Sang de fantôme animal

Chapitre 14

I said, "Weren't you imprisoned in Shuyun Palace by the Empress Dowager?"

Jun Zhe said, "After the Empress Dowager passed away, the Emperor released me, but he refused to let me see you." He had become much thinner.

Jun Zhe held my hand, then suddenly burst into tears, saying, "I heard that our child..." I quickly asked, "How did you end up here?"

Jun Zhe said, "Sephiroth brought me here."

I turned around, only to find that Serphie was already gone.

Jun kissed me, murmuring, "Do you know that I think of you every moment? Your shadow is everywhere. I dream of you when I close my eyes. I'm crazy for you."

"Release Naihe!" Di Zhui roared angrily.

---Fish and shrimp

Reply [95]: I was startled and saw Di Zhui's angry face. Jun Zhe hugged me tightly and said loudly, "I won't let go. But it was originally mine."

Emperor Zhui's face turned pale with anger, and he roared, "How dare you defile my beloved concubine?"

Jun Zhe sneered: "You don't need to put on airs like an emperor to intimidate me. Ask your conscience, you have an empress, concubines, and three thousand beauties, but in my heart and by my side there is only Naihe. Can you compare to my sincerity towards her?"

Emperor Zhui shouted to his men, "Seize him!"

I quickly broke free from Junzhe and went forward to beg the Emperor to chase after him: "Just send him out of the palace. You know he's always been arrogant and spoiled. Please forgive him this time."

Jun Zhe, still stubbornly insisting, shouted, "Naihe, you don't need to beg him. I will never give you up, even if it means my death. Di Zhui, Jing Ren and I have already relinquished the throne, are you still not satisfied? Why do you even want to take away the woman I love?"

The emperor was furious: "Throw him out. He shall never be allowed to enter the palace again."

Serphie came to me and said, "You devil, you've caused Di Zhui so much suffering."

Seeing my blank expression, she said, "The matter of Jun Zhe and the Emperor vying for your favor has shocked the court and the public. Everyone is talking about it, saying that the Emperor has disregarded the law and lost his dignity for the sake of a vixen. Some people are even advising him to abdicate and give way to a worthy successor."

I exclaimed in surprise, "Abdicate? Abdicate to whom?"

Serphie sneered, "Who else? Are you suggesting we give it to that madman Jun Zhe?"

I slumped down and said, "Jing Ren."

Yes, that's Jing Ren's purpose.

That night, seeing Di Zhui's furrowed brows for the first time, Di Zhui said, "Naihe, why don't you come with me and become an ordinary couple in the common world?"

I said through tears, "I'd be willing to go to the ends of the earth with you."

The Emperor grasped my hand, his brow furrowing slightly, and said, "Having you in my life, my life has not been in vain."

Suddenly, a jade pendant fell from my neck, with the character "Zhe" clearly engraved on it. Emperor Zhui's face changed color, and he said, "You still carry it with you? You still can't forget him?" He then turned and left.

How can I explain this? No matter what, I can never repay Junzhe's kindness in this lifetime. But Dizhui, you have already taken my body and my heart. Can't you even tolerate this little bit of guilt and memory?

Soon after, Jun Zhe launched an attack on the capital. The emperor chased after me and said, "Alas, this time it concerns the world and the people. I can no longer listen to you and spare him."

Living deep within the palace, I am unaware of the bloodshed and deep resentment outside, but I can glean some understanding from the Emperor's increasingly furrowed brow and Serphie's cold words. I know people blame this civil war on me. If it weren't for the vixen Naihe's defilement of the court, there wouldn't have been this war, so many deaths, so many broken families. It's all because of me, all because I caused two men who could have controlled the world to turn against each other.

One day, the Emperor's army defeated Jun Zhe's rebel army, and Jun Zhe was given poisoned wine.

Although the battle was won, Emperor Zhui lost all authority in front of the people. Soon after, Jing Ren, who had been watching coldly from the sidelines, joined forces with officials from the court to force Emperor Zhui to abdicate and imprison him in Shuyun Palace.

Jing Ren ascended the throne.

The emperor's concubines have all been imprisoned in Shuyun Palace, but no one has come to touch me; I remain in the inner palace.

One day, Jing Ren summoned me. He was wearing imperial robes and was indeed more imposing than Di Zhui. I stood silently, neither kneeling nor bowing.

Jing Ren smiled and said, "I've built a new place. Let me show you."

A grand hall, with a deep cave in the center, and a dragon throne placed high on one side, the hall illuminated by candlelight as bright as day. I leaned on the railing in front of the throne and looked into the cave, almost vomiting. Countless venomous snakes were writhing and thrashing inside. I quickly stepped back, already drenched in a cold sweat.

Jing Ren smiled and pulled me to sit down beside him, saying, "Naihe, of all the women I've ever met, you are the most outstanding. Back in Liangji Palace, you were dressed simply, yet you were like a pearl covered in dust, captivating all who saw you. It is thanks to you that Di Zhui and Jun Zhe fell in love with you. I only stirred things up a little, and I was able to achieve what I have today. I am truly grateful to you."

I turned my head away, unwilling to see his face, which looked exactly like Jun Zhe's.

Jing Ren said, "I'll show you something new today."

I beckoned to my left and right, and the guards dragged out three men. One was Di Zhui, still as arrogant as ever, but his face changed instantly upon seeing me. He shouted at Jing Ren, "You only want my life anyway, why drag Nai He into this?" Another man, covered in blood and dazed, cried out to me upon hearing Di Zhui's words, "Nai He, please spare me for the sake of my past kindness to you." It was Jiao Li. The last man, with both legs broken and dragging behind him, still managed to raise his head and cry out, "Nai He, I am already a prisoner, why won't you let me go?"

