El amor es venenoso

Capítulo 20

Kinnara is the god of song, a musician who specializes in playing sacred music. In Sanskrit, it means "non-human." He has a human-like appearance but a single horn on his head, hence the name "non-human." He is skilled in singing and dancing and is the god of music for Indra.

'Mahoraga' is a great serpent god, with a human body and a serpent's head.

After saying that, Qin Wen smiled brightly and asked, "Did you understand?"

"The gods in Buddhism are incredibly complex." Miller's eyes revealed a hint of disdain. "It's better to believe in God; only God is the one and only deity."

Qin Wen felt powerless and helpless; it seemed she had indeed been talking to a brick wall. She said irritably, "With your intelligence, it's hard for me to explain." Before she could finish speaking, the dark muzzle of an AK47 was already pointed at her forehead. Miller said coldly, "Do you still think so now?"

A wise man doesn't fight a losing battle. Qin Wen smiled awkwardly and said, "Okay, I take back what I just said."

“We’ve heard the rumors clearly.” Miller sheathed his gun. “Why don’t we discuss what our next step should be?”

"It would be best to find the location of the cemetery," Situ Xiang said. "If nothing unexpected happens, Min Enjun should have taken Xiao Li to the cemetery!"

Qin Wen's expression changed drastically. Only then did she realize that two people were missing. She quickly asked what had happened and was furious. That transvestite dared to make a move on Xiao Li. Did he have a death wish?

“Go to the temple deep inside the palace!” she roared angrily. “There’s a path to the cemetery there!”

As soon as she said it, even she was surprised. Seeing the astonished looks from the other four people, she smiled wryly: "Maybe I'm more familiar with this place than with my home."

"In that case, you won't mind leading the way, will you?" Ma Xie suddenly said sarcastically. Qin Wen glanced at him disdainfully, "Lead the way then, who's afraid of who!"

Situ Xiang originally planned to take the lead, but he immediately gave in when he saw Qin Wen's stubborn eyes. How come all the girls these days are so tough! It seems that the Korean drama "My Sassy Girl" has done a lot of harm.

Walking along the marble-paved road, Qin Wen headed towards the temple deep in her memory. The journey was peaceful, eerily so, for beneath the calm surface often lay a terrifying trap.

After walking for about half an hour and seeing countless rare plants, the temple with a strong Indian style finally came into view. Behind the layered palace buildings were snow-white walls with intricate reliefs and sharp thorns on the dome. Qin Wen felt a pain in her heart, as if she had seen something disgusting. A sense of fear spread from the depths of her chest and traveled through her body with her blood.

Something must have happened at this temple more than 2,500 years ago.

Passing through a long corridor, they entered a small lotus pond. A walkway spanned the pond beneath their feet. Countless red lotuses bloomed in the pond, and a gentle breeze rippled the water, causing the petals to sway gracefully, creating an indescribably beautiful scene.

“This is truly a city of death.” Caesar picked up a water lily from the pool; even after more than two thousand years, it remained vibrant and beautiful. “So many plants grow in this city, yet there are no other animals. It’s truly bizarre. Could it be that Kui Ji’s resentment only killed animals?”

Hearing him mention Kui Ji, Qin Wen was very unhappy and snorted, "Do you think there's no danger just because there are no animals?"

Before he could finish speaking, the lotus in Caesar's hand suddenly flipped over and bit his hand hard. Caught off guard, he felt a tingling sensation and, with a low growl, quickly threw the lotus into the pond.

The lotus flower floated in the pond, its stamens open, revealing two rows of sharp fangs with a small piece of flesh torn from Caesar's hand attached to them.

"Damn it!" Caesar pressed his bleeding wound. "Even lotuses bite! What kind of species is this?!"

"I don't know, maybe it's already extinct." Qin Wen laughed gleefully. "Who told you to like flirting around all the time?"

Caesar had no interest in arguing with her. He took out the gauze and medicine he carried with him to stop the bleeding. Fortunately, the lotus flower did not seem to be poisonous, but it had a strange fragrance that mixed with the smell of blood, making him feel nauseous.

