51-я картина маслом

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A terrible miracle occurred. This miracle meant that she was able to retain her virginity.

(If that's the case, why commit suicide?)

The eldest looked at A-Ding.

A-Ding's eyes were bright and clear.

The eldest brother suddenly felt a little sad. "Ding Dada, do you—do you feel anything is amiss?" he asked softly.

“Of course. But I’m ‘Big Big.’ I’m bubble gum.” A-Ding forced a smile.

"So, you've already made up your mind?"

“Yes.” A Ding smiled again, his gaze shifting to Tong Rong, and he murmured, “Actually, I do have love. And what I value most is love. My love is gone. My affection has faded away. In the eyes of most people, I will always be just a piece of bubble gum. What difference does life and death make to me?” He spoke quietly and softly, his gaze as empty as if looking at distant mountains.

All you have to do is wait.

He laughed again.

There were tears in her eyes.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [58]: The boss's gaze also became unfocused. He suppressed his sadness and asked, "Ding Da, is there anything else you want to say?" He had already seen the chain head—the blood-stained chain head that was slowly emerging.

“Yes,” A-Ding said calmly. “I’ve heard many stories about ‘bosses,’ all very touching, stories of compassion amidst ruthlessness. I only hope that you are such a ‘boss’; I only hope that, no matter what, you will do your best to help as many people as possible survive. Everyone has the desire to live; no matter how difficult or humble, as long as they can live, that’s enough. No matter how inhuman a person may be, since they have survived, they have parents and people who love them. So, no matter what, help as many people as possible survive.”

His voice grew increasingly strained. "And..." he struggled to keep his voice from trembling, "I...love...her too, she can bring us...together..." "I understand," the eldest nodded emotionally. "I understand!"

A Ding smiled.

He smiled.

The chain head had already grown to half a person's height. Everyone witnessed this horrific scene, and tears welled up in everyone's eyes.

A Ding smiled.

He looked at Tong Rong's corpse with difficulty once again.

(It won't be long. See, I'm already here, aren't I?) he thought.

But at that moment, he suddenly saw:

*** *** ***

[Tong Rong, who had long since died, is moving.]

[Her hands were trembling, waving at him with difficulty.][(This was no illusion!)] *** *** *** At that very moment, Adin, who had been determined to save everyone and refused to move, moved.

When he makes a move, it's a big one!

Suddenly he stood up; suddenly he rushed out.

The chain pulled out his blood, his flesh, his intestines, and his internal organs.

But he rushed to Tong Rong's side. A green light shone through, revealing gaping, bloody holes in his chest and back. But he felt no pain. He only knew—Rong had come back to life!

Under the ghastly green light, he saw before him a bottomless abyss. Within the abyss shimmered water, a greenish shimmer. Within the water, patches of purple light appeared, like floating purple flowers. At the bottom of the abyss, there seemed to be a stream, and the purple "flowers" grew at its base.

But he had no time to pay attention to any of this.

His eyes were only on Rong. He rushed to Tong Rong's side without hesitation and grasped her hands, which looked exceptionally pale under the green light.

Those hands were indeed moving.

—It is being lifted, raised, and slowly raised.

"Rong! What's wrong?"

He cried out! He murmured! His cry was filled with joy and astonishment.

But his expression changed. Surprise appeared in his eyes.

—Those icy little hands seemed to be branding his hands like hot irons.

A sharp blade suddenly pierced his abdomen; it was unusually cold, but in an instant, it felt like a red-hot branding iron, scorching his lower abdomen.

But Rong's eyes were moving. They were opening.

(How could I possibly misjudge such a distance?!)

Therefore, he called out a second time.

With just these two calls, a muffled, unusual sound, like the whistle of a ship sailing through a thick fog, came from afar.

A long, unusual sound drowned out his shouts, as well as the leader's cry: "—Retreat! 狝—A—A—A…" At this shout of retreat, the leader somersaulted back onto "Looking-Homeward Terrace," pulling Huang Zilan back with him. Xiao Dao, Xiao Chan, and Er Gou leaped back, and Wei Yiyi, An Yingying, and Chen Xing also hurriedly jumped back, but the two pulleys went awry. On the Bridge of Helplessness, Xu Fangfang also wanted to escape, but she couldn't drag Du Liu, so she had to stop. As if summoned by some force, the pulleys crashed into A Ding, slamming into his back with a whoosh.

Adin was almost sent flying by the impact.

But he couldn't fly. With a "crack," he knew clearly that his knees had sunk into a crevice in the rock, and his kneecaps had even been crushed and cracked.

One scooter bounced, veered to the side, and slid into the abyss; the other was stopped by his back.

At the same time, the leader swiftly threw out a grappling hook attached to a silken rope and grabbed the backpack from the pulley. "Hey!" With a shout, the large backpack flew into the air and returned.

At the same time, the "Many Sufferings in the World" banner, which had been carried away by A Ding, crashed into the already tied "Heaven is Heartless," "Earth is Unjust," and the unknown iron chain ring. With a "clang," the three iron chains were broken and suddenly retracted.

At the same time, the notion that "human suffering is abundant" was shattered.

That wasn't an iron chain, but a chain of sparkling jade.

The chain came apart and shattered with a deafening roar.

Amidst the deafening roar, Adin suddenly felt a sinking sensation beneath his knees, as the rock face he was on abruptly slid into the abyss.

In that instant, A-Ding leaned back and exerted force with both hands; at that moment, he suddenly had a strange feeling—it seemed that Tong Rong's hand was firmly welded to his own. This feeling was very strange, but he had no time to think about it at the moment. He only knew that with this exertion, Tong Rong's corpse was lifted flat above his head.

—But her body was already stiff as if it had been frozen by ice.

Ading continued to slide down the rocks, reaching the edge of the abyss.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [59]: “Rong is still alive!” This was his wholehearted thought.

His upper body suddenly leaned back against the rocky ground. Three sharp blades emerged from his chest with a series of "thuds." Each blade was as cold as ice, yet as hot as fire.

The shattered jade chain inscribed with "Many Sufferings in the World" danced and fluttered like butterflies as it flew into the abyss, mixed with A Ding's blood, flesh, intestines, and internal organs. One of the chains pierced through A Ding's left cheek, pulling out a few teeth, before exiting through his right cheek and falling into the abyss.

A Ding had no time for any painful struggle. His arms sank slowly and steadily, and Tong Rong's stiff body followed suit. Just as they were about to touch the rocky ground, a crisp sound was heard.

A lightness on my arm.

The rock beneath them had already plunged into the abyss.

But he only cared about Tong Rong. He saw—Tong Rong's body had reached the edge of the cliff, but then stopped. Then, he could see nothing more. (Is Rong safe now? She will surely survive, won't she?) His sleepless mind still pondered.

thump!

The rock carried him into the water with a sharp crack, followed by a series of cracking sounds. The water turned to ice, freezing his mouth and nose, sealing his body. In his last moments of consciousness, he saw his arm, which wasn't frozen. He saw his hand.

—There are four hands on his arm. Two are his, and two are Tong Rong's.

Tong Rong's hand, broken at the wrist, was still tightly gripping his.

He suddenly remembered the words from another distant world: "If you don't mind, give me your hand."

—I'm afraid not, lend me your hand.

(We will always be together.)

"Until the mountains crumble, the rivers run dry, winter thunder roars, and summer snow falls, until heaven and earth unite, I will never part from you."

Volume Three, "The Bridge of Helplessness," was completed on November 20, 1994; revised on June 3, 1996; and typed into the computer on August 13, 2003.