Chapter 10 How annoying!
The souls of people who die under normal circumstances do not dissipate. What Nezha just said is that in the cycle of reincarnation in the six realms and four forms of life, our bodies are like the houses we live in, which can be replaced. Life and death are not complicated; it is simply a process of giving up one and taking another.
Yes, how could someone feel like they've gone through another reincarnation just because they've returned to their own bones? Pingyu subconsciously touched his stomach. The house had been replaced; no one could go back to it.
All living beings must be reintroduced into the river of the underworld, emerging from the ceaselessly flowing green waters into a cave filled with the flesh and blood of their own kind.
"Could the peddler be a fraud?" Under their gazes, the girl hugged her arms tightly. The wrinkles on her sleeves creased as Pingyu voiced the unbelievable conjecture: "Not carved from the spines of young children... but rather, made by their mothers?"
How disgusting...
If her idea is true, then for every cup made, a mother and child will be murdered, so that they cannot even die in peace.
Nezha was quite surprised that Pingyu could grasp the key point so quickly. He glanced at her and saw that her fingertips were white, as if she was about to pull her sleeve off, which terrified him. How could she be so scared, yet still be so quick-witted? The boy pressed his fingertips to his forehead and smiled at the other person, "Looks like this place isn't too stupid after all."
“But isn’t it a bit arbitrary to draw such a conclusion?” Ping Yu, still clinging to a sliver of hope, twisted her handkerchief and argued with Nezha: “Bronze gongs weren’t just used for holding wine; they were also used for sacrifices. It’s perfectly normal to carve them into animal heads to worship tribal totems. I’ve even seen gongs carved into the shape of Taotie in the family temple before.”
Nezha, always domineering and autocratic, frowned and became unfriendly when his ideas were rejected by Pingyu. Jinzha, seeing the situation was not right, stepped forward and shielded the girl behind him: "Taotie and the Heavenly Maiden are different."
"How is it different?" A girl's soft voice came from behind the young man. Nezha looked down and almost laughed in exasperation. Even Pingyu's shadow overlapped with Jinzha's. She hid behind his elder brother, tucking in her clothes and concealing herself completely.
Even with such cowardice, they still want to be quick with their words!
Jinzha was amused by Pingyu's rat-like movements and then explained, "Human desires are like a raging fire; the rich and powerful abuse their power. Therefore, although Taotie is a ferocious beast that governs greed, some people still depict it on totems and worship it. But the Heavenly Maiden is different; she is a demon that was transformed from a nine-headed bird that ate the internal organs of a woman filled with resentment and sorrow."
"For a clan to flourish, offspring are more valuable than gold and jade to ordinary people. The Guhuo bird, which loves to steal its young and eat them, would naturally not be worshipped as a beast god. This wine cup, carved with a beast and depicting a demon, is obviously intentional. However..." Jinzha changed the subject and asked the two seriously, "First, you brewed wine from rotten flesh, and now you've made a wine cup from a spine. I've been here for so long, and I'm still completely baffled by the current situation. Nezha, Pingyu, you two, tell me the truth, where did you get this thing from?"
Nezha didn't answer; he just kept reaching out to pull at the Hun Tian Ling (a magical ribbon).
As he moved, the red silk gradually revealed its end, forcibly pulling the girl out like a cargo box bound with hemp rope. Ping Yu barely managed to stand up before Nezha pressed his shoulder and shoved him in front of Jinzha.
"You tell me."
He commanded.
She gathered her thoughts and, starting from her encounter with the peddler, recounted the entire story to Jinzha. Nezha noticed that Pingyu hadn't told Jinzha about his involvement with the Ghost Gate. His eyebrows rose, a complex mix of emotions stirring within him.
Besides lying for Li Jing, Nezha now has another matter to ask Pingyu about in the future.
In a moment, Jinzha finally learned the origin of the wine vessel. No wonder the wine in the pot smelled so bad; he thought to himself, it was the rotting corpse water of the boy. The young man instinctively knew not to ask about the conflict between his younger brother and father, so he changed the subject, throwing it at the two: "No need to say more, this must be a demon. So what do you plan to do with this bone wine vessel now? Get rid of it?"
