Free Web NovelChapter 42: Chapter 42: Venerable of Compassion
"Who in the entire Holy Merit doesn’t know you?"
The short-haired girl looked at him like he was asking the obvious, then waved her hand impatiently. "Are you trying to get me to find Zhou Yunzhi for you?
Let me tell you, she’s really annoyed by you. You should stop coming around and making a fool of yourself...
And are you going to donate or not? If not, I’m leaving."
The short-haired girl’s barrage of words left Fu Juemin stunned. After a moment, he came to his senses, shook his head, and pointed at the wooden box in her arms. "You’re marching just to fundraise?
What are you fundraising for?"
"A pampered Young Master like you, who doesn’t care about the country’s affairs or the people’s livelihood..."
The short-haired girl shook her head at Fu Juemin. "Don’t you even know about something as huge as the great disaster in the Southwest?
What do you even do all day?
Just busy writing those sickening, sappy love letters to Zhou Yunzhi, right?"
"..."
Qian Fei and the others to the side had strange expressions on their faces, while Fu Juemin’s handsome face darkened immediately.
It’s best not to mention love letters in front of Young Master Fu.
"What? Did I hit a nerve? You want to hit me or something?"
Seeing Fu Juemin’s ugly expression, the short-haired girl sneered. She let go of the box with one hand and puffed out her chest at Fu Juemin and Qian Fei’s group.
"Go on, hit me! I’ll scream if you dare to touch me!"
"We wouldn’t dare, we wouldn’t dare..."
Qian Fei and his men quickly waved their hands and backed away.
Faced with such a little spitfire, Fu Juemin’s patience ran out. He shot a harsh glare at Qian Fei, who had brought her over, then pulled a fountain pen and checkbook from his coat, casually wrote down a series of numbers, and tore the check out for the girl.
"I, on my own behalf, am donating one thousand silver coins to the Southwest disaster relief."
Fu Juemin took a deep breath and said in a low voice, "I don’t need you to find anyone for me. I just have one question for you..."
"How much?!"
The moment the short-haired girl heard the number Fu Juemin stated, she froze. She didn’t hear a single word he said after that.
She snatched the check from Fu Juemin’s hand and held it close, carefully counting the zeroes.
A few seconds later, she looked up and stared at Fu Juemin suspiciously. "Are you sure this check can be cashed?"
"If you can’t, you can bring your people and block the gates of my Fu Family’s home," Fu Juemin said nonchalantly.
"Then you can’t go back on your word."
"I won’t."
The short-haired girl quickly stuffed the check into the fundraising box, then tossed her head, about to run toward the procession.
"You wait here! I’ll go get Zhou Yunzhi for you right now!"
"Get back here!"
Quick as a flash, Fu Juemin grabbed the short-haired girl and pulled her back.
"I already told you, I don’t need your help finding Zhou Yunzhi."
Fu Juemin didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He tried to explain clearly to the girl, "Besides, I don’t have those kinds of feelings for Zhou Yunzhi anymore..."
"You rich people change your tastes so quickly..."
The short-haired girl muttered, then suddenly seemed to realize something. She took a sharp step back, clutching the donation box tightly to her chest, her face tense. "Don’t tell me... you’ve taken a liking to me?
Let me tell you, I’m not the kind of woman who can be easily swayed by money..."
"..."
Fu Juemin slapped his forehead, utterly giving up.
"She’s your problem. You explain it."
He said to Qian Fei, pointing at the girl.
Qian Fei was already struggling to hold back his laughter. After he finally managed to explain the situation, the short-haired girl, her cheeks flushed, finally regained her composure.
"You should have said so earlier! So you’re mad that our protest is blocking your way..."
The short-haired girl didn’t dare to look Fu Juemin in the eye. She stammered for a moment, then suddenly became defiant again. "It’s not like we *want* to block the road.
We’re being blocked too! The procession can’t get through!"
As she spoke, she jutted her chin and pointed forward.
Fu Juemin followed her finger and looked ahead of the student procession. When he saw what was approaching, he froze.
