Chapter 14 The Pavilion of Bliss
Although the place they had just been in could be called an entrance, it was more like a transitional zone between the mortal realm and the spirit realm. Nothing here, including the monster or the illusion, could enter either of the two realms.
Sure enough, when the "ghosts" rushed over, they all stopped half a step away from them, as if blocked by an invisible wall. They couldn't see Chu Jianshan and the others, and after searching around for a while, they turned back.
Ji Shi finally breathed a sigh of relief, and like Chu Jianshan, collapsed to the ground, swallowing back the heart that had been in his throat.
"Don't be too happy yet," Chu Jianshan said, dampening the mood. "Once we leave that place, we'll enter the true spirit realm, and it will be even more difficult to get out."
"It's okay." Ji Shi shook his head, completely stunned. After going through all this, he had come to terms with it. Were there any people in this world more unlucky than them? Were there?
So he accepted his fate, whatever.
Chu Jianshan was somewhat surprised by Ji Shi's reaction. He smiled and pulled him up from the ground, saying, "I didn't say we would definitely be trapped here."
"Really?" Ji Shi's hope flickered. "You have a way to get out?"
"No"
"..."
What the hell are you talking about?!
Cheng Yuan, who was standing next to him, chuckled and teased him, "How many times have you been fooled by him? Why don't you ever learn?"
His smile was fleeting, but Chu Jianshan still saw it. It was one of the few times Chu Jianshan had seen him smile, and to be honest, it was very handsome.
Ji Shi looked heartbroken and aggrieved as he complained to Chu Jianshan, "I trusted you so much!"
Chu Jianshan didn't speak, he just looked up at the sky.
Suddenly, Ji Shi whispered, "Chu Jianshan, can you promise me something?"
Chu Jianshan thought he was worried he wouldn't be able to get out and was making his final arrangements. Just as he was about to comfort him, he heard him say, "After you get out, give me back my two taels of silver!"
"..."
Is that all the ambition you have?! It's just two taels of silver! Once you get out... once you get out, he won't have any...
Indeed, even a hero can be brought down by a single penny.
So Chu Jianshan naturally changed the subject, "Hey, what place is that? Let's go take a look!" After saying that, he took off running.
"Chu Jianshan!!"
...
The three of them walked around noisily for a short while before they saw the place Chu Jianshan had mentioned.
From a distance, it looks like an attic, but only when you get closer do you realize just how big it is. Ji Shi counted on his fingers that there were nineteen floors, each floor of which was divided into countless rooms. Every five meters along the corridor, there was a large red lantern. In the dark, such lanterns could not illuminate many places, but they could make the whole building glow red. A faint white mist surrounded the attic, making it look eerie and sinister.
Chu Jianshan read out the name on the plaque at the entrance word by word.
"Palace of Bliss".
With a bang, the doors of the Bliss Pavilion slowly opened, and a melodious voice came from inside, indistinguishable between male and female.
"All things eventually perish, but my bliss endures forever. Welcome, everyone, to the Pavilion of Bliss—"
Chu Jianshan frowned slightly as he looked at the building that seemed to be full of ghosts and spirits. He couldn't figure out what it was all about, but he straightened his clothes and walked straight in without hesitation because it was really cold outside. He should have worn more layers.
Once they entered the largest first floor, they discovered that it was a hidden world inside.
The place was brightly lit and bustling with people. A huge light fixture hung from the ceiling, illuminating the expressions on everyone's faces clearly. People gathered together, chatting and laughing, creating a lively atmosphere. No one noticed that there were three new strangers in the building, or rather, they simply didn't care who else was in the building, enjoying their own "bliss."
"Are you three new here?" A person suddenly appeared next to Ji Shi, startling him.
Chu Jianshan looked him up and down. This person was dressed differently from others, wearing red clothes from head to toe, looking like a big fireball. His hair was combed into a bun that almost reached the sky. So he looked like a woman, but his face looked like a man.
Ji Shi was the first to ask this impolite question, directly asking, "Are you a man or a woman?"
The man paused for a moment, then smiled and gently tapped his forehead. His soft, slender fingers lightly stroked his face, instantly making him shiver.
“Young master, that’s a pointless question. I am neither a man nor a woman; I am simply the one and only one that exists here forever…”
"Pavilion Master"
Chu Jianshan picked up where the man left off, and the man seemed even happier. He slowly approached Chu Jianshan and said, "Smart."
Then he tried to put his finger on Chu Jianshan's face again, just like before, but Cheng Yuan grabbed him and he couldn't move.
Cheng Yuan grabbed him and asked, "Where exactly is this place?"
The Pavilion Master gently broke free from Cheng Yuan's grasp, and as she withdrew her hand, she touched his palm twice. Then she opened her wide sleeves, spun around twice on the spot, and slowly opened her lips.
