Chapter 146: Incense before the Buddha
The lost eye was shining again and looked a hundred times better than before.
The rest has not changed.
She lost an eye in the past, but everyone else continued to live their lives as usual, except Mu Jin who shed tears for her late at night.
She regained her eye, the world was still good, and everyone was living their lives.
One lost and one gained, it seems like nothing has changed.
But when Jiaoran's tears rolled down her cheeks and fell onto the black candy, she understood a lot of things.
The waxing and waning of yin and yang, separation and reunion, are all things beyond human control. It is a blessing to experience them for just a short moment.
She wanted to hold the candy tightly in her hand, but she used too much force and the candy turned into powder. She didn't know why, but a gust of wind blew and the powder scattered from between her fingers, turning into fluorescent green fragments of light.
Who can hold the light?
Whether it is the bright moon and starlight or the faint fireflies.
Mu Jin comforted her and asked her to let go.
As she watched the fireflies slowly fade away when the sun came out, she no longer felt like crying.
The Kongsang tree is still growing.
Jiaoran didn't ask him why he dug out those people's hearts. Seeing that she didn't ask, Mu Jin naturally didn't mention it either.
She just looked at the tree from time to time, as if thinking about something, then sighed and went into the cabin.
There was a bowl of deer bone soup in the room. It was the deer she caught while practicing magic. Mu Jin cleaned it up and removed the bones and cut the meat.
The aroma of bone broth filled the cabin.
She didn't know what she was thinking about, and she quickly stood up and hugged him.
Mu Jin put down the spoon and almost spilled too much salt. "What's wrong?"
She said, "Scared."
"It won't be that easy for the Phoenix Chick to find us."
Jiao Ran said, "That's not it."
"Then what are you afraid of?"
"I'm afraid of losing you. I'm afraid that everything in front of me is just a dream, and you will disappear like them and leave me."
He smiled helplessly and stroked her earlobe with his thumb, "Then be nice to me and make porridge for me tomorrow morning."
Jiao Ran said, "That won't work."
After parting with my senior sister and the others that day, I never corresponded with them again. I didn't know how many years had passed in the mountains. In a blink of an eye, this towering tree had lost its leaves three times, but it didn't grow taller.
Governor's Office.
Almost silently, such a huge governor's office turned into hell overnight.
The people of Xiu Tu talked about it for a few days and then stopped talking about it, because everyone knew that the barbarians outside the Great Wall were trying to occupy Xiu Tu, and the imperial army had not arrived yet, which meant that this city had been abandoned by the Central Plains.
The massacre of the Governor's Office was indeed tragic and heroic in the eyes of the people. The Chai family used military force to stabilize the world, but they were vulnerable in front of such a mysterious enemy.
The murderer who destroyed the Governor's Mansion shocked Xiu Tu and the Central Plains martial arts world. Chai Che had almost never been defeated in his competition with people from the martial arts world, but he could not prevent the disaster of extermination of his family.
The blood in the Governor's Mansion has dried up, and the bones of the men, women, and children in the mansion are left in the pavilions, towers, and withered grass in the mountains and fields.
There were traces of blood among the grass and trees. In order to make it look less scary, he kindly ordered the entire governor's mansion to be burned down, and not a single fly was allowed to escape.
So raging fires broke out on the continuous mountains, several mountains became bare mountains, and the exquisite pavilions and towers turned into ruins.
No grass or trees could be seen.
Unfortunately, they returned after this brutal massacre. Chai Che had already learned of the death of his brothers. When he returned to Xiu Tu, if it were not for his wife by his side, he would have felt that there was nothing left in the world.
Even he himself would rather be reduced to ashes in the flames and die with them.
It started snowing again in Xiutu.
But the camellia in the Governor's Mansion is gone, and the plum trees have become dead branches.
He stood for a long time under the desolate sunset, his eyes full of desolation. Thinking back to the past and looking at the present, he realized that it was so painful to lose something after gaining it.
From then on, he no longer had a father or mother. His brothers died in a foreign land, his sisters died in the fire, and his mother became a corpse.
He really wanted to ask the murderer why he let them go.
Zhuxing already had the answer in her mind. She thought that apart from that person, no one else would be so cruel.
No matter what, she is still by his side, and even if they turn into dust one day, she will never leave him.
The sword in Chai Che's hand was given to him by Chai Yu. His elder brother was very jealous at that time. He felt a little proud but was also worried that his elder brother would be angry.
