The more you believe me, the more real it becomes.

Chapter 10 I've figured it out!
Thunderous sounds resounded throughout the heavens and earth, and Du Yuan's question echoed throughout the entire town.

Zhou Da, who was suppressed to the ground by the golden Buddhist light, struggled incessantly, seemingly trying to get up and continue to pounce on Du Yuan.

This made Du Yuan frown slightly.

This also emboldened the villagers around to step out of their houses.

They saw Zhou Dazhen being suppressed to the ground by the golden light.

The villagers hurriedly kowtowed to Du Yuan repeatedly, saying:
"A living god!"

"Please, divine being, use your magic to deliver Zhou's eldest son from the dead!"

"Please, God, I beg you!"

"Please have mercy, Your Holiness the Living Buddha!"

Although the common people in the mountains and fields cannot be considered barbarians who are subject to all kinds of restrictions, they still live a difficult life.

Their spines are burdened with the harshness and hardship honed over generations, which is why neighbors often stick together.

As a result, the entire village became like grasshoppers tied to the same rope; when the wind and rain came, even their coughs could be twisted into a single rope.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to survive in this world.

Therefore, Zhou Da, who had turned into a zombie and was almost driving the entire village to ruin, was facing a difficult situation.

They were still able to wait for Aunt Zhou to find a Taoist priest to perform a ritual to help her pass on to the afterlife, rather than directly burning her down with the house.

Now that he has met such a great person as Du Yuan, his only wish is still that the other party can help Zhou Da pass on to the afterlife.

Paper money was everywhere, and on the bluestone slab covered with glutinous rice, the old woman held her granddaughter tightly in her arms, her withered hands trembling uncontrollably.

Turbid tears streamed down his deeply lined face, leaving two streaks, and his incessant kowtowing stained the bluestone and paper money in front of him with a deep crimson hue.

"I have nothing to offer you, but even if it costs me my life, I would beg you, Buddha, to help my poor child be saved!"

The little girl, who had been nestled in her grandmother's arms, suddenly broke free. Her eyes were red, and she was clutching the hem of her clothes tightly.

"Grandpa Bodhisattva, I... I can collect ten bundles of firewood for you every day! I can also offer you the candy I saved for the New Year!"

As she spoke, she followed her grandmother's example and kowtowed directly on the ground.

"I beg the Bodhisattva to help my father find peace!"

Why are both Buddha and Bodhisattva appearing?!

And why do you make me sound like some kind of man-eating demon?
I am not only not a monk, but I am also not one of the lamas of Tibetan Buddhism!

Du Yuan was almost completely disarmed by their antics.

But when he glanced back and saw the foreheads of the grandfather and grandson who had already been bruised, he felt no emotion at all.

He was just a pitiful person who clung to the last glimmer of hope.

He glanced around at the villagers kneeling in worship.

Du Yuan's emotions were all condensed into one sentence:
"Don't worry, I'm here."

The villagers were overjoyed:

"Thank you so much, living god!"

At first it was fine, but as the old woman began to speak, it gradually turned into:
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

"Thank you so much, Your Majesty!"

This time, even Du Yuan couldn't help but turn around and say:
"I'm not a monk, much less a Buddha! So please stop calling me that!"

"Ah, thank you very much, Living Buddha!"

I've already said I'm not a monk.
Du Yuan was filled with mixed feelings, but now was not the time to dwell on these things.

Instead, Du Yuan focused her attention on Zhou Da, who had turned into a zombie.

Previously, when facing the enemy horse demon, Buddha Light directly knocked it away and exposed its true form.

Why was it that this time, Zhou Da was pinned to the ground and unable to move?
Why is there this difference?
I was repeating the same phrase both times.

If there is any difference...
Is it that my thinking is different?

I was in the wilderness earlier, and all I did was shout for the demon to reveal its true form, and that's how the horse demon revealed itself.
Now, they don't want to kill Zhou Da directly, so they're just suppressing him?
No, something still feels off!
Because Du Yuan felt that, according to his thinking, Zhou Da's situation shouldn't be a simple matter of suppression.

While pondering, Du Yuan suddenly looked at the surrounding villagers and the Zhou family grandfather and grandson who were still kowtowing.

If there's any significant difference between the two occasions, it's naturally the difference in the location and the people around them.

So, is this the problem?

Is it because different groups of people exhibit different abilities? No, it shouldn't be because the people are different. People are the same. There's no reason why such a short distance would cause such a significant difference between the caravan and the villagers.

and many more!

Have!
Du Yuan suddenly realized—that was me!
I made them think differently!
Previously, when I was fighting the enemy horse demon, I shouted for it to reveal its true form, using Buddhist terminology. So, it emitted a Buddhist light, and the horse demon was indeed beaten and revealed its true form.

And now, I am still using Buddhist language, but what I want the villagers to think is that perhaps I, this gentleman, can really help Zhou Da pass on to the afterlife!
Yes, that must be what caused the difference in performance.

So, does that mean that if people around me believe what I say, they will react accordingly?

However, this still needs to be verified.

In just a few breaths, Du Yuan thought of a very likely key.

And in order to verify it, and also to fulfill the wishes of everyone.

Du Yuan turned to the little girl and said:
"Little girl, are you asking your father to be helped to pass on to a better future?"

Upon hearing this, the old woman quickly hugged the little girl and said:

“Living Buddha, you can just tell this old woman anything. The child is really too young, I’m afraid she won’t be able to do it well!”

This is because they are afraid the little one won't do a good job, which would lead to a failed ritual.

I was also worried that this was too dangerous and would make the little one unsafe.

Another factor is the monks and Taoists she had met before.

These people are all a bunch of scoundrels.

Therefore, even after witnessing Du Yuan's abilities, they still subconsciously worried that something bad might happen.

When these three are combined, speech naturally follows.

Du Yuan didn't think much of it and simply nodded.
“You and Zhou Da are mother and son, and the little one is his father and daughter. You are blood relatives among blood relatives. Hmm, it would be even better if both of you could come forward!”

"So, old man, how do you think we got here?"

The old woman immediately spoke up:

"Let this old woman do it!"

"I want one too, Xiao Wu!"

The old woman hurriedly interrupted her granddaughter:

"Little Wu, be a good boy and let Grandma do it."

Before they could finish speaking, Du Yuan interrupted them, saying:

"It's nothing dangerous, you can all come."

Du Yuan spoke, but the old woman could not say anything.

She walked nervously with Xiao Wu to Du Yuan's side.

"Living Buddha, what do you think we should do?"

"It's very simple."

Du Yuan bent down and picked up two pieces of paper money from under her.

He then looked around at the villagers.

Du Yuan deliberately held up the two pieces of paper money and said to them:

"I need another bowl of rooster blood!"

"The Living Buddha will be here shortly!"

As soon as Du Yuan finished speaking, some villagers didn't hesitate to send away a big red rooster that they had raised for two and a half years.

Before long, a bowl of fresh chicken blood was brought to Du Yuan.

"Living Buddha, what should we do next?"

The villagers carrying the chicken blood felt proud because they had helped the Living Buddha and had made a great impression on many of their neighbors.

So subconsciously I wanted to straighten my back, but because the Living Buddha was in front of me, I tried to lower my head and neck.

So his posture looked a bit awkward and out of place.

Du Yuan chuckled lightly, then took the chicken blood and said:
"I want to help Zhou Da fulfill his last wish and dispel the gloom that's been weighing on his heart."

(End of this chapter)