Les histoires de fantômes de Xiao Tao (Version intégrale)

Chapitre 4

Pitch black, the darkness before dawn is much darker than midnight...

In this dark and silent courtyard, only the countless stars were still twinkling, revealing a glimmer of light.

The six masters were already exhausted, their torn clothes stained with blood. Led by Master Qingyun, they knelt before the spot where Abbot Benqing had just stood. Miaoba, realizing what was happening, also knelt down, weeping. Grandma looked at the spot where Abbot Benqing had just stood, tears streaming down her face, shaking her head and sighing. I didn't know how else to express my feelings at that moment except by shedding tears...

But this poignant scene was suddenly interrupted by a beam of light...

“I have no memory of the cause and effect, I will not seek Buddha in hell!” This is Master Benqing, and the person in the light and shadow is the abbot of Guangle Temple—Abbot Benqing.

"Grandmaster—" When Miao Ba saw Abbot Benqing, he no longer cared about the rules of monks and rushed straight over, but unfortunately he passed through the light and shadow and missed.

“Miaoba, everything is predestined, so be content with whatever comes your way. Life is the same, so there’s no need to force it. Among all my disciples, only your Dharma name was given to me. Do you still remember why?” Master Benqing’s voice and appearance were as vivid as a living person, but unfortunately, he was just a shadow.

“This humble monk remembers that my master said that my past karma has not been exhausted and I must repay it in this life. The number eight is the source of all things. Only by transcending the vastness of the void can I attain the true path.” After saying this, Miao Ba cried even more sadly. After all, he was still a young boy of only twenty years old. At this moment, he was already sobbing uncontrollably.

“Miao Ba, do you know what your past life was like?”

Miao Ba shook his head. He was crying so hard that he couldn't speak. Tears streamed down his face, and snot was almost dripping down his clothes, but he didn't bother to wipe it away. He just stood there with his hands on the ground, maintaining his kneeling posture.

"Yes, it's not time yet. Remember, you are originally the Xuanwu Star Lord. You entered the mortal realm by the command of Buddha. However, you will have to understand the reason for this command yourself in the future. Remember, you must not have any attachments."

"Miao Ba, remember this well," Miao Ba's cries were all the more heartbreaking in the darkness of the night.

"Qingming Festival: clear skies, gentle breeze, clear clouds, pine trees, and light rain."

The six masters stood with their heads bowed, their sorrow and solemnity evident even though they did not shed tears.

"The myriad phenomena of the world are but this, and you need not be overly attached to the splendor of this cautionary illusion; my instructions afterward are placed behind the Buddhist shrine in the hall, and should only be taken out after fasting and chanting sutras..." There are no further instructions; perhaps this is the way of monks to act without hindrance or obstruction...

"Jinfen, my more than two thousand years of grudges and love-hate relationship with Empress Xiaowu has come to an end. Now I have achieved my goal in this world. My only regret is that as your brother, I have never taken care of you, nor have I fulfilled my filial duties to our parents..."

“Benqing, from the day you were born, your mother sent you to be ordained as a nun. They had no complaints about you. And since I am a descendant of the Zuo family, it is only natural for me to take on this responsibility. You…” Grandma interrupted Abbot Benqing, but before she could finish speaking, she was already crying and unable to speak.

Hearing Abbot Benqing's words, my astonishment was no less than seeing a UFO. If Abbot Benqing was my grandmother's brother, then that meant he was my great-uncle. I had always thought they were just friends and confidants, and I had even laughed at my grandmother for finding an old man as a confidant, thinking it was fashionable. I had never imagined they were siblings. Yes, only now did I remember that in my grandmother's childhood photos, there was indeed a small-eyed boy who looked very much like my great-grandmother...

Watching Grandma's tears stream down her wrinkled face, I suddenly understood what the Buddha meant by "the pain of parting." It truly was one of the most unbearable moments in life...

"My dear girl, the heavy responsibility of our Zuo family rests on your shoulders from now on. Remember, yin is yin, and yang is yang. You must not make a mistake!" Master Benqing—no, he should be my maternal uncle—had barely uttered the last word of his sentence when the light transformed into a pillar that shot straight into the starry sky. As the pillar disappeared, the darkness before dawn was completely over. The hour of Yin was almost over, and a touch of dark red dawn was already appearing on the horizon, in the place where Abbot Benqing had vanished…

...

"Sister Weiyang, what happened to your hands?" Xiaoling asked, staring wide-eyed at the bandages wrapped around my ten fingers.

