Chapter 30030 Empty sedan crossing the street at night
"Hasn't she remembered yet?"
The "she" Nezha mentioned was undoubtedly me—I was the only one in this dilapidated temple who had lost my memory. But... why was he asking about Lotus? Wait, was he talking to Lotus?
In a flash, a thought exploded: Nezha and Lianhua, they know each other!
"What do you expect her to remember?" The lotus stems in his arms suddenly tensed. The muffled voice now echoed clearly in the empty temple, carrying its usual coldness, yet also a hint of elusive anxiety. "Only a few days? Besides..."
Nezha's brow furrowed even deeper. He strode to the shrine, his gaze sweeping across the hollow clay statue, his eyes fixed on the empty tablet. His expression darkened. "Even the 'name' has been erased... No wonder the Yunshui River is so ominously ominous." He stretched out his fingers, brushing through the thick dust accumulated on the altar, twisting them with his fingertips. "This Hexian Temple has long since ceased to be a shroud of worship. It's now a hollow shell. The Yunshui Goddess... is no longer with us."
I:? ? ? ?
"Wait, you two!" I couldn't help but raise my voice. "Could you please explain? I don't understand a word you're saying!"
Nezha's indifferent gaze fell on me, and he said decisively: "Leave first." Before he finished speaking, he turned and walked out.
“…”
I hurried after them, holding the lotus. Although these two guys were mysterious and infuriating, the temple was eerie and dark, so it was not advisable to stay there for long.
As I stepped out of the temple, the warm sunlight instantly dispelled the chill that had been lingering in my bones. I sighed deeply and stared at the tall figure in front of me. "When did you two... meet?"
The lotus stem poked Nezha's back unceremoniously: "You say."
Nezha paused, tilted his head and frowned: "Why do I say that?"
I:……
It's just a matter of saying something, is that a big deal?
"You go first." I nodded at Nezha. The lotus in my arms chuckled softly. Nezha's eyes flicked back and forth between us, his lips twitching imperceptibly before returning to his indifferent expression. "Before entering this world."
"This world?" I chewed on the word, and an absurd thought emerged, "Are you really... coming down to earth to experience tribulation?"
Nezha and Lianhua looked at each other quickly and sighed at the same time.
Nezha turned around and looked directly at me: "You really can't remember anything at all?"
What can I remember?
"You guys talk first, I'll listen, maybe I'll get it." I said firmly.
Nezha's expression was full of distrust.
Instead, the lotus in his arms spoke: "This place is in the map of mountains, rivers, and the state. When you and I were chasing the crane, we mistakenly entered this map the moment we left the cave. I became a lotus again, and you lost your memory. This neighbor—" The lotus stem nodded at Nezha, "He entered later. Tang Sanzang is also in the painting. Sun Wukong couldn't enter the painting, so he went to the Heavenly Palace for help and brought him here."
I:?
I:!
The Mountain and River State Map? Sun Wukong? Nezha? I understand every word, but when you put them together, I don't understand!
I swallowed hard and looked at Nezha for confirmation. He nodded coldly, "That's roughly correct."
"approximately?"
Nezha added: "It wasn't Sun Wukong who pulled me in, it was me who volunteered."
lotus:"……"
I:"……"
Is... is that so...
"That's really... thank you for your help." Lotus' voice dragged out, a sinister tone that threatened to overflow. Fortunately, Nezha seemed to be well aware of the temperament of this "alien" and only glanced at him lightly, ignoring him.
On the way back to Yunshui Town, I couldn't contain my curiosity. "Lotus, who was that crane you just mentioned?" Lotus seemed reluctant, but seeing my persistence, she finally said, "It was originally a crane under my master's command. Later, it was sucked into the underworld with you by a whirlpool. For some reason, it was possessed by something that captured Tang Sanzang and trapped us with this painting."
Nezha interjected, "The strange thing is, I asked Senior Brother Yang Jian, and he didn't lose the map of mountains, rivers, and states." He turned his gaze to the lotus in my arms, "So this map must have come from your world."
Lotus disagreed. "Even in our world, the Mountain and River State Map should be in Senior Brother Yang Jian's hands. He used this treasure in his battle against Yuan Hong that day. The one in He's hand... seems subtly different from Senior Brother's. I believe this Mountain and River State Map is from this world, but perhaps it wasn't originally called that."
Listening to their conversation, an incredible yet extremely clear idea finally exploded in my chaotic mind.
"You're Nezha too!" I ducked my head, staring at the lotus in my arms. Eliminate all impossibilities, and whatever remains, no matter how absurd, must be the truth.
The lotus petals seemed to tremble slightly, and then a helpless sigh came out: "You... finally noticed it."
Let's take a look at the current situation. Nezha in his lotus form—"Lianzha" or "Nezha" for short—and the missing Tang Monk, myself, have been trapped in this strange painting of mountains, rivers, and states, by the scheme of the possessor of the crane. There's no way out yet, but perhaps the possessor will release us.
only……
"Why?!" I protested this in full force! "Why do you all have all your memories, but mine is completely gone?!"
Nezha glanced at me. "When I first entered this world, I also lost my memory. I just recovered faster." His eyes swept over the lotus. "Perhaps because he was trapped in the lotus form, his memory was never truly lost. And I..." He paused. "Perhaps it's also because of him. I am Nezha, and he is also Nezha. Although we are not from the same world, we can be said to be born from the same origin."
