Chapter 50: Corpse Spots
Cheng Xiaoyan was frightened, screamed and struggled desperately.
When I saw this scene, my eyes widened and I almost thought I was dreaming!
Clay figurine, alive? ?
It took me a few seconds to react. I rushed over and forcefully pried the monk's hand apart.
But the monk's hands were like iron pliers, so hard that no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't pry them open.
Cheng Xiaoyan's eyes turned white and white foam came out of the corners of her mouth.
I was extremely anxious, not knowing why this happened. Seeing that Cheng Xiaoyan was about to suffocate, I didn't care about anything else and raised my fist, hitting the clay figure hard in the face.
boom!
After this punch, the clay figure didn't react at all, but my hand hurt so much that it almost broke.
"Amitabha."
A gentle voice sounded in the cave.
Strangely enough, as soon as the voice appeared, the clay monk's hands loosened and returned to his previous state of clasped hands, motionless.
Cheng Xiaoyan collapsed to the ground, covering her throat and gasping for breath.
I hugged her and asked anxiously, "Xiaoyan?"
"No, it's okay..." Cheng Xiaoyan replied palely.
I took a picture of the surroundings with my phone, but there was no one there.
Strange, where does this Buddhist chant come from?
This place is too weird. I didn’t dare to stay there for a moment. I carried Cheng Xiaoyan on my back and ran away.
I ran all the way to the cave and saw the clear sky and white clouds outside, with the sun shining brightly. Only then did I breathe a sigh of relief. My clothes had already been soaked with cold sweat.
"I'm fine, let me down."
Cheng Xiaoyan said softly.
I put her down as she was told. Seeing that she was indeed safe and sound, I sat down on the ground exhausted, and said with lingering fear: "This Yin Temple is so scary. I didn't expect that there is such a place hidden in Liuli Mountain..."
"Yeah, I thought I was going to die just now..."
Cheng Xiaoyan said faintly: "Zhiyong, I'm suddenly a little scared..."
"Don't talk about you. I was also scared when I saw the clay man... How could a clay man move? Could it be a robot? " I joked.
"No, that's not what I'm talking about..." Cheng Xiaoyan's voice was trembling. "I mean, the moment he strangled me just now, I really felt death... It turns out that death is not as simple as closing your eyes... At the moment of death, that feeling is too painful and uncomfortable... Zhiyong, I, I don't want to die, I really don't want to die!"
"Don't worry, you won't die!" My heart ached, and I held her hand and said firmly.
Even if it's just consolation, even if it's self-deception, even if it's a lie, I don't want to see her like this.
"But how can people not die? Everyone will die, right?" Cheng Xiaoyan said sadly, "After all, birth, aging, illness and death are the laws of nature..."
I was silent.
I don't know what to say.
In fact, Cheng Xiaoyan is more sober than anyone else.
Perhaps she knew from a very early stage that this day would come, and she had already prepared herself to die.
However, the terrifying moment just now made all her courage disappear completely.
"Actually, I can live forever." Cheng Xiaoyan suddenly said something inexplicable, "As long as I promise her, I can live forever...for the rest of my life."
I was stunned. Never die in this life?
How can this be?
As long as it is a living thing, it cannot escape the law of death.
I felt that Cheng Xiaoyan might be too afraid of death and had become slightly insane, so I quickly said, "Xiaoyan, don't think too much, let's go to the Guanyin Pagoda."
Cheng Xiaoyan looked at me deeply and said softly, "Yeah."
We didn't talk all the way. I always felt that she was hiding something from me...
…
The Guanyin Pagoda is on the top of a mountain. The journey was long and it took us more than an hour to get halfway there.
Cheng Xiaoyan's pace became slower and slower, her breathing became rapid, and her body became limp, as if she would fall down at any time.
I held her and said, "Let me carry you."
"No...no need." Cheng Xiaoyan shook her head.
I half-knelt on the ground without saying anything. She finally stopped insisting and jumped up lightly, with her head resting naturally on my back.
The afterglow of the sun shines down lazily, and the breeze blows, bringing coolness and tranquility.
I carried her on my back and walked slowly forward.
"Zhiyong, I like you..." the girl behind him suddenly said with tears in her eyes.
I paused for a moment, raised the corners of my mouth, and continued walking.
"I know."
"Then why don't you ever say you like me?"
“I’m a man of action.”
"Zhiyong..."
"Um."
"Actually, I liked you before in class."
I turned my head in surprise and saw the girl's face was flushed, shy and cute.
"Why didn't you say so earlier?"
"You didn't ask me!"
"Okay, now I know."
"And more!"
"What?"
"Your back is so warm. I love it when you carry me like this."
"If I like you, I will carry you on my back for the rest of my life."
“I’m afraid I won’t have this opportunity.”
"No, there will be."
" If one day, I accidentally take the wrong path and sell my soul to the devil, will you still carry me like this?"
"Yes, as long as you wait for me right here."
Cheng Xiaoyan hugged my neck tightly, tears flowing silently...
…
The Guanyin Pagoda is just a pagoda.
Not majestic, nor tall.
The tower has five floors in total. The first floor is the fertility-giving Guanyin, the second floor is the water-sprinkling Guanyin, the third floor is the dragon-headed Guanyin, the fourth floor is the Thousand-armed Guanyin, the fifth floor is the clam Guanyin, and the sixth floor... there is nothing there, only one person, an old monk.
When he saw Cheng Xiaoyan and I coming up, a benevolent smile immediately appeared on his face. In front of him was a large table, on which were placed many amulets, Bodhisattvas, Buddhist beads, etc.
There was a sign hanging on it that said: 20% off on all items, today only, come and grab them!
I was speechless. It turned out that everything has become commercialized. Even such a spiritual Guanyin Pagoda seems so vulgar now.
