Histoires de fantômes

Chapitre 276

I closed my eyes and pondered for a few seconds, clearing my mind of both anticipation and fear for the future, before striding out.

As expected, it was a tiger. His hair and beard were a mess, like a bird's nest that had fallen into disrepair for many years, and his clothes were even more shabby. The only thing that felt familiar to me was his pair of bright and spirited eyes.

He held Tang Xin's hand tightly, shaking it forcefully yet carefully, calling her name incoherently, his joy evident in his eyes.

Situ Qiushi and Lei Aobai were equally jubilant. Standing to the side of the tiger, they patted their left shoulders with their right hands and loudly sang a simple yet stirring tune. This scene could only be performed by true江湖人 (jianghu people, people of the underworld). I remember when Scalpel took me to the Hong Kong and Macau underworld conference, thousands of heroes gathered and bowed to Cheng Leixiao, the then-leader of the underworld, who was known as "One Hand Covering the Sky." What I felt then was this kind of chivalrous spirit of "going to great lengths for friends."

Tiger spotted me immediately, released Tang Xin's hand, leaped over, and crashed into me, giving me a tight hug. Reeking of alcohol, he laughed loudly, "Hahahaha, we meet again! I told you long ago, there's nothing you can't do in this world. Finding Xiaoxin is a piece of cake for you, hahahaha..."

When we broke up on the cliff, his last request to me was to find Tang Xin. That wholehearted trust is still fresh in my memory.

During their separation, Tiger lost a lot of weight and looked much more weathered, but his uninhibited and arrogant spirit would never change, as if it were the defining characteristic of the word "tiger," unchanged for centuries.

"Tiger, how did you get down here? Where's Miss Gu?" I waited until he had finished laughing and patted my shoulder before stepping back and asking calmly.

Tang Xin swallowed the "Three Red Disorientation Pill," and her condition was already extremely dangerous. Every minute was precious to us.

“Brother Feng, he is not some ‘tiger,’ but the ‘King of Kings, the Uncrowned King’ in the eyes of 70,000 Tang Dynasty wandering knights, the Bearded Stranger. This time, we really have to thank you a lot. If you hadn’t appeared and led us out of the dark world, how could we have met him?” Situ Qiu’s voice trembled and choked with emotion, and he was about to burst into tears.

This was an outcome I had anticipated, but I still couldn't help but gasp: "You—"

After all, it's no small matter for a wandering knight who has been with you for years to suddenly become an ancient hero from a thousand years ago. In my eyes, he is the same tiger who is generous and righteous and roams Southeast Asia. His expression and demeanor are still the same, but the huge change in his identity has really happened.

"Wind, no matter who I am, we'll always be brothers, won't we?" Tiger's smile faded, and his expression gradually turned serious.

"We are indeed good brothers, but the surprise you gave me was just too big." I tried my best to control my agitated and uneasy feelings.

“I’m sorry, but between true friends, identities and names don’t matter. You can still call me ‘Tiger,’ and I will still be ‘Tiger’ in everyone’s eyes. Now, it would be best if we could get out of this dangerous situation first. Miss Gu is still on the cliff, and Master Guan Nan Wulang has reached the outside of the tunnel and will soon be able to pass through the Pentagram Array to meet up with Miss Gu. Shall we leave here?”

Although he was speaking to me, he turned to look at Tang Xin, and the expression of careful and protective care that should have been on his face was the one that should have been there.

"I'm not leaving." Tang Xin smiled faintly, two blushes rising on her cheeks. "This is the end of my destiny, and I will not leave. My life, soul, and memories will all be buried here. Tiger, forget me, okay?"

She took out the crossbow case she used before from her bosom, pulled open the lid with a click, and stared at the neatly arranged short arrows inside, like a warrior about to go to the battlefield checking his weapon for the last time.

