QT- I’m Almost Died
Chapter 273. Fan Jialuo’s Past
TN:- 3 Chapters!!!
Xuan Chengzi’s mournful cries could still be heard from a great distance away. At this moment, he had no time to worry about cleaning up his sect, he only wanted to save Lin Nianci.
As Fan Jialuo ran, he muttered, “You’re really bold to scheme against Lin Nianci right in front of my Shifu.”
“It’s precisely because your Shifu was there that it was so easy to scheme against her.” Song Rui chuckled, seemingly finding the scene just now quite amusing.
“Hmm?” Fan Jialuo was deeply puzzled.
“You told me about her upbringing, so I can roughly judge her psychological state. In her mind, your Shifu is her guardian angel, the most powerful person in the world. She must feel most relaxed and safest by your Shifu’s side.” Song Rui analyzed.
“She’s not wrong to think that way, my Shifu would never let her get hurt.” Recalling the past, Fan Jialuo no longer felt envious, but rather filled with peace.
“So you see, when a person is most relaxed, that’s when they’re most vulnerable to being schemed against. What’s more, Lin Nianci and your Shifu are of the same ilk, they both look down on ordinary people. When I approached, in her eyes, it was like an ant approaching. Would a person guard against an ant? No.” At this point, Song Rui chuckled again.
Fan Jialuo still found it incredible, “In your hands, she didn’t resist at all, like a frightened child. I’m starting to doubt whether the antique case is really related to her. She doesn’t seem to have that ability.”
“Don’t doubt yourself. She’s the one who committed the crime, and she’s also the one who was easily outmaneuvered.” Song Rui guessed, “She must have sealed off her memories and grown up again as an infant. She is Song Enci, but she is also Lin Nianci, like having two personalities in one body. When things are calm, she is the innocent and kind Lin Nianci, when faced with a deadly threat, she becomes Song Enci to deal with the cruel outside world. That’s why I couldn’t see any trace of pretense in her.”
“It seems she’s been on guard against me for a while now. She’s really grown up.” Fan Jialuo shook his head and chuckled, seemingly amused, but his steps grew increasingly slow.
Song Rui retorted, “You overestimate yourself this time. The reason she sealed her memories wasn’t to protect herself from you, but from your Shifu. She killed you and wandered for nearly a hundred years, only daring to return to see your Shifu when her body was severely injured and on the verge of collapse. Why was that?”
Before Fan Jialuo could ponder this further, Song Rui continued, “It’s because she knows her acting can’t fool your Shifu. Your Shifu is the person who understands her best in the world. If she killed you and immediately returned, your Shifu would see her guilt and unease. So she waits, waits for time to pass, for things to fade, for the anger to subside and the longing to rise. At that time, your Shifu will only be happy for her return, so why would he suspect her?”
“She has to live under a different identity, but she wants to stay by your Shifu’s side. So she has to make herself a blank slate, otherwise your Shifu will definitely see through her disguise. Only by deceiving herself can she deceive your Shifu.”
“She’s naive and arrogant. After killing you, she probably never even considered that you would come back, so how could she possibly be on guard against you?” Song Rui shook his head and whispered, “Human hearts are hard to fathom, yet easy to manipulate. You just need to find that weakness. She knew that she was your Shifu’s weakness, so she was invincible from the very beginning. By entrusting herself to your Shifu in her own name, she could live a glorious and peaceful life under your Shifu’s wing.”
“So that’s how it is……” Fan Jialuo suddenly realized, and said with emotion, “She really went to great lengths to stay by Shifu’s side.”
Song Rui crouched down, reached under Fan Jialuo’s knees, picked him up, and ran forward quickly, panting as he instructed, “Forget about her. We need to save our energy.”
“Hmm.” Fan Jialuo continued to tighten the space in his abdomen, his tone light, “I knew that when everyone was pointing fingers at me, only you would help me.”
Song Rui ran straight ahead, his voice becoming hoarse with breathlessness, “If I don’t help you, who will?”
