Chapter 8
Chapter Eight
The next day, the rain stopped, and the lush green willow branches swayed in the wind. As usual, Li Zhaodi pushed her stall out to sell tofu pudding, when a person stopped in front of her.
Li Zhaodi hadn't set up her stall yet, so she said apologetically, "I'm not ready yet. If you want to eat tofu pudding, please wait patiently."
No one answered. Li Zhaodi looked up, and the monk looked at her with a smile: "Young lady."
Li Zhaodi paused: "Master Ji Cang, what are you doing here?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Cang smiled bitterly and said, "My senior brother asked me to come down the mountain to buy some things we need. I wonder how my mother is doing these days?"
Li Zhaodi smiled gently: "My mother is well, thank you for your concern, Master Jicang."
Ji Cang took out a bright red amulet from his pocket, which looked like a blessing he had obtained, and said to her, "This is a blessing amulet from Biyun Temple. Take it back to your mother."
Just as Li Zhaodi was about to decline, Ji Cang didn't give her the chance and put the peace charm aside.
Li Zhaodi looked at the amulet and felt a strange feeling. Her mother went to Biyun Temple every month. Could it be for this amulet?
Li Zhaodi carefully put it into her purse. When she looked up, she saw someone not far away calling out, "Yingying."
Meng Yingying stepped forward and asked in confusion, "Who was that person just now?" As she brushed past him, she suddenly felt a chill down her spine. When she turned around, the person had already disappeared into the crowd and could no longer be seen.
Li Zhaodi fiddled with the things in her hands and said, "The master of Biyun Temple, his Dharma name is Jicang."
“My mother often goes to the temple to see him. He came to give my mother something today,” Li Zhaodi explained to her. Meng Yingying heard that he was a monk and put the matter out of her mind.
"Has he written to you?" Meng Yingying asked. Li Zhaodi smiled shyly and took out a stack of letters from her sleeve: "He wrote a lot."
Li Zhaodi presented the envelopes to her, saying, "But I don't quite understand them." Meng Yingying took them, squeezed the envelopes, each one thick. Seeing how happy she was, Meng Yingying didn't say anything else.
Li Zhaodi held it up to her: "What does this sentence mean?"
Meng Yingying took it and read it aloud: "In heaven, we wish to be birds flying wing to wing; on earth, we wish to be trees with intertwined branches." She was instantly overwhelmed by the sweetness and handed the letter back to her: "In heaven, we wish to be birds flying wing to wing; on earth, we wish to be trees with intertwined branches, forever and ever a loving couple."
Upon hearing this, Li Zhaodi's face showed a hint of longing: "He wrote a lot, but I don't recognize any of them. Can you tell me about them?"
Meng Yingying saw that he was, after all, a top student in real life, and he should know everything that he wrote.
Li Zhaodi handed her letter after letter, each word filled with love and longing for her beloved. Meng Yingying glanced at them and felt her eyes turn terribly red.
Meng Yingying finally couldn't stand it anymore and ran back to the inn. The male and female protagonists hadn't met yet, and she was really bored.
Suddenly, a clanging sound rang out.
Meng Yingying sat up from the bed. Shang Mang held a golden bell in his hand, and there was still blood mist around him. He smiled slightly, but the smile was somewhat unreal.
"Young Taoist, I'll take you to a fun place," he said, flicking his finger to release a mist of blood that enveloped her.
Meng Yingying felt a wave of dizziness and suddenly found herself in a place, an ancient mansion surrounded by all sorts of flowers and plants. A voice with a tone of voice pointed and gestured in the courtyard: "Be careful, these girls are much more precious than you."
Meng Yingying tried to speak, but Shang Mang covered her mouth and whispered behind her, "Shh."
Meng Yingying could only nod and quietly watch the courtyard.
The chains rattled as a dozen or so women entered, all shackled on their hands and feet. When the lights shone on their hands and feet, they appeared bluish-purple. Meng Yingying's eyes narrowed.
Shang Mang said in a low voice, "People playing with people, isn't that interesting?" He drew out his words with a hint of a smile.
