Four Harmonies and Good Fortune

Chapter 492 Guidance
Liu Yigui stared at the two boats and ordered his men to swim over and check the situation.

They were already close enough; if they moved any closer, they would definitely be noticed. But if someone quietly swam over, they generally wouldn't attract the attention of the people on the boat.

After a while, the person who went to check the situation returned to the boat and reported to Liu Yigui.

"It's confirmed that it's the ship of the Buddhist Registry."

The two people swimming around the boat looked at it. The boat of the Buddhist Registry was different from ordinary boats. The name of the government office was engraved on the hull. Moreover, it had been used by monks for many years and had a strong smell of incense and candles.

The people on the boat are all monks, and there are some religious implements that they don't recognize. It's easy to tell what these people do.

"Besides the river lanterns, there are also incense, candles, lotus-shaped ritual boats, and other items used in the rituals."

“There are nuns chanting scriptures up there.”

"There should also be people from the Buddhist Registry coming along; we heard someone calling for the Abbot."

The people swimming were very close to the boat, almost clinging to it as they looked around, but the nuns on the boat were so engrossed in chanting that they didn't notice them at all.

Those dressed in monks' robes were clearly genuine monks, and they didn't sense anything amiss when they were around them.

Liu Yigui said, "Is it really a wealthy family holding a religious ceremony?" Then he thought about it again. The Buddhist Registry sounded powerful, but in reality, they were just doing things for money. As long as enough money was paid, they had to be at the mercy of others.

However, Liu Yigui still felt it was too coincidental that they chose this particular time and place to release the lanterns.

However, with the monks in charge of the Buddhist Registry present, he couldn't act rashly; making a big fuss would be detrimental to them.

"When are they leaving?" Liu Yigui asked.

The man swimming said, "I heard that we're going to release more animals, so I'm afraid we won't be able to leave for a while."

This is troublesome.

Liu Yigui's gaze darkened. Simply sending someone to gather information wasn't enough to completely dispel his concerns; he'd better find an excuse to go and see for himself. Just then, a river lantern drifted to their boat.

The river lanterns were exceptionally exquisite, shaped like eight-petaled lotus flowers, with the candlelight flickering and reflecting the scriptures on the lantern walls.

Liu Yigui bent down, took the river lantern in his hand, and then opened it to look at it. In addition to the scriptures, the birth and death dates of the person being prayed for were written on it. However, the name of the deceased was not clearly written. Instead, the surname and birth order were used instead.

They look no different from ordinary river lanterns.

The final signature was the name of the person who held the ceremony: Unfilial Son, Good

Liu Yigui looked at it twice, then threw the river lantern back into the river. What he didn't see was that Zhao Zhongliang beside him stared blankly, almost reaching out to snatch the lantern from his hand.

Zhao Zhongliang's heart pounded violently, and all the blood rushed to his head. He only glanced at it and found that the birth and death dates of the person being prayed for on the river lantern were exactly the same as those of his parents.

Others could not see anything amiss, but his son remembered everything clearly, and the character "良" in the signature further confirmed his guess.

He used the alias Zhao Chuan, but his real name was Zhao Zhongliang.

Liang refers to him.

So what was written on the river lantern was meant for him to see.

Tell him clearly and plainly that the two boats came for him.

Zhao Zhongliang clenched his fists, his vision slightly blurred, but he tried his best to restrain himself so as not to reveal anything to Liu Yigui.

The river lanterns on the river now look different.

They seemed to transform into his own family members, whom he silently counted in his heart.

One, two, three... seventeen, eighteen.

Using his parents' birth and death years as a guide for his rebirth in the Pure Land, eighteen river lanterns came toward him.

A wave of bitterness welled up in his chest, making it almost impossible for him to breathe. Zhao Zhongliang swallowed silently, letting the wind dry the tears that had spilled from the corners of his eyes.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Liu Yigui came to his senses, Zhao Zhongliang had already returned to his usual calm demeanor.

