Chapter 34034 Lady Yunshui (End)
I asked Little Lotus how long I'd been unconscious, but she said it was only a moment. Ah, but I clearly had been in that illusion for a long time.
After I calmed down, I told Xiao Lianhua about my experience in the fantasy world.
Little Lotus said nothing, but just kept wrapping herself around me tighter.
My face was filled with pain and I felt like I was suffocating!
Amid my sobs, the lotus stem finally loosened.
"Little Lotus, you're hugging me too tight. My bones will break."
He whispered an apology.
Of course I forgave him, but then I asked him, "How can God be so good?"
To say she's kind is putting it mildly; she's too kind. Of course, if her flesh were poisonous, I could admire her courage to die together with her, but I wouldn't agree with her. Then again, eating the flesh of the Goddess of Clouds and Waters would make you the new Goddess of Clouds and Waters. It really feels like a mermaid.
"Just as there are gods who bring disaster to the world, there are also gods who are too kind." Little Lotus was quite open-minded about this. A god's personality didn't mean anything.
only……
"It really has the style of dead person literature... no, death god literature." This is the extent to which I would run away as soon as I saw the opening.
Xiao Lianhua had heard of the literature of the dead, and now when I mentioned it, she was also controlled for a few seconds.
"Can we not bring this up?"
"Okay." I don't really want to recall the literature of the dead.
The demonic dragons Little Lotus encountered when she was still a flesh-and-blood creature were no benevolent beings. They controlled the wind and rain, wielding the forces of nature. To them, human sacrifices for temporary peace were perfectly normal. How could they afford to sacrifice themselves?
At the time, I thought that since I had accepted the offerings, it was only natural to do these things, and that it was all about fair trade. However, thousands of years later, it has shifted to the other extreme.
"But it still hurts?" Seeing I wasn't silent, the little lotus asked softly. The lotus stem continued to gently help me soothe my breathing, to calm everything I'd experienced in this dreamland.
"That's not the case." I told the truth.
In the final analysis, I just experienced all this in an illusion. Even if the feeling of fear was brought into reality, it was only a residual emotion that dissipated from my consciousness after a while.
"Come to think of it, why are you in the form of a lotus in the painting?" I didn't understand.
Little Lotus gritted his teeth and said, "I want to know too!" His tone turned less friendly when he mentioned this. Indeed, the lotus form had quite a few limitations.
"I guess you've offended him," I said confidently. After all, he'd attacked me the moment we met. "That's kind of in line with the Shanhe Sheji Tu. My thoughts are the world."
The little lotus flower extended its stem and tapped my forehead. "So you know who he is?"
"I have some guesses. But I'll have to wait until I see him to confirm the details."
After resting, he would deal with the remaining matters. Now that he knew why Lady Yunshui died and the sacrificial ritual, what was he going to do next?
What was the artist's intention in painting this picture?
——It feels like doing reading comprehension in school!
Following the old woman's example in the illusion, I half-crouched on the mat and rapped three times. "Except for my ancestors and the God of Wealth, no one can make me kneel!"
A familiar voice sounded, and the bluestone slabs in front moved to the sides, revealing a dark hole.
"This is it." I stepped into the secret passage holding Little Lotus. It was pitch black all around, and the steps were worn out, perhaps because it had been so long. I was afraid of missing something, so I could only go down very slowly and tentatively.
After walking up a long flight of stairs, I reached the bottom where the lights were always on. My brother was sitting on the altar leading to the Yunshui River.
I looked around and asked, "Where is Nezha?"
As soon as I came in, I didn’t see Nezha or the people from Yunshui Town.
He sighed softly, "The first thing you asked me when you saw me was to ask him?" He glanced at the lotus in my arms and scoffed, "If I had known this would happen, I would have turned him into a lotus too."
Little Lotus: ...
The stem of the little lotus has become hard.
I patted it and shrugged. "Even if you turned him into a lotus, it wouldn't affect my first question. I asked him."
"Tell me, what do you want to do?"
He laughed, "If I have any goals, will my sister help me achieve them?"
I pulled the corner of my mouth and said, "Don't call me sister. I was born and raised by nature, but I don't have any brothers."
He tutted his words, "Heartless people change so quickly."
"There's no point in changing the subject."
I don't want to waste time talking to him. I just want to leave this painting. There has never been a moment more than now when I wish the other party was a robot that would answer whatever I ask.
"Don't you want to know where the people in Yunshui Town are?" he suddenly asked.
"Not interested."
He raised his hand and pointed at Yunshui River, "Look, they are jumping around."
I:……
Lian Zha: ...
I said I didn't want to know anymore, why did you still point it out to me!
"Although this map is not as good as the Mountain, River, State Map, it's actually almost the same, isn't it? I think what I think, and that is the world."
As he spoke, he raised his hand, and the dark scene of the underground palace suddenly shattered. The dark curtain was pulled open, and in its place was a riverside scene with birds singing and flowers blooming. The light and shadow of the flowing river was so bright that it almost hurt his eyes.
The river was right before my eyes, its clear waters shimmering in the sunlight, the fish leaping. The vegetation on both banks was lush and verdant, so dense that even the wind could hardly penetrate. Near the water, willow branches swayed, their long ribbons drooping toward the surface. In the distance, a few unnamed trees stretched their branches, creating a few sparse silhouettes against the transparent blue sky.
Apart from the fishermen, it is exactly the Yunshui River I imagined.
It's like the sun.
He still stood quietly by the Yunshui River, as if the hand he had just raised was merely a greeting. His eyes, now reflecting the shimmering water, appeared deep and far-reaching.
