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"Uncle..."

A childish voice reached his ears, prompting Chen Qing to look back, only to see two little children gazing at him with wide-eyed anticipation, having thoroughly enjoyed their meals yet not daring to approach the table.

Noticing from a distance, the woman hurried over, scooped up the children into her arms, and came over with a smile to apologize: "I’m so sorry, sir, the kids are young, they don’t understand manners...."

The woman looked anxiously at the two men, especially at her own husband.

At this moment, her husband’s eyes were terrifyingly cold, a kind of indifference that was chilling to the extreme.

That look in his eyes was exactly the same as when he saw Zhang the blacksmith publicly execute his wife in the small town.

She was terribly afraid of that gaze, so much so that she even dreamed of it the previous night, with her husband holding a butcher’s knife, peeling the flesh from their two children as if slaughtering chickens...

This was not because she suffered from paranoia, but because her husband had truly changed, just like now; had the Scholar brought out such exquisite food in the past, her husband would have first seen to the children and then himself. How could he be so indifferent to her and the children now?

Chen Qing witnessed this and sighed inwardly, at a loss for what to say at the moment.

That the woman could maintain such a figure amidst the chaos indicated that her husband took good care of her. Both children also appeared well-nourished, which was quite remarkable. Sadly, the husband she knew in her heart might never return.

Now that he thought about it, if those within his power were also to awaken memories of their past lives, would they still consider Jiangnan important?

The rise of the Buddha Kingdom was one of the most heavily criticized dungeons by many players initially.

Countless players put in an incredible amount of effort and Heartforce to establish their powers, and due to the fully intelligent AI, many players had also developed certain relationships with NPCs, who were loyally devoted and even willing to shield them with their lives. Who wouldn’t be moved by such devotion?

After tough battles with their followers to establish a domain, loyal subordinates suddenly became unrecognizable in their change of character, betraying them without warning, causing much emotional distress among players at the time.

Some players had even developed a romantic attachment to NPCs in secret, which ended in a bloody betrayal.

That incident sparked one of the largest waves of complaints, leading to the resignation status of the Chief Director associated with Pu Yunchuan.

Consequently, Pu Yunchuan was the sole leader for a while, until his illness worsened, and the former Chief Director was reinstated, with Pu Yunchuan stepping down.

Frankly, although Pu Yunchuan was experiencing the game at the time, he was not a major power player and did not experience that deep sense of betrayal, so his empathy was limited when the players revolted. But now, the situation seemed different.

Seeing the woman’s eyes of despair, Chen Qing was profoundly moved.

The surroundings were filled with living beings, and such brutish game settings had been designed too harshly by the previous Chief Director. Moreover, he harbored concerns—what would he think if Xuu Hu or Wei Gongcheng also remembered their past lives and were awakened by the Buddha Light?

It was not that there were no replacements.

Chen Qing had already prepared alternate candidates.

However, after investing so much passion, with Xuu Hu’s straightforward and generous nature and Wei Gongcheng’s meticulous and strict character—both being loyally devoted to him—their betrayal would undoubtedly be hard for him to accept.

"Let the children eat as well," Chen Qing said softly.

Upon hearing this, the man opposite him did not express gratitude; instead, a trace of suspicion flitted across his eyes: "Brother, you seem quite kind-hearted."

"Each life is bound by cause and effect.

..." Chen Qing smiled nonchalantly: "Just because one cannot claim their past life, does not render this life false. This life has its own consequences. If there’s something one can do, why leave it owed?

Could it be that Brother is absolutely stable in his Dao Heart? "

Taken aback, the man’s eyes flickered with uncertainty as Chen Qing spoke, as if he remembered the moments through this life with his wife and the joy of their first child’s birth.

Now that the memories of several lifetimes have been restored, the feelings of this life seem negligible to him, but as Chen Qing said, each life has its own cause and effect, and the feelings of this life cannot be disregarded entirely.

Thinking of this, his gaze toward his wife became gentler: "Call the children to come eat with us."

The wife glanced at her husband cautiously. Although she felt increasing fear for her fickle husband, hunger compelled her to gather her courage and join the table with the children.

The two children, having been hungry all day, nearly stuffed their entire faces into the plates as soon as they sat down, causing the man to frown.

The wife tried to pull the children back, but Chen Qing waved his hand and said to the man, "Brother Li, how do you perceive the auspiciousness or danger of the Buddhist Temple this time?"

"Why do you ask?" The man immediately had his attention captured and looked over.

"This Buddhist Temple is located in a small mountain town, rather secluded and barely visited on normal days, appearing to keep a low profile. However, its act of drawing us here provokes some doubts." Chen Qing inquired tentatively.

Though the people whom Buddha planted the seeds will ultimately become incarnations, Chen Qing’s bet is that not every incarnation is willing to settle as a mere tool, just as Kagura’s incarnation, who, having tasted autonomy, would truly wish to return to the original self?

The man, clearly sensing Chen Qing’s probing, glanced at his wife who was preoccupied with eating and knew she would not understand, thus he replied, "I have remnants of Buddha’s legends in my memories across several lifetimes, saying that finding Buddha could solve all doubts and allow many things to be regained.

Brother, don’t you think the same? So why be dubious simply because of the desolate location? "

"There is no such thing as a free lunch in this world.

.." Chen Qing shook his head, "Brother, you seem to have been through several lifetimes like me, knowing the warmth and coldness of human relationships, and that everything in the world prioritizes self-interest. Given that, could Buddha truly be so selfless? "

"That is also true..." The man nodded, "You mean to suggest..."

"I think we should observe for a while," Chen Qing whispered, "Brother, you must have moved to the outskirts for the same reason, right? I’ve also visited the town, where the people are overly fanatical and difficult to communicate with.

I hope to find a few rational individuals like yourself to exchange ideas. What do you think?"

"Rational individuals?" The man stroked his chin, "Actually, I have observed a few who, unlike those fools rushing in, do seem to be more rational."

"That would be ideal..." Chen Qing nodded, "The Buddha Light attracts us to enter, claiming to resolve the mysteries of our past lives without any ulterior motive, which I don’t believe. You probably don’t either. Therefore, finding like-minded individuals to join forces, share intelligence, and better contemplate our strategies of advance and retreat would be better, wouldn’t it? "

"Brother, you are very thorough in your thoughts..." The man slowly relaxed his suspicion after hearing this.

The man’s words resonated with him, aligning with his own thoughts.

He had not directly gone to the center of the Buddhist Temple to join those fanatics precisely because of this reason.

Memories of several lifetimes had given him over a thousand years of experience, making him distrustful of everyone in the world.

Gods, Heaven’s Court, and demons all seemed no different, and anyone willing to help oneself must have their own agenda, possibly even being a lure.

Chen Qing, seeing the man’s agreement, breathed a sigh of relief.

What he feared most was that these reincarnated individuals would be controlled by the Buddha Light.

It seemed not to be the case. While Buddha Light could awaken the seed in people’s hearts, there were those who, after many reincarnations and rich experiences, had developed strong personalities.

They would be skeptical of everything and would not blindly follow.

The stronger the individuals, the more likely they were to behave this way.

This was precisely what Buddha Kingdom’s power needed to pacify in the early stages: they had to coax these strong individuals of reincarnation into the Buddhist Temple and step by step awaken the seeds within their bodies, eventually taking over.

Raising doubts in these individuals from the start would allow for forming an alliance with them.

Currently, with his Spiritual Power exhausted, Chen Qing had few options to employ, and crucially, without a Buddha Seed, he dared not rashly enter the Buddhist Temple.

He needed people to gather information for him.

At this time, none were more suitable than these powerful reincarnated individuals. ..