Liu Yigui reached out and began to take off his clothes, clearly intending to swim over and check it out himself. "I'll go," Zhao Zhongliang said, pulling Liu Yigui back. "I'll row over and say a few words to the nuns up there."

"To find out their purpose, simply eavesdropping won't yield much information. If I go and ask them, I might be able to find out when they left. If they were sent by the government, my appearance won't arouse suspicion."

After thinking it over for a moment, Liu Yigui nodded. Zhao Zhongliang was indeed more suitable than him.

“Then be careful,” Liu Yigui instructed. “If you notice anything amiss, immediately find an excuse to leave.”

Zhao Zhongliang nodded, and led his brothers onto a boat, heading straight for the boats belonging to the Buddhist Registry.

Watching Zhao Zhongliang's retreating figure, Liu Yigui nodded with satisfaction. Bringing Zhao Zhongliang to Bianjing was indeed the right decision, but...

Liu Yigui looked at his men and said, "Go swim over there again and listen to what they're saying." Better safe than sorry; important matters shouldn't be entrusted to anyone easily.

The small boat tried its best to avoid the floating river lanterns, but as if by divine intervention, the lanterns somehow ended up bumping into the boat.

Zhao Zhongliang's face grew increasingly somber, but the emotions in his heart were difficult to calm down.

Finally, he approached the large ship of the Sangha Bureau, and he heard the sound of nuns chanting Buddhist scriptures. He stood there quietly, as if he could not move at all.

After his family members passed away, he was unable to collect their bodies or hold a memorial service for them. He thought that he would find a way to rebury his relatives' remains after he had avenged his family. However, when he decided to assassinate the third manager, he may have embarked on a path of no return.

If he were to die as a result, he would no longer need to think about these things. He could then reunite with his family in the afterlife and apologize to his parents and relatives.

He thought he had figured it all out, but when he saw the river lanterns and heard the chanting of sutras, he realized that it was all just a helpless act.

Fighting for one's life, and possibly losing it as a result, is a last resort.

It was out of necessity to drag Sun Changchun and the others down with us.

Following the river lanterns, he was like a lost soul; this Dharma assembly was truly meant to redeem him.

At his most isolated and helpless moment.

The boat approached, but he remained silent for a long time. Instead, the nuns on the boat performed the Buddhist salute first.

"Is the nun performing a ritual?" Zhao Zhongliang asked.

The nun responded.

Zhao Zhongliang asked again, "After the Dharma assembly, will those deceased souls be able to be reborn in the Pure Land?"

“Amitabha,” the nun bowed again, “If one can recite scriptures and perform rituals for them, the deceased will be liberated.”

Zhao Zhongliang nodded: "Seeing the nuns releasing river lanterns, I also want to perform a ritual for my family, but I don't know how. Could you watch from the sidelines?"

He added, "I'll just stay on the boat for a while and will definitely not disturb you nuns."

The nun looked at Zhao Zhongliang, who understood and took out a purse from his pocket and handed it to her: "When the ritual is performed, I will also offer a hundred strings of cash as incense money."

The nun was clearly persuaded, and she nodded to Zhao Zhongliang: "You can only board this boat, benefactor. There are monks from the Buddhist Registry over there..."

Zhao Zhongliang said happily, "I understand. I will definitely not wander around. I just want to hear the nuns recite scriptures."

The nun nodded and stepped aside, making room for Zhao Zhongliang to board the boat.

Zhao Zhongliang jumped onto the boat and solemnly bowed to the nun.

The nun said, “We are chanting sutras here and sending off the lotus-shaped treasure boat. Please stand aside and do not speak.”

Zhao Zhongliang nodded again.

He watched the nuns busily engaged in the ceremony, seemingly completely absorbed in the ritual. However, a sliver of clarity remained in his mind; he knew why he had come.

Zhao Zhongliang looked towards the cabin and, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, slowly moved closer.

He didn't even know what he was expecting.

Is the person he wants to see in the cabin?
In such a dangerous place, would those who secretly plot and scheme really risk appearing before him?