Chapter 94 Early Reunion of Parents and Children
After that, the Taoist priest fell silent.
Their conversation was temporarily put to an end by the arrival of another person.
The driver who had just left returned after exchanging a few words.
Ping Yu was already annoyed, so he asked, "Why did you...?"
Before the questioning could even begin, a little girl was seen holding the other person's hand.
She kept glancing around, looking uneasy.
The driver led her to Pingyu and explained, "Miss, this child was acting suspiciously at the door. I asked her what she wanted, and she said she wanted to see you."
"Young Master".
The girl timidly raised her head, and Pingyu exclaimed in surprise, "Big sister!?"
Perhaps it was the money she had spent before leaving home that had taken effect, as the younger sister's clothes had become much brighter. The girl looked around to make sure no one was around at this time, and then said, "Master, I was so worried about you when those soldiers came to take people away! Fortunately, you are alright, and the Lin family line has not ended."
Pingyu's forehead vein throbbed, and she asked, "Big sister, what exactly happened to my family?"
:"I
Ping Yu's mind went blank, and he instinctively opened his mouth: "If it's a human sacrifice, then the whole family should be sacrificed. How could he dare to take someone over there if I wasn't there!"
The younger sister hesitated, a hint of reluctance flashing across her face before she finally said, "I heard that it was the sister in green who took your place."
Reason crumbled instantly, and the younger sister's words of comfort turned into nothing more than tinnitus in Pingyu's head.
She didn't know how she saw her younger sister off, nor how she returned to the courtyard filled with wreckage. The already rotting vegetables rotted even more under Pingyu's shoes, and the broken utensils creaked underfoot, as if she were in a pile of corpses.
Why?
She thought about it in a daze.
Although the Lin family was wealthy, they were still just commoners. Pingyu's understanding of the palace's secrets only came from period dramas. She had considered that King Zhou was tired of her family's snacks, that someone in the palace was jealous of her family and therefore made a dirty trick, or that the chef was not in good condition that day and the desserts tasted bad... but she never thought of this reason.
Pingyu never imagined that her family would be remembered for making food that was too fresh and too good.
Human sacrifices aren't criminals; they won't be imprisoned for a later trial. Yesterday was the annual grand festival, the day she played with Little Grey at the palace, when her family members died one by one. An unnamed rage began to burn in her heart, scorching away all her energy. This fire raged through her body, even drying up her tears as it passed through her tear ducts. She looked at the dirty, chaotic ground, unable to even cry.
She gripped her hair tightly, digging it into her scalp, believing she held sufficient reverence for this era. She harbored no illusions about using her knowledge to achieve great things here, nor did she intend to do anything to overturn the prevailing understanding of this time.
Is it really just because I have a sweet tooth?
This thought, like a cockroach swarming out of a sewer, crawled out quietly.
But I didn't create anything new; I just made some snacks using the ingredients I had here.
Was it the parents' fault for being greedy?
No, no. They just want me to have a better life.
If it's not my fault, nor my parents' fault, then who is at fault?
She tried her best to distance herself from the situation, but no matter how she reviewed her life from childhood to the present, she could never avoid the fact that she had a craving for food and took out her own recipe.
If I hadn't given out the prescription, my parents wouldn't have gone to work for that kind of wealth.
Why do I have to eat that sweet thing?
Why not just eat your meal here honestly? Why bring out products that don't belong to this era?
Pingyu felt a little dazed. In the night, which was almost completely dark, she seemed to see herself in her school uniform walking towards her.
The person who looked exactly like her said:
Indeed, even without you, other food-loving people would have invented those snacks.
But you are a butterfly.
Lin Pingyu
The phantom of her body now questions her, word by word: "Why are you flapping your wings?"
The anger within her vanished instantly, replaced by a bone-chilling cold that made her teeth chatter. Unconsciously, the shadow before her spoke again: "Have you given up now?"
Pingyu convulsed, and the person in front of him was no longer his fantasy.
She hugged herself tightly, her whole body trembling.
Pingyu stammered, "Why didn't you save them?"
Mingming Daoist knew from the beginning that her parents would be in danger, so why didn't he offer to help?
Shouldn't those who cultivate the Tao be charitable and hate evil?
The Taoist priest said, "When Ao Bing came to our door, there were clearly many ways to resolve the matter. So why do you think Taiyi Zhenren insisted that Nezha die?"
