Asura

Capítulo 3

“I…” Wudani slowly raised his hand to his forehead, a look of pain appearing on his brow. “I’m looking for the person I made a promise with. He said that chrysanthemum would guide me. Where is chrysanthemum…”

"What kind of agreement was that, Mist Valley?"

The pain on Wudani's face deepened, his blood-stained fingers tangling in his dull black hair: "...A promise, I know there was a promise...but I don't remember, I don't remember what we promised..."

Xuechuan's sorrowful smile was like a flower quietly blooming under the night sky: "...When the Double Ninth Festival arrives, I will come again to admire the chrysanthemums..."

Wugu's eyes widened in disbelief. He stared at Xuechuan without moving, an unusual flame burning in his eyes—"Xuechuan...you are Xuechuan!"

I once called out that name to Fog Valley, but he didn't remember at all. The undead are very stubborn beings; if they don't want to hear, they won't hear; if they don't want to see, they won't see. Unless they remember themselves, no matter how many times others mention it to them, it's useless.

"I remember now... Xuechuan, you liar!" Wugu stated the shocking truth in a calm voice that teetered on the edge of losing control, "What about being the most important friend, what about drinking and laughing together on the Double Ninth Festival when the chrysanthemums bloom, there were no chrysanthemums at all! Not anywhere!"

"sorry……"

Why apologize? Why not defend yourself? I leaned on Icefin, watching the necromancer's entanglement of love and hate.

“Listen to me, Wugu…” Xuechuan smiled and lowered his head, hiding his expression in his bangs. “I’ve always been… so timid. Whether in my hometown or studying in Japan, I never made any friends. Only you reached out to me. I lacked courage, afraid to face the hail of bullets. I would only hide in my study and write useless articles, even talking about criticizing the times. Only you never laughed at me. Back then, I didn’t go to the streets with you. Only you didn’t blame me. You even said that if I survived, we would meet again on the Double Ninth Festival…”

"I don't want to hear it, Yukikawa!" Wudani sneered, approaching Yukikawa step by step. "Cowards can be forgiven, but traitors are unforgivable!"

Xuechuan made no attempt to evade the situation, seemingly resigned to accepting everything willingly. I saw Wugu's hand, shrouded in a sinister black aura, reach out to him. Was Xuechuan going to let Wugu, now a malevolent spirit, drag him into hell? Not only would they both be doomed, but Icefin and I might also be trapped in this illusion forever…

"You just can't see it! Fog Valley!" I blurted out. "Chrysanthemums are all around you, but you don't even look!"

"Shut up, Firewing!" Xuechuan snapped at me, but I couldn't care less. "Xuechuan is too cowardly to do anything, but that doesn't mean his heart isn't tormented! He can't act, but he's been waiting for you! The death in your body, the time spent in your body, are the same as what's happening to him!" I held up the chrysanthemum in my hand, along with the letter I'd put in my pocket. "The torment of those who lack the courage to express themselves is far more intense!"

"He can't hear me! Firewing!" Xuechuan stopped me sadly. "I know that if this continues, there will only be hell ahead, but I can't help him—Misty Valley... he doesn't want to hear at all!"

So, are we going to fall into hell together? Why? I miss you so much, so desperately, yet why can't I convey my feelings...?

Just then, a hand snatched the chrysanthemum from my hand. I looked up in a panic and saw that Icefin, who had regained consciousness, was calmly holding the chrysanthemum and the letter, slowly walking towards Mist Valley—"When you took over my body, I also saw your memories—don't you understand, Mist Valley, you are already dead!"

Icefin spoke to the undead with almost cruel words, telling them the truth they had no choice but to hear. Mist Valley's eyes began to waver, but Icefin's voice remained calm: "You committed suicide for a certain promise, but you were only bound to the mortal world by that promise!"

It is cruel to make the dead realize that they are dead. Without the object of their obsession, their souls will vanish into nothingness, leaving nothing behind.

"Icefin!" My shouts and Yukikawa's utterances rang out simultaneously, but it was too late. Misty Valley stared at Icefin with terror in his eyes: "You're lying!"

Icefin sneered, "Then tell me why your face is so pale?" As she spoke, the young face of Mist Valley instantly lost all color, a pale, deathly blue tinge appearing. "Tell me why your body is covered in wounds?" Large and small wounds appeared on Mist Valley's body, his clean school uniform soaked with congealed blood. I looked at Icefin almost helplessly.

Without batting an eye, he uttered his final words: "The most crucial point is—how do you explain the scar on your neck?"

A scabbed wound, with torn flesh, appeared on Misty Valley's neck, which still retained the slender feel of a young boy. In the darkness revealed by the gushing blood, the pale neck bones were faintly visible...

