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墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
I shook my head, indicating that I did not know. I was unsure of Jiang Changsheng's right or wrong. My master said, "But he is still persisting." After a moment of silence, I finally expressed my thoughts, saying, "His path may not be the correct one."
My master replied, "Since you know his path is not correct, what about your own?"
I was at a loss for words. Perhaps I was not correct either. So I didn't know whether to persist in my own way or follow others.
My master asked, "Are you uncertain?"
I nodded. I truly was uncertain; at that moment, I felt like floating duckweed in my master's words, my heart unstable and drifting with the wind.
"Very well," my master said. "I have opened a path for you. Go in and take a look; perhaps you will gain something." After he spoke, he waved his hand, and a path emanating a murderous aura appeared. "You may enter."
I glanced inside and did not hesitate for long. Before entering, I wanted to reassure Zhang Xun and Nian Chen not to worry about me, but when I turned around, I found that Nian Chen and Zhang Xun were no longer there. I had already stepped into the passage filled with the scent of slaughter.
As I walked forward, the path was somewhat dark; however, after passing through this darkness, scenes of carnage unfolded before me—bodies piled high like mountains.
Suddenly, a child grabbed my hand. A knife pierced through his back, blood splattering onto my face. I wiped the blood from my face; the child had already collapsed before me as the Murderer turned to attack someone else.
I supported the child as he looked at me with a twisted expression, pain etched across his face. He asked me, "Am I going to die?"
I was speechless…
For a moment, I stood frozen. I wanted to save him, but as I reached out my hand, he turned to ash and vanished. He was dead. But isn't life and death determined by fate? Even so… even so, this must be fate's arrangement.
Conflicted within myself, I continued forward. The wretched cries echoed in my ears as people died one after another; immediately after their deaths, they turned to dust. I didn't even have a chance to save anyone.
I stood in this hellish place, staring blankly, yet feeling powerless. Life and death could change in an instant. Here, I contemplated existence and mortality, witnessing the slaughter and bloodshed, death and struggle—these endless cycles of pain.
I thought to myself that this must be wrong, surely wrong. If the Yin-Yang Ghost Path opened and such carnage ensued, I would not want that.
My original intention was to petition for the living, to eradicate Evil Spirits... Replacing them was never my goal; perhaps I was not in the wrong. Everything was still hypothetical, but what was happening before me was not what I desired.
Gradually, the scene before me began to fade, and I returned to my original place.
My master asked, "Have you seen clearly?"
I replied softly, "Yes, I have."
"And now?"
"I understand that opening the Yin-Yang Ghost Path should allow souls to pass freely after death, enabling them to continue reincarnating as humans."
My master nodded and said, "As long as you understand this."
I asked, "Is that all it takes?"
"What else would you want?"
I fell silent, replaying everything in my mind before finally saying, "I understand." My master responded that understanding was enough. "Here," he said, "I have a scroll to give you." With that, he approached me and pulled out a yellowed book from a pile of texts. It looked ordinary; both Jiang Changsheng and I had seen it before, and even now I could recite a few lines from it.
"Master, I've read this book," I said.
"You haven't read this version," he replied. As he spoke, his original spirit began to slowly dissipate and vanish. I called out for him, but he could no longer respond. I gazed in the direction where he had disappeared.
At that moment, someone suddenly tapped my shoulder. I turned to hear Nian Chen's voice. "You've been staring at this painting for a while; have you figured anything out?"
As I regained my senses, I realized that I was holding a portrait of my master in my left hand and a book in my right. Curiously, I asked Nian Chen, "Did you not see what just happened?"
Nian Chen replied, "See what? All I saw was you standing here in a daze."
A wave of confusion washed over me. Could it be that only I knew what had just transpired? Zhang Xun also wore a puzzled expression. It seemed that my conversation with the master had been heard by no one but me. Nian Chen remarked, "Fei, it seems like there's nothing here."
As soon as Nian Chen finished speaking, in the next moment, the books and the painting around us began to blur and then vanished into thin air. Both Nian Chen and Zhang Xun were stunned, and Nian Chen asked what was happening—where had the books and painting gone?
I was about to respond when someone else answered for me. "Because the books and painting were taken away by the master, right? Senior Brother."
After he spoke, we all turned to look at him and saw Jiang Changsheng walking toward us.
"Senior Brother, I didn't expect you to come here," I called out to Changsheng.
Changsheng asked me, "Senior Brother, what did the master say to you?"
I replied, "The master didn't say much; he just clarified some of my doubts."
At that moment, Zhang Xun and Nian Chen did not understand my conversation with Jiang Changsheng. Nian Chen said, "Fei, did you really talk to your master? How come I didn't know about it?"
I responded, "I'm just as curious as to why you don't know."
Jiang Changsheng said, "Doubts? Senior Brother, what other doubts could you possibly have? Can you let Changsheng help relieve your worries?"
I told Jiang Changsheng, "Sure." I laid out all my confusions; since I was seeking verification, I might as well do it openly, just like when we debated back at the sect. After I finished speaking, Jiang Changsheng immediately said, "Senior Brother, you're mistaken."
I remained silent, waiting for Jiang Changsheng to continue. He went on, "Throughout history, those who achieve great things have always replaced others; only with power can one set the rules of the game. If the ruler of the Underworld does not change, then the paths of Yin and Yang will remain unbalanced. Therefore, carve out a bloody path to ensure peace for future generations."
