books44 Chapter 146 If Life Could Only Be Like Our First Meeting (5)
Chapter 146 If Life Could Only Be Like Our First Meeting (5)
In the center of the crowd of "people" stood a large furnace. At the forefront of the crowd, a row of little ghosts, each with their own three souls and seven spirits, knelt. These little ghosts were probably originally human souls living in the market, accumulating merit and waiting to be reincarnated. They had committed some unknown crime and were thus captured by the underworld officials and punished in public.
The "magma" churning in the great furnace is not molten iron, but rather the melted souls.
Yes, the raw material for the "fireworks" is the souls of these criminals.
Mei Shiyu saw that the ghost messenger in charge of melting souls randomly grabbed a soul from a row of "sinners" and tore its three souls and seven spirits apart, just like tearing a living person into strips of meat and throwing them into the large furnace.
Instantly, accompanied by towering flames rising into the sky, the soul let out a mournful cry that wailed the heavens and the earth; one can imagine the extent of its suffering!
The louder his screams, the more fiercely the flames burned, and the more the crowd cheered. Soon, his screams were drowned out by the rising waves of applause.
The soul is the most fragile thing. The three souls and seven spirits are originally one, and even if severely injured, they will not easily separate; they will only be destroyed together. If they are torn apart by external forces, it is more terrifying than being cut into a thousand pieces or any kind of extreme torture. The pain of the soul and spirits being separated is unbearable for ordinary people.
Normally, after the soul is torn apart, there is only one way out: the soul is scattered and death is inevitable. Moreover, most of them die from the excruciating pain—unable to bear the torment of living a life worse than death, they choose to dissipate and end their lives, thus ending everything.
As Mei Shiyu watched helplessly as a group of people died so tragically, the magnificent fireworks he had just witnessed instantly turned into a crimson blur in his mind.
That wasn't enough. After killing the "sinners," the underworld messengers still felt that the soul fire in the furnace wasn't burning bright enough. So, they turned their evil claws to the crowd of onlookers who had gathered around them!
The underworld messenger randomly grabbed a soul from the "crowd," roughly tore it into pieces, and threw it into the large furnace. Another ghost messenger fanned the flames, making the furnace glow red-hot.
After that, someone scooped a spoonful of the viscous, molten soul liquid from the furnace, splashed it into the air, and sprinkled it onto the willow trees, illuminating half the sky above the market with a magnificent burst of "fireworks"...
It also illuminated half of Mei Shiyu's slightly pale face.
Innocent souls were thrown into the furnace, but the onlookers saw nothing wrong with it. The frenzied cheers continued unabated, as if they were possessed. The "lively" atmosphere became increasingly distorted and evil. They reveled in killing and cheered for the mutual slaughter of their own kind.
Li Tingyun noticed Mei Shiyu's unease and put him down. "See? That's it."
Mei Shiyu was filled with doubt and suspicion, leaning half of his body against Li Tingyun's chest. He didn't care about such trivial matters. He was truly shocked by the excessive fanaticism and infighting. People eating people and ghosts killing ghosts would be nothing short of a "living sacrifice" if this happened in the human world.
Li Tingyun said, "The border town was originally called 'City of the Wrongfully Dead,' built to house the souls of the dead who lingered on the path of reincarnation. Although it was later renamed 'border town,' a ghost town is still a ghost town. No matter how lively it is, the atmosphere is still cold. The 'liveliness' here is definitely not the kind you want to see."
“Immortal Mei, if you can’t accept the fact that this place is full of slaughter and persecution, then all the temple fairs, lantern festivals, and folk performances in the market will be unpleasant for you. But what place is without killing and ugliness? Don’t the horrific scenes of ‘cannibalism’ often occur in the human world? Doesn’t the cultivation world also have its own shady and unspeakable places?”
