Incident Lingxia

Chapitre 15

A-Ming said disdainfully, "The person who gave birth to you is your mother. This woman gave up giving birth to you, which means she didn't want to be your mother. She is not your mother."

Ah Ming then seemed to transform into a different person, quickly saying, "That wasn't what I said!" Then, in his original tone, he said, "Use that blue bead to exchange for this woman's life!"

The doll clenched the beads in her hand: "What do I want to do?"

Ah Ming sneered: "None of your business."

The doll hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out her hand.

"Child! No! Don't give it to him! He's been controlled by bad people!" Mao Mao screamed. A Ming slapped Mao Mao across the face. Mao Mao suddenly remembered that day when A Ming told her at the elevator entrance, "Auntie, there's something unclean in your house." What a pure face he had then! What clear eyes he had!

"I..." The doll withdrew her hand again. Ah Ming was furious. He grabbed Mao Mao, jumped onto a low gatehouse, and saw a group of infected people swaying below. "You won't give it to me? If you don't give it to me, I'll throw her down!"

"No!" the doll shook her lips and cried out, "I'll give it to you!"

The doll slowly walked towards the gatehouse, her right hand, hidden in her pocket, silently grasping the green flying bead.

She suddenly took flight, tilted her hand, stuffed the blue bead into Mao Mao's hand, then picked up A Ming and flew straight upwards.

Enraged, A-Ming swung his sword at the doll's head, causing its brains to splatter and the doll's soul to drift away. Momo couldn't see it, but she didn't care. She took a deep breath, threw the blue bead at the magnetic field barrier, and then rushed down from the gatehouse. Momo's running attracted many of the already sluggish infected. By the time they got close, the magnetic field barrier had been restored. Momo breathed a long sigh of relief, then suddenly felt something flowing out from behind her. She quickly pulled out her backpack, and from the doll inside, a thick, yellow, putrid liquid oozed out, and the doll deflated instantly.

The doll's soul drifted down from the sky, sunlight piercing through her naked soul. In the distance, a melodious flute tune seemed to drift, low and deep, like a lullaby. Then, a little girl of seven or eight years old, carrying a flute, floated over.

The little girl said, "I am the Flute Spirit, who takes children's souls to an eternal and beautiful land. What's your name? I'll take you there!"

The doll thought for a moment and said, "I don't have a name."

A doll is just the name of a toy. Her life ended before it even began. Her name was replaced by the name of the toy, her gender was defined by the gender of the toy, and even her appearance was the same. From the very first second of her existence, she was an abandoned toy, never receiving even a shred of affection.

“I have no name, and I don’t want to go to your country. I just want to do one last thing for her.” After she finished speaking, she flew up and landed on Ah Ming’s head, sucking hard on the hair on his head.

Amidst Amin's scream, she transformed into a wisp of dust and a puff of smoke. In just a moment, the dust and smoke dissipated, and a golden maple leaf drifted down from the sky.

There were no maple trees, but maple leaves drifted down. The leaves stopped in mid-air, flashed with golden light, and transformed into a tiny person the size of a leaf. The tiny person gradually grew bigger and bigger until it finally landed on the ground.

Dressed in a golden silk robe, with a serene and benevolent face and eyes full of heroic spirit, the demon-subduing golden staff stood to his right, jumping a few times as if stretching its limbs, and then surprisingly spoke: "Where is Xiaozhu?"

Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva smiled and said, "It's busy with other things."

He looked up at the sky, then at Ah Ming, and without saying a word, simply said, "Let's go."

The Demon-Subduing Golden Staff followed behind Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, hopping a few steps before finally retreating and giving Ah Ming a hard knock on the head. Then it followed closely behind Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva again.

As A-Ming gazed into the distance, his vision grew increasingly blurry, and he felt as if Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva was walking on the street, yet not walking on the street at all.

On the other side of the city, while using his magic to control the spread of the virus for Liu Wei, Big M looked up at the sky, closed his eyes, and smiled.

Who in this world could have imagined that a doll, with its tiny soul, could awaken Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, who was in seclusion to uphold filial piety...

49.

With each step Ksitigarbha took, a change occurred. Finally, the golden veil faded, revealing him as a middle-aged man dressed in simple gray clothes. He walked calmly down the street, not fast, but the buildings rushed past him.

The Demon-Subduing Golden Staff swayed somewhat reluctantly, transforming into an ordinary cane, bouncing and looking around.

Ksitigarbha opened his hand, holding a small golden toad in his palm, panting with his cheeks puffed out.

Ksitigarbha said, "Go!"

The little golden toad jumped down, politely puffed out its cheeks at Ksitigarbha, and leaped towards the jungle-like city. The golden toad landed on the infected person's head, and the infected person collapsed to the ground with a thud.

The old toad sowed the seeds of disaster, and the little toad came to clean up the mess.

