“Ah? Brother, you mean this is Grandpa Xu’s past life?” Song Aiguo was utterly shocked.
“Not the kind of past life you’re imagining; it’s the life of ‘Xu Lin’ from another spacetime,” Song Huaiyan explained. “His soul crossed over to this world after his death and became the ‘Xu Lin’ here.”
“Ah?? What do you mean, time travel? Is such a thing actually real?” Song Aiguo dropped his jaw in disbelief.
“You can already see ghosts, so is time travel really that bizarre?” Song Huaiyan gave him a light smack on the head. “The world we inhabit is merely one among three thousand realms. A thousand single worlds are called a small chiliocosm, a thousand small chiliocosms are called a medium chiliocosm, and a thousand medium chiliocosms are called a great chiliocosm. Combining small, medium, and great chiliocosms, they are collectively referred to as the Three Thousand Great Chiliocosms—which is the realm of a Buddha’s transformation. The three thousand worlds are all distinct; if people from two different worlds die at the exact same moment, their souls may cross over.”
Although Song Aiguo had read plenty of transmigration web novels, hearing Song Huaiyan popularize this knowledge with such absolute solemnity still made him feel like his worldview was taking a heavy blow.
Rubbing his cheek while struggling to digest the information, Song Huaiyan quietly observed Shen Yu’s reaction. The hitherto silent Shen Yu spoke up at this moment: “Do the body and soul cross over together?”
Pondering for a moment, Song Huaiyan replied, “Generally no. Rifts in spacetime tear apart all physical forms, and soul transmigration also requires certain catalysts, whereas physical bodies will mostly be reduced to ashes.”
“So it’s only soul transmigration and not physical crossing?” Song Aiguo chimed in. “Most novels I’ve read feature soul transmigration since it’s more convenient. For physical crossing, authors have to cobble together legends about things like the Seven Stars alignment…”
While the group was chatting casually, the scene within the Samsara Realm shifted once more.
Lin Ji sat in the courtyard basking in the sun, his eyes bound by a white cloth strip. Though he had previously worn a ghost mask, losing an eye made his facial features far too distinct and recognizable, so when they had taken lodging with this farming family earlier, Xu Yun had claimed he was escorting his elder brother to seek treatment for an eye affliction. Because his brother was weak and had caught a chill, they needed to rest for a few days before setting off.
“Uncle, chestnuts! Mama roasted them,” a seven- or eight-year-old little boy ran over to him, holding a lapful of warm roasted chestnuts in his clothes. “Eat!”
Feeling his way blindly, Lin Ji picked up two of them and flashed a grin at the boy. “Thank you, little Ah-Sheng.”
“Uncle gave Ah-Sheng candy, I like it!” The little boy named Ah-Sheng grinned from ear to ear, scratched his head, sat cross-legged on the ground, and busied himself peeling chestnuts to eat.
Anyone with eyes could see that while the child was fair and cute, his cognitive faculties were somewhat impaired.
“That’s the candy your Uncle Xu bought—are you giving him chestnuts in return?” Rolling the two chestnuts between his fingers, Lin Ji asked with a smiling expression.
Ah-Sheng raised his head, his little face scrunching up in distaste: “Uncle Xu is fierce, don’t like him.”
Laughing with growing amusement, Lin Ji called out toward the courtyard gate: “Looks like Young Hero Xu isn’t going to get to taste these chestnuts!”
Taking this as their cue to watch, Song Huaiyan and the others looked over to see that Xu Yun seemingly had been standing there for quite some time.
Carrying medicine, Xu Yun walked over with a handful of hard sugar candies held in his other hand.
Lin Ji frowned at the scent of the medicine. Noting his aversion, Xu Yun said in a soothing voice: “Good medicine is bitter to the taste have a piece of candy after you finish drinking it.”
“Is it only through first tasting bitterness that sweetness can follow?” Blindfolded, Lin Ji tilted his head slightly. “Yet, no matter how much candy one eats, the bitter parts can never be turned sweet.”
Opening his mouth, Xu Yun’s voice turned hoarse and strained: “I’m sorry…”
“Why is Young Hero Xu apologizing to me?” Lin Ji’s brows arched slightly. “You stabbed me with a sword, and I slashed you twice with a knife. All things considered, I’m the one who profited.”
“I…” Xu Yun trailed off, leaving his words unfinished.
“Such a dull person are you, Young Hero Xu, no wonder people don’t like you.” Familiar with the layout, Lin Ji reached out and snatched the hard candy straight from his hand. “Besides, candies like these can’t coax anyone.”
