Liuzhou Thatched Cottage (2)

Seeing those Karma Worms hanging lazily from the willow tree outside the door for the first time, Yan Fei did not show the expression of disgust or aversion that many humans might have. On the contrary, his eyes were full of curiosity as he tilted his head and walked toward that familiar yet unfamiliar willow tree.

He saw that tree every day; he was as familiar with it as he was with his own palm. However, there were no longer any willow leaves on the tree now. Instead, there were countless flesh-colored tentacles dancing lazily in the air. The trunk was also covered in a layer of dark green slime and moss, with many translucent, frog-egg-like things attached to it. One or two Karma Worms, as thick as a human's waist, were coiled around a couple of branches. Their purplish-red bodies would occasionally tremble in satiation, while their front ends—indistinguishable as head or tail—curled and bent along with those "willow branches".

Furthermore, the originally clear sky was no longer visible; there was a cyan-blue mist everywhere. Looking back at his and Tan Yangzi's home, he found that the house appeared as decayed and dilapidated as if it had been abandoned for years. Thick moss spread over the dirt walls and doors, the doors and windows were faded and tattered, and the thatch on the roof had yet to completely rot away. It wasn't just their house; even the ground beneath their feet had become extremely soft and sticky. Every step left a footprint, and when lifting his foot, he could faintly see countless flesh-colored maggots wriggling and tangled together in the mud.

"In the Intermediate Realm, the closer it is to the ground, the closer it is to Hell. The higher up, the closer it is to the Mortal Realm. Therefore, all decay begins from the ground." Tan Yangzi, who had also inhaled the scent of the Corpse Candle, could now see these creatures of the Intermediate Realm as well. Standing beside Yan Fei, he said, "The creatures living in the Intermediate Realm generally aren't aggressive, as long as you don't offend them."

Pointing at the Karma Worm, Yan Fei asked, "Can I touch them?"

"You can try."

Yan Fei extended a finger and tentatively poked the worm on the tree. His fingertip seemed to suddenly sink into a soft, sticky lump of fat—it was wet, with a somewhat slimy and disgusting tactile sensation. The Karma Worm didn't react much, simply continuing to lazily quiver its body. Yan Fei brought his slime-coated finger to his nose to sniff it, and his face instantly wrinkled up. "Ugh... it stinks..."

Tan Yangzi laughed. "Let's walk a bit further in that direction. We might run into a person or two."

They arrived by the Bian River and found that the originally clear, jade-green water had become extremely murky. It emitted a foul, fishy stench, frothed with white bubbles, and carried a thick layer of something resembling green hair floating on the surface. Through the murky filth, one could faintly see many bizarre fish with fat human faces swimming slowly past. The originally lush green lawn had also been replaced by dense clusters of fungi. Some things that looked like sporangia would occasionally pop open with a snap, releasing bursts of black smoke.

An indescribable gloom and oppression floated in the air.

"Why is the Intermediate Realm filled with such a... decayed appearance everywhere?" Yan Fei reached out a hand, letting those visible spores drift down onto his fingers, where they rapidly decayed, decomposed, and scattered into ash.

"Because this place is too close to Hell. The level of decay here pales in comparison to Hell." Tan Yangzi watched a swarm of flying insects with heads on both ends buzzing noisily beneath a "willow tree". He reached out and caught one. The insect began to vomit large mouthfuls of pale yellow slime, struggling helplessly between his fingers. "In Hell, what flows in these rivers is either magma or pus and blood, and the plants growing on the ground are all highly poisonous. Accidentally eating them won't kill you, but your entire body will become covered in blisters and festering sores, as if you were being burned alive. The only things edible are the maggots dug out from underground, or eating other ghosts."

Yan Fei frowned slightly. Thinking of Tan Yangzi having to live in such a place caused a pang of heartache to rise within him.

Why couldn't Tan Yangzi just stay in the Mortal Realm forever and be with him?

