Chapter 121: Climbing the Mountain
"Her curse with the Mother Buddha Deity is too deeply fused!"
"She can't even be considered alive anymore; she's more like a demon possessing this body, merely using the power of the curse to continue living."
"She's already dead; what can be done to save her, poor child?"
Master Yuan said, his voice trembling as he looked at the little girl's mutilated finger.
He couldn't imagine the immense suffering this child had endured, nor could he fathom how many other children had suffered such torment before her.
Marcus nodded upon hearing this. Dodo hadn't yet signed the final contract with the Mother Buddha Deity, and even that required a great deal of effort to invoke divine intervention to exorcise the curse.
This girl had signed a complete contract with the Mother Buddha Deity, and having been in constant contact with her, it wasn't surprising that she had been corrupted to this extent.
It seemed that before long, this girl would also suffer the same fate as the previous children, her body decaying and sealed inside a clay vessel, becoming one of those bound spirits controlled by the deity.
Seeing Master Yuan's distress, Marcus comforted him,
"Everyone has their own fate, and it's hard to fight against destiny. Master Yuan, don't be too sad. We will definitely get rid of this evil entity."
After saying this, a thought struck him, and he stepped forward to pull open the devotee's eyelids, carefully examining her pupils.
This devotee was able to endure for so long under the influence of the deity, and besides the delaying tactics of the Hsu family, there must be other reasons within herself.
Marcus quickly noticed something different; the girl's eyes were familiar.
He used his Spectral Eye ability to observe carefully and discovered a sense of shared origin. This devotee was indeed a psychic, which was why she had persisted for so long without turning into a clay vessel.
However, she was about to change, which was why the deity was in a hurry to have Dodo sign the contract.
"Now let's see how to settle this child. She is a follower of the Mother Buddha, and her release this time must have some ulterior motive," Marcus continued.
"Let her stay in the temple. The temple's protections will slow down the onset of the curse on her and prevent her from being controlled by the deity any longer,"
Master Yuan said with a hint of melancholy, lamenting his helplessness.
Marcus, together with Master Yuan and his wife, moved a small bed into the temple and settled the devotee in. He then took out his phone.
On the screen was Li Ronan, covered in dirt.
Her hair was disheveled, but her eyes held both expectation and fear as she walked along a mountain trail in the wilderness, holding a camera and a phone.
Her destination was clear, which made Marcus sense something was wrong.
Looking at the camera she was clutching tightly, the only place Li Ronan would insist on going to at this point was the Hsu family's compound, the cave of the Mother Buddha Deity.
"Desperate measures, she's going to go directly to the deity and spread the footage?"
But thinking about it, it made sense. Now that Marcus had cut off all other options, the only thing left for Li Ronan was to spread the curse online.
The woman walked along filming her miserable state, clearly trying to gain sympathy.
Once the video was released, unsuspecting people would sympathize with her and pray according to her instructions.
This would unwittingly turn those who initially cared about her into unwitting victims of the curse.
She showed no remorse or regret for exploiting people's kindness and self-preservation, deceiving them. Finally, she even pointed the camera directly at the face of the Mother Buddha, removing the covering from its head.
After arranging things at the temple, Marcus drove Ronan Chen's car, following Li Ronan's direction.
Since this woman wanted to struggle, he didn't mind shattering all her illusions.
The car drove along the country road up the mountain.
The narrow, winding dirt road barely allowed one car to pass at a time. To the left was a sheer drop-off, the outer wheels rolling over the edge, occasionally sending dirt sliding down.
To the right was a steep slope covered with trees.
Along the way, a large number of branches bent down the slope and extended onto the dirt road. The leaves hung down and brushed against the passing vehicle, like grasping hands reaching for passersby.
The car had been driving along the mountain road for about ten minutes when a sudden, violent jolt came from the tires.
This gave Marcus a sense of déjà vu.
He got out to check.
Sure enough,
on the ground lay a statue about a foot long, badly damaged. Most of the paint had peeled off, revealing weathered stone underneath.
The statue's face was worn, its features indistinct. His car had run over the statue, the violent jolt preventing it from moving forward.
In the original story, this same statue had, six years ago, wedged itself into the rear tire of Li Ronan and her companions' car, forcibly stopping them and preventing them from moving.
The three of them ignored the warning and instead began discussing the Mother Buddha, whom their contact worshipped, instantly attracting the deity's attention—the first time Li Ronan felt nauseous.
Marcus picked up the statue and wiped the dirt off it with his sleeve.
The statue had decorative features and resembled a protective figure, presumably originally a shrine on this small mountain, dedicated to a local guardian spirit.
Unfortunately, the Hsu family had occupied the area and now only worshipped the Mother Buddha Deity.
Having lost their guardian, they could only resort to this near-self-destructive act to warn passersby.
"Guardian, I understand what you mean."
"Don't worry, I won't go in directly. I'll destroy the evil spirits here sooner or later."
"Just come with me for now, and I'll restore you properly and build another shrine."
Marcus didn't expect the statue to answer and simply put it in the car.
Although the statue's face was damaged and appeared ominous, its actions were acts of kindness and saving lives.
Marcus always reciprocated kindness shown to him.
With the statue secured, Marcus stopped at a bend in the hillside.
He could now see the Hsu family's compound in the distance.
Two large metal gates blocked the mountain road, like those used at industrial sites.
Behind the main gate was a ring of two-story structures built along the mountainside. These buildings were haphazardly constructed using metal sheets, planks, and other materials, bound together in a chaotic manner, and looked dilapidated.
The metal gate was ajar, clearly left by Li Ronan when she entered.
Marcus watched the screen on his phone expressionlessly.
Li Ronan had already connected a camera to her phone and started a live stream.
There weren't many viewers in her stream, only about 20.
"Why are you so dirty?"
"What happened? Should we call the police for you?"
"This seems to be a cave. If you've been kidnapped, blink twice."
Although there weren't many viewers, they were clearly curious about Li Ronan's disheveled appearance.
"Mm-mm... Mm-mm!"
Li Ronan was now standing at the cave entrance. She pointed to her mouth towards the camera, indicating she couldn't speak, and then pulled out some papers from her pocket.
(End of Chapter)
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