Chapter 12: Cause and Effect (1)

I was shocked when I heard this. I still remember the gate of the hungry ghost tomb from when I was a child. How could Guo Er have the ability to open such a heavy gate? If one hungry ghost is like this, I can’t even imagine what a group of hungry ghosts would be like.

“Master, how many hungry ghosts did Guo Er let out when he opened the door?” I didn’t even notice when my cold sweat started to flow, and even my voice trembled when I asked the question.

“How could he open that door? He dug a tunnel from the side. This is actually my fault. When I broke the geomancy at the village fair, I made it too public. Everyone in the village knew there was a tomb there. Guo Er, who was greedy for money, naturally dug the tomb.” Old Jiang sighed.

“Master Jiang, did Guo Er dig a hole and meet a hungry ghost?” Speaking of which, Su Rou was more interested in what happened at the bottom of the tomb.

“I don’t know the details, because you saw what happened to Guo Er today, and it’s not a good time to ask questions, but the situation must be asked.” Old man Jiang stood up, crossed his arms, and sighed again.

To be honest, I have never seen my master so worried. I guess things are getting serious.

“Master, the tunnel, did you go to deal with the tunnel today?” I knew that since the tunnel had been opened, the old man and his men would not have left the tunnel problem unresolved.

“Well, we went to deal with it, but unfortunately we don’t know if it’s still useful. Guo Er has been sick for a few days, which means that the cave has been dug for a long time. This is just a belated attempt to mend the fold.” When Jiang Laoren talked about this, his brows never relaxed.

At this point, Huijue also spoke up: “In fact, Lao Jiang had already predicted that something would happen at the Hungry Ghost Tomb, which is why I have come here every year for the past few years to help the hungry ghosts. When the tomb was discovered, Old Jiang also thought about going down to deal with it, but opening a hungry ghost tomb is no small matter. If it affects the neighborhood, it could be a village, a village of dead people. So your master asked your master to personally draw the Tianluo Dijing talisman to seal the tomb. I didn’t expect that the most meticulous one was a slip-up, that is, it didn’t prevent people.

“What should we do about it?” I said, and I was worried too. I couldn’t think of any way to solve it.

“What can we do? I hope that Guo Er’s condition will improve tomorrow. I have to go and ask him about it in detail, and then closely observe the situation in the village. If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to go down to the tomb and completely destroy the hungry ghost tomb.” Old Jiang said.

As soon as he finished speaking, Huijue frowned and said, “Lao Jiang, that tomb was made by humans. We went to investigate this afternoon, didn’t we? Going down there is probably very dangerous.”

I just heard the old monk Huijue say that the person who built the tomb had an ulterior motive. Now that he’s brought it up again, I’m full of doubts. Why would you build a hungry ghost tomb if nothing is wrong? But when I asked about it, neither the old man Jiang nor Huijue answered.

“Sanwa, I don’t care. If you’re going to the tomb, you have to take me with you.” Su Rou kept saying this in my ear like a spoiled child.

I was so annoyed that I finally couldn’t help but say, “Master told me to do something, and you insisted on following me. Besides, we may not even go to the tomb, and you’re already worried about it. Tell me, what’s so fun about going to the tomb? Besides, I don’t have the final say. It’s up to my master and the others.”

Su Rou said, “Sanwa, you’re a bit of a slowpoke. I’m going with you to ask about the situation, aren’t I helping you?”

I was so impressed by this kid that I just stopped talking. In fact, what he said was the truth. Su Rou is a natural conversationalist, and he’s better at talking and making small talk than I am.

So what are Su Rou and I here for? It was an assignment from Old Jiang. He told me to go to the county town to see Guo Er and ask him about the details of that night. He and Hui Jue couldn’t get away, so they had to stay in the marketplace.

Because they were afraid that many hungry ghosts would come out and harm the villagers in the market, Old Jiang and Huijue rented a room in the market.

Today is Sunday, so I don’t have to go to school. I went to the county seat to see Guo Er. I didn’t tell my parents about it because I didn’t want them to worry. Su Rou didn’t know why, but he was particularly interested in this matter and followed me.