"Be careful, people can break free from fate. Look at me, the bearded stranger from a thousand years ago, the tiger of 2007, I'm living well with both identities. You can do it too. Forget about past life memories or those inexplicable thoughts. Come back with me, let's go to Singapore, Malaysia, or any island in Southeast Asia, live a free and prosperous life, isolated from the world, forgetting all human troubles, okay? Okay?"

Tiger's words suddenly made me understand why he still has this strange habit of wandering around the islands of Southeast Asia. In the Tang Dynasty, Qiu Ran Ke also started his career in the islands of the East China Sea. Only on the nameless islands in the vast ocean could he recall his past and find a sense of home.

Therefore, it seems that the bearded stranger of a thousand years ago and the tiger of today have not changed in essence, just as the old saying goes, "It is easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature."

Part Three: Mirror Illusion

Chapter Eight

Tang Xin's Destiny

Tang Xin shook her head, her smile deepening: "No, I've never had you in my heart, why would I go with you?"

"Impossible, be careful. Haven't we been very happy together? I can give you everything you want. For you, I've successfully forgotten the past, forgotten those dreams of building a dynasty, and just want to be with you wholeheartedly. Be careful, what else do you want? Even if you want to grab the stars in the sky—" the tiger growled anxiously, spitting as it declared its love.

"I want nothing, I've come from afar to fulfill my destiny. Tiger, you'll never understand, you'll never understand. Your heart will forever be in the world of mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas, in the clash of swords and the thunder of horses, while I only wish to quietly anchor at some dock, Mr. Wind—" She suddenly turned to me, smiling sweetly, "I thought of a phrase that might express the helplessness of fate's cruel joke. An ancient poem says, 'The moon of Qin, the pass of Han.' Are we in Qin? In Han? Or in Tang, or in modern times? Perhaps, a world detached from time is the freest, most unrestrained place. Tiger doesn't understand, do you?"

I was slightly taken aback: "Time travel? Reversing time?"

She smiled again: "That's right, that's exactly what I meant. When people can freely travel through time in three dimensions, the words 'regret' and 'time' will no longer exist in the dictionary. I found destiny, and so can you, anyone can. We can undo everything, hold onto everything, until we can make up for all the regrets left behind without leaving a trace. In that case, everyone will be satisfied and happy, and this world will become a country without regrets."

I had a feeling that her argument wasn't entirely correct, but I couldn't find a reason to refute it.

"Now that you've found your destiny, will you not regret it?" The tiger approached Tang Xin, no longer tenderly taking her hand, but instead crossing his arms and adopting a condescending and scrutinizing posture.

Tang Xin looked up: "Yes." "You're wrong. Be careful. Death and fate are not perfect solutions. I'm sure that what you think is absolutely right and a worthy death today will become a mistake in a few hundred years or a few years from now. You've made many mistakes, but unfortunately, those mistakes haven't left a mark on your mind. You only remember the very beginning of the Battle of Gaixia."

The tiger revealed an indescribable, profound pain—an expression I had never seen before. I had always thought that a valiant and unyielding hero like him would only sing and roar wildly, never feel heartache and melancholy.

"What?" Tang Xin stepped back in shock, then involuntarily repeated, "What—"

I suddenly felt like an outsider in the face of this unexpected change, while Tiger and Tang Xin were the true protagonists. One was a strange woman with memories of her past life, and the other was a powerful figure from the Tang Dynasty who had entered the modern world. Compared to them, the battle between Alpha and the great god Tu Liehan seemed less important.

A deafening roar echoed through the sky, as a streak of silver light and a bolt of golden lightning shone down in a dazzling display. It must have been the sound of weapons clashing during a fierce battle, but their figures remained hidden in the thick fog.

"It's true that you were born with memories of your past life, but those memories are incomplete, and you don't remember many things. Be careful, forget about those things. Just live in the present. Whether you live for eighty or a hundred years, isn't it enough to live this life well? Come with me, listen to me, we're leaving here."

The tiger lowered its voice and gently persuaded, as if coaxing a disobedient child.

"Explain yourself, what exactly did I miss? Besides those memories, what else should I remember?" Tang Xin stubbornly retorted.