Yan Fei turned his head and was suddenly startled. He took a step back and almost fell into the river. Fortunately, Tan Yangzi grabbed his waist in time to steady him. Then, he heard Tan Yangzi say in his deep, rich voice, "Uncle Qian, are you done for the day?"

Yan Fei froze, looking somewhat in disbelief.

Uncle Qian was the ferryman at the Liulin Slope crossing on the Bian River, someone they often saw on normal days. When Tan Yangzi wasn't around, Uncle Qian had also been entrusted by him to occasionally check in on Yan Fei at home, bringing him some river fish, crabs, and the like.

But how could the thing before his eyes be a person? It was a lump of completely melted flesh. The blood vessels and muscles wrapped in mucous membranes were deformed and twisted, dangling haphazardly all over its body. It was impossible to tell where the limbs were or where the torso was, as if a living person had melted like a candle. There was no head where a head should be; instead, there were just a few pustule-like bulges with various organs scattered across them. Some had eyes growing on them, some had mouths, some had noses, and there were simply too many of them.

A bloody, slender branch reached out from the monster's body and waved in the air. One of the bulges on top of its head with a mouth growing on it began to move. "Yeah, heading home for dinner. When did you get back? Where did you wander off to this time?"

It was actually Uncle Qian?

Although Yan Fei knew that the mortal creatures seen in the Intermediate Realm were in the form of their Alaya Consciousness—that is, their Life Soul—which usually wasn't very pretty, he never expected an honest, peaceful, and affectionate man like Uncle Qian to deform into something like this...

How was this still a human?

A wave of nausea surged up from his stomach. He felt a bit like throwing up but didn't dare make a sound. The monster moved closer to him. Beneath the thin mucous membrane, those lumps of flesh rubbed and squirmed against each other. The dense blood vessels twisted and deformed, squeezing out streams of translucent slime. A pungent, sour stench hit his face, almost making it impossible for him to suppress the acidic fluid rising in his throat.

"Brother Yan's complexion isn't looking too good. Is he sick?"

Tan Yangzi smiled. "He probably ate something bad for lunch and has an upset stomach."

"Aiya, you shouldn't eat just anything. Ah, right, my relatives brought me a lot of freshly picked plums recently. Shall I send some over to you later?"

"How could we trouble you?"

"Sigh, if it weren't for you treating my old woman's illness, she would still be bedridden on the kang. Please, don't stand on ceremony!"

After the two exchanged pleasantries, the monster finally squirmed away sluggishly, leaving a translucent trail of slime on the ground behind it.

Seeing that Uncle Qian had gone far away, Tan Yangzi turned his head to look at Yan Fei, who was deathly pale and struggling not to vomit. He let out a light chuckle. "Can't take it already?"

Yan Fei replied stubbornly, "Who says I can't take it? I'm fine!"

"Uncle Qian is actually one of the better ones. You haven't seen his wife yet." As Tan Yangzi spoke, he slowly reached out his hand, his slender fingers following the long Bian River to point at Bianliang City looming faintly in the distant mist. "And the countless people in that city are even worse than him."

Yan Fei imagined it for a moment—an entire city filled with bloody, slime-oozing, foul-smelling lumps of meat squirming through the streets—and couldn't help but shiver.

Tan Yangzi paid him no mind and continued walking along the riverbank on his own. Among the willow trees with hanging flesh tentacles, there were quite a few hunched, emaciated gray humanoid figures rustling about as they climbed and shuttled back and forth. Their bodies were much smaller than normal adults, and their limbs were particularly spindly, but their bellies were disproportionately large like sacks. The way they crawled and moved on the ground made them look a lot like giant humanoid spiders. Their bald heads only had a sparse few hairs growing on them, and their faces were covered in oozing, festering sores that squeezed their facial features out of shape. They wore not a shred of clothing, yet their gender was indistinguishable. Hiding behind the branches, their greedy little eyes reflected a yellowish-green light in the gloomy illumination as they peeked at Tan Yangzi and Yan Fei from all directions.