Ping Yu replied: "Because blood debts must be repaid in blood, this way of resolving the issue will prevent future troubles."
The Taoist priest uttered a blood-curdling statement: "If you wish to seek immortality and the Dao, you must first sever your worldly ties."
Only by severing ties with the mortal world can one return oneself to heaven and earth.
Therefore, when they officially met, the Taoist priest said that she and Nezha were the same.
Nezha cut off his flesh to return to his mother and his bones to return to his father, while Pingyu's parents died as human sacrifices.
They are children of Heaven, and will eventually return to the side of Heaven in this world, alone and pure.
Pingyu, who was raised with humanitarianism, could not accept this statement: "The purpose of bringing two mortals into the world is simply to love each other and have a child, only so that the child can become a tool without any ties in the future. Doesn't the heavens that manipulate all of this think they are too cruel and ruthless?!"
The sky remained unmoved by the angry rebukes, and the night continued to fall deep.
"True love is loving both good and bad, but love that is neither too much nor too little is heartless." The Taoist stroked his long beard, his gaze gently piercing her: "Besides, isn't all of this because you are too powerless?"
Pingyu wanted to retort, but the Taoist didn't give her the chance. He asked, "If I hadn't stopped you just now, what were you planning to do after you kidnapped Lady Yin to find Li Jing and get the answers about the child?"
"I..." she began, but then fell silent. Her mind, which had been consumed by despair, had calmed down, and she realized she hadn't considered what path to take. Since the girl couldn't answer, the Taoist priest held the reins: "You were only twelve yesterday, and you couldn't even commit suicide together with someone. Do you think your parents would have survived without your own formula?"
"Don't joke around!" The Taoist's tone suddenly became stern: "Even if Li Jing himself was chosen to be a human sacrifice, he still had no power to resist. Even if a nobleman with immense power in the palace was to be sacrificed, he had no right to shirk responsibility. Your family has no power, so you have to attach yourself to the Li family. You have no power, so after leaving Nezha, you have no way to collect ghosts and monsters to bring home on your own."
"This place is different from where you live. In this era, human life is treated like dirt. It's not as precious as cattle or sheep, and it's not as useful as manure. Just like people won't stop trampling on weeds just because one or two of them look a little prettier, if you can't be the one trampling the weeds, you'll never be in control of your own life. You know about Li Jing's inaction and Di Xin's cruelty now, so what can you do, Lin Pingyu?"
Every word shattered Pingyu's illusions.
It forced her to confront those who had already died, and to confront the fate paved with blood and flesh.
“You can’t do anything,” the Taoist priest laughed as he answered for her. “You’re not even as good as a slave; you can’t even kill a chicken.”
There was clearly no mockery in it, yet Pingyu felt so much pain that he wanted to hunch over.
“Even a fish that confines itself to its own little world will die from the stench of the water.” The Taoist stopped there, not intending to go too far with Ping Yu. He turned to leave, saying, “I’ll give you one night to think it through. Come back tomorrow to become my disciple.”
Just as he took a step forward, the girl's flat voice rang out from behind him: "Who exactly are you?"
The man, without turning around, said, "You know me." He simply stated, "I am Lu Ya."
.
Pingyu returned to his room and sat alone on the tatami mat.
No one in green came in to extinguish the candles anymore. The memories of others permeated the room, almost suffocating her. Pingyu stood up, holding Little Grey, desperate to leave. She wanted to be alone, to escape this place where quietness brought her...
Pingyu stepped through the door and left the courtyard, heading to the next room.
Nezha is still alive; among the bonds of this era, only Nezha remains alive.
She crawled into the house where the boy had lived, finding a little peace in it. Pingyu curled up helplessly, trying to draw a sliver of warmth from the little gray cat.
But then, the pigeon suddenly broke free from her embrace and flew away.
"Little Grey!"
Ping was anxious and reached out to grab it.
The pigeon deftly dodged, instead nibbling at her sleeve, trying to lead her somewhere.
Pingyu understood what the other person meant and followed. Xiao Hui led her to Nezha's storage box and laboriously pulled open the box ring with his mouth.
Is this all you wanted to show me?
The wood used to make the blade still had scorch marks, and Pingyu recognized it as lightning-struck wood that was originally transformed from the Purple Earth.