He spoke so matter-of-factly, as if placing all his hopes on Fan Jialuo was his destiny. He was willing to brave death and confront formidable foes for his sake. Knowing full well that the forest was fraught with mortal danger, he came nonetheless, simply because he refused to remain in safety and go on living alone.
“Even if everyone stands up and criticizes me, you will still believe in me, right?” Fan Jialuo wanted to smile, but instead spat out a mouthful of blood.
Song Rui quickened his pace, his voice hoarse, “Of course, that’s our promise.”
“‘Promise’ is such a beautiful word.” Fan Jialuo wiped the corner of his crimson lips, his eyes filled with reminiscence, “You know…… I was born with the wisdom of the world already inside me.”
Song Rui looked down at him, his pupils filled with astonishment, but this astonishment was not because of his extraordinary origin, but because of his honesty.
“What does it feel like to be born with wisdom?” Song Rui asked, following up on the conversation.
“Doesn’t feel good.” Fan Jialuo’s pupils gradually lost focus, as if piercing through the black mist and the sky-covering tree canopy, looking towards the distant past.
“When I was born, my mother’s delivery room was filled with a bright red light, as red as blood, which alarmed many people. At that time, a wandering Taoist priest came to the door, pointed at me and said that I was a demon. My father and mother were terrified and abandoned me in the wilderness the next day.”
Fan Jialuo spoke in a very detached tone, as if he were telling someone else’s story.
Song Rui’s heart ached terribly because of those few words. Born with wisdom meant remembering and understanding it all, and thus, from the day he was born, the person in his arms began a lifetime of torment. Was he truly a demon? No, quite the opposite, he was a spiritual being! He deserved a wonderful and fulfilling life.
“Stop talking!” Song Rui’s voice was hoarse beyond recognition. He thought that Fan Jialuo’s heart was filled with light and untouched by dust, but it turned out that he, like himself, had once lived in the abyss.
“If I don’t say it now, I’m afraid I won’t have another chance.” Although Fan Jialuo spoke words of despair, his eyes were calm and clear.
Song Rui’s tears fell on his face, they were hot, while the blood he spat out was cold.
Fan Jialuo licked away the tears and said weakly, “Don’t cry, your tears are bitter.” His tongue had no sense of taste, so the bitterness emanated from the depths of Dr. Song’s heart. He didn’t want him to suffer.
Song Rui squeezed his eyes shut, determined not to show any weakness. If even he collapsed, who would be able to get the person in his arms to safety?
Fan Jialuo put his hand on his shoulder and continued, “But I was lucky. I was found by an old beggar after lying in the cold wind for only a short while. He took me back to Ping’an Town and raised me with rice water. Perhaps because I was well-behaved, people were always willing to give me a few extra handfuls of rice when I begged, so life wasn’t too hard. My mother would often send her wet nurse to the dilapidated temple outside the city to see me and bring me some food. She always remembered me.”
Song Rui’s heart clenched at the satisfaction in his voice. Was he really so happy just to be remembered? Was life so bitter that even a little sweetness was enough to savor? No, it wasn’t like that. He deserved better, because he was already good enough.
“Later, due to the civil unrest, the imperial court sent troops to kill everyone in the city. I was buried under my adoptive father, who smeared my face with blood, and thus I escaped the massacre. Everyone was dead. They had once saved a bite of food from their own bowls to raise me, and I had to repay their kindness. I crawled out of the pile of corpses, looked around in a panic, and suddenly had a very mysterious feeling.”
“I must save them, the living and the dead, save them all.”
“There’s no need to search. I knew in my heart who was still alive and who was dead. I properly settled the living and found a scripture to pray for the dead. I didn’t know if it would work, I was just acting on my intuition. I owe a debt of gratitude for a meal I’ve received. Although I was abandoned by my parents, all the people in the city were my parents.”
Song Rui pursed his lips, remaining silent. It wasn’t that he wasn’t interested in those past events, but rather that he was afraid he would choke up if he opened his mouth. Where did such a heavy sense of responsibility come from in such a small child? It’s just a meal, is it really worth it?
