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Kapitel 7

Old Fu stared at the gate, unable to believe it was so badly damaged. He stepped forward and gently knocked on the brass ring. The gate opened a crack, and a young monk peeked out.

"Who are you looking for?" the young monk asked cautiously, leaning half his body out again.

"Who are you looking for?" Old Fu suddenly found it amusing that he was being asked who he was looking for when he returned to his own home. After hesitating for a moment, Old Fu said, "I... am looking for your abbot."

"The abbot is not receiving guests right now," the young monk replied.

"No visitors?" Old Fu forced a smile and continued, "May I ask what the abbot's Dharma name is?"

“Our abbot’s Dharma name is Kongbei,” the young monk replied.

“Empty sorrow!” Old Fu, Xu Mama, and Mo Bai exclaimed almost simultaneously.

Old Fu remembers that Kong Bei was just an inconspicuous little monk sweeping the floor in the temple.

Mrs. Xu remembered that Kong Bei was just an honest little monk in the temple.

Mo Bai remembered that Kong Bei was just a quiet little monk in the temple.

But now he has become the highest-ranking person in the temple!

21. Marital Relationship

Old Fu looked at Kong Bei. Indeed, the childlike innocence of his youth was gone from his face. Instead, there was a rough, aged look on his face. His hands were still fiddling with the prayer beads, and the sound made Old Fu feel annoyed.

"It's been a long time," Kong Bei was the first to speak.

The opening was rather cliché, and Lao Fu felt a little awkward. A monk who used to sweep the floor had now flown to the top of a tree, and he couldn't help but feel a kind of inexplicable jealousy. He kept a straight face and remained silent.

"Yes, it's been so long! I never imagined you'd become so successful!" Mrs. Xu said sweetly, waving her handkerchief around.

Kong Bei felt nauseous. Ever since he first met Xu Mama, he couldn't stand her sarcastic tone. He had to turn to Mo Bai and ask, "And this is?" He was referring to Xiao Xiang.

"My newlywed wife," Mo Bai said shyly. For someone his age to be able to marry such a beautiful wife was truly a blessing from his past life.

"So it's Madam Mo." Kong Bei greeted her politely, took a sip of his tea, and then asked, "How has your opera troupe been lately?"

Old Fu's face twitched a few times, and he said, "We disbanded a long time ago."

"Disbanded?" Kong Bei was surprised. He put down his teacup and asked, "Why were you disbanded?"

“These days, opera troupes don’t do well, so they disbanded a long time ago.” Mrs. Xu started waving that dazzling handkerchief around again.

Kong Bei avoided Xu Mama's gaze and looked at Lao Fu. He suddenly thought of Xue Qiuqiu, so he asked, "How are your wife Xue Qiuqiu and Fu Zhuo?" He still remembered Fu Zhuo's cute little face, and he had even touched him before.

"They..." Old Fu cleared his throat and said, "They're dead." He had no reason to hide it from Kong Bei, but the thought of his marital relationship with Xue Qiuqiu made him laugh, an indescribable kind of laugh. They were husband and wife, they were a real couple, but were they really a real couple? He smiled bitterly.

"Ah!" Kong Bei looked at Lao Fu in surprise, he simply couldn't believe that Xue Qiuqiu and Fu Zhuo were dead. "How could they be? How could they be..."

"He died of illness, it's very unfortunate." Old Fu casually lied, not wanting Kong Bei to ask any more questions, so he immediately put on a sad expression. Kong Bei indeed didn't press further, only saying softly, "Please accept my condolences." But at this moment, Kong Bei's heart sank to the bottom. He thought of Yi Kong, and of Xue Qiuqiu's voice coming from Yi Kong's mouth.

Old Fu noticed that Kong Bei's expression was off. He didn't understand why Kong Bei would react so strongly to the mention of Xue Qiuqiu. He tentatively asked, "Abbot, are you alright?" He was reluctant to call Kong Bei that, but things were different now, and he had to.

