Asura

Capítulo 21

I saw Icefin clench his fists. If it weren't for the fact that the other person was an old man, he probably would have already resorted to violence. But that "half-face" showed no restraint. He pointed at Icefin and gave orders: "You go. The other one stays here with me."

“I’m staying?” Pointing to my nose, my expression fell. Who would want to stay in this veritable “haunted house”? But the head of the Ba family said it as if it were the most natural thing in the world: “It’s you. Compared to that unfriendly guy, you feel more like my ex-wife.”

"Ex-wife?" Both Icefin and I raised our voices eight octaves. The head of the Ba family nodded calmly with his eyes closed. "I can't take it anymore!" Icefin pushed me towards the front hall without further ado: "Firewing, go get it. Anyway, Sand Temple is just across the alley!"

Although I didn't want to stay here, I couldn't help but worry about Icefin's safety. As Icefin pushed me out of the main room, I turned back to see the Ba family head's attitude, only to see him with his arms crossed, sneering: "Go and come back quickly. Otherwise, I can't guarantee your companion's safety. Anyway, those guys only want a life..."

Do you want Icefin to act as his substitute and shield him from disaster?! Although there's something awkward about this that I can't quite understand, I still ran towards Suna Souji Temple as fast as I could without hesitation—if I was a second later, Icefin might be dragged away by those guys from the other world!

As I knocked on the red-lacquered gates of Sasso-ji Temple, I realized—I might not be able to enter at all! Sasso-ji is a temple primarily for spiritual practice, almost entirely isolated from the outside world. The abbot, Master Nōjō, was a close friend of my grandfather and a member of the Aōyagi-kai, a folk craft association in Kagawa Castle, along with my grandmother. Even with these connections, our family's interactions with him were limited to exchanging letters and seasonal gifts; the interpersonal relationships of monks are remarkably detached. Perhaps the temple is a tranquil world where all the troubles of the world cannot enter; anxiety, fear, sorrow—all human emotions seem so insignificant here!

But I can't linger here! I must retrieve the Wuxiang Screen immediately and replace the Ice Fins! I can't remain calm and composed like a monk as I witness everything unfolding before me! No matter how much I knock or shout, the gates of Shaxiang Temple remain silently closed. With all my efforts in vain, I am at my wit's end and can no longer hold back the tears that well up in my eyes.

"What are you doing there, Firewing?" Hearing someone call my name rudely, I turned around blankly. Through my tear-blurred vision, a tall figure appeared. Although I couldn't see it clearly, I could still make out that it was a monk wearing a Kagawa Prefectural Middle School tracksuit, carrying the kind of cylindrical bag that basketball players often use, and with a sweat towel hanging around his neck!

...A high school monk playing basketball...

"What kind of look is that! You're from the Tongcao Flower family!" The monk in the tracksuit leaned closer and yelled at me. "I know what you mean! How many times have I told you—I'm not a monk, I just grew up in a temple!"

“It’s… Daigo…” Ignoring his unconsciously trembling fist, I listlessly called out his name. Even if he grew up in Sassou Temple, he didn’t need to shave his head down to the roots, did he…? Suddenly, I grabbed Daigo’s sleeve like a lifeline—growing up in Sassou Temple meant that following him meant I could enter the temple!

My movements immediately startled Daigo. He frantically shook his hands, trying to break free but not daring to use too much force. He finally managed to understand my request: "Take me to the temple." "Huh?" He stopped, scratching the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Take you to the temple? Don't be ridiculous!"

"I need to return the Wuxiang Screen that's kept in the temple to the Ba family so I can get Icefin back! Otherwise, he'll be in danger... The Ba family... the Ba family is a cursed family!" My voice was choked with anxiety.

"That brat Icefin!" Daigo cursed under his breath, leaving me behind and turning to walk straight ahead along the courtyard wall. Even if they weren't friends, Icefin was still someone he knew, yet he just stood by and watched without a care! For a moment, I was stunned and stared blankly at Daigo's resolute back.

"Hey! What are you standing there for? You don't think you can get in through the main gate, do you?" Without turning around, Daigo stopped and shouted. Was she... calling me over? After looking around at the empty temple gate, I quickly chased after Daigo, who had already turned the corner.

