Chapter 146: Seeing Nezha Again The reason why Fuli wanted to kill...
Fu Li wanted to kill Li Jing, revenge for Nezha was only one of the reasons. The most important reason was to prevent the plot from self-correcting and Nezha's temple from being destroyed by him again.
After this trouble was resolved, Fu Li's mind finally calmed down. He carefully reviewed what Jiang Ziya and Yin Hua had said, and his expression gradually became less serious.
She instructed two temple priests to cooperate with Jiang Ziya and the other two, and went directly to Qianyuan Mountain to find Taiyi Zhenren who was invisible in this matter.
The Water and Fire Boy brought her to the edge of the lotus pond, where Taiyi Zhenren was sitting cross-legged on the shore, fiddling with the lotus roots, lotus leaves and lotus flowers piled in front of him.
After seeing this, what else does Fu Li not understand?
She walked directly to Taiyi Zhenren and asked, "Can the incense of the mortal world really help Nezha rebuild his body?"
"Haven't you already guessed it?" Taiyi Zhenren glanced up at her, then continued fiddling with the lotus root. "The power of incense isn't that miraculous, but if a deceased soul receives enough of the power of three thousand incense sticks, it can seek a glimmer of hope from the Heavenly Dao, freeing itself from the constraints of reincarnation."
Fu Li asked again, "Where is Nezha's soul?"
Although the clay sculpture in the temple is very similar to the original, it is still a dead object. Without a soul attached to it, it naturally cannot show any spirit.
Without even looking up, Taiyi Zhenren said, "In the underworld. He died unjustly and in great pain, carrying a deep resentment that prevents him from reincarnation. So I sent him to Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, where he could be bathed in the Buddha's teachings and his resentment eliminated."
Once Nezha's resentment is eliminated and Yin Hua has collected three thousand incense sticks, he can use the Golden Pond Immortal Lotus to reshape Nezha's body and help Nezha cultivate the magical power of "three heads and eight arms", which is the best of both worlds.
"Best of both worlds, is that what you're thinking?" Fu Li thought he was being unreasonable. "Nezha didn't have to suffer all this. If you had brought him along to the apprenticeship banquets at Qingfeng Mountain and Jinting Mountain, none of this would have happened."
If she had known this, she would not have cared about her teacher and would have taken Nezha away on her own.
Taiyi Zhenren finally arranged the lotus roots, lotus leaves and lotus flowers into the shape of a human, and blew a breath of fairy air, and a body without a soul appeared in the place.
That was the appearance of Lingzhuzi, with a face as white as powder and lips as red as if painted.
No one knew better than Fu Li that when those eyes were open, they always had a sharp look, which was neutralized by a little cinnabar between the eyebrows.
After many years, Fu Li couldn't help feeling a little dazed when she saw this face again.
Taiyi Zhenren raised his hand and beckoned her: "Come and take a look. If there's anything wrong, I'll fix it while I can."
Fu Li's expression froze, she took a deep breath, and then exhaled heavily.
She felt that Taiyi Zhenren was unreasonable.
"What's going on when Nezha asks Madam Yin to come to him in his dream?"
When she heard Jiang Ziya say this earlier, she had found it a bit strange. Given Nezha's temperament, how could he have just recently committed suicide in grief and anger and then run to his mother to build a temple and ask for incense, hoping to rebuild his body and be reborn?
He must be extremely resentful of Li Jing, and might even take his anger out on Yin Hua. Even if Nezha was sensible and didn't take his anger out on his mother, it would be difficult for him to face it in the short term.
Taiyi Zhenren said, "It was me. I transformed into Nezha and entered Madam Yin's dream."
He said to Fuli, "I know what you are blaming me for, but there are some things you don't know."
Fu Li looked at him coldly without saying anything, wanting to hear how he would argue.
Taiyi Zhenren said, "You only know that the twelve golden immortals of my Xianjiao sect have committed the mortal calamity of killing, and that I accept disciples just to help my own sect overcome the calamity. However, you don't know that not every one of the twelve golden immortals has committed the calamity of killing."
Fu Li's expression changed slightly, and her eyes showed suspicion.
She was not a fool and could understand the hidden meaning behind Taiyi Zhenren's words.
Taiyi Zhenren said, "Although I look down on the Emperor of Heaven, I always secretly send rain to the people nearby to eliminate disasters. This is indeed a violation of some heavenly rules. However, because I am obsessed with refining weapons, I rarely leave the mountain and have no chance to commit a killing calamity. Of the three of us in Qianyuan Mountain, the only one who has truly committed a killing calamity is Lingzhuzi."
The alliance between the three religions and the Empress Nuwa Palace is mutual; how could one side alone pay the price? Lingzhuzi's entry into the Xuanmen sect demonstrates Nuwa's support for the three religions. At the same time, one of the three religions must be chosen, free from the sins of killing, to share the burden of karma with him.
And Taiyi Zhenren was the one chosen by both parties.
"Lingzhuzi?" Although Fu Li had expected this, she still found it hard to believe after hearing it from Taiyi Zhenren. "How could it be? Lingzhuzi may be suicidal, but he's honest and kind. He killed those who deserved it."
"That's the Lingzhuzi you know. How many years have you known him? How many years had he lived before he knew you?"
Taiyi Zhenren's rhetorical questions left her speechless, and she could only stammer, "But he's not a bad person by nature."