Jiang Changsheng's passionate voice continued, "Brother, may I ask, if the Underworld does not change its master, when can you guarantee that it will not close the path of ghosts? When will the connection between yin and yang be severed?" His questioning was firm and resolute.
I fell silent for a moment before replying, "I cannot."
Jiang Changsheng said, "Since you cannot either, we should let the Underworld change its sun and moon, rotating its master."
At that moment, Nian Chen interjected, "Then who will be the master of the Underworld? It wouldn't be you, would it?"
Jiang Changsheng replied, "Let the capable take charge."
Zhang Xun chimed in, "I fear that in your eyes, no one is stronger than you."
Jiang Changsheng glanced at Zhang Xun and said, "When did it become your turn to speak here?"
Zhang Xun retorted, "Jiang Changsheng, I admit that I was raised by you, but now I dare to say that I owe you nothing. I have spent a hundred years nurturing your schemes; don’t think I don’t know who is in that Five Coffins."
Jiang Changsheng responded, "It seems you know quite a bit?" After saying this, Jiang Changsheng swiftly approached Zhang Xun. He stared directly at Zhang Xun and asked, "Do you want anything else?"
Zhang Xun replied, "Are you planning to kill me to silence me?"
Zhang Xun and Jiang Changsheng faced off against each other. Fearing what Jiang Changsheng might do to Zhang Xun, I hurriedly stepped in to separate them. I said to Jiang Changsheng, "Changsheng, step back."
Jiang Changsheng smiled lightly and quickly retreated. However, just a few steps back, Zhang Xun suddenly let out a cry of pain. I immediately turned to look and saw that Zhang Xun's skin was visibly aging at an alarming rate.
What had once been a pale and handsome face was soon covered with a multitude of wrinkles.
I asked Zhang Xun, "What happened to you?" Then I turned to Jiang Changsheng and demanded, "What did you do to him?"
Jiang Changsheng replied calmly, "Brother, I did nothing. You said that aging and death are natural laws; he is simply following the natural order. Shouldn't someone who has lived for hundreds of years face this?"
Zhang Xun let out a painful scream. I urged Jiang Changsheng to stop, but he replied, "Are you begging me?" I attempted to use the Yin-Yang Diagram to stabilize Zhang Xun's soul, but it was futile; Zhang Xun quickly turned gray-haired before my eyes. Seeing Jiang Changsheng like this left me powerless.
Jiang Changsheng said, "If you want to save him, give me the book your master gave you."
Zhang Xun urged me not to, but I hesitated not at all. I handed the book my master had given me to Jiang Changsheng. He glanced at it and then tossed it to the ground, saying, "Chen Fei, don't fool me. We've both seen this book; how could it possibly be what your master just left for you?"
I insisted, "This is the one; I am not lying."
Zhang Xun exclaimed, "Don't give it to him! I will not die!"
Nian Chen looked at Zhang Xun and said, "Zhang Xun, hold on."
Zhang Xun replied, "Zhang Cheng and the others are dead; I'm the only one left alive. Since I chose this path, my fate is sealed. If I must die, then so be it. Perhaps if I had met Chen Fei earlier, things would have been different—just like you and White City meeting Chen Fei; your fates turned out well."
As he spoke, Zhang Xun's breath grew weaker and weaker; he was on the verge of death. He said, "Chen Fei, actually, the Fifth Person is Jiang Changsheng."
Nian Chen urged him again, "Zhang Xun, hold on."
I told Zhang Xun, "Stay strong." Suddenly, I remembered that my blood might alleviate aging effects. Without hesitation, I cut open my wrist and let my blood drip into Zhang Xun's mouth. However, in the end, it did nothing to slow his aging.
I watched helplessly as Zhang Xun died before me. My heart ached. Zhang Xun was dead... Zhang Cheng was dead... Li Qiang was dead... So many had perished...
The journey had been fraught with turmoil; how many more must die before it would end?
I confronted Jiang Changsheng, saying, "Were these people just your pawns? You never hesitate when discarding them."
Jiang Changsheng replied, "Senior brother, do you still not understand?"
"Understand what?"
"I am the one most suited to be the new master of the Underworld," Jiang Changsheng said. "I can decide who lives and who dies. I buried you in a coffin, so you didn't die."
"And what about you? Why are you sleeping in a coffin?" I asked.
Jiang Changsheng replied, "I don't need so many reasons to do things. You are part of my plan. I originally intended for my senior brother to open the Yin-Yang Ghost Path for me before dealing with him, but it seems I have to act sooner than expected."
"Just based on you?" Nian Chen scoffed.
"Of course not. There are countless souls here. I will use them to suppress him for eternity, making him suffer in darkness and solitude. Senior brother, why does your master value you? In terms of talent, skill, and cultivation, how do you compare to me? You, Chen Fei."
"Nian Chen retorted, "No matter how you look at it, I'm better than you. It's no wonder your master doesn't value you."
Jiang Changsheng sneered and then moved directly in front of Nian Chen. Nian Chen's expression changed instantly, but he showed no fear. Just as Jiang Changsheng was about to strike, I grabbed Nian Chen's hand and pulled him behind me.
"You've gone too far," I said to Jiang Changsheng.
His face was icy as his palm came crashing down. A Bagua Diagram formed in front of me, repelling Jiang Changsheng. The Bagua Diagram emitted a faint golden light, standing as a barrier between Nian Chen and me.
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