Ksitigarbha Legend

Chapter 6

Poison itself is not evil; what is evil is the person who uses it.

The treasure itself is not kind; it is the person who uses it who is kind.

A treasure becomes good when it encounters a kind person, and evil when it encounters a wicked person.

Haiqing thought to himself that he was only borrowing this treasure for a short time, and would return it to its owner after he was done using it.

Haiqing thought to herself, "This is better than falling into the hands of that devil."

That treasure was none other than the wish-fulfilling jewel of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva.

It was late at night, and there was no moon. The wild cats went out to hunt for food.

Haiqing warned, "You must bring the food back to the cave before eating it, or you will surely die."

There were still many poisoned food items placed in the nooks and crannies of the community. The community property management obviously didn't have that much patience and time. The person who poisoned and killed the cats was someone else.

But the lion seemed to ignore all of this; it continued to eat and drink as usual, seemingly immune to all poisons.

Haiqing glanced at Big M, pondering whether to go alone tonight or take this guy with her.

Haiqing understood that Big M was not an ordinary cat. To be precise, it was not a cat at all. Haiqing saw the color of hell in its eyes. It had only temporarily forgotten everything, only temporarily.

I don't know if this is half a month or 15 days, but in any case, I need to get the pearl and return to Hoh Xil before it remembers.

Haiqing thought to herself: If I save them, I will return the pearl to you.

With this in mind, Haiqing decided to act alone today, fearing that the pearl might awaken Big M's memories.

“Ugly cat!” Haiqing said to Da M, “Go out with the lion to find food. It’s a stray cat’s survival instinct!”

Haiqing never called those cats "wildcats" because they didn't deserve it.

They were just abandoned stray cats.

14.

Xiao Lu couldn't contain its emotions. It knew this neighborhood too well, and it knew this road home too well. In the past, its owner often took it and its young master for walks along this road. Many trees along this road had retained its scent. Of course, it didn't use them to mark its territory; it just wanted to leave its mark. Its owner often said, "A goose leaves its cry as it flies by, and a person leaves their name as they pass by."

The master is so wise! Recalling the moments he had spent with his master, Xiao Lu couldn't contain his excitement.

Master, Master, I'm back! Master's Little Lu is back!

I wonder if the owner will give Xiao Lu a hug and then cook a pot of delicious bone broth?

Thinking of this, Xiao Lu quickened his pace, as if he had already forgotten his master's abandonment of him.

How could its owner abandon it? He must have been too busy with work and forgot to pick it up. The owner is always so forgetful. Little Lu smiled sweetly to herself, "Forgetful owner!"

Little Lu gently scratched at the door with its paws; the doorbell was too high for it to reach.

A doll with a sweet smile stood beside it and said, "Shall I ring the doorbell for you?"

Xiao Lu recognizes this doll. It always wanders around this building, wandering alone, laughing alone. No one pays attention to it, and it has never seen anyone talk to it.

Xiao Lu didn't like her because one time it saw her climbing on the head of its little owner's bed and sucking on the little owner's hair. Although Xiao Lu didn't know what she was doing, it knew that it must be something that hurt the little owner, and no one should hurt its owner! So Xiao Lu rushed to the little owner's bed and tried to bite her. Xiao Lu didn't manage to bite her, but its claws scratched the little owner's face. Then the owner got very angry and insisted that Xiao Lu was sick, so it took Xiao Lu to the vet.

It wondered if its owner was still angry. It hadn't intentionally scratched its little owner's face; it was just in a hurry. Thinking of this, Xiao Lu felt uneasy.

"Shall I ring the doorbell for you?" the doll repeated.

Little Lu barked angrily, "Bad guy! Bad guy! It's none of your business!"

Xiao Lu's barking annoyed A Ming's father, Lao Li. Lao Li opened the door and saw a Pekingese dog barking loudly at the air. Remembering that it had scratched A Ming before, Lao Li immediately became angry.

"Mad dog! Get out—" Old Li kicked Xiao Lu away, and Xiao Lu's head hit the wall of the corridor, causing a sharp pain and a wave of dizziness.