The air, thick with the scent of sandalwood, and the shadows of the dimly lit buildings—no matter how many times I visit, Sashoji Temple always gives me an uncomfortable sense of oppression. It's clearly not a large or grand temple! The temple is so clean that you can't see a single person. If it weren't for the pervasive, low chanting of sutras, I would have thought it was an empty temple.

Clearly fearing I would be seen by the monks, Daigo, usually so arrogant, cautiously led the way after entering through the side gate. We bypassed a secluded corridor and arrived at the entrance of a side hall, perhaps a Jizo Hall or something similar. This must be where offerings are placed—even with the sutra seal on the door, I could still feel the powerful fluctuations emanating from the other world within; my ears were filled with the cries and clamor of the void!

"It's so noisy here..." I turned to look at Daigo timidly, but he opened the door to the side room without any hesitation, threw his backpack inside, hesitated for a moment, and then tossed the towel around his neck onto the backpack: "Yes, every single day..."

"Every day, every single day?" Repeating Daigo's nonchalant words, I noticed the simple yet fairly tidy furnishings in the side room. Could this be Daigo's room? Even if he wasn't a monk and couldn't live with the monks, he shouldn't be living in a place like this!

"You'll get used to it!" Daigo roughly scratched the back of his head, pushed me aside, and headed towards the side hall, unconcernedly opening the sealed main door! I screamed in alarm, but it was too late to stop him; the door that imprisoned the treacherous beings of the other world was already open…

An eerie fluctuation immediately surged, the seal drooped weakly, and through the wide-open doorway, it seemed as if a turbid torrent was about to burst forth!

"Shut up! You idiot!" Daigo suddenly roared, but as if blocked by an invisible wall, the surging, fierce current instantly subsided, retreating back into the side hall, restlessly stirring, flickering...

Seeing my stunned expression, Daigo proudly revealed his white canine teeth: "When dealing with these ungrateful fellows, you can't be polite. The more you take offerings seriously, the more they'll take advantage of you!" Not only did he break the seal without permission, but he also managed to scare those guys away. Just how thick-skinned is Daigo?

"What are you dawdling for? If the abbot sees you, I'll be the one getting the beating!" Daigo shouted at me, who was hesitating at the door. "I don't even know what a screen is!" I... I don't know it either... Trembling, I walked around the messy pile of offerings inside and started rummaging through them. Unfortunately, there were just too many things in this side hall. Not only were there lacquerware works by the monks of Sashōji Temple from previous generations, but also offerings from the mischievous creatures, and even Daigo's unused junior high school textbooks and magazines of scantily clad female celebrities—knowing that no one usually came to this side hall, Daigo had obviously been using it as a secret warehouse.

Seeing that my progress was too slow, Daigo became impatient: "How long are you going to search! By the time you find it, the Ice Fin will have already been eaten!"

"They ate it! They ate it!" the guys shouted excitedly, mimicking Daigo's tone. My face immediately drained of color, and I looked at Daigo helplessly. "Aren't your eyes supposed to be very good? Can't you see?" Daigo clicked his tongue impatiently. "Speaking of which, the Ba family's Wuxiang Screen... that name sounds familiar..."

"Use your eyes to see...?" I thought. Though I didn't know the shape of the screen, sometimes appearance doesn't matter! I straightened up and looked around the spacious room, cluttered with miscellaneous items—everywhere there were those excited fellows, making faces, mimicking my movements, and shrieking; except... under the empty Buddhist shrine. It was like a vacuum, yet it exuded an unusually sorrowful atmosphere...

“Over there…” I pointed towards the Buddhist shrine, and Daigo immediately stepped over the scattered objects and went over. After rummaging around for a while, he picked up a dark rectangular object and then deftly unfolded it—a screen! It was a four-panel lacquer screen!

I stumbled over to Daigo to examine it. Although it had been there for a long time, the screen showed no signs of wear. Daigo roughly wiped away the dust with his sleeve, revealing the details of the pattern—it didn't seem to be a product of Kagawa Castle, which was famous for its lacquerware. The screen's decorative style was quite primitive and simple. Between the magnificent and strange red and black patterns, exaggerated and distorted figures were painted, as if telling a story: a leader was leading many people through mountains and rivers, and then he fell in love with a beautiful woman. Next, the leader and his people were shown to be in dire straits. The last picture showed the beautiful woman flying in the air with wings like a mayfly, while the leader was in a pose of drawing a bow and shooting an arrow.