Tongtong sat up abruptly, frowning, holding the Ruyi Bao Life Pearl in her hand, which shone brightly.

The muscles in her face twitched with excitement—Ksitigarbha! Ksitigarbha was getting closer and closer.

Tongtong took flight, circled the tomb chamber once, and stood on the stone coffin, her wheat-colored skin flushed slightly.

"Eunuch Fu—" She turned around with a reserved air, wearing a white gauze dress. A white rope made of silver snake skin hung around her graceful neck, with a light blue pearl hanging from it, making her face even more radiant. She was barefoot, but her toenails were painted with white fluorescent powder.

"Grandpa Fu—how do you think of this outfit?" Tongtong's eyes sparkled.

Uncle Fu raised his head, then quickly lowered it again, and said cautiously, "Beautiful."

Tongtong smiled contentedly: "At the moment of Ksitigarbha's death, he should see such a beautiful side of me, making him regret his decision and die in endless remorse!"

Tongtong giggled, gazing intently at the Ruyi Treasure Life Pearl in her hand. "Pearl, oh pearl, your master has arrived." The pearl seemed to understand Tongtong's words, trembling slightly and emitting an even more dazzling light. Uncle Fu quickly closed his eyes, while Tongtong was lost in the pearl's radiance.

At the age of fifteen, at the royal hunting grounds, Tongtong held the hand of a bright-eyed boy and said, "General Jin! You've won the battle, so let my father make you his son-in-law!"

The boy, known as General Jin, withdrew his hand, knelt down, and remained kneeling without speaking.

Tongtong snapped out of her daze, her brows furrowing again: "Hundreds of years ago, you killed me three times, destroyed my Ming Dynasty, and forced my father to his death. This grudge cannot go unavenged!"

Uncle Fu kept his head down, not daring to speak. He still remembered the moment he carried the injured Ninth Princess out of the palace during the war, and she had the same expression on her face.

A middle-aged man holding a wooden cane stood in front of Tongtong. No one knew how he broke through the barrier and stood there, nor did anyone know when he stood there. It was as if he had been standing there all along, as if he was meant to stand there.

“You haven’t let go yet,” the middle-aged man said.

"You've let it go?" Tongtong bit her lip.

“No. I never picked it up, so I can’t put it down,” the middle-aged man said.

"Hmph!" Tongtong sneered, "You dare to be revered by thousands? You're nothing but a coward who betrayed his country! As a general of the Ming Dynasty, as a Han Chinese, you actually helped a foreign race destroy your nation!"

"All I know is that when war inevitably begins, making the stronger side even stronger is the fastest way to end it!" Ksitigarbha said calmly.

"What about the nation? What about the country? And what about me?"

“A nation is still a nation, a country is still a country, and you are not yourself.” Ksitigarbha said calmly.

I am not me...

Tongtong murmured.

I am not myself. I sold my soul for the sake of restoring my country. I am not myself.

50.

The most hateful people in this world are not heinous villains who kill without mercy, nor treacherous villains who repay kindness with enmity and betray trust, nor treacherous officials who are disloyal, unfilial, and unable to distinguish right from wrong. Rather, they are the purest and kindest heroes who sacrifice themselves for others, prioritize benevolence and righteousness, and strive to save all living beings.

These so-called heroes are utterly despicable. They only care about fulfilling their own conscience, building their own reputation, and finding peace of mind, regardless of whether others agree or not. They unilaterally sacrifice themselves, act great, and be kind, selfishly pushing others to the brink of injustice and making them the villains. Who told you to sacrifice yourself? Who told you to give up your life? Who told you to forgive? Who told you to go to hell? If you want to go to hell, go to hell yourself. Don't do it for me! Don't do it for me!

The villains in TV dramas who are eventually moved by so-called good people and kneel down to repent are really spineless. They don't deserve to be bad people, or even human beings!

You hate the loyal ministers who advised you with your thoughts. Because of your blind loyalty and self-righteousness, how many petty treacherous ministers have been made into great treacherous ministers, and how many petty tyrants have been made into great tyrants?

I hate those who sacrifice themselves for others. Because of your individual heroism, those who "sacrifice themselves for others" cannot live in peace for the rest of their lives and die in guilt and depression.

Kong Chong gave away a pear. It's just a pear. Usually, your brothers let you choose. It's because your brothers love and care for you. Just because you were sensible this once, it's been praised for all time. It makes it seem like your brothers bullied you. Did you consider your brothers' reputation when you gave away the pear? Or was giving away the pear just a strategic retreat?

The Qing emperor spared my life and arranged my marriage, but only to enhance his own reputation and consolidate his rule. I, the Ninth Princess, will not be grateful; I will only hate him more.

Black is black, white is white, kindness is kindness, hatred is hatred, love is love, hate is hate. I'm just a little bit bad. You should hate me if you want, and beat me if you want. But instead of hating me or beating me, you do me favors. You selfishly put yourself in a high and mighty position, making my little badness seem like a big bad thing. Who wants your favors? Who wants to look up to you?

