Volume 2 Rashomon of Yomi Hirasaka Chapter 7: Rotten Things
“How strange…”
Li Lin casually threw a candy ball to the edge of the cobblestone road and looked at the vague road in front of him with interest.
Compared to the idle door god stone statues on the way here, once entering the mountain fog, the stone statues became more and more numerous. Their expressions and actions became more and more like those of ordinary people, like the gestures and movements of the living and the dead.
The statues were not tied up with ropes, nor were they wearing umbrellas. They were just like ordinary people, sitting, lying, or chatting on the sides of the gravel road. Whether it was a scholar giving a speech in front with an elegant demeanor, or a peddler haggling over every penny with a cunning look, or a guard holding a whistle stick with a vigilant look, in the mist on both sides of the gravel road, the statues seemed to be living in another world.
Perhaps it was because the statues looked calm and composed that the stone path with the eternally burning lamps seemed a little dark. Although it was daytime, the dense mountain fog was still sticky, rolling and spreading around the stone path. Together with the lifelike statues, Li Lin felt like he was out of this world. The seemingly endless path and the eternally burning lamps that spread deep into the forest gave the entire path a pale blue solitude.
"Life and death, it's all a scam... Well, this is recorded..."
Looking at the two stone statues of children playing on the grass just across the gravel road, Li Lin shook his head, threw out a candy ball, and continued walking.
He did not reach out to touch the stone statues or sense anything else. For Li Lin, his perception in this regard was quite sharp. If he touched the stone statues directly, it might lead to some bad situation.
But Li Lin didn't want to go to a certain fantasy, but the fantasy took the initiative to find Li Lin. After walking along a narrow bend along the gravel road, Li Lin heard the laughter of children playing. The fog in front of him suddenly trembled and became hazy, as if something was gradually waking up. A painted boat decorated with countless red flowers glided past him silently.
"……Yeah?"
Looking at the silent picture that suddenly unfolded before his eyes, Li Lin raised his head without changing his expression and took off his hat.
"This is the real Yomi Hirasaka... or rather, the mirror image of Hirasaka... It is indeed a gorgeous hell scene with flowers blooming everywhere, just as recorded..."
The world in front of Li Lin was like a curtain that was pulled open to the left and right. Countless dark red petals fell from the sky, pierced through Li Lin's shoulders, and landed directly on the stone river, gradually flowing down along the river. The hill-like painting boat was painted with exquisite scrolls, and the holy skeletons dotted the boats gliding along the illusory river on the left and right.
The statues around seemed to be alive, walking silently, laughing and playing. The misty valley turned into a bustling city in an instant, with red and yellow lanterns arranged in rows on the valley, and the signs of various shops were bright and eye-catching. The cherry blossoms planted around the streets also swayed and bloomed like blood, swaying like flames on the riverside, and falling slowly from time to time, attracting the figures on the pleasure boats to exclaim, reaching out to pull the dark red petals, or simply passing through.
But all this was silent, like a deliberately presented reflection in a mirror.
“…”
Is the scene before my eyes real or a dream?
After taking a look at the prosperous and dreamlike magnificent scenery beside the gravel road, Li Lin continued walking on the gravel road without any second thoughts.
The silent grand scene was constantly circulating around, whether it was the colorful lights or the gorgeous lanterns, the pedestrians in their best clothes and the scarlet painted boats passing by in front of Li Lin one by one, and finally turned into a ball of foam through the human figures.
Passing through the bottom of the painted boat, along the stone path that overlapped the real and the imaginary, Li Lin crossed the river and the city. He saw those fat and big-eared wealthy businessmen holding wine glasses and big meats and eating and drinking. He also saw the cute and lovely dancers performing various operas. He also saw those wanderers holding wine jars and drinking, and he also saw the innocent children holding hands and blushing.
But everything was silent. Whether it was the running boys and girls, the hearty men drinking, or the charming dancers, everything was as silent as a mirage.
“…”
After throwing a candy ball, Li Lin walked over with a normal look, just like he had smashed a ball of illusion. Everything in front of him was a dream bubble.
Be it the solid-looking wooden buildings, the blood-stained cherry blossoms along the riverbanks, the noisy and crowded docks, or those bone ships that look a little creepy, they are all a dream that will shatter into pieces with a single collision, leaving no trace.
Only the clear sound of footsteps on the stone road reached Li Lin's ears, not even the chirping of birds, flowers and insects. Although it was not an illusion caused by drugs, the sobering device of the steam suit did not have much no effect at all.
As if realizing that this behavior was meaningless, a certain being sighed inwardly.
The world full of flowers suddenly fell into thick fog and disappeared in the blink of an eye.
As if there was some regret, a strong feeling of reluctance was forcefully stuffed into Li Lin's heart, trying to make him turn his head and take a look.
But this strong psychological suggestion was not even a distraction for Li Lin, and he continued to move forward without hesitation. After walking a few steps along the stone road that had dissipated the illusion and crossing a small stone bridge, a stone pier appeared in front of Li Lin. The words engraved on it made Li Lin raise his eyebrows in surprise.
'In front of me is a spiritual platform with a square inch of space. In the back, there is no such thing as a world.'
Wuheyoujing means an empty and illusory dream. So what is Lingtai Fangcunwu?
I continued to move forward with some expectation, until the mountain fog condensed into dewdrops on my cloak and slid to the ground, and then the seemingly endless eternal lamp vaguely came to an end.
A seemingly ordinary mountain gate lay in front of Li Lin. There was a statue on each side, but the faces were blurry and the movements were very confusing, so it was hard to tell what the statues were. Only the gate was wide open, as if to welcome Li Lin's presence, and also to welcome every traveler who arrived here.
"Excuse me."
After throwing a candy ball at the door, Li Lin responded to the two door gods and then walked into this bookshop with an unknown history.
