Free Web NovelChapter 550: Chapter 478: Three Causes
After the trio of menacing men had left, Lian Jinsun brought his palms together in respect and praised Monk Wukong, "The little monk has a benevolent heart, I admire that!"
Monk Wukong returned the gesture and said, "Mr. Lian, you must be careful tonight. In my opinion, the rented room where you’ll be staying is the most dangerous."
"Why do you say that?" Lian Jinsun’s face paled, suddenly tense.
"Who died on our first night here, and where?" Monk Wukong asked with an even tone.
"It was Yu Dagui, and he died in a hotel."
"What about after that?" Monk Wukong prompted gently.
"The second night it was A Qiang, he... he died in the rented house, the third night it was Ju Juan, she died in a villa, the fourth night it was Zhang Man, she also died in a hotel..." Lian Jinsun halted abruptly, his face drained of color as he grasped the monk’s warning.
Hotel, rented house, villa... these three formed a cycle of reincarnation. The new cycle had begun the previous night, so the person who died had been staying in a hotel—Zhang Man. And tonight, it was the turn for someone in the rented house to die. Unfortunately, it was his turn to keep watch in the rented house tonight.
Having said what he wanted to, everyone dispersed. As they walked out of the hotel entrance and stood on the street, Yang Xiao hesitated, but eventually spoke up, "Monk Wukong, I am very grateful that you helped me out today, but do you know what might happen tonight after Lian Jinsun took heed of your advice?"
"He will make a move against Master Che," Monk Wukong replied, still with that serene expression.
Yang Xiao, puzzled, asked, "And you still proceeded in this manner, knowing that?"
Upon hearing this, Monk Wukong suddenly laughed, turned his head, and looked at Yang Xiao, "Master Chu, we are fated to meet."
If he had encountered a monk saying this to him on the street or at a Buddhist temple, Yang Xiao’s first reaction would have been that he was being asked for money. However, at this moment, he knew that this was no ordinary monk and patiently asked, "May I know from where this fate arises?"
"There are three reasons. Master Chu, you have a kind heart and bravely spoke in defense of me when we first met, demanding the return of my cellphone. This is kindness; just now when trouble came knocking, Master Chu refused to betray a friend and took punishment on behalf of another—that is righteousness. A person of both kindness and righteousness, such as yourself, will surely turn misfortune into good fortune and find blessing in adversity."
"That’s the second reason. What about the third?" Yang Xiao inquired with curiosity.
To his surprise, the monk shook his head at that moment, playing coy, "That, I cannot say." fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
Yang Xiao did not press further but changed the topic, "Monk Wukong, since you mentioned that asking for your phone was fated, Che Xuexiang also spoke up for you then. Why then did you hint to Lian Jinsun to harm her?"
Monk Wukong clasped his hands together and solemnly chanted a Buddhist mantra, "Amitabha, it is time for me to resolve these ties."
Rather than spar with the monk, Yang Xiao decided to ask something he could comprehend, "Monk, haven’t you noticed something odd about our cellphones? I’ve been thinking all day, why was one of the nine phones we started with defective? It might not be a coincidence."
At this, Monk Wukong’s eyes shimmered, "Master Chu, you have deep wisdom; truly, you put me to shame."
"Stop pretending, you realized it long ago, didn’t you?" Yang Xiao was beginning to understand the monk’s nature, "But I find it strange, why didn’t you speak up before?"
Upon hearing this, Monk Wukong grinned and retorted, "Since Master Chu also thought of it, why didn’t you speak up?"
"I am not a disciple of the Buddhist Temple, just an ordinary person who wants to scrape by. The precepts of Buddhism can’t bind me. Could it be, Master, that after many years of practicing Buddhism, you’re also like me?" Yang Xiao, unwilling to show weakness, laughed as well.
Upon hearing this, Monk Wukong burst into hearty laughter, "The Buddhist precepts number in the thousands, and there are countless monks in the temples. If people live without guilt, why do they need to bow before Buddha? If their hearts are free of greed, why should they seek so hard in the halls of worship?"
"To retreat into the monastic life, I become Buddha; to tear off the kasaya, I become a demon; peeling back Buddha’s flesh and bones only reveals the greed, anger, and folly of the human world."
...
In the evening, standing by the window of the rental house, Lian Jinsun bit on a cigarette while gazing at the last bit of sunset in the distance.
As the last glimmers of twilight faded away, the world was about to fall into night, and by then, the person remaining in this room would die.
After a moment, Lian Jinsun took one final drag, carelessly tossed away the cigarette butt, and snuffed it out with the tip of his shoe. Then he turned around and walked into the house without saying a word.
Pressing down on the doorknob, the bedroom door was pushed open to reveal a woman with her back to him, her hands tied behind her.
The woman was bound to an old chair with a backrest, her expression listless. Her pretty face was marred with scars, and her clothes stained with blood. Her wrists were twisted unnaturally, and a pair of scissors lay on the table not far in front of her.
Walking over, Lian Jinsun sat heavily on the bed beside the woman and let out a long sigh, "Miss Che, what’s the point of all this suffering?" freewebnovёl.ƈom
At his words, Che Xuexiang seemed to gather some energy, her body struggling slightly before giving up again—her wrists were already broken.
Glancing at the scissors on the table, Lian Jinsun couldn’t help but mock, "No matter what, you’re still somewhat clever, knowing to use your beauty as a ploy, trying to seriously injure me with the scissors when I let my guard down. Lucky for me, my reaction was quick, or else... it would have been me tied up here tonight."
At these words, Che Xuexiang seemed to break down emotionally, her mouth gagged, making "wu wu" noises.
Lian Jinsun waved his hand dismissively after hearing this, "Alright, I know what you want to say. It was supposed to be my turn tonight, right?"
"But it doesn’t matter whose turn it is. What’s important is who stays here tonight. Speaking of which, you should thank that monk. If not for him, I might not have had such determination. Indeed, those who leave home are the most ruthless of hearts."
As the evening darkened, Lian Jinsun decided not to delay any further. He checked the ropes tying the person once more, then took Che Xuexiang’s cellphone and swaggered out. At the moment the bedroom door closed, he felt surprisingly refreshed.
He made his own judgment about tonight’s situation. The monk’s words had merely given a nudge to the inevitable. He suspected that this mission was designed to be attritional: just keep dying following the room order until only the last three people were left—one per room—and the task would naturally conclude.
There might also be clues for escaping the ghost’s pursuit, but they wouldn’t be easy to find, and the risk was extremely high. After all, if they looked too deeply and Sha Meihui noticed, she wouldn’t let them off either.
Looking back at the firmly closed bedroom door, Lian Jinsun couldn’t help but smirk. Indeed, humans were much easier to deal with than ghosts.
He opened the front door and left the decrepit rental house, carefully locking the door behind him, crossing the corridor, and descending the stairs, his footsteps gradually fading away.
The corridor fell silent once more. But after about two minutes, accompanied by a faint creaking noise, a door not far from Che Xuexiang’s rental opened slowly, a crack emerging. Then the crack gradually widened, and a pale arm reached out.
