Secret
"..."
Shuangjian's entire body stiffened, standing frozen in place.
Yingshi's reaction caught him completely off guard.
He had underestimated the hideousness of his injuries, carelessly presenting them before Yingshi's eyes, to the point of frightening her...
Her tears soaked through the clothes on his chest. That unique, damp heat seemed to pierce through his flesh as well, flooding into his limbs and bones.
It was different—although it wasn't the first time Yingshi had cried in front of him, this time was different.
Thus, he too was soaked by those exceptionally different, bitter and salty tears, enveloped by something incredibly crystalline and precious. For this, he felt a sense of emptiness and awkwardness, and even a faint trace of jealousy.
He became jealous of the fake identity he had fabricated himself, and began to make hollow assumptions: If there truly was a second transmigrator from the Great Thousand World, would Yingshi also rely on, trust, be intimate with, and cherish them just as much?
Would she also think that person was wonderful, shed tears for him, and embrace him tightly?
Would Yingshi rely on that person for survival in this alternate world and pour her heart out to him?
And that person, because they were also genuine and not despised, wouldn't have to package themselves in a massive lie. They wouldn't have to struggle with inner anguish, and could openly and rightfully stay by Yingshi's side...
There clearly was no such imaginary rival, yet Shuangjian found himself somewhat unable to control his daydreams.
This imagination even began to spread; he thought of Yingshi's past life.
In that Great Thousand World, everyone was her fellow townsman.
Everyone had the opportunity to be accepted by her.
He had once heard the story of Yingshi's life before transmigration in the Marrow Cleansing Spring domain. There were many important people in her life, and each of them had genuinely participated in her journey.
He began to uncontrollably envy those people, imagining the moments they had interacted with Yingshi.
When he thought this way, it felt as if someone had violently squeezed his heart, bringing him far more agony than those superficial flesh wounds on his hands.
If Yingshi knew that he had always been the original Han Shuangjian from start to finish, and that the so-called transmigrator had never existed, she wouldn't think he was good.
Those tearful words were spoken to that non-existent transmigrator Shuangjian.
As for him...
He was merely a despicable thief eavesdropping and taking someone else's place, a liar full of falsehoods.
His dull, aching chest was suddenly bumped hard by someone. In his bewilderment, Shuangjian licked his dry lips, feeling somewhat at a loss about Yingshi bumping him with her forehead. Lowering his head, he met those moist eyes and heard Yingshi sob, "Shuangjian, wh-what's wrong with you?"
Her physiological sobbing seemed irrepressible, but her expression had become incredibly serious and earnest.
She had felt it.
Those dark emotions he couldn't help but breed in his heart earlier had already been felt by her through the transmission of the blood pact, and this was precisely the most dangerous drawback of the blood pact...
"Sorry, I..." Shuangjian subconsciously began to apologize, but his words were cut off by Yingshi.
"You shouldn't say sorry. You should say: Yingshi, I am very sad," she said through tear-blurred eyes. "Then, you could also say: Can you give me some time to process my emotions? Or: Can you stay with me through this moment of feeling down? If you're willing, you can tell me the reason you're sad. Even if you don't want to, you can say that your teenage boy thoughts are a secret, tell me that a person with no boundaries like Yingshi isn't allowed to ask so much, or say that you just suddenly remembered something sorrowful... No matter what you say, it's fine, but the only thing you shouldn't say is sorry, do you understand?"
As she spoke, her emotions seemed to surge again, and her voice cracked. With tears in her eyes, she bumped her head against his chest once more, rubbing the hair on her forehead into a messy clump. Her face was mottled with tear stains, which she haphazardly wiped away with her hand. She had completely lost any semblance of grace, yet she was as adorable and dazzling as the bright moon.
"..."
Shuangjian's heart pounded violently in panic. He wanted to wipe away Yingshi's tears and tell her not to cry, wanted to gently pat her back and smooth out her furrowed brows, yet he didn't dare touch her with these scar-covered hands.
He tried hard to restrain the surging tide in his heart and opened his mouth, but before he could speak, Yingshi quickly reached out and covered his mouth.
"You are not allowed to say sorry!" she repeated solemnly with red eyes. "You cannot look down on yourself so lightly..."
Shuangjian's eyes flickered slightly.
Yingshi's palm was warm, still stained with the tears she had wiped away, resting faintly against his lips.