"How strange...aren't these pictures of Hou Yi and Chang'e? Why isn't the moon depicted in the picture of Hou Yi flying to the moon, and why does Chang'e have wings?"

“It’s the work of the Ba people,” Tihu calmly examined and confirmed. Because he aimed to become a master lacquerware craftsman and studied under the abbot, his words carried some weight. But I still had some doubts: “Are you sure? This is the Wuxiang Screen?”

Tigo smiled noncommittally: "Firewing, do you know what 'Minister of State' means?"

I shook my head, wondering why Daigo had suddenly brought up this unrelated topic. Daigo then slung the screen over her shoulder: "The Ba family's 'Ministerial Screen'... I was wondering why that sounded so familiar. Sending this is the right thing to do. I'll go with you!"

“Um… let me take it…” Standing in front of the main hall of the Ba family ancestral home, now overgrown with weeds, I made my request to Daigo once again. Daigo glanced at me impatiently from above, finally taking the screen off her shoulder and handing it to me. But before I could even fully take it in my hands, I was already bent over by its unexpected weight—it was clearly just an ordinary lacquer screen, so why was it so heavy?

"That Icefin brat, why did I let you go get it? It made me waste so much effort!" Tigo grumbled as he pulled the screen back. My face immediately turned red: "Because...because that strange old man, the head of the Ba family, said I look more like his ex-wife..."

"Ex-wife? A daughter-in-law from the Cursed Family, quite suitable for you!" Tigo sneered disdainfully, but his laughter was interrupted by a sudden shout: "Thieves! Put down our screen! You two thieves! Don't move! I'm calling the police!"

Faced with these contradictory statements, Tihu and I turned towards the source of the sound. Among a pile of withered grass and shrubs, we saw a disproportionately plump, pale face. This person was about the same age as the head of the Ba family. Perhaps due to a long period of pampered life, he was quite wealthy and remarkably weak, so his sudden appearance didn't evoke much fear in me. He seemed to be a member of the Ba family too. Seeing his tense and fearful expression, and how he mustered great courage to shout at us, I felt a little sorry for him.

"Old man! Watch your language! Who's the thief here!" Tihu, who was reminding others to be mindful of their manners, showed no remorse whatsoever. Facing this fierce-looking, tall man, whose face was covered in a fine layer of sweat, he displayed a desperate courage: "It's you! The screen you took belongs to the Ba family, no... mine! I am the head of the Ba family!"

"You are... the head of the Ba family?" I said incredulously. How could this be? This person was worlds apart from the old man with the blue scar on his face that I had just met! Compared to that domineering and dignified old man, this chubby, spineless man was simply an idle, spendthrift young master. "I'm going to return the screen to the Ba family! You're the thief and fraud! I just met the real head of the Ba family! He looks very fierce, and he has this... such a big blue scar on his face!" I said disdainfully, gesturing to the size of the blue scar on my face.

"There are bruises on his face..." In an instant, all the color drained from the other person's pale and fat face. The fake Ba family head showed a look of fear as if he had seen a demon. Suddenly, he rushed over and tried to snatch the screen back from Tihu's hands, overestimating his strength!

With lightning-fast reflexes, Tihu dodged to the side. The imposter, the head of the Ba family, lost his footing and fell to the ground in a comical manner, yet he still cursed us as "thieves" with foul language.

"Old man, watch your mouth! Firewing is right, you are the thieves! Or... calling you robbers and murderers would be more appropriate!" Tihu suddenly looked down at him with a sharp gaze, raising the heavy screen with one hand. "This screen is the evidence of your crimes!"

Robber? Murderer? I couldn't understand Daigo's sharp words, nor did I want to concern myself with them. I tugged at his sleeve: "Don't waste your breath on him, Daigo! Just return the screen; Icefin's safety is more important!"

"Who are you going to give the screen to? It's mine!" The imposter, a member of the Ba family, struggled to his feet and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"That...isn't yours!" A deep, authoritative voice came from inside the main hall, followed by a cacophony of dozens of people shouting, "The folding screen! Our folding screen!"

"They're back, they're back! 'That matter' can begin!"

"The Ba family is saved! We are saved!"

