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墨書 Inktalez
Everyone has a devil residing in their heart. When this devil opens its eyes, love and familial bonds seem so fragile in the face of interests and desires.
The Old Woman chose to sacrifice her Daughter to preserve her status in her husband's eyes, to maintain her position in the family, and to protect the male child in her womb.
The Old Woman's husband chose to sacrifice his Daughter largely due to his wealth.
As for someone like Hu Da, there is probably no concept of sacrifice in his heart; there is only whether he is pleased or not. His logic is quite simple: if the master favors you, it is your fortune. If you do not cherish it and make the master look bad, he will ensure you have no place to be buried. In short, if the master cannot have a woman, no one else can either.
Having clarified the strange matter regarding the hair, a doubt that had lingered in Xing Ruyi's heart was finally unveiled. She asked A Niu to fetch some clean water and took the Old Woman with her to the Temple of the Goddess.
The Temple of the Goddess was located in a hollow not far from A Niu's home. This hollow was different from other places; all the Plants within it exhibited a dark greenish-black hue, and even the soil on the ground was blackened earth.
"Why do the trees and soil here look so different from other places?"
"They were originally the same, but over time they gradually changed," A Niu replied but did not finish. Instead, he secretly glanced at the Old Woman.
"It’s probably because my Daughter died too tragically, leaving behind too much resentment, which is why the surrounding Plants are so lifeless," the Old Woman sighed lightly. "These words are not my own; they are what people outside say. Many of those people are local villagers who participated in that incident back then. They are afraid that my Daughter will become a Vengeful Spirit and come after them. But all these years have passed, and aside from the Plants here turning black and my family being ruined, they are all living well. My eldest Daughter is kind-hearted; no matter how much grievance she suffered throughout her life, she never held grudges... I just realized after hearing your words that those people live well not because my Daughter is magnanimous, but because my Daughter is trapped in that Mud and cannot escape at all!"
"Don't worry; your Daughter will be free!" Xing Ruyi didn’t know how to respond to the Old Woman’s words; she simply patted her gently, asking A Niu to keep an eye on her while she took Li Mao into the Ruined Temple.
The Ruined Temple still bore the appearance left by beggars who had come before; a serene yet slightly eerie figure stood quietly on the altar, dressed only in half-removed undergarments as her outer garment was gone. Xing Ruyi sighed lightly and asked Li Mao to turn around while she climbed onto the altar to carefully adjust the clothing.
"Thank you!"
"You're welcome!"
"Can you hear me?"
"I came to find you, so of course I can hear what you say."
Xing Ruyi took a step back and looked around carefully. After confirming that her clothes were properly arranged without any oversight, she jumped down from the altar.
"Why did you come to find me?"
"Originally it was for a beggar who had fallen on hard times, but later it was because I heard a story—a story about you."
"My story? What story could I possibly have?"
As her words fell, a girl who looked just like a clay statue appeared in the dark corner of the Temple. She had a slight frown between her brows, yet her lips held a faint smile. The cold wind brushed against her clothes, lifting the wide sleeves. From Xing Ruyi's perspective, this girl truly seemed as if she had just descended from the heavens.
"My name is Xing Ruyi. Can you tell me your name? You wouldn't want me to call you 'Lady' like those others, would you?"
"I am not a lady; I am merely a clay statue sealed here. My name is Abby, given to me by my mother. I also have a younger sister named A Zhu. My mother always said we are like green and red, competing for beauty."
"If you are the elder sister, then logically you should be called A Zhu. Isn't there red only when there is green?"
Abby smiled, "I once asked my mother this same question. She told me that my sister and I were born one after the other. When I was born, I only cried once and then stayed quiet. My sister was different; she was quiet at first but then cried incessantly. If my parents hadn't had good tempers back then, they would have thrown that noisy sister out long ago.
I know that when they said they would throw her out, they were just joking. After all, she is their own flesh and blood; how could they bear to abandon her? Later on, when my parents named us sisters, since we were both girls, they chose the characters Zhu and Bi for easy remembrance. Originally, I should have been called A Zhu, but since I am quiet like green leaves and my sister is lively like a blooming flower who can't stay still for a moment, that's how our names were decided. I am Abby, and she is A Zhu."
"Are you two sisters very close?"
"Yes!" Abby nodded gently. "Although we don't look much alike, we are still siblings born of the same mother and grew up together. Back then, she always protected me."
"Then why didn't she save you?" Xing Ruyi gently asked.