"Didn't you all see it? The Pavilion of Bliss. All living beings in the world are reincarnated, but there are always some who, because of their attachments in their previous lives, cannot jump into the Pool of Rebirth. I saw their suffering and felt pity for them, so I built this Pavilion of Bliss, so that they can enjoy bliss here. Why should they have to reincarnate and suffer the pain of reincarnation?"
"How did you three all die?"
"..."
"It's a very presumptuous question, but Chu Jianshan knows that this person considers them to be reincarnated beings. We don't yet know the person's background or strength, so we can't say for the time being that they are from the mortal realm, lest we alert them."
So Chu Jianshan spoke first: "Died of illness."
Ji Shi quickly added, "They starved to death."
When it was Cheng Yuan's turn, he was immediately stumped, because once a person enters the spirit world, the injuries they sustained before death will not disappear. For example, if a person hanged themselves, there will definitely be marks on their neck. If they were beheaded, then they would most likely have entered by holding their head.
Now that he has no external injuries and is still young, he certainly won't die of old age. Moreover, those two people have already used up two excellent reasons, so he really can't think of any other plausible reason for the moment.
Seeing this, Chu Jianshan, who was standing nearby, immediately chimed in, "He's so angry he could die!"
Cheng Yuan slowly turned his head, looking at Chu Jianshan with disbelief. He wanted to curse, but couldn't because there were other people present.
The Pavilion Master was naturally quite taken aback by this bizarre reason, and then slowly approached Chu Jianshan, asking with a gossipy look, "How did he die of anger?"
"Ugh!" Chu Jianshan started showing off his superb acting skills again.
"You don't know, Master, but this man had a fiancée in his previous life. They had known each other since childhood, were childhood sweethearts, and their families naturally arranged the engagement. They were getting married soon, and guess what?"
"What do you mean?" The Pavilion Master asked expectantly.
"On the eve of the wedding, the bride ran off with her lover!"
"Oh dear, what kind of situation is this?" The Pavilion Master said with a look of regret.
"Who says otherwise? Look, I'm so angry I could die."
After saying that, Chu Jianshan looked at Cheng Yuan beside him guiltily. Cheng Yuan's expression was unchanged, but looking down, he saw that the Liuyin Sword in his hand was almost broken in two.
Regardless, the pavilion master eventually believed the three men's story and, smiling, led them to find a place to stay.
"The people here are all very nice, so the three of you don't need to be so formal. See that person at the door? Just have him take you to the resting place."
Chu Jianshan looked up and saw the man standing at the top of the stairs. He was not an old man, but he was hunched over. The strangest thing was his sleeves. If the clothes were a little big, it wouldn't be unusual for the sleeves to be a little long, but this man's sleeves were so long that they almost reached the ground.
Looking at it reminded Chu Jianshan of the long-armed monster in Ghost Mountain Village, and he couldn't help but shudder.
"The three of you, come with me." The man's hoarse voice echoed in the empty corridor. Sure enough, even the voice sounded like someone else's.
Chu Jianshan turned around and gave Cheng Yuan a look, signaling Cheng Yuan to hurry up, as he was about to begin his operation.
After walking a few steps, Chu Jianshan suddenly pretended to trip over his own feet, lost his balance, and fell forward with a cry of "Ouch!" He then "accidentally" landed on the person.
The man in the long sleeves was knocked forward by him. Cheng Yuan pretended to catch him and asked with concern, "Are you alright, sir?"
In reality, the man had already pulled his sleeve down to his wrist, and it was only by the light of the red lantern that the three of them could see what was inside his sleeve.
The man's fingertips were gone, as if they had been ground to pieces, a bloody mess, and in some places even the bones were clearly visible.
This sight reminded them of the same person—the one who suffocated to death in the coffin.
The lame man from Ghost Mountain Village once said that those illusions were because people's obsessions were not yet gone, so they would repeat the scenes before their death. Since they were able to encounter a funeral procession in Ghost Mountain Village, it meant that the person in the coffin had not yet let go of his obsessions and had not yet been reincarnated. So, most likely, he was in this Paradise Pavilion.
The three men exchanged glances, but none of them spoke. The man in the long sleeves quickly lowered his sleeves to cover his gruesome wound and said in a low voice, "You three should hurry up. I have other things to attend to."
Chu Jianshan tentatively asked, "Where was the gentleman from when he was alive?"
Why are you asking this?
Chu Jianshan raised an eyebrow slightly, not expecting this person to be so cautious.
"It's nothing, I was just hoping to run into someone from my hometown. We're new here and just want to be taken care of."
"A man from Guangyan." The man spoke only these three words, as if he were sparing with his words, and said nothing more.
But those three words were enough, because Chu Jianshan had confirmed the thought that had been lingering in his mind.
Back in Guishan Village, he had begun to suspect that the funeral procession looked extraordinary and must belong to a prominent family. The insignia on the coffin also looked familiar to him. In addition, the man in the long sleeves was a "Guangyan person." Chu Jianshan had already come to the conclusion that it was Linyimen.
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