Chapter Fifty-Eight: Dual Personality
After hearing Deng Yuanjue's words, Zhang Qing was the first to jump out, pointing his finger at him and shouting, "Hey Deng, let me tell you straight, the person you mentioned isn't coming. We'll stick to what we said: today is a fight to the death. I'll be the first to prove you wrong!"
I jumped up quickly: "Wait!" I turned to Deng Yuanjue and asked, "Since you were born in 1972, how did you become Deng Yuanjue?"
Deng Yuanjue stared wide-eyed and said, "How should I know? I woke up and it felt like I had a long dream, and I remembered everything."
I asked, "Then how did you know you were following Li Shishi?"
Deng Yuanjue said, "I had just woken up when someone delivered a note to me."
Where is that person?
"That man was clearly just a messenger; he didn't know anything."
I asked again, "So what are your thoughts?"
Deng Yuanjue said, "Since I can suddenly remember these things, Lu Zhishen can too. He will definitely come looking for you first."
Lu Junyi said with a wry smile, "We do hope that what you said can become a fact. You know what, I really do miss that monk."
Deng Yuanjue said, "So as long as I guard you, I'm sure I'll be able to see him. I heard you've started a school. How about this, count me in. First, it'll be convenient for us monks like Lu, and second, if any of you are angry enough to want to kill me, you can do it nearby, so you won't say that I, Deng, am afraid of you."
Lin Chong said calmly, "Since you have such a wish, it would be petty for us to stubbornly make things difficult for you. Besides, we only have one year left to live, and it wouldn't be heroic for us to fight you to the death."
Deng Yuanjue laughed heartily: "There's no need for such concerns. Our two families were mortal enemies in our past lives, and I will never shirk my responsibilities."
The heroes looked at each other, stood up together, and Lu Junyi said, "In that case, we wish you success in achieving your goal. In the meantime, I will tell the brothers not to make things difficult for you. Farewell."
Deng Yuanjue slammed his fist on the table: "Don't go!"
The heroes all turned around, and Deng Yuanjue pointed to the opened watermelon and said, "Eat this before you go. This is the last few dollars I had on me..."
As a result, we each held a slice of watermelon and ate it as we walked. After Deng Yuanjue paid the rent, he shrugged at me and said, "Now you know why I followed you, right? I had no money for food."
Lu Junyi said to me, "We'll go ahead first." As he spoke, he glanced at Deng Yuanjue, "If he really comes to Yucai, there are still many things I need to go back and instruct him on."
Lin Chong came over and said, "Xiao Qiang, be careful."
I glanced at Deng Yuanjue's imposing figure and said, "Forget it, if he wants to kill me, no matter how careful I am, it's all in vain."
The heroes left in a taxi first, while Deng Yuanjue packed his things into a woven bag and followed me into the van. I glanced at him in the passenger seat and said awkwardly, "What should I call you, Brother Deng? Grand Preceptor?"
Deng Yuanjue patted my shoulder heartily and said, "Brother, no matter what, it has nothing to do with us. Since we're both modern people, just call me Brother Bao. From now on, in front of you, I'll just be Bao Jin from the machine factory, not some Eight Heavenly Kings."
I said, "Brother Bao, we're all modern people, we've at least gone through nine years of compulsory education, right? Don't you think the idea of reincarnation is a bit far-fetched? Don't you just think you were having a dream?"
Deng Yuanjue sighed: "Well, how should I put it? I wish it were like that too. You know I'm a fighter, and I've offended quite a few people. That day—the day after I had that dream—I don't know how it happened, but it was such a coincidence that all the people I'd offended gathered together, more than 30 of them. Normally I'd be running away in time, but that day I just charged in like I was possessed. And guess what? I threw all 30-plus of them into the ditch."
I knew these people were probably the work of my rival, so I asked, "Didn't anyone contact you afterward, or give you some money or something?"
Deng Yuanjue asked in surprise, "You know all about it? Someone did approach me later and offered me money to go against you. But I returned the money to him." Before I could speak, he interrupted, "No need to ask, that person was hired and knows nothing."