Meng Yingying looked at the girls, the youngest of whom looked only five years old. Were they slave traders?
"These are all girls whose parents sold them to brokers. Do you know what these girls are taken away to do?" Shang Mang asked.
Meng Yingying shook her head
"They'll have their limbs cut off, be placed in an old manor, and become an old man immortal." He chuckled softly, seemingly finding it amusing.
Meng Yingying's limbs stiffened. He was pressed against her back, and she could feel the vibrations of his chest. Emotions surged within her, and she unconsciously forced her breathing.
"Do you want to kill them?"
As soon as the voice rang out, Meng Yingying turned around abruptly. Shang Mang grabbed her chin and said happily, "Kill them, and those people will be saved."
Meng Yingying met his gaze; his bloodshot eyes gleamed with excitement and madness.
"No." She pulled her hand away from his and turned her face to the side.
"Don't want it?" Shang Mang asked, puzzled. He rubbed his fingertips together, but the smooth texture had disappeared.
"Why not? Don't you think they're hateful?"
“They are bad people, but killing is wrong.” Meng Yingying turned her back, her voice trembling slightly.
Shang Mang laughed in a trembling voice, as if he had heard a joke.
“In this world, if you don’t kill others, others will kill you.” His voice was cold, and it seeped into Meng Yingying’s mind.
A gust of wind made Meng Yingying feel like her life was hanging by a thread every moment.
By the time she came to her senses, Shang Mang had already taken her back to the inn. Meng Yingying had recovered from her previous state, and Shang Mang was quite pleased with her frightened appearance.
"To prevent you from dying too soon, I'm telling you something in advance." He smiled, but there was no smile in his eyes.
"The road ahead is long, please cherish your life." Shang Mang heard this sentence and it sounded so familiar, so his smile deepened.
Shang Mang opened his eyes, and Meng Yingying's eyes reddened slightly, but there were no tears, only indignation.
She was like a swaying blade of grass, moving about at will.
"You're so annoying, you might get beaten to death on the street," she said, her gaze falling on his hand. His fingers were long and slender, and on his index finger was a silver ring carved with a snake biting a red bead in its mouth, its light shimmering.
Shang Mang burst into laughter, his voice trembling as he said, "Whoever comes, I will kill them." Blood mist condensed, and he vanished again.
Meng Yingying walked to the bedside, sat down, her mind filled with his earlier madness.
After a long while, he let out a sigh of relief: "A madman."
——
Li Zhaodi returned home under the cover of dusk. She breathed a sigh of relief, as she hadn't heard any shouting or cursing today. She pushed open the door, and Zhao Qiao'er came out carrying a basin of freshly washed clothes. Li Zhaodi called out, "Mother, I have something for you."
Zhao Qiao'er glanced at her with her slanted eyes.
Li Zhaodi took out a peace charm from her purse and said, "Master Ji Cang came to my stall today and asked me to give this to you."
When Zhao Qiao'er saw the amulet, her gaze changed slightly, and a very short laugh appeared on her lips.
Li Zhaodi's hand was pulled by her. Zhao Qiao'er looked at her as if she were a savior: "Zhaodi, it's your turn to help your mother."
Li Zhaodi's arm was being pulled forcefully by her. She was puzzled and said, "Mother, please talk this out. It hurts."
Zhao Qiao'er muttered to herself, "It hurts for a moment, then it won't hurt anymore. It hurts for a moment, just once." With a strength she didn't know she had, she dragged Li Zhaodi along. Sensing danger, Li Zhaodi was suddenly filled with fear: "Mother, Mother, let me go."
Zhao Qiao'er couldn't hide the joy on her face. She grabbed her and said kindly, "Zhao Di, you're going to have a younger brother." From behind her, a kitchen knife gleamed menacingly.
"Mother, mother——"
"Zhaodi, I'm not having a good time, please don't blame me." A plaintive sob followed by a sharp scream.
The person across the hall opened their door, looked out, and shook their head, saying, "It's always the same. Can't a person get any sleep?"
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