Courriels mortels - Chapitre 29
Only Tong Jianguo cautiously walked up and asked in Thai, "Where are you from?"
The young monk raised his head, seemingly unconcerned about their presence or the three corpses lying beside him, and softly replied in Thai: "The future."
Then, the forest monk uttered a strange sound: "apara^nta".
No one understood what he was saying. Tong Jianguo also thought it didn't sound like Thai. Only Sun Zichu opened his eyes wide and shouted, "Future! This is Sanskrit, and it means 'future'!"
"future?"
Tong Jianguo then read it aloud in Chinese. The monk had just spoken the word "future" in both Thai and Sanskrit. Could he really be from the future? Did he travel through time from the 22nd century?
He lowered his head and pondered for a moment before remembering Yu Ling's instructions to him—the future!
"I understand!" Tong Jianguo suddenly shouted. Due to the sudden excitement, his left arm, which was in a sling, throbbed with pain. He could only grit his teeth and say, "Come with me now!"
He abandoned the kneeling monks in front of him and walked alone towards the back of the Great Rakshasa Temple Pyramid. Ye Xiao followed him with some doubt, and the others could only follow behind.
Only Xiaozhi was left behind, still weeping while holding the body of the wolfhound "Tian Shen".
Ye Xiao quickly ran back and forcefully pulled her up: "Let's go!"
He dragged away the sorrowful twig, but the mysterious white cat remained behind, continuing to keep the deceased "god" company.
After all the fugitives had left, only two human corpses, a dog's corpse, an excited forest wandering monk, and a beautiful cat remained on the platform illuminated by the lights.
Goodbye, Li Xiaojun.
Goodbye, Ma Qianlong.
The night was dark and the wind was high.
The group had already reversed direction. Tong Jianguo, enduring the pain in his arm, walked at the front with a flashlight in hand, followed by the others in turn, while Ye Xiao and Xiao Zhi stayed at the back to bring up the rear.
The lights were quickly left behind, and they were plunged back into endless darkness, relying solely on their flashlights to orient themselves. Reaching the northwest corner of the Great Rakshasa Temple, the flashlight illuminated a tower gate—several of them had entered through this gate a few days earlier, leading down a passageway into the depths of the pyramid.
"Is this the way to escape?"
Lin Junru asked with a puzzled look, and Tong Jianguo nodded and said, "Trust me, it's inside."
"No! I don't want to go in, I'm scared!"
Qiuqiu shook her head and tried to run back, but Elena stopped her.
“I have a feeling we can go in and give it a try.”
Dingding rushed into the tower first; this was her third time entering it.
Tong Jianguo quickly walked in beside her, while Ye Xiao urged him on from behind, saying, "Hurry up and go in! We don't have time."
So all eight people entered the pagoda gate and were swallowed up by the ancient Great Rakshasa Temple.
It was another deep passageway. They walked forward, flashlights in hand, neither of them speaking. If this path was also the wrong one, they would be trapped here forever.
After walking several hundred steps uphill, the large stone gate reappeared, with a sign below it that read "Forbidden Hall Entry." Ye Xiao now knew that this sign had been erected about a year ago by the archaeological team from Nanming City, and that the team leader was Xiaozhi's father.
When Xiaozhi saw the remains left by her father, she felt a chill run down her spine and sadly followed the others forward.
The flashlight quickly illuminated a large hall, revealing three deadly doors.
The second season of this book devoted a lot of attention to this point, because these three doors are so crucial that the fourth season finale still focuses on them!
Everyone stared intently at the three doors once more—
On the left stone gate is a carving of an old man dressed in ancient Greek clothing, and the ancient Sanskrit pronunciation on the gate is "pu^rva^nta", which means "past".
The stone gate in the middle is carved with a beautiful woman with a pair of high heels at her feet. The ancient Sanskrit pronunciation on the gate is "madhya^nta", which means "now".
On the right, a stone door is carved with a fetus, as if it is about to be born in the mother's womb. The ancient Sanskrit on the door is pronounced "apara^nta", which means "future".
The old Greek man at the left door represents the "past," the fashionable woman at the middle door represents the "present," and the fetus in the womb at the right door represents the "future."
Inside the central "present" door lies a coffin and a deadly secret chamber.
The source of the "Great Empty City Night" disaster a year ago was hidden in the stone box in the secret room behind the "Now" door.
Behind the "Past" gate on the left leads to the top of the Great Pyramid, where murals reveal the secrets of the destruction of the Rakshasa Kingdom.
So all that's left is the "future" gate on the right.
No one had ever entered this stone door; everyone's eyes were focused on the door itself, on the relief of a curled-up fetus, which vividly depicted the future of life.
"Do you want us to step into this 'future'?"
Sun Zichu, who could read Sanskrit, turned around and questioned Tong Jianguo.
"Yes, the reason I said I knew how to escape was because Yu Ling secretly told me!"