Wugu slowly raised his hand, puzzled, and touched the scar. Then he looked around at us in surprise, as if questioning us or pleading for help: "What did I do wrong? Xuechuan lied to me! I can't see the chrysanthemums he promised me, not a single one!"

"Of course you can't see it. Because you died in early summer, in a season without chrysanthemums!" Icefin laughed, serene and cold. "Today... is your death sacrifice!"

"Shut up! Icefin! Shut up!" Amidst Yukikawa's desperate cries, I heard a cracking sound—as if a strong wind were blowing through a sand sculpture, fine sand began to peel away from Misty Valley's body...

Kiritani stared in disbelief at the powder crumbling from his body, futilely trying to catch it, as if that could stop him from his doom: "I don't want to! I don't want to disappear like this! I haven't fulfilled my promise to Yukikawa!"

He's right in front of you! His desire to see you is the same as yours! Why can't this spirit, bound by its obsession, see him...?

Icefin pointed at Snow River and said to Mist Valley, "After this person learned of your suicide in prison, he knew that you would be bound by the promise, so he has been searching for someone who can create flowers that never wither. He wants to make chrysanthemums bloom forever, regardless of the season, to guide you to his side..."

A lonely smile appeared on Xuechuan's face: "It's a pity it's too late. I couldn't guide him then, and now I can only watch him disappear... I can never do anything..."

Icefin gazed intently at the beautiful ghost: "Do you know, Mist Valley, it's the longing he left on the chrysanthemum that you can't see, the longing that didn't stop even after death. This person has been waiting for you, but you didn't come, you never came—" Icefin quietly raised his hand and reached out to Mist Valley, his fingers holding the chrysanthemum—a chrysanthemum with a letter bound to it: "Mist Valley, the one who broke the promise, the one who broke the agreement—it's you!"

Mizutani opened his eyes wide in confusion, hesitantly extending his frayed fingers to take the flower and the letter—the moment he saw the foreign characters on the thin paper, a hurricane of emotion swept over his entire face…

His right hand, which was turning to dust, slowly rose and pressed against his pale lips. His lowered eyelashes obscured the expression in his deep eyes, but the constant, slight twitching of his tightly furrowed brows revealed the immense turmoil within him...

Wudani's shoulders trembled slightly, as if pulled by a silken string. He slowly turned towards Yukikawa and raised his head...

The moment the beautiful ghost raised her head, I saw an endless illusion of chrysanthemums burst through the dark cell and stretch all the way to the horizon.

"Xuechuan...so you planted a lot of chrysanthemums. Where is the wine?" These words, filled with so much emotion, became Wugu's last words. From the moment he reached out his hand to Xuechuan, the collapse began uncontrollably. Xuechuan cried out in alarm, futilely trying to hold back the scattered ashes.

As the chrysanthemum petals drifted down, the last expression that remained in Xuechuan's eyes regarding Wudani was a smile...

Xuechuan blankly withdrew his hand from the ashes dancing in the void. Although his back was to me and Icefin, we could still see the undisguised traces of crying on his trembling shoulders. His strength seemed to be draining away with his tears, and his body, clad in a school uniform, gradually became transparent: "Finally, I can go..." His sighing voice carried on the wind swirling with chrysanthemum petals, "Thank you, my children..."

The chrysanthemum-like herb and the thin paper inscribed with Japanese kana scattered into golden dust...

My vision was obscured by the brilliant golden petals fluttering in the wind. When I could see the scenery again, Xuechuan had disappeared. A path appeared where he had once stood, and at the far end of the path was our home.

“Xuechuan, it’s Grandpa…” Icefin’s sudden words really surprised me, but he remained calm. “You didn’t realize? You’re really slow! Wugu thought we were Grandpa because when he died, Grandpa was our age.”

Memories gradually pieced together: my grandfather who studied in Japan, my grandmother who made chrysanthemums, the legend of the "Chrysanthemum Alliance," letters written in Japanese kana, Yukikawa who was mistaken for Ice Fin, and my eyes that were mistaken for Yukikawa's eyes...

"How could that be? Didn't Grandpa always use the name 'Neyan' when facing that kind of thing? And Xuechuan... he's so young!" I was still making a last-ditch effort, cold sweat pouring down my face—I actually accused my grandfather of peeking at my "Gohātoku" (a type of Japanese legal code)...

“That’s Grandpa’s longing… a longing that’s connected to his childhood, a longing that’s forever young…” Icefin smiled. “Grandpa was a literary youth when he was young. Mist Valley and Snow River must have been pen names he and his best friends chose together…”

Is the name that represents dreams the most important name for Grandpa...?

"You know this from peeking into Misty Valley's memories, don't you!" I looked at Icefin with disdain. "What else do you know?"

“A waka poem from the Kokin Shū!” Icefin smiled meaningfully.

“Waka…” The Japanese letter tied to the chrysanthemum floated into my mind, along with the subtle changes in Kiritani’s face as he read the letter.