"In the end, the human world, the immortal realm, and hell may seem different, but they are all molded into the same space and run on the same set of laws. It is a place of heaven, but it is also a place of hell. No matter where you are, it is a world of survival of the fittest, where the winner takes all and the loser is condemned, where people of the same kind fight each other, and blood is shed. If you want to cultivate immortality, you must first become a human. After a person dies, he or she becomes a ghost. Humans, immortals, gods, ghosts, demons, and monsters may have different names, but they are all the same in reality."
"Human hearts are inherently ugly, and human nature is inherently evil. As long as human hearts remain unchanged and human nature remains unchanged, there is no difference between heaven and hell."
Mei Shiyu suddenly grabbed Li Tingyun's arm, raised her head, looked him straight in the eyes, and argued with him: "No, there is a difference! There must be a difference. The key is how you view this world."
"As long as you have good in your heart, even if you see a lot of ugliness, it will eventually lead you towards good and kindness. But if you have ugliness in your heart, even if you see a lot of beauty, it will not change your stubbornness, arrogance, and preconceived notions."
"Some people can maintain the beauty in their hearts even after experiencing the ugliness of the world, while others only see the ugly side of the world and give up all the beauty in their hearts. That is the difference! People should always live in hope. Even if the body cannot reach it, the heart should yearn for it. As long as you can do this, you can be content with whatever comes your way."
True strength is not about turning one's hand to make clouds or rain, nor is it about indiscriminate slaughter or ruthless killing. Some people, precisely because their hearts are not strong enough, choose to indulge themselves in their struggle against fate! If one's heart is resilient enough, then no matter what setbacks and defeats one experiences, one will not stray from one's path!
After hearing his words, Li Tingyun chuckled softly, "Good, well said. Indeed, it's easy to talk when you're standing up."
He said calmly, "Immortal Mei, then please answer another question for me: Why is fate always unfair? Why do some people see so much good in the world, while others have to experience so much evil? Why does the rope always break at its thinnest point? Why does misfortune always find those who are destined to suffer?"
Mei Shiyu retorted, "Li Tingyun, do you believe in fate?!"
Unexpectedly, Li Tingyun said, "I believe you."
Mei Shiyu fell silent. The two were standing beside a street stall when suddenly, he noticed a rustling sound and abruptly turned his head—
The vendor standing behind the stall, having just finished collecting his melon seeds, chuckled and said, "You two debated brilliantly, wonderfully, and absolutely brilliantly! I agree with both sides wholeheartedly, without favoring either side, hahaha, hahahahaha..."
Although the two of them kept referring to each other as "Immortal Mei" and "Li Tingyun," the street vendors making a living in the bustling city had never heard of these names before and had no idea which one was which.
He was just watching people arguing, nothing more.
Li Tingyun's gaze turned cold. As soon as he raised his hand, Mei Shiyu pressed him down. Seeing that things were not going well, the vendor hurriedly packed up his stall and prepared to run away. But Mei Shiyu said, "Wait, you stay here. We'll leave. We're sorry for blocking your business."
The vendor's eyes darted around, but he calmly set up his stall again. "Hey, you two gentlemen, don't be in such a hurry to leave. When did you ever block my business? The fact that you've lingered in front of my little street stall for so long is the greatest favor you can do for me! Why don't you take a look and see if there's anything you want on my stall..."
Li Tingyun asked, "Give it to me for free?"
The vendor coughed and said, "Small business, no credit, free delivery? Don't even think about it."
Li Tingyun said, "Didn't you say that my standing here is giving you face? It's easy to invite a god but hard to send him away. I've given you such a big face, so you have to give me a few things to get rid of me, right?"
Seeing that he was still arguing, the vendor lost his temper and said, "I was just being polite to you, why can't you understand?! Give me a gift, give me a gift, what are you giving me? I'm not giving you a free lunch! There's no such thing as a free lunch, young man, don't be so arrogant."
Mei Shiyu tugged at Li Tingyun's sleeve and sighed, "What they said isn't wrong. Why are you arguing? Aren't you just looking for trouble? Young man, don't be so hot-tempered. Alright, alright, let's sit down over there."