Now, the mystery can be solved. In the small notebook that Yu Ling always carried, the wandering monk master's lifelong pursuit was recorded. The most legendary experience was the process of discovering the Kingdom of Rakshasa—the master entered the Kingdom of Rakshasa through a tunnel and came out through the interior of the Great Pyramid. Therefore, there must have been a tunnel leading to the outside world, otherwise how could he have entered?
Just now, the young wandering monk appeared dramatically—presumably following the route his master had taken, he entered the sacred land of the Rakshasa Kingdom alone.
When Tong Jianguo asked him where he came from, the young monk uttered "future" in both Thai and Sanskrit.
That's right, it's the "future"—the stone gate in front of us represents the "future".
The Gate to the Future!
The young monk must have entered the land of Rakshasa through this stone gate!
"The future" represents the escape route, our new life, the newborn fetus, and humanity's tomorrow.
This is the road.
Even after Tong Jianguo explained it to everyone, some people were still skeptical, which was truly unbelievable.
"None of us have walked this road before. It might be a dead end, but it might be a path to survival. We have to give it a try!"
Ye Xiao's words quieted them down, and they nodded to each other, preparing to move forward.
"Let's go! Let's go to the 'future'!"
Tong Jianguo, still in a sling, was the first to push open the stone door on the right and step under the fetal relief.
Next came Sun Zichu and Lin Junru, then Elena helped Qiuqiu, and Dingding also carefully entered the door, looking back at Ye Xiao and Xiaozhi who were bringing up the rear.
Just as Ye Xiao nodded and was about to go in, Xiao Zhi's voice rang out behind him: "Wait a minute!"
People who entered the "future" stone gate stopped, and Ye Xiao also turned around and opened his eyes wide.
"Do you remember?" Xiaozhi paused for a moment, then said calmly, "You promised me that you would help me complete three things unconditionally."
In an instant, Ye Xiao's heart clenched, but he could only nod calmly and say, "Yes, since I have made a vow, I will definitely keep my word."
"You have already done two things for me, and I am very grateful to you."
The first thing she wanted was for Ye Xiao to kiss her.
The second thing is to get Ye Xiao to release the man in black he just captured.
The third thing?
All eyes were on Xiaozhi, but she took a step forward as if no one else was there and whispered in Ye Xiao's ear, "Now, you have to do a third thing for me."
Ye Xiao's lips trembled: "What?"
"Stay."
"What?"
"I want you to stay with me."
Xiaozhi calmly stated her third request, which was also the most fatal one.
Past, Future, Present—before the three doors, everyone felt bewildered! Dingding shook her head and said, "Are you crazy? You want him to stay with you? Don't you want to leave?"
“No, I don’t want to leave, I don’t want to leave here.” Instead, Xiaozhi took a step back, as if returning to the small courtyard where the tea flowers bloomed, and sadly shook her head, saying, “I don’t belong to the outside world, I only belong to Nanming City, I have to stay.”
"This is insane! Absolutely insane!"
While everyone else was shaking their heads, Ye Xiao stared intently into Xiao Zhi's eyes and asked, "Are you serious?"
"certainly!"
Xiaozhi answered calmly, her eyes flashing with an unwavering determination that no one could stop her from doing.
"Fine! Even if you want to stay alone, why should Ye Xiao stay with you?"
At this moment, Sun Zichu walked back from the door. He was in much better spirits, but he couldn't understand Xiaozhi at all.
"Please let Ye Xiao make his own decision. I believe in his vow."
"Tch!" Sun Zichu glared at her contemptuously, grabbed Ye Xiao's arm and said, "Don't waste time arguing with this woman, let's hurry up and leave her alone."
"Wait a minute!"
Ye Xiao roared in a low voice, shaking his arm off Sun Zichu's grasp.
Instead, he took a step closer to Xiaozhi, stared into her eyes, and said, "Have you thought this through? Do you really want to stay?"
"Yes, from the day I returned to Nanming City, I never intended to leave again! That's why I promised Li Xiaojun."
"Aren't you going to change your mind?"
“Absolutely not!” she replied coldly, as if it were her last words. “Ye Xiao, I hope you stay.”
"Why?"
"There's no reason, I just want you to stay." Xiaozhi paused for a long time, her expression no longer like that of a twenty-year-old girl, but as if she had aged ten years in an instant, and softly uttered two words, "Stay with me."
Ye Xiao's heart had sunk to the bottom of the water.
He lowered his head and thought for a minute.
"I promise you—I will stay."
This answer stunned everyone, including Xiaozhi.
After a few seconds of calm, Sun Zichu shouted, "Ye Xiao, have you gone mad too?"
"Don't yell at me." Ye Xiao slowly turned around. "I will always keep my promises."
"What kind of promise is that? Would you go even if it meant dying? Are you already bewitched by this woman?"
“You’re overthinking it. It’s a very simple matter. I swear I’ll promise her three things. A man’s word is his bond.”
Sun Zichu was almost furious. "Do you think this is 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber'?!"
"Shut up, you guys get out of here, don't wait for me!"