Alma que parte en la noche oscura

Capítulo 17

Section 47, The Shattered Shield

"What's going on?" Krusen asked from the tower. By this time, the area outside the courtyard walls was engulfed in flames, and the Rakshasa retreated. The temple finally gained a brief moment of peace, but the exhausted people no longer had the strength to cheer.

“Huizhi must have controlled the minds of the remaining people in the city. This kind of power of Huizhi is something that other Rakshasa cannot possess. He is now more powerful and more dangerous, to the point that the Rakshasa that have appeared now are no longer afraid of the power of the Jade Buddha,” Anthony pondered.

"..." No one responded. They knew what it would mean if Huizhi gave all the Rakshasa such power.

"They're here again!" A heart-pounding cry rang out once more. The Rakshasa outside the courtyard wall had regrouped, marching in a mighty force across the raging inferno and setting up their formation once more outside the wall.

The bloody hand-to-hand combat continued from morning until nightfall. Despite being riddled with holes, the towers inside the walls held firm and maintained their defenses.

Anthony paced back and forth in the temple's main hall, his whole body aching from exhaustion. Whenever he tried to rest, his tense muscles would twitch, and his head felt like it was on fire.

Step...step...step...

How could this happen! Anthony angrily questioned himself.

Why was he completely helpless in such a harsh environment? He turned around and suddenly found Li Shang standing behind him. Their eyes met, and her presence illuminated his gloomy thoughts.

As long as there are beauties and serene people like her in this world, there is still hope.

He smiled at her, and she returned a slight smile—a smile tinged with pressure, but which eased the lines of fatigue and worry on his face.

“Take a rest,” she told him. “You look exhausted.”

He didn't answer, but stepped forward and took her cold little hand, quietly looking at her and gazing at her beautiful face, hoping to find a moment of peace in it.

"Never give up!" He turned around and shouted to his companions.

His voice echoed out of the main hall and reached the ears of all the soldiers who were holding their posts.

"Never give up." The crowd responded silently, nodding solemnly in his honor.

They were indeed facing an unprecedented crisis. Not only was there a shortage of food, but all the supplies in the temple were also becoming scarce. The number of bows and arrows in the temple was also decreasing, and the warriors had to fight using weapons with rolled-up hilts and broken shields.

The corpses, left unburied, piled up in the temple's backyard. Coupled with the stench of the Rakshasa, the temple's environment deteriorated rapidly, and an outbreak of plague became everyone's greatest fear. Perhaps before the food ran out, they would all die from the plague caused by the rotting corpses.

"Is there no way out?" Even Orlando couldn't laugh anymore. Sometimes he even considered throwing all the remaining spring water from the necklace into the Rakshasa horde in a desperate gamble. But he also knew that it would be futile; Wisdom would once again destroy his Rain of Light.

Cage was still deep in thought. When everyone snapped out of their worries, they all looked at him, hoping he could come up with some ideas.

But this time he didn't say a word, and everyone left the hall to go back and rest. Anthony, however, felt that Cage must have something on his mind, so after everyone had left, he kept Cage behind alone.

+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King

- Mystery Tribe

Chapter 48, That's just a legend...

"Do you have any ideas?" Anthony asked.

Cage nodded, then said, "But I have no evidence." Anthony urged him to continue, because in this situation, any helpful idea could save countless lives.

Cage fell into deep thought once again. After a long while, he finally uttered four words:

Rama.

"Yes, Rama!" Anthony couldn't help but exclaim. So much had happened these past few days that he had completely forgotten about something so important.

"Now that we've found the place where Sugriva died and the legendary Fountain of Light, it means Rama must have been here. So why didn't he leave afterwards?"

"He transformed into a clear spring, watering the Bodhi tree..."

“No, that’s just a legend… The legend says that Rama was looking for something, something that could fight against the Dark Messenger. Since he came here and didn’t leave, then…” Cage said thoughtfully.

"He's found him!" Anthony exclaimed.