There is only one hospital in the county seat, the county hospital, but it is still very famous. I heard that there are two very good doctors there, and the county hospital is also very easy to find. It didn’t take long to get to the county seat, and soon Su Rou and I found it.

Su Rou didn’t know what to do, and before entering the hospital, he made me wait for him. It took nearly ten minutes before I saw the kid come over with a bag of things and a kebab in his hand.

He handed me a kebab and said, “Eat first. You’ve been on the bus for a long time and you must be hungry. I just went to buy some fruit. Although I came to ask about things, it’s not good to come empty-handed.”

I took a bite of the meat skewer without saying anything. In terms of human relations, I really can’t compare with Su Rou.

After asking around for a long time, we finally found Guo Er’s ward. We climbed up to the third floor and found the ward. We saw Guo Er lying on the bed, his face still looking terrible. Guo Er’s mother was feeding him bite by bite.

Looking at her white hair, I suddenly felt a little sad. It is a pity that all parents have a heart of compassion. No matter what their children do, it is the parents who suffer the most.

“Mrs. Guo, we’ve come to see Uncle Guo Er.” I’m not very good at speaking, but I can say sweet things. As soon as I entered the ward, I called out to the people there.

When Guo Erma turned around and saw it was us, she immediately put down the bowl and chopsticks in her hand and said excitedly, “Oh, you’re here, and the little master is here too. Look at this county town, it’s so far away, and you brought something with you.”

“It’s only right, it’s only right…” Su Rou put down the fruit, chatted with Guo Er Ma, and sat down next to Guo Er, asking about Guo Er’s health.

This kid is really a panacea.

After rambling on for a long time, and after I kept hinting at him, Su Rou finally cleared his throat and began to get down to business: “Uncle Guo Er, what happened that day? How did you get that powerful thing back?”

Guo Er didn’t answer Su Rou directly, but looked at me and said, “I was confused those days, but I know that someone saved me and got the ghost thing out of my stomach. I remember it was this little master, right?”

I was a little embarrassed and said, “Actually, it wasn’t a rescue. It was a coincidence that it came out.”

But Guo Er was very formal and insisted on bowing to me, saying that he knew how to repay a favor. In the end, Guo Er’s mother had to hold the IV bottle and let Guo Er bow to me.

After all this, Guo Er’s already weak body couldn’t take it anymore, so I quickly put him to bed, but he insisted on smoking.

This is the one he was saving for a special occasion.

Guo Er took a deep breath of smoke, and then calmed down. His eyes became a little sad and a little worn. He said, “The doctor said my body is not good, my constitution is poor, and the injured part was just operated on yesterday. I’m not doing a good job…”

As soon as he finished speaking, Guo Erma quickly closed the door. Their family was wealthy, and they were in a single-person room. It was better to close the door so that no one would hear them.

After closing the door, Guo Erma also spoke: “I said you son of a bitch, you’re looking for a lot of money. If I had known you were doing this kind of business, your father would have broken your legs.”

“Mom, don’t say anymore. I know that doing this kind of work will bring retribution. I’m superstitious myself, and I’ve been doing this kind of work for so long, so I’ve already had my share of retribution. My body is failing, and this illness has almost used up all the money I’ve earned over the years. In the end, it’s all for nothing. But fortunately, I’ve also done some good things in private over the years, helping the elderly in the village. Otherwise, I think my life would have been taken away.” Guo Er took another deep breath of smoke as he spoke.

I was moved. People are actually quite complicated. Guo Er’s job is really shameful and bad, but then again, he also does good deeds. No matter what the purpose is, in the eyes of those lonely old people, he is a good person, right?

Maybe there are no simple good or bad people. I remembered what my master said: “Everyone has a pure heart, but the world is a melting pot, and gradually, the heart is obscured. But at some point, the pure heart of man will always come out, which means that everyone has a kind side, even if it is just a little bit, a little bit. Therefore, in this world, it is most difficult to maintain a pure heart, which is even more difficult than the most difficult self-cultivation.”