter 540
Chapter 540
"Hehe, so this is the trouble of being too talented."
After hearing Li Zhuiyuan's answer, Zhao Yi became gloating.
Li Zhuiyuan clasped his hands together, releasing a large amount of golden threads that surrounded Chen Xiyuan. The boy chanted scriptures, and the room immediately resounded with Buddhist chants.
Zhao Yi shifted his gaze, but he couldn't sense even a trace of Buddhist power.
He knew that the man surnamed Li was merely using the guise of a "Bodhisattva" to help Chen Xiyuan stabilize her mind and dispel the influence of her inner demons.
It's certainly enough, but it also shows that this Bodhisattva surnamed Li is all talk and no action.
Zhao Yi showed no schadenfreude at all; in fact, he had noticed the special nature of the surname Li even earlier than Liu Yumei.
Fifteen minutes later, Li Zhuiyuan finished chanting the sutra, and the frown between Chen Xiyuan's brows eased.
Zhao Yi lifted the seal on her, and she fell into a deep sleep, sleeping soundly, lying on her side with the blanket between her legs, and gently grinding her teeth.
If nothing unexpected happens, Chen Xiyuan won't even remember that she almost went into a state of demonic possession, and might even suspect that she caught the flu.
Zhao Yi: "We need to work on this continuously for another eight days to ensure that these signs of inner demons are completely dispelled and don't leave any lasting remnants. You've already set the stage, so the rest shouldn't be difficult. Go to Fujian with Ayou tomorrow as planned, and I'll take care of the rest."
Li Zhuiyuan glanced at Zhao Yi; he'd even learned to answer first.
Zhao Yi: "I don't want to delay Ayou's affairs."
When Li Zhuiyuan left the bearded man's house and returned to his great-grandfather's house on the dam, the door to the east room opened and A-Li came out.
The girl, who had just taken a shower, was wearing a red dress and her hair, which was unkempt and flowed smoothly over her shoulders. She was waiting for him.
Li Zhuiyuan walked to the girl's side, looked up, and gazed at the second-floor terrace.
The small ceremony, which had been interrupted for some reason, had to be resumed.
The girl was probably thinking about that question while taking a shower and eating, and now she has figured out the answer.
Ah Li opened her hand and presented it to the boy.
Li Zhuiyuan reached out his hand, and they clasped hands tightly.
A series of vortexes emanated from the girl.
It possesses both strength and gentleness.
Runsheng can use force with ease, but if there are more variations, he can't handle it.
Ah Li is different. In addition to the traditional Qin family's movement techniques and methods, she can also combine the Liu family's unique skills. The combination of strength and gentleness is just the most basic. The more variations derived from this are what make her talent truly terrifying.
The next moment, the two moved together.
Li Zhuiyuan felt himself being lifted up. The full-body wrapping allowed him to maintain a natural posture, preventing him from being lifted up like a piece of cargo.
Rather than Ah Li lifting him up, it was more like the two of them leaping together.
Just as they passed the height of the terrace, footsteps came from inside Li Sanjiang's house. His grandfather had woken up and was about to open the door.
Ah Li lightly touched the edge of the terrace with her toes, and once again leaped with the boy, the two landing on the roof of the room.
"Squeak..."
The door was pushed open.
Li Sanjiang walked out in a daze, went to the northwest corner of the terrace, and started to turn on the water.
There was no room below the river there. When Li Zhuiyuan first moved in, Li Sanjiang had already designated that natural urinal for his great-grandson. The downside was that one had to be careful about the wind direction when using it, otherwise one might accidentally hurt oneself.
After relieving himself, Li Sanjiang scooped water from the water vat to wash his hands. A gust of evening wind made him shiver, and he hunched his shoulders and hurried back to his house, completely unaware that a young boy and girl were sitting on his roof.
Li Zhuiyuan held A Li's head to shield her from the wind; A Li wrapped her arms around the boy's waist to prevent him from slipping.