"Fate is cyclical. I can only say that you think the end of life is the end of your destiny, but it's just one link in the chain. Death doesn't end destiny; it's a new beginning. Be careful, even if you stay here, why is it that death only leads to a more painful beginning? We are all like this, whether suffering or enjoying, it always continues in a never-ending cycle. You are Tang Xin, so just quietly be 'Tang Xin,' and don't search for the origin and end of destiny, okay?"

The tiger's words were very clear; even I, an outsider, understood them perfectly.

"But is this my destiny? Am I really wrong? Are all those scenarios in my mind just illusions?" Tang Xin became confused.

Tiger brushed aside the messy hair on his forehead, his voice becoming gentler: "Alright, don't overthink it. I know you have more and more doubts in your mind. Why don't you go back and thoroughly understand the 'Blue Heaven and Yellow Springs Scripture' before you start thinking about these topics about life and destiny?"

I understand his thinking: as long as he can get Tang Xin to leave, he will never let her come back.

The tiger took a step forward, reaching out to grasp Tang Xin's wrist. Suddenly, a sharp clang rang out, the crossbow casket trembled, and a short arrow whistled through the air, aimed straight for the tiger's throat. I had anticipated this, so almost simultaneously with the release of the crossbow bolt, I unleashed the "Over-the-Distance Blade," slicing off the poisoned arrowhead.

"You... you're shooting an arrow at me? Watch out, you're actually going to shoot me with a poisoned arrow?" The tiger's face suddenly turned pale and bloodless. He leaned back and retreated. If I hadn't been there, he would have been unable to dodge that sudden arrow.

"I'm not leaving, don't force me." Tang Xin straightened her back, her mind made up.

"Watch out! The poison on those arrows was bought by me from indigenous tribes in Southeast Asia. How dare you use it to shoot me?" The tiger could no longer contain itself and finally lost its temper.

A man can devote himself to a woman and take care of her with utmost devotion, but he can also be furious and lose his temper when that woman changes her mind.

"I'm not leaving. From now on, don't interfere in my affairs." Tang Xin regained her composure.

"I—" Tiger had a lot of anger to express, but at this moment the clouds above the empty courtyard dispersed, and the two men, while fiercely fighting in close combat, fell to the ground like lead balls, crashing down and kicking up dust all over the courtyard. The first to spring up from the ground was the Earth-Cracking God. He rubbed his palms together, lifting more than thirty paving bricks out of thin air, and with a "whoosh," they rained down on the enemy.

He also had a dark, curved knife tucked into his waistband, just like the ones carried by Egyptians in the desert.

Alpha regained his initial composure and solitude, holding his sword in one hand, pointing it diagonally at the ground. Just as the brick was about to reach him, he suddenly stopped, and the blue bricks on the ground in front of him flew up to meet the attack. The air was filled with the whistling sound of blue bricks, and in an instant, his vision was obscured by the dust and debris.

Unable to get a word in edgewise with Lei Aobai, Situ Qiu turned his attention to the epic battle, ignoring the conversation between Tiger and Tang Xin.

“I’d rather die here, Tiger. The ones who really need help are Mr. Feng and Miss Suren. If you have the ability, you should help them.” Tang Xin took a step back and flicked the spring of the crossbow cassette. It made a dozen or so “click-click-click” sounds, and all the crossbow bolt holes were ready to fire.

“That’s meaningless. Be careful. You’re so smart, you can’t be so blind to this?” Tiger became agitated again, unbuttoning his leather jacket to reveal a black holster hanging from his belt. He liked guns, and his preferred model was the same as mine—a powerful Desert Eagle automatic pistol.

Tang Xin shook her head again, and Tiger suddenly sighed, "Be careful, do you want me to die with you this time?"

