Shen Mo extended his wrist. “Of course, you can.”
The man with the square face placed his hand on Shen Mo’s wrist for two seconds before quickly pulling it back. Then, he glanced at the man with the longer face and subtly nodded towards him.
Only then did the two turn their attention back to Shen Mo. They opened their mouths to speak, but hesitated, and their gazes occasionally flickered to Bai Lixin.
Shen Mo spoke, “Feel free to say whatever. He’s with me.”
The man with the longer face visibly relaxed. He looked at Shen Mo mysteriously, and asked in a hushed tone: “You also visited that temple?”
Bai Lixin quietly sat beside Shen Mo, his head lowered slightly as he circled his fingers around Shen Mo’s hand that was at his back. He gently scraped the man’s palm with his nail, quickly writing a few words on his palm.
——Lady Yuexian.
Shen Mo’s shoulders tensed slightly.
The young man’s fingers were tender and carried a faint warmth. His touch was like a jelly rolling into his palm.
Sensing that the young man was about to withdraw his hand after writing, the man’s hand moved like lightning, grabbing Bai Lixin’s hand and firmly holding it behind his back.
This time, it was Bai Lixin who froze.
He glanced at Shen Mo, attempting to free his hand.
To avoid the others in the room from noticing, his hand movements weren’t too drastic.
After struggling for a while and seeing that he couldn’t break free, Bai Lixin decided to give up. He stopped struggling and let the man hold his hand in his palm.
However, he didn’t fully concede either.
Bai Lixin slightly curved his fingers and used his nail to quickly scrape a smiley face onto the back of the man’s hand.
A doting smile flashed through the man’s eyes. He turned his palm slightly, quickly trapping Bai Lixin’s mischievous hand within his own.
The delicate palm was as smooth and refined as white jade displayed in a museum, velvety and soft.
—————————–
In the live broadcast room
[I can’t bear to watch anymore. I’m reporting these two. They’re being affectionate right under the important NPC’s nose.]
[I want to report too. I’m reporting Xin God for seducing the big boss.]
[And me, I’m reporting the big boss for harassing God Xin. He actually grabbed God Xin’s little hand. Look at how flustered God Xin is, his ears are red.]
[We might as well go down together!]
————————-
Seeing that Shen Mo didn’t speak, the man with the longer face became suspicious. He asked again, “Movie King Shen, you know about that temple, right?”
Only then did Shen Mo lift his head, his candid gaze causing both men to feel a sense of shame for their previous doubts. “Yes, I know, Lady Yuexian.”
The man with the longer face smiled awkwardly. “Sorry, Movie King Shen. It’s not that we didn’t believe you earlier. It’s just that the temple has its rules, and we can’t reveal information about it.”
The man with the square face added, “I was wondering why someone like you would suddenly come to the hospital and even buy fruits to visit us. So, you’ve also sought help from Lady Yuexian? What illness do you have?”
A hint of discomfort flashed across Shen Mo’s face. “Terminal illness.”
Both the man with the square face and the one with the longer face exchanged a glance. The man with the longer face chuckled. “If you don’t want to share, that’s fine. You can rest assured, though. Lady Yuexian is very effective. Just look at the two of us, our illnesses are gone. She is much better than the hospital.”
The man with the square face chimed in, “Indeed. I used to have a tumor on my back. The doctor said it needed to be removed as soon as possible, or it could easily turn cancerous. But then the doctor said the tumor’s position was tricky, and if they operated, they might accidentally sever a nerve, causing paralysis. Can you believe the contradictory advice? They want it removed, but they can’t remove it. Isn’t that just asking me to wait for death?”
“I was almost handed a death notification at that time.”
“Same here,” the man with the longer face started to talk too. “I had a severe case of lupus erythematosus before. The doctors said there was no hope for me.”