Fan Jialuo told him in a suddenly much lighter tone that it was worth it.
“As I fed those who were still breathing, I chanted sutras. Before I knew it, the bloody aura in the city faded, the clouds in the sky parted, and a ray of sunlight shone down, startling away the vultures that were circling down. All those people I dragged out who were originally on the verge of death all came back to life.”
“Later, a group of eminent monks came and helped me bury all the corpses in the city. They took me to Longyin Temple to settle down. They called me a Buddha child.”
Hearing this, Song Rui finally composed himself and said in a hoarse voice, “So you originally wanted to be a monk?”
“Yes, I originally wanted to be a monk.” Fan Jialuo chuckled softly, as if recalling something wonderful, “It’s just that my Shishu came and wanted to take me into the Taoist sect.”
Knowing what had happened to him later, Song Rui said in a deep voice, “You should have become a monk.”
“No, meeting my Shishu was the greatest fortune of my life. I have never once regretted it.” The smile on Fan Jialuo’s lips lingered for a long time, and his voice was full of vitality, “My Shishu placed me in an open space, with himself and the old monk standing at opposite ends, and told me to choose. If I chose him, I would become a Holy child of the Taoist sect, if I chose the old monk, I would become a Buddha child of the Buddhist sect.”
“The old monk was a serious person. He just stood there and talked about some profound principles for saving all living beings. I understood them, but I didn’t move. My Shishu took out many exquisite little trinkets and a string of bright red candied hawthorns from his cloth bag, waved to me, and smiled kindly and brightly.”
Fan Jialuo laughed even more heartily, “As soon as I saw that string of candied hawthorns, I ran towards it.”
Hearing this, even Song Rui, who was filled with sorrow, couldn’t help but chuckle. He could almost picture the person running with short, wobbly legs. It must have been quite adorable.
“My Shishu laughed heartily as he picked me up and gently kissed me on the cheek. In that one moment, I realized with a profound understanding that I would never regret choosing him.” Fan Jialuo’s face held a wistful smile, but tears welled up in his eyes.
His tone was calm, but Song Rui, well-versed in psychology, understood how profoundly that light, butterfly-wing-like kiss had affected Fan Jialuo’s life. A child raised in hunger and cold, abandoned at birth, unaware of the meaning of parental love, the warmth of an embrace, and the future.
He considers a meal from someone else an immense favor, so what about a precious kiss from someone else? That must be a divine gift, right? Without experiencing extreme loneliness and desolation, one cannot understand the value of being cherished.
Those strong arms that lifted him high, that person who smiled as brightly as the sun, that kiss that burst forth with love——these gave Fan Jialuo the courage to brave mountains of knives and seas of fire, and shaped him into the indomitable soul who would not yield even in hell.
Song Rui’s tears fell once more. He only regretted being born hundreds of years too late, unable to be there for that moment, unable to give that poor, penniless child a gentle kiss on the cheek. In fact, Fan Jialuo’s lifelong tragedy stemmed from this moment, yet he always felt that it was the closest he had ever been to happiness.
“Your Shishu must treat you very well, right?” Song Rui hoped the answer was yes, otherwise his heart would break.
“My Shishu treats me like his own son.”
Song Rui felt comforted, as if he himself had been treated kindly.
“But I killed him in the end.” The faint smile on Fan Jialuo’s face had completely disappeared at some point, and his clear eyes were covered with a deathly gray.
“I believe you must have your reasons.” Song Rui said without hesitation.
Fan Jialuo closed his eyes, remaining silent for a long time. Regardless of his reasons, what’s done is done. He suddenly gripped Song Rui’s hand tightly and whispered, “We’ve arrived.”
“What?” Song Rui hadn’t reacted yet.
Fan Jialuo struggled to get down and staggered a few steps.