"Everyone, get out of here right now!" Situ Xiang suddenly shouted. "We're in big trouble!"

Everyone looked into the pond, and the mouths of the blooming lotus flowers, their white teeth gleaming coldly. Qin Wen forced a smile and said, "It's alright, as long as we don't fall in..." Before she could finish speaking, the lotus flowers all leaped up, their green stems in the water stretching out like snakes, lunging towards the five of them.

"This is really troublesome!" Caesar couldn't help but curse. Before his wound was even finished being bandaged, he grabbed Qin Wen and ran towards the end of the corridor. After only two steps, Qin Wen felt something trip her up and fell to the ground. She turned around and saw a water lily stem wrapped around her foot, with fangs in the flower's stamen biting down hard on her calf.

She gritted her teeth, forgot her fear, drew a pistol from Caesar's waist, and shot the water lily in the mouth. The water lily jerked backward, spitting out green sap. She quickly pulled her leg back, and the ground touched by the green sap immediately corroded into tiny pits.

Qin Wen gasped sharply. If she had been a step slower, her calves would have looked like the surface of the moon.

Before she could even recover from the lingering fear, several more water lilies rushed towards her, their strange fragrance even stronger. Several deafening gunshots rang in Qin Wen's ears. She jolted awake, staring at the water lilies in front of her, now riddled with bullet holes and reduced to a pile of mud. Green sap spilled around her, corroding a horrible hole in her trouser leg and emitting a foul-smelling fumes.

"What are you standing there for!" Caesar hoisted her onto his shoulder. "Are you tired of living?"

Qin Wen was upside down, feeling like a big fish was churning in her stomach, and she almost threw up yesterday's dinner: "Caesar! Put me down!"

Caesar ignored her and rushed into the room at the end of the corridor. Situ Xiang and Miller pushed the door hard, and the wooden door slammed shut behind them, shutting out the man-eating lotus flowers that had caught up with them. One of the flowers had its calyx caught, and it let out a sharp cry like a baby, squirting out green liquid. After struggling for a while, it finally drooped down, and its petals gradually closed and withered.

"What kind of monster is this!" Marshall roared excitedly, his eyes bloodshot. "This damned plant is even more dangerous than a carnivore!"

"Marche, calm down!" Miller frowned, but Marche showed him no mercy, roaring, "Calm down! How can you expect me to calm down! My brothers are all dead, and I almost died under these damned flowers! And you're telling me to calm down! Miller Guy! You don't care about the lives of us team members at all; you just want to use us to get that treasure! You despicable scoundrel!"

"What are you saying!" Miller roared. "Do you know what you're saying?"

“Of course I know!” Marshall raised his AK and pointed it at his captain. “Of course I know what I’m saying! You’re an incompetent captain who disregards our lives! You should go see Hughes and the others! Apologize to them!”

Miller stared at Marcie in disbelief. They had known each other for over five years and were like brothers. Marcie had always respected him as an elder brother. Now, he was pointing a gun at him. Had this kid taken the wrong medicine today?

Qin Wen climbed off Caesar's shoulder, feeling a spasm in her stomach, and secretly vowed to avenge herself. Before she could even vomit properly, this unexpected turn of events occurred. She paused, stunned, and asked Situ Xiang, "What's going on?"

"I don't know." Situ Xiang frowned deeply. "I find it a bit strange."

"What's strange about it?" She shrugged indifferently. "For mercenaries, money is everything. It's not uncommon for infighting to break up the spoils over money, is it?"

Caesar was displeased to see her constantly whispering with Situ Xiang, and interrupted, "Look at that guy named Ma Xie, he looks a bit strange."

It was only then that she, oblivious to the danger, noticed that Ma Xie's eyes were bloodshot, his lips were bluish-purple, and the veins on his forehead and arms were bulging. His face was contorted with rage and madness, as if he were possessed.

She asked in surprise, "Is he possessed by an evil spirit?"

Situ Xiang and Caesar both looked rather grim: "Look at his chest."

Because of the heat, Ma She's Uyghur clothing was half-open, revealing his muscular chest. Qin Wen's heart skipped a beat as she saw a blood-red line extending from beneath his clothes, shooting straight into his heart like a terrifying bloodstain.

