Chapter 32032 I'm not afraid of the dark, I'm really not afraid of the dark
The first time I saw him, the name "Tang Monk" suddenly and illogically popped into my mind. But when Nezha asked me if I remembered everything before, I hesitated. Aside from this name, my memory before the painting was still blank.
"Maybe... I remembered it after leaving the scroll." I said in a low voice.
Nezha nodded slightly, seeming to agree with this possibility.
Before arriving here, I had considered countless possibilities: the bride could be a man, a woman, but I had never imagined it would be Tang Sanzang. We were still trying to figure out where Tang Sanzang was, but he suddenly appeared.
But when I think about it, it doesn't seem so sudden...
After all, judging from Nezha's story of Tang Sanzang being captured, Sun Wukong going to get reinforcements, and the man holding the paper drawing secretly promoting human sacrifice, it is not surprising that Tang Sanzang is the one who comes to the New Year.
And after encountering so many bizarre events, I suddenly felt like I was finally back on track. Cranes, the Mountain and River State Map, the Goddess of Clouds and Water... Ultimately, this was all just a checkpoint on Tang Sanzang's journey to the West!
I took a deep breath, and the nervousness in my heart subsided. I felt that with Tang Sanzang around, everything would be stable.
"Amitabha, fairy, Third Prince, we meet again." Tang Seng stood up and bowed with his hands together.
Nezha closed the door and asked, "Why is the holy monk here?"
Tang Sanzang sighed helplessly, "I was abducted by a demon and woke up here. Why are the Third Prince and the fairy here?"
I said, "We were also captured by the monster."
Nezha glanced at me, and I coughed lightly. Being trapped in a painting by a monster is just like being captured. But he didn't refute it.
Tang Seng sighed deeply, "Amitabha..."
I looked at Tang Seng. He felt a little uncomfortable being stared at and unconsciously avoided my gaze.
"What's this, fairy?"
"How many days has the holy monk been here?"
Tang Sanzang thought for a moment and said, "About ten days. Thanks to the host's hospitality, I'm not forced to sleep in the wilderness."
The timing roughly matches, which means I haven't lost my memory. No way, with just a few people entering the painting, I'm the only one who's lost my memory so completely?
"Has the holy monk never left the house?" Nezha asked.
Tang Monk shook his head and said, "My master once said that something unexpected happened in the Yunshui River. The river god is angry and may bring disaster. He advised me not to go out easily."
"Then you know that the river god is furious and wants to appease his anger by marrying off a bride. And this family wants to marry you to the river god?"
Tang Seng is wearing his wedding dress now, I think he should know it.
"Amitabha, I also know this." He said, "The great disaster in Yunshui River is because the position of the river god has been vacant for a long time. We need someone to become the river god to avoid this disaster. The master's sister is still young. If I don't go to hell, who will? Amitabha..."
When Tang Seng said this, I seemed to see a golden light behind him.
I wanted to say something but stopped myself, my lips moved slightly, and then I looked at Nezha, and found that he had an expression of "as expected".
"Did the master tell you?"
Tang Seng smiled, and the golden light became even brighter.
I:……
"How does the holy monk know that the master is not lying to you?" Nezha asked back.
I nodded beside them. I was once human, so I naturally understood humans. They always choose to tell something that benefits them. They may not lie, but they will hide some things, and these things are usually the most deadly.
"Third Prince, don't worry, Fairy. The master won't lie to me. I can see the regret in his heart."
he?
I wanted to ask something else, but he avoided my sight.
I always feel that he is hiding something. Who is he talking about?
"Then you won't seek the scriptures anymore? What about your disciples?"
Tang Monk said nothing, but clasped his hands together and bowed to me, saying:
"Amitabha, I have exiled my eldest disciple. Bajie and Sha Wujing will divide their luggage and leave. I am going to the West to obtain the scriptures. What I seek is the Mahayana Dharma, which can resolve all grievances and eliminate unnecessary disasters. Bodhisattvas fear the cause, and sentient beings fear the result. Those who have not yet attained are like distant mountains and mist, and the difficulties before us are like beggars at the door. Giving up the near and pursuing the far is not an act of compassion."
I:……
I know what you mean, but...but...
"What if marrying the river god is actually a human sacrifice?" Nezha asked further.
"If I can resolve the calamity in Yunshui Town, why should I fear being burned by fire?"
I:……
Nezha: ...
