The Gentleman at the End-Chapter 659 - 657: Buddha Mother of the Flower Sea

Flower Sea Village can be said to be the hottest tourist attraction in Linghai City, and even among the entire province, it’s one of the top destinations. Such popularity naturally brings in a significant amount of economy,

and the villagers living here have all redecorated their homes into exquisite homestays, often full even during the off-season.

However, as Flower Sea Village was sealed off due to a horrific incident, the villagers have had no income for a month and are constantly on edge.

This landlady had spotted three foreign visitors dressed in fine garments early on and, despite the risk of being discovered by the investigators, led them into her homestay.

But the landlady, who had seemed gentle on the outside, began demanding money as soon as she had brought everyone inside.

"During these special times, harboring you comes with the risk of being found by the city bureau.

Not only could my homestay be shut down, but I might also end up in jail, so naturally, the accommodation fee will be higher than usual. Of course, I will also provide you with the best local food and guide services.

I am well aware of the working hours of the people in the city district. After they leave the beach, I can even take you down to the sea.

Two thousand a day, pay up front before you stay."

William had run out of money a long time ago. Just as he was about to leave, Fangfang suddenly pulled out a wad of cash from her pocket and stuffed it into the landlady’s hand, not a note short.

The landlady immediately beamed with joy and quickly arranged rooms for everyone,

"I will come up to the second floor to call you for dinner later; do not go out during the day for now. Wait until deep in the night when those annoying investigators shift, and I can take you out for a walk."

When the group arrived at the guest rooms set up on the second floor, the layout was still a two-bedroom, one-living room design.

The first question William asked after closing the door was, "Fangfang, where did you get that money from?"

"Ah? Money is important, I know you guys don’t have much on you, so since we started eating fried chicken, I’ve been collecting all the unclaimed money left in various corners.

Just now, after confirming the driver was beyond help, I also transferred his money out."

William was genuinely impressed and also recalled something important that he had to strictly explain.

"How much do you have left on you?"

"More than three thousand."

"Fangfang, Catherine and I probably won’t stay here long. If we suddenly leave, will you be able to survive on your own?"

Upon hearing this, Fangfang didn’t show any reluctance, not even a flicker of emotion.

"I’m aware of that, my mom always taught me to be grateful.

Through your conversations and various interactions along the way, I’ve roughly figured out that you guys aren’t \"people\" from this world. The only reason I’ve been following you and offering help is to thank you for saving me from the hospital.

Once you leave, I won’t owe anything anymore.

I’ll live well on my own, try to visit my parents if I have the chance, and strive to return to a normal life."

Hearing this, William couldn’t help but shake his head; his worries had been completely unnecessary.

At that moment, Catherine was already standing on the balcony attached to the guest room, overlooking the entire panoramic view of Flower Sea Village. William was also a bit worried that the patrolling investigators below might spot them and immediately followed her out.

Yet as soon as he set foot on the balcony, William’s gaze was entirely captivated by the beautiful scenery before him.

"This! No wonder it’s the number one attraction of the city; it’s too beautiful."

The sea coast and the surface of the ocean within a kilometer radius were filled with blue petals, blending perfectly with the azure sea water. With the mist naturally present on the sea surface, the scene was hazy and elegant, like a dream, as if one were in a world of immortality.

The few investigators were busy retrieving cars from the site of the incident, too occupied to observe the homestay buildings behind them, let alone notice the two people on the balcony.

"Catherine, do you see any problems?"

"There are plenty of problems~ Such heavy smells of corpses. My tentacle suckers can clearly capture the aroma of decomposed matter fermenting, which combined with the scent of these flowers, is truly nauseating.

Before the village was sealed off, there must have been regular disappearances here, right? It’s just that for some reason it never got out.

We’ve really come to the right place~ The maritime area here is similar to my attribute; maybe it really can replenish the dream world."

"Can you sense if there is any evil entity or the like in the sea?"

"All I can feel are bodies... perhaps there is a ’very large’ body submerged at the bottom of the sea, constantly receiving human sacrifices. I don’t know what exactly it is."

"Let’s hurry to the shrine, I want to see what exactly the villagers here are worshipping."

"No rush, take it easy~ Once we’re exposed, we’ll be targeted by both sides, so let’s start with the landlady’s house."