"But child, being incorruptible doesn't erase all sins," Taiyi Zhenren said earnestly. "You've governed the empire before. It's said you spearheaded the formulation of Shu's laws, which balance leniency and severity. If someone kills many people in their ignorance, can they be absolved of all guilt by simply saying 'I'm not incorruptible'?"
Fu Li lowered his head and said after a while, "Let's talk about the deeds, not the heart."
"Yes, judge by deeds, not by heart." Taiyi Zhenren nodded.
The two were silent for a long time, and then Fu Li asked, "Can I go see Nezha?"
"Go ahead." Taiyi Zhenren smiled with relief. "Nezha values you the most. Perhaps seeing you will make him feel better and less resentful."
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The road to the underworld is long and filled with eerie ghosts.
Fu Li took the jade token given by Lu Ya and successfully passed the Ghost Gate. He asked the ghost guarding the gate about the residence of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.
It was a temple, with green bricks and yellow tiles, and flying eaves with animal ridges. It should have been solemn and dignified, but because of the red light of the blood moon in the sky, it reflected a somewhat eerie and ghostly aura.
There were two beast stones at the entrance, with red-robed halberd-bearing warriors stationed on either side. Fu Li approached, made his acquaintance, introduced himself, and asked the halberd-bearing warriors to pass on the message.
The halberd guarding the gate saw a purple light rising into the sky from afar and knew it was the destiny of the Human King. As Fu Li approached, the thick purple aura also approached.
They had only seen such a strong aura in a handful of ancient Saint Kings. How could they dare to neglect it? He politely asked her to wait a moment and immediately ran in to announce it for her.
A moment later, a bald attendant followed by a halberd-bearing soldier came out, clasped his hands together, and made a gesture of greeting: "Buddha Ksitigarbha. Human King, please follow me. The Buddha is waiting for you in the abbot's room."
After returning the greeting, Fu Li followed him in and passed through two palaces before arriving at the place where Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was.
The attendant pointed to the abbot's room on the east side and said, "The Buddha is right there. Please do as you please." After saying this, he bowed again and turned away silently.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva is there, is Nezha there too?
Fu Li took a deep breath, suppressed the trembling in her heart, and walked over. The abbot's door opened silently, and a strong sense of resentment rushed towards her, accompanied by the peaceful and gentle sound of chanting.
Just based on this resentment, Fu Li could tell that Nezha was here even without using her eyes, and Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva had been chanting sutras to comfort him.
She was afraid of something unexpected happening, so she didn't dare to disturb them. She just stood at the door, holding it and waiting for the person inside to react first.
The resentment suddenly became heavier, and Fu Li felt that the resentment seemed to have consciousness, constantly flowing towards her.
She sighed softly, tiptoed to Nezha's back, sat cross-legged, and recited the Taoist "Heart Purification Mantra".
The Buddhist and Taoist scriptures intertwined, transforming into golden runes that flew into the air one after another, and then entangled from top to bottom, wrapping Nezha tightly.
Nezha's soul kept its eyes tightly closed, and remained silent throughout the entire time, without even an eyelash trembling.
After an unknown amount of time, Fu Li suddenly opened her eyes and heard Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva say, "My friend, today's salvation is enough."
Fu Li stood up and walked to Nezha. She saw that he was still sitting with his eyes closed. His cheeks, exposed arms and feet were covered with blue-black cracks, and golden runes were superimposed on them, making him look weird and terrifying.
"Has he always been like this?" Fu Li asked tremblingly.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva glanced at Nezha and clasped his hands together. "Amitabha. After the daily prayers, he is always at his most lucid. As for why he closes his eyes and remains silent, I don't know."
Actually, he knew it, but he just didn't want to say it out loud.
Fu Li had been looking at Nezha, and keenly noticed that when Dizang spoke, his butterfly-like eyelashes trembled twice.
"Buddha, let me talk to him alone." Fu Li requested.
Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva nodded, stood up and walked out, closing the abbot's door.
Fu Li looked at Nezha, silent for a long moment. A thousand words mingled in her mind, a myriad of emotions welling up within her, yet she couldn't utter a single word.
After a while, Nezha suddenly opened his eyes, his pupils were like black holes, not a single light could escape from them.
"Sister, you don't even want to say a word to me?" he asked angrily, his expression and tone more extreme than ever before.
"How could that be?" Fu Li said softly, "I have so much to say to you, and because there are so many, I don't know which one to say first."
She exhaled lightly, and gently placed her white, calloused hand on top of his head, saying softly, "I know everything. You've suffered a lot these days."
These words were like opening a floodgate. Nezha, who thought he would never shed tears again, burst out, turning into large drops of water that slid out of his eye sockets and rolled down his cheeks.
Fu Li couldn't bear it any longer, and suddenly hugged him in her arms, crying bitterly.
Even now, she still regretted it: What if she hadn't considered so much and just taken Nezha with her? What if she had shouldered all the fate and calamity for him? At worst, she could just do as Ji Meng did and try every possible means to gain merit.
The two of them hugged each other and cried bitterly, one venting his grievances and the other venting his regrets. They cried for a long time before they stopped.
Seeing Nezha lowering his head and not daring to look at her, Fu Li smiled and said, "You've already cried enough. It's probably too late to be shy now."
Nezha looked up at her timidly and said, "Sister, don't you blame me?"
"Why should I blame you?" Fu Li stroked his head with obvious soothing power. "You were the one who bravely stood up for justice, you were the one who suffered injustice, and you were the one who lost your life. I only praised you, pitied you, and tried every possible way to save you. Why should I blame you?"
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