It doesn't make sense, it really doesn't make sense, he really wants to commit suicide. Sun Wukong, why don't you come in and persuade your master!
There was no way to convince Tang Sanzang; he seemed to be a stubborn person in this regard. We couldn't persuade him, nor could we force him to leave. For now, we could only leave. Before leaving, I turned around and said,
"The bride will be married on the sixth day. There's still one day left, tomorrow. What if the monk changes his mind..." What if he changes his mind? What should I do next? How can I contact him without a cell phone? I was stumped.
At this time, Tang Monk said: "Fairy, I have made up my mind."
“…”
With a tangled web of thoughts in our heads, we left the main room. Just as we were about to exit the main door, we heard the sound of sticky footsteps and a fishy smell. Nezha quickly bolted the door and then, pulling me along, ran into the main room where Tang Sanzang was. Inside, Tang Sanzang saw us return and was about to question us, but I shushed him and rolled under the bed with Nezha. Tang Sanzang, perched on the edge of the bed, seemed to have sensed something and began reciting sutras. I've never felt so safe in the Buddhist scriptures!
Even though there were two doors between us, I still heard footsteps. They stopped at the first gate, as if waiting for something. Was it because the bride had been chosen, so they were waiting directly at the bride's house? If they were stopped at the first door today, would they be outside the main house tomorrow? And the day after tomorrow, wouldn't they be riding in a sedan chair?
The more I think about it, the more likely it seems. Before, the bride hadn't been chosen, so the paper figurines carried the empty sedan chair and wandered the streets of Yunshui Town. Now that the bride has been chosen, they're heading straight to her home. And today, coincidentally, the residents of Yunshui Town are away cleaning the Hexian Temple...
After a while, the footsteps gradually faded away.
Nezha and I crawled out from under the bed.
Seeing us like this, Tang Sanzang asked with concern, "Are you two feeling unwell?"
I shook my head and said, "Thank you, holy monk."
He didn't seem surprised that the two of us were avoiding these strange things.
After that, Nezha and I immediately rushed back without disturbing him.
When they were about to say goodbye at the door, Nezha suddenly asked, "Your brother knew that strange things were happening on the street, so why did he let you go alone to the bride's house to deliver fish?"
I was stunned and said, "Maybe they don't know that the time for paper dolls to carry the sedan chair is getting earlier and earlier?"
Nezha's words really made me suspicious. My brother seems to value me, but sometimes he doesn't. It was the same thing when I went to Hexian Temple before. If I had known the paper figurines carrying sedan chairs started the day the incident at Yunshui River began, and that they were getting earlier and earlier, I wouldn't have let me go to Hexian Temple yesterday. It takes a whole day to go from home to Yunshui River and back, and I'm bound to encounter paper figurines carrying sedan chairs on the way back. And today, I'm asked to deliver fish...
"He agreed to let me go out alone twice. Once I saw paper people carrying a sedan chair, and once I saw the bride marrying the river god..." A vague idea was about to emerge, but it flashed by too quickly, and I lost my direction for a moment.
"Your brother is not simple." Nezha reminded in a deep voice.
I pursed my lips, acknowledging the statement.
"Although Tang Seng has been found, the person holding the painting is still in the dark. Do you think your brother could be the one holding the painting? Before at Baihu Ridge, it recognized you as its sister. Now that you have a brother, this possibility cannot be ruled out." Nezha suddenly came up with a wonderful idea.
I was about to object, but then I realized what was happening and asked, "I spent a lot of time with that crane?"
"Not necessarily," Nezha said. "According to him, you and the crane came to this world because of the whirlpool. And the crane was possessed by another being for unknown reasons. If that's the case, the being you call your brother is probably the one who took over the crane's body..."
The one he was referring to was Lian Zha.
Now, with Nezha's words, the fog in his mind suddenly dissipated.
No wonder I'd lost my memory so completely. That was the crux of the matter. Because I was familiar with it, it had to erase my memory. Otherwise, wouldn't I have revealed its true identity long ago? How could it possibly continue this drama?
My brother...
Nezha patted my shoulder and said, "Go back first. Don't confront him head-on."
I nodded and went into the house. My brother was not at home, and I didn't know where he had gone.
Lian Zha in the room asked, "What were you two talking about at the door? Why is your fish still in your hand?"
I looked at the fish in my hand: ...
Oh, I forgot...
Never mind. I put the fish aside and prepared to make braised fish in the evening.
I sighed, leaned over the table, and said to Lian Zha in the corner, "Tell me, is my brother the one who possessed the painting and took over the crane?"