Turning to the child, he asked: “Little Ah-Sheng, what do you like to eat the most?”
Busy peeling a chestnut, Ah-Sheng answered without a second thought: “Tanghulu (candied fruit skewers on a stick).”
Lifting his head, Lin Ji raised two fingers toward Xu Yun: “Two sticks.”
Stunned for a moment, the corners of Xu Yun’s mouth lifted gently, revealing a rare, genuine smile.
Nodding in agreement, he stepped out the door. As the surrounding scenery shifted, Xu Yun reappeared holding two sticks of tanghulu, hurrying back to the small courtyard with rapid strides.
Pushing open the door, the scene before him made him freeze dead in his tracks: Auntie Li and Uncle Zhang lay sprawled in pools of blood, while Ah-Sheng sat on the ground looking both terrified and bewildered.
Holding a long sword, Lin Ji stood off to one side.
“What are you doing?!” Xu Yun’s eyes widened in sheer, unadulterated disbelief.
“Killing people…” Turning around, Lin Ji tilted his head and smiled. “Hasn’t Young Hero Xu seen this before?”
“Why? These past few days Auntie Li took us in and treated us with such care, they… they are such good people…” Xu Yun’s voice dropped low, sounding like a cold wind sweeping through the night. “Why did you kill them?”
“I am Ghost Face Yama, a bandit who kills without blinking an eye—do I need a reason?” Looking at Xu Yun, Lin Ji’s lips hooked into a cold sneer.
Pacing slowly forward, he came to a halt right in front of Ah-Sheng.
The two sticks of tanghulu in Xu Yun’s grip fell to the ground with a sharp clatter, his right hand instinctively reaching for the sword at his waist only to discover that his Bright Moon Sword was currently clutched in Lin Ji’s hand, beads of blood sliding down the blade’s edge to drip right beside Ah-Sheng’s feet.
Raising his head, Ah-Sheng’s large eyes brimmed full of tears.
“Uncle, scared…”
“Be a good boy.” Smiling gently at him, Lin Ji made a light, sweeping swipe with the long sword—casual and soft, just like playing games with him ordinarily—slicing right through that delicate, tender throat.
“You don’t have to be scared anymore,” he said softly.
“Lin Ji!!” Veins bulging in his eyes, Xu Yun lunged forward to catch Ah-Sheng, but it was already too late; the child had breathed his last on the spot, his dark eyes staring wide open, his tiny hand still clutching a piece of candy tightly.
“Have you lost your mind?! Why? Why did you have to kill them…” His voice turned hoarse, sounding like weeping blood. “Why… why couldn’t you even spare Ah-Sheng?”
“A family being together and complete—isn’t that a good thing?” A smile remained permanently hung on his lips. “Now that all their family members are dead, leaving a simpleton to live alone in this world facing whatever comes next isn’t that far too cruel? Killing him was actually a release.”
Having said that, as though discarding a dirty rag, he casually tossed away the sword in his hand.
“Well then, is Hero Xu going to bring me to justice yourself, or wait for the government soldiers to come arrest me and bring me to trial?”
“No… it shouldn’t be like this…” Sorrow filled Xu Yun’s eyes, yet he didn’t dare look at him. A sudden thought striking him, he lifted his head in shock.
“They… found out who you are, didn’t they? I saw wanted posters pasted all over the city… did Auntie Li report you to the authorities?”
Without confirming or denying it, Lin Ji simply stated: “The government soldiers will be here very soon.”
“We can leave! I’ll protect you as we leave! Lin Ji… why, why did you have to do this…” Stooping down, Xu Yun slowly picked up the sword from the ground. “Why… won’t you trust me…”
Standing there, he swayed on his feet as though he might shatter into pieces at any moment.
“Xu Yun, who on earth do you think you are?” Glarling at him, a ferocious glint flashed across Lin Ji’s eyes. “A person steeped in heinous crimes and monstrous sins deserves to sink deeper and deeper into the mire, rotting, putrefying, and stinking right alongside their wickedness! What gives you the nerve to think you can save them?”
Stepping closer step by step, Lin Ji enunciated every word: “I despise high-and-mighty, self-righteous heroes like you the most!”
Clutching the Bright Moon Sword, Xu Yun’s fingers trembled violently, a buzzing ringing in his ears.
Lin Ji’s voice seemed to echo straight out of the abyss of hell: “You are the pure breeze of the clouds, and I am the filthy mud of the mundane world. By what right?”
