Welcome to Rewind World Game-Chapter 1483 - 132: "They Answered, the Mortal World.
Qingyu’s gaze dimmed, but Su Liujin continued to speak:
"But if one day, I get tired, can I come back to your place, sit for a while, and have a cup of milk?"
Qingyu clutched the silk handkerchief tightly, smiled, and nodded: "Yes. No matter when Brother Liu comes, I’ll always be in Chengfu Town. I’ll hang a copper wind chime under the eaves; follow the sound, and you’ll find it. My milk cake is very good, don’t forget to come back and try it."
...
Like a person walking at night, not yet seeing the moon.
Suddenly encountering the moon, seeing its light, yet unaware that it is the moon.
...
Su Liujin walked deeper and deeper.
This mortal world, he became ever more familiar with it, but the question of destruction still remained unanswered.
Because he had witnessed much that moved him, but also seen too much ugliness.
Some people rushed into a sea of fire for their children, while others would sell out their kin for wealth and glory. Some people would entertain their parents wearing festive clothes and feed their mothers with their own flesh, while others would beat their mothers to death...
Neither empty nor existent, both empty and existent. The world has always had two sides.
One day, Su Liujin passed by a storyteller’s stand.
"It was said that the Great Saint shouted at the Black Wind Demon: ’Ha! You demon, who devours human flesh and breaks human bones, today my Old Sun will make you taste the same!’ "
"Instantly, the staff shadows moved like the wind, and thunder roared. The demon was smashed to the ground by a single strike from the Great Saint’s staff. The demon was unwilling to admit defeat easily and immediately used sorcery to transform into countless shapes."
"At this moment, the Great Saint leaped into the air, flew above the demon’s head, and smashed down with his staff. The demon, caught off guard, twisted in an attempt to escape. With an angry shout, ’Demon, don’t be arrogant!’ the Golden Hoop Staff spun in the air and hit the demon’s head heavily..."
The storyteller spattered saliva as people listened with full attention. It was said that this story had been passed down since the beginning of time, telling the tale of the Great Saint subduing demons and monsters.
At this moment, Su Liujin, not knowing where the idea came from, suddenly raised his hand to grasp, mimicking the action of the Great Saint lifting his staff.
A voice in his heart shouted—Great Saint, I can become the Great Saint.
The Great Saint can judge a person’s good or bad; if they’re good, he lets them go, if bad, he strikes them down. Without scruples, free and easy.
If the World Tree requires him to determine the timing to destroy the world, and he cannot stop that moment from arriving, then can he leave the good people alone and only punish the evil ones?
Childish innocence surged in his mind, and he suddenly felt a wave of excitement in his heart, as the weight and pain he had always carried with this thought suddenly vanished into thin air.
Yes, yes... he wants to be the Great Saint, the Great Saint who saves those in suffering, who distinguishes good from evil. If he became the Great Saint, he would no longer be in pain.
Letting a naturally kind person choose destruction was wrong from the start.
He imagined himself already holding the 180,000-pound Golden Hoop Staff, and with a wave, splintered the World Tree. He imagined before him were the embodiments of the world’s ugliness, needing just one strike to leave only the good people in the world.
No, no, he’s not the Great Saint. There already is a Great Saint. He... he will be called the "Great Emperor"! Su Liujin... Great Emperor!
"...What are you looking at?" A voice came.
Su Liujin turned his head, it was a tall black-haired girl wearing a knight’s helmet, donned in heavy armor.
"I am a knight from nearby. I’ve seen you listening to the stories for a long time, seems you don’t have much work. The Royal City is recruiting, do you want to give it a try?" Qianqin smiled.
She saw his pockets were empty, without any family around, so she offered to help. Recently, the fires of war were raging, and if she could help a refugee, that would be good. If he was well-off, her offer might be embarrassing, but that didn’t matter. She kept asking, always aiming to help.
Su Liujin agreed.
Always observing, he could not see the whole picture of this world, but by engaging with new environments, he might be able to weigh the world’s good and evil.
Life in the Royal City was peaceful. Qianqin thought he was a refugee and would invite him to feast together during every festival. He sat with many people, old and young, who had all come here due to various hardships.
"I used to have people to make pastries with me, but later, they all left." During a drunken moment, Qianqin mentioned the past with a sense of melancholy.
"Where did they go?" a tall young man asked. His name was Chen Ping, an Easterner whose family had all perished under a dragon’s breath, and he came here alone seeking work.
"Perhaps they’ve gone to a place with no pain and no sorrow." Qianqin looked at Su Liujin, suddenly grinning as she propped her chin up: "Liujin, you don’t seem to like vegetables, you haven’t touched your chopsticks."