It was the real Ba family patriarch and the voices of the undead haunting him! The imposter immediately turned pale, cold sweat pouring down his face. The figure of a dignified old man with blue scars on his face emerged from the shadows of the main hall, Icefin quietly following beside him, with indistinct black shadows behind him—had those guys already revealed themselves? I immediately ran to pull Icefin to my side. Perhaps because he had been with the undead for too long, Icefin looked a little tired. He glanced at Tihu standing in front of the hall with some surprise and whispered, "Don't be too rough. He... can't be considered a bad person."

Before I could figure out what Icefin meant, the imposter of the Ba family head suddenly burst into an uncontrollable cry towards the "real person": "Grandpa...please spare me! Grandpa!"

“I’ve said it before, the Wu Xiang screen is no longer ours! No one is allowed to mention ‘that matter’ again! Why don’t you listen to me, Afu?” The head of the Ba family stared at the imposter, Afu, curled up on the ground with eyes that could freeze one’s blood.

Afu trembled like a leaf: "But...but Grandpa, we can't do without the Wuxiang Screen! The Ba family...the Ba family has already fallen. Ever since 'that matter' was stopped, the Ba family has fallen!" Perhaps because of their seniority, the two were about the same age, but Afu had to call the head of the family "Grandpa," which sounded really awkward.

"Wealth obtained through such methods is not worth having!" The head of the Ba family frowned, his face, already scarred with blue marks, looking even more terrifying!

Afu stared dumbfounded at the head of the Ba family, his expression gradually contorting. His weak lips trembled, and incoherent words escaped his lips: "Grandpa... Grandpa, of course you can say that, because you've already enjoyed it, haven't you! That kind of wealthy life... Didn't you also do... 'that thing' for that kind of life?"

"Shut up!" The Ba family patriarch roared like thunder as he approached Afu. The undead behind him stirred, displaying a dangerous aura that seemed intent on devouring everything. Icefin and I hurriedly retreated, while Afu's face turned ashen.

"Enough!" With a low growl, the undead froze as if frozen in place—Tihu raised a screen with one hand, blocking the Ba family patriarch's path. A disdainful look flashed in Tihu's upturned eyes: "You with the long green scar, don't pretend to be a good guy—you're just like him, a descendant of the Minister of Works!"

"The descendants of Wu Xiang?" I repeated, puzzled. Icefin nodded quietly: "Wu Xiang was the ancestor of the Ba people, the name of Linjun."

"Thankfully, Icefin isn't as completely stupid as Firewing!" Even now, Daigo, still teasing us, revealed her sharp canines. "The 'matter' of the Ba family, is it the 'Legend of Linjun' depicted on the screen?"

"The so-called 'Legend of Linjun,' simply put, is about god-slaying!" Although she pretended not to care about arguing with Tihu, Icefin still refused to admit defeat. "Linjun, in order for his people to obtain fertile land, once shot and killed the Salt Water Goddess who had transformed into a mayfly. This legend contains hidden rituals of primitive sacrifice or witchcraft. I think the Ba family may be a branch of the ancient Ba people. Only they have mastered the legendary secret ritual of god-slaying, stealing the power of gods by killing them to obtain wealth and abundance!"

The so-called gods... are merely the embodiment and manifestation of some kind of natural force! From the accounts of Icefin and Daigo, I learned that the painting on the Wuxiang screen wasn't about Chang'e flying to the moon at all, but rather this legend: During Linjun Wuxiang's journey to find a new homeland, the Salt Water Goddess, who truly loved and trusted him, transformed into flying insects to block out their path in order to keep him by her side. Linjun, desiring land more fertile than the shores of the Salt Water, feigned offering his hair to the goddess as a token. When the delighted goddess tied this strand of hair to herself and transformed into a mayfly, dancing joyfully, Linjun used it to distinguish her from the thousands of flying insects and shot her dead with an arrow!

Then, Linjun continued his journey and obtained Yicheng, establishing the Ba Kingdom. This myth can also be interpreted as gaining abundance after killing a god—by winning the god's favor, killing him to seize his power, and exchanging it for wealth and prosperity, this is the secret ritual of the Ba family!

