The momentary relief in the room was quickly replaced with tension once more.
"She cannot come back!" Lu Fei said urgently. "If the evil spirit succeeds, your entire family will be doomed!"
Su Liguo understood immediately and shouted into the phone, "Xiaoning, go back to school right now! Stop causing trouble!"
Then he loudly instructed Su Mingxuan, "Quick, buy your sister a return ticket to America!"
Su Mingxuan fumbled with his phone, trying to make the arrangements.
"No! I'm not going back!" Su Ningxue's voice over the phone was defiant. "You're being too much! Mom is so ill, and you won't even let me see her. All you care about is your business…"
"Xiaoning, trust your father! I'm doing everything I can to save them!" Su Liguo was sweating. "I'll explain everything later, but if you come back now, it will all be for nothing…"
"Why…"
Before she could finish, the call was interrupted by a loud bang.
Then, there was the sound of chaotic footsteps and panicked voices.
"Someone has fainted…"
"Miss, are you alright…"
"Call an ambulance, quick!"
The call ended abruptly.
Su Liguo felt a chill run through him, and his fingers trembled.
"Xiaoning… Xiaoning is in trouble? Little Lu, is there still hope for my family?"
No one had expected Su Ningxue to suddenly return.
The living room fell into a heavy silence.
"It's just begun; there should still be a chance! The evil spirit takes time to drain the organs' essence," Lu Fei said, steadying himself. "Mr. Su, send someone to meet Miss Su immediately. Make sure she gets the best treatment right away to stabilize her condition."
"Uncle Fugui, come with me to the Buddha hall to buy us some time!"
Liu Fugui was stunned, pointing at himself, "Me?"
"What, you're not willing?"
"No, no! I don't know anything; I'm afraid I'll just get in your way!"
"You won't! Come on!"
Without another word, Lu Fei grabbed him and headed to the Buddha hall.
Su Liguo quickly took action, waving at Su Mingxuan. "Take people with you to the airport and save your sister! You must save her life. If not, don't come back!"
"I'll go right now!"
Su Mingxuan, legs trembling, rushed out of the living room.
Su Liguo then called the housekeeper, who informed him that the rooster had already been purchased and that they were on their way to select a black cat.
"Split into two teams and send someone to deliver the rooster back right away!"
"Understood."
Setting down his phone, Su Liguo took a deep breath, and only when he was alone did a trace of helplessness appear on his face.
If there truly were gods or Buddhas in this world, he would willingly pay any price to ensure the safety of his family.
In the side hall Buddha shrine.
Lu Fei stood directly in front of the Buddha Mother statue.
The Buddha Mother's pointed face and slanted eyes were exactly like the snake spirits in the old stories.
Buddha Mother? More like Snake Mother!
The Snake Mother statue's lips curled in a sneer as it held the gold ingots in its arms. Its entire form exuded a sinister aura, and the stone eyes had turned into eerie green slits, as if mocking Lu Fei.
So what if he had seen through its true nature? It was still a step ahead of him!
"Uncle Fugui, I need to borrow something from you."
"What?"
Liu Fugui trembled.
"I need a drop of your True Sun Splash!" Lu Fei told him to bite his tongue.
Liu Fugui, afraid of the pain, hesitated, but realizing this was his best chance to gain favor with the Su family, he gritted his teeth, bit his tongue, and spat a drop of tongue blood onto the Snake Mother statue.
A cold wind swept through, and the Snake Mother's green pupils turned back into stone eyes.
"It worked!"
Lu Fei was delighted.
Meanwhile, Liu Fugui felt dizzy and nearly lost his balance.
Years of indulgence had weakened his constitution; unlike Lu Fei, he wasn't feeling energetic after spitting out a drop of True Sun Splash.
"This time, I've truly risked my life," he muttered, panting as he sat on the prayer cushion.
Half an hour later.
A five-year-old rooster was finally delivered to the villa!
"Little Lu!" Su Liguo personally brought in the rooster, rushing into the Buddha hall as fast as he could.
"Perfect timing!"
Lu Fei took the rooster, quickly untied its bound feet, and tossed it toward the Snake Mother statue.
Cackling, the rooster flapped its wings and, to everyone's surprise, flew straight onto the Snake Mother's head and began pecking at it.
Ping! Ping! Ping!
The rooster's sharp beak struck the stone, producing a clear, ringing sound.
A look of pain and fear appeared on the statue's face.
"When will the black cat arrive?" Lu Fei asked again.
"It's on the way!" Su Liguo was anxious. "Will we make it in time?"
"With the rooster suppressing it, we should be able to!" Lu Fei was not entirely confident, but at this point, he had no choice but to give it his all.
He pulled out a small dagger made from dog teeth, ready to smear it with his middle finger blood to fight the Snake Mother if necessary.
Everyone watched the rooster intently, not daring to breathe.
For a moment, the Buddha hall was filled only with the sound of the rooster's pecking.
Crack.
The rooster, large and fierce, had pecked hard enough that a crack appeared on the statue's head.
But before anyone could celebrate, a pungent black liquid began oozing from the crack. The rooster, coming into contact with the liquid, flapped its wings in pain and fell from the statue.
"Snake venom!"
Lu Fei's heart sank as he prepared to cut his finger and take his last stand.
At that critical moment.
"The black cat is here!"
The housekeeper stumbled into the Buddha hall, accidentally tripping.
A shadowy black cat sprang from his arms, leaping straight at the Snake Mother.
Meow!
Sharp claws slashed across the statue.
The rooster struggled back up and pecked at the statue's base.
With both the cat and rooster attacking, the statue trembled, eventually unable to withstand the assault and shattered with a loud crash.
Inside, a mass of grayish-white material was finally revealed.
Lu Fei's eyes lit up.
It was a snake skin!
The rooster and the black cat seemed extremely interested in the snake skin, fighting over it.
Lu Fei, the real beneficiary, quickly donned gloves and stuffed the snake skin into his bag.
The rooster and black cat, realizing what had happened, paused, turning their gaze toward Lu Fei.
"Don't look at me; it's mine. I'll give you a treat later!" Lu Fei grinned as he zipped his bag.
After all his hard work, he couldn't let them steal it away.
He then examined the shattered statue.
The broken gold ingots inside revealed clusters of milky-white snake eggs!
"It really considered the Su family its nest, laying eggs here to raise its offspring." Lu Fei felt a surge of disgust and waved to the rooster and the black cat.
"These are yours."
The rooster and black cat hurried over, eagerly devouring the snake eggs until none remained.
Only then did Lu Fei finally relax, wiping the sweat from his brow. "Mr. Su, it's over."
Su Liguo's heart was still pounding.
The entire confrontation, though he hadn't directly participated, had been nerve-wracking.
Now that it was over, he realized his back was soaked with cold sweat.
"And my family…"
"After today, they should start recovering. If you're still concerned, you can officially pawn this evil object to me tomorrow. I'll safeguard it," Lu Fei replied with a smile.
"Of course I trust you, Little Lu…"
Just then, Su Liguo's phone rang again; it was Su Mingxuan.
"Dad, my sister…"