Upon hearing the mention of life and death, Lei Aobai immediately tensed up: "There's a mirror in the cave below that can travel between the past and the future. Bearded Guest, we owe you a favor. Why don't we go through that mirror now and—"

His thinking is rigid; the suggestions he offers are all idiotic and utterly pointless, practically negligible in our eyes. Passing through a mirror is a supernatural event of chance, something no one can do right now. He's already tried it, yet he brings it up now to mislead people—it's utterly worthless.

“I don’t want to go back to the past either. It’s so much better here.” He waved his sleeve, refusing Lei Aobai’s offer.

No one likes to go against the grain, to go back to the past from an era of highly developed technological civilization; only those who are stubborn and narrow-minded would do that.

Out of the corner of my eye, I kept watching the fierce battle in the empty courtyard. When the two of them clashed for the fiftieth time and separated, the Earth God staggered and retreated towards the "earth veins" intentionally or unintentionally.

If he were to escape now, it would still be in time. In my opinion, he is no match for Alpha; under the pressure of the Crystal Sword, his defeat is quite evident. From one perspective, this is a world that Alpha has painstakingly built, and the battlefield is set at the center of the Qimen formation, precisely within Alpha's control.

For some reason, I secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps deep down, I didn't support the idea of the Earth God breaking free of the ley lines. With the rapid advancements in human civilization, Earth has become one of the most influential planets in the universe in the near future. If, as the Earth God intended, the planet were to be reshaped and its rotational trajectory forcibly reversed, it would likely cause a catastrophic blow to humanity, plunging us into another recurring ice age.

"Watch out, this is the last time I'm asking you, are you leaving or not?" The tiger's attitude hardened.

Tang Xin shook her head: "My answer is very clear, Tiger. You should know my style of doing things, right?"

There was no mutual love between them; it was just Tiger's unrequited love, which is why Tang Xin's rejection was exceptionally decisive.

"Alright, do you still remember Song Jiu?" Tiger sneered.

When someone who wasn't present was mentioned at this moment, both Tang Xin and I were taken aback.

"He's dead, and the 'Azure Heaven and Yellow Springs Scripture' has fallen into someone else's hands. One day, someone will be able to unlock all its secrets, and those secrets will belong to me. The Azure Dragon reigns supreme, encompassing all; it commands all heroes, and none dare disobey. We, the Azure Dragon Society, always keep our word and never procrastinate. You can stay here with peace of mind. Once I have control over the outside world, I will return with my men to thoroughly wipe it out. I hope you will remember my words then."

Tiger's change of heart was faster than I expected. After all, the transformation from loving Tang Xin to becoming her enemy took less than half an hour. Even the most fickle man in the world couldn't have changed so quickly.

I hadn't heard the name "Green Dragon Society" in a long time, and my attention was immediately drawn back.

"I've known this secret for a long time: you're the Southeast Asian leader of the Azure Dragon Society. Tiger, remember how I often told you, 'When you're in the martial world, you're not in control of your own destiny'? The Azure Dragon Society has risen globally and has become Interpol's most important target. So when they contacted the Tang Clan of Sichuan to join, I refused outright. This gamble you've made will not end well."

Tang Xin was not surprised, as if she had seen through all the secrets of heaven. Then, the four sects of Buddhism, Taoism, Buddhism, and ghosts all said, "Such secrets of heaven must not be revealed." Those who recklessly reveal secrets of heaven will eventually be punished by heaven and suffer a terrible end.

The tiger raised its right hand, rolled up its sleeve, and revealed a leaping blue dragon etched on the skin from its wrist to its elbow, its scales incredibly lifelike.

"The Azure Dragon soars in the sky, invincible in the world. That was my dream, but in the past, it was only to unify the Central Plains, a short-sighted vision. Now, I will plant the Azure Dragon Society's flag on every piece of land on Earth, from Africa to the Americas, from the North Pole to the South Pole—" His expression gradually turned evil and crazed.

Tang Xin suddenly turned around and glanced towards the cave leading to the sealed gate, her eyes filled with anxiety. However, it remained quiet there; the sealed monster made no unusual movement. The tiger stared at the fierce battle raging in the empty courtyard, a sinister smile playing on its lips, and slowly shook its head: "What destiny? The world belongs to me. Overthrowing all obstacles is destiny. The moment the Azure Dragon soars to the heavens, destiny will be in my hands. Feng, what do you say?"

