PCJ – Chapter 104 Crooked Mouth

Chen Yinggang kept the overturned altar statue tied to his waistband, completely ignoring Zhang Jiaohua’s warnings. When he got home, his father, Chen Jinrong, saw it.

“Where did you pick this up from?” Chen Jinrong had a very bad feeling.

“Our school is building a classroom, and it was dug up while laying the foundation. Principal Ma said it used to be a Taoist temple there,” Chen Yinggang explained as he untied the overturned altar statue from his waistband.

“You rascal, you dare to do anything, don’t you? Now you’ve caused big trouble!” Chen Jinrong took the statue from Chen Yinggang and instantly recognized the severity of the situation. This was the ancestor of the Meishan sect! Although Chen Jinrong didn’t practice Meishan rituals, he had heard stories about the Meishan water masters since childhood. Meishan water masters, often simply called Meishan, were known to be very particular. Insulting their ancestor like this could lead to great misfortune. Chen Jinrong wanted to throw the statue away but didn’t dare; he knew the divine couldn’t be fooled. 

Chen Jinrong quickly placed the statue on the shrine in the main room, lit incense, burned some paper money, and knelt down, kowtowing and apologizing profusely.

Chen Yinggang didn’t understand his father’s actions, “Dad, how can this statue be so powerful? If it was so great, how did its temple get demolished?”

“Slap!”

Chen Jinrong, in a fit of rage, slapped Chen Yinggang, “You caused such a big trouble and still dare to talk nonsense! Kneel down and apologize to the Buddha!”

In the countryside, people didn’t distinguish between Buddha and Taoist deities; to them, anything on the temple altar was a Buddha.

Chen Yinggang burst into tears, sobbing, “But it’s true! If it was powerful, why would its temple get demolished? If we hadn’t dug it out, who knows how many years it would have been buried.”

“Kneel down! Or I’ll beat you to death today!” Chen Jinrong shouted, scaring Chen Yinggang into immediately kneeling.

Chen Yinggang’s mother, Yang Hongyan, rushed out of the kitchen upon hearing the commotion, “What’s going on? Why are you so fierce? You’ll scare the child’s soul away.”

“It’s all your fault for spoiling him! If you keep this up, see how you’ll deal with it in the future!” Chen Jinrong glared at his wife.

“Yinggang, what happened? Tell mom.” Yang Hongyan, seeing Chen Yinggang crying, went over to lift him up.

“Don’t you dare! Kneel down and apologize to the Buddha properly. If you don’t, and the Buddha punishes you, I won’t recognize you as my son!” Chen Jinrong, seeing his son not listening, was furious and paced around the main room anxiously.

“Fine, don’t recognize me then. I’ll go beg for food like a beggar,” Chen Yinggang, spoiled as he was, even argued with his parents at this moment, completely unaware of his mistake.

In the end, Chen Jinrong and his wife couldn’t do anything about Chen Yinggang. During dinner, they reluctantly called him up. Chen Yinggang ignored his parents, ate, then ran out to watch TV and didn’t return until late. When he got home, he went straight to bed.

The next morning, Chen Yinggang woke up feeling his left face stiff and his mouth seemed to be skewed to the right, and his left eye couldn’t close, constantly tearing up.

Chen Yinggang panicked and shouted, “Dad! Mom!”

Chen Jinrong and Yang Hongyan rushed into his room upon hearing his cries.

“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Yang Hongyan thought he had a nightmare.

“Mom, what’s wrong with my mouth? And my eye, why won’t it close?” Chen Yinggang said in panic.

“Slap!” Chen Jinrong slapped him again, “You think your dad and mom have nothing better to do? Get up quickly!”

“Waa!” Chen Yinggang cried loudly, but his mouth was still skewed, and his eye wouldn’t close.

“Are you blind? Can’t you see something’s wrong with him?” Yang Hongyan sensed something was off. It would be hard for anyone to maintain such a posture.

“What’s going on?” Chen Jinrong also sensed something was wrong.

“Don’t just stand there, go get Qianwang’s tractor and take him to the hospital!” Yang Hongyan pushed her husband.

“You rascal! I told you not to disrespect the Buddha. Now you’ve got your comeuppance!” Chen Jinrong stomped his feet in anger and quickly ran out.

That day, they took Chen Yinggang to the county hospital.

The neurologist, Dr. Wu Chaowen, examined Chen Yinggang and told Chen Jinrong, “Your son’s condition seems to be facial neuritis, commonly known as facial paralysis. In most cases, it can basically recover. So there’s no need to worry too much.”

“That’s good, that’s good,” Chen Jinrong and Yang Hongyan still couldn’t be at ease. They knew the real reason for their son’s condition and feared it wouldn’t be so easily cured.

When news of Chen Yinggang’s crooked mouth spread, Ah Da excitedly told Zhang Jiaohua, “Jiaohua, Chen Yinggang finally got his comeuppance. His mouth is crooked, and he’s been sent to the hospital.”

“His mouth is crooked?” Zhang Jiaohua wasn’t surprised. Even though the ancestor of Meishan had a laid-back attitude, he couldn’t tolerate being tied to a waistband. However, if the ancestor punished him with a crooked mouth, could the hospital really cure it?