"Yes, I... I had surgery to change my fingerprints."

"Ah, why?"

"I'm going to sell drugs."

"Sister, no, that's illegal," Xiaoling said in a low voice.

Seeing her earnest expression, I suddenly felt much better; the deceased are gone, but the living must continue living, and for Xiaoling to continue believing in the beauty and authenticity of life is also a kind of happiness...

"You lied to me—" Xiaoling looked at my smile and realized what I meant, then cried out in a spoiled tone.

"Maybe I should act more coquettishly," I suddenly thought.

The needles with the talisman on them felt different in my hand. For a whole week after returning from Guang Le Temple, it was still bleeding. The pain had lessened, but it would still recur occasionally. The only good thing was that I didn't have to do the dishes or laundry for a week, and it looked like that would continue for another week or so. The biggest downside was that my typing speed had dropped to about 14 words per minute, which was below the international standard required by third countries like Tanzania. So I didn't reply to the prince's emails. In fact, there wasn't much to say. The prince went to Paris, sent a few photos, and simply said that he was doing well. What could I say in reply?

As for Guang Le Temple, the abbotship was taken over by Master Qingyun, while all the other masters of the Qing generation stepped down to the second line and became elders. The monastic discipline hall was naturally taken over by the monk Miaofang, who was becoming more and more like a monk. The other halls and courtyards were also taken over by people of the Miao generation. In addition to taking over the scripture pavilion, Miaoba also began to take on disciples...

However, because Guang Le Temple is a national-level religious site, and Master Benqing had seen many grand occasions, he was posthumously awarded the title "Maha," meaning "immeasurable," by the provincial government after his death. Before this, the monks of Guang Le Temple were frantically trying to explain Master Benqing's death. If they told the truth, it would be suspected of promoting feudal superstition, and it wouldn't be convincing. Later, Miao Ba somehow obtained a very smooth bone, claiming it was a relic left by Master Benqing when he passed away. This solved the problem and also contributed to Guang Le Temple's revenue, as they built a small pagoda for the bone to display…

As for my grandmother, she erected a cenotaph for my maternal uncle Benqing in the Zuo family cemetery. Regarding the lost thousand years of Madam Li, although I asked her about it, she just shook her head and didn't say anything. Perhaps only those involved truly know the truth...

As for me, besides continuing to endure the harm caused to me by Empress Xiaowu, my status in Guangle Temple rose rapidly. I could pick vegetables from the temple garden at will, and I could choose Buddhist beads from the sales department like bracelets. I could even take apart a few beads and string them myself... After all, I am the grandniece of Abbot Mohe Benqing, the reincarnation of Emperor Wu of Han...

(III) Ghostly Entanglement Chapter 1: Youthful Days

"Hello, this is Weiyang Bookstore."

"..."

"Yufei, what made you think of calling me? You missed me, didn't you?"

"..."

"Duanmu is coming back! Really..."

"..."

"Yeah, yeah, that's right, it's been almost ten years since the three of us last saw each other."

"..."

"Hmm, haha, I almost forgot about Qian Lizhong if you hadn't mentioned him. How's he doing? Is he married yet?"

"..."

"Really? You've really made something of yourself now. Back then, you were so afraid of me that you transferred schools. Really..."

"..."

"Okay, then contact me."

"..."

Okay, bye-bye!

After hanging up the phone, I was both excited and nervous. My sister, whom I hadn't seen for almost ten years, suddenly said she was coming back from abroad. I really didn't know how to react...

Chapter One: The Youthful Days

Chen Yufei, Duanmu Ping, and Qian Lizhong were my junior high school classmates.

When I first met Chen Yufei, I didn't really like her. She looked delicate and a bit precocious compared to other girls in their teens. However, I must admit she was very pretty. Her naturally curly hair and fair skin made her look like a porcelain doll, which made me, who was then suffering from acne due to hormonal surges during puberty, extremely jealous. I suppose that's one of the reasons I didn't like her...

Duanmu Ping and Chen Yufei, on the other hand, were the complete opposite. They were extremely ordinary-looking, the kind of girls you'd easily blend into a crowd. They always had short, neat hair and were as forthright and loyal as boys. Because their family owned a winery, they already had an exceptionally high alcohol tolerance at the age of fourteen. Their academic performance was also outstanding; they were the only ones among us who weren't afraid of exams. They also had beautiful calligraphy, which often made them laugh at my messy handwriting. Forced to respond, I came up with what I considered a very cool line—"My messy handwriting is due to my carefree personality..."

