Chapter 36 After the Sun and Moon (Bug Fix) There were two enormous, blood-red...
After a long while, he seemed to murmur, "...Fortunately, my mother and my elder sister are not of this world, so they don't have to suffer like this..."
Suddenly, everything went dark again.
When the lights came on again, the first thing they saw was an extremely soft and warm light.
Han Shannan looked up and found that they were in what appeared to be a woman's boudoir.
The room is now decorated with red, and red flowers symbolizing joy are scattered on the ground, making it look very festive.
But in this very place, a woman dressed in a red wedding gown was bound hand and foot, pressed down in front of a dressing table, and forcibly made up.
Guo Hanyan was pressed down in front of the dressing table, tears streaming down her face like broken pearls. There was no joy on her face, only deep sadness and disappointment, which moved the two onlookers.
But the woman who was applying makeup to her seemed unmoved. Instead, she frowned and looked up at the woman standing behind Guo Hanyan, saying, "Madam, Miss has been crying, so this makeup really can't be applied!"
The person addressed as "Madam" snatched the item from the other man's hand, pinched Guo Hanyan's chin, and said gently, "Hanyan, you're not a child anymore, you should be more sensible. Don't make things difficult for Master and Mother."
"The auspicious time is almost here. If you refuse to cooperate and anger the Wu family, the master will not be able to handle it!"
Guo Hanyan looked up at her. Han Shannan originally thought that Guo Hanyan should be full of resentment at this moment, but in reality, Guo Hanyan's eyes at this moment only contained deep sadness, endless sorrow and incomprehension.
She stared at the person before her, her face pale, and said, "Mother, why are you doing this to me? You were so good to me before... Mother... why... why..."
The woman's expression went blank for a moment, as if she had suddenly lost in thought.
But she quickly regained her senses, smiled darkly, and said, "Why? Hahaha... You're asking me why? You actually asked me why?!"
Guo Hanyan sobbed, looking helplessly at the person in front of her who was completely different from usual.
Immediately afterwards, she felt the pressure on her chin suddenly increase, and then the woman said to her fiercely, "Blame it on you for not being a man, for not being able to see clearly when you were reincarnated, and for insisting on being born as a woman! Blame it on you for not being a man, yet being so clever and selfish! Blame it on you for being greedy, for being dissatisfied with the small shop we only gave you, and for insisting on going to the capital to take the imperial examination!"
"Hanyan, you can't blame me, you can only blame yourself. Blame yourself for being so beautiful, yet insisting on going out and showing your face to attract attention; blame yourself for being too ambitious, insisting on becoming a female official and fighting with your brother for the family property; blame yourself for causing the death of your own mother, making your father remarry and find you a stepmother!"
"What good is it for me to be nice to you? Once you achieve fame and fortune, the family fortune will be yours. What will your brother and I eat then? Are we supposed to live on your leftovers and depend on your whims for the rest of our lives?! I've had enough of this life of having to be subservient and appease you!!"
As the woman spoke, she gripped Guo Hanyan's face tightly, forcing her to look up at her own crazed expression, and continued, "Did you think your father truly cared for you before? Let me tell you, no! It's because you were his only daughter who couldn't carry on his family line! Did you think that just because you became an official, you could be a master? Did you think that the Buddha you worship every day would truly save you from suffering? Bullshit! All of it is bullshit!!"
"The imperial court will not allow a woman like you to hold a high position, and the gods and Buddhas in the temples will not truly save people from suffering. They are all fake, all fake! Once you become an official, it won't be those corrupt officials who suffer, but me and my child! Haven't you been asking me why? Let me tell you, I became like this because of you, all because of you!"
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have married your disgusting father! It's all your fault, all your fault! I was about to marry my cousin, I was about to leave this filthy place, and it was you! You dragged me into this mess, and now you expect me to let you go? Why?! Tell me why?!"
Guo Hanyan stared blankly at the person in front of her, seemingly never expecting her to say such things or have such thoughts.
Only after the woman had uttered all the words in her heart did her mad expression slowly subside.
She slowly released Guo Hanyan's face, gently wiping away the tear stains, and said softly, "You should still remember, Hanyan. The first time you saw me, you called me 'Mother' the first thing you said, and then... you hugged me, wouldn't let me leave, and insisted that I was the mother you cursed to death..."