"Then why don't you go with them? It'll save you from running out of money. The person who helped you regain your memory is very rich."
Deng Yuanjue laughed and said, "This isn't helping me regain my memories, it's fucking harming me."
Why do you say that?
Deng Yuanjue sighed and said, "Everything was fine before, but they turned me into a completely different person without even consulting me. What did I do to deserve this?"
So you don't want to turn back into Deng Yuanjue?
"It's not that I'm unwilling, but you should at least ask me first, right? 'Dude, who were you in your past life? Do you want to turn back?' Let me think, oh, I was a monk in my past life. Turning back means I won't eat meat and it'll save money, so I'd probably agree. But now, I wake up to find I have 108 mortal enemies. Okay, isn't this just setting me up for failure?"
I laughed too. I found that Deng Yuanjue was quite the talker, just like my second brother, the neighbor from when I was a kid.
Deng Yuanjue solemnly said, "I remembered later that I drank too much the night before, and when I woke up thirsty in the middle of the night, I found a glass of water on the table. The problem was with that glass of water. But what can you do now that things have come to this? It's like that saying: you still have to bear what you are supposed to bear, but you can't use me as a pawn. Are you going to make me fight to the death for something from my past life? I'm not that stupid."
I laughed and said, "Brother Bao is quite shrewd."
Deng Yuanjue scoffed, "Bullshit! Haven't you noticed I'm starting to have a bit of a split personality?"
Indeed, the magnanimous Deng Yuanjue of just moments ago and the ordinary worker Bao Jin now are as distinctly different as an actor's stage performance and real life. I think he must have it tough, especially since every day when he wakes up, he must have to think for a long time about who he is, which dynasty he lives in, whether the person he encounters with a knife is a government soldier or the butcher next door, and whether the person with a stick is a spearman from Liangshan or a blind man...
I briefly told Deng Yuanjue what I knew from Liu Laoliu, and he sighed, "Aren't we just cannon fodder? It's been over a thousand years, what's the point of bringing this up again?"
I sighed and said, "If all eight Heavenly Kings were like you, there wouldn't be so much trouble."
Deng Yuanjue said, “They are different from me. They may have died more tragically and have a lot of resentment. Moreover, they all have murder cases against Liangshan. Even if they don’t seek revenge against Liangshan, Liangshan will come after them. They have no choice but to take another chance.”
I said, "Can you try to persuade them? I'll also talk to those heroes and suggest we stop here, otherwise this feud will drag on for generations."
Deng Yuanjue shook his head: "The Eight Heavenly Kings are not the type to listen to advice. Besides, among the eight of us, I only have a good relationship with Pang Wanchun. I don't like the others, and they look at me awkwardly too."
This is the first time I've heard of internal discord among the Eight Heavenly Kings.
As I drove, I said, "By the way, Bao-ge, how did you die?" Then I immediately added, "I mean in my past life."
Deng Yuanjue immediately conjured up a rich array of expressions. I was very familiar with this expression; it was exactly the kind my neighbor's second brother would have after a hearty meal, shuffling along in his shoes, toothpick in his mouth, ready to launch into a long, rambling tale about his time in the army. Based on this detail, I decided: from now on, I'd only consider him a modern-day Bao Jin.
Bao Jin said nonchalantly, as if telling someone else's story, "You know Hua Rong, right? That kid's arrows are fast. I just saw him move his hand, and the arrow was already in my face. By the time I woke up..."
I exclaimed in horror, "You're awake?"
Bao Jin laughed and said, "When I woke up again, I was five or six years old. Two years later, I entered Hongqi Primary School. In the third grade, a child transferred from another place. Both of his parents were PhDs. That kid had read the Four Great Classical Novels when he was eight years old. He would tell us stories after class. I especially loved listening to Water Margin. I saved up my pocket money for several days to treat him to meat skewers just to hear him tell the story... Speaking of which, I was a huge fan of the Liangshan heroes. I loved listening to the stories of these 108 brothers since I was a child."
I chuckled and said, "You didn't expect that, did you? In the end, you still end up being one of these 108 enemies."