Qian Lizhong was undoubtedly a handsome young man at the time, although his grades were terrible. He was the kind of person who always kept up with the latest trends, dressing himself like a celebrity every day and often hanging out with petty thugs. However, all of these qualities were exactly what teenage girls were after. So whenever this guy was stopped by the old man watching the bike shed for not having his bike pass, many girls would intentionally or unintentionally appear there to lend him their bike passes, and then spend five cents to store their bikes at the grocery store outside the school, all just to get to know Qian Lizhong...

At that time, Chen Yufei was the focus of all the boys in the school. After all, it was rare to find a girl in her teens with such a developed figure, long curly hair, and a curly bust. Qian Lizhong was one of those boys. After becoming deskmates with Chen Yufei, I quickly changed my mind. Although Chen Yufei could be a little sentimental at times, she was gentle and considerate, and most importantly, she had a very good temper. Whenever I felt that the teacher was being unfair to a classmate and impulsively wanted to argue with them, she would always quietly tug at my sleeve to prevent me from suddenly standing up. So we quickly became friends, especially after she taught me to wash my face with rice water and drink mung bean and kelp soup to improve my skin. Our relationship became even closer. Duanmu Ping was a "model student" whom the teacher placed among us to motivate Yufei and me. Unfortunately, he was quickly assimilated by us, always talking non-stop. However, Duanmu didn't waste the teacher's efforts; Yufei and I both improved our grades, so the seating arrangement remained unchanged. Actually, the initial reason Duanmu joined us was because of Qian Lizhong. Duanmu liked him, but as a good student, he couldn't "fall in love early," not even think about it. However, he still hoped to attract his attention. Only I knew about this. Duanmu and I would occasionally confide in each other away from Yufei, sometimes gossiping about her. After all, Yufei's beauty made us both envious and jealous at that age of budding romance. But we knew it didn't affect our relationship.

Actually, back then, like Duanmu, I secretly liked Qian Lizhong. However, we had already considered him Yufei's personal possession, even though Yufei hadn't accepted his advances. Such feelings could only exist in the budding years of first love, watching them slowly fade away…

I remember that Qian Lizhong's way of pursuing Yufei back then was the most common and foolish way for teenage boys: constantly picking fights, waiting at the intersection near Yufei's house on the way to school with double breakfasts, and then mocking and belittling her when she came out, and then coolly throwing the breakfasts at her as an apology when she got angry; on the way home from school, he would always slowly ride his clattering old-fashioned bicycle behind her, whistling or loudly telling jokes that we only half understood but were actually nonsense to the local thugs; during class, he would often bribe the girls behind us with a few pieces of candy to switch seats with him, and then pull Yufei's hair during class...

All of this seems incredibly foolish now, but at the time, his approach was something that Duanmu and I genuinely envied for quite some time…

It's a pity that Duanmu, Yufei, and I went our separate ways after graduating from junior high. After high school, Duanmu went abroad to study because of his outstanding grades, and gradually, Yufei and I lost touch. As for Qian Lizhong, he transferred schools shortly after the start of our third year of junior high. In fact, we always believed that his transfer was because of that spring outing in our second year. Ever since that outing, he would avoid me whenever he saw me, and later he even avoided Yufei...

"You have a new message, please check it..." My thoughts were interrupted by the computer's notification.

It was Prince! This surprised me quite a bit. This email came only half a month after the last one, and he'd been sending me one email a month for the past few months. Opening it really lifted my spirits. Because of a finger injury, I hadn't replied to his emails. Later, I was busy taking care of my grandmother and "Weiyang's" business, and I gradually forgot about it. I didn't expect him to be so worried. Not seeing my reply, he sent another email asking if something was wrong. I really wanted to reply that I was seriously ill and ask him to come back, but after typing a dozen or so words, I felt it sounded a bit like "whining," so I deleted it. I only typed two words, "Nothing," and then I didn't know what else to say. It wasn't until my computer warned me that the email had exceeded ten minutes and was about to time out that I clicked "send"...