After the boy heard his grandfather return to bed and quickly fall asleep, snoring, the two exchanged a smile.
Ah Li let go of his hand, and Li Zhuiyuan moved down a little, then jumped down and landed steadily.
The boy then turned around, looked up, and opened his arms.
Ah Li jumped down without deliberately dissipating her strength. After being caught by the boy, Li Zhuiyuan stumbled back several steps before he fell.
Liu Yumei sat in front of the dressing table in the east room, watching the two children's actions on the terrace through the crack in the window. There was a plate of sour plums in front of her, which she had already eaten almost all of.
"Old dog, old dog, look at your grandson-in-law, and then look at yourself, sigh~"
Liu Yumei watched as Xiao Yuan led A Li down the stairs, escorted A Li to the door of the east room, and then Xiao Yuan went up the stairs to the terrace and back into the house.
The old lady shook her head with a smile, "How boring."
Bored, Liu Yumei ate all the remaining sour plums from the plate in one go when A Li came into the room.
"Ah Li, it's getting late, let's rest."
A-Li walked up to Liu Yumei, reached out, and gently hugged her grandmother.
After a moment of surprise, Liu Yumei stroked her granddaughter's hair.
In this life, all the sweetness we experience is preparation for the bitterness to come; and all the bitterness we suffer serves to highlight the sweetness that follows.
"Don't worry, Xiaoyuan doesn't blame Grandma. Xiaoyuan understands Grandma."
Liu Yumei lowered her head and gave her granddaughter a light kiss on the forehead.
Ah Li didn't show obvious resistance, but she still resisted a little.
The girl's condition has improved a lot compared to before, but she is still somewhat uncomfortable with the excessive intimacy of "outsiders".
Liu Yumei knew that the "outsiders" here definitely did not include Xiao Yuan.
At this moment, the old lady wished she could wake Ah Ting up and have another jar of pickled plums for herself!
The next morning, Tan Wenbin turned off his flashlight, rubbed his eyes, put away his final exam review materials, and spread out the sheets of paper.
This alternating learning method allows him to learn in two ways without neglecting either. He has already carefully reviewed all the content for the final exams once.
At this pace, before finishing reading the array diagrams, I can still review for the second and third rounds...
"Brother Bin, are you still studying?"
Lin Shuyou climbed out of the coffin, approached the mouth of Tan Wenbin's coffin, and saw a thick stack of ritual paper. He felt relieved.
"We need to hurry. Runsheng has definitely sent the blueprints to Fengdu. Once you and Xiaoyuan go to the Fujian Ancestral Temple, your upgrade will be complete. I probably won't have finished all these problems by the time you come back."
"Brother Bin, when are you planning to start studying for your final exams?"
I advise you to start reviewing now.
"No, I can't be so disloyal."
"Ah You, my good brother."
"Ok!"
After quickly washing up, Lin Shuyou grabbed his car keys and drove his yellow pickup truck to Zhou Yunyun's house.
When Zhou Yunyun's parents learned that Chen Lin was going home to meet her boyfriend's parents, they prepared a lot of Nantong specialties for her. Zhou's father stuffed two packs of cigarettes that he usually couldn't bear to smoke into the pack, and Zhou's mother held Lin Shuyou's hand and gave him some advice.
The main reason is that Tan Wenbin has brought Lin Shuyou over quite a few times in the past, doing farm work and repairing water and electricity.
Mr. and Mrs. Zhou had a very good impression of Ayou, and only regretted that they had not given birth to another daughter.
After expressing his gratitude, Lin Shuyou took Chen Lin and Zhou Yunyun home.
As soon as the car entered the path, Lin Shuyou saw Li Sanjiang get out of the car and stopped the car.
"My lord, I'm going out to meditate. This is a red envelope for Lin."
After handing the red envelope to Chen Lin, Li Sanjiang waved and left without waiting for the girl to thank him. He had been waiting for her, and he had already delayed things.
Chen Lin had already received the red envelope from the younger generation on her first visit. This second red envelope was because Li Sanjiang considered himself to be half a parent to Ayou.