The Nezha in my arms turned into a shadow. I subconsciously grabbed a handful, but it went straight through. The shadow dissipated. I frowned and looked up at him, but saw that he was smiling very gently.
"Sister, I want to talk to you. Please send those irrelevant people back."
I:……
Thanks, I don't really want to talk to you. It would be nice if you could count me among the irrelevant people.
"I am just a trace of consciousness remaining in this painting. The crane picked up the painting and gave me the opportunity. Just as you have experienced, my sister is the last bride. If you eat the flesh of Lady Yunshui, you will become the new Lady Yunshui. So what if everyone eats it..." He spoke to himself, his tone full of malice.
"It's a pity that they all became fish..."
Fish? I thought the fish was transformed by his thoughts, but it turned out to be the flesh of the Goddess of Clouds and Water? So that flesh is really poisonous?
"Oh, it's just that I sat down and couldn't help but interrupt him, "I still don't understand this practice of hurting the enemy by eight hundred and hurting yourself by a thousand. Since you're the Goddess of Clouds and Waters, can't you just ignore their prayers? They want scales for medicine, why would you give them? They want meat, why would you give it to them?"
I gave Wu Gang the scales because he gave me the house. I felt it was worth it, especially since he'd been sending me decorative ornaments from time to time. Granted, if more people knew about the scales' usefulness, they might all come asking for them, but I have the right to choose whether or not to give them. It's not like I have to give them just because they ask.
If I don’t give them money, will they drain the water from the Yunshui River?
Stop being funny.
His gentle eyes were fixed on my face, as if he was looking for something.
"Sister, there is only one Lady Yunshui in this world. Although later generations were also called Lady Yunshui, apart from some... functions, they are not listed as immortals.
As you said, a balance can indeed be achieved. But what A-mei wants is for Yunshui Village to never recover."
A strange smile flickered across his face, a smile that seemed to be half-crying. "Yunshui Village needs Yunshui Niangniang. Even if Yunshui Niangniang disappears, we must use her flesh to create another one. Every time a fish in the Yunshui River turns over and its bones are exposed, it means that the task of recreating Yunshui Niangniang is imminent. So only when Yunshui Niangniang is no longer born will everything truly end."
The fact that Goddess Yunshui will never be reborn means that her flesh no longer exists in this world. The only thing that can be called meat is fish...
At this point, I almost understand everything about Yunshui River.
I reached into the Yunshui River, the clear water flowing through my fingers with gentle resistance. This river was the same river in and out of the painting. Yunshui Village on its banks had long been lost to history, its only record likely a few fragments in strange stories. Yunshui Town, later established, was perhaps where refugees from elsewhere took root.
People come and go on the banks of the Yunshui River, but the only thing that remains unchanged is it. This Yunshui River, which was diverted from the Yellow River, carries too much evil.
No matter how evil it is, it all comes down to stupidity.
…
He told me a lot about his brother and sister, how they weren't originally from Yunshui Village, but had fled there. The villagers, seeing how they depended on each other for survival, took good care of them. But all that was ruined on the day his sister was chosen as his bride.
He saw his sister being forced to swallow the flesh of the goddess Yunshui, and then being pushed from the high altar into the Yunshui River. Everyone was shouting "Goddess Yunshui", but no one paid attention to his sister.
His sister has a name, Ayu.
I ignored the fact that his sister and I had the same name. He wanted to read something from my expression, but unfortunately, I was the best at acting.
I stood up, brushed off the grass clippings on my butt, looked up at the sky, and the sunlight was a little dazzling.
“The story is good, but I like cool stories.”
I looked at him, he smiled, and then opened the door to the outside world.
The little lotus had vanished into nothingness, yet I was supposed to go through the door? It felt like a ritual.
When I was almost at the door, I turned around and asked him.
"What about Tang Sanzang?" I asked him. As the real bride, Tang Sanzang didn't seem to have any intentions.
He wasn't surprised by my question, instead he smiled in wonder, "That holy monk... he's truly a compassionate monk."
I heard it right, he was indeed being sarcastic.
"He would have become the goddess of clouds and water in the painting if he had eaten the fish."
fish?
Seeing the doubt on my face, he kindly reminded me, "Those are the two fish I asked you to deliver that day. Monks don't eat meat, but I told him that the bride must eat fish before she gets married..."
I felt a little guilty, and I didn't have the nerve to tell him that I'd accidentally brought the two fish back. It wasn't my fault; it was normal for me to make mistakes in my haste when the sedan chair bearers arrived. Well, I was right.
"Why did you choose him as your bride? According to experience, it should be me, right?"
As his current sister, being chosen as the bride is very consistent with this story.
He smiled. I should be aware that the smile on his face was indeed as warm as a spring breeze.
"I just said three words to him."
"My sister is A-Yu."
"She is about to be chosen as the bride to the river god."
"She will die without a complete body."
Three Sentences to Make the Holy Monk My Bride
I couldn't help but applaud. Ever since I learned that Tang Sanzang had become a bride, I knew this was a calamity on his journey westward. If Tang Sanzang had truly eaten the fish, he would have truly been left in the painting. But by chance, I was the one who brought the fish back.
But when I walked out the door, I couldn’t help but think: Is it really a coincidence?
The moment I stepped out of the door, I fell into a slightly firm embrace. The refreshing lotus fragrance surrounded me, and I wanted to eat lotus seeds again.
At this time, a familiar Sichuan dialect was shouting:
"Little sister, you finally came out! If you don't come out, you will be roasted by the idiot!"
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The author has something to say: This is essentially a journey to the West, but it's just a coincidence that Ayu is involved. Because it is a first-person story, the narrative perspective is very limited, so I only write about what "I" saw.
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