"Your family has given up half of your mansion to build the Boundless Palace, essentially raising your so-called deity like a fattened pigeon to be slaughtered!" Daigo was as outspoken as ever, but his words were undeniably insightful. His words brought a self-deprecating smile to the face of the Ba family head, whose skin was of varying complexions: "That's right… our Ba family worships a deity who has lost his divine body in the Boundless Palace, the Dragon God you all know about, residing in the Well of a Thousand Fathoms. Actually… we don't know what kind of deity he truly is, but he is quite attached to humans, so we planted a ginkgo tree as a sacred tree for him to reside in, therefore… he has beautiful… green hair…"

"Grandpa, you really did that, so why can't I? I'm the head of the family too!" Afu shouted in a distorted voice.

"Shut up! What nonsense are you spouting, child!" the head of the Ba family roared. Although I didn't know why he would call someone his age "child," I could see the tender affection in his sharp eyes. "Grandpa just didn't want you to end up like me, that's why I sent away Wu Xiangping!"

The Ba family patriarch's gaze swept over us, and he finally sighed: "Yang Yan... our family has maintained its luxurious lifestyle through cunning and forceful exploitation of him for generations... Killing a god and marrying a god are linked; it's the secret ritual for the young master to become the patriarch. Only after completing this ritual can the patriarch truly become an adult. Killing a god doesn't kill Yang Yan, but rather seizes his power. The Wu Xiang Screen absorbs spiritual energy. Yang Yan, having lost his power, reverts to the state of a newborn, and is handed over to the next young master as a marriage partner. From a young age, the young master does everything he can to care for and love him; the better he treats him, the faster and stronger Yang Yan's power recovers, and the more wholeheartedly he trusts the young master. That's why, on his wedding night, Yang Yan willingly allows himself to be slaughtered again..."

So the "ex-wife" the Ba family head was referring to was none other than the deity Yang Yan—no wonder Daigo called the Ba family murderers and robbers…

"More than that!" Tihu pointed behind the Ba family patriarch. "Those guys are the past patriarchs of the Ba family, right? If I'm not mistaken, these undead are burdened with the sin of killing gods and are trapped on the screen that absorbs spiritual energy. If a new ritual isn't performed, they will continue to bring disaster!"

"That's right! It's become a vicious cycle. This is the price of killing a god! This is why the Ba family is known as the cursed family!" The head of the Ba family laughed loudly. "But that's not important! Look at how far you can go, look at how much you can grasp with your own hands, the satisfaction of realizing your ambitions, the supreme satisfaction of being able to manipulate everything—haven't you ever longed for that?"

"Pervert!" "Is it worth it?" Daigo and Hyōji's voices rang out simultaneously. Feeling a tightness in my chest, I frowned as well: "But if it were me, the thought of Kagerou... wouldn't bring me any joy either..."

Suddenly, the head of the Ba family smiled dejectedly and lowered his head: "It seems... you are quite clever... Throughout history, only the head of the family has been able to see Yang Yan. From the first time I met him, he was always like that, I couldn't tell if he was a boy or a girl, he would never grow up or age, like a blank sheet of paper, knowing nothing... Although when I was kind to him, I kept telling myself that it was to become the true head of the Ba family and get everything I wanted, looking back, I was just running away from my true feelings—I am not happy. After killing Yang Yan and becoming the head of the Ba family, after I seized his power and realized my ambitions one by one... I am not happy at all..."

"So you gave the screen to my family? Mr. Lin!" Icefin frowned, speaking each word carefully. Afu's boastful shout followed: "It really was you, Grandpa! You're so selfish! You don't need it yourself, and you won't even let me—your own grandson—enjoy it!"

He is... Mr. Lin? The Mr. Lin that my grandmother met in her childhood, the Mr. Lin who asked my grandfather to send the screen to the Sasho Temple for offerings! This Afu should be of the same generation as my grandmother, so how old is Mr. Lin, who is his grandfather?

“I did not pass Yangyan on to my successor. I sent him to Wuliang Palace and sealed it off.” The blue scars on Mr. Lin’s face were gradually eroded by darkness. “For a while, I was in poor health. I was afraid that if I let it pass like this, everything would go back to the way it was. Moreover, my family could no longer stay here. But even if the whole family went abroad, as long as the Wuxiang Screen was still there, the younger generation could use it to continue killing gods. So, I handed him over to the Tongcaohua family because this family had no ambition.”

