C14 Paradoxical temple

When I woke up, I was still dizzy, and when I looked around me, I felt like I was spinning.

Ah Tong was sitting beside my bed, fiddling with something. I called out to him and he immediately ran over to call Uncle Li.

Uncle Li glanced at me and let out a sigh. This was because I had been unconscious for a full day.

The sky outside the window was still dark, and the rain seemed to be falling endlessly.

Uncle Li helped me sit up. He asked me what was going on and why I suddenly fainted. I did not explain it too clearly, so I said that I might have fainted because of a fever due to the rain during the day.

He continued to question me. Even a fever can't get to the point of vomiting blood.

There was a puddle of blood on the ground when he found me.

I shook my head and said that I was in a trance and couldn't remember why I had fainted.

He didn't ask any further, saying that he only needed to wake up.

His stomach issued a series of complaints. If he hadn't eaten for a day, he would inevitably feel a little unbearably hungry.

Uncle Li looked at each other and laughed before cooking some noodles for me to eat.

After he left, Ah Tong asked me what was going on. I covered my face and said I didn't know what was going on.

He had initially thought that everything was fine, but when he was about to finish showering, he felt that his chest was about to explode.

After that, he coughed all the way until he bled, then fell down and passed out.

In a grown-up voice, Ah Tong warned me not to run around in the rain if I was not well. In case something happened, he couldn't explain it to my parents.

I patted his head and lay down again.

Not long after we finished eating, Uncle Li called me from downstairs, telling me that someone was looking for me.

I was about to get up and go down when I saw Pepsi leaning against the door frame, swinging a jug of wine in his hand.

I asked him what he had come for.

He took two steps forward and sat beside my bed, saying, "I came to find you earlier in the day. Uncle Li said that you were sleeping, so I didn't disturb you. Now that I'm awake, should I have a drink?"

I nodded just in time to warm my stomach with the wine. He rubbed A-Tong's head and told him to get two glasses.

I knew he wasn't just looking for me to drink. I asked him what he wanted.

He waved his hand and said, Don't worry about it.

He pulled off the cork and sniffed it, then raised his head in a comfortable gesture.

I took the wine and smelled it. This pot of wine must be good wine. I don't know where he got it, but the smell of it made me feel slightly drunk.

He snatched the wine from my hand. "Why are you still sniffing it all? Come and drink it."

He poured me a drink and took a sip, feeling as if he'd been struck by lightning on the tip of his tongue and shaken from head to toe.

The moment the wine slid down my throat, it hurt my throat. I put down the glass and frowned.

It was the same gesture with Pepsi, who had toasted me.

When Ah Tong saw this, he asked us for wine, but I didn't give it to him. This fellow followed me to eat and drink, but when I returned, I didn't know how he would scold me.

After half a bottle of wine, Pepsi opened his mouth: Do you know where I got this wine?

I shook my head as I looked at the wine cup in my hand. I didn't want to drink it, but I wanted to refill the other half of the pot.

I spent a lot of face to get this wine. It's the treasure of Old Tang clan. Old Village Head bought this wine every time I went there. I've been thinking about it ever since I tasted it last time.

I asked him if he had any business with me.

He shook his head and poured me another half glass of wine to keep my mouth shut.

He pointed at me with his glass and said, You say it's such a good wine.

It definitely would not. This was something no one could doubt, so the person I wanted to find had definitely been there since he was able to get this wine from the Tang Clan Tavern.

The owner of the Tang clan inn definitely had some clues.

I immediately put down my glass, patted Pepsi's back and thanked him.

Only after getting up from his bed and running out did he remember that he was too excited to ask about the location of the Tang Clan Tavern.

It was still raining heavily outside, and there was no one on the road. Pepsi had come out to go with me.

When they stepped on the water-soaked earth, the shoes felt like glue and couldn't move an inch.

I asked Pepsi if the rain had stopped since it started.

No.

This meant that it had been raining for almost two days. Ever since the Buddha statue was destroyed, was this really the punishment of the heavens?

I would also like to know about the progress of the Buddha statue's destruction. Pepsi said that he didn't even want to care about it anymore, that he hadn't found a single prisoner in two days.

The thirty-odd households were all under investigation and none of them were suspected of having committed any crime. Luo Man, who had been treated as a criminal from the start, was also eliminated.

According to him, the reason he left that day was because the third round of his house had broken down. He thought that this way, he could be classified as having no more than three rounds at home.

I spread out my hands. After all, this wasn't something that we could get involved in, so it was better not to worry about it.

By the time I found the Taoist's old playmate, I was ready to leave. Who cares what happens in this village.

It seemed a little heartless to say so, but it was the truth. Why should I care so much?

The signboard of the Tang clan's tavern was very large. Through the curtain of rain, it could be clearly seen that it was about a hundred meters ahead.

Pepsi and I took off our bamboo hats at the door. When the boss saw that I thought that a guest had arrived, he quickly went to receive me. But when he saw Pepsi, he changed his expression.

He then asked the boss how did his face change so quickly.

The boss ignored him and said softly, "You brat, you don't pay when drinking every day, yet you still have the nerve to say that."

I sat down at a table, ordered peanuts and wine, and put the money on the table.

Boss Tang immediately came over to ask me what else I wanted.

"Dear customer, please ask, I know what to say." He had a flattering look on his face.

Pepsi gritted his teeth, but he was too embarrassed to say anything. After all, he didn't pay for his drinks.

Boss Tang saw that I was not from the village and asked if I had come to look for someone.

"Boss Tang is really knowledgeable, able to tell at a glance." I popped a peanut into my mouth.

"What knowledgeable? People from the village come to my house to buy wine. I know most of them. You and I have never seen them before, so they must be from another village." The three of us laughed and talked.

Since Boss Tang knows what he's doing, I'll directly ask him about it. He scratched his ears as he tried to remember.

Ye Zichen clapped his hands and thought of something.

He sat down and poured himself a pot of wine. Half a month ago, there was indeed an outsider who came to the village and dressed like a beggar, with his hair in disarray, I couldn't even see his face clearly on three sides. I only remember that he had four wine gourds hanging from his waist, and every day I filled him with the best wine.

Although this description made it impossible for me to visualize the person in my mind, just the fact that he had four jugs of wine hanging from his waist was enough to prove how much the person liked to drink.

I asked the boss if there was any news of him. He said that he had come to the store to ask for wine the other day, but that he had not come for the past two days. It was probably because of the rain, so it was inconvenient for him to go out.

I took a sip of the wine. It tasted nothing like the wine Pepsi had just given me.

After leaving the tavern, a child wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat ran towards the PepsiCo.

Before he could say anything, Pepsi took out a handful of sugar and handed it to him.

The child peeled off the icing and stuffed it into his mouth.

"What's the big deal now?" He acted like he was a grandpa, and the kid happily called him Master Liu.

According to the urgent report from the child, something had happened in the temple again, and this time, it was extremely strange.

Pepsi and I looked at each other and ran into the temple. Although there was no one in the temple at this time, we could hear the Old Village Head's scolding from the outside.

Once inside, we'll be able to see what's going on.

The white cloth covering the Buddha statue was pulled out by someone. This person seemed to have a grudge with Buddha, purposely letting everyone see the damage done to the Buddha statue.

What was even more strange was that on the Buddha statue, there were six huge black handprints. Those handprints were definitely not human hands.

The size was more like the Buddha's own handprint.

The old village chief kneeled in front of the Buddha statue and kept apologizing.

Suddenly, there was a flash of lightning from outside, and a crack appeared in the dark night.

I looked around, as if all the statues were staring at us.