“If it weren’t for you, your father wouldn’t have seen me. If your father hadn’t seen me, he wouldn’t have come to my house, and I wouldn’t have been sent to your Guo family’s door. I wouldn’t have had to learn from that mother you killed, and try to please you…please your father, just to gain a foothold in this place…”
"It's all because of you..."
Han Shannan suddenly shouted, "Her stepmother was married into the family as a second wife because she looks so much like her biological mother?!"
Li Chen was startled by Han Shannan's sudden shout, clicked his tongue, and turned to look at Han Shannan.
When Li Chenjin looked at Han Shannan, Han Shannan was unaware of what he had said wrong, so he instinctively covered his mouth. Li Chenjin couldn't get angry, and could only say, "That should be the case."
Han Shannan asked, "Then why did she want us to see all this?"
Li Chen said, "I suppose it's so that we know about her grievances and don't want her to meddle? But..."
Before she finished speaking, the surroundings went dark again, and when they came back on, they were bathed in red light.
Along with the red light, a man's voice appeared: "Want a divorce? Fine! You get in my bed, I've had my fun today, I'll divorce you tomorrow!"
The two appeared in a bridal chamber. Young Master Wu was standing in the room, and opposite him was Guo Hanyan, whose eyes were red, and Xiao Lian, who was sobbing and seemed to be frightened.
Guo Hanyan clenched her fists, her eyes filled with anger and embarrassment.
But in the end, she let go of his hand, her neck stiff, and with heavy steps, she slowly walked to the wedding bed, which was covered with red dates, peanuts, longans, and lotus seeds, and said in a low, hoarse voice, "Xiao Lian, you can go out now."
"Miss..."
Xiao Lian sobbed as she looked at the person by the bed. Seeing Guo Hanyan's solemn expression, she didn't dare to say anything more and turned to walk towards the door.
But just as she was about to walk past Young Master Wu, she was suddenly grabbed by the arm and said, "Weren't you brought along by her too? So you're definitely going to come with her, right? Fine! Tonight I'll have my way with both of you. When you leave tomorrow, I won't lose out! From now on, no matter what kind of man you find, even if it's the King of Heaven himself, they'll only be able to play with my leftover trash, hahaha!"
"Miss! Miss! Help, Miss!!"
Xiao Lian was terrified by Young Master Wu's sudden action. She tried to struggle but couldn't break free from his grasp. Instead, she was tightly hugged from behind, and with a tearing sound, her clothes were ripped open, revealing her inner garment.
"Let her go! Let her go!!"
Guo Hanyan grabbed Wu Gongzi's hand, but couldn't pull it away no matter what.
Seeing that Xiaolian had been pinned to the ground by Young Master Wu and her dress had been torn in half, in her panic, her gaze fell on the wedding scissors on the table, which were used to cut hair and tie it up.
She grabbed the red silk-wrapped wedding scissors and plunged them heavily into Wu Gongzi's back.
With a scream, Young Master Wu released Xiao Lian and slapped Guo Hanyan to the ground.
As he was about to walk toward Guo Hanyan, Xiaolian suddenly got up and hugged his leg, crying and begging him to let Guo Hanyan go. Naturally, she was kicked away hard.
Guo Hanyan screamed helplessly as Wu Gongzi tore her clothes open.
Hearing her cries, Young Master Wu not only didn't flinch, but instead showed a satisfied smile, as if the pain in his back was nothing at this moment.
But at that moment, Guo Hanyan's hand suddenly touched the scissors that had been accidentally dropped to the ground.
In her wild swinging, she accidentally stabbed Young Master Wu in the shoulder with a pair of scissors. Taking advantage of Young Master Wu's pain and release of her, she hurriedly got up and instinctively ran towards the door.
It was as if this place was just a nightmare for her, and that the nightmare would end as soon as she stepped outside.
Seeing Guo Hanyan run to the door, Wu Gongzi instinctively grabbed something and smashed it against the back of her head in an attempt to stop her.
Then, as if worried that she might resist, he pressed her to the ground and slammed her down several times, producing a series of muffled thuds.
When he came to his senses, all he could hear were Xiaolian's screams and cries. The person he had been pressing down on was now completely still.