As he slightly parted his lips, the residual tears brushed against them.
Driven by some inexplicable impulse, Shuangjian licked them away. The bitter saltiness tasted on the tip of his tongue began to sink, burning deep into his heart and lungs, transforming into a silky rain.
The lines of rain battered his heart and lungs, prying open his throat, allowing him to speak with difficulty amidst indescribable, unfamiliar emotions: "Just now... what I wanted to say was... I am indeed sad, but... for now, that is a secret."
After he began to speak, Yingshi let go of her hand.
He spoke very slowly, the utterance of each word accompanied by boundless obstacles, but she never showed the slightest impatience, always waiting silently and listening earnestly.
After listening, she asked, "Then, one day in the future, will you tell me this secret?"
"...Maybe I will."
Maybe he would.
On the day when the lie no longer needed to be maintained.
Yingshi then smiled through her tears. "Isn't that fine then? Besides, even if you don't tell me, it doesn't matter! Everyone has secrets; whether to share them or not is entirely up to the individual."
...But his secret was not merely personal; it was tangibly related to her.
Shuangjian looked at Yingshi quietly, then curled his lips into a forced smile.
He hoped more desperately than anyone else for that day to arrive, yet he also knew that its arrival would inevitably be accompanied by a destructiveness he currently could not bear.
"Actually, I wanted to say this earlier, but the atmosphere wasn't quite right... Right now, we are in a great position to consolidate the blood pact," Yingshi changed the subject, feigning cheerfulness. "I just happened to shed tears, and you just happened to be injured..."
The overwhelmingly immense sense of inferiority and bitterness she had just experienced had almost frightened her. In her sunny and brief life, she had rarely encountered such emotions, to the point where it was difficult for her to accurately identify them.
Perhaps Shuangjian had been through terrible things—this was obvious; his life was one filled with suffering.
Therefore, her words had inadvertently caused him to recall those gloomy moments, so much so that even though he was clearly so sad, he still tried hard to act as if nothing was wrong on the surface, and even clumsily and carefully tried to comfort her.
She had to quickly let this matter pass and not allow the dark clouds of sorrow to continue shrouding this place!
If she were happier herself, maybe Shuangjian would be able to feel a bit of it too?
"Let's deepen the pact right now!" she proposed, blinking her eyes.
The feeling during the formation of the pact was truly comfortable; her body, mind, and soul were all filled with joy. It would definitely be able to offset Shuangjian's sadness!
Shuangjian had already quietly swallowed a teardrop belonging to the person in front of him, which indeed satisfied half of the prerequisite conditions, but he still shook his head and whispered, A little later.
Because the moment the effect of the blood pact was strengthened, Yingshi would display the same intimacy toward him as she had that day in the cave.
He was naturally more than happy to accept it, but that scene shouldn't be witnessed by uninvited guests.
Someone is already here, he said.
The moment Shuangjian's voice fell, Yingshi also heard the sound of footsteps.
Originally, in the huge courtyard, the doors of the rows of houses were kept tightly shut. Some people might not have realized it was dawn, while others who did realize it were too vigilant to move.
Even if they heard a loud crash, the time that sound echoed was too vague. They didn't dare to investigate rashly. Everyone was waiting for greater guidance, waiting to hear the movements of others going out to explore before choosing to follow the crowd.
So at this moment, the disciples led by Duan Qinghe appeared outside the door, showing up as a large group all at once.
... Standing at the forefront, Duan Qinghe looked inside through the open door with a complex expression. After seeing the collapsed wall and the appearance of Yingshi and Shuangjian, his gaze drifted as he said, Ahem... There seemed to be a loud noise at dawn. Did you two hear it?
Wasn't this asking a question when he already knew the answer?
Yingshi had hurriedly returned to the bed to put the Unsullied Stone on her person before people rushed over. At this moment, Shuangjian was standing in front of the door, blocking her.
She quickly shifted sideways and poked her head out, replying, It's just the wall of our room collapsing. There's no need to wonder.
Duan Qinghe didn't say anything, but someone behind him interrogated in a cold, hard tone, Why would this wall collapse? You must have done something! Aren't you going to explain clearly?
Because the two of us wanted to live together and wanted to break through the rooms to make a double room, but the operation just failed. Is that not allowed? Yingshi said in an equally exasperated tone.