Master? Tears welled up in Xiao Lu's eyes. Master? Don't you recognize me?

Seeing that Xiao Lu still wouldn't leave, Old Li angrily grabbed a mop from inside the house and threw it at Xiao Lu.

Little Lu neither dodged nor fought back, but simply called out, "Master, Master! I am Little Lu, it's me!"

Old Li beat the boy viciously, cursing as he did so: "How come you're still alive? How come you're still alive?"

Finally, Little Lu stopped barking. The mud and blood on the mop were mixed together as he lay on the ground, barely alive. "Master..."

Tears streamed down Xiao Lu's face.

Old Li took a black garbage bag from the room, put Xiao Lu inside, and angrily threw it into the trash can.

The doll floated to the trash can and said, "Trash, trash, you and I are both trash."

Xiao Lu felt as if he were in complete darkness.

It was very dark, very dark.

The darkness seemed like a bottomless pit. Little Lu fell in, fell in, while the doll clapped its hands and laughed, "Trash! Trash! Little Lu has become unwanted trash!"

Rubbish?

Has Xiao Lu become trash?

As darkness fell, the sanitation workers went out on their patrol.

The cleaning staff are out on patrol.

15.

As Haiqing said, a stray cat is a stray cat. Although it can survive on its own even if it is abandoned, it will not catch mice unless absolutely necessary. Catching mice is just an after-dinner entertainment and a late-night snack.

Under the trees in the neighborhood, next to the trash cans, and in some corners, there were fragrant meat buns, made with sweet pigeon meat. Lion and Big M came out late, and most of the buns had already been taken by other stray cats. Lion finally found a bun under a pile of leaves, opened his mouth and swallowed it. Halfway in, remembering Big M was beside him, he spat out the half-chewed portion and handed it to Big M, saying, "Good brother, let's share the good fortune!"

Big M shook its head. It had never eaten these things since it was born, and it didn't know why it just didn't want to eat them and had no appetite.

It's past midnight; the winter frost has fallen, and the morning dew is about to rise.

Big M felt a little thirsty, having run away from the hospital last night and not having a drop of water since.

Big M itself forgot how it escaped, but it had a strong consciousness that it wanted to go out. Then it dreamed that a boy sneaked into the hospital, took the key, opened the cage, and took it out. It remembered that it said to the boy in the dream, "And Little Lu!" So the boy took Little Lu out as well.

Why? Why? It has truly forgotten; now, it only feels thirsty.

When the morning dew freezes into ice, it will glow when the sun comes out in the morning.

Big M licked it with his tongue, and the cool sensation slid down his throat and into his stomach. It was astringent and sweet, with the taste of earth and sky. Big M suddenly felt refreshed and couldn't help but eat more.

The lion looked at Big M with some guilt, feeling that it was all its fault for being too selfish and swallowing the bun in one gulp, which had left Big M to eat dew.

The lion said, "Ugly cat! Come on! I'll take you to a place with lots of food!"

"Huh?" Big M looked up and said, "No need, I'm already full."

"Ugly cat..." the lion thought. Big M must have said that on purpose because he was afraid of feeling guilty. What a nice ugly cat!

"Let's go, you silly cat!" The lion walked resolutely toward a certain place. Seeing its determination, Big M assumed it hadn't eaten enough and followed it toward the market.

The night before dawn is the darkest, like glass coated with thick ink, the ink flowing down layer by layer, and in Big M's eyes, you can see the traces of the night flowing by.

Passing by Mao Mao's building, Da M subconsciously looked towards the balcony on the 9th floor. It was a dark, soulless building, like eyes that had lost their soul.

The doll was gone too. Big M sighed.

The lion turned around and saw Big M standing there, staring blankly at the balcony. He immediately understood and said knowingly, "That's where you used to live?"

Big M nodded.

“That girl jumped to her death,” the lion said. “I saw it with my own eyes. It was the vengeful spirit of the dolls from our old neighborhood that pushed her down.”