I covered my mouth and swallowed the scream that was about to escape, so as not to let Jing Ren get away with it.

Jing Ren said, "Di Zhui, how could I bear to hurt Nai He? I still want to marry her as my empress."

Di Zhui stamped his foot and cursed, "You beast, what else do you want?"

Jing Ren said leisurely, "You'll know in a moment."

He then said to me, "You suffered a lot in the Fu family before. Serphie is your sister, but she never treated you well. Today, I will avenge you." With a wave of his hand, the guards dragged Serphie towards the snake pit. I couldn't help but tremble. It was clearly him who wanted to satisfy his twisted desires, so why did he have to use my name? Serphie struggled desperately, crying out, "Emperor, save me!" and cursing, "What can I do? I'll haunt you even as a ghost!" I heard her screams in the snake pit gradually subside, and only then did I dare to slowly open my closed eyes. The silence in the hall was so profound that I almost thought I heard the hissing of snakes biting Serphie's body.

---Fish and shrimp

Reply [96]: Jiao Li, who was already terrified, saw Jing Ren's gaze turn to her and struggled frantically, screaming, "No! I don't want to! Naihe, save me! Please, please!"

I desperately wanted to save her, but I knew no one could change Jing Ren's mind, especially since I was barely able to protect myself. So I turned away and refused to look at her.

Seeing that I turned away, Jiao Li cursed in despair, "You monster, you owe me in this life, and I'll make you pay in the next! You forced Chan Yuan to her death and killed Se Fei, you wicked bastard!" Suddenly, she broke free from the guards, smashed her head against the wall, and her brains splattered out, killing her instantly.

Di Zhui's face was already deathly pale, and he bit his lip without saying a word.

Jing Ren ordered his men to throw Jiao Li's corpse into the snake pit, then laughed at Di Zhui, "Scared? Don't worry, I won't kill you. I want you to suffer in this Cloud Palace forever." He pulled me into his arms and laughed loudly, "I still want to marry the woman you love most as my empress. But I'll make you the empress, and everyone will kneel at your feet. Whether they see you as a demon or not, they will all submit to you. I can make sure no one in the world dares to disrespect you in the slightest. Rule the world with me, and everything will be under our control. Do you like it?"

I smiled and said to the Emperor, "I will wait for you at the boundary between Yin and Yang." I then thrust the golden hairpin in my hand toward Jing Ren's throat.

As the guards' swords pierced my body, I felt no pain. I only heard Emperor Zhui shout, "What can I do!"

"Well, you're finally back." Wuji stood on the shore, holding my hand and smiling.

Ah, this is the underworld. Past events are vividly clear in my mind, as clear as yesterday. I vaguely see myself being born from the River of Oblivion, begging the Wheel-Turning King to let me go to the mortal world for a trial. This journey, hehe, how long it will be.

Wuji and I went to settle accounts before King Qin Guang. Passing by the City of the Wrongfully Dead, we clearly saw Serphie weeping there. Wuji said, "She refuses to be reincarnated, insisting on waiting for the person who harmed her. It's a pity she doesn't know she's waiting for the wrong person."

On the platform of oblivion, Jiao Li cried and begged Meng Po, "Let me remember, I want her to repay my debt in the next life."

Meng Po shook her head and said, "It's better to start over easily. Besides, you two won't meet again in your next life."

Jiao Li still cried and pleaded, "Even if we are separated by hundreds of lifetimes, I will remember that she betrayed me."

Meng Po sighed, "Why torture yourself like this?" The ghost soldiers still forced her head down and poured the potion of forgetfulness down her throat, then sent her across the bitter bamboo bridge to the other side to be reincarnated.

Chanyuan was dragged down from the Mirror of Retribution by the ghost soldiers. When she saw me, she said hatefully, "Why didn't that bowl of green porridge poison you?" She then sneered, "You've finally met your match." The ghost soldiers pushed her, "Go, go, come with me to the Avici Hell." Chanyuan turned around and cried out, "What can I do? It's you who killed me."

I remained silent. The reason why this underworld is so chilling is probably due to the countless resentments.

Having arrived at the Xuanming Palace, King Qin Guang sat upright on the throne. Upon seeing me, he smiled and said, "Naihe, how was your experience in the mortal world?"

I knelt on the ground and said to King Qin Guang, "Your Majesty, I was born from the waters of the River of Oblivion. My delusions remain unbroken, and I was mercifully allowed by King Zhuanlun to experience the human world. Unexpectedly, so many people have died because of me. My sins are so grave. I only beg Your Majesty to allow me to build a bridge at the junction of the Yin and Yang realms, to ferry good karma across and separate bad karma from it. It is only because of my foolishness that I am pitiful."

King Qin Guang sighed, "Foolish child, foolish child, you've come to this." Then he granted my request.

Wuji still led me to the Ferry of the Dead. The old man who was rowing the raft saw me and said with a smile, "Now I can finally rest." Then he turned into smoke and disappeared.

Farewell, Wuji! I have transformed into an arched stone bridge, narrow and slippery, spanning the Ferry of the Dead and connecting the realms of Yin and Yang. Souls who have reaped good karma can smoothly cross me, proceeding directly to the Wheel-Turning King for reincarnation. Those who can cross in three steps will receive great blessings in their next life. But those souls who have committed heinous crimes will slide off me and fall into the blood of this Ferry of the Dead, where they will be submerged for seven days before being sent to various halls for judgment and punishment.

Wuji carved three words on my body so that people would recognize me; those three words were: Naihe Bridge.

Emperor Zhui, I will only wait for you at this boundary between Yin and Yang.