“Xu Yun, by what right?”
A sharp pain lanced through Xu Yun’s chest, prompting him to spew a mouthful of blood as he dropped to one half-knee on the ground, the wound on his abdomen splitting open and oozing a fresh, crimson stain.
“I…” Blood welling in his throat blurred his voice. “I’m sorry…”
“Hahahaha…” Lin Ji suddenly burst into unbridled laughter, rife with madness. “Didn’t you know? I was lying to you the entire time feigning weakness on purpose, pretending to seek death on purpose, faking repentance on purpose… Trading a few half-true, heart-to-heart confessions in exchange for your trust and sympathy. Hahahaha, Hero Xu, I was dragging you down, letting your injuries worsen until you were helpless and trapped, leaving you caught between a rock and a hard place, forced to sink into the abyss of sin right alongside me!”
“How about it… do you regret it? Does it hurt? Do you have any idea what price must be paid to save someone else?” Laughing with a hoarse voice that sounded like weeping ghosts, he jeered, “You thought your righteousness and kindness could save anyone!”
With a resounding crash, the courtyard gates were smashed open as government soldiers flooded inside, swiftly surrounding the two men.
“These people all died beneath the Bright Moon Sword technique.” Facing the assembled crowd, Lin Ji repeated the exact words he had just spoken.
Brandishing blades, the bailiffs formed a tight cordon around the pair, yet not a single soul dared step closer to make an arrest.
The martial artists accompanying them inspected Auntie Li and the others’ wounds, confirming that the injuries had indeed been inflicted by the Bright Moon Sword technique.
“Hero Xu, this Bright Moon Sword technique is your unique signature move, you can’t fake it, right?” The leading bailiff questioned coldly with a severe tone. “Earlier reports claimed you rescued the bandit chieftain of the Black Cloud Stronghold in public, which we refused to believe—yet now you’re hiding together in hiding with this villain and slaughtering this farming family. How do you explain yourself?”
Half-kneeling on the ground and supporting himself with his sword, the blade tip still stained with wet blood, Xu Yun remained silent while the corpses of Auntie Li and Ah-Sheng lay right beside him.
After a moment of silence, he said slowly: “It was me… I have nothing to say.”
The surrounding bailiffs and martial artists murmured amongst themselves, alternating between shock and (sighs of mixed emotions).
“Never imagined ‘The Breeze Traveler’ Hero Xu would turn out to be such a person! To think I used to revere him so deeply…”
“Hey, I figure there might be some hidden backstory… I heard Hero Xu detests bandits the most, and for the past eight years ever since making a name for himself at seventeen, he’s continuously helped the imperial court wipe out stubborn mountain bandits. It doesn’t look like a fake act…”
“What kind of hero is he now? He’s colluding with the Black Cloud Stronghold, taking human lives like grass! A hypocritical phony wrapped in righteousness!”
“Who knows, since he confessed to it himself…”
“Since you plead guilty, submit quietly and come with us to answer for your crimes.” Taken aback by how readily he cooperated, the bailiff inspected the two men, gesturing to his subordinates with a hand sign to step forward and make the arrest.
“Wait.” Raising his head, Xu Yun said, “I have a few words left to say.”
Hesitating for a moment, the bailiff gestured for his men carrying iron chains and shackles to halt.
Slowly standing to his feet, Xu Yun gripped his sword as he stood upright. His garments fluttered without any wind, radiating a biting chill that compelled the onlookers to involuntarily take a step back.
“I know… I know you don’t believe me…” Turning around to fix his gaze squarely on Lin Ji, a thin mist veiled his reddened eyes. “It was my self-deception, thinking I could make amends, thinking I could save you…”
“But in truth, everything was already too late…”
“It’s because I arrived too late.”
Gazing at Lin Ji from afar, Xu Yun pressed a hand against his chest as though struggling to draw breath.
From start to finish, Lin Ji stood right there, watching him tumble down into the dust and ruin his reputation, watching him become the target of thousands of pointing fingers with not a single defense left to offer.
What he wanted was precisely the shared sinking of righteousness and evil into the mud.
Lowering his eyes, Xu Yun articulated each word distinctly: “I abducted Lin Ji, and I slaughtered this family. I confess… and submit to the law.”
Raising his hand, he swept the blade horizontally across his own neck just like Lin Ji had sliced through Ah-Sheng’s throat moments before making a light, effortless swipe.
Fresh blood splattered right at Lin Ji’s feet, and the Bright Moon Sword fell into the dust.