Su Liujin didn’t need to eat, only liked to indulge, saying frankly: "I like milk."
"Hahaha! Is that so!" Hearing this, the blond-haired, blue-eyed knight, Rocksha, laughed heartily, taking a few milk candies from his pocket: "You should have said earlier! My home is on the prairie; we have dozens of cows, next time come over, have all the milk you want!"
"Rocksha, after the war ends, let’s visit your home," a colleague laughed. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦
"You’re welcome, more than welcome! Just come with an empty stomach!"
"Chen Ping, you’re working so hard, something good happening lately?"
"Hehe... just want to save some money in the Royal City, there’s a girl back home I used to study with..."
"Do you have enough? Need a brother to lend you some?"
"No need, no need, a few more years of work, and it will be enough..."
On festival nights, they stood on the rooftop, drunk as could be, discussing their future and talking about the world.
Only Su Liujin stood at the edge of the rooftop, seemingly unwilling to blend into the crowd.
A big hand suddenly reached out, Qianqin laughed and pulled him into the group, wanting him to make a wish with them. It’s said that making a wish on New Year’s Eve guarantees it will come true in the coming year.
Chen Ping said he wants to save money to buy a big house. Rocksha said he wishes to move his parents from the grasslands to the Royal City. Qianqin said she hopes to see old friends. Finally, everyone turned their eyes to Su Liujin, asking what his wish was.
Pairs of bright eyes gathered on the white-haired youth once seen by the world as a "cold, ruthless angel."
He is no longer outside the world, he is among the living.
For the first time, his lips touched the milk offered by someone else.
For the first time, there were others’ laughter and the imprint of hands on his shoulders.
At this moment, he thought of the words of the Little Monk from that year: "Like a dream, a bubble, a shadow, like dew or lightning."
"My wish is——"
He slowly opened his mouth.
"My wish is not to follow the responsibility given to me by that tree anymore."
He no longer wants destruction.
...
Like a blind person touching an elephant, unable to see its entirety.
When the moonlight shines, it is gradually recognized as the Buddha nature.
Transcendence, entering the world. What truly is it?
...
That year, Su Liujin remembers very clearly, it was a very cold winter.
The Iron Cavalry of the Northern Border bought off the Undead Clan, invaded the Royal City, and the heroic knights couldn’t stop the bone blades of the undead, blood spilled in the city.
At a time of low morale, a brave black-haired knight drew her blade, single-handedly killing hundreds of undead. She claimed to be from the Divine Mountain and promised to lead the war to victory. Upon hearing this, everyone revered her as the "Saintess," and followed her into battle.
Under the banner of the "Saintess" Qianqin, the warriors fearlessly faced death, and the people’s hearts were united.
At that moment, the foolish King believed the slander of the Great Wizard, who said that only by burning the pure souls could the undead’s attacks be quelled. But after the King burned many knights, the Undead Clan didn’t stop their attack.
"Burn! Keep burning! This is because those knights aren’t pure enough, that’s why the undead haven’t stopped!" the Great Wizard declared.
More and more knights were killed, everyone was terrified, and the Royal City fell into chaos.
On the evening of the festival, Qianqin invited Su Liujin to drink alone.
The black-haired knight sat boldly before the table, downing cup after cup, silently drinking. Su Liujin seemed to have a premonition, watching her in silence.
"Bang!" Qianqin put down her cup, her drunken eyes smiled: "Brother Jin, over the years, your appearance has never changed, I guessed there was something extraordinary about you, but I won’t press you. Today, I just want to chat with you."
She drunkenly spoke about many things.
She talked about how Chen Ping had died in battle a few days ago, his belly slashed open by undead, revealing it was filled with straw. Chen Ping, sensing setbacks in war, feared he might not survive, so to save money for his parents, he even hesitated to eat grains. She also mentioned Rocksha, who defended the city to the end, but was brutally cut in half while he was still breathing he held her hand, his last wish was to taste the hometown dairy candies and told that girl not to wait anymore.
She spoke of her parents, who she no longer remembers what they look like, only remembering that long ago, she wore twin pigtails, holding only a rag doll in her hands. Somehow, it was replaced by a sword.
Su Liujin listened quietly until Qianqin asked:
"Brother Liu, do you like this world?"
The silence seemed to burst like a bubble; Su Liujin nodded, then shook his head.
He could actually tell her, you don’t need to keep fighting, I have the strength granted by the World Tree, I can act now and drive back the Undead Clan, and you will all be safe. However, it was as if he was wearing a Golden Hoop, it told him: as an Observer, you cannot violate the "rules of not intervening in worldly affairs."
Su Liujin, you cannot save them.
So, he merely sat, could only sit.
