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墨書 Inktalez
Ascending to immortality or descending into hell is merely a thought away.
The wall is carved with the myriad forms of hell! I never expected that the Heart Immortal Path, dedicated to Buddha, would also depict the paintings of hell. One side shows the Buddha of the heavenly realm, while the other reveals the demons of hell, two extremes surrounding the statue. The artist, or rather, the person residing in this temple, seems unconcerned with details, or perhaps they view worldly matters with indifference, treating humans, Buddhas, and demons as equals.
Kindness and malice coexist.
I seem to have gained a new understanding and elevation in my state of mind; all things in the world are inherently equal. What difference does it make whether something is good or evil? For oneself, that which aligns with one's interests is good! What does not align is evil!
Gazing at the Hell of Asura before me—desolation, despair, suffering!
With a bitter smile, just as I was about to turn away, images suddenly appeared before my eyes. In confusion, I saw a smaller version of myself—innocent and carefree at that time, ignorant and fearless. I would play tricks during class and get into small fights with classmates after school; when teachers complained, I would return home to be scolded by my father.
Scenes I seemed to have long forgotten unfolded one after another. Having never seen my mother since childhood, I gradually stopped thinking about her as I grew up. Yet seeing how Uncle and Aunt cared for Xiao Yu made me wonder why there was still a lingering expectation in my heart.
Thus, I envied Xiao Yu particularly and enjoyed playing with her. My father's strictness, Uncle's kindness, Second Uncle's charm—thinking of them gradually filled the emptiness in my heart, causing me to involuntarily smile.
However, the scene abruptly shifted.
Father, Uncle, Aunt, Xiao Yu… one by one they disappeared. Loneliness surged like a flood; from then on, only I remained in this world.
Words cannot describe the pain within; it felt as if my heart was being squeezed tight, making it hard to breathe. It wasn't until a chill touched my face that I realized my eyes had unknowingly become wet!
Wiping away my tears, I scoffed; how could I have accidentally fallen into this small illusion? I am no longer that weak person from before! I am Feng Zi! I am one of the founders of The League of Shadows! I am not a weakling! I will take revenge!
Casting one last cold glance at the painting of hell, I turned around to find everyone staring blankly at the mural on the wall. Some were crying out loud while others appeared dazed; some even showed expressions of pain.
Beside me, for the first time I saw Lime's face reveal terror; his eyes were moist, his complexion pale and even breaking into a cold sweat! I could clearly sense his emotions—guilt! Pain! Despair!
I truly cannot imagine what kind of ordeal Lime has faced; that kind of pain and despair nearly consumed him. Standing helplessly by his side, I realized that this illusion was something others could not help him escape from; he could only rely on his own willpower to break free. The images on the wall possess a special kind of magic that can evoke each person's deepest pain—the pain they most wish to forget—and amplify it infinitely! Again and again!
Over by Rophie, she was staring at "the person," her expression blank as she tightly closed her mouth. Clearly wanting to scream out loud but forcing herself to stay silent—I did not know what she had seen and could only silently sigh.
Leaning against the pillar, I quietly closed my eyes, intending to wait for them to wake up one by one, but unexpectedly, I fell asleep. When I woke up, it was already bright outside, and everyone else was still lying on the ground asleep.
As soon as I stood up, perhaps making a little noise, Xianxian woke up, along with Lime, Fu Song, and Qin Ge.
We exchanged glances but did not mention what happened last night.
...
After a moment, others began to wake up one after another.
"Strange, given the level of neglect here, there should be someone who comes to clean regularly, but I wonder who that might be," Xianxian said as she looked around at the surroundings.
"Only those who come to pay respects would occasionally come to clean," Tongqi replied dismissively.
Saying it casually, yet it struck a chord with me. Suddenly, an idea crossed my mind; perhaps it was a professional habit. Why do I feel like this Mountain Temple is actually a tomb!?
Especially the murals—where else would you find a temple with paintings carved on all four walls? Moreover, they depict scenes from the three different Realms; it seems more like a technique found inside a tomb. But how could a perfectly good temple possibly be a tomb? I couldn't help but laugh at my own thoughts. After all, having just become a Tomb Raider, my mind is constantly on tombs!
"That makes sense; I also think it looks like a tomb!" Wang Yi said as he looked around.
Xiao Xiao shrugged. "No matter how you look at it, it's still a Mountain Temple. How could it possibly be a tomb? Since there's no one here, let's take a look for a while and then head back; I'm starving!"
"Alright, I'll stay with you for a bit before we go back!" Tongqi immediately agreed with Xiao Xiao.
"Looks like we won't be able to go back today," Fu Song suddenly spoke up.
Everyone turned to him as he pointed to the sky and said, "The weather doesn't look good; if nothing unexpected happens, it's going to rain."
"Let's hurry up and play before it rains," Sun Lan and Li Hui joined Xiao Xiao's group. The four of them then ran off in different directions to explore.
Sure enough, not long after, the sky began to darken, and then heavy rain poured down in torrents. The raindrops hit the ground like beads and soon formed small puddles as if trying to wash the world clean.
We huddled behind the Buddha statue, the door tightly shut. Despite this, the weather was still cold enough to make us shiver, and the worst part was that we had run out of food; everyone's stomachs were growling. However, the only thing to be thankful for was that this shabby Mountain Temple didn't leak! After all, modern shoddy construction can't compare; this Mountain Temple has been around for hundreds of years and hasn't leaked a drop, which is nothing short of a miracle!
Thunder rumbled and lightning flashed as heavy rain poured down. I couldn't help but sweat nervously; if we got soaked on the way down, we might not freeze to death, but we'd definitely catch a cold! It seemed we would have to go hungry for a while or even a whole day before we could descend.
By the time the heavy rain stopped, it was already late evening. Cui Ming went out to check the road and returned with a face full of disappointment: "It's really treacherous; there's no way down."
"In the future, when I go hiking, I'm bringing nothing but food! A big bag full!" Xiao Xiao said as she leaned on Tong Qi's leg, looking determined.
"Sounds good," Tong Qi said, affectionately patting her head.
While those two were showing their affection, we remained still and unusually quiet.
The waiting time is always the most agonizing; people inevitably become restless. Sure enough, an argument broke out over there, and soon fists were flying.
"I've never liked you anyway. What are you going to do about it? Go back and complain? You dog, always reporting!" Wang Yi shouted, his face red with anger as he pointed at a black man.
The man in black was one of Qin Ge's subordinates and was now equally furious as he pointed back at Wang Yi: "What the hell did you say? You're not even as good as a dog!"
"Say that again, and I'll tear your mouth off!" With that, the two started fighting. Those who had been trying to mediate quickly became involved in the brawl themselves. It wasn't easy to hold back until now; as long as no one got seriously hurt, let them fight it out for a bit—eventually, they would tire themselves out.
It wasn't until the leaders Xianxian and Qin Ge also joined in that I could no longer sit still. I stood up to intervene: "You guys have had enough! Aren't you tired yet? Once you've exhausted yourselves, just wait for your doom!"
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