That person choked for a moment, but still frowned and said, Let us go in and take a look! Who knows if there's something fishy going on. Last night...
Hehe, everyone, please be patient. A smiling, soothing voice came from the very back of the crowd.
Everyone spontaneously parted, looking at the old monk who had abruptly appeared there, feeling extremely horrified in their hearts.
Yingshi was also startled. She had just seen this old monk not long ago during the night. He had even disappeared in the blink of an eye after Shuangjian broke the wall, and the sense of weirdness emanating from him was almost overflowing.
But there seemed to be a subtle difference between the old monk seen during the day and the one seen at night. She couldn't quite describe it. At this moment, she could only silently raise her guard and cautiously observe this NPC.
The old monk had no intention of stepping forward. He stood where he was, pressed his palms together, and said, Amitabha. Fifty-five stonemasons, seventeen painters, one chanting monk... No one is greedy for sleep, all gathered here. Good, good. Did everyone rest well?
All gathered here?
Everyone present looked at each other in dismay.
Yet surprisingly, not a single person opened their mouth to ask the old monk a question.
If it had been yesterday, someone would have long asked: There are clearly twenty-eight people not here, how can you say everyone is gathered? Could it be that those people have already been eliminated?
But now, the crowd merely exchanged glances and stared at the old monk, maintaining their silence.
Seeing this scene, Yingshi understood a bit in her heart. She figured quite a few people must have seen the old monk last night, right?
Time is limited. Since you have all arrived before the Buddha, you should return to your respective positions to cleanse your sins and establish merit, the old monk continued. Painters, please move to the painting workshop in the east wing, grind the merit ink in your hands, and trace the golden image... Stonemasons, please move to the stone platforms in the west courtyard, polish the Unsullied Stones in your hands, and repair the Dharma body.
...
No one moved.
The old monk raised his eyelids, and his white eyebrows, which reached his chest, trembled slightly.
In the stalemate, only a crack was heard.
An incredibly clear sound of shattering came from above everyone's heads.
In the center of the courtyard, at the joint between the giant Buddha's arm and shoulder, a deep crack that already existed was visibly deepening.
The Buddha's hand is going to break! someone finally cried out in alarm.
This warning came only one second in advance. The next second, the completely severed Buddha hand crashed down, smashing onto the bluestone slabs of the courtyard, instantly shattering into pieces and turning into countless splattering broken stones.
The giant Buddha had lost both its arms,
Chunri
appearing even more dilapidated and ominous...
The old monk stood quietly in place, his monk robe spotless. He sighed, The Dharma image is collapsing. Craftsmen absolutely cannot sit back and ignore it... The day is short, and the evening bell is ruthless. Everyone, please do your duty and do not waste time.
This time, someone finally moved.
Regardless of what reason they had to no longer trust this old monk, they all knew that the established rules would not change, such as the stone tablet they saw upon first entering the temple.
If it said they needed to repair the Buddha statue, then they really had to repair it. Perhaps the old monk during the day was a normal guide...
The Buddha statue is still cracking... Let's go, everyone hurry to the stone platforms! A stonemason took the lead and rushed toward the west courtyard.
What about the painters? Painters, keep up!
Seeing Shuangjian frowning and standing in place, seemingly wanting to go to the stone platforms with her, Yingshi hurriedly gave him a push. You hurry over too, don't worry about me!
Shuangjian turned his head to look at her a couple of times and quickly said, Be careful in everything. Then he still didn't leave, as if wanting to watch her leave first.
Mhm, I will improvise!
Yingshi gently squeezed his hand, turned around, and ran after the main group.
Arriving outside the west courtyard, she stopped, holding the heavy Unsullied Stone in her hand, and turned her head to glance at the giant Buddha in the center of the courtyard that had lost its hands.
Her duty as a wandering soul ran contrary to this repair work...
What should she do in a little while?
Yingshi silently calculated in her heart. If she wanted to cause sabotage, it would not be easy to do so right under everyone's noses. But after truly walking into the west courtyard and seeing the so-called stone platforms, she realized that her deliberation was actually quite unnecessary.
The stone platforms were independent.
Like individual cubicles, each person had an independent, narrow space. And in that space, there was a stone exactly the same as the Unsullied Stone, but with a dull color.
Not only did this place not provide the disciples with an opportunity for mutual supervision, but it even had fakes prepared for fishing in troubled waters!