—
Directly in front of the student procession, an even larger, more imposing crowd was slowly advancing.
The first thing that caught the eye was a massive banner stitched together from pieces of coarse burlap.
Embroidered on it was a plump rat standing on its hind legs, its paws clasped together as if praying to the heavens. The expression on its face, outlined in gold thread, was a bizarre, unreadable smile that was utterly uncanny.
Beside the banner was a two-tiered, pagoda-like platform. On the lower level stood two people, one old and one young, dressed in yellow shirts with their faces painted like opera singers.
Atop the upper platform sat a figure draped in colorful clothes. Their face was covered by a red cloth, obscuring their features. They held two small banners. One read—"The Venerable of Compassion Descends"—and the other—"To End Suffering and Save All."
The entire platform was held aloft by dozens of burly men. Below the banner and platform, a tide of people surged forward.
Most were dressed in rags, their faces sallow and gaunt. Yet their eyes were unusually frenzied, gleaming with a morbid light.
They staggered as they walked, yet desperately tried to maintain a rigid formation, repeatedly chanting:
"All is suffering; only through sacrifice can one gain."
"The Venerable of Compassion enters the self; all suffering is erased!"
"Sacrifice three pecks of rice now, for a full granary in the next life!"
"..."
The old and young man with painted faces on the platform suddenly shouted, "Catch, fellow grain friends!" Then, one of them, holding a large urn half the height of a man, grabbed handfuls of its contents and scattered them into the crowd below.
One scattered dark grains, the other splattered gleaming yellow sesame oil.
The grains and oil fell to the ground, and the crowd instantly erupted into chaos. Everyone threw themselves to the ground, heedless of anything else, frantically scrambling for the dirt-covered grains and oily puddles, desperately stuffing them into their mouths.
The absurd and shocking scene left everyone stunned, not just Fu Juemin.
"Are they... insane?"
The short-haired girl stared blankly at the slowly advancing procession and mumbled.
Suddenly, she snapped out of her daze. Without a word to Fu Juemin, she clutched the box and rushed back into the student ranks.
"The Civility Venerable Sect... Young Master, we’ve run into a Cult parade."
Qian Fei’s face was grim as he turned to look at Fu Juemin.
Fu Juemin stared ahead and said in a low voice, "Fall back."
The three of them nodded. Just as Fu Juemin was about to get into the car, he turned around and discovered that the once-empty street behind them was now packed with a clamoring crowd.
He didn’t know when or where they had come from, but they looked like the poorest of the poor, or perhaps just vagrants and beggars...
...forming a massive procession that was rapidly approaching the street corner.
It wasn’t just the street behind them; the street the student protesters had come from was the same. frёewebηovel.cѳm
At this moment, Fu Juemin’s group and the student procession were like the filling of a dumpling, slowly being enveloped on three sides by the flowing crowds.
"Qian Fei, run to the County Government and report this. Tell Zhou He to send men over immediately."
Fu Juemin ordered quickly.
Qian Fei froze, asking instinctively, "Young Master, what about you?"
Fu Juemin glanced at the student ranks, where panicked cries were already breaking out. "With Cao Tian and Dakui here, what could happen to me?" he said lightly.
"You need to hurry. Tell Zhou He that almost every young student in all of Luan River is gathered here.
If something happens to these students, everyone in the Luan River County Government, down to the last man, will be in trouble."
Qian Fei’s expression grew taut. He nodded and quickly ran off.
Fu Juemin called to his driver and, along with Ma Dakui and Cao Tian, quickly retreated to the very edge of the street.
By now, the student procession at the intersection had nowhere left to retreat and finally collided with the followers of the Civility Venerable Sect.
In an instant, the three streams of people converged, interspersed with waves of panicked cries from the students.
All Fu Juemin could hear was a deep, immense drone echoing ceaselessly through the street.
"The Venerable of Compassion Descends, to End Suffering and Save All!"
"Sacrifice three pecks of rice now, for a full granary in the next life!"
"Fellow grain friends... fellow grain friends!..."