23. The Punishment of Blocking the Five Senses

Miller had clearly also seen the deadly red line. Yin Li had said that once the red line entered the heart, even a celestial being would find it difficult to save the patient. Could it be that Marcel had gone mad from fear of death?

“Marcie, listen to me,” Miller pleaded, his face pale, not wanting to shoot his comrade. “Put down your gun, we can definitely cure the poison in your body! As long as we get that thing, which is said to have incredibly powerful magic, we can definitely…”

"Shut up!" Marchey interrupted him roughly, his eyes bloodshot. "You're about to die, and you still want to lie to me? Miller Guy, I won't fall for your tricks again!"

"Marcie! Put down your gun! That's an order!" Miller was furious. Five years of brotherhood had been trampled underfoot by Marcie. How could he not be angry?

“You’re no longer my captain.” Marcel’s finger was about to pull the trigger when he suddenly froze, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Miller’s back.

The tightly closed door slowly opened. The man-eating lotus was nowhere to be seen, but the pool water rippled, churning up huge waves, as if something was about to emerge from beneath the water. Gradually, the water level rose higher and higher, even surpassing the length of the corridor. Suddenly, a giant wave surged into the pool, and the water rushed in, carrying the fishy and salty smell of the sea, instantly engulfing Miller and surging towards him.

His legs went weak with fear. Without thinking, he turned and ran. The floodwaters, like a monster, opened their gaping maw and swallowed him whole. He tasted the sea again. Although reason told him that there could be no seawater in the desert, the bitter, salty taste was so familiar that he would never forget it.

All around him was a deep blue, and he felt as if he had returned to his childhood, when his father took him swimming at the beach, and he accidentally lost his swimming ring and sank into the sea. The bitter seawater filled his nostrils and ears, and the world seemed to fall silent, leaving only this terrifying blue expanse.

To save him, his father died at sea, leaving him an orphan. Abandoned by his mother, he wandered the streets, grew up as a hoodlum, and eventually became a mercenary. At this moment, he suddenly had a strange thought, as if the drowning disaster more than ten years ago had not ended, and the following ten years were merely a hallucination he had before his death.

If all of this was a final dream before death, then it's time to wake up.

Qin Wen and the other three looked at Ma Xie, who was lying on the ground struggling and groaning, in surprise. They exchanged bewildered glances. Ma Xie kept calling out "flood," but there was clearly not a single drop of water in the room.

"Marche!" Miller rushed over and picked him up, shouting anxiously, "Marche, wake up! There's no flood here, it's all an illusion! It's an illusion!"

But Marcie couldn't hear anything. He calmed down, stopped struggling, and instead, his face softened as he gradually fell asleep. Miller saw that his breathing and heartbeat were getting weaker and weaker, and his face was ashen. He kept giving him artificial respiration and CPR. Of their 'Blood Wolves,' only the two of them were left. He couldn't let him die like this.

His first aid had no effect, and a faint smile appeared on Marchie's face, though he grew even paler. Just when he was about to despair, Situ Xiang suddenly came over, felt his pulse, and said, "Let me try, maybe there's hope."

Everyone stared at him in astonishment. He bent down, helped Matthew sit up, and struck him several times on the back and then on the chest in a strange manner. Matthew coughed violently twice, and two streams of black blood flowed from his eyes. Miller was startled and quickly grabbed his wrist: "What are you doing?"

“Of course we should save him.” Situ Xiang withdrew his hand unhappily. “Although this method cannot cure the root cause, it can temporarily suppress the poison and prevent it from being fatal.”

Caesar and Qin Wen exchanged a glance. When did Situ Xiang learn to detoxify others? It seems he really is a master of disguise.

Under everyone's watchful eyes, Situ Xiang drew his Swiss Army knife, heated it with a lighter, and then plunged it into Marchey's heart. Miller's expression changed drastically; he pointed his M16 at Marchey's temple and roared furiously, "You killed him! You damned cop! You killed Marchey!"