Not only that, the person he pinned down had a large dent in the back of her head, surrounded by blood and bits of her brain matter.
He stared blankly at his hands, only to find that what he was holding was something that had been smashed and had a corner chipped off...
A candlestick shaped like a lotus base.
"ah!"
He instinctively cried out and threw down the candlestick in his hand. Judging from his panicked appearance, although he had bullied men and women in the past, he had never killed anyone with his own hands.
He took a few breaths, then turned the person over, as if trying to check their breathing.
But when Guo Hanyan was turned over, what was revealed was a face with blood streaming from her eyes and nose, her eyes wide open as if glaring angrily at him, which immediately frightened him so much that he fell to the ground with a thud.
In that instant, the people in the illusion suddenly stopped moving, frozen in place, as if they had instantly become soulless, lifeless sculptures. Only a faint weeping sound began to echo in the bridal chamber.
"Waaaaah... Waaaaah..."
"It hurts...it hurts so much...I hate it...I hate it so much..."
"Father...Mother...how cruel you are..."
"What a cruel heart... Waaaaah..."
Han Shannan looked around, but could only hear the faint crying and could not see the evil spirit.
After listening for a while, he couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. He silently rubbed his arms and took a step closer to Li Chenjin without making a sound.
Li Chen noticed Han Shannan's actions, but only glanced at him indifferently, pretending not to see them.
Her gaze fell quietly on the figure in wedding attire on the ground.
It was supposed to be a joyous occasion, yet it ended up like this; no matter how you look at it, it's truly heartbreaking.
After gazing at her for a long while, she finally let out a slow sigh and said, "It's pitiful. The person Guo trusted most blocked her way out; the person she loved most stopped loving her for someone else."
"If there had never been love before, perhaps it would be acceptable. But the person she loved and trusted most pushed her into the abyss. I wonder if those people thought about how she would survive alone in the abyss, and what kind of ending she would have in the end, when they watched her fall into the abyss."
As Li Chenjin spoke, the faint sobbing grew increasingly shrill, and the invisible resentment almost materialized, making it visible even to Han Shannan, who was originally unable to see the resentment. He felt a chill run down his spine and hurriedly said, "Stop talking! Stop talking! What if it thinks you're its confidant and wants you to stay as a guest?!"
Li Chen sighed again and said slowly, "Actually, even if I didn't say these things, Miss Guo would still want us to stay as guests. After all, we have to get involved in this matter, and it's absolutely impossible for us to let Miss Guo continue killing people here."
“Miss Guo, how about this? There’s an old saying, ‘Debts must be repaid, and murderers must pay with their lives.’ Young Master Wu killed you, but what about your stepmother… Judging from what we just saw, it seems she harmed you to avenge herself. But as an outsider, I really can’t explain all the grudges and grievances. In any case, your stepmother is dead, and Young Master Wu is your only enemy left in the world. And you’ve already taken his soul. Now he lives like this, insane and foolish, which is far more painful for him than if you had killed him directly. It will also cause Master Wu great suffering. In that case, you’ve avenged him.”
"Of course, if Miss Guo is still filled with resentment, it is fine to take the lives of Young Master Wu and Master Wu. However, after settling matters concerning Young Master Wu, you can no longer remain in this world, nor can you kill anyone again. You must go where you belong, how about that?"
As soon as Li Chen finished speaking, the crying that had been lingering around them suddenly stopped, leaving only a deathly silence.
Han Shannan asked cautiously, "If you ask it like that, will it answer?"
Li Chen shrugged and said, "Of course not. She must feel that everyone in this town has wronged her. If everyone in this town doesn't die, she'll probably keep harboring resentment."
Han Shannan asked in a daze, "Then what was the purpose of what you just said?"
Li Chen said, "Oh, I want to stall for time so I can think about what I should do next."
Han Shannan: "..."
To be honest, he now seriously doubts whether Li Chenjin is mentally ill...
There was still no sound around, only a slight chill in the air.
Immediately afterwards, the candlelight in the room began to flicker, sometimes bright and sometimes dim, and the coolness gradually turned into an extremely eerie chill, as if to freeze the space, making it difficult to breathe.