“Very likely,” Cage said, looking around. “He may have been guarding this place all along without leaving. As long as we know what he found, we will definitely be able to defeat Rakshasa and the Dark Messenger.”

Upon hearing Cage's words, Anthony suddenly realized that Cage's words made perfect sense. Therefore, as long as they searched diligently, they would surely be able to find various ways to combat the dark forces.

Just then, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Li Shang running towards him. She was pale and had a panicked look in her eyes, as if something extremely unexpected had happened.

"What happened?" Anthony asked.

"Something terrible has happened! Come quick!" With that, she led the two of them and ran towards the Jade Buddha Hall.

Before even entering the main hall, one could already hear screams and groans from inside, along with occasional excited shouts and sharp metallic clanging sounds, as if someone was engaged in a fierce fight.

Upon entering the hall, the scene inside shocked Anthony even more.

The hall was filled with refugees struggling in agony, most of them clutching their heads, writhing and screaming in pain. Some were curled up in a ball, convulsing and foaming at the mouth; others lay motionless on their backs, probably no longer breathing.

“A plague?” Anthony asked, voicing his greatest fear. But what he saw next changed his mind.

A crazed refugee was swinging his fists inside the temple, attacking the palace guards around him. His fists struck the hard armor with no effect, making a crisp cracking sound, but this did not stop his frenzied behavior. Suddenly, he turned his head, and Antony clearly saw his eyes.

Damn it, it was that gray shadow again, devoid of emotion or pity, filled only with empty hatred and anger.

He thought of Yu Ke's last scene—that lifeless body falling heavily at Li Chang's feet.

"That bastard!" An uncontrollable rage welled up within him, and he couldn't help but roar. Huizhi still hadn't given up to tormenting the souls of these innocent people; if they refused to betray their restored conscience, they would be tortured to death.

"The devil," Anthony thought to himself. Just then, another agonizing scream shattered his eardrums. He turned around and saw Nathan clutching his head, writhing on the ground in agony.

What to do? Anthony's mind raced. "Li Shang, Cage, think of something quickly," he said to the two beside him, but they could only shake their heads helplessly; this was no longer a problem they could solve.

Nayan was still convulsing in agony, staring blankly at Anthony. In that instant, he recalled Yu Ke's final gaze. He knew the meaning of that gaze, and so he drew his longsword.

"Please have mercy, benefactor." An old but powerful voice stopped him. He turned his head and saw Huiren raise his head from the Buddhist scriptures and open his eyes.

Then, he slowly stood up and walked towards Nagen. Anthony stood guard cautiously to the side. At this moment, Nagen was still writhing and groaning in agony on the floor. Seeing his master approaching, he rushed over and grabbed Hyein's legs, muttering something incoherently. Anthony knew that he must be praying for Hyein to end his life soon and to perform a ritual to help him pass on to the afterlife.

But Hye-in simply placed a hand quietly on his forehead. After a while, the Na-yeon quieted down.

“Buddha arises from the heart, and so do demons,” Huiren said quietly. Nayan seemed to understand immediately. He struggled to sit cross-legged on the futon, closed his eyes tightly, and began chanting Buddhist scriptures incessantly, trying to overcome his inner demons with his own will.

“Benefactor,” Huiren turned to Anthony and the others and said, “Thank you all for your desperate defense these past few days.” Huiren turned to look at the refugees who were still struggling and screaming on the ground, “I have figured out how to defeat these Rakshasa armies.”

Anthony immediately gave Cage a wary look, and the latter nodded knowingly.

"The story begins with the question of 'what is Buddha'..." Hui Ren said, his expression suddenly turning serious, as if a scene from twenty years ago had resurfaced in his mind.

+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King

- Mystery Tribe

Section 49. Buddha is the belief in one's heart.

"For the past twenty years, I have traveled all over the country to find the answer to this question, but I have not found it. However, I have finally realized it in the last few days."