I didn't want to provoke him, so I just smiled faintly, secretly preparing to deal with any sudden changes. Maintaining enough clarity in the chaotic situation was perhaps the most important thing I should do right now.

"Feng, remember when our people invited you to join us? The Azure Dragon Society's doors will always be open to you, whenever you wish." Tiger's expression was arrogant and dismissive, as if he had truly become the master of the martial world.

"Thank you," I replied casually.

After a loud "boom," the figures flying around in the empty courtyard suddenly came to a standstill.

Tang Xin was startled and immediately tried to rush towards the gap, but I grabbed her arm: "Miss Tang, don't act rashly. You can't help with that kind of battle."

Without a doubt, given the bizarre and magnificent close combat between Alpha and the Great God Tu Liehan, none of us could participate; we could only wait quietly. After the smoke cleared, on the open ground north of the well, the two of them were locked in a grappling hook, their weapons sheathed, their hands pressed against each other's throats.

In fact, many martial arts masters have said that, regardless of the era, the highest level of combat is close-quarters fighting, returning to the most primitive human methods of killing. This is because for upright-walking humans, only the movements of their hands are the most dexterous and reassuring, rather than relying on any advanced weapons.

"I'm going to help him—" Tang Xin's voice became hoarse, but when she turned to look at me angrily, her lips moved, revealing another "lip reading": "The tiger is acting strangely, the monster is making unusual movements."

Without the slightest hesitation, I pretended that Tang Xin had suddenly broken free, and turned to Situ Qiushi and Lei Aobai to send a secret telepathic message: "The bearded man is out of his mind, lock him up."

In their eyes, tigers are "bearded strangers," so I have to use a term they can understand to give orders.

These two reacted very quickly; they were probably ostensibly drawn in by the fierce battle, but in reality, they had been observing the argument between Tiger and Tang Xin the whole time. Less than a second after I spoke, Situ Qiu on the left and Lei Aobai on the right pounced together and grabbed Tiger's arms.

The tiger roared and jerked its shoulders, trying to throw the two men off, but it didn't work. Suddenly, a large, terrifying bulge appeared on its back near its shoulder blades, as if several jagged, withered branches were about to stretch out.

Tang Xin exclaimed in surprise, because it was obvious that there were four intertwined arms that instantly broke through his clothes and twisted the necks of Situ Qiushi and Lei Aobai. With two crisp "crack" sounds, the two bodies were thrown ten steps and softly fell into the snowdrift.

A broken neck means a 100% chance of death—I never expected that the tiger would suddenly mutate and become a six-armed monster.

Tang Xin took three steps back and hid behind me.

"What's wrong?" The tiger looked bewildered as the arms were slowly retracted.

"You killed them." The knife hidden in my left sleeve faintly emitted a resounding clang.

"How could this be? They used to be my good friends. What did I just do? Wind, what did I do?" He touched his face and arms blankly and spun around a few times, as if looking for something.

"What are you looking for?" My left sleeve billowed like a sail in the wind.

"Something just crawled into my body. I don't know what I did. Feng, where were we?" He stopped moving and stopped searching frantically.

"You said 'The Azure Dragon Society's doors are always open to me,' but what else? What are the benefits of joining the Azure Dragon Society?" I wanted to stall for time until the fierce battle in the empty courtyard was over before making my move. Tang Qing, who had been controlled by the Illusion Demon, had just died, and the tiger had inexplicably come under control. The monster behind the sealed gate was becoming increasingly restless.

“Yes, the doors of the Azure Dragon Society are always open to you. What do you want? It’s no exaggeration to say that we can satisfy any request you have, and any question you have in mind will be answered by the Azure Dragon Society.” He smiled slyly and cunningly.

"Really?" There is only one thing I have been searching for all my life, and I still have no answer.