Abby was silent for a moment before replying, "How could she have saved me? At that time, it was already a blessing that she could leave safely. If she hadn't left, there would probably be two ladies in this Temple now."
"What exactly happened in the village? Disasters are unpredictable, but man-made calamities can always be prevented. During the time you were fostered, did something happen? If it were just a disaster, the villagers wouldn't have maliciously wanted to sacrifice you sisters together."
Abby forced a bitter smile and looked up at Xing Ruyi, asking, "Is being somewhat good-looking a sin?"
Xing Ruyi understood.
"Did someone in the village want to harm you sisters?"
"It was the family we were fostered with. There's a saying in the countryside: 'The mountains are high and the Yellow Emperor is far away.' Especially in such remote places, a village chief holds supreme power in the eyes of the villagers, almost like a local emperor. My parents were concerned for us, and since our family had some distant kinship with the Village Head's House, they sent us there. But who would have thought that the Village Chief and his son would have ulterior motives? My sister and I struggled in fear, and in desperation, we ended up injuring the Village Chief's son.
The Village Chief was furious and wanted to use this to threaten us sisters. We swore we would never yield, which led to what happened next. Disasters are indeed unpredictable, but human intentions can be far more terrifying. With just one word from the Village Chief, my sister and I became the scapegoats for this disaster, and my parents—who knows what got into them—actually believed those absurd claims."
"Do you resent your parents? If they had spoken up back then, perhaps you and your sister wouldn't be in this situation now."
"Everyone's heart can be clouded by fear. Moreover, that disaster drained most people's energy and patience, instilling fear deep within them. If I said I felt no resentment at all, that would be a lie. But since so much time has passed, I've gradually come to understand that perhaps this was all my fate. By the way, among those people, there were quite a few who came to see me; they might not have intended to harm me at that time but were simply too scared and felt compelled to act as they did."
"You truly are like your mother—a kind girl."
"My mother?"
"Yes, your mother is outside. Would you like to see her?"
Abby nodded, "I haven't seen my mother in a long time. In the early years, she would often come to see me, sometimes alone, sometimes with someone else. I know she adopted a son named Niuniu, who is also a kind and honest child. He treats my mother well and is very filial."
"Your mother is blind and has difficulty walking, so it's not that she doesn't want to come; she simply can't."
"My mother's eyes..." Abby anxiously looked outside and hurried to the entrance of the Temple, only to be blinded by the sunlight and step back. "I... I can't go out... I have no way to leave this Temple."
"You don't need to go out; I'll call your mother in." Xing Ruyi signaled to Li Mao. "By the way, how did you leave that clay statue?"
Abby shook her head in confusion. "I don't know. It was probably one night a while ago when I suddenly felt restless, followed by a severe headache, so I opened my eyes to see what was happening. It was very dark, and the wind was strong. I could only see the familiar sights in the temple, but I felt an unusual unease inside me, as if something was about to happen.
Since the girl can see me, she should know that I'm not human; I'm just a wisp of a soul. I shouldn't have those human emotions or feelings anymore. But that night, I clearly felt the fear and panic that belong to humans; I could even sense the coldness and thinness of the air around me. Just when I felt as if millions of ants were crawling on me, I heard something make a sound, followed by a heavy blow on my head. When I came to my senses again, I found myself standing in that corner. I don't know what happened or how I got out; all I know is that my range of movement is limited to this Temple."
While Abby spoke, Xing Ruyi climbed up onto the altar again. This time, she wasn't looking at Abby's clothes but at her head. Since Abby was a clay statue, her height remained exactly the same as when she was alive. In terms of height, she was even slightly shorter than Xing Ruyi. At this moment, standing in front of the clay statue, Xing Ruyi merely had to tiptoe slightly to see what was happening on top of Abby's head.
On Abby's head, there was a hole—deep enough not only to break through the clay but also to pierce through Abby's physical body’s spiritual cover. Inside that hole, Xing Ruyi found a rusty iron nail. This nail wasn't one commonly used by carpenters for beams; it was an engraved Coffin Nail. It was precisely because of this nail that Abby's soul broke free from the constraints of the clay statue and escaped.
That strange feeling Abby experienced that late night wasn't without reason.
It is said that there exists a special magnetic field and connection between twins. The fear and panic must have originated from A Zhu during her ordeal and were transmitted to Abby through some special means that night. As for the victimized Zhu, she should be Abby's sister—the other daughter of Old Woman!
What exactly happened to Zhu that late night?
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