Although the number of these humanoid creatures wasn't as great as the Karma Worms, every time Yan Fei turned his head, he could see their shadows behind those twisted trees. He figured they must be the little ghosts described in the Sutra of the Six Paramitas that lived in the Intermediate Realm. They seemed to be very afraid of Tan Yangzi. Every time he approached, those little ghosts would scatter and flee like mice, making bizarre squelching sounds from their mouths.

"After people die, they will stay in the Intermediate Realm for a short time. This place is similar to the Mortal Realm yet completely different; it has a decayed and ruined appearance everywhere, and there are many little ghosts. So, many newly deceased people will be so frightened that their minds become muddled and dazed, thinking they have already reached the Underworld. Black and White Impermanences catch them here, taking them along the Yellow Springs Road to drink Meng Po Soup and cross the Naihe Bridge for reincarnation. Their Alaya Consciousness will determine what they become in their next life—perhaps they'll become one of these little ghosts in the Intermediate Realm." Tan Yangzi looked up at a little ghost hugging a treetop and secretly watching him, a fleeting look of pity seeming to cross his expression. "Humans always think that King Yama will come to judge their sins. In truth, whether it is sin or goodness, it's all defined by humans; no one is coming to judge anyone. In the end, the only thing that decides what they become is themselves."

Yan Fei looked down at his own hands. His fingers were slender and fair, and his palms were plump and rosy. Why hadn't his hands deformed? Was it that he couldn't see his own Life Soul? So, he asked his master with some concern, "What does my Life Soul look like?"

Tan Yangzi had anticipated that he would ask this question. He merely sighed and shook his head. "I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I cannot see your Life Soul."

Yan Fei's eyes widened abruptly. "What?! Why!"

Tan Yangzi shook his head. "I don't know why either. This was also one of the reasons I took you in as a disciple in the first place."

A loud buzz rang in Yan Fei's head. Tan Yangzi's words were like a curse, constantly spiraling and echoing in his mind.

So, this was the reason...

So it was because of this that he took him in...

He had asked Tan Yangzi many times why he chose to take him in, and Tan Yangzi had always fobbed him off with vague answers. This time, he finally knew...

He had fantasized many times about why his master had chosen him. Perhaps it was because he took pity on him; perhaps it was because he reminded him of an old friend; perhaps it was because he had been alone for too long and felt lonely...

Yet he never expected that the real reason would be so simple and cold.

Because he didn't know why he couldn't see his Life Soul, he kept him by his side to observe...

Yan Fei felt as if his heart had been viciously twisted by someone, but he stubbornly refused to show that dull ache. He just pressed his lips tightly together, his hands clenching tightly into fists inside his red sleeves as he controlled his voice. "Is it... because I don't have one?"

"Humans are different from Underworld Emissaries; it's impossible to not have a Life Soul unless you are a zombie. But you have flesh and blood, and you are indeed alive." Tan Yangzi turned to look at him, the coldness between his brows softening a fraction. He reached out and gently pressed Yan Fei's shoulder to comfort him. "Don't worry anymore. Once I go to Fengdu, I will ask someone to look into this matter carefully and see if there is any precedent."

Yan Fei didn't say a word, merely giving a single nod.

"It's getting late today, let's stop here." Tan Yangzi walked past him, taking the lead to head back in the direction of the thatched cottage. Yan Fei watched that tall, straight cyan back. His expression, which always held a well-behaved smile, gradually froze, his deep eyes carrying a trace of sorrow and unwillingness.

It's not enough... still not enough...

No matter how well-behaved and outstanding he acted, in his master's eyes, he still wasn't there...

In his master's heart, Yan Fei would always just be that picked-up child whose Life Soul couldn't be seen.

Desire burned in the depths of his heart, and poisonous flames spread through his blood...

Not enough... Yan Fei still wanted more... much, much more... even everything...

He wanted his master to look only at him, to smile only at him. He wanted to embrace those broad, strong shoulders and hold that waist bound by the cyan belt. He wanted to see more of his master's expressions, more of his different sides...

He wanted to lock his master away in a place where only he could see him, so that he would never have a way to leave...

Yan Fei suddenly shivered.

What did he... really want...