After getting off the bus and arriving at the dam, Aunt Liu brought out various gift boxes that she had prepared in advance from the east room's storeroom and piled them on the coffee table.
Although no one knows what's inside, the material of this box alone is extremely valuable in the eyes of martial arts practitioners, who usually just scrape wood shavings for use.
Liu Yumei: "Bring it with you."
Chen Lin walked up to the old lady, preparing to bow and express her gratitude.
Liu Yumei glanced at her.
Chen Lin stopped bowing, stepped forward to pour the old lady a cup of tea, and said affectionately, "You love me so much."
Liu Yumei picked up her teacup and took a sip.
Li Zhuiyuan carried his hiking backpack downstairs.
Chen Lin nudged Ayou's arm, but Ayou was confused.
Chen Lin bumped into him again, gesturing for him to pick up his bag.
Ah You was about to explain to Chen Lin that when they went out to walk along the river, they each carried their own bags.
As a result, Chen Lin gave Ayou a push, and Ayou had no choice but to go forward to take it, while waiting for Xiao Yuan to refuse. This time, Xiao Yuan did not refuse and handed the bag to him.
Seeing this, Chen Lin showed a grateful expression. This meant that Brother Xiao Yuan was going to Linjiamiao to discuss the marriage as an elder. How could an elder carry his own things when going out?
Li Zhuiyuan disliked these old customs, but both the Lin and Chen families valued them. If he was too approachable, they would feel unimportant; if he put on airs, they would feel comfortable and at ease.
Uncle Qin helped carry the gifts to the car, and then he got in as well.
Lin Shuyou was stunned for a moment, then immediately understood.
Runsheng wasn't home, and Bin was studying so hard he was dizzy. Ali wasn't with him, and he couldn't guarantee Xiaoyuan's absolute safety by himself. Uncle Qin had to accompany him. Lin Shuyou started the car and drove out of the village.
Behind him, Zhao Yi leaned against an old locust tree, smoking a cigarette, and watched the pickup truck drive away.
Without his push, and taking advantage of Mr. Li's trip to Fujian to bring Chen Lin along, Ah You doesn't know how much longer he would have had to go on blind dates.
The plane landed.
After exiting the terminal and arriving at the parking lot, the Lin family members, led by Lin Fu'an and Chen Shoumen, bowed to Li Zhuiyuan.
"Greetings, Patriarch!"
Li Zhuiyuan neither refused nor avoided the situation; he simply stood there and accepted it.
The nearby array of flags serves to isolate the Lin family from the perception of others. Although they are currently unable to perform spirit writing, they are still giving it the highest level of attention to the best of their ability.
Li Zhuiyuan introduced Chen Lin: "This is Ayou's girlfriend."
Lin Fu'an instinctively tried to bow to Chen Lin as well, but Chen Lin was so startled that she almost knelt down to return the greeting.
Lin Fu'an nudged Chen Shoumen with his elbow. Chen Shoumen patted his pocket and finally pulled out a temple master's token, handing it to Chen Lin as a greeting gift.
Chen Lin was a little flustered, but still accepted the invitation politely.
Chen Shoumen quickly added, "From now on, I'll need you to help manage things at home."
Chen Lin: "Master, you are too kind. With our elders around, how can we juniors overstep our bounds?"
Li Zhuiyuan realized that Ayou hadn't informed his family that he was bringing his girlfriend home at all, catching his grandfather and master completely off guard. They could only offer this as a gift. Fortunately, Chen Shoumen reacted quickly and smoothed things over.
Ah-you, the culprit, stood there as if nothing had happened, with a shy smile on his face.
Little did he know that his grandfather and master had already greeted him countless times in their hearts in their local dialect.
Ah You didn't call home. This was at the request of his grandfather and master. They said not to contact home unless it was something important. So he only told them that Xiao Yuan was coming.
The Lin Family Temple had just undergone a major cleaning, with the facade walls being repainted, the statues being touched up, and even the street in front of the temple being watered and swept.