Only then did Song Rui realize that he had run into an even darker place. The black fog in the air was as thick as water, constantly pouring into his mouth and nose, making his chest feel tight and provoking a wave of nausea. It was only because the fog reeked so foul——a sky-high stench of decay that, like an invisible specter, tore at the nerves of anyone who crossed its path.
As Fan Jialuo walked forward step by step, the mist dispersed from both sides of his body, becoming thinner and shallower.
Then Song Rui was horrified to find that he had run to a gigantic tree that ten adults together could not encircle. Countless tiny vines twisted and turned to form the trunk of this tree, or like the tentacles of a sea monster, reaching out in all directions to form a canopy that seemed to stretch to the horizon.
Around it, in the open space, stood trees shaped like human figures, some kneeling on the ground, some seemingly running, and others looking up at the sky as if shouting.
As Fan Jialuo walked toward the giant tree, he pointed to the treants along the way and said, “This is Zhang Yang. This is Zhang Wencheng. They are indeed all here.”
Song Rui looked at the two strange, neither-human-nor-tree creatures and said in surprise, “Look at their chest cavities.”
Fan Jialuo’s gaze shifted downwards, and he saw the two people with large holes in their chests. He then looked at the other treant and saw holes in all of them, some in their abdomens, some in their heads, and some in the back of their necks.
He held his hand in front of the treant faces, and after a moment’s senses, his gaze changed slightly, “They are all mutants, and the jade pendants inside their bodies have been taken away.”
“Did it take it?” Song Rui pointed to the giant tree that stood quietly in the thick fog.
“It must be it. No wonder Zhang Yang has five or six jade pendants inside his body. It turns out he borrowed them all from this tree. A sacred object is a sacred object. Even if it becomes a spirit, its strength is extraordinary.” Fan Jialuo tore off the fish-shaped necklaces that Zhang Yang and Zhang Wencheng were wearing around their necks.
“This isn’t the jade pendant you’re looking for, is it?” Song Rui asked curiously.
“This is the tool they use to collect faith.” Fan Jialuo clapped his hands together and absorbed all the remaining faith in the necklace, replenishing the spiritual power he had previously expended.
“No wonder Zhang Wencheng wants to be a superstar, and Zhang Yang wants to start an entertainment company.” Song Rui immediately understood the secret behind it. Collecting faith is nothing more than a means to become a god.
Fan Jialuo discarded the two broken necklaces and walked step by step toward the enormous tree, climbing its thick roots sitting on the soft moss. Song Rui climbed up without fear and stood beside him. The two looked down at the clearing and realized that all the treants were running toward the giant tree, their faces showing not only fear but also longing and greed.
They swarmed around like moths to a flame, rushing forward like pilgrims on a sacred journey, only to end up as nothing more than lifeless objects
Fan Jialuo extended his slender fingertips, touching each of their faces, which had stiffened into withered wood, and sighed, “This is the consequence of blindly pursuing power.”
Song Rui looked down at him and pressed, “What are you planning to do?”
Fan Jialuo grasped his hand and asked, “Do you believe me?”
Song Rui met his gaze deeply, then nodded, “Go ahead, I’ll wait for you here.” No further words were needed, he already understood everything this man wanted to say.
Fan Jialuo chuckled softly, rubbing his forehead, at this unspoken understanding——without a single word spoken between us, our hearts understand each other perfectly. Had either he or Dr. Song been the sort of person to cling desperately to life or shrink back in timidity, they never would have made it this far. He thought he’d never find a companion, but as it turned out, fate’s arrangements were always so wondrous.
“Do what you think is right.” Song Rui rubbed his head, “If you don’t succeed, I’ll die here too. This ending is good.”
“Yes, that’s good.” Fan Jialuo chuckled softly, then removed the space in his abdomen and released the vine.
So close to the mother tree, the vines wrapped around Fan Jialuo’s body in an instant, pulling him little by little into the thick trunk of the mother tree.
Song Rui stepped back a few paces, watching the scene with suppressed emotion. His eyes were bloodshot, but he dared not blink. He was afraid that a single moment’s missed connection would mean never seeing each other again.
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