“I…” Kong Bei hesitated for a moment, but decided to speak out anyway. So he told Lao Fu, Xu Mama, Mo Bai, and Xiao Xiang about what had happened in the past few days.

Everyone remained silent, no one willing to be the first to speak. Everyone was looking down, pondering the ins and outs of the matter, but no one could figure it out.

Kong Bei stared at Lao Fu. He had assumed that as Xue Qiuqiu's husband, Lao Fu would be deeply grieved by his wife's death, but he could see that Lao Fu was indifferent; his grief was feigned. So how exactly did Xue Qiuqiu die? And how did she end up possessing Yi Kong's body? Did ghosts really exist?

22. The person I long to see in my empty sorrow.

The hazy night was shrouded in a heavy mist, and a chilly wind swept through every corner of the temple. A figure flashed by and silently arrived in front of the ancient pagoda.

Kong Bei glanced around, and seeing no one, quickly turned and went around to the back of the ancient pagoda. There was nothing there except a rather heavy-looking stone lying quietly at the base of the pagoda wall. Kong Bei rolled up his somewhat cumbersome sleeves, stretched out his strong hands, and lifted the stone aside. There was a hole with a ladder leading into the ancient pagoda. Kong Bei walked down without hesitation, not even taking a lantern; he knew this path intimately.

The ladder did indeed lead to the bottom of the tower, where there were all sorts of rooms. Kong Bei didn't look around much but went straight to a room with light on, where someone was waiting for him. That person was the one Kong Bei was going to meet that night.

The old woman sat on an old-fashioned bench, dressed in a long black coat that reached the ground, with a black hood that completely obscured her face, making it impossible for anyone to see her clearly. She gestured with her thin, lifeless fingers to a chair not far away, indicating that Kong Bei should sit down. At the same time, she let out a few piercing coughs. The two men standing behind her quickly stepped forward and gently patted her back, saying, "Mother, don't rush, speak slowly."

Kong Bei slowly sat down in the chair, sitting respectfully, not even daring to breathe loudly.

"They're all back?" The old woman's aged voice echoed throughout the house, making the already somewhat oppressive atmosphere even more eerie.

"Yes, they just got back today," Kong Bei replied quickly, not daring to be negligent.

"Did you ask Lao Fu how Xue Qiuqiu died?" The old lady recalled the feeling of seeing Xue Qiuqiu when she opened the coffin; she hated that feeling of fear. She had never understood how the random female corpse she found ended up becoming Xue Qiuqiu; none of this was part of her plan.

"I asked, and Lao Fu only said she died, without explaining why," Kong Bei replied cautiously.

"Hmph, useless thing!" the old lady complained. Kong Bei quickly stood up and said, "It was Kong Bei's fault. I was just afraid that if I asked any more questions, Lao Fu would become suspicious, so I didn't dare to ask any more."

"Alright, alright, you've done your best. Sit down." The old lady gestured with her terrifying finger again, and Kong Bei quickly sat down, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

"It's good that they're back. Now I can avenge this blood feud!" the old woman said through gritted teeth.

"I..." Kong Bei wiped the sweat from his forehead again. He didn't know how to tell the old lady.

"Say what you have to say!" the old lady said impatiently. She hated Kong Bei's spineless appearance.

"Your plan... of course you don't need to tell me, but I want to know if killing Yixian is part of your plan?" Kongbei just wanted to ask a question to test the waters.

"Yi Xian? Who is Yi Xian?" The old lady was puzzled by Kong Bei's words; she had never heard of this name before.

“He is a monk in a temple, of low rank.” Kong Bei said this with a strange expression on his face.

"Why did you suddenly mention him?" The old lady also felt a sense of emptiness and sorrow, and her words had a hidden meaning.

"He's dead...it seems he fell from the top floor of the ancient tower and died, and...Yi Kong Gui is possessed." Kong Bei thought these things should be told to the old lady.

"Possessed by a ghost?" The old woman sneered, "Are there really ghosts in this world? Tell me, how is he possessed by a ghost?" The old woman didn't know who Yi Kong was, but after hearing Yi Xian's identity, she guessed who Yi Kong was.

