Chapter 124: Success
"What's your name?"
Marcus observed the little girl's current state. The ritual should have been successful, but he didn't know what changes had occurred in her.
"My name is Little Angel,"
the little girl replied earnestly, her eyes brimming with life.
People in the family usually called her Little Angel; her identity was that of a devotee of the deity, Little Angel.
The Hsu family's rule was that once a name was offered to the Mother Buddha, it could no longer be used.
"I'm asking what your real name is?"
"What is a real name?"
Clearly, she didn't even know what a real name meant.
"Oh, since your surname is Hsu, your real name should be Angel Hsu. Angel, do you feel any changes in yourself compared to before?"
Feeling he couldn't get a clear answer, Marcus gave her a name.
He was now more curious about the little girl's feelings after the ritual; this was valuable data.
"I feel like I can project some images,"
the little girl said, her eyes shifting. She slowly changed, transforming into a strange clay vessel that could move and shift.
Marcus discerned through his Spectral Eyes that this was merely a simple illusion, similar to the abilities of those bound spirits.
It seemed that while the ritual transformed her into human form, she also inherited some of the abilities she had gained while already in a corrupted state.
This wasn't surprising, though; if she couldn't inherit power and simply became an ordinary person, the Soul Collector probably wouldn't have been willing to use the ritual.
"Alright, I understand. Are there any other abilities?"
"No."
"Okay, Angel, do you know those three people who went to the Hsu family's compound six years ago? They're my friends. They told me a lot about you, including how interesting your pets are."
"Your family is very busy lately and doesn't have time to take care of you. They asked me to look after you for a few days before sending you back."
This little girl had been brainwashed by the Hsu family and the deity since childhood, and some of her beliefs needed to be corrected later.
"Oh, then please tell my family to take good care of them. I have very little left, and they might not have enough."
The little girl easily believed Marcus's words. Having only lived within the compound since childhood, she didn't even know what a lie was.
Marcus led the little girl, now conscious, back to Master Yuan's Temple.
As soon as they entered the courtyard, they saw Ronan Chen, holding a shovel and looking wary.
A bloody scratch marked his face.
Two unfamiliar middle-aged men, accompanied by a young boy, were also sitting in the courtyard. They held tools; the boy was pale and coughing.
Mrs. Yuan was bandaging Master Yuan's head, which appeared to have been injured.
"Marcus, someone attacked us. There were about ten people, all middle-aged men dressed casually."
"They tried to kidnap Dodo, but luckily I discovered it in time, and thanks to these two men, who came to Master Yuan today to get some herbal medicine for the child, they helped us stop them."
Seeing Marcus, Ronan Chen seemed to see his salvation, and before Marcus could ask, he had already given a full account of the situation.
Hearing this, Marcus's eyes darkened slightly.
At this point, the only ones who could possibly try to take Dodo were the Hsu family members. These people must have done quite a bit these past few days, playing a role in restraining the Mother Buddha Deity's power.
They didn't dare help the deity spread the curse online, making them useful pawns.
However, it seems that while they were restricting the deity, they were also preparing to compromise to appease her anger, intending to snatch Dodo back and offer her as a sacrifice.
"They've only temporarily retreated; they might come back. Marcus, should we call the police?"
Ronan Chen asked anxiously, seeing Marcus remain silent.
"Don't worry, you don't need to worry about these people. I'll handle them. We'll discuss this later."
"Master Yuan, take a look at this child. What's her condition?"
Marcus led the little angel to Master Yuan's side and presented her.
"How did you do this? It's a miracle! There's life force within her, but it's strange, like..."
Seeing the little girl's current state, Master Yuan first smiled broadly, then frowned slightly:
"I can't quite explain it, it's contradictory, but overall it's positive. The dark curse is gone from her body."
Marcus had a rough idea in his mind. This method of reincarnation, being a dark technique, was definitely different from that of a normal living person.
However, Marcus had already achieved his goal of severing her connection with the deity.
Two curse backlashes, especially those of this supernatural type, were enough to severely weaken the deity.
Marcus asked Ronan Chen to watch over the devotee for now, then pulled Master Yuan aside and explained the girl's situation in detail, including her brainwashing since childhood and her worship of evil entities.
"Master Yuan, this girl will have to be entrusted to you to teach her slowly, to help her learn to distinguish between right and wrong."
Although Ronan Chen also liked children, and he himself was infertile, as an ordinary person, he clearly lacked the ability to care for both Dodo and little Angel.
These two children had their own special characteristics; without the Mother Buddha Deity, they might be targeted by some other malevolent entity.
Master Yuan nodded solemnly. The education of children was indeed a major responsibility. He and his wife didn't have children of their own, so they had time to guide them.
"Ronan, you stay with Master Yuan and guard the yard. Gentlemen, I'll give you a ride home; you might run into those people along the way."
Marcus deliberately pulled a pistol from the trunk of his car and put it in his jacket, without hiding it from the people in the yard.
At this point, he wasn't afraid of the two locals reporting him, and he was also showing Master Yuan and Ronan Chen that he had the ability to deal with those people.
Master Yuan hesitated for a moment, then remained silent.
"Thank you for your help."
The two middle-aged men nodded, one carrying four packets of herbal medicine.
The other, holding a coughing little boy, also nodded. He wasn't afraid of those people, but he was worried about his son.
These two had really come through.
If it were ten evil spirits, Master Yuan might be able to handle them, but ten strong middle-aged men would be completely out of the question.
Let alone ten, even in a one-on-one fight, one middle-aged man could overpower Master Yuan.
Marcus planned to resolve the trouble here and then go find the Mother Buddha Deity.
He had weakened the deity where necessary, and it was time to completely eliminate this evil entity.
Marcus drove ahead, clearing the way, with two middle-aged men following behind on a covered ATV.
After driving about 500 meters, the road ahead was blocked by two large logs. Given the car's weight, it was clear it couldn't be rammed through, so Marcus slowly approached and parked.
The two middle-aged men behind him tensed up, their expressions becoming cautious.
"Hand over the girl!"
"Hand over Dodo!"
A group of people shouted, running out from the brush on both sides, surrounding the car. They all carried machetes and axes.
Then, an old man in traditional clothing slowly walked out from behind the group.
He made a hand gesture, bowed to Marcus's vehicle, and said gently,
"Young man, you have taken someone you shouldn't have, violating the deity's will. Hand her over to earn forgiveness!"
Marcus rolled down the window and leaned out.
Bang!
A loud bang rang out, and a bloody hole appeared in the old man's leg, spurting blood. He collapsed to his knees, groaning in pain.
"What are you pretending for?"
Marcus said, somewhat annoyed, as he pulled the trigger repeatedly.
A series of gunshots followed, and four or five men clutched their legs, groaning in pain. The remaining men quickly helped the wounded and ran towards the roadside brush.
Marcus got out of the car without a second thought, grabbed one end of a log blocking the road with one hand, cleared the way, and drove the two middle-aged men back to the highway.
Then he returned to where the old man had been wounded. Now that he had taken action, he was determined to eliminate these people.
They were useless now; they had harmed so many children, and they deserved to pay the price.
To him, the thick smell of blood on the brush was like a navigation map; unless these people could fly, they wouldn't be able to escape.
(End of Chapter)
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