84: Chapter 84 Standing Statue of the Long-Browed Arhat

"There's no difference from an ordinary person."

"Is that so?"

"Mm-hmm, although I don't want to admit it, that's just how it is. No matter how you look at it, he's an ordinary person."

Han Jingyang felt a bit unconvinced.

But thinking about it, he didn't have any grounds to refute it.

His entire repertoire of skills relied completely on cheating.

He hadn't trained or studied them.

Isn't he just an ordinary person, then?

Regret.

I must find a way to enhance my strength in the future; I can't be a laughingstock.

Even Liu Jing can become an expert.

I can do it too.

After laughing, Liu Jing asked in a low voice, "Boss, by the way, is everything Deng Xingang said true?"

"I don't know. If he says it is, then it is."

"You don't know either?"

"Why do I need to know?"

"You treated his illness and even cured him, yet you don't know if what he said is true?"

"It's not contradictory. In my eyes, his problem is a feng shui issue; in the eyes of an internal medicine doctor, it might be a neurological or brain-related issue; and in the eyes of a psychiatrist, it might just be a mental health issue."

"Then what exactly did he encounter? There wouldn't really be... a ghost, would there?"

"No," Han Jingyang said very firmly, "It's definitely not a ghost, but it's not impossible to interpret it as one."

"What do you mean?"

"A collection of residual consciousness, energy fields, and auras attached to an object. Would you call that a ghost?"

"Would I? Or not?"

"You're confused too, right? Actually, it's just like that. In my eyes, that stuff is visible everywhere, just like air in nature—it's ubiquitous. It's just that because of human involvement, the form of this air changes, and by some twist of fate, it creates something like that."

"I'm still a bit confused."

"Let me give you a vivid example: clouds. There are all kinds of clouds in nature—clouds of different shapes, colors, sizes, and masses. That's normal. However, when a human's residual consciousness attaches to a cloud in a specific way, that cloud gains certain characteristics and abilities, such as the ability to drift with a purpose."

"In other words, there really are certain existences that cannot be observed or understood?"

"Incorrect. I can observe them, and I can barely understand them. It's just that I can't explain them as systematically as modern science. Given enough time and enough data, I might be able to explain them clearly."

"Is it only you..."

"There are others who can observe them, in their own ways, for example, Great Monk Kongyun."

"That monk has this ability?"

"He does."

Although Han Jingyang looked down on Kongyun, he had to admit that the monk had real skills and wasn't just famous for nothing.

Liu Jing pondered, "Then, were Deng Xingang's experiences in his dreams real?"

"You said it yourself—they were experiences in a dream. What do you think?"

"Boss, what I mean is, were all those things that happened in the dream actively created by that bride in the wedding dress? Or..."

"I really can't be sure about this," Han Jingyang thought for a moment, "But I think it was something Deng Xingang imagined himself. That ghost bride was just a trigger."

"Explain it in detail."

"The bride in the wedding dress's residual consciousness left that image in Deng Xingang's consciousness through the ash urn, but it didn't—and couldn't—manipulate Deng Xingang's dreams or thoughts. What Deng Xingang encountered in his dreams was imagined by himself. Essentially, it was evil energy entering his body. Under the influence of this yin evil energy, Deng Xingang's dreams seemed exceptionally real."

"How can you be sure?"

"It's simple: the content of the dream. If everything in the dream were truly controlled by that so-called female ghost, then everything happening in the dream should match the era the female ghost lived in, right?"

"Could it be..."

"Correct. I asked yesterday. Although Deng Xingang described the content of the dream as being so antique, it actually couldn't stand up to scrutiny. The decorations in the wedding room he described were modern Chinese style, the clothes worn were all internet-famous ancient-style costumes, and the details regarding daily habits like conversation and eating—not to mention those—were all modern habits, having nothing to do with ancient times. Yet, he claimed that the two of them lived in the Jiajing period in the dream. So, it must be the result of Deng Xingang's own subjective consciousness."

Liu Jing breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "I didn't expect it, Boss, you even understand deduction."

"Just the basics. If you are careful, it's not hard to spot the flaws. It's just that most people's attention is captured by the strange, absurd, yet salacious plot."

"That's true. But the fact that you, Boss, could notice these things is quite impressive. Hehe, so how did you break it?"

"Of course, by using a dharma instrument," Han Jingyang had nothing to hide from Liu Jing, "A dharma instrument with an Evil-Warding function."

That bronze seated Maitreya Buddha statue was a dharma instrument with an Evil-Warding attribute.

"Name: Qing Daoguang Bronze Seated Maitreya Buddha Statue."

"Grade: Seventh Grade."

"Attribute: Evil-Warding + 1."

"Skill: None."

The lowest-level dharma instrument.

But it was the right prescription.

Moreover, the situation Deng Xingang encountered wasn't considered complicated, provided it didn't drag on for too long and cause brain damage.

The root cause was just a little bit of yin evil energy.

Breaking that little bit of evil energy removed the root of the illness.

Although he couldn't see the evil energy on Deng Xingang, there was a trail to follow. Especially since the magnitude of the evil energy contained within that purple clay guanyin statue determined that it was impossible for Deng Xingang to have too much yin evil energy in his body.

Facts proved this to be true.

A lowest-level Maitreya Buddha statue with an Evil-Warding attribute, paired with a sanqing bell, woke Deng Xingang up on the spot.

The right medicine for the right illness; the cure was immediate.

Liu Jing naturally didn't know the detailed inside story and praised, "Boss, you really are... omnipotent. You have all kinds of dharma instruments, can solve any problem, and even know how to summon souls, but... hahaha."

"What are you laughing at?"

"The scene of you summoning souls was too funny. Right hand holding a sanqing bell, left hand holding the Maitreya Buddha, and a compass placed beside you—you looked like a swindler running a general store."

"..."

Han Jingyang himself wanted to laugh a little too.

The scene was indeed quite a sight.

Fortunately, there were no outsiders around.

If there were, they would most likely take me for a swindler directly.

But it didn't matter. Feng shui masters are part of a folk tradition, learning very miscellaneous things, so it's normal to be unconventional. There's no need to force it to align with any specific religion.

Feng shui and religion are not of the same path to begin with.

Jiguang Zhai.

Han Jingyang and Liu Jing had just sat down for a short while.

Wang Zhiwei and Xu Xin arrived.

As soon as they entered the door, Wang Zhiwei directly transferred 10 million to Han Jingyang's account. "Mr. Han, this account is settled."

Han Jingyang turned his head to look at Xu Xin.

Xu Xin placed the box in his hand on the coffee table and pushed it in front of Han Jingyang. "Take a look and see if it's what you need?"

Han Jingyang didn't stand on ceremony; he opened the box directly and reached out to touch it.

"Ding: Identifiable item discovered. Do you wish to identify it?"

"Yes/No."

"Yes."

"Name: Republic of China Locust Wood Carved Standing Statue of the Long-Browed Arhat."

"Grade: Fifth Grade."

"Attribute: Restlessness + 7."

"Skill: Anxiety."

What is this thing?

Why are the attribute and skill like this?

It's a pity for such a fifth-grade item.

It can only be used to harm people.

What a pity.

Although it can count as an attack-type item, it's ultimately not as satisfying as those straightforward damage-type skills.

This is clearly support-type.

But there's nothing to complain about for something that didn't cost money.

Fifth-grade items aren't Chinese cabbage; they are quite precious.

I'm even embarrassed to just accept it like this.

Or should I give it back to Xu Xin?