Unexpectedly, the prince replied quickly this time—"It's good that you're alright. I bought you a few bottles of perfume in Paris. I'm planning to go back to China at the end of the year and visit a few more places." Although he still didn't tell me where he was going, it didn't matter anymore. I was already starting to wonder what kind of perfume he bought for me… Thinking about it, I remembered the first time I secretly sprayed my aunt's perfume was during a spring outing in my second year of junior high school. That was also the first time I experienced such a strange thing without my grandmother and aunt by my side…

(III) Ghostly Encounters Chapter Two: Spring Outing

I don't remember why the school organized that spring outing, but I do remember that the weather was great. It had been raining for the past few days, but the sky cleared up yesterday afternoon...

I still remember the excitement. We were supposed to meet at seven in the morning, so I got up at five to get ready. There wasn't much to get ready, since the school required everyone to wear a uniform. But I still tried to find my favorite clothes to wear underneath. To this day, I remember that the clothes were light blue because that was the color of the creases on the sides of my school uniform pants. I'm still proud of how I knew how to coordinate my clothes back then. As for my hair, there was no hope. My hair had always been excellent—stiff, straight, and shiny if I didn't wash it for two days. So my aunt cut my hair into a mushroom cut, which is now called a "bob." My hair was two or three centimeters longer than my ears, so I couldn't comb it up, and there was nowhere to put a clip. But I still tried to use my aunt's hair clips for a long time, until I saw that my aunt was about to get up. Afraid that she would find out about my misbehavior, I finally gave up. However, after spending nearly an hour and still seeing no significant change, I was quite unwilling to give up. So, I secretly sprayed a little perfume—a bottle with all-foreign writing that my aunt's boyfriend, who later became my uncle, had brought back for her from a business trip—onto her clothes underneath. Afraid that the scent would be too strong and attract my aunt's attention, I only sprayed a tiny bit. But that tiny amount of perfume immediately made me feel different, at least on par with Chen Yufei. In reality, that tiny amount of perfume was completely ineffective; the wind blew it all away during our spring outing…

"Weiyang, Duanmu, do you want some candy?" Yufei handed over two lollipops while they were in the car.

"Hey, I heard that the orchard we're going to is owned by a relative of the political education director," Duanmu mumbled, his mouth full of candy.

"What kind of relative is this? They don't want us to help pick fruit, do they?" I finally managed to unwrap the candy wrapper.

"Weiyang, it's spring now, where are we going to pick fruit?" Yufei said with a smile.

“But it’s possible he’s going to weed or something,” Duanmu said, looking at me with a mixture of disdain and helplessness.

I accepted Duanmu's helpless and disdainful gaze with a nonchalant air, a lollipop still in my mouth.

We talked incessantly along the way, but I can't remember the content anymore; it was probably all meaningless talk. In fact, what percentage of what we say every day is truly meaningful? Life itself is an exploration of what is meaningful and what is meaningless…

Upon arriving at the orchard, it seemed there was a meeting and some singing first. The teacher then led us on a tour of the orchard, explaining some agricultural knowledge that everyone knows, before we had lunch. As for the afternoon activities, they were entirely as Duanmu had guessed: two hours of immersive nature activities—weeding…

"Duanmu, Yufei," I said, pulling them both to the ground under a fruit tree. Before I could even speak, Duanmu was already smiling at me, and then suddenly said, "I agree." That's what I like most about Duanmu. She and I always have a tacit understanding, perhaps because of our similar personalities. I don't like to be friends with people who are like me, because it would overshadow each other's unique characteristics, but Duanmu Ping is an exception.

"What?... Oh, that's not a good idea. What if the teacher catches us?" After a moment of confusion, Yufei understood what we meant. Yes, weeding? We're all grown up now, do you still think we're elementary school students? We're not going to do your work for free, and what if we get our clothes dirty?

After Duanmu and I gave Yufei a lecture, we crawled out of the nursery through the fence...

"Hey, you three, which class are you in?" We hadn't gone far when we heard someone call out to us from behind. It actually stopped us in our tracks, and it took us a while to turn around. We found out it was Qian Lizhong. We didn't know where this kid came from; he wasn't wearing his school uniform, but a modified black stand-up collar Zhongshan suit instead. That kind of clothing was very popular back then. Later we learned that it was the school uniform for middle school students in Japanese dramas...

"Are you crazy? What are you doing out here?" Duanmu shouted angrily at him. Actually, at that time, I was somewhat hoping that he could get a little closer so I could smell my perfume.

