personne vicieuse

Chapitre 4

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.

Jiao Li, who was already stunned with fear, saw Jing Ren's gaze turn to her and began to struggle 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.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [14]: Jing Ren ordered his men to throw Jiao Li's corpse into the snake pit, and laughed at Di Zhui: "Afraid? 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. However, I will make you the empress of the world, and make everyone kneel at your feet. Whether they think you are a monster or not, they will all submit to you. I can make the people of the world dare not 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.