"I have seen kind people who are willing to sacrifice their lives to save their loved ones; I have seen persistent people who leave their hometowns for duty and honor, traveling thousands of miles to shed their blood for the happiness of strangers; I have seen noble people who fight selflessly to maintain the purity of their hearts; I have also seen countless warriors who firmly believe in justice and light, using their blood to fight against the boundless darkness..."

“So I understand what Buddha is. Buddha is not unique, nor is he formless; this is Buddha.” Huiren said, extending his five fingers. “This is Buddha.”

“Buddha is everyone, and everyone is Buddha,” Huiren explained to the crowd. “Buddha is the belief in one’s heart. As long as everyone has Buddha in their heart, Buddha is everywhere!”

"Then what is the way to defeat the Rakshasa army?" Anthony asked hastily, as if he had just realized something.

“Benefactor, I promised you that I would tell you about Rama when the rebellion of Huizhi is quelled… However, it seems that I will not live to see that day.”

"Master, you..."

"Everything you want to know is on the murals in this hall. Please study them carefully, benefactor. The way to defeat the Rakshasa is in these murals. I will go ahead to retrieve something for you all. I entrust the rest to you."

After Hui Ren finished speaking, he took out a bottle of Bright Spring Water under everyone's gaze, and finally looked at the people in front of him and the temple where he had grown up.

"I'm counting on you all."

He said.

+: The Corpse King, the Feudal King

- Mystery Tribe

Section 50, The End of Ugly Evil Thoughts

Hui Ren quietly drank the water from the Spring of Light in his hand and closed his eyes for the last time.

To everyone's surprise, his body slowly rose up under everyone's gaze, until it reached the same height as the jade Buddha.

"Master?" Li Shang couldn't help but exclaim, and then she suddenly saw Hui Ren's face, so peaceful and serene, his wrinkled lips smiling as if he had already grasped the meaning of his last meditation. She realized that Hui Ren had stopped breathing.

"Master!" Amidst the exclamations of the crowd, Hui Ren's body began to emit thousands of golden rays, and then burst into flames.

Time seemed to have returned to the first day when everyone met Huiren, and the scene was the same. However, the people surrounding him were no longer angry and ignorant, but people who had regained their senses and genuinely loved him. This time, however, no one could save him from the sea of fire.

When Nagagon finally overcame his inner demons and opened his eyes in surprise, his smile froze for a moment. His master, Huiren, who had just been stroking his head, was now burning fiercely in the air right in front of him!

"Master!" Nayan cried out in terror. He scrambled to his feet and lunged toward the burning body, where a pair of strong hands caught him tightly.

It was Anthony. He stared silently ahead until Hye-in's body gradually disappeared in the fire, only then did he release his hands.

Nayan rushed forward in an instant, and a golden object slowly fell from mid-air, landing in his palm. Nayan looked closely and couldn't help but burst into tears.

It turned out to be Huiren's relic.

Seeing the relic, scenes from the past seemed to reappear before his eyes. From the first time he saw Hye-in in the Dalit village to the most difficult days and nights at the Jade Buddha Temple, his kind face and firm expression had always been the driving force of Na-gon's life. And now, all he had left was this small relic.

As he pondered, Nageon's tears seemed to flow uncontrollably, and gradually, the relic, soaked in his tears, began to emit golden light.

Li Shang watched this scene, seemingly moved by what she saw. In recent days, kind people had fallen one after another before her eyes, yet the light remained elusive. Why was this? Were they all destined to be pointless sacrifices?

This absolutely shouldn't be happening; she was suddenly startled by her own determination.

When she looked at the Jade Buddha again, she suddenly remembered the scene in the untouchable village when she found the green leaf in Orlando's hand.

She felt exactly the same way she did back then! She knew she had discovered something, and it was an absolutely shocking discovery that could potentially change the fate of everyone present.

As if she couldn't believe it, she checked it one more time.

Yes, exactly the same.

She was so excited she almost cried out: