Chapter 82
Chapter 82
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 82
>Chapter Title: Abbess Jingxin
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Chapter 82: Abbess Jingxin
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> Li Huowang couldn’t help but hold back his laughter. He suddenly felt that hiring a nun as a Daoist priest was indeed a hilariously absurd thing to do.
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> “Cough cough, Masters, please stop laughing. My problem is truly urgent—it could cost me my life if it’s not resolved.” Li Huowang spoke seriously despite nearly bursting into laughter.
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> “Come with me. We’ll go ask the Abbess. Oh, right—two gold beans for the guide fee.”
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> A greasy, oily hand reached right in front of Li Huowang’s face.
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> Li Huowang wasn’t afraid of the nun asking for money. Anything that could be solved with money wasn’t a real problem.
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> After handing over the two gold beans, Li Huowang followed the fat nun as she led the way out.
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> As he stepped out the door, Li Huowang glanced back at the other nuns with a hint of reluctance. He felt that hanging out with these carefree women every day was pretty fun—even the stench in the air didn’t seem so bad anymore.
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> Back on the path between the buildings, Li Huowang said to the nun leading the way ahead of him,
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> “I am Xuanyang of Clear Wind Temple. Might I ask for Master’s Buddhist name?”
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> “Miaoyu.” The fat nun with a face full of flab replied while picking her nose.
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> “Cough cough, what a fine name.” Li Huowang held back his laughter for a good while. The name didn’t match her appearance at all.
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> After walking for a bit, a row of low thatched huts appeared before them. The fat nun walked straight in.
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> “Wait here. I’m going to take a shit.”
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> “Understood. Wishing Miaoyu Master smooth relief.” Li Huowang bowed with cupped hands, still stifling his laughter.
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> “Ah~ Heh heh.” A smiling Li Huowang stood beside the thatched hut, lazily stretching. He felt utterly at ease right now.
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> Li Huowang felt like laughing at everything he saw. Everything around him seemed so amusing.
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> Just as he recalled what had happened earlier and was about to burst into laughter, he suddenly felt everything start to crumble. White hospital walls began replacing his surroundings, and some illusory figures started taking solid form.
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> The once-relaxed Li Huowang’s expression turned hideous in an instant. With a twisted face, he clutched his head tightly with both hands.
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> “No, not now! Hold on just a bit longer! Shh, shh!! Help me out here! Please, be quiet, be quiet, shh~ shh~~~ shh…”
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> Li Huowang’s pleas seemed to work. Soon, everything around him quieted down again.
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> Li Huowang, whose face had turned ghastly pale again, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and stood up.
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> The effects of the Black Tai Sui were fading, and those hallucinations were coming back soon.
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> But right now, Li Huowang had to push all that aside. In the face of life and death, hallucinations were a minor issue.
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> In a foul mood now, Li Huowang tried recalling what had just happened, but he couldn’t muster any joy.
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> “Sigh…” Li Huowang let out a heavy sigh.
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> At that moment, he heard a sound and walked toward the back of the latrine.
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> What he saw there truly shocked him.
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> Behind the latrine was a bamboo fence enclosing some black-skinned, long-haired pigs.
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> Inside were the yellowish, foul excretions spraying out, along with the snorting black pigs.
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> The sight instinctively made Li Huowang’s stomach churn.
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> He had heard before that the nuns of Anci Nunnery raised pigs, but he never imagined they used this to feed them!
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> Looking at the pigs before him, Li Huowang’s impression of the entire Anci Nunnery plummeted. The nuns here were all weird—weird in the extreme.
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> As the black pigs snorted and scattered, Miaoyu emerged from the latrine. Seeing Li Huowang by the pigsty, she said nothing and led him onward.
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> “Hurry up. I still need to nap later.”
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> “Do you eat the pigs raised like this yourselves?” Li Huowang suddenly asked.
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> “What nonsense! Can’t you see we’re nuns? We believe in the Bodhisattva! We can’t eat meat. And you call yourself a Daoist priest—you don’t even understand that?”
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> Miaoyu’s tone dripped with disdain, but she quickly shifted, sounding dejected.
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> “Sigh, we don’t want to feed pigs either. With no one burning incense or making offerings, we’ve got to do something to earn food money. We can’t live on northwest wind.”
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> “True, true.” Li Huowang absently agreed as he followed behind her, continuing onward.
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> After winding around, Miaoyu stopped Li Huowang in front of a building.
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> “The Abbess is inside. I’m not going in. To be honest, I’m a bit scared of her. Oh, right—the Abbess’s name is Jingxin.”
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> Without waiting for Li Huowang to respond, she turned and left.
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> Li Huowang glanced at her retreating figure, chuckled softly, and headed inside.
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> The room was pitch black. Sounds of gulping food and an even thicker stench assaulted him. This abnormality made Li Huowang instinctively reach for the bamboo slips on his back.
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> Just as Li Huowang lifted his right foot to step into the darkness, he felt it land on something shriveled. He quickly pulled back.
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> “Light a lamp. I’m blind—no need for light.” An aged voice came from the darkness.
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> “Understood, Abbess.” When Li Huowang took out the glowing stone and tossed it toward where he’d stepped, the sight inside made his body jolt in fright.
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> It was an extremely fat, extremely old woman wearing a nun’s hat. Her eye sockets were empty black holes, and her saggy facial skin was pulled downward by the fat on her neck, as if it might tear off at any moment.
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> In the dim room, her appearance was utterly terrifying.
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> But the face wasn’t the worst part—the body was.
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> Her massive obese form nearly filled the entire room. Her filthy fat was covered in oozing, bloody acne. And inside those pimples, something seemed to be wriggling!
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> And this woman was clutching a large basin, shoveling the greasy food inside with both hands.
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> “Heh heh, what a rarity. It’s rare for a pure-heart to come find me.” The terrifying old nun spoke through her toothless mouth before resuming her eating.
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> Though her appearance was horrifying, her voice was exceptionally kind. If the light were extinguished, one would likely think it was some kindly elderly person.
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> But Li Huowang had no time for such thoughts. The moment he heard “pure-heart,” his nerves tensed to the extreme, ready to retreat at any second.
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> “What are you panicking for? You’re clearly just an ignorant kid. When has Anci Nunnery ever needed other materials? We’re too lazy to bother. Truth is, my son was a pure-heart too.”
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> “Oh?” Li Huowang perked up.
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> “Then, Abbess Jingxin, where is your son now?” This was the first time Li Huowang had heard of another pure-heart.
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> “He went mad. Pure-hearts usually meet tragic ends—going mad is one of the better outcomes.”
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> Abbess Jingxin’s voice grew low as she spoke of her son’s story.
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>(End of Chapter)