"This life is as fleeting as morning dew, I cherish only our bond. If we could exchange our meeting, I would gladly go to the Yellow Springs." Icefin quickened his pace and ran ahead of me. I couldn't see his expression as he recited this song. On the road leading home, I heard his energetic call from afar: "Time to go, Firewing!"

Turning back, I gazed at the endless expanse of clear, golden chrysanthemums. I'll probably never see these chrysanthemums again...

So, before I leave, let me forever keep this scenery, tinged with longing, in my eyes...

—The End of "Lost in the Depths of Chrysanthemums"

Lights on the other shore

I've learned my lesson—when I get out of school in the evening and the setting sun is shining, I pretend I don't see those guys who walk towards me against the light and ask for directions. If I talk to one, the others will all swarm around me and keep bothering me.

After crossing the stone bridge, a short walk along the riverbank would bring me home, but then I ran into this creature—I couldn't see its face clearly, only that it was a young girl: wearing a clean hospital gown, with two long braids, and carrying one of those outdated pleated lanterns. It wasn't dark enough to need a lantern yet! Sure enough, this was someone I absolutely couldn't deal with—it just opened its mouth without making a sound.

I have eyes to see these guys, but I don't have ears to hear them.

"Over there!" My cousin pointed, and the girl carrying the lantern nodded gratefully and walked in the opposite direction from us.

"Icefin!" I called out reproachfully by my cousin's nickname, who is a month younger than me. "Even though you can 'see' and 'hear' it, you still can't tell what it is, can you?"

"It asked where Lin Jiachao was, Firewing." Icefin frowned. "Lin Jiachao... isn't that my uncle's name...?"

"What a coincidence! My uncle doesn't live here!" I said dismissively. "The most important thing is to avoid getting involved with these guys!"

“I was afraid something might happen… so I pointed out the opposite path. I hope it doesn’t come back…” Icefin pondered.

I looked back, and sure enough, the road was empty. As if it had never existed—the outdated pleated lantern swaying in the night-walking girl's hand, and the deep purple gentian flowers painted on it, illuminated by the dim firelight…

As soon as I got home, I found my grandmother and aunt busy with chores. It turned out that my aunt's family had come.

"Isn't this too much of a coincidence..." On the way to her room through the eaves, Bingqi frowned deeply. I was also a little worried, and forced a smile: "She said that her aunt and uncle had a fight, and she went back to her parents' home in a fit of anger."

"It must be quite awkward to make my stubborn aunt go back to the place she hates the most!"

Icefin was right. My grandfather, who passed away long ago, had strongly opposed my aunt's marriage, and my headstrong aunt vowed never to return to our ancestral home. After that, apart from my grandfather's funeral, she indeed never came back. Could it be this time…?

The silhouette of the lantern-bearing girl asking about her uncle's whereabouts flashed before my eyes. Just then, my mother's voice came from the room next to us.

“We’ve known each other since we were little, Chihua, I’m not trying to be mean, but you really need to change your temper! Either you don’t come back at all, or when you do, it’s because of a fight with your husband!” Mom was talking to Aunt. I pulled Bingqi and hid under the carved window to eavesdrop.

"What exactly happened, Chihua!" The gentle mother was always very firm when it mattered.

“Ah Chao… he hid a keepsake from another woman!” My usually fiery aunt spoke weakly today. “In a fit of anger, I burned it and threw it in the trash! But Ah Chao got angry with me, and I defiantly told him that if she’s so good, he should just go live with her. Ah Chao… he actually said that living with her is better than living with you…”

"I'm saying that while Lin Jiachao is also at fault, you're even more wrong! You need to apologize first, Chihua!"

"Ah-Xun!" Auntie shouted her mother's name, "Things aren't that simple! Ah-Xun, have you ever heard of... 'Seven on Seven'?"

Icefin and I exchanged a surprised glance. The story my aunt suddenly brought up was extremely dangerous—"Seven times seven" means that in a certain place, if a second person dies within the first person's "seven times seven," then a third person will inevitably die within their "seven times seven."

"What does this old-fashioned saying have to do with your argument with your husband?" Mom scolded Aunt.

"Don't scold me if I tell you..." Aunt hesitated, "Ah Chao... he might be the third person in the 'Seven-on-Seven' group!" "What nonsense! That's so unlucky!"

"It's true! The night Ah Chao said he was going to spend time with that woman, I felt something was coming to the neighborhood. Someone said they saw will-o'-the-wisps! It was noisy all night, and then the old man in the building next door died. I didn't think much of it, but then someone else died the next morning. This time it was right upstairs from us, and the man who died was only in his fifties!"

"It could be a coincidence! The old man is already quite old, and the gentleman next door might have some kind of illness you're unaware of!"

