PCJ – Chapter 251 Seeking Immortality

Chen Maozhong initially thought his wife was just pretending to be crazy, but after getting close to her, he was repeatedly taught a lesson. The couple had often sparred before, and naturally, Chen Maozhong usually won. However, now, he couldn’t even get close to Liu Xiuying, and each time, he was kicked farther away. Even the strongest man in the village couldn’t kick as far as Liu Xiuying. So, whether he wanted to believe it or not, Chen Maozhong had no choice.

Chen Fangsong’s house was next to Chen Maozhong’s, and hearing the commotion, he came over. Seeing the situation, he couldn’t help but laugh, “Maozhong, are you planning to have your wife pretend to be possessed to make big money? You’ve gone crazy thinking about money, resorting to such low tricks.”

Chen Fangsong stood in front of the incense table, looking around. Liu Fengying had her eyes closed, allowing Chen Fangsong to fiddle with things.

“Liu Fengying, since you’ve become a ‘Divine Lady,’ why don’t you tell my fortune?” Chen Fangsong said to her.

“Hmph, hmph.” The sound Liu Fengying made could send chills down anyone’s spine; it seemed to come from the depths of hell.

Chen Fangsong quickly took two steps back. “Oh my God!”

“You fool, I’m not your mother; I’m your father. You useless fool, you promised to avenge me when I died, and so many years have passed, yet I still haven’t seen you avenge me. That old wolf king has long since died, but you didn’t even dare to face those cursed wolves. Your father hasn’t been able to rest in peace. King Yan said that without redressing grievances, you can’t reincarnate. So, are you planning to keep me from reincarnating forever?” Liu Fengying’s eerie voice made Chen Fangsong break out in a cold sweat. Chen Maozhong, who had been eavesdropping from behind, quickly ran outside into the sunlight, feeling warmer only then.

“Liu Fengying, don’t scare me. Everyone in the village knows about this. Don’t think you can scare me just by imitating my father’s voice.” Although Chen Fangsong was scared, he still tried to hold his ground.

“You unfilial brat, I’ve been talking to you for so long, and you still don’t believe me. Do I really have to reveal all your embarrassing secrets for you to believe? Do you remember when I first took you hunting in the mountains, and we encountered a black bear? You were so scared that you wet your pants. You didn’t tell anyone about that, did you?” Liu Fengying continued.

“Did my father tell you that?” Chen Fangsong was shocked. Such an embarrassing incident was something he would never have told anyone, and it seemed that no one in the village knew about it.

“When you were ten, you secretly watched your mother bathe and got caught. You were hung up and beaten. Do you remember?” Liu Fengying revealed this final secret, shattering the last of Chen Fangsong’s doubts.

“Father! It really is you! I’ve been unfilial! Tomorrow, I’ll go to the mountains and find the wolf king. I won’t come back until I kill him!” Chen Fangsong immediately knelt down, repeatedly kowtowing.

“Are you planning to go to the mountains to die? Forget it; I’ve waited this long anyway. King Yan has given your father a small official position. This time, I’ve possessed Maozhong’s wife. Later, you should bring a gift to Maozhong’s house. Burn a few more sticks of incense in the future.” Liu Fengying’s voice was strange, a mix of male and female tones, but it did sound somewhat like Chen Fangsong’s late father, Chen Laochai.

Chen Fangsong quickly went back to prepare a red envelope, along with money, paper, candles, and incense. He placed the red envelope on the incense table, lit the incense, and burned the paper money, bowing a few times in front of the incense table.

At first, Chen Maozhong felt a bit embarrassed, but after receiving a red envelope so quickly, he began to think more creatively. Although he didn’t know how much money was in it, the size of the envelope suggested it wasn’t small.

“Hongming, clean up the house and set up some stools. Lay our straw raincoat on the ground so that people who come to ask about immortality have a place to kneel. I’ll make a donation box, so people have a place to leave their gifts. Ask your mother if she needs anything else. I’ll weave a few straw mats,” Chen Maozhong thought carefully, which puzzled Chen Hongming.

“Father, my mother’s in this state, and instead of thinking of ways to help her, you’re setting up this whole thing?” Chen Hongming was worried that if the story spread, he’d lose face in front of his friends. He couldn’t believe that instead of trying to find a solution, Chen Maozhong was turning the situation into a business.

“Do you think I want to? The problem is that your mother is possessed by an immortal, and even if I want her to recover, there’s nothing I can do. Didn’t you see how many times she’s kicked me? I was almost killed! So do as I say.” Chen Maozhong was now focused on spreading the word about his wife being possessed by a divine spirit and setting up an altar at home for offerings.

Zhang Jiaohua returned to the nursery with his schoolbag, while Zhang Wenrong and the others each carried a basket of pigweed into the nursery. Although the nursery covered over 200 acres, most of the pigweed had been cut down by Zhang Wenrong and the others. After all, there wasn’t much pigweed, and wild pigs eat a lot. Zhang Wenrong had already expanded the range for gathering pigweed beyond the nursery.

“When the pigweed in the nursery grows back, you won’t need to go outside to gather it,” Zhang Jiaohua said, glancing around the nursery. The spaces between the tea trees were now a light green, where the pigweed had been cleared and the land turned over to plant new seeds. Pigweed is hardy and grows quickly; soon, it would be ready to feed the pigs.

“No problem, there’s plenty of pigweed outside. We just have to walk a bit farther. By the way, something strange happened at the Chen family’s house across the mountain,” Zhang Wenrong said.

“What strange thing?” Zhang Jiaohua asked curiously.

“Do you remember Chen Hongming?” Zhang Jiagen jumped in to ask.

“How could I forget? Last time, his family caused trouble at our nursery. What strange thing happened to them?” Zhang Jiaohua was even more curious.

“Liu Fengying suddenly became a ‘Divine Lady.’ Today, many people went to their house to ask for divine guidance. We wanted to go see it too, but we had a fight with them last time. If we go, Chen Hongming might cause trouble,” Zhang Wenrong said, not letting Zhang Jiagen steal his chance to speak this time.

“Then don’t go. There’s nothing interesting about it anyway.” Although Zhang Jiaohua was also curious, he’d already had a falling out with Chen Hongming’s family. If he went over there, who knows what might happen? So Zhang Jiaohua quickly dismissed the idea.

But some things, no matter how you deal with them, if you’re meant to face them, you will.