"Then what are you doing out here?" he would ask, and walk towards us, or rather, towards Yufei. However, Yufei just stood there without saying anything. When Qian Lizhong was about two meters away from us, I pulled Duanmu away. At that time, although I still had fantasies about Qian Lizhong, I didn't have much affection for him. Because at that time, besides going to school, I spent most of my time immersed in various scriptures. Duanmu's feelings were probably similar to Qian Lizhong's feelings for Yufei. However, I personally hoped that Qian Lizhong and Yufei would be together, because at least they looked really good together, just like the harmonious relationship between Miura Tomokazu and Yamaguchi Momoe.

Duanmu and I stood about four or five meters away from them. Because of the wind direction, or perhaps because their voices were just very soft, we couldn't hear what they were saying at all. About twenty minutes later, Qian Lizhong suddenly took Yufei's hand. Looking at Yufei's shy expression, I realized that they had been together for a long time. Girls' thoughts are really hard to guess. She clearly seemed annoying, and we were doing everything we could to protect her, but it turns out she had already been secretly seeing someone else.

I'm alright, just a little angry and confused that Yufei didn't tell me beforehand, but Duanmu is like a double eggplant, completely listless...

And so, Yufei and Qian Lizhong walked hand in hand ahead, while Duanmu and I followed silently behind. Occasionally, Yufei would turn around and look at us apologetically, while I tried my best to attract Duanmu's attention with the weeds and sparrows scattered around, but I obviously failed. I was the only one talking the whole way, and it was really embarrassing, so in the end I decided to shut up...

"What happened?" Qian Lizhong's slightly frightened voice broke the silence that had lasted all the way;

"What's wrong?" Duanmu kept his head down and didn't say anything, so I had to ask him one question.

“We seem to be lost,” Yufei replied, word by word. Upon hearing this, Duanmu looked up, and I realized that we had indeed already walked this path.

We had no idea when we arrived at this place. After walking a few hundred meters, we came to a river, and there were many small hills all around. Where we were standing, there was a small river about three meters wide to our left, a dirt road in front of us, and a small, low mound not far away...

“Even if it’s raining, it shouldn’t turn into a river,” Duanmu finally spoke.

"I'll go up that little mound and see if there's a path around it," Qian Lizhong said, scrambling up the small mound before we could reply. When he reached the top, Yufei called out from below, "Well, is there a path?" Actually, we felt the same way as Yufei at that moment…

As Qian Lizhong climbed down, he shook his head and said, "I can't see clearly, but there are no main roads, though there are many rivers." You could tell there was a hint of worry in his voice.

"Maybe this little mound is too low. There's a taller one up ahead, let's go check it out," I suggested, pointing to the mountain in front of us. There was a fairly tall mountain ahead, but we couldn't see how far away it was. It seemed like it wasn't far, but we couldn't judge the distance by sight. There were rivers all around us after walking a short distance, so we had no choice but to grit our teeth and keep going...

(III) The Ghostly Wall Chapter 3: Lost

We walked for what seemed like forever, and it was getting dark. The four of us were clearly exhausted and hungry. Fortunately, since it was a spring outing, we had brought plenty of food, so we weren't starving. But after we ate, none of us had the energy to continue walking.

I sat on the ground, looking up at the sky, and said weakly, "It must be past seven o'clock, there are already sunset clouds on the horizon."

"Hmm," Duanmu responded lazily; Yufei leaned against a tree, staring blankly ahead, saying nothing.

"I want to go home..." Qian Lizhong suddenly burst into tears, repeatedly shouting that he wanted to go home; Yufei, Duanmu, and I were all stunned by the boy's crying...

"What? We three girls are all fine, what are you crying for?" It seemed Duanmu couldn't stand his demoralizing crying any longer. To be honest, I was also extremely disappointed at this moment. How could Qian Lizhong be such a person? But what I really wanted to know at that moment was—was Duanmu more disappointed or Yufei more disappointed? Sometimes, gossip is just human nature…

"I'm disappointed," I said directly, as always. If it weren't for Yufei's sake, I would have told him to shut up. "We're looking for a way, don't worry, we'll get out eventually," Yufei's voice was as gentle as ever, but she didn't look at Qian Lizhong when she said this. Perhaps Yufei was the most disappointed one...

"Look, Weiyang, Duanmu, look!" Yufei suddenly pointed ahead as if she had discovered a new continent. Following the direction Yufei pointed, Duanmu and I almost jumped up. There were people walking along the road ahead. We shouted "Wait a minute!" and ran forward. Qian Lizhong also jumped up and rushed forward, even throwing his backpack away. Luckily, Duanmu and I followed behind and picked up the bag. In case we couldn't get out, we were counting on the food here to fill our stomachs.