"He... his physique is very similar to Xue Qiuqiu's, and even his voice is exactly the same! Also... someone saw a woman singing opera in the backyard." Kong Bei's voice became somewhat out of control as he said this.

The old lady gasped and stood up abruptly. If her two sons hadn't been supporting her, she would have fallen backward.

"Do ghosts really exist in this world?" the old woman asked herself. "If there are no ghosts, then what is going on?"

23. New Discoveries

The ear reached out and carefully touched Old Fu's face. His skin was stiff, without any elasticity, and even rough, with a shriveled feel; it seemed they had been dead for a long time.

Two old rich men, two Xu mothers, two Mo Bais, but... why aren't there two Xue Qiuqius? Wasn't she with them? But why are there two identical people?

Only twins are exactly the same in the world.

Only the art of disguise can make two completely different people look exactly alike!

Erduo believed that Lao Fu, Xu Mama, and Mo Bai must be the latter. Erduo couldn't believe that there could be such a coincidence in the world that all three twins would be together. So Erduo's hand reached out again to Lao Fu's already changed face.

The skin was hard, but the ears were something humans were born with. The ear rested its chin on its hand, deep in thought.

These three are the real Lao Fu, Xu Mama, and Mo Bai! That means the real Lao Fu, Xu Mama, and Mo Bai died twenty years ago. If they died so long ago, then who were the three people Er Ting saw? Why were they impersonating Lao Fu, Xu Mama, and Mo Bai? How did the real Lao Fu, Xu Mama, and Mo Bai die? What exactly happened twenty years ago?

Erduo squatted down, suddenly curious about something: how could Lao Fu, Xu Mama, and Mo Bai stand for twenty years without falling? Although their corpses had become stiff mummies, and they were standing in upright coffins, Erduo had touched Lao Fu several times, but he hadn't moved an inch. Erduo found this strange, so he squatted down to take a look.

Without shoes, or perhaps long since rotted away, only a few broken foot bones were exposed, covered with some foul-smelling, rotting flesh. Erduo couldn't help but cover his nose; he utterly loathed the disgusting smell. He glanced at Xu Mama and Mo Bai, and the same thing happened. This immediately made Erduo's stomach churn. He turned to one side as fast as he could, and at the same time, a stream of white foam mixed with a fishy smell flowed from Erduo's wide-open mouth. Erduo felt an unprecedented sense of nausea.

With only a few leg bones, how could it possibly stand? After clearing the contents of his stomach, he suddenly felt much clearer-headed. He wiped his filthy mouth, ignoring the stench emanating from the corpse, and reached out to forcefully pull on Old Fu's body. The corpse didn't move; it remained standing perfectly still. The eyes in his ears emitted a strange light, and he knew he had made a new discovery. He mustered his courage and cautiously reached towards Old Fu's back...

There was a nail as thick as a finger! It turned out that Old Fu had been firmly nailed into the coffin! Erduo was stunned. Why would they do that? Erduo then tried touching the backs of Xu Mama and Mo Bai, and received the same answer.

Why are the three corpses nailed here?

Why are even coffins placed upright?

He couldn't understand it, and couldn't find the answer. Suddenly, he felt a headache coming on. Was he really going to give up like this? Was there really no other way out of this room except for that door?

"Exit...exit..." he muttered to himself, his eyes lingering on the corpses of Lao Fu, Xu Mama, and Mo Bai.

The body could have been placed in a coffin, laid horizontally on the ground, so it wouldn't have taken up a wall... a whole wall! Suddenly, Erduo thought of something, and he smiled, a very cute smile, as he stretched out his hands...

Erduo only hoped that Lao Fu, Xu Mama, and Mo Bai, if they knew in the afterlife, wouldn't blame him for his recklessness. If anyone should be blamed, it should be the person who nailed their bodies here. Erduo didn't mean to damage their bodies; it's just that if he hadn't done it, he wouldn't have been able to see that door.

