“Oh, Manyun, weren’t you off to treat Yunxi? How come you’re back so soon?”
Second Granduncle was still fasting and chanting, but upon hearing the commotion and opening his eyes to see Xu Fei and Yao Manyun, he couldn’t help but find it a bit odd.
Xu Fei cut straight to the chase, “Second Granduncle, we’ve got some questions for you. Could you tell us where this Buddha statue came from?”
Though Xu Fei didn’t follow Buddhism, he knew a thing or two about the habits of its devotees.
To an outsider, it might just be a plain statue, but to a believer, it was a spiritual pillar.
Typically, devout Buddhists start by visiting temples to burn incense and pray, then after a while, they’d invite a Buddha statue back home.
They’d set up a shrine in their house to continue their worship.
So Xu Fei figured Second Granduncle must know the statue’s origins well.
Sure enough, after Xu Fei asked, Second Granduncle stroked his beard and replied, “This statue was brought back from the Red Buddha Society a few years ago. Is there something puzzling you?”
The moment Xu Fei heard “Red Buddha Society,” his heart skipped a beat.
“The Red Buddha Society? How’s this old man tangled up with them?”
Xu Fei couldn’t quite wrap his head around it, but then he recalled the Ma Bohan brothers from his past, and it clicked.
So, this Second Granduncle had likely been targeted by someone from the Red Buddha Society operating in the capital.
For an elderly person like him, a few sweet words could easily coax them into willingly shelling out incense money, usually a hefty sum.
This was the Yao family’s Second Granduncle, after all, a man of far higher status in the capital than your average Joe.
Even at a minimum, squeezing out his savings would be a tidy fortune.
Though Xu Fei’s mind was swirling, his face stayed calm.
He knew Second Granduncle was just an ordinary old man, getting emotional here wouldn’t help.
On the flip side, casually asking one question and uncovering a link to the Red Buddha Society right off the bat, now that was a real win.
With no further demands, Xu Fei politely bowed to Second Granduncle, grabbed Yao Manyun, and left.
Once outside, Yao Manyun, brimming with confusion, couldn’t hold back, “Doctor Xu, didn’t you have stuff to ask Second Granduncle? How’d you finish so fast? That was too easy!”
Her reaction alone made it clear that most folks in the capital, like Yao Manyun, probably had no clue what “Red Buddha Society” even meant.
Xu Fei figured explaining its dangers to her would take too long, better to dig up some hard evidence instead.
Then something hit him, and he quickly asked, “Hold on, are all the Yao family’s finances managed together or separately?”
Hearing Xu Fei shift to this topic, Yao Manyun’s head spun with even more questions.