“We both just tried it as a last resort. We got a bowl of fushui from Lady Yuexian’s temple to drink. Do you feel especially cold now? Don’t be afraid, we were just like you initially. We were terrified of dying too. But this is all part of the process. You’ll go through the cold phase first, followed by a rapid decline in strength. Your body will become weak, and eventually, you’ll faint.”
*Fushui/talisman water/magic water refers to water that has been ritually prepared or consecrated with the intention of bringing protection, good luck, or positive energy. In various traditional Chinese practices, such as Taoism and folk religions, fushui is made by burning a Taoist talisman and mixing the ashes with water.
“Lady Yuexian said that fainting represents rebirth, and after waking up, our illnesses will be cured.”
“When we fainted, we thought we were about to die. But unexpectedly, not only did we come back to life, but all our illnesses were also gone. Look at us now,” the man with the long face patted his chest heavily, “Strong as an ox. I even feel like I’m only twenty years old now.”
Out of their sight, Shen Mo grabbed one of Bai Lixin’s fingers and gently rubbed it against his own fingertip. Shen Mo’s expression remained genuine, portraying sincerity that made everyone want to befriend him.
Shen Mo sighed, a trace of regret and fear in his eyes. “Lu Dali is dead.”
The man with the long face and the man with the square face froze with their smiles, then the man with the long face asked, “Who died? Are you sure?”
“Lu Dali, your boss. He also fainted last night. But he froze to death on the way to the hospital, his body stiff.”
“So now I’m a bit scared.”
Fear flashed across the face of the man with the long face. “He’s dead? How could he die? He clearly said that Lady Yuexian was a deity and could definitely save us. He was the one who took us there.”
“He took me there too,” Shen Mo continued, leading the conversation. “So we need to analyze why he died. Can you tell me what happened in the temple?”
The man with the long face and the man with the square face looked at each other, hesitated for over ten seconds, and the man with the square face finally spoke. “Let me tell you.”
“We both went there together. After Lu Dali learned about our illnesses, he said there was an absolutely effective method. Under his guidance, we entered the temple.”
“There were already many believers in the temple, all kneeling in the main hall, worshipping Lady Yuexian.”
“Lu Dali seemed like a regular there. He knelt as soon as he entered, and he pulled both of us down to kneel too.”
“Even though we thought it was feudal superstition, and we even mocked Lu Dali in our hearts, we still knelt down.”
“Mainly because it would have been too conspicuous if just the two of us stood. We were afraid of being beaten up.”
“We didn’t kneel for long before the statue of Lady Yuexian spoke.”
“She talked about a lot of things and then rewarded each of us with a bowl of fushui.”
“That bowl contained dark stuff. How could we dare to drink it? We were afraid it would grow worms in our stomachs.” The man with the square face paused, licked his dry lips, and after a two-second pause, continued, “But Lu Dali drank it. After the people around us finished drinking, they stared at us, as if they would come over and choke us if we didn’t drink it.”
“We had no choice, so we mustered our courage and drank it.”
“After drinking the fushui, Lady Yuexian left.”
“From her appearance to her departure, the whole process took about ten minutes.”
“After Lady Yuexian left, the believers didn’t leave. Instead, they started talking to each other.”
“Later we found out that these believers had various illnesses to some degree. Some were disabled, some had cancer, some had organ failure…”
“But they all got better.”
“At the time, we thought we got caught up in some pyramid scheme. These people were simply crazy. How could a disabled person become normal? How could someone with organ failure be jumping around? We didn’t believe it from the beginning to the end, thinking they were just acting for us.”
“Not long after we returned from the temple, we started becoming especially sensitive to the cold, and then we ended up like this.”
After the man with the square face finished speaking, he forcefully swallowed his saliva. “Alright, I’m done. Movie King Shen, what do you think happened in the temple?”
Instead of answering his question, Shen Mo pondered. “Many of the believers in the temple have been there several times. If they drink fushui every time, haven’t they consumed it multiple times?”
Upon hearing this, the man with the square face and the man with the long face were both taken aback. The man with the long face responded, “Yeah. When we went, those people were all normal. But they all claimed to have had some illness before. Isn’t this like being cured and then coming back again?”