Pingyu held one of the knives in his hand and looked at it.
Nezha had said that the throwing knife was light and agile, perfect for her. He wanted to carve and forge it himself, and then give it to her as a gift.
At the same time, Ping Yu remembered that Lu Ya's signature magic weapon was the "Immortal-Slaying Flying Knife".
When Nezha proposed carving flying knives, they had not yet met the Taoist priest.
They've just returned, and the happiest time is when they help people solve problems together and live together.
Is everyone's fate truly predetermined?
If not, then why is it such a coincidence?
Everything is interconnected, and the foreshadowing laid in the past will be revealed in the future.
The girl stared at the dagger for a long time before slowly putting the magical artifact back into its box. Pingyu hugged the box like a person struggling at sea clinging to their last piece of driftwood. The tears he hadn't shed in front of Lu Ya burst forth at this moment. The girl cried her heart out, coughing and uttering fragmented names like someone suffering from consumptive disease.
Little Grey watched quietly from the side, relaying everything to the person on the other side of the line of sight.
Nezha pressed his hand to his chest, forcing himself to sever the connection between his eyes and his heart.
He has something he absolutely cannot afford to be distracted from right now.
After learning new spells and techniques from Taiyi Zhenren, Nezha realized that the Lin family had died in Chaoge and immediately set off for there.
Nezha stood before the deep pit, his pupils gleaming with golden light.
In his eyes, countless souls were wailing and suffering here.
Before the seventh day after their death, Lin Dong, Xue Yue'e, and Green Robe had not yet entered reincarnation; they were the three most peaceful people in the entire pit.
The boy gently grasped the three souls in his palm.
Nezha led them out of the deep pit and infused them with spiritual energy, transforming the three into human form.
Suddenly freed from the raging fire, the three ghosts were still somewhat bewildered.
They weren't surprised to see Nezha, since in their hearts Nezha was a dead man.
Lin Dong greeted him, "Hey lad, why aren't you at the imperial palace receiving offerings? What brings you here?"
Xue Yue'e was a little worried: "Nezha, what are you doing here? Could it be that King Zhou is making fun of you too? But you're already dead!"
The woman in green observed for a moment and noticed something unusual. The slave girl exclaimed, "Third Prince, how come you have a shadow?!"
This sound drew the attention of Lin Dong and Xue Yue'e, who then realized that the boy actually had a shadow.
Since there's a shadow, it proves...
"You're not dead?" Lin Dong exclaimed in astonishment. "But I watched you get buried!"
“Uncle, Nezha is indeed dead.” The boy lowered his eyes and replied, “But thanks to Uncle, Aunt and Master, Nezha’s soul was gathered by incense and his body was sculpted from lotus flowers and lotus roots, and he came back to life.”
The two men were stunned for a moment, then quickly bent down to help the kneeling boy up: "Please don't do this, it's our fate! We'd rather die than lose Pingyu!"
Their hands passed right through the boy's body. Remembering they were already ghosts, they could only awkwardly withdraw their hands. Nezha stood up and said to them, "But if I do this, I will be letting down my uncle and aunt who have been so good to me, and I will have no face to see Pingyu."
But once a person's physical body dies, in the eyes of Heaven, their life is considered over. As for what happens to the soul—whether it becomes a ghost or returns to the cycle of reincarnation—Heaven doesn't care as long as the person doesn't commit evil deeds.
When Taiyi Zhenren mentioned to Nezha that the Five Lotus Pond could nourish ghosts and help them enter the Dao, he was subtly enlightening Nezha. He explained that saving someone didn't have to be done immediately; waiting until they were dead would allow for greater flexibility in the situation. Nezha then suppressed his urge to save them and waited until the time was right to come and rescue them.
Nezha continued, "Uncle and Aunt, please bring Green Robe and come with me to Qianyuan Mountain. You can enter the Five Lotus Pond to nourish your souls and enter the immortal realm, so that you can achieve your goals soon and reunite with your family."
"In this way, even if Pingyu becomes an immortal in the future, you will not have to suffer the pain of separation."
Author's Note: The foreshadowing is finally resolved! I just realized the nutrient solution has arrived!!! I've been a bit busy with work lately, I'll add an extra chapter in a couple of days! The next extra chapter will be on 4k nutrient solution!
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