Ksitigarbha Legend - Chapter 10
One sentence plunged Liu Wei into the deepest abyss, and Mao Mao lost all memories of her past life.
Looking in the mirror, Mao Mao gradually regained her composure. Most women are often clueless, assuming that if you still love him, he must still love you. But Mao Mao understood now and said to the mirror, "What are you doing here? Coming to see my current predicament?"
The mirror still didn't look at Mao Mao, nor did it pay attention to what Mao Mao said. It treated her as if she were invisible. His pitiful male pride made him feel he had to do this.
He stared straight at Lao Liu and said, "Lao Xiansheng, could you come back to the research institute with me?" As he spoke, he handed over a business card, one corner of which had been scorched by Soso.
For the first time in his life, he was addressed as "Old Liu" by someone. Overwhelmed with gratitude, he accepted the business card, which read "Jing Chengcheng" in small print below: "Researcher at the Marginal Chemistry Laboratory".
"What...what do you do?" After looking at the business card, Lao Liu was even more confused.
"What do you want to do?" Liu Wei stood in front of Lao Liu, his chest puffed out.
“This has nothing to do with you.” Mirror spat out a mouthful of blood, shoved Liu Wei aside, and continued to say to Old Liu, “Sir, we have a groundbreaking research project that we hope you can cooperate with…”
"This... I..." This was the first time that someone as knowledgeable as a "researcher" had spoken to Lao Liu, and the content was so scholarly. Lao Liu looked at Liu Wei helplessly.
Liu Wei shielded Old Liu behind him: "How can it not concern me? This is my father! Right, old man?"
How long has it been? How long has it been? Since Liu Wei woke up, he had never called Old Liu "Dad" once. Today, he finally uttered that word, and Old Liu was moved to tears. "Yes, yes, yes! You have to discuss my affairs with my son!"
The mirror stared in surprise for a moment, then turned and left without saying a word, never once glancing at Mao Mao.
Big M lay in a corner of the emergency exit, out of the light, squinting as he watched everything. He said to the lion, "Lion, do you know what this is called attachment? Among all sentient beings in the six realms, everyone has their own different attachments, and attachment is the most painful."
The lion remained silent. Big M turned around, only to find that there was no one behind her. The lion, who had come to the hospital with Big M, had disappeared without a trace.
Old Liu stood in the corridor wiping away tears of happiness, completely unaware that a large brown ant had fallen from the ceiling into his hair.
33.
The lion saw the mirror, turned around, and ran away.
The mirror reminded the lion of his painful past, of the strangely tasted and unpalatable pills, of the excruciating pain like ants gnawing at his bones, and of the suffocating convulsions that gripped his entire body.
That place is hell, no, it's more terrifying than hell, and it would rather die than return there.
The lion was fine at first, but it has gradually started to feel unwell. At first, it just had a cough, then it felt short of breath, and now it has difficulty breathing and often has to take deep breaths.
The lion knew perfectly well that it was the drug that was causing the problem.
Since growing crystal horns, Big M's body has also changed. First, its appearance changed. Its tail became thick and strong, like an ancient lizard, and its head also became very strange. In short, it looked less and less like a cat, but it also didn't look like any other animal. Big M was a system of its own, a separate species. This change made Big M afraid to appear in front of people during the day, otherwise it would definitely be put into the zoo as a rare animal.
The changes in appearance are nothing compared to the most deadly thing: Di Ting's ears have become extremely sensitive, even able to read the hearts of all things. It can observe the heavens above and the earth below, possesses unique wisdom, and hears from all directions. It can discern the thoughts of all things in the world, so it can see through the lion's thoughts at a glance.
Big M sighed and said to the lion, "If you don't go back, you'll cause a lot of trouble for others."
"At worst, I'll die myself. What trouble will others cause?" The lion wasn't surprised that Big M understood its thoughts. From the first moment it saw Big M, it knew that it was no ordinary cat.
"Sigh!" Big M sighed, "Let's go back!"
The lion said it would rather die than return. It didn't understand why its best brother would push it to hell. It also didn't understand that if it didn't go to hell, others would have to.
If I don't go to hell, who will?
Big M suddenly remembered its master, closed its eyes and concentrated, but it still couldn't find Ksitigarbha's whereabouts.
If Ksitigarbha wanted to hide, he would naturally hide so well that neither gods nor ghosts would know—truly, "unbeknownst to gods and ghosts."