As a gust of cold wind swept through, the door to the bridal chamber was blown open with a bang. The people inside suddenly stirred, silently turning their heads to stare at them with dark, unsettling gazes.
And outside that dark door stood a figure in bright red.
The figure had her head down, obscuring her face, but blood could be seen dripping from her face onto the ground, quickly forming a small, crimson puddle.
“You…all…deserve to die…”
“They’re all… damned… damned… damned… damned…”
The figure had its head down and was repeating the words softly.
But in the end, the faint voice suddenly rose in pitch, becoming so sharp it seemed to echo through the heavens, causing Han Shannan to instinctively cover his ears.
But the sound was like an awl, and even though he covered his ears with his hands, it kept drilling into them, making his ears hurt as if they were about to bleed.
Even though he had become like this, the people around him seemed unaffected. They even waved their hands and threw out a talisman with lightning speed.
Although Guo Hanyan had suffered a loss before, she did not expect Li Chenjin to use this trick again. Caught off guard, she was hit by the talisman and let out a shrill scream before disappearing from their sight.
And in the instant it disappeared, this illusion, like shredded paper, began to tear apart and scatter inch by inch.
After the space plunged into darkness, Han Shannan opened his eyes again not long after and found himself back in their original cabin. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow! You can even take things out in an illusion. Isn't it said that once you enter an illusion, your consciousness is captivated, your body can't move, and you can't take things out of reality?"
“Oh, is that so?” Li Chen said. “What you said is indeed correct, but you are the only one who has been trapped in the illusion from beginning to end. Just like now…”
Who is that you saw?
Before he finished speaking, Li Chenjin's fingernails suddenly grew longer and curved like sharp hooks, and he reached out to grab Han Shannan.
Unfortunately, Han Shannan hadn't reacted yet. He instinctively raised his hand to block, and four deep, bone-revealing wounds instantly appeared on his forearm, causing him to scream in pain.
He slapped the people in front of him away, then clutched his forearm in pain.
If an ordinary person were to be scratched like this, the wound would quickly begin to fester as soon as it started to bleed. Fortunately, he was not an ordinary person, so he only felt intense pain in the wound, and the bleeding did not stop for a while, but there was no sign of it festering.
Before he could recover from the pain in his arm, he felt a sudden, sharp pain on his face, as if he had been slapped hard across the face.
He subconsciously raised his hand to cover his face again, turned his head to look at the person, and saw Li Chen's face magnified. He was so frightened that he screamed "Wow!" and kicked her.
Li Chen quickly dodged to the side, took a few steps back, and said, "Cultivator Han, you repay kindness with enmity? I saw that you hadn't come out of the illusion, so I rescued you from the illusion, and the moment you opened your eyes, you wanted to kill me?"
Li Chen sighed helplessly, but seeing Han Shannan looking at her warily, she had no choice but to prove her innocence: "Sometimes when you can't sleep at night, you like to climb out the window and squat on the tree trunk outside to sleep with the birds. You also like to build nests for the birds, and when you think they're not pretty, you even let them incubate them..."
"Alright, alright! Stop talking. I believe you're telling the truth. Why are you saying all this? Honestly..." Han Shannan rubbed his arm, seemingly muttering, "So, are we out of the illusion now? How come you were out just now, but I'm still not out?"
“Because your mind is not firm, just like ordinary people, you are too easily deceived by illusions. Go back and memorize a few more Buddhist scriptures,” Li Chen said. “However, although we have left the illusion, we have entered the illusion array. If I am not mistaken, the reason why the god worshipped by that Master Wu chose to help Miss Guo is because Miss Guo wants the lives of everyone in this town.”
"Although Master Wu can expand the number of believers for that deity, not everyone is willing to accept that favor and bring the statue home. But Miss Guo is different. She has the ability to kill people and distribute their bodies to the doorsteps of various households. So naturally, she also has the ability to deliver the statue into people's homes when no one is watching. After all, this is not a difficult task for an evil spirit."
Han Shannan frowned and asked, "But why would it send its own idol to so many people's homes? If those people don't know about it, they naturally won't believe in it or worship it. What does it gain from that?"