I get it! My counterpart and I have a sense of connection, right?
When I thought about it this way, the logic suddenly made sense.
"So you consider me your neighbor? Then why didn't you recognize each other earlier?" I glared at Nezha.
"He can't get in." Lian Zha's voice was a little pent-up, "And I... can't get out either."
Nezha nodded in confirmation.
"Then at least you two should have told them when you first met!" I glared at Yi Ren Yi Hua.
"Would you have believed it then?" Lotus asked in a calm voice, "I was even asking you indirectly."
“…”
Uh... well... if I hadn't personally experienced the corpses, the ancient temple, the disappearance of the river fairy and all that shit, and just heard him say "You are trapped in a painting, we are from another world", I would probably think his brain was blocked by a lotus pod.
"What's more," Lian Zha added, his tone carrying a subtle complexity, "you had just suffered a hard time, and your brother kept a close eye on you. Then you had a high fever and became unconscious, and a few days passed. I finally saw you go out, and then your body was dug up again..."
In short, I was either being interrupted or on the way to being interrupted, and I had a lot of problems of my own, so I never had a chance to talk peacefully.
But one thing stuck in my throat: "Wait, you said the crane was possessed. But where's the thing that possessed the crane? Is it in the painting too?"
"Nine out of ten," Lian Zha's voice sank. "It, or rather the thing controlling it, is probably hiding somewhere in this world, watching us."
——
As darkness fell, the outline of Yunshui Town gradually became clear ahead. Compared to the dense, cotton-like white fog outside, the air inside the town was surprisingly refreshing.
A kind of calmness that is forced to be maintained in the dead silence.
"Speaking of which, have you ever been outside Yunshui Town?" I turned my head and looked at Nezha beside me. I woke up at home, and Lianzha was just a lotus.
Nezha shook his head. "I've thought about it before, but as soon as I stepped out of the town, I ran into an invisible wall. It was so solid, I couldn't get out. And even within the town, some places are off-limits. For example, the River Fairy Temple. If you hadn't led the way today, I might not have been able to go." He paused, his tone filled with resignation. "Perhaps... it's somewhere not depicted in this 'Map of Mountains, Rivers, and States,' so we can't go there."
In fact, no one of us has seen what the map of mountains, rivers, and the country in the crane's hand looks like.
Perhaps it's the recent flood of dead fish and corpses in the Yunshui River, but the town is permeated by a persistent sense of oppression. The sun hasn't yet fully set, yet the streets are already eerily empty. Every household's doors and windows are tightly shut, as if sealing off the entire town. Behind the dim window paper, shadows loom, like countless pairs of eyes peering from the darkness. Occasionally, a wooden window or two is cautiously opened a crack, and the figures within, upon catching sight of us, dart back like frightened rabbits. With a muffled thud, the window sash closes tightly, leaving behind a suffocating silence.
“…”
An indescribable feeling clung to my chest. While I could understand their fear, this reaction... was too much. After all, we were our neighbors, so why were we avoiding them like the plague?
"There is a statue of the river god on the door of every household." Nezha glanced at the closed doors and said in a low voice.
"But there's no incense or offerings in the temple. It's really strange," I said, suddenly remembering my brother's words. "Since Yunshui Niangniang is dead, it makes sense that the temple has stopped offering incense. But from what I've seen of Yunshui Town, apart from the lack of offerings in the temple, it doesn't look like the river god has died. My brother said earlier that this disaster happened because I returned from Hexian Temple. But the temple has been dilapidated for a long time, so why would I go to Hexian Temple?"
The lotus stem trembled slightly in my arms, and Lian Zha's voice was a little cold: "Then you'll have to ask your brother."
I stroked my chin. Perhaps the car accident or something was just a setting? After all, this is a mountain, river, and state map. As long as the artist wants it, it can come true.
Just then—
There were footsteps coming from the street ahead.
It was not the sound of an ordinary person walking, but a heavy, dragging, wet and sticky "click" sound, which was particularly clear in the silent street.
Nezha reacted quickly, grabbing my arm and leading me into the shadows of a narrow, deep alley. I subconsciously hugged Lianzha tighter in my arms and held my breath.
Several figures walked stiffly through the alley. They looked completely lifeless, their movements stiff, their joints rusted. They were carrying a sedan chair, a blood-red one at that. The curtains were slightly lifted by the night wind, and in the last ray of daylight, I could clearly see that it was empty...
Empty sedan chairs cross the street, souls return at night,
The old person’s wedding dress wraps the new grave.
Those two strange lines of the ballad instantly popped up in my mind, and a chill ran down my spine all the way to my scalp.
The "people" carrying the sedan chair walked with heavy steps, carrying an indescribable cold and earthy smell, and gradually moved away, disappearing in the thick fog at the other end of the street.
Only when the teeth-grinding footsteps faded completely did the air in the alley seem to begin to flow again. I let out a long, silent breath, feeling my back soaked with cold sweat.
"They're gone?" I said, my voice tense.
"Yeah." Nezha responded, scanning the street outside the alley with sharp eyes to confirm that it was safe, "It's safe now."
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