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墨書 Inktalez
In the prison, the beggar opened his eyes!
He had a dream, a very terrifying dream. He dreamed that a girl was being carried into the Temple by some people, and then they brought in some Mud, layering it onto the girl’s body. First, they covered her legs, then her torso, and finally, they applied the Mud to her neck.
The girl’s neck was beautiful, especially under the contrast of the Mud, which made it shine like fine porcelain. The beggar saw the girl’s neck heaving violently; he sensed her fear, but she could do nothing. The Mud on her legs had already dried, and those people seemed unsatisfied, so they continued to layer more Mud onto her.
Eventually, the girl gave up struggling. She looked calmly at those who were desperately applying Mud to her and smiled. However, her smile was exceptionally pale, helpless, and pitiful.
Even in the dream, the beggar felt as if he could smell the aroma of Rice Porridge. He saw a Woman approaching the girl with a Porcelain Bowl, dipping a Spoon into it lightly before bringing it to the girl’s lips and gently touching them.
The girl’s lips were very dry. The beggar heard her pleading in a low voice: “Mother, please let me have a sip. I am so hungry and thirsty.”
The Woman's hand holding the bowl trembled slightly. “Be good! Hold on a little longer; soon you won’t feel hungry or thirsty anymore.”
The girl pressed her dry lips together and asked softly, “Mother, what about my sister? Has she escaped?”
“Don’t mention your sister to me again!” The Woman also lowered her voice; the beggar could tell she was somewhat displeased.
The beggar didn’t understand why the girl called her mother while she remained silent as the girl suffered such torment. Finally, all the Mud on the girl’s neck had dried, and several men who looked like craftsmen stepped forward to carefully polish and carve it. The girl slightly closed her eyes; at this moment, she was both hungry and tired and couldn’t muster any energy to observe what these people were doing around her.
At last, the Mud was sculpted into curves identical to those of the girl’s body. No! That was originally the girl's curve; it was just covered by layer upon layer of Mud. Now they lifted the girl onto a high altar, treating her solemnly as if she were a Bodhisattva in the Temple.
Then those people dispersed, and a middle-aged man dressed in fine attire walked in. He glanced at the girl arranged on the altar and nodded in satisfaction, saying, “Not bad!”
The bowed heads of those people remained downcast; they neither voiced agreement nor dissent regarding the middle-aged man’s words.
The middle-aged man stared at the girl's face for a long time before adjusting his sleeves and stepping back two paces. Another unfamiliar man emerged from behind him with his head lowered. It was evident that he was trained in martial arts; he was stronger and more agile than most people. The beggar watched as this man jumped onto the altar and silently poured the remaining Mud over the girl's head. As the Mud flowed over her face, she opened her eyes; the beggar saw her lips move as she uttered a sound: “It’s you, Hu Da!”
Hu Da? Isn’t Hu Da that young master from the Hu Family?
The two young masters of the Hu Family came from humble beginnings; their parents named them Hu Da and Hu Er for simplicity and ease of remembrance.
As Hu Da turned around on the altar, indeed it was him from the Hu Family, though he appeared younger than before.
At that moment when Hu Da turned around, the Mud on the girl's face also became fixed in place. She stared intently at Hu Da's back with her beautiful eyes; it seemed something flowed down from her eyes.
A gust of wind rose, lifting the girl's hair that had not yet been stuck by Mud. The hair brushed against Hu Da's body before he cut it off with his knife.
The wind blew continuously, drying the mud on the girl and firmly fixing her to the altar. The people began to move again, dressing the girl in layer upon layer of clothing, then placing fruit offerings on the altar and starting to sincerely bow in worship.
The beggar was bewildered; he did not understand what these people were doing. Were they repenting for their sins, or did they truly regard the girl on the altar as a goddess? Did these murderers really expect the girl on the altar to bless them?
The beggar thought to himself, feeling his own body.
He remembered that the girl from his dream was indeed the goddess he had seen in the dilapidated temple, and the garment he had stripped away was the same one those people had put on her.
Narrowing his eyes, he walked to the window and peered through the narrow slats. The winter sunlight cast a cold white glow, and in the shadow of the death cell, the smiling goddess stood there in the ruined temple.
She said, "I know you are innocent; the person who died has nothing to do with you!"