Loyal ministers, heroes, knights-errant, and gentlemen, along with straightforward emperors, weak commoners, slightly wicked villains, and genuinely authentic villains, achieved their fame at the cost of the utter ruin of those they bestowed upon.

There is only one Buddha; others should not be presumptuous.

Tongtong's eyes were blazing with anger. Without your so-called sacrifices, I, Tongmei, wouldn't be who I am today. Go ahead and be noble, go ahead and sacrifice, it's none of my business, I don't appreciate it.

I am who I am.

Tongtong grabbed Uncle Fu and said, "A great battle is imminent, I need to absorb your energy!!"

"This servant...this servant is willing to go through fire and water for the Ninth Princess...to die for her..." Uncle Fu's eyes shone with unwavering determination.

"Why? Why? You know perfectly well that I don't love you, that I hate you!!!" Tongtong cried out angrily.

"This servant...is willing..."

"Did you do all this willingly, with my consent? Zhou Shixian!!!!! You castrated yourself to enter the palace to help me survive this life-or-death ordeal, with my consent? I rescued you, with my consent? You hanged yourself by my grave, dying for love and for your master, with my consent? Who made you do so much for me?! You big bastard—do you know that what you've done makes me feel like a bad person? Do you know that what you've done puts a lot of pressure and burden on me?!"

“It was the servant’s selfishness…the servant was wrong…” Uncle Fu’s body trembled, and the energy in his body was constantly being absorbed by Tongtong.

Tongtong roared, and Uncle Fu vanished in an instant. Tongtong clenched her fists, glared at Dizang with hatred, and gritted her teeth: "How I wish I had died peacefully hundreds of years ago and reincarnated dutifully. It was you so-called good people, heroes, and gentlemen who sacrificed your lives for righteousness who turned me into this. I will never be satisfied until I avenge this grudge!"

Tongtong turned around, raised her hand, and a strong stream of formic acid sprayed out, hitting Dizang's heart. Dizang clasped his hands together and remained motionless, which further angered Tongtong.

"Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva!" Big M and the others had already arrived. As soon as Big M stood in front of Ksitigarbha, he immediately transformed into a boy of about ten years old with a crystal horn on his head. Big M excitedly shouted, "Great! Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, I can finally transform!"

The demon-slaying golden staff tightly bound Big M: "Lingling, I missed you so much!"

"Let me go! This isn't the time for this!" The little boy, Big M, blushed and struggled to break free of the demon-slaying golden staff, muttering to himself, "There's nothing I can do about being handsome."

51.

Big M finally managed to break free of the Demon-Subduing Golden Staff and breathed a huge sigh of relief, only to see the staff leap up, shouting, "Little Pearl! I've found you! You remembered me!"

The Ruyi Bao Life Pearl, held in Tongtong's hand, suddenly spoke, startling everyone: "Don't hug me, I'm enjoying myself in the hands of a beautiful woman!"

"Sharing the good fortune!" The Demon-Subduing Golden Staff transformed into a flexible rope, flying towards Tongtong's arm. With a gentle twist, it pulled down the Wish-Fulfilling Life Pearl, tossing it lightly into Big M's hand.

"I hate you, you stinky cane! You stinky troublemaker!!" Little Pearl jumped around in Big M's hand: "When I was suffering inside the pigeon's belly, tormenting in the ant eggs, and rolling around in the stinky ditch, why weren't you here! You just ruined my good time when I finally had some intimate contact with a beautiful woman!"

"That's a demon!" The Demon-Subduing Golden Staff made a face.

"I love beautiful fairies too! Hmph!" The Ruyi Treasure Life Pearl jumped up and smashed hard against the cane, which cried out in pain.

Big M sighed, "We argue as soon as we meet..."

The Ruyi Treasure Life Pearl was useless to Tongtong. Tongtong had tried it, and since she was not in the Six Paths of Reincarnation, she didn't care about the trickery of the cane.

A famous Taiwanese hypnotherapist once told Xiaoyao a way to consolidate selective amnesia after performing a selective amnesia hypnosis session with her: once she remembers, she should immediately and strongly suggest to herself: I don't know this person, this is someone else's story.

Tongtong is now telling herself: I never loved him, we never loved each other, we were just using each other.

We never loved each other; we only used each other.

We never loved each other; we were just using each other!

Tongtong's eyes were blazing with anger. I have never loved Jin Xiaoluo, never!

Ksitigarbha lowered his eyes, patted his chest, the formic acid corroding his heart, and said, "Let it go."

Let it go.

Jin Xiaoluo said to Changping, "Let it go. For the sake of the people no longer suffering from the pain of war, look at those soldiers who risked their lives for you. Don't they have wives and children?"

Changping was filled with sorrow.