"Then why was it sent to Sasho-ji Temple?" I asked. Mr. Lin revealed a sly smile: "Actually, I come to check on the screen every year. At first, no one was home, but later a boy named Neyan always received me. He was a nice guy. About forty years ago, the evil energy on the screen had become uncontrollable, so I asked Neyan to send it to Sasho-ji Temple for worship."

Mr. Lin, he called my grandfather... Neyan! Neyan—that's the name my grandfather used when communicating with the other world!

—No wonder that Afu insisted he was the head of the Ba family, but was terrified when I mentioned the blue scar on the Ba family head's face. It was clearly the facial feature of his deceased grandfather, the previous head of the Ba family! I took two steps back in alarm, looking at Icefin, who remained nonchalant: "Oh? You finally figured it out. You're not just slow-witted, you are!"

Even more oblivious than me is Mr. Lin! He has no idea that because of his sin of slaying a god, he too is bound by the curse of the Wu Xiang Screen! Completely unaware, he watches the shadow behind him grow ever thicker: "It seems... even the offerings aren't enough. I should consider destroying it!"

"That's not difficult!" Tigo tapped the screen and said casually, "But, old man, are you sure you're alright?" It seems that only I didn't realize that Mr. Lin was a spirit.

"I won't allow it!" Suddenly, Afu, the true head of the Ba family, sprang to his feet with unexpected ferocity and lunged at Tihu. His overwhelming power and momentum caught Tihu off guard, and he snatched the screen from her hands! A crooked smile played on Afu's lips: "Don't you understand? Grandpa, you're already dead! What are you doing holding onto the screen? You don't need it anymore!"

"What nonsense is this child spouting! You unfilial son!" Mr. Lin roared, but Afu completely lost control: "What child? Only your time has stopped! Look at me—I'm already the same age as you! Actually, you passed away before we went abroad, which is why we could never find the whereabouts of the screen, and that's how the Ba family declined! But now it's different. I am the head of the family, and the Ba family will not perish! I want to live a life that even you never lived!"

"Shut up! I... how could I possibly die? Afu... but you... how did you become like this!" Mr. Lin's tone remained firm, but his heart had begun to waver. The undead exist because of their strong belief that they are still alive, so they can only see what they were familiar with in life. It was precisely because of this great obsession that Mr. Lin intimidated the other ancestors of the Deba family who had turned into evil spirits. But now he saw Afu's appearance clearly—the moment he saw the truth and realized that he was already dead, that was when Mr. Lin began to weaken!

"Begin! Begin the ritual!"

"Do it! Do it now!" As if freed from its restraints, the dark shadows that had been wrapped around the screen grew a hundredfold, looming over Afu's head like a suddenly opened umbrella. Afu's neck stiffened, and he rolled his eyes in terror: "What...what is that...help...help me..." Before he could even utter a complete cry for help, his body was already entangled by the vengeful spirits of the successive heads of the Ba family!

"Stop!" Mr. Lin's roar had no effect as before. The dark figure let out a jumble of mocking laughter: "Useless, the Wu Xiang Screen is in our hands! We can't wait any longer, just lend us this body!" Sensing the sweet energy fluctuations of Yang Yan slumbering in the Shemu, these greedy gluttons could no longer control their desires! In the empty ancestral home of the Ba family, Afu's screams echoed...

"Stop!" Mr. Lin roared, thinking he could intimidate the evil spirit as before. His spirit instantly became transparent, and he stared in astonishment at his disappearing body—having lost his will to live, he could no longer manipulate his power with the same imperceptible ease as before. However, his confusion and bewilderment were fleeting. "So I really am dead… then there's nothing I can do." Turning to Daigo, Mr. Lin had regained his composure and dignity. "You said you had the ability to destroy the Wuxiang Screen, didn't you? Aren't you going to do it?"

"But if the screen is destroyed, Mr. Lin... you'll disappear too!" I suddenly felt like crying and shouted. Icefin grabbed me: "Firewing! Why pity him? Isn't he the same as those guys?"

Are they the same? No, they're not! Unable to escape the guilt of hurting Kagerou, Mr. Rin even forgot his own life and death! He must love Kagerou, and Kagerou must love him with the same feelings—just like the ancestors of the Ba family thousands of years ago: Rinrou and the Salt Water Goddess. The goddess must have known that the lock of hair was a deadly token, an invitation from the Grim Reaper, yet she still accepted it without hesitation, because the goddess understood Rinrou's true feelings better than anyone else—feelings worth sacrificing one's life for!