The old monk asked us what we wanted to order?
I thought since I was already here, I might as well buy something. The prices are not expensive, ranging from a few dollars to a few dozen dollars.
Cheng Xiaoyan picked out two identical Guanyin jades, picked them up and handed them to me, smiling sweetly and saying, "Let's buy these two, and wear them on both of us. When we see Guanyin in the future, we will think of each other."
I felt warm inside and said, "Okay."
He picked out another Arhat card for the old man and walked up to ask the old monk how much it cost.
"Amitabha, this is eighty yuan in total. Thank you for your kindness." The old monk put his hands together and said.
I was stunned for a moment and scratched my head.
Why does this voice sound familiar?
"Master, were you the one who saved us in the Yin Temple just now?" Cheng Xiaoyan suddenly asked.
When she said this, I suddenly remembered that the voice of this old monk was the same voice that appeared in the Yin temple before.
The old monk smiled and said, "The Yin Temple is a place where monks atone for their sins. It's okay for ordinary people to go in, but if a guilty person enters, he will be attacked by the bronze corpse."
"The guilty one?"
Cheng Xiaoyan's expression changed and she said, "Master, do you mean that I am a guilty person?"
"It doesn't matter whether it is or not. The Buddha said that if you put down your butcher knife, you can become a Buddha right away. As long as the donor can forget the past and put aside everything, the so-called sins will be nothing but passing clouds." The old monk said with a smile.
"Forget the past, put aside everything..." Cheng Xiaoyan murmured to herself, and laughed bitterly: "Master, it's easy for you to say that, but some roads have already been taken, and there is no turning back..."
“Whether you can turn back or not is not decided by others, but by you. Sometimes when you look back, you think there are thorns, but in fact you have reached the shore. If you repent wholeheartedly and purify yourself, who will you be afraid of? Amitabha.” The old monk said lightly.
The two of them were talking back and forth as if they were exchanging witticisms. I listened for a long time but didn't understand a word they said. I was completely confused.
What sinner? What return?
What are you talking about?
"Zhiyong, let's go."
Cheng Xiaoyan took my hand and said.
"Um."
I nodded in agreement.
I always feel that she has a lot of things hidden in her heart.
But if I really ask her, I know she won't tell me...
Simply stop thinking about it.
When I walked out of the Guanyin Tower, I saw the old monk still standing on the top floor, looking at us from afar. His cloudy pupils seemed to be flashing with some kind of Buddha light.
…
It was already noon time, and we did not leave Liuli Mountain immediately. Instead, we found a small restaurant nearby and had a quick bite to eat.
Cheng Xiaoyan still seemed to have no appetite. She moved her chopsticks a few times and then stared blankly.
I asked her to eat a little, but she shook her head and said, "Zhiyong, let me ask you a question. If a person commits a crime, what price should he pay for the consequences?"
"Well...it depends on the situation, and whether the crime he committed is serious. If it's a lighter case, he can be detained, and if it's serious, he can go to jail...if it's even more serious, he could be sentenced to death." I scratched my head and answered, not understanding why she suddenly asked this.
"What if someone dies?" Cheng Xiaoyan said.
"That depends on whether the criminal committed manslaughter or killed someone accidentally. It also depends on whether the person he killed was a good person or a bad person... However, killing someone means paying with one's life. Even if the law doesn't punish him, God will!" I said seriously.
"Will the heavens take it away..."
Cheng Xiaoyan murmured to herself, her expression revealing great fear.
Seeing her like this, I panicked a little and said tentatively, "Xiaoyan, you...you didn't kill anyone, did you?"
"I didn't!! I didn't kill anyone!!!"
Cheng Xiaoyan suddenly yelled excitedly and knocked over the bowl in front of her.
Her voice was so loud that all the diners around her who were eating looked over here curiously.
"Don't get excited, I'm just asking casually!"
I quickly calmed her down.
"I didn't kill anyone, I didn't kill anyone..."
She was still repeating these words like a madman, holding my hand tightly, choking with sobs: "Zhiyong, you believe me, right? I didn't kill anyone! I really didn't..."
"I believe you! Of course I believe you!"
I comforted her, but my heart kept sinking.
An ominous premonition came over me...
Could it be that Cheng Xiaoyan really killed someone?
Thinking of her conversation with the old monk in the Guanyin Pagoda, this speculation made me feel even more frightened.
What would I do if she really killed someone?
Call the police? No, no way! I can't just watch her go to jail.
But...human life is human life after all, not worth a damn.
What should I do?
At this moment, Cheng Xiaoyan didn't know if she was too excited, she suddenly spurted out a mouthful of blood, and fell directly to the ground, unconscious.
"Xiaoyan! Xiaoyan, what's wrong with you!?"
I was horrified and quickly helped her up, but no matter how I called her, she didn't respond.
"Is she ill? Call an ambulance!"
"I'll make the call, you guys help this guy!"
The diners nearby, as well as the boss and the waiters, all gathered around.
Soon, the ambulance arrived.
They carried Cheng Xiaoyan up on a stretcher, and I followed her into the car.
On the way, I held her hand tightly, trembling all over, and tears kept flowing.
Blame me!
If I hadn't asked that question, how could she have gotten sick?
I felt so guilty that I wanted to slap myself a few times, but now... I just hope she is safe.
As the ambulance was shaking, I kept observing Cheng Xiaoyan and inadvertently saw a dark purple patch on the back of her right hand, which seemed to be a bruise and was particularly conspicuous.
The doctor who was walking by also saw it. He grabbed Cheng Xiaoyan's hand, widened his eyes, and asked in shock: "What...what's going on?"
"What's wrong, doctor?" I asked puzzledly.
"Do you know what that is on her hand?" The doctor said with a gloomy face, "It's corpse spots!"