Li Chen responded with a gentle smile, "There is too much to gain. What it truly wants is not the faith of those people, but their souls. The reason I went to the mortuary before was to summon the souls of those people and ask them questions. But the result was that I could not sense any trace of their souls, which means that the souls of those who died are no longer in this world, and cannot even be found in the underworld."
"The reason for sending the statues to so many homes is naturally to facilitate the illusion array in the future. If you don't believe me, you can go out and see for yourself. Now, not only here, but the entire Xicheng Town has probably been included in the illusion array."
Han Shannan walked out of the wooden house with some doubt and, following Li Chenjin's guidance, looked up at the sky.
A huge moon hung in the sky, much larger than it usually appears.
Strangely enough, a sun appeared beside the moon, creating a bizarre scene where the world was half night and half day.
Before he could even cry out in surprise, the sun and moon hanging in the sky suddenly had a crack torn open in the middle.
Within those enormous eyes, the blood-red pupils moved up, down, left, and right, as if observing how this place had become.
But in the end, the gaze of those eyes suddenly shifted and fixed on their direction.
The moment that gaze fell upon him, a chill and fear welled up from the bottom of his heart.
That feeling quickly spread, engulfing his entire body, causing him to freeze instantly and his jaw to tremble uncontrollably.
He tried to look away, but found that he couldn't move at all. Even turning his neck or blinking was extremely difficult. He was forced to stare into those blood-red eyes, and even breathing became extremely difficult, as if he would suffocate at any moment.
Li Chen pressed down on the back of his head, forcing his head down. "If you're scared, don't keep staring."
"We must have acted too hastily, making Miss Guo feel threatened, which is why the illusion array was activated a little earlier. However, judging by the time, our fellow cultivators from the meditation community should be arriving soon. If someone can break through from the outside, it will be easier for them than for us to break through from the inside."
Han Shannan's jaw was still chattering as he asked in a trembling voice, "Then... what should we do now?"
Li Chen sighed. "Let's go to town. Although there aren't many living people here, there's no guarantee that the corpses in those graves won't crawl out. It's more acceptable to deal with the living than the dead."
As Han Shannan listened to Li Chenjin's words, he couldn't help but look towards the graves.
The thought of those buried corpses possibly breaking up at any moment sent a shiver down his spine and made his face change. He hurriedly followed Li Chenjin toward the town, afraid of being left alone there.
It takes quite a while to walk from here to Xicheng Town.
But now Han Shannan is right next to me, and he grabbed my arm and rushed me to town. It would only take half a cup of tea to get there.
But when the two of them stepped into Xicheng Town, they were both stunned.
The town, which used to be bustling with people and relatively peaceful, is now filled with blood and the aura of death on every inch of its land.
The ground was littered with traces of the fight, and many houses were damaged to varying degrees. Some houses even caught fire, engulfing the houses and the people inside who had not yet escaped. Those outside could only hear helpless and distorted cries of agony coming from inside.
Someone was injured and fell to the ground, unable to escape. He could only shout and pray that someone would lend a helping hand, but no one passing by was willing to stop for the stranger lying on the ground.
Suddenly, a "splat" sound rang out, and blood splattered from not far away, almost splashing onto the hem of Li Chenjin's clothes.
The two looked toward the source of the sound and saw a man holding an axe, severing the neck of the person on the ground, while chanting, "Serves you right for stealing my sword tassel! Serves you right for always gossiping! Serves you right for stealing my sword tassel! Serves you right for always gossiping!!"
"I'll kill you! Kill you!! Kill you!! Kill you, kill you, kill you!!!"
But the person's voice suddenly stopped at this moment, as if sensing the arrival of outsiders. He slowly straightened up and turned his head to look in their direction.
Although the man's face and body were covered in blood, his figure and features still made it clear that he was the same burly man they had met at the teahouse.
His gaze slowly fell on Li Chenjin, and a smile gradually spread across his face. "You are... Layman... Layman Chenjin... You've come..."
"Layman...Layman...Hehehe...Layman..."
"Dust dissipates... Layman... Cultivation world... Cultivation world..."
More and more people slowly raised their heads upon hearing the voice, and finally all turned to look in their direction.
These were clearly just ordinary people, yet they looked more terrifying than evil spirits and demons, causing Han Shannan to involuntarily take a step back, his voice trembling as he said, "He...they...what's wrong with them? And over there...over there...what are those people...doing? He...they..."