The lion swished its tail, playing with an ant on the ground, panting heavily; it felt very agitated.
"I heard you're the Di Ting divine beast of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva?" the lion asked.
"Yes," Big M replied.
"If I die, will I go to hell?"
“Going to hell isn’t scary,” Big M said meaningfully. “What’s scary is not even being able to go to hell.”
The lion didn't understand what Big M was asking, and it continued, "Are there meat buns in hell?"
"No." Big M's ears twitched; the ant seemed to be crying in pain. "Please let that ant go!"
The lion loosened its paws, looked up at the sky, and took a deep breath. "If I die, can I be a real lion in my next life? That's my dream."
"If you can't live a good life in this life, don't expect a good life in the next life," said Big M.
"Actually, I have a secret..." the lion said. Big M knew what the secret was, but it wanted to hear the lion tell it himself.
"I...I'm actually a louse..." The lion said this with inexplicable sorrow, only his breathing became even more labored.
"When I was a flea, I was a parasite; now that I'm a cat, I'm still a parasite. When I become a lion, I'll definitely hunt for myself!" The lion lamented endlessly.
"We'll talk about the next life in the next life. You have to go back now!" There was a command in Big M's tone. The lion was now a dangerous object.
Unaware of its surroundings, the lion gasped for breath, then its face began to twitch, its fur twisted together, gradually cracking and oozing a purple sauce that emitted a strange, fishy smell.
Then a louse the size of a cat crawled out of the lion's fur. It was like a flat, brown plate. It moved quickly, slipped into the crack in the sewer, and disappeared in a moment.
Professor Xiao glanced at the clock on the wall and said to the mirror, "If my younger brother doesn't take his medicine now, I don't know what will become of him."
The mirror said, "What if it turns into a big louse?"
Professor Xiao shook his head, sighed, and said, "Let's ignore that for now and figure out how to get that old man you mentioned back!"
34.
The ant that had been toyed with by the lion hurriedly crawled towards the community hospital after escaping its clutches.
A nurse at the hospital complained while spraying disinfectant, "It's already winter, why are there still so many ants?"
There were only a few ants, hurrying along the corner of the wall.
When people are happy, they are in high spirits. Liu Wei finally acknowledged him as his father, which was more effective than any magic pill. Old Liu felt exceptionally good today, with all his internal organs feeling clear and his body feeling comfortable. It was wonderful.
He stretched his arms, feeling he could be discharged. Staying in the hospital was more expensive than staying in a hotel! But before leaving, he decided to steal some toilet paper from the hospital bathroom one last time. The paper was really good—white, soft, and effective at cleaning. He never bought such good paper for himself.
Old Liu strolled into the restroom as if nothing had happened, looked around to make sure no one was there, then quickly took the toilet paper from the first stall, stuffed it into his clothes, and immediately moved on to the second stall.
When he finally got to the last toilet stall, Lao Liu felt a bit of heaviness in his lower abdomen, so he simply sat down and slowly prepared himself.
An ant's head peeked out from under Old Liu's hair, and then the whole ant was revealed. The ant wiggled its antennae and crawled to Old Liu's ear. Old Liu felt a little itchy and scratched it. The ant lost its footing and landed on his shoulder. The ant was not discouraged and continued to crawl towards his ear, probably mistaking it for an ant hole.
We finally succeeded!
Old Liu was concentrating on his breathing when he suddenly felt something in his ear. Before he could even reach in, a sharp pain spread from his ear throughout his body. Old Liu screamed in agony, but something even more tragic was about to happen. Thousands upon thousands of ants swarmed into the toilet, rushing in and crawling into Old Liu's ears, nostrils, mouth, and eyes. Old Liu screamed a few more times, and the poop he had been holding in for so long was finally expelled.
Old Liu didn't even have time to pull up his pants. He yelled and rushed out of the toilet, but after running only a few steps, he lay straight down on the ground and didn't move at all.
Old Liu's last remaining thought was: I can't die such a pathetic death...
Old Liu did indeed die a very ignominious death.
When Mirror and Professor Xiao arrived at the hospital, the ants had already disappeared.
Old Liu lay sprawled at the hospital entrance, his pants half-down, bleeding from all seven orifices. His body and the ground were covered in feces, which mingled with the smell of blood, creating an extremely foul odor.
After taking photos, the police had Liu Wei sign the papers and then left with the body.