Qianqin’s dark eyes reflected the moonlight, she seemed drunk, wobbling from the hall front to the back, drinking while walking, laughing while drinking. The liquor spilled all over, soaking through her green robe.
Moonlight fell on her neck and shoulders, she wore no armor, exposing the crisscrossed sword scars on her body clearly, all marks left by past wars.
The liquor moistened her chest, she laughed with her head raised:
"Brother Jin, I don’t particularly like this world, but as a person, I cannot bear to see others suffer. When I see people in pain, I can’t help but lend a hand."
"So, I can’t watch the knights die one after another."
"I know this is the Great Wizard’s openly laid plot—but so what?"
She laughed aloud, liquor dampening her clothes:
"To win this battle, we must change the King. I have contacted Prince Toro, his character is noble; he will be a good King. But to bring him to power, we must prove the current King’s foolishness, this needs a catalyst——"
Su Liujin looked up.
His fingers were trembling, his eyes aching slightly.
He seemed to have a premonition of what Qianqin was about to do——
The disheveled, black-haired woman lowered her cup, stood up, drew her sword, the sword tip pointed straight at the moonlight, her body was firm, her eyes bright and determined, her posture curved like a crescent moon, a touch of a carefree smile at the corner of her mouth:
"——’The Death of Saintess Qianqin.’"
"’If the ’Saintess’ is burned to death, the rumors will collapse without attacking, and the King who loses the people’s support can no longer burn innocent people, and the Great Wizard must be executed. By then, Prince Toro will seize the opportunity to ascend."
"I can slay hundreds of Wraiths, yet cannot reverse the tide of war, but ’Saintess Qianqin’ can. In this way, no more Knights need to be burned, just sacrificing myself can bring peace."
"I really dislike this thing called Faith, but if it can keep people alive, then I willingly become this Saintess."
"If that fire consumes my body, then let it burn!"
"If that sword pierces my flesh, then let it stab!"
A fearless smile lifted the corners of her mouth, within that smile was wildness, was magnificence. As if she had transformed into a drifting cloud, wandering with the breeze, unrestrained and boundless.
She drained the wine in her cup, raised her head, and laughed loudly:
"My name is Qianqin, the War Saintess under Alzhas!"
"—Today, as my flesh and bones are burned, my ashes will scatter over Cang Mountain, over the earth, blend into the rivers, taken in by drinking water to integrate into others’ flesh, sown as it lands to sprout."
"Tomorrow, this world for a thousand generations, Cang Mountain, rivers, seas, a Prosperous Era of peace, all will sustain through my existence!"
The moonlight was cool.
She laughed thrice, turned, and went out the door.
Never glanced back at the young man, as if afraid of breeding regret and fear.
On Su Liujin’s desk, the milk had gotten cold, not a drop touched.
On the twenty-fourth day of the twelfth month, in the third year of the White Tower’s Alzhas era, the Saintess ascended the high platform, angrily denounced the King’s folly, enumerated thirteen accusations against the Great Wizard, the King was enraged, intending to capture the Saintess. The Saintess ignited her armor, self-immolated, and perished.
The death of the Saintess shocked the masses, Prince Toro toppled his father in the name of desecrating the Saintess, ascended as King, issued royal decrees, reformed the army, and assassinated the lord of the Northern Border.
Fifteen days later, the war subsided.
New King Toro cast a sacrificial vessel in the tall pavilion, inscribed three hundred words of ’White Tower Saintess’, burned seventy thousand volumes of sorcery texts.
From then on, the winds and rains were favorable, prisons were empty, a century passed without the sound of weapons.
...
Nighttime.
Su Liujin placed a white Isa Flower before the graves of Chen Ping, Rocksha, Qianqin, and others.
Qianqin said she was a disciple of Yijulai’er, even if Death came, there might be a day she’d be written out again, although probably not in her own person.
At the moment the moonlight rose, Su Liujin turned to look back.
Those comrades who once drank together, now turned to clusters of tombstones, seemed to be looking back at him, asking him:
—Brother Liu, have you found your answer?
They seemed to be smiling.
The moonlight was bright, the fireflies illuminated.
...
Gradually cultivating, realizing—
All appearances are illusions.
If one sees all appearances are non-appearances, they will see Buddha.
...
Su Liujin returned to Chengfu Town.
Following the sound of the copper wind chime, he found Qingyu.
Qingyu had changed from a young girl to an old lady, smiling as she offered several baskets of milk cake: "I always knew my benefactor was extraordinary, still retains a youthful form. I’ve practiced pastry-making all my life, Brother Liu, have a taste."
The milk cake was sweet, delicious, as Su Liujin ate, he thought of Qianqin, and suddenly started to cry.
This was the first time he cried, maybe before he didn’t know why, but now he somewhat understood.