Li Chen followed his gaze.
After seeing it clearly, his expression changed drastically.
There were quite a few people gathered there, but even more corpses. Some of the bodies were even tied up, hanging on the door like slaughtered pigs, their blood drained and their bellies ripped open.
On the "carpet" made of corpses under the door, two laughing men were tearing at the clothes of a woman who was screaming and struggling.
"You filthy widow! You filthy bitch! All I did was touch you a couple of times before? Huh? You actually ran away when you saw me! Run, run now!!"
"You slut! Bah! You took so many eggs from me, but you won't agree to be my wife. All you do is... take... men's things, huh? Today I'm going to have my fill!"
The building looked like an inn. Inside the inn stood a scholar-looking man, pointing at the people outside with a terrified expression. "Crazy! Crazy! You've all gone mad!! Murder! Murder! Murder!!!"
As he shouted, he suddenly clutched his head, his face contorted in pain as he muttered to himself, "No...no...I don't want to kill...I don't want to kill...I don't want revenge...I have no grudges...What's in my head? I don't want to...Get out, get out, get out!!!"
Hearing the scholar's words, Li Chen's mind wavered. He immediately raised his hand to his forehead, frowned deeply, and muttered, "Something's not right... this illusion array is strange..."
"Forget about whether it's right or wrong, are you going to run or fight?!"
Li Chen listened intently to Han Shannan's words, then looked up and gazed ahead.
The people who were originally some distance away from them were now slowly walking towards them, holding various knives, spears, and clubs, as if they wanted to kill them as well.
Li Chen said, "You go and save the people first. I'll deal with these people."
Han Shannan was taken aback. "You can beat so many people?"
Li Chenjin seemed to have returned to normal at this moment. He put down the hand that was covering his forehead and said seriously, "I can't beat them, but I can run faster than them."
Han Shannan: "..."
Although it didn't sound very believable, after spending so many days together, Li Chen didn't seem like the kind of person who would make empty boasts. So even though Han Shannan didn't really believe it, he still turned around and ran towards the people who were screaming for help.
The people opposite seemed to have only Li Chenjin as their target. They merely glanced at Han Shannan's departure without any reaction, and continued to approach the direction where Li Chenjin was.
"Your face...face...give me...the face of the Sword God...shouldn't...be on your body..."
"Why didn't you save us... Why didn't you seek justice for our family first? Waaah... Why did you go to the Wu family to seek justice for them as soon as you arrived in Xicheng Town... Waaah... The Zen world... the cultivation world... are just like the imperial court... They only serve the rich, waaah... Why... Why..."
"It's not fair...it's not fair...why can someone like you enter the cultivation world...why...why wasn't I selected? Why wasn't I selected? Why...it's not fair...it's so unfair..."
"Why couldn't I pass the entrance exam for the cultivation world... Why... It's unfair... This world is unfair everywhere..."
"Why must I suffer in the mortal world from the moment I'm born, while you enjoy a life of luxury in the cultivation world from the moment you're born... Why can those of you born into the cultivation world enter directly without having to take any tests... It's unfair... It's unfair... Heaven is blind... Heaven is blind..."
"I am so miserable... I am so miserable... so miserable... Why have I prayed to so many gods and Buddhas... Why don't they protect me... Why have I donated so much money to the Zen community, yet the Zen temples won't let me become a monk... Why is there no place in the world where I can find peace... I am so miserable... so miserable..."
Li Chen narrowed her eyes, watching the people who had raised their weapons and were constantly approaching her, and sighed silently.
Han Shannan, who was not far away, had just rescued a few people and carried them to the rooftop. When he turned to check on Li Chenjin's condition, he saw that Li Chenjin had not only not run away, but had also sat down cross-legged on the ground, completely unconcerned about the blood and filth on the ground.
Seeing that those people were already close to Li Chenjin, Han Shannan immediately shouted that something was wrong.
Just as she was about to fly over to save her, she saw Li Chen clasp his hands together, and a soft golden light emanated from her location, enveloping an area within three zhang around her.
The moment the golden light touched those people, they seemed to suddenly wake up. The bloodlust in their eyes vanished instantly. Upon seeing the weapons they held and the bloodstains on them, they all cried out and threw their weapons away.
