Nightfall

Serfs living in the underground world under the Xuankong Temple only knew the Buddha and the circular well-like sky above. They had no choice, so their beliefs were the purest. Many pious disciples like them existed in the human world. Countless generations passed, their consciousnesses coming to the Buddha’s Chessboard, creating Nirvana.

In Buddhism, what kind of world qualified to be known as the Nirvana? It was a world where everyone could become a Buddha. It was the current Chaoyang City where everyone, whether they were lackeys, peddlers, officials, or monks, were benevolent and chanted sutras. They were all Buddhas.

Ning Que and Sangsang wanted to know what method the Buddha would use to press down and exterminate them after they awoke. The answer was right in front of them then: the manifestation and shared mind of all living creatures.

Everyone, regardless of gender or age, were enlightened. They gathered over with benevolent expressions while chanting sutra. Although they didn’t explicitly speak of killing, their intention was nothing but to kill–kill Haotian, kill Sangsang.

There was a man with callouses from carrying loads on his shoulders for several decades. That was the Buddha with Thick Shoulders. The Sunrise-born Buddha was a girl who’d been enlightened under the rising sun. The old man who’d fished in the river was the Net-enlightened Buddha.

There was also the Buddha of Fame, Buddha of Dhanari Column, Buddha of Famed Light, Buddha Gilt by Colored Treasure, Buddha above Incense, Buddha of Incense and Light, Buddha of King Su and Buddha Witnessing All Good, as well as those without a title.

The entire city was filled with Buddhas and it was extremely crowded. One Buddha stepped upon the other’s kasaya, while one smashed the other’s jade flower. Buddhas squeezed against and pushed each other as they rushed towards Ning Que and Sangsang.

The image was rather shocking, which made Ning Que reminisce the past. It was also in Chaoyang City, where countless people wanted to kill Sangsang lying on his back, because she was said to be the daughter of the Devil.

When he saw the monkey trainer had become a Buddha and even the monkey on his shoulder became a grumpy fighting Buddha, Ning Que couldn’t bear it for another second. He waved the knife and ran towards them.

He killed many Buddhas while fleeing from the city. He wanted to stop for a moment, because Buddhas had the dharma and weren’t easy to kill. More importantly, they would be transformed into the Light of Buddha after death, which was painful for Sangsang.

But at that moment, he couldn’t find any other way to flee from Chaoyang City while carrying Sangsang, unless these Buddhas were killed. He could only hold the cutlass and slash down on them.

As if someone was sweeping the ground with a bamboo broom, the black cutlass swooshed loudly. It danced around the solemn Buddhas, cutting off their necks and chests. Countless Buddhas fell down. The black cutlass was covered with golden liquid, which transformed into pure light later.

The Buddha of King Su was dead. He collapsed as if falling asleep and then was stamped into golden plaque by the other Buddhas. The Buddha with Thick Shoulders was dead, his right shoulder sliced off like an unfinished gold statue. The Sunrise-born Buddha was dead. She had a golden and ghastly slash on her pretty face.

Ning Que moved ahead while swaying his knife. Every time the cutlass fell, a Buddha died. His face was devoid of emotion. No matter who was ahead of him, whether it be a senior or a child, all of them were felled in one strike.

Buddhas didn’t bleed. Only golden liquid spilled out, but it still looked quite brutal. Ning Que’s performance was even more coldblooded than that in Chaoyang City years ago.

He had been so cold-blooded that night when he climbed the Hill in the Academy. Whether they’d been former or new acquaintances, relatives or friends, anyone who stood before him had been slain. He’d known that they were all dead already.

These Buddhas were all dead too. In that case, he was just killing them again.

Nevertheless, they were all Buddhas with multiple methods and weapons. Although he had already become very powerful with the help of Sangsang at his back, it was still difficult for Ning Que to kill them all.

To kill all the Buddhas…he’d never thought of this before.

He cut off the Smiling Buddha’s neck in one strike. Watching the head fall, still with a smile, Ning Que felt a little bit tired. At this very moment, a beam of Buddhist power descended from the sky, targeting his back – that was a brick with gleaming glamour, thrown by Buddha of Mount Sumeru from far away!

If Ning Que didn’t move, the golden brick containing infinite Buddhist power would fall on Sangsang. He had no choice but to lean to one side, letting the golden brick hit his right arm.

Thud! A dull sound rang out.

Ning Que felt his soul was about to be smashed out from his body by the golden brick. Blood spewed from his mouth. Sangsang was also affected and spat out blood, wetting Ning Que’s collar.

Any Buddhist or Taoist cultivator’s arm would shatter if hit by the golden brick of the Buddha of Mount Sumeru. Thankfully, Ning Que had completed the Haoran Qi and his body was as tough as iron. He only felt pain.

With a clang, he put the cutlass back to its sheath, untied the iron bow on his shoulder, and fully drew the bowstring until it was like a full moon. He shot at the huge Buddha of Mount Sumero that was far away.

No arrow was on the string, so it was just like an empty strike. However, a deep rupture appeared on the Buddha of Mount Sumero’s chest the next moment. Golden liquid spilled out of a bow-shaped rupture.

Ning Que killed a Buddha with his bow.