This sword is the only memory he can take away from the Chai family.
He held the sword tightly in his hand and returned to Xiu Tu Mansion a year later. The fire had already happened a year ago.
The couple slowly walked up the dilapidated and broken stone steps.
The door burned by the fire was as fragile as paper.
With a gentle push, the door fell to the ground with a sigh.
Zhuxing was afraid that her husband would be sad, so she held his hand.
Now they only have each other.
Jiaoran's blood could not save Biluo, and they eventually lost the child. Zhuxing cried for hundreds of days and nights, for the child and for Chai Che who had lost many relatives.
He hid where she couldn't see him and shed tears, but he felt more relieved. The child had endured tremendous pain to survive until now.
He was so young, but he felt that illness was a sin, as if his illness was the result of his doing something wrong, so he lay cautiously before his mother and tried his best to endure the pain.
Cha Che wanted to keep the child for a few more years, but no one could keep him.
He was like a shooting star in the sky, passing by him and Zhuxing, appearing and leaving in a hurry.
After being burned, the grass and trees grew again.
Amidst the overgrown weeds, Zhuxing wondered if Biro had also grown again like the weeds in some unknown place.
The yard was overgrown with weeds and covered with snow. The couple held hands and continued walking forward.
They came today to pay tribute to their family members.
A burst of children's laughter drifted slowly through the desolate courtyard with the north wind.
Zhuxing panicked, "What is that?"
He held his wife's hand and said, "Don't be afraid. Even if it's... it's still your child. Don't be afraid. I'm here."
He bent down and picked up a stone from the snow. After an unknown amount of time, he threw the stone out like a flying knife.
Then he appeared.
The phoenix chick sat on a stone step. Behind it was the Buddhist temple that A-niang used to love to visit. The Buddha statue had been burned beyond recognition and the gold paint had peeled off.
He stood up, and not far behind him was a Buddha statue.
The Phoenix Chick looked at them, as if it had known that they would come back here today.
There are a few strands of white hair in Chai Che's hair, and his face, which used to be full of vigor and vitality, is now full of sorrow and vicissitudes.
Mortals are really fragile. Once some joy is taken away, they will lose hope and live in fear and sadness all day long.
There was still deep hatred in their eyes. Phoenix Chick was very familiar with this kind of hatred, because he had seen this kind of hatred in the eyes of many mortals before they died.
"What are you still doing here?" Chache asked him.
Phoenix Chick looked at the Buddha statue behind him and said, "Pray to the Buddha."
He sneered, "A person like you still respects gods and Buddhas in your heart?"
Phoenix Chick also laughed, "Who said I worship Buddha with respect?"
Cha Che walked over but was stopped by Zhu Xing, "Be careful."
The phoenix chick conjured up a stick of incense, lit it, and casually stuck it into the snow in front of the Buddha statue.
The copper-green incense burner was buried in the soil, with its thumb-sized ears sticking out of the snow. He was too lazy to dig it out.
The Buddha statue with lowered brows and eyes remains as compassionate as ever after the fire.
But after the gold paint fell off, it also became more melancholy.
Phoenix Chick couldn't help but sigh softly, "Do you regret it?"
Chai Che hated this monster in his heart, "What are you regretting?"
"If you hadn't escaped that day, you would have saved your child by now, and the entire Governor's Office wouldn't have died. So if you want to hate someone, you should hate Jiaoran."
Zhuxing looked at him with worry, afraid that Chai Che would really follow Fenghuangchu's thoughts and hate Jiaoran, but she did nothing wrong, she just didn't want to give in and surrender.
Cha Che said, "I am not my brother, nor am I Ah Hui, so you don't need to say more."
Phoenix Chick also sighed softly, "Because you are different from the other two, I like you the most among Chai Yu's three sons."
Zhuxing asked, "Have you followed us all the way here today?"
Phoenix Cub said, "Miss Zhuxing, you can't go back to Huiying Inn, and you won't be able to live in the Governor's Mansion in the future. Yet, there's only a hint of sadness left on your face. Compared to Chai Che, you're more free and easy. Perhaps you should teach your Chai Che how to forgive himself."
A trace of sadness crossed Zhuxing's face. "Bi Luo died because he came to this world and found that it wasn't as good as he imagined, so he went back. Birth, old age, sickness and death are all human destiny. Although I am sad, I know that people must move forward and look ahead."
He repeated Star Chaser's words, "Move forward?"
