733 Thief 2

ned his eyes. When he saw it was me, he suddenly frowned and sat up, angrily saying: "Who let you in Are all the men dead! You, a pregnant woman, came to save him!"My lips twitched: "...At this point,...What does "widow village" mean What happened to the men in this village

The saying goes "every ten miles the wind changes, every hundred miles the customs change." I don't understand what the local customs are here, so I had better have the Shen family disciples wait at the door. It serves as a backup plan.

I brought Kun Dao in with the middle-aged woman. This villa-like self-built house was luxuriously decorated. There was a lawn and a rockery in the courtyard, and a white-haired old man was feeding fish.

"Dad, someone's looking for you!" the middle-aged woman shouted to the old man.

A gray-haired old man turned around. He was of medium build, had a small mustache, and wore a long Chinese tunic. He looked like an old intellectual.

"Who are you people" he asked.

"...The Shen family." I replied.

He furrowed his brow and said in a low voice, "The Shen family... ah... come here and sit down, let's talk."

He looked to be about seventy, nimble in his movements and seemingly healthy and energetic. However, there was a hint of worry in his eyes.

Under the flower stand there are a few small chairs, so we sat there and talked.

"How did the Shen family come to this It's hard for me to be a mediator..." he sighed.

"Can you tell us what's really going on We thought you were the one involved, but it seems like someone else is holding our disciple captive." I couldn't help asking.

The old master nodded and said, "I'm in charge of this matter, but now things have gotten out of control. I can't possibly calm everyone down."

"The information in the mandate is very vague. What exactly happened" I asked.

He pulled out his phone and showed me the information on it.

The venerated saint of this village is said to have been a loyal official born in this small fishing village. He rose to the rank of first-class, was well-respected, and upon retiring from office, returned to his hometown with honor. In his later years, he became a monk and helped many common people. After his death, he was enshrined in a statue.

At the beginning, people came to worship for academic success and official advancement. Later, they sought blessings for love, wealth, and safety... All sorts of wishes led them to offer incense, gradually turning this place into a "god" in the eyes of the common people.

"The men in our village usually start working abroad with their elders when they come of age. They earn money to build houses and marry wives, so you can only see women, the elderly, the sick and the disabled in the village. The women here all say they are widowed, but they have money, so many women are willing to come and live in a house alone just to give birth to children and carry on the family line...including me, my son and grandson."

The old man said in a low voice, “But in recent years, the country has become more prosperous. It’s better to start a business here than to work abroad. Many young people think that way, so several young people have built factories and done e-commerce in the village... We older generations also support them.”

But, a while back, some foreign group came to our village to investigate potential partners. Our village welcomed them enthusiastically. They visited several factories and held several meetings... even signed cooperation contracts. Then they temporarily returned to their country, and right after that, the statue of our revered saint disappeared from our village! It terrified us all, because it had been passed down for hundreds of years! Losing it would be a terrible sin!

He let out a long sigh and said, "The village committee reported it step by step. Luckily, the higher authorities attached great importance to it. I don't know what procedures they started, but in the end, it was intercepted at customs. It almost slipped out of the country undetected! This thing isn't some national treasure-level artifact, and the recipient is abroad, so we can't pursue it. We just want the statue of the saint to come back."

At this point, he remained silent for a long time.

I waited for a while, but seeing that he wasn't going to continue, I had no choice but to break the silence with: "Now that it's been sent back, why are you still uneasy"

Mr. Zhao looked up at me, his eyes betraying a palpable fear.

“None of us knew that the saint was like...like...”

What is this

Mr. Zhao closed his eyes slightly, took a deep breath, and lowered his voice: “You look so young... perhaps you haven't heard of the 'Bodhisattva in Flesh'”

How is it possible not to have heard of the Three Teachings of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism Although Buddhism and Taoism are transmitted from outside, they have thrived and learned from each other for so many years on this land. Some basic common sense is still understood.

A Buddha relic is the result of diligent cultivation of precepts, concentration, and wisdom, which is extremely rare and the supreme blessed field.

This is the Buddhist explanation of "Flesh-and-Blood Bodhisattva".

Buddhism emphasizes cultivating the mind, particularly valuing a pure and simple heart with few desires and rigorous practice. After a high monk's passing, they are placed in a sealed jar for three years. If their remains haven't turned to white bones after this period, disciples and believers regard them as a living Bodhisattva, which is considered an attestation of a high monk's attainment.

Eighty-four thousand methods, to save eighty-four thousand sentient beings.

The Bodhisattva manifests in physical form to attest to the Dharma and guides beings through their own embodiment, earning immense respect from disciples and posterity.

"The saint we worship, took monastic vows only in his ordained year, yet he spent seventy years cultivating Buddhism. But none of us in the village know that inside the wooden statue, there's actually a golden body Buddha! None of our villagers know!" Old Mr. Zhao said excitedly.

"After it was stolen and recovered, customs officials told me they had found something abnormal during the scan, but it was too late! Too late! Those thieves had actually sawn off the head of the wooden statue!"

Master Zhao stood up, his eyes bloodshot, his anger suppressed no longer. “For many years I have been overseas and heard of black markets dealing in relics, some places where they only want heads! No matter what country or sect! Because the whole body is difficult to transport and steal, they only want the head! Our revered statue of a saint we have worshipped for hundreds of years has been so cruelly beheaded!”

"The villagers are furious! Many elderly people who returned to their hometown to spend their retirement have become agitated. They go to the relevant departments every day demanding severe punishment for the thieves, but the other party has already fled abroad. How can we hold them accountable And now that we descendants haven't protected the remains of the saint, we are facing retribution..."

He rubbed his red eyes and scratched his head, staring at me and saying, "I've invited several high monks to take a look, but none of them could solve it. I was left with no choice but to ask a Taoist priest... I heard that the head of your Shen family is a national-level advisor, so I thought I'd come to you guys for help. Who knew even your people couldn't do anything..."

"I have a general understanding of the situation. Interrupting him, I said: "Regardless of whether it works or not, it's not right to detain people from my family. Since I've come personally, I would appreciate your help in communicating and having my family member released safely. As for the matter of the icon, I will go take a look and do my best to resolve it for you."

Mr. Zhang looked at me with suspicion and asked, “I heard before that the Shen family was run by women, with women in Kun Dao being even more powerful than those in Qian Dao. But you look so young… Have you graduated from high school”

I...

I widened my eyes, about to argue back, when suddenly the voice of that middle-aged woman came from beside the door: "Oh my! There are only women and the elderly in our home. For the sake of propriety, men are not allowed inside. Don't think that because you're handsome, old lady will let you into our house!"

Um

We turned back together, and standing outside was a handsome and dashing man with a cold and stern face. His icy and displeased gaze forced the middle-aged woman to retreat several steps.

...Sweat...

"Emperor—" I was about to speak.

Jiang Qiyun looked at me coldly: "What did you call me"

"Husband..."

Good heavens, the moment he flashed those icy eyes, his aura radiated for miles!

Why does he seem a little angryYou will have a hard time later! Let me make it clear, no matter how many children you have, your ending will be miserable, with nowhere to rely on in your old age!"This remark was especially jarring...