The old tree spirit dug a hole 10 meters below the tomb and used its roots to build a comfortable and flexible chair. Tongtong sat on it, and every time she adjusted her posture, the roots would adjust accordingly as if trying to please her, in order to make Tongtong as comfortable as possible.
Looking at the ants scattered on the ground below, Tongtong cursed, "Idiots! A bunch of brainless idiots!"
The lead brown ant said, "We really searched every part of that person's body, but we couldn't find it!"
"Was it digested by that old man?" Xiao Lu leaned forward, flattering him.
"Digest? What a joke! Do you think that bead is an egg?" Tongtong glanced at A-Ming with her sexy eyes, and A-Ming lowered his head and remained silent.
Uncle Fu nudged Ah Ming, who raised his bloodshot eyes and said, "I don't know..."
"Useless!" Tongtong raised her hand and pressed her fingers against A-Ming's face. A-Ming had been beaten since childhood, and being beaten was a daily occurrence. But no matter how much Old Li beat him, he was still beating his son. No matter how hard or heavy he hit him, he always had a limit. Tongtong didn't care about that. Blood seeped from the corner of A-Ming's mouth, and tears streamed down his face.
“Master…” Uncle Fu bowed deeply, “This child’s third eye has not yet been fully opened… Please don’t worry…”
"My blood flows in your veins, and it's not activated yet?" Tongtong said angrily.
This was another question that couldn't be answered; answering yes or no would be wrong. Uncle Fu lowered his head and remained silent.
"Looks like I'll have to take matters into my own hands!" Tongtong raised her arm, transforming into a small, bronze-colored ant. The ant was small and light, its body gleaming with the same sheen as Tongtong's skin. It adjusted its transparent wings and flew out of the cave.
The doll scoffed: "It's just a stinky ant."
35.
Big M said, "If you can't live a good life in this life, don't expect to live a good life in the next."
These words left a deep impression on the lion's heart.
If you can't live a good life in this life, don't expect a good one in the next.
The lion decided to live well, to live independently, to live honestly, and to live without regrets—even though it was now a strange louse.
It crawled and crawled in the sewer, not knowing where it would end up, but it felt that it would eventually reach a place where it would find happiness.
The sewer system is extensive and interconnected, much like a vast city subway.
A gurgling sound came from above, followed by a stream of water mixed with excrement and urine spraying onto the lion. The lion didn't tremble; it just kept crawling forward until it was starving.
If a person loses their principles when they are hungry, how much more so a louse?
The lion crawled down the sewer to a house. The living room was lit by a dim light, and there was a stack of leftover food in the kitchen, some of it moldy. When the lion was a cat, it didn't care about these things, but now it was a flea.
Lice only have mouthparts, and their mouthparts can only suck blood.
Old Li sat on the sofa in the living room, looking haggard as he looked at the missing person notice in the newspaper. This was the third issue, but there was still no trace of A-Ming. Looking at A-Ming's photo in the newspaper, he finally couldn't help but sob. A-Ming disappeared after the earthquake. The last person to see A-Ming said that he saw A-Ming standing upside down on the old locust tree in the community.
Old Li was filled with regret...
Every time Ah Ming did something wrong, or rather, every time his father thought Ah Ming had done something wrong, he would punish him by making him do a handstand. Last week, an older friend said that handstands are bad for a child's brain; if a child does handstands frequently, the blood flows backward and compresses the brain, making the child less intelligent. No wonder the child always said he saw ghosts when he did handstands. Old Li initially thought the child was deliberately scaring him to get revenge, but now it seems the child might already have some brain problems! So Old Li decided to stop punishing the child by making him do handstands, but before he could tell the child, the child disappeared.
According to the neighbor who last saw A-Ming, the child must have felt he had done something wrong and was punishing himself.
What a sensible child! He often beat him, and every time he beat him, he felt sorry for him, but it was for A-Ming's future success. A-Ming's mother couldn't wait for him to be born and died. The child was premature and was forcibly pulled out of the body, and he was still alive. Old Li felt that this was a gift left to him by his wife, the courage to live on.
If A-Ming is not successful, how can he face his deceased mother?
Old Li looked up at the portrait of A-Ming's mother hanging on the wall and burst into tears, "Xiao Hui, I'm so sorry... I'm so sorry..." The woman in the portrait was young and smiling slightly.
The louse crawled behind Old Li, hesitating.
It's just a small bite from a flea, nothing serious.