"What I mean is that we should first check where the shrine in the landlady’s house is located and what it looks like, even if it’s just a replica, it could be useful."

"It’s enough to just ask during the meal, there’s no need to sneak around looking for it and rouse the local villagers’ suspicion, which would be more troubling."

Soon, it was time for lunch. The landlady alone made a table full of delicious dishes, mainly seafood, and there were even quite a few raw marinated seafood dishes.

Catherine wasn’t concerned at all, and enjoyed the meal immensely,

while William excused himself, claiming to be allergic to seafood, and ate only some vegetables from the land,

As for the landlady’s shrine, there was no need to search for it as it was placed right here in the dining room. The entire shrine was made of marble, finely crafted, with inlaid reliefs of petals and wave structures, obviously expensive.

The divine statue placed on it was that of an ample-bodied, even overweight woman, seated on a lotus flower, draped in white as if ’Guanyin’ herself.

However, the divine statue’s face was carved with dense flowers, covering the entire face,

with the left hand forming a lotus seal,

and the right hand holding a white jade bottle from which waves flowed out,

"What is this?"

"This is the ’Flower Sea Buddha Mother,’ and our village is named after Her. Legend has it that when the first villagers discovered this place a thousand years ago, such a sea of flowers was already present."

"Because of the Buddha Mother’s protection, our village has been thriving since its establishment, and even now is Linghai City’s best tourist spot, attracting large numbers of tourists each year."

"A paradise like this was discovered thousands of years ago? It developed rapidly under the deity’s protection, but it’s still just a village, and the population doesn’t seem too large... it doesn’t quite add up.

If it’s as you say, this place should have become a major port city long ago, far surpassing the current Linghai City." freёwebnoѵel.com

"This is the rule set by Flower Sea Buddha Mother. She requires us to manage this area with a village system,

Since you seem interested, I will tell you about it, and it can also pass some time.

1. According to Guanyin’s wishes, the village’s total population must be maintained within a certain range, and any excess children will be sent away until there’s a shortage of people before they are allowed to return to fill the gap."

2. Villagers who live here are also not allowed to leave the village for extended periods, otherwise, they will be punished by Buddha Mother."

3. The villagers must strictly follow the management of the Village Chief, and every ten years, a ’Village Chief’ election must take place. We nominate five people internally, trap them in bamboo baskets, and submerge them in the sea."

The four who are not chosen will quickly surface,

while the chosen ’Village Chief’ will soak at the bottom of the sea for seven days and nights before returning ashore by themselves."

The new Village Chief will also bring Guanyin’s ’new requirements,’ such as changes to the sacrificial ceremony procedures or adjustments to the Main Divine Statue’s location, and so on."

4. Every household needs to have a Flower Sea Buddha Mother statue, personally crafted by the Village Chief. Although they’re not as powerful as the Main Divine Statue, they do possess some Divine Power that can protect us from disease, prevent theft, and ensure prosperous business."

William quickly interjected, "The Main Divine Statue? We heard some rumors on our way here, that tourists who approached the Main Divine Statue on their own invited Divine Punishment, resulting in the deaths of many people, including quite a few villagers?"

"No... You are mistaken! Those who disturbed Buddha Mother indeed deserved to die.

But the villagers here weren’t involved; instead, they willingly threw themselves into the sea, asking for the Buddha Mother’s forgiveness, begging pardon for their negligence in guarding Her."

"After voluntarily sacrificing themselves to appease Buddha Mother’s wrath, the descendants of villagers who lived in the big city immediately rushed back to fill the numbers, and we weren’t much affected here."

"What about the investigators from the city area? Do they affect Buddha Mother here?"

When this question was asked, the landlady’s expression immediately turned serious, even showing hatred.

And William also noticed that the landlady seemed to have double eyelids, unlike normal people, and even seemed to be holding more saliva in her mouth... or perhaps seawater.

"Those who dare offend Buddha Mother will all die sooner or later. If the Village Chief hadn’t warned us not to interfere beforehand, those investigators would have been dead by now."

The agitated landlady began to slightly exude water from her body, and even clear dripping sounds could be heard, as a puddle of seawater slowly accumulated beneath her.

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