Accompanied by Lin Fu'an, Li Zhuiyuan entered the Lin Family Temple.
Chen Shoumen was accompanied by Uncle Qin. He looked at Uncle Qin with a mixture of eagerness and reminiscence.
Seeing Uncle Qin step across the gate of his temple, Lin Shuyou, who was walking behind, couldn't help but stop.
Chen Lin asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"
Lin Shuyou: "Uncle Qin, you've entered my temple gate."
Once upon a time, Uncle Qin's trip to Lin Family Temple was a recurring nightmare in Ayou's heart.
While waiting in the temple, Lin's mother was whispered to by Lin Fu'an, and immediately called her future daughter-in-law over to chat.
Li Zhuiyuan sat down at the round table, while the others stood, with Lin Fu'an sitting below.
Li Zhuiyuan picked up his teacup, raised it to Lin Fu'an, and said:
"She likes Ayou, and the old lady in the family likes her too."
Lin Fu'an: "Thank you, Madam, for arranging this wonderful marriage."
Li Zhuiyuan: "According to Ayou, he wants to wait until he is done with his current affairs before holding the wedding. This time, everyone is just getting acquainted with each other."
Lin Fu'an: "Of course, of course, we should prioritize our careers."
Lin Shuyou plans to follow Tan Wenbin's example and not get married until he graduates from university. If Brother Bin didn't study, I won't study either.
Li Zhuiyuan stood up: "Let's go to the main temple."
Lin Fu'an stood up and accepted the order: "Yes."
Ah You's engagement was just a formality. Li Zhuiyuan came to visit as a courtesy, and the rest of the complicated matters were none of his business.
A simple statement that the old lady liked her was more than enough. The Lin family dared not offend the old lady, nor did they dare gamble that finding another granddaughter-in-law would win her favor.
Now, it's time to get down to business.
For Ayou, and also for the Lin Family Temple.
When they came out, Chen Lin didn't follow. Instead, she was surrounded by her mother and other female relatives, and it was clear that even without the pressure from Li Zhuiyuan's status, Chen Lin was well-liked by her mother and the others.
A person who can handle etiquette, rules, and human relationships flawlessly must be shrewd, which is a perfect match for her honest and straightforward son.
The temple of the chief official is still the same as it was back then. When Li Zhuiyuan and Runsheng climbed the mountain, they used formations along the way to deal with the Yu family's demonic beasts. It was easy to use but difficult to repair, and it has not been fully repaired yet.
They had given prior notice and cleared the area, leaving only a few leaders and children at the main temple.
These young spirit mediums are the most talented among those sent by other Guan Jiang Shou temples this year, representing the future of the Guan Jiang Shou lineage.
Back when Lin Shuyou was this age, he was one of them.
The children looked at the boy, who didn't look much older than them, with more curiosity than awe in their eyes.
Li Zhuiyuan went straight into the main temple, with only Ayou following him in. Uncle Qin stood with his back to the door and his arms crossed.
Not to mention Li Zhuiyuan, even Lin Shuyou felt a strong sense of security.
All the spirit tablets enshrined in the main temple collectively manifested their power, and illusory figures of the spirits coalesced, bowing to Li Zhuiyuan:
"Greetings, Bodhisattva!"
"Greetings, Bodhisattva!"
Li Zhuiyuan stood in front of the golden statue of the Bodhisattva, whose appearance was still that of Sun Baishen.
Li Zhuiyuan once thought that Sun Baishen would dedicate himself to competing with Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, even if it was for revenge, and would not let the true Bodhisattva have an easy time.
As a result, Sun Boshen proved with his actions that he did not value this. Rather than becoming a bodhisattva himself, he was more willing to pull down bodhisattvas he considered unworthy of their positions.
Li Zhuiyuan formed hand seals, and golden threads emanated from them, merging into the golden body of the Bodhisattva.