Lian Zha seemed surprised. "Why do you think so?"
I told Nezha everything about my speculation and the fact that the bride was Tang Monk.
"When we were chasing He earlier, we mentioned that the man holding the painting who had seized He's body was targeting Tang Sanzang. He first captured Tang Sanzang and then lured us here. Now they've pushed for a human sacrifice, and the sacrifice is Tang Sanzang again... According to you, Tang Sanzang accepted death with equanimity. Could this be a test?"
I said, "All the eighty-one trials are tests. I can understand Tang Sanzang, but what about us? We simply strayed in."
Lian Zha pondered for a moment and said, "Perhaps it is for both Tang Monk and you?"
"Don't you think the person holding the painting has his own little thoughts? If your brother is the one holding the painting, then why does he mistake you for his sister?"
I always feel like Lian Zha seems to know something.
The lotus stem gently tapped my back. "Don't overthink it. Perhaps everything will be clear on the day of your wedding."
Although I know this is just consolation, it still makes me feel a little relieved.
The next morning, I still hadn't seen my brother. I wondered if he knew I was beginning to doubt his identity. I'd hoped to get a clue from him, but now that was all hopeless.
I took Lianzha and Nezha to see Tang Sanzang. Strangely, the town's streets were still deserted. Could they still be cleaning up the Hexian Temple?
Just as I was thinking this, Nezha suddenly asked a question.
"Don't you think Yunshui Town is missing something?"
Lian Zha and I asked in unison, "What?"
Nezha said succinctly: "Government offices, ancestral halls... Yunshui Town seems to have no government offices or ancestral halls except for ordinary people."
It suddenly dawned on me.
Generally, if you want to understand a place's past, you'd look for government offices, libraries, ancestral halls, or academies. However, since I woke up in the painting, I haven't seen any government offices or anything like that. Yunshui Town doesn't have any academies either, and I don't think I've seen many gentry either, and they wouldn't necessarily have libraries. As for ancestral halls, since they were almost nonexistent in my area back then, I don't know much about them. Most of what I've learned is from the internet, and that's not comprehensive, so it took me a while to wrap my head around them.
This problem is neither serious nor not serious, but it cannot be said that it is not serious either.
Just like there are no police in melodramatic novels, it is not outrageous that there are no government ancestral halls in the world of paintings.
However, this phenomenon raises another question. Originally, local county annals were archived in libraries, ancestral halls, or academies built by government officials and local gentry. However, Yunshui Town lacks these institutions. So, where would the annals be stored?
Don’t say it doesn’t exist. How can a small town not have a past?
“Maybe it’s the Haxian Temple.”
That makes sense, but the Hexian Temple has been in ruins for a long time, so how could it have any books stored there?
"Whether it is or not, you will find out when you go!"
…
A small town without a past has either experienced a large-scale war and lost the county annals during the escape, or experienced a large-scale disaster, resulting in the death of the entire town's people... But Yunshui Town does not look like a place where people fled during the war, so it should be the second case.
"Lianzha, Lianzha, the people in Yunshui Town should be alive, right?"
Lian Zha in his arms was surprised and asked, "Why would you ask such a question? This is a world in a painting, where are there any living people?"
Me: ...Yes, that’s right!
Nezha suddenly said, "The world in the painting, does this mean that this is the past of Yunshui Town?"
What does the person holding the painting want to tell us?
Lian Zha sneered: "Maybe in the future."
I:……
How come in the blink of an eye, they are playing guessing games again?
As we talked, we were already on the path to the Hexian Temple. Nezha's brows suddenly furrowed. "Something's not right. I'll go up and check it out." With that, he vanished from the spot. I was stunned.
I don't know when it got dark again.
"It's worthy of being a world in a painting. The time is not accurate at all." I complained, then hugged Lian Zha tightly and walked forward step by step.
"Are you scared?"
“…”
I held the lotus even tighter. I'm not afraid of the dark, but walking in the dark always makes my brain surprisingly active, imagining that something is following me, or something will appear in front of me... Really, I'm not afraid of the dark.
"Don't be afraid, I'm here." The extremely cold voice of the boy sounded in my ears. In a trance, I seemed to see the shadow of the boy standing beside me, accompanying me forward.
"Well, I'm not afraid."
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The author has something to say: This plot will end tomorrow. Although it will be a bit sad, after the sadness, there will only be sweetness [shy]
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