Shen Mo asked, “How many times have you drunk the fushui?”
Square Face: “How many times? At the time, we thought one time was more than enough. How could there be multiple times? What about you?”
“I suppose since Lu Dali could bring you there, it means he had been there before,” Shen Mo didn’t directly address the question, “Perhaps Lu Dali’s death is related to the quantity of the fushui consumed?”
“You both survived, but he died. From the current perspective, the only difference between you is the amount of fushui ingested.”
Long Face and Square Face exchanged a perplexed glance. Square Face nodded, “That’s possible.”
Shen Mo: “Do you feel the urge to go back to that temple now?”
Square Face and Long Face exchanged another bewildered look, and Square Face said, “No, not really.”
Long Face thought for a moment, then retorted, “What do you mean no? Weren’t we just discussing whether we should return to the temple for a thanksgiving offering? Wanting to make an offering should count as an urge to go back to the temple, right?”
Shen Mo turned his gaze towards Square Face.
Square Face blushed instantly, scratching his face awkwardly, “I forgot about that.”
Bai Lixin, who had been quiet on the side, spoke up for the first time, “Did Lady Yuexian mention anything about needing to fulfill a wish as part of the process, and that failure to do so might result in retribution?”
Square Face and Long Face exchanged a third puzzled look, and this time they paused for a longer time. Long Face gave an awkward laugh, “We were too busy cursing Lu Dali in our minds. We didn’t really pay attention to what Lady Yuexian said. Didn’t you also go? What did you hear?”
Bai Lixin pointed at Shen Mo with his still free hand, “I didn’t go in, you ask him.”
Shen Mo responded nonchalantly, “I cursed even more than you did.”
Long Face: “…”
Square Face: “…”
Square Face: “Um, even though I forgot what Lady Yuexian said, my intuition keeps telling me that we should make a thanksgiving offering.”
Long Face nodded seriously, “Same here.”
Square Face glanced at Long Face, “If Lu Dali’s death really has to do with the amount of fushui consumed, then we shouldn’t drink if they offer us more fushui when we make our offering.”
Long Face nodded, “Alright, when the time comes, we’ll cover for each other and absolutely not drink it. While the fushui is good, our lives are more important.”
Bai Lixin asked, “So when do you plan to go for the thanksgiving offering?”
Square Face: “Tomorrow, since we’re being discharged from the hospital this afternoon.”
Bai Lixin: “What time approximately? I’d like to go as well.”
Long Face: “Are you sick too?”
Bai Lixin: “I’m not sick. I’m just curious and want to broaden my horizons. Is that okay?”
Square Face looked at Shen Mo in confusion, “Since Movie King Shen knows the way, why don’t you ask him to take you?”
Shen Mo responded straightforwardly, “It was Lu Dali who took me there. I’m directionally challenged.”
Bai Lixin chimed in, “Exactly, he’s directionally challenged.”
Shen Mo turned to Bai Lixin, his light-brown eyes shimmering with a playful light. He reached behind him and tugged lightly on Bai Lixin’s middle finger, then pinched it gently.
Square Face was no longer skeptical: “Alright then, when we go tomorrow, we’ll call you both along. Can one of you leave your phone number for me?”
He shifted his gaze to Bai Lixin, “Yours?”
Bai Lixin immediately pointed to Shen Mo, “Take his. I don’t have a phone.”
Square Face: “…”
‘Who doesn’t have a phone in this day and age, and that’s Shen Mo, how could he give out his…’
Shen Mo: “My mobile number is 0834********.”
Square Face: “…”
‘He really gave out his number!!!
Fine, indulge your little caregiver! What’s the relationship between you two exactly?!
Also, don’t think I didn’t see your sneaky little hand gestures behind your back. You really think we’re blind?’
And stop pinching each other’s hands, do you think it’s Children’s Day or something? How immature can you get?’