Instead of going through the trouble of changing the golden statue of the Bodhisattva to resemble himself, the boy allowed it to continue to maintain the appearance of Sun Baishen.
With the attainment of Buddhahood and the infusion of golden threads, everything becomes simple.
Li Zhuiyuan first revised the True Lord system. After preparations were complete, the young man's appearance was solemn, and his voice was dignified.
"Lin Shuyou, step forward to receive your appointment!"
Lin Shuyou walked up to Li Zhuiyuan, knelt down on one knee, and the illusory image of the White Crane Boy floated out from Ayou's body and knelt beside him.
The surrounding Yin spirits all gazed intently, their burning soul energy making the White Crane Boy feel so comfortable that he almost let out a soft moan.
Although he was kneeling, he seemed to be proudly raising his head like a crane. He had once been a servant boy, but now he was the leader of all the officers and generals.
"You are hereby conferred the title of True Lord White Crane of this era!"
Li Zhuiyuan pointed forward, and the golden body of the Bodhisattva opened its eyes. The True Lord's Mark on Lin Shuyou's brow reappeared, and the illusory image of the White Crane Boy merged with it again.
At this moment, the White Crane Boy was able to sense the Lin family's spirit writing again.
The boy shouted excitedly, "No need to guard the door tonight! Let's go to the bridal chamber! Football team! Football team!"
After the fever subsided, the boy discovered that under the True Lord's new rules, the merits gained from subduing demons would be split 50/50 between him and the spirit medium.
This is not only a distribution between Him and Lin Shuyou, but also a distribution model with the Lin family and Ayou's future descendants.
Of course, that's not the most important thing. The most crucial point is that the young man, being a Bodhisattva, didn't get a cut!
The spirit medium doesn't mind giving half of its merits to the future Lin family spirit mediums. Li Zhuiyuan was worried about the future spirit medium's attitude towards the Lin family spirit mediums, but at least for now, the spirit medium has great enthusiasm for Ayou's next generation and wishes he could take care of the baby himself.
Li Zhuiyuan continued to use the hand seal; next, he would revise the rules for official generals.
The golden statue of the Bodhisattva opened its eyes again, its gaze sweeping across the entire scene.
Suddenly, all the Yin spirits in the audience were jolted, and then they bowed down again, paying their respects to Li Zhuiyuan in an almost overwhelming manner:
"The Bodhisattva's grace!"
"The Bodhisattva's grace!"
Tongzi: "Why are these guys all acting like they've been injected with chicken blood? Could it be..."
The boy secretly released his spiritual thoughts and greeted the nearest Yin spirit, quickly receiving a reply.
From this day forward, the merits of the official general and the spirit medium will be split 40/60, with the deity taking 40% and the human taking 60%, and the bodhisattva receiving no share.
It should be known that in the earliest times, Bodhisattvas would take more than 90% of the profits, but with the current distribution, the spirits of the underworld are greatly benefiting.
In practical terms, this will make the spirits of the underworld cherish the spirit medium's body and will prevent the situation from recurring where spirit mediums' bodies were created arbitrarily. They will be more protective of spirit mediums who are familiar with them and capable, and will put more effort into nurturing young spirit mediums with outstanding talents.
In a sense, humans are above gods.
When Li Zhuiyuan first witnessed Lin Shuyou's spirit mediumship, he felt uncomfortable about the relationship between the spirit and the medium. Now, the young man has finally been able to fulfill his original thoughts and correct everything.
This is not something a Bodhisattva should do; a Bodhisattva should sit back and take a cut.
This is what the Dragon King should do: smooth out the places in the martial world that he finds an eyesore.
Li Zhuiyuan said solemnly:
"Officer!"
All the spirits within the main hall, including the White Crane Boy within Lin Shuyou's body, responded in unison with their soul thoughts:
"Evil spirits, only kill, never save!"
---
I set off for Hengdian today, spending half the day on the road. This chapter was written after I arrived at the hotel tonight. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to attend the opening ceremony of a web series. Hugs to everyone!
(End of this chapter)