"No, Ah Xun! The commotion got even worse on the third night. I knew it was right outside my door... I don't know why that thing didn't come in. When I opened the door at dawn, I saw the little bird I kept on the balcony dead! Burned to death! It looked so awful! I don't know who that thing was after. Suddenly I remembered Ah Chao telling me that the woman who gave him the token—was already dead! It was she who did the 'seven-on-seven' thing. She wanted to take Ah Chao away! It won't end until a third person dies!"

"How could such a thing happen! Even if it did, the little bird took the blame for you!"

I heard Icefin sneer. Indeed, if only it were as simple as Mom said.

Auntie was almost in tears: "But Ah Xun... On the fourth day, someone else died! This time it was the aunt downstairs! And the young woman across the hall is rumored to be critically ill, getting closer and closer, along the route from the garbage can to my house! That woman, getting closer and closer! She and Ah Chao are actually in love to this extent... Ah Chao, that womanizer!"

What's wrong with my willful aunt? She's blaming my uncle right now! I sighed and stood up, but almost bumped into someone.

In an instant... I saw pale flames—like the reflection of a clear mirror.

When my eyes finally caught sight of the scene before me—"That scared me to death! It was my uncle!" I patted my chest, trying to keep my voice down. Icefin also stood up and bowed slightly to my uncle, who had suddenly appeared. After glancing at the closed door to my mother's room, my uncle followed us along the veranda towards the back house. His daughter, Airi, was asleep on his shoulder. Perhaps because of the loss of her beloved little bird, the six-year-old girl had just cried, her little face rubbed red.

"When did your uncle arrive?" Icefin asked, unusually taking the initiative to speak.

"He came with your aunt," the uncle replied absentmindedly.

"Really? So the couple who had a fight went back to the wife's parents' house together!" Icefin's sarcastic words carried a meaningful implication, and the uncle's expression immediately changed.

Icefin glanced at her uncle out of the corner of her eye: "Aren't painters always a bit of a womanizer? That keepsake that Aunt burned... if it was given to you by a girl in a hospital gown, then it should be... a lantern, right..."

"Is that the pleated lantern with the purple gentian flower painted on it? It really is her!" I suddenly realized.

Uncle's steps suddenly stopped, as if he could no longer support himself. He slowly slumped down on the balustrade by the eaves, cold sweat streaming down his pale forehead. His voice trembled: "You even know what kind of girls they are... you even know about lanterns and patterns! Even Chihua might not know this! That's why I don't like this family... I'm too scared to come here! Just like your grandfather, I can't hide anything from you!"

“Uncle, you’d better be honest.” Icefin was very calm. “You may not be able to see it yourself—you’re surrounded by white flames. Although we don’t know what they are, they’re definitely not normal.”

"What fire..." Uncle looked around, seemingly unable to see what Icefin was talking about. He smiled bitterly, "How did it come to this? The girl with the lantern... Qianqian, she's my neighbor..."

It turns out that when my uncle was young, a family that made lanterns lived next door. They had a sick daughter named Qianqian. Qianqian's illness seemed to be very serious; the doctor said she might not live to see adulthood. Because she had other siblings, the family couldn't devote all their energy to her, so Qianqian was always very sad and often worried that if she died, people would forget her.

Back then, my uncle often went to this family to help paint lanterns. Painting lanterns was just an excuse; he actually wanted to see Qianqian because she looked so beautiful despite her loneliness. My uncle tried every means to cheer Qianqian up. Once, he secretly took a pleated lantern that he was preparing to sell to her bedside. It was late autumn, and he painted a gentian flower that was quietly blooming in a corner of the courtyard onto the lantern and gave it to this sad girl.

This was Qianqian's most treasured gift. So she took this lantern with her even when she went to the hospital for surgery.

“One evening, as the setting sun cast its glow, I was alone in the yard when I suddenly saw Qianqian, wearing a hospital gown and carrying a lantern, walking towards me.” My uncle’s hands clenched tightly. “She told me to keep this lantern, to never forget her, and then she left… Later I learned that Qianqian’s surgery had failed that day… she died before she even left the operating table… But she really came! This lantern can prove it!”

"That's all?" I always felt that something important was missing from my uncle's confession.

"How could that be!" Icefin said coldly. "That kind of thing won't actively cling to someone unless you're still thinking about her or promised her something."

I completely agree with Icefin: "You're so unreliable! No wonder Grandpa didn't want you as his son-in-law!"

"That's terrifying..." Uncle looked at us helplessly. "Your grandfather strongly opposed my marriage to your aunt the moment he saw me. I thought he looked down on my profession, and I was very resentful. Once, I went to him alone to try to persuade him. But your grandfather brought up Qianqian's matter, and he said everything without missing a detail... It was terrifying... Including the lantern Qianqian left behind, including the promise I made to Qianqian..."