“You’ll be disappointed, I’m not killing him.” Situ Xiang glanced at him coldly, pulled out his knife, and black blood gushed out. Ma Xie coughed violently, as if he were coughing up his lungs. Situ Xiang struck him hard on the back, and he immediately vomited a pile of black stuff. The pile of filth fell to the ground, resembling a giant cocoon, with something wriggling inside. Qin Wen felt very uncomfortable in her stomach and turned away to continue dry heaving.

Situ Xiang looked at the dark mass, let out a long sigh of relief, and searched all his pockets until he finally found a box of matches. He lit one and threw it onto the filth. A black flame suddenly ignited, the filth crackling and popping, and a nauseating stench filled the air. Qin Wen vomited even more violently, almost throwing up her stomach.

"This is..." Miller asked in surprise. Situ Xiang said, "It's ants. His wound was caused by ant bites. But you'd better not ask me why so many ants are cocooned in his body. I'm sorry, I don't know." As he spoke, he examined the knife wound on Marcie's chest. Seeing that the blood had returned to normal color, he began to apply medicine and bandage it. "Don't worry, this knife didn't actually pierce his heart. It just severed the blood vessel that leads to his heart. However, the venom of the man-eating ants is still there. Once that blood vessel recovers, the venom will kill him immediately! So, the best course of action is to detoxify him as soon as possible."

Miller put down his gun, his expression finally improving: "Thanks, policeman. Chinese soldiers are truly admirable."

"Don't thank me, I didn't want to save him." After treating the wound, Situ Xiang coldly splashed cold water on him, a subtle complexity hidden in his icy green eyes.

Miller smiled faintly, offering no reply. He simply picked up the sleeping Masha and followed the others towards the temple. Passing through a garden, the snow-white temple finally stood before them. The bas-reliefs depicted Buddhist stories, each featuring a coiled serpent, its colors suggesting they were added later. Qin Wen's heart stirred. She walked over and gently stroked the serpent with her fingertips, as if she had done so many years ago.

Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her fingertip and quickly pulled it back, seeing that something had cut her finger, and bright red blood was seeping out. Caesar handed her a band-aid and said mockingly, "You can still cut yourself even with such a smooth relief. You're really delicate."

Qin Wen was in no mood to pay attention to him. She just stared blankly at the arrogant and ferocious Salang snake relief. Why did she feel just now that this snake had bitten her?

Situ Xiang pushed the door; it wasn't locked and opened easily. A red carpet with beautiful patterns covered the floor, and the walls were adorned with brightly colored murals. However, these murals didn't depict Buddhist stories; instead, they portrayed bloody and eerie scenes, resembling ancient religious rituals and customs. On the altar was a bizarre-looking evil god holding a sarangala, with four eyes and each whisker a small snake. He wore a tall hat carved with the head of a sarangala, much like an Egyptian crown.

The moment Qin Wen entered the room, her chest suddenly felt as if it were filled with something, and she trembled. Her eyes began to glaze over, and figures appeared in her vision, first as blurry shadows, then gradually becoming clearer, as if she had traveled through time. Many Volghi people dressed in Serbian noble attire lined both sides of the red carpet, two young women knelt on the carpet, and a tall man stood before the altar, wearing a red robe. His features were indistinct, but he seemed very handsome.

Intense anger and hatred emanated from every pore of Qin Wen's body; she could hear her own heartbeat. Her subconscious told her that this man was a terrible tyrant, and that she was his mortal enemy.

She walked up to the two women and saw that their faces were those of Kui Ji and Zhen Yan from her dream. Both women were pale and their eyes held an undisguised fear.

The man in the red robe walked over and whispered in Zhenyan's ear, "Zhenyan, I'm giving you one last chance. If you change your mind now, it's not too late."

Zhenyan raised her head, looked at him deeply, and said calmly, "Your Majesty, I will never enter the palace as a concubine."

Qin Wen's heart trembled, and she suddenly felt like crying. Despair appeared on Ebony King's face. He stood up and walked back to the altar step by step, each step extremely heavy.