"But she's smiling... I saw the goddess smiling on the screen!" Unable to properly convey my thoughts, I shook my head vigorously. I clearly saw it—facing Linjun's bow and arrow, embracing death like a mayfly, that most beautiful smiling face...

"You and Yang Yan... you really are alike!" Mr. Lin, whose expression was gradually fading, turned to look at me. His face, covered with terrifying blue scars, held an unprecedentedly gentle smile. "That fool Yang Yan... when I killed him, he smiled and said to me, thank you, he was very happy..."

Is this happiness...? It's like this—perhaps some are sad, perhaps some are crying, but no one regrets it...

"Ready?" Daigo raised his head with an unexpectedly solemn tone, making it impossible for Icefin and me to see his expression. "You with the long green scar, I will ask my master to chant sutras to help you pass on!" As he spoke, he spread his arms and twisted his wrists. Icefin and I stared in disbelief at Daigo, who was clenching his teeth and exerting force—his method of destroying the screen was actually brute force!

Unexpectedly, the screen let out a scream and cracked! In an instant, Mr. Lin's body arced into the widening crack in the screen. The crack was like a giant funnel, and the murky black vengeful spirits enveloping the unconscious Afu were helplessly stripped away and swallowed up. The screen continued to weather away, attracting the howling vengeful spirits, and more and more tiny cracks appeared. As the last wisp of black energy was sucked in, the screen also crumbled into a pile of dust with a crashing sound...

Whether it was ambition for prosperity or the past of the cursed family, it all vanished like bubbles along with the shattered screen, slowly dissipating into the cool autumn breeze...

Looking up, I could still see the towering, silent trees of Wuliang Palace, protecting the lonely dragon god sleeping within them. "No wonder they say dragons are both clumsy and gentle..." I said softly, lowering my head.

Daigo, who had been quietly watching Fei Hui for a rare moment, let out a low laugh. His smug voice blended with the calm tone of Hyofin, who had been staring at the tall Shaki—though the tones were different, they both said the same thing: "Humans aren't much better, are they?"

The House of Curses (Completed)

Shiyu Mountain

"What are we going to do? It's completely unstartable!" I heard my uncle-in-law, Ah Chao, shouting dramatically as I sat in the old jeep. Immediately after, my cousin Bingqi, who was helping out in front of the car and was a month younger than me, came over with a frown. He slammed his greasy work gloves onto the seat, crossed his arms, and sat down heavily next to me: "I should have known this guy who needs his junior's help was completely untrustworthy!"

"Is it really that bad?" I leaned out of the car to look at the situation—we were currently at the foot of Mount Kerang, in a place called Shigure Mountain. As a world-renowned scenic area, Mount Kerang is always crowded with tourists who come to admire its towering mountains, deep valleys, and uniquely shaped pines and rocks. However, within this area of nearly a thousand square kilometers, only a very small portion is actually open to tourists; the much larger area, including Shigure Mountain, is designated as a protected area. Perhaps due to its altitude, this mountain is often submerged in the world-famous sea of clouds of Mount Kerang. Like the rest of the protected area, besides the long-time inhabitants, the only other people living on the mountain are the artists and craftsmen who have built studios here.

Uncle A-Chao, who claims to be a painter, had just bought a studio in the Shiyu Mountains at a low price from a friend and was eager to try it out. Unfortunately, almost everyone in his family had to work, and he was practically incapable of managing daily life. So, he had to ask me and Bingqi, who were both on holiday at school, to come along. Basically, we were there to cook and do laundry for him. But what was absurd was that Uncle A-Chao couldn't even recognize the roads. After wandering aimlessly around the rugged mountain roads for a while, the old, borrowed jeep finally broke down as dusk approached.

"You all stay in the car and don't go anywhere! I'll go check ahead; there should be a house not far away. Maybe we can get some help!" Uncle Chao instructed us. Icefin, still sulking, completely ignored him. Unable to think of a better solution, I worriedly told Uncle Chao to be very careful—because mountains are places full of spiritual energy, and this mountain felt rather strange…