But after those things were thrown away, those past memories flooded back like a tidal wave. When their eyes fell upon the scene around them, they all cried out in terror, "No, no! How could this be?! How could this be?! I was just angry because my child didn't listen to me, how could I kill him with my own hands?! No, no! Why did this happen, my child... my child... my child! My child!!"
"Why... why was I so angry just now? My father only said one thing to me, how could I have thought of so many things from the past... how could I have killed my father... how could... how could... why... how could..."
"I killed someone... I killed someone... I just hated her, I just hated her a little... I didn't want to kill her... I didn't want to kill her... How could this happen... How could this happen..."
"That wasn't me...it wasn't me...it wasn't me...I wouldn't hurt anyone...I wouldn't hurt anyone...that wasn't me...that wasn't me..."
“What did I just do? What did I just do… I just thought she was pretty… I just… I just wanted to look at her a little longer… I didn’t want to do those things to her… I didn’t want to do those things to her… I just… I was just drunk… I just thought about it occasionally… I just… How could I… How could I have done that? How could I have done that…”
………………
Those who suddenly came to their senses wept bitterly, muttering to themselves as if searching for a reason that would appease their consciences.
It wasn't until someone suddenly knelt on the ground that the others seemed to snap out of their daze. Their gazes fell on Li Chenjin, who was dressed in white and sitting cross-legged on the ground, and they immediately knelt down in her direction as if this could alleviate their sins.
Eight or nine of them even knelt down on the ground, crying and shouting as they slowly moved toward Li Chenjin.
Li Chen opened his eyes upon hearing the sound and saw several people covered in blood, weeping bitterly, kneeling in front of him.
"Layman, this can't be true, it can't be true, right? How could I have killed my mother? I'm a Buddhist, I'm a Buddhist, I really am a Buddhist! Layman, please save my mother! I'm a Buddhist, I wouldn't kill someone, how could I kill someone?!"
"Layman, layman! I've always wanted to join the meditation community. I've always done good deeds. I would never kill someone... How could I kill someone? I wouldn't even dare kill a chicken or a duck normally, layman... How could I kill someone? Please save me, please save me! Please save me!!"
“Layman… Layman Chenjin… I know your master is incredibly powerful. Please, could you please have your master, Zen Master Mingcun, come here and bring my child back to life? I truly believe in Buddhism, I really do. I don’t know what’s wrong with me… I don’t know what’s wrong with me… I suddenly want to kill… I suddenly want to kill everyone who has ever offended me… I don’t know what’s wrong with me… I don’t know…”
Li Chen gazed quietly at the people before him and asked softly, "Do you truly believe in Buddhism?"
Upon hearing this, those people paused for only a few seconds before nodding in agreement in unison.
Li Chen observed their reactions and continued, "When you believe in Buddhism, do you truly believe, or do you believe in it out of a hope that the gods and Buddhas will bring you the benefits you desire?"
Hearing Li Chenjin's words, those people were stunned and didn't know how to respond for a moment.
Li Chen said, “If you truly aspire to the world of Zen meditation, you should have heard this saying: ‘The thoughts and intentions of all sentient beings in Jambudvipa are nothing but sin. Even if they gain good fortune, they will lose their initial resolve. If they encounter evil circumstances, their thoughts will increase with each passing moment (1).’ This is no different from what you are doing now. Your minds are so weak that you can easily be swayed by evil thoughts. What exactly do you believe in?”
"If I'm not mistaken, you still have the statue of the deity that you took from Master Wu's house enshrined in your home, don't you? Do you now worship Buddha day and night, or do you worship that statue of the deity day and night, praying for it to grant you what you want and punish those you hate?"
Those people immediately turned pale and dared not respond to Li Chenjin's words.
Upon hearing Li Chenjin's words, one person's face paled slightly, but he quickly realized what was happening and exclaimed, "It's that statue! That one is the problem!"
"I told you so! I told you so! What kind of deity is that effective?! I got what I asked for—wealth, wife, even the death of the person I hated—that person was killed by the town's evil spirits the very next day! What kind of deity is that effective?!"
The author's note: (1) From the Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva Sutra.
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