"They are the demonesses Kinara and Garuda, sent by the Demon Buddha to destroy the Kingdom of Mano." King Ebony said in a low voice, facing the statue of the evil god Kshatriya: "Fortunately, the High Priest discovered them in time. Now, I will judge these two demonesses before the great god Kshatriya. Tomorrow morning, I will take them to the cemetery, to the Blood-Winged Pagoda where the Buddha is sealed, and subject them to the punishment of sealing their five senses. Before the Demon Buddha, I will ensure that they are never reincarnated!"

A sharp pain shot through Qin Wen's heart. She clutched her chest and knelt down. A hand reached out and helped her up. She looked up and saw Caesar's excessively handsome face: "Are you alright?"

She looked around; everything had returned to normal, but tears still streamed down her face uncontrollably. Caesar frowned when she didn't speak and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

She raised her hand, pointed to one of the murals, and choked up as she said, "Zhenyan... died from the torture of having his five senses sealed."

Everyone followed her gaze and immediately felt as if they were immersed in icy seawater. The brightly colored mural depicted an execution scene: the victim lay on the execution platform, and the executioner used a knife to blind him, deafen him, cut off his tongue, destroy his nose, pour a highly corrosive liquid over his entire body, and then slit his throat.

For a moment, everyone seemed to have entered the painting, watching the entire execution process. It was a horrific scene that sent chills down their spines.

Situ Xiang walked over and stroked the person being executed, his hand trembling slightly.

“In the Shaluo cult, this kind of punishment is used to deal with heretics,” Qin Wen said while shedding tears. “They believe that by sealing off a person’s five senses, their soul can be sealed in their body forever, making it impossible for them to be reborn. If they want to be reincarnated again, there is only one way: someone must be willing to take their place and be imprisoned in their broken body forever.”

Caesar was taken aback: "You mean..."

“In this world, there is only one person who is willing to sacrifice for Zhenyan.” Qin Wen’s face was full of sorrow. “Back then, Kui Ji returned here with resentment and destroyed the Mano Kingdom. I have always wondered, where did she go after destroying the Mano Kingdom? Now that I think about it carefully, she must have taken Zhenyan’s place and was imprisoned somewhere in the cemetery. For her, this may be the best ending.”

"Wait!" Caesar interrupted her. "If Kui Ji's soul is imprisoned in the Buddhist cemetery, then who are you?"

Qin Wen paused for a moment, then said, "Perhaps, someone else has replaced Kui Ji."

Situ Xiang was startled: "Could it be that archaeological team from a hundred years ago?"

“That should be true.” Qin Wen nodded. “Things that I couldn’t understand before can now be explained almost all of them. My ancestor, surnamed Chen, was the only survivor of the archaeological team. I heard my grandfather say that much of his research on the Shaluo cult came from the notes left by my ancestor, surnamed Chen. He should know about the five senses sealing punishment, but I don’t know what his purpose was in using the souls of the team members to replace Kui Ji and release her. He even took Kui Ji’s soul back to civilized society and made her his descendant.”

“It’s curiosity, I suppose,” Situ Xiang said. “He finally encountered a trapped soul and wanted to test whether the cult magic he learned in his research could actually work.”

Qin Wen smiled bitterly. So this was her life story. She didn't know whether to be happy or sad.

"Excuse me for interrupting you," Miller said somewhat anxiously. "Miss Qin, didn't you say there was a path leading to the cemetery? I checked carefully just now, and the Buddhist temple doesn't have a back door."

“It’s not a back door, it’s a secret passage,” Qin Wen said. “Let me think.” Her gaze swept quickly across the Buddhist temple, finally settling on the evil god sculpture. “In Buddhist legend, Buddha can save all sentient beings and send the dead to the Western Paradise. This was originally a Buddhist temple, but the Buddha statues were smashed and this evil god was re-carved because of the anti-Buddhist movement. If my memory serves me right, the secret passage to the cemetery should be beneath this evil god!”

24. The River of Oblivion

She walked up to the statue of the evil god, trying to find the mechanism to the path to the cemetery. But the moment her hand touched the statue, the entire temple shook violently. Everyone was terrified, thinking she had triggered some kind of mechanism and the temple was about to collapse. Just as everyone was frantically running towards the temple gate, Qin Wen suddenly shouted, "Wait! Look at that!"