I slowly sank to the bottom of the Welcoming Moon River. In that place, there was a dark and warm cave, which was the safest and most suitable spot for deep sleep.
Perhaps I should thank the heavens for keeping the snow leopard comatose for hundreds of years. If the snow leopard had woken up hundreds of years ago, I would have chosen destruction. But now, what I think about is making amends. When Snow Leopard woke up, his first words were, "Senior Sister Bu Yu saved me!"
Our shifu told us the biggest lie. Taking us in, nurturing us, and teaching us was not for our happiness, nor to find the most suitable successor. What he wanted was only our inner cores, a cure for his son's illness, which could only be achieved by consuming 99 fully formed inner cores. We were not his disciples, just a group of pills waiting to be swallowed by someone.
Only now do I understand that Bu Yu's apology before her death was not at all to repent for her "crime" but because she failed to keep her promise - to never tell a lie.
But what I can't understand is her initial intention to deceive me.
I want to see her again. To resolve my doubts, to resolve my guilt.
The good news brought by the tree demon is that the King of Hell has recently listened to public opinion and changed the rules, giving those supernatural beings who had good intentions but died in vain with regret a chance to be reincarnated as humans. Although Bu Yu died by my sword, there is still a wisp of her spirit lingering in the Mortal Realm, and she may have the chance to be reborn. However, when and where she will be reincarnated is unknown.
There is a vast sea of people, but I have no doubt that I will find her.
Because her warmth and her smile have long been buried in my blood, inseparable. As long as she comes back into the world, I will be able to sense it immediately. After all, I am a fox who became a mountain god. I buried myself at the bottom of the river, along with all the old memories. The essence[1] separated from my body is a brand new, clean life without any memories or burdens.
I want to re-enter her life in this state. To get to know her anew, to understand her. Only then can I truly find the answers I seek, right?
I slowly closed my eyes in the pitch-black cave. My consciousness began to split, with one half wrapped in memories of the past, left at the bottom of the river; the other half carrying the hope of a new life, waiting for a summons. While half-awake and half-asleep, a voice said—
You are a clever fox, you have no past, only a future.
There's a fool who needs your protection.
Go, go…
[1] 精魄 (jīngpò): pure spirit; essence.
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