He asked Chaiche, "I killed your entire family, can you let me go and move on?"
Chai Che said with sorrow and hatred, "Absolutely impossible."
Phoenix Cub sighed again, "When I had them killed, I kept praying to God, hoping that they could rest in peace after becoming ghosts."
When Chai Che heard his vicious words, he suddenly became extremely angry and wanted to kill him immediately.
He continued, "I heard that day, the whole mansion was filled with wailing. Not only your family, but even the maids and servants could not escape death."
Cha Che couldn't bear to listen any longer, "Shut up!"
The phoenix chick blew slowly, and the incense stick inserted in the snow was lit.
His smile became cold and gloomy. This kind of smile was not something a mortal could have. He was like a child who crushed a nest of ants just for some joy. In his eyes, mortals were just ants that could be easily crushed by him. He was a more powerful and terrifying existence than mortals.
Destruction, it seems that his existence is only for destruction.
He continued to laugh.
Before he finished smiling, Chai Che suddenly leaped up like a beast and slashed in the air.
The sword was quick and fierce, but when it reached him, he just glanced at it and Chai Che was frozen in mid-air.
This fatal blow was really ridiculous in front of him.
At the same moment, Zhuxing also suddenly attacked. Her face was full of murderous intent, and she held the dagger upside down, looking like she was about to stab.
He did not dodge, but instead faced Zhuxing's murderous eyes.
At this moment, Zhuxing's dagger had already stabbed forward. With a flash of the knife, she turned over before she reached him. She felt a sharp pain in her body and fell heavily to the ground.
He didn't even use a weapon.
Glancing at the sword in Chai Che's hand, Fenghuang Chu said, "Is this sword Chai Yu's?"
Chai Che didn't answer him, but the next moment, with a clang, the sword in his hand suddenly broke.
The long sword broke into several pieces, and he couldn't even hold the hilt, so it flew out of his hand.
Zhuxing climbed up and saw that Chai Che's palm holding the sword was cracked and blood was flowing from his hand.
He did not dodge, but stood there quietly looking at the phoenix chick.
The Phoenix Chick could see that the hatred and resentment on Chai Che's face were even greater, but he didn't care. Who would care about the anger of an insect?
"Why don't you kill me?"
Phoenix Chick said, "If you all died, this game would be so boring."
Zhuxing gritted his teeth and said, "You are not a human, you are a demon. Only demons can be as cruel and evil as you."
"Will you always stay with him?" Phoenix Cub suddenly asked Zhuxing.
Zhuxing said, "Of course."
Phoenix Chick was a little confused about the emotions of mortals. "Isn't he your second best choice? Why are you suddenly falling in love with him?"
"Are the hearts of you mortals so easily changed?"
Star Chaser said, "Don't you understand? Love."
"My love is longer and more eternal than yours, and I will never change," he said.
Zhuxing said, "Perhaps - your love is not love, but hate."
"Hate?" He had never thought of this answer.
But he was not prepared to accept the teachings of a mortal.
He just hated that they were there for each other and supported each other, so he asked again, "Will you always be there for him?"
Zhuxing said, "Of course, I will never leave him. I will stay with him forever, grow old together, and we will be together for the rest of our lives, inseparable from generation to generation."
He was stunned for a moment, "For eternity? Not just for one lifetime?"
Zhuxing said, "Of course it's for all my lives. How can it be just one lifetime? I want to be husband and wife with Chai Che for all my lives."
When Chai Che heard this, the coldness on his face gradually eased a little. He looked at his wife with infinite affection in his eyes.
Suddenly, the Phoenix chick's voice became low and hoarse.
His words were like a curse, "Okay, then I wish you two will be together forever."
The smile in Fenghuangchu's eyes was a little crazy. Zhuxing and Chai Che didn't know why he was laughing, but he just smiled, as if he was possessed.
They thought he was going to kill them, but he just smiled and shook his head and left.
After he left, Chai Che said bitterly, "I only regret that I am too weak to let him die in my hands. If my martial arts skills were not so vulnerable, I would burn him to ashes and scatter him in the mud."
Chache felt even more miserable because he came here but was let go.
He lives in this world, but cannot avenge his family with his own hands.
Seeing Chai Che immersed in hatred, Zhuxing suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart.
The sunset in winter is not as beautiful as that in summer, and the sun has already set.
The couple took away the painful memories here, paid tribute to the dead souls and left.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