At A Niu's home, Xing Ruyi was using her ghostly powers to look into the old woman's eyes. Through those dull, lifeless eyes, she saw a scene identical to what the beggar had witnessed in his dream. She saw that bowl of rice soup and the woman carrying it; if she wasn't mistaken, that woman was A Niu's Old Mother.
"Madam, can my mother's right eye be treated?"
"It can be treated, but it may not necessarily be cured." Xing Ruyi released her grip and continued, "Your mother's eyes must have been affected by her children. Fox Demon dares to ask, besides A Niu, did your mother have any daughters?"
Upon hearing the word "daughter," the old woman's body visibly stiffened for a moment before she gently nodded.
"Besides A Niu, I have two daughters, but they are no longer here."
The old woman spoke while her eyes turned toward the window. If she guessed correctly, the direction she was looking at was where the goddess temple was located.
"Did they get married?"
"No! They died; none of them survived." The old woman spoke coldly, but behind that coldness, Xing Ruyi could still detect some sadness.
After hesitating for a moment, she asked, "Did your two daughters die due to mud-related causes?"
The old woman froze and quickly turned her head to fix her blind gaze on Xing Ruyi, asking fiercely, "Who exactly are you? What do you know?"
"Has Mother forgotten? I am Fox Demon, selling Rouge and Face Powder at Yun Family Gathering."
"In this world, everyone has many faces; who knows if this Fox Demon is your real name or if what you are truly doing is really selling Rouge and Face Powder. I am old now; my eyes are blind. Living does not hinder others' affairs."
"Fox Demon does not understand what Mother means. What I just asked was all seen in your right eye. Otherwise, how could a newcomer like me at Yun Family Gathering ask such strange questions? Yet your reaction seems a bit excessive. Could it be that you are actually the one with two faces in this world?"
"You nonsense! What can you see in my right eye? My eyes are blind; a blind person's eyes see nothing. How can you see anything in the eyes of a blind person? A Niu, escort this lady and her servant away. We do not welcome such guests in our home!"
"If Mother does not believe the Fox Demon, then surely you will believe A Niu's words, right?" Xing Ruyi relit the candle that A Niu had just brought over and held it up in front of the old woman. "Mother, if you don't believe it, just open your eyes. Through the candle in the Fox Demon's hand, the secret hidden in your right eye will be revealed on the wall opposite us. At that time, let A Niu's eyes judge whether the Fox Demon is true or false."
The old woman looked at Xing Ruyi with suspicion for a moment, pursed her lips, and had A Niu help her adjust her position. Then she slowly opened her right eye towards the candle held by Xing Ruyi.
On the wall opposite, a faint candle shadow first appeared, then it grew larger and larger until it formed a dense black silhouette. A gust of wind blew by, causing the candle flame to flicker. When the wind stopped and she looked again, the black shadow on the wall seemed to have been blown away by that strange wind, transforming into a complete image.
The image depicted a scene where a girl from the goddess temple was being drenched in mud. In front of the girl stood a woman holding a soup bowl. From that woman's silhouette, A Niu recognized it was her Old Mother.
"Mother! This is the goddess from the goddess temple. When my mother’s eyesight was still good, I accompanied her to worship at the goddess temple more than once. I remember clearly; this is indeed the goddess from the temple. But..." A Niu looked puzzled at Xing Ruyi and then at her Old Mother again. "But... aren't all the deities in that temple made of clay? Why is there a girl standing among these clay figures? Could it be that those rumors outside are true? That what is worshipped in the goddess temple is not some celestial being but a living, breathing unfortunate soul!"
As soon as A Niu finished speaking, the old woman's emotions instantly collapsed. Leaning on her cane, she staggered forward: "What is hidden in my eyes? What is concealed within my eyes? What have you all seen... what have you all seen?"
"Mother! Tell A Niu, is that rumor true? Were you there when those people did that thing at the goddess temple?" The moment the old woman moved, the image on the wall vanished. A Niu worried that her Old Mother might fall and hurriedly stepped forward to support her, but she couldn't help but voice her inner doubts.
The old woman did not answer; she only stumbled toward the wall and cautiously stroked its surface as if caressing her children's faces. Her eyes were wide open, tears streaming down her cheeks. Eventually, all kinds of sounds emitted from her mouth merged into a heart-wrenching scream.
"My daughter! She is my daughter! My own... my own daughter!"
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