Li Tingyun was indeed "hot-tempered," but Mei Shiyu's gentle persuasion made him lose his temper. The vendor kindly offered them a long bench for them to rest, and then took out some melon seeds, spitting out the shells as he spoke:
"I was listening to you guys talking about fate and luck, and I'd like to say something too. Actually, most people in this world believe in fate; they'd rather believe it exists than not."
Li Tingyun said "Shut up," but Mei Shiyu asked with great interest, "So, in your opinion, is it better to believe in fate or not?"
The vendor said, "I can't really explain it, but I think that people who don't believe in fate are either arrogant or naive. The older a person gets, the more they believe in fate."
Li Tingyun thought the two of them were incredibly boring. He noticed a willow branch lying on the ground and picked it up.
The dazzling display of light had knocked down many willow leaves and branches. The branch that Li Tingyun picked up was particularly slender and beautiful, with lush green leaves. He plucked them all off one by one, just to amuse himself... Well, he was even more bored.
The vendor was chatting enthusiastically with Mei Shiyu, revealing all his secrets. He said, "Take me for example. In my life, I wasn't a big shot. I was just an ordinary citizen. One year, the emperor was undertaking a large-scale construction project, and I was conscripted as a laborer to quarry stone. Suddenly one day, an accident happened, and I was crushed to death by a stone."
“Not only did I die, but many others who worked in the quarry like me also died. But I knew without a doubt that the emperor’s palace was completed and the emperor himself moved in. You see, the builders couldn’t live in the houses; that’s fate. The emperor’s fate is definitely different from that of ordinary people.”
"Not only are their lives different in life, but their lives after death are also different. After kings, generals, talented men and beautiful women die, people will invite Taoist priests to perform grand rituals to help their souls pass on. As long as they did not commit too many sins in life, they can be reincarnated and reborn as humans very quickly after death."
"But someone like me, a lowly commoner, died so casually, and in such a gruesome way. As soon as my soul drifted into the underworld, I was banished to the City of the Wrongfully Dead. I had to accumulate merit bit by bit to 'exorcise' myself."
The vendor asked, "Isn't it just that everyone has their own destiny?"
Mei Shiyu said softly, "Yes, you're right."
The vendor continued, "Even the emperor has his own fate. As far as I know, this emperor who embarked on massive construction projects didn't sit securely on the throne; his fate is quite lamentable. In the beginning..."
Initially, this emperor was a diligent ruler, and the country was well-governed by him.
However, it is easy to start well, but difficult to finish well.
Gradually, he began to decline, neglecting state affairs, indulging in pleasure, and engaging in large-scale construction projects that wasted resources and manpower.
Later, someone rebelled against him. The rebel was none other than his own younger brother, whom he had personally appointed as a prince.
Unfortunately, this prince's rebellion failed, and instead, his home was confiscated.
Rumors circulated that it wasn't the prince who rebelled, but rather the emperor who was overly suspicious and, when the emperor wanted his ministers dead, the ministers had no choice but to die.
At that time, everyone in the court and the public felt that the rumors must be true, because ever since the prince died unjustly, the emperor's sword had never stopped, killing many civil and military officials who had offered advice.
The court was in a state of panic, with treacherous officials in power, and the atmosphere was chaotic and corrupt.
"Hehe, why don't you guess why this emperor went from being a wise ruler to a foolish one?"
As the vendor was talking, he suddenly asked a question, to which Mei Shiyu calmly replied, "A beautiful woman is a source of trouble."
The vendor clapped his hands and said, "That's right! That's right! How did you guess so accurately?"
Mei Shiyu said, "Because historical records have always liked to write it this way: women generally do not participate in governing the country, but when the world is in chaos, there is often a woman who brings trouble and ruins things and comes out to take the blame."
The vendor smiled and said, "That seems to make sense?"
He continued, "But the monarch I know is a little different."
Although everyone said he was bewitched by a beautiful woman, causing the country to fall into chaos and war, and sounding the alarm of national demise, he ultimately committed suicide.