That doll? Big M remembers it; when it was with Mao Mao, she always stayed with it and said, "Mythical beast, mythical beast, grow up quickly, so you can help me when you grow up..."

It once thought she was its friend, but unexpectedly, she hurt the person most important to it.

Oh, Big M suddenly realized that she was Big M's friend, but not Mao Mao's friend.

Your friend's mother is not your mother, so your friend's friend may not be your friend.

Big M made a mental note of this; it was the first life lesson it had learned.

16.

Liu Wei woke up, or rather, the green-faced vengeful ghost woke up. After waking up, he was extremely frustrated to find that he was still in Liu Wei's body. This wretched skin had finally become his cage. The only way to break free of the cage was to find the Ruyi Treasure Life Pearl within 24 hours. He remembered that he had hidden the pearl inside the belly of a black pigeon.

He opened his eyes. Had it been hundreds of years since he had seen the world through the eyes of a mortal? He couldn't remember.

Before he could even properly see the world, a tear fell into his eye. The tear burned his soul and pierced the wounds of centuries past. He groaned in pain, struggling to open his eyes, when another tear fell into them. Damn it!

He closed his eyes and said weakly, "Who the hell is crying?..."

An old man's hoarse voice echoed throughout the hospital: "Doctor!!! Doctor—my son is awake!"

Only after Liu Wei was sure that no more tears were falling did he forcefully open his eyes. He saw an old man with a weathered face and a pair of cloudy eyes filled with bloodshot veins. He was certain that this old man was the culprit behind the tears, and his disgust immediately increased.

The masked man in the white coat hurriedly examined Liu Wei and said to him, "He's out of danger. You're really lucky to be alive!"

Old Liu let out a long sigh of relief, looked at the deep night outside the window, and tears streamed down his face again.

"Stop crying!" Liu Wei sat up, feeling a bit dizzy, then slumped back onto the hospital bed. Damn it! Trapped in a human body, his movements suddenly became cumbersome.

"Son! Son!" Old Liu was very happy that Liu Wei still had the strength to throw a tantrum. Although this was somewhat unusual for Liu Wei, who was usually good-tempered, none of that mattered anymore. What mattered was that he was awake.

Old Liu hugged Liu Wei, a scene reminiscent of a Hong Kong or Taiwanese drama. He hadn't hugged his son in a long time. Ever since Liu Wei's first nocturnal emission, Old Liu had felt that Liu Wei was a man. Since then, he had never hugged his son again, not even held his hand. At most, he would pat him on the shoulder and say, "Go for it, son!"

Liu Wei felt something was off. The old man's tears and snot were everywhere, which stung a sensitive nerve deep in Liu Wei's soul and made him feel nauseous.

Liu Wei pushed Old Liu away and said, "Old man, let's go home, let's go back to the shop!!!"

"Son, don't worry about the medical expenses. This is a work injury, so we don't need to pay a single penny. Let's wait until you're fully recovered before going back." Old Liu thought Liu Wei was worried about spending too much money staying in the hospital for too long. He sighed inwardly, thinking that Liu Wei had always been a sensible and frugal good boy. Thinking of this, he couldn't help but shed tears again.

"Stop crying! I can't take it anymore!" Liu Wei stood up again. This time, he had mastered some techniques to control this body and stood steadily. "Look, I'm fine now!"

"It's alright, it's alright! Son, whatever you say, we'll do it!" Old Liu wiped away his tears, helped Liu Wei change his clothes, and helped Liu Wei walk home.

Stepping out of the ward, Liu Wei felt very hungry, but didn't want to eat anything. He just felt very thirsty and empty. The light in the next ward was dimly lit. Liu Wei had a strange feeling. Two nurses came out of the ward. The moment the door opened, Liu Wei saw the girl on the hospital bed. Her face was pale and her eyes were closed. Her face seemed familiar.

We can't worry about all that now; getting back the Ruyi Bao Life Pearl is the most important thing.

Thinking of this, Liu Wei quickened his pace. Originally, it was Old Liu who was helping Liu Wei walk, but now it was Liu Wei who was pulling Old Liu forward.

17