Chapter 106: Start

With a tranquil expression, the nun's hands, full of grime under the fingernails, reached into the lacquer box. She pulled out a pair of blood-red eyes and gently kneaded them. "Hehe, these are really good."

Having said this, she held an egg-sized red eyeball in each hand and sharply clapped them onto the dark, hollow eye sockets on her own face.

When she lowered her hands again, the blood-red eyes had found a new owner. "Thank you, I can finally see again."

An obese, ugly, toothless old nun now sported a pair of large, blood-red, lidless eye sockets on her face. This scalp-prickling sight made everyone else in the room feel deeply uneasy.

"Brother Li, is she really a good person? She doesn't seem like it..." Bai Lingmiao quietly asked, shrinking behind Li Huowang.

"Shh, don't talk," Li Huowang unexpectedly showed no great surprise at Jingxin's actions.

Unbeknownst to him, after experiencing various events, his tolerance had significantly increased.

With a solemn expression, Li Huowang looked at the unsettling old face before him and said, "Now that we have this, when will we begin expelling Danyangzi?"

"What's the rush, young people are always so impatient," Jingxin said. Li Huowang then heard movement behind him. He turned to see a row of fat nuns, swaying and burping.

"What are they doing? Do they mean to cross the river and demolish the bridge?!" Li Huowang's hand instinctively reached for the *Records of the Great Thousand*.

However, their actions immediately made Li Huowang realize he had misunderstood; these nuns were starting to tear down the wall with their bare hands.

Abbess Jingxin was too large, and the door was too small; to get out, they had to dismantle the wall.

Once an entire wall was completely cleared, the nuns pushed forward a wooden board with many wheels underneath. This was Abbess Jingxin's mode of transport.

Under everyone's gaze, Abbess Jingxin, like a giant, plump worm, wiggled herself inch by inch towards the wooden cart.

After much effort to move, Jingxin, somewhat annoyed, turned to Li Huowang. "You're so unobservant. Aren't you keen on getting rid of your master? Why don't you seem anxious? Can't you see I'm moving slowly? Aren't you going to help push!"

With everyone's help, Abbess Jingxin was finally pushed onto the cart. The squeaking of the axles began, and the other fat nuns pushed her forward.

After releasing the layers of fat, Li Huowang vigorously scratched an unreachable spot on the abbess's body.

Stepping back a few paces and looking at the bloated Abbess Jingxin, surrounded by a group of fat nuns, Li Huowang inexplicably felt as though she was a Buddha statue at that moment.

"A Buddha statue is just a Buddha statue; becoming a Buddha is not so easy. Hurry up and follow."

Hearing this, Li Huowang lifted his foot and followed.

The nuns did not push Abbess Jingxin towards the main gate but deeper into the Anzhi Nunnery, a place Li Huowang had never visited.

"Take your hand off the *Records of the Great Thousand*. This time it's fine, but never bring such things into the nunnery again. They're very unlucky."

Although Jingxin's tone was full of disgust, Li Huowang had no time for such trivialities. His mind was entirely focused on what was to come.

"What method will be used for the ritual to remove Danyangzi? Is it guaranteed to work?" Li Huowang asked, a hint of trepidation in his voice.

"Isn't it a bit late to be asking that? Don't worry, our Anzhi Nunnery is trustworthy. If you can't even trust us, then there's no telling about other places."

Abbess Jingxin's words did not calm Li Huowang's heart. He had been looking forward to this day ever since he realized Danyangzi was constantly clinging to him.

Now, the thousand-pound burden on his shoulders could finally be lifted, and for a moment, many thoughts flooded his mind.

"Don't be so quick to rejoice. Your master's trouble may be gone, but you are still a Xinsu. That's the main issue."

Hearing this, Li Huowang's heart sank. "Abbess, don't be too absolute. Just because you haven't found a way in the past doesn't mean I won't."

The abbess smiled at this. "Do you think you're the only one who thinks this way? All other Xinsu think this, but their ultimate fates are all similar."

Li Huowang, with furrowed brows, was about to speak but stopped abruptly. He took a deep breath and said, "Whether there's a way or not, one must try, right? Do you truly think living a life like Yu'er is so good?"

Abbess Jingxin's expression quickly fell. She reached into her abundant flesh, pulled out her son, gently held him in her arms, and looked at his aged face with pity.

"Sigh, what can I do about him being like this? As his mother, all I want is for him to be alive."

Li Huowang reached out and gently stroked the old man's dry white hair, his eyes reflecting the same compassion as Abbess Jingxin's.

The other 'medicine ingredients' and other nuns present also looked at the withered old man.

Li Huowang looked at the old man and slowly said, "I still remember when he was little, tottering towards me. How amusing that was."

The abbess nodded, then a trace of pain appeared on her face. "To be honest, it's hard to say right or wrong when one becomes like this. Before, when I saw my mother kneeling before me in the illusion, in that instant, my heart was truly constricted. If there truly was a way for me to stay in the illusion forever, it wouldn't be so bad."

The pain on Abbess Jingxin's face seemed contagious, appearing simultaneously on the faces of everyone around.

"Sigh..." Everyone present let out a soft sigh at the same time, and the atmosphere became incredibly heavy.

Accompanied by this mood, the small wooden cart continued to squeak forward. Not long after, another huge, bloated old nun was pushed out from the left side ahead.

Li Huowang looked at the old nun, a hint of disdain on his face. "Junior Sister Jingyuan, can you hurry up? Danyangzi is constantly altering my perception."

"What's the rush? We've waited this long; what's a little more time? If you had found us sooner, would you need to save this little time?"

Jingyuan said, picking up a piece of moldy sponge cake from the ground nearby and stuffing it into her mouth.

Jingyuan was not the first. Soon, a second and a third old nun were also pushed out on wooden carts. Eventually, including Jingxin, a total of six old nuns were brought out.

Accompanied by these individuals, Li Huowang and the others arrived at a low-lying area, where a wriggling, black, colossal Buddha statue, over ten meters high, stood.

As they fully entered, a buzzing sound arose. It turned out that the wriggling black Buddha statue was entirely composed of countless green-headed flies.

"My stomach feels a bit uncomfortable. Why don't you wait for me?" Li Huowang asked, clutching his stomach.

"Stop dilly-dallying, hurry up. Do you think it's convenient for us to come out like this?" Jingxin rummaged through her ample flesh and tossed over a string of polished, glowing prayer beads.

Li Huowang instinctively caught them. He began to twist the prayer beads and softly chant the obscure and difficult Buddhist scriptures.