He finally arrived at the gate, but he was still surrounded by Buddhas. These Buddhas had shed plenty of blood, which had transformed into countless rays of light. The shabby gate of Chaoyang City was completely lit up.

Amid the Lights of Buddha, Sangsang looked more and more pale. The Buddha’s attack was to use the consciousnesses of all living creatures and they used the Light of the Buddha. This was what Sangsang feared the most.

Ning Que perceived her pain. His heart trembled and even started hurting too, but he ignored it. He didn’t comfort her either. Instead, he moved toward the field outside the gate.

He held up the bow with his left hand and drew the string with his right hand. It vibrated continuously as if the string was about to break, and as if someone was fluffing a cotton filter. The Buddhas around him all cracked and died.

The Lights of Buddha leaked from these cracks and dispersed to the field, becoming increasingly stronger. Facing them, Sangsang furrowed her brows more tightly and spat out more blood.

…

…

Sangsang woke up startled. She looked at the inky bottom of the cave and was silent. Her eyes were dark and dim. It was a mystery what she was thinking at that moment.

Ning Que held her in his arms and asked, “What is wrong?”

Sangsang said, “I had a nightmare.”

Ning Que was stunned and squeezed out a little smile, asking, “This is something new. What was in your dream?”

Haotian couldn’t dream because only humans dreamed.

Starting to dream demonstrated the sign of her transformation to a human. The humanity that the Headmaster had left was growing in her, as did the greed, anger and foolishness that the Buddha planted in her mind.

“I dreamed that many Buddhas took out knives and messily cut their own bodies to make them bleed. They squeezed their wounds to make the blood spill out much faster. They didn’t look like they were in pain. Some lit fires to help the blood evaporate faster. Others even jumped down from cliffs.”

Her face was devoid of emotion, but fear was visible in her eyes.

Ning Que thought about the sight of when he killed his way out of Chaoyang City. His fingers turned cold.

Sangsang was very feeble at that moment. This world filled with the Light of Buddha was too terrifying for her.

“Hold on a bit longer,” Ning Que said, stroking her back.

“I’ll die if this continues.”

There was still no emotions on Sangsang’s face, but pain joined the fear in her eyes.

Death meant the end – eternal slumber. It was the most dreadful for any being with a mind. She had never felt fear up until that moment because she had never thought that death would come.

“I won’t let you die,” Ning Que said.

Sangsang said, “You keep saying that. Besides being able to comfort yourself, it has no other meaning.”

Ning Que looked at her eyes and said, “This shouldn’t be the end of the story. Since we’ve woken up, we will definitely find a way out.”

Sangsang said, “As you’ve said before, this isn’t like the stories in books.”

“No matter what story it is,” Ning Que said, “I am the hero and you are the heroine. Thus, we won’t die.”

“Maybe, in this story, we’re only the supporting characters.” Sangsang looked at the dark night sky out of the cave where the Lights of Buddha were gradually pervading from the distant field. While listening to the sutra-chanting, she said, “Because this is the story of the Buddha.”

Ning Que fell silent for quite a while and said, “Sleep some more. We can stay for a while longer.”

Sangsang turned to the side and fell asleep again.

Ning Que sat beside her. He felt quite bitter when he saw her knitted brows, the sad downturn of her mouth, and her painful expression. He wanted to reach out and smooth her brows.

When she was awake, Sangsang would never show any trace of pain on her face.

They left the cave in the morning and continued to move towards the south according to the original plan. It was not long until they entered the deep mountains and forests.

Ning Que felt a little relieved. This place was remote, so it shouldn’t be filled with Buddhas and Lights of Buddha everywhere like in Chaoyang City.

He wasn’t wrong, but he wasn’t right either.

There weren’t as many Buddhas in the deep southern mountains, but they still existed. The woodmen they met on the mountain pass were Buddhas and, late at night, Buddhas riding spotty tigers found them.

Ning Que continued killing them, but it was very difficult and he had more and more injuries. In addition, The more Buddhas they met, the weaker Sangsang became. Being tortured by the three poisons, Sangsang looked as pale as snow.

Ning Que started to sing the song of the black swine again to ease her mood. Sangsang was very unhappy and tried to look angry, but she was too pale to be intimidating.

“You always take advantage of me when I’m weak and bully me,” she shouted with anger.

Ning Que reached back and patted her buttocks, saying, “The truth needs to be distinguished for a clear understanding. The one who poisoned you was the Buddha, and it has nothing to do with me. I do bully you, but I won’t take advantage of you.”

At the moment, a wild boar covered in black mud dashed out of the woods and stared at Ning Que dumbly. It probably sensed danger and then ran off immediately.

Sangsang said weakly, “As the saying goes, a crow fell on a pig. The bald donkeys and the Academy are both evil-minded.”

A strange cawing was heard. A black crow flew over and landed somewhere in the woods. After a short moment, the wild boar walked out of the deep woods in low spirits.

The black crow stood on its back to showcase its strength.

Sangsang said, “We’ll eat pork tonight.”

Annoyed, Ning Que said, “Since the crow fell on the back of the pig, am I the pig with you on my back?”

Sangsang lay on his back and whispered, “If you weren’t the pig, then why are you here?”