The door was hidden behind the three coffins, and the corpses were nailed to the coffins. No one would dare to damage the three corpses like Erduo did. Erduo believed that the person who nailed the three corpses to them had also thought of this. It's just a pity that Erduo is the one who sees the three corpses now.

The ear is a beggar.

He was only a teenager.

The ear is still a child.

But during his more than ten years of wandering, Erduo had seen countless dead people—some died of illness, some were murdered, and some committed suicide. Although he would vomit every time, it was just a physiological reaction, and he had long been used to it.

Most importantly, you must find out exactly what happened back then!

The door wasn't large, but it retained its original red paint and two lion-shaped brass rings. It was locked, and when Erduo pushed it open, he felt something blocking it from the inside; he believed it was the latch. Erduo casually picked up a thin bone—he didn't know which of the three of them it belonged to—and, through the rather large gap in the door, tried to pry open the latch. The door opened, and Erduo's heart suddenly pounded wildly.

Ear believed his heart had never beaten so fast, and he was sure his face couldn't possibly express the fear he felt.

Two hundred and eighty-seven! A full two hundred and eighty-seven! When his ears finally calmed down, he patiently counted all the corpses he had seen. He knew he was now standing in a graveyard, but none of them had been laid to rest; instead, they lay quietly on their own beds.

They each possessed a garment of their own, except that it was sewn onto their bodies. Their facial features were all sewn with delicate red thread.

Only those who die a violent death have their facial features sealed, and the ear knows this very well.

24. Meeting

"You guessed right, he really does have a problem!" Mrs. Xu said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.

Old Fu's lips curled slightly upwards, his cold face like that of a dead man. He sneered, "How could a cowardly, honest and kind monk become the abbot of a temple? Without someone backing him up, how could he possibly have achieved his current position!"

"Who do you think is the person behind this?" Mo Bai asked softly.

No one answered; everyone chose to remain silent. Only Lao Fu's face revealed an unusual radiance. He suddenly thought of someone, the person who had started this whole thing—the emaciated old woman.

Night always brings a sense of melancholy. Xiao Xiang quietly hid in the corner, where a dim shadow gently enveloped her delicate body. Her beautiful eyes remained fixed on the three of them, watching their every move until they completely disappeared behind the ancient tower. She knew there was a secret passage leading to the base of the tower. A faint smile appeared on her face, a smile that seemed to carry an unspeakable bitterness.

The old lady couldn't help but sigh softly. She stretched out her thin, lifeless hand and gripped the back of the chair tightly. Although her face couldn't be seen, her actions revealed that she was extremely agitated.

“I was right,” Old Fu said, blinking his oily eyes and staring intently at the old lady.

"Hmph, you really are a clever person. I underestimated you!" The old woman's voice sounded like it came from hell.

"Sigh, you overestimated him." Xu's mother waved her handkerchief at Kong Bei, saying with a smug look, "You made a mistake by choosing such a puppet. We came back because we really wanted to find out the truth and the cause of Xue Qiuqiu's death, but when we saw Kong Bei, that fool, he revealed his flaws after asking us a few questions, and we knew he was definitely up to something!"

Xu's mother was still smiling, but Kong Bei's face was now ashen, like a moldy wall. He stood motionless to the side with his head down, not daring to even breathe.

The old lady glared at him fiercely. She knew that Kong Bei was a person who was more trouble than he was worth, and he often thought he was smart. She was also wondering if she had chosen the wrong person.

"Who exactly are you? Why did you set up such a scheme? What is your purpose?" Mo Bai could no longer hold back and finally asked the question that had been hidden in his heart.

The old woman's body was trembling. The two men beside her reached out to support her and said softly, "Mother, now that things have come to this, we have nothing left to hide."

Kong Bei raised his head at this moment. Although he had always been under her command, it was only because she helped him get the position of abbot that he had never known her identity.

"Who am I? Who am I? Hahaha..." The old woman suddenly let out a series of ghostly wails.

Kong Bei shrank back in fright, and Lao Fu glared at him with disdain.