Lord Zhao's face turned pale. "What's going on with this monk? We invited him to our house, not the other way around!"
Over at Zhao Anming's side, he started to take a step forward but then stopped himself. He turned to the servant behind him and ordered, "Quickly! Pull Lord Zhao back!" The servant obeyed and pulled Lord Zhao away, looking nervous.
As Lord Zhao was being led away, he saw Zhao Ce among the crowd, looking at him with a smile on his face. Lord Zhao frowned, wondering how Zhao Ce could still be smiling after being expelled from school.
The master quickly intervened and said, "Ah, this...has nothing to do with Lord Zhao. It's just that a ghost happened to be in that direction."
Zhao Ce found the master's actions quite amusing. They were quite impressive, but they didn't discriminate between people. However, he couldn't deny that the old monk had many tricks up his sleeve. He had learned almost all of the ancient exorcism methods from the sorcerers.
Seeing the turtle move, Su Caier clung tightly to her husband's arm, feeling scared. Zhao Ce glanced at her and asked with a smile, "Didn't you want to worship the Buddha? Aren't you going to?"
Su Caier hesitated and said, "The master seems quite powerful. Shouldn't we wait and worship later?" She wanted to ask her husband's opinion.
Zhao Ce didn't answer her question directly but instead asked her, "What did you want to say to the Buddha?"
Su Caier replied naturally, "I wanted the Buddha to bless you, and also..." She blushed and lowered her head. There were so many people around, and she didn't dare to say that she wanted to have a baby as soon as possible.
Zhao Ce chuckled and patted her head. "I think a true Buddha will hear your wishes."
Su Caier was puzzled and tilted her head. A true Buddha? Wasn't the master they invited a true Buddha? But he had already cast a spell! She turned her head and looked at the master in disbelief.
Zhao Ce also shifted his gaze to the master, watching his every move. His eyesight was better than most people, so he could clearly see the master's actions.
The master over there picked up the blank yellow paper from the offering table and placed it directly on the burning incense. He muttered to himself, "You evil ghost, how dare you harm people! As a monk, I have compassion in my heart, and I won't kill you. I'll invite the Buddha to come down and give you salvation, and let you directly enter the cycle of reincarnation!"
After finishing his words, he instructed the people beside him, "Bring me a container. Today, I will personally give salvation to this evil ghost!" A piece of pig bone was quickly presented to him and placed on the offering table.
The master placed the yellow paper he was holding on the burning incense. The yellow paper was lit and the fire started to burn. When it burned to the end, the master released it with his fingertips and it fell to the ground, with the last bit of it burned out.
Then, a black shadow shaped like a pig head appeared in the air! The nearby monks said, "The Buddha said that this ghost will enter the animal realm in its next life! It will be transformed into a pig!" The onlookers witnessed this scene and believed wholeheartedly in the master's supernatural powers. Many people shouted, "May Buddha's mercy be upon us! Master, please give salvation to this evil ghost. Send it away so it won't harm people anymore!"
The master calmly said, "Everyone, don't panic. The Buddha has already given instructions. This evil ghost has already been sealed in this pig bone, but its resentment is still strong. I will let it experience the punishment of the oil pot hell before safely sending it on the path of reincarnation." He gestured his hand and thundered, "Oil pot hell! Open!"
After he finished speaking, the nearby monks began to act. They brought out a pot filled with oil and lit it with a roaring flame. One of the monks even explained, "The oil in this pot is directly drawn from the oil pot of hell by our master. It's not ordinary oil. The Bodhisattva asked Yama, the king of hell, to take away this hungry ghost!"
In no time, the oil pot began to emit white smoke, and the oil inside the pot started to boil. Someone exclaimed, "The oil drawn from hell is indeed different from the oil in our own homes. It heats up so quickly!"
Another person chimed in, "Yes, and it's boiling so vigorously!"
"Wow, I wonder if the oil pot in hell is also boiling like this?"
The master saw this and directly picked up the pig bone, shouting, "The Bodhisattva said that I, a poor monk, will personally bring this evil ghost through the oil pot hell and send it on the path of reincarnation today! The scene after this evil ghost enters the oil pot hell will be extremely terrifying! But don't be afraid, may Buddha's light shine upon us all!"
He began to recite a sutra as everyone bowed down.
The surrounding people also knelt down one after another, shouting their own wishes.
"Bodhisattva, please bless my son to become the top scholar in the high school entrance exam."
"Bodhisattva, I want to marry the village belle."
"Bodhisattva, please bless..."
Everyone knelt down and murmured various words asking for the Bodhisattva's blessing. The master was going to drive away the evil ghost, while the people wanted the Bodhisattva to bless themselves. Each had their own request. However, everyone around had knelt down, making Zhao Ce and Su Caier standing in the forefront look somewhat abrupt.
Su Caier looked around. Almost everyone present had already knelt down. She looked around with her big eyes and saw a scholar in a long robe and square scarf standing at the corner. He was observing the master with a curious look.
Seeing someone in the crowd not kneeling down, the scholar couldn't help but look at them with interest. Su Caier quickly withdrew her gaze and lowered her head, waiting for her husband to speak.
As an ancient person who had witnessed the Bodhisattva's manifestation, Su Caier naturally wanted to take this opportunity to pray to the Bodhisattva for a blessing. But her husband was still standing, and he had no intention of kneeling down. She could only control her own knees.
Zhao Ce did not look around. He just pulled the girl behind him and whispered, "This Bodhisattva is not spiritual. There's no need to worship."
After speaking, Zhao Ce intentionally or unintentionally glanced at Zhao Anming, who was kneeling on the ground. The Zhao family across from them had also knelt down, shouting for the master to save their entire family.
Zhao Anming, who had seen the master's behavior just now, was also a little scared. he couldn't explain what he had witnessed with just a few words.
When Zhao Yuanwai pulled him, he immediately knelt down. He looked at the master sitting on the cushion and then turned his eyes to Zhao Ce, who was standing opposite him. Zhao Ce stood there, looking at him with a smile that was not quite a smile.
Zhao Anming's eyes widened slightly. "Is this mud-legged person laughing at me?" he thought. He, Zhao Anming, had knelt down, but this proud mud-legged person still refused to kneel down? Wouldn't it be very embarrassing for him, Zhao Anming?
Thinking like this, Zhao Anming stood up straight and pointed directly at Zhao Ce, saying in a sharp tone, "Zhao Ce, you mud-legged person, why don't you kneel down and pray to the Buddha to bless you to find a teacher who is willing to teach you soon?"