After saying this, Jinzha shook his head, choking back tears: "No, if you wanted to get rid of the demon goblet now, you would have done so long ago. Nezha, I originally thought you resented me for plotting to steal the wine goblet you gave to Father, so you invited me to fight again to settle the score. But now it seems that's not the case. You've kept it until now, and you've called me here, what exactly do you want to do?"
“I am indeed very angry with you,” Nezha said. “You stole the wine pot, allowing that old man to escape, and ruined my plans. So I am punishing you by making you work here as a guard for the night.”
"guard?"
“But not now.” The boy patted the table and hooked the vessel over. “I’m going to exorcise a demon. Pingyu will be under your supervision then. Otherwise, with this burden on me, the fight won’t be as enjoyable.”
Pingyu was seen as a burden.
She knew she was of little use, but being told so bluntly still made her feel uneasy. A thin layer of heat rose on her face, and she pursed her lips: How annoying!
Nezha ignored Pingyu's thoughts and continued, "You just heard Pingyu say that the wine in the cup is inexhaustible."
As they spoke, the boy picked up the yellow wine cup. He put it to his ear and shook it vigorously twice. Apart from the three of them, there was no one else in the room; even the slaves had been dismissed. In such a quiet environment, every sound should have been clearly audible. Yet, the only sound emanating from the cup was the whistling of the wind as it was swung in the air; there was not a single sound of water hitting the wall.
"Empty?"
Ping Yu said, "Is it because you just filled the pot?"
A bone goblet, only 1.5 feet in size, can only hold one pot of wine.
The capacity is far too small!
"The wine cup clearly has a crack in its belly, yet it doesn't spill a drop when pouring wine. And the fact that it can pour wine today proves the peddler's words were true. It's rare to see such an interesting thing; how can we not make the most of it and have fun with it?" The boy's voice, indistinct in gender and slightly hoarse, sounded particularly cheerful. Hearing this, Jinzha interjected, "I remember that to refill the cup, one must..." Before he could finish, for some reason, a speck of dust that had entered his throat choked him.
The young man fell silent, and the girl murmured the rest for him: "He needs someone to hold him and sleep with him all night."
Suddenly, Nezha stopped waving his goblet.
The boy turned his head and neck to the side.
His long neck, adorned with a gold ring, resembled a snake's belly. His jet-black hair, cascading down to his shoulders, shimmered with a damp, algae-like hue against the backdrop of his milky-white bones and the candlelight on either side. And within those deep, pink flesh-filled orifices, the distinct black and white beads, like sandworms, had spread across Ping Yu's body.
The message he conveyed was so powerful that Ping Yu instantly understood the meaning in Nezha's eyes.
"don't want!"
She shook her head repeatedly and backed away, saying, "I'm not going to sleep with this in my arms!"
Nezha wanted her to take risks.
“Nezha, why don’t I do it?” Jinzha also felt that this was inappropriate and advised, “Pingyu is just a mortal. It would be too dangerous for him to sleep with a demon in his arms.”
“This goblet of mine is flawed to begin with. You’re full of pure and righteous spiritual energy; don’t ruin it.” Nezha objected: “Pingyu has a special constitution, born with a soul that connects to the three realms, possessing the ability to summon demons and monsters. She’s much more useful than you! With the two of us looking after her, what trouble can this little demon cause? Besides…”
His breathing slowed, and he subtly stopped speaking.
It's said that female ghosts speak with the gentlest of breaths, yet are most ferocious when they seek revenge. At this moment, the Hun Tian Ling was as soft as fresh meat soaked in oil, warm as if just taken from a cook. This was even more terrifying than being treated roughly.
"Human sacrifices used in rituals must be stunned by knocking the back of the neck, just like killing a fish. While still alive, their backs are cut open, and their spines are pulled out. They must remain alive until all the bones are removed. The resulting souls are filled with deep resentment and poison, and even their appearances can be clearly seen."
A red silk ribbon was wrapped around her shoulders, and she was gently pushed forward. Ping Yu met the boy's harmless smile and listened as he spoke:
"Didn't you say I was too arbitrary? Perfect, I can take this opportunity to see things for myself."
A note from the author:
What a vengeful kid! I really liked the early Nezha from the Ghostly Formation series. Ghosts taste better alive than dead!
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