When people are sad, it turns out they truly cry.
It turns out, happiness truly makes one laugh, sadness truly makes one cry. Unknowingly, he too had become an "adult" in the script.
The Isa Flower had fallen, he was no longer a child.
"Qingyu, I’ve found the answer." Su Liujin suddenly said.
"Hmm? What answer?" Qingyu gently looked at him.
"I’m going under that big tree, I’m going to tell it, I no longer want to observe for it. I want to be the Great Saint, I want to be the Great Emperor!" Su Liujin wiped away tears, solemnly said: "From now on, I am the Jellyfish Emperor Su Liujin!"
Qingyu did not understand, only smiled.
The long years hadn’t worn away her excitement, only now, she no longer spoke of the impulses of youth.
The white-haired youth once removed the wooden splinter from her hand, carried her out of the coffin and out of the marriage hall. That night she clearly saw the starlight in his eyes, he was a warm person, forced into a cold place, he would burst out.
The World Tree put a golden hoop on him, ordered him not to interfere with worldly affairs, ordered him to become a "Sun Wukong" who obeyed the Tightening Spell. But he saw the elders, men, women, and children in the world, he began to want to take off the golden hoop, he began to want to become the "Great Sage Equalling Heaven".
—If one day, he decisively took off the golden hoop and became the "Great Sage Equalling Heaven", no longer obeying the rule of "not interfering in worldly affairs", wielded the Jingu Bang to drive off the Undead Clan, would the Knight’s fate be different?
Li Qingyu still smiled.
She knew from now on their paths diverged, with her lifespan, it was difficult to meet again. So she taught her cooking skills to Su Liujin, which was her proudest thing.
"Brother Liu, you don’t seem to have much talent for cooking." Qingyu gently said: "It’s okay, I’ll teach you everything. In the future, if you meet a good person, make it for them to eat."
"I won’t cook for people in the future."
"Perhaps, Brother Liu, just learn, it’s never a bad thing. I’ll teach you, and next time when you cook, you can still remember, there was a person named Qingyu a thousand years ago, she buried a red silk handkerchief of youth under the house, hung a copper wind chime under the eaves."
After mastering the cooking skills, Su Liujin left Chengfu Town, heading towards the World Tree.
His eyes were bright, his back seemed to grow a pair of long, waxed wings, propelling him towards the direction of the Sun, faster and faster, faster and faster...
Lin Qinghuan, Li Qingyu, Little Monk, storyteller, old man by the cliff, Chen Ping, Rocksha, Qianqin, Great Saint.
So many faces, reflected in his eyes.
How many people are still there, and how many have already passed?
They seemed to all stand on the other side of the river, smiling at him.
Oh river, oh river of the Mortal World.
That river winding through the world, finally flowed into his palm.
—Humanity is but a drop of rain, a wisp of wind, all things in the world should be as ephemeral as morning dew, what makes them endure?
Yet it is a drop of rain, a wisp of wind.
It’s the rain that nurtures, allowing all things to grow.
It’s the spring breeze that leaves marks, making all things sprout.
All living beings’ traits, are as such.
—At the end of Journey to the West, "Sun Wukong" ascends to Heaven, no longer the "Great Sage Equalling Heaven."
—At the beginning of Luowasha, "Su Liujin" takes off the golden hoop, becoming the "Jellyfish Emperor."
...
Upon the Lotus Niche, the golden figure quietly drooped its eyes, the agarwood dust fell like an udumbara.
Below the Divine Mountain, a Little Monk twirled beads in his hand, muttering with his head lowered:
"Like a person night walking, not seeing the bright moon."
"Suddenly encountering the bright moon, seeing the moonlight shining, yet not knowing it is the moon.
"Like a blind man feeling an elephant, unable to see its entirety.
"If one is illuminated by moonlight, gradually recognizing it, this is Buddha-nature.
"Gradually cultivating, realizing—
"All appearances are illusions.
"If one sees appearances as non-appearances, they will see Buddha."
(—Adapted from "Agama Sutra", "Diamond Sutra", "Nirvana Sutra")
...
All appearances are illusions.
If one sees appearances as non-appearances, they will see Buddha.
How did Icarus die?
They answered, the Mortal World.
...
...
"Ugh...!" Su Liujin held his head.
He let go of Su Ming’an’s hand, gently panting, helplessly said: "I can’t remember what happens next."
Su Ming’an remained silent for quite a while, before recovering from the heavy memories: "Were those just now your memories?"
Su Liujin said: "They are Su Liujin’s, but they probably aren’t mine."
Su Ming’an paused slightly...what does that mean?
Su Liujin grabbed his hand, smiling: "Alright, come with me, the main event is next."
