Situ Zhaixing (Part One)
P. S.: Finally home! It feels so good...
Slaughter. In recent days, the entire Yanling Commandery has been almost entirely engulfed in slaughter. Whether it's Zombie attacking humans or thousands of Cultivator killing Zombie, killing is a common sight in Yanling Commandery during this period. In the end, for the sake of so-called points, there are even battles between Cultivator. It seems that the entire Yanling Commandery has been transformed into an Asura Purgatory.
These days, Zhuge Xiang, Su Huayu, and Mizheng have been wandering around Rakshasa City, killing countless Zombie. Although Zhuge Xiang the lowest cultivation level among the three, it must be said that his combat power is the strongest.
The number of Zombie Zhuge Xiang has killed these days has even brought his points to over 10,000. Of course, this includes not only the points he earned Zhuge Xiang from killing Zombie, but also the points from other people's Record Badge.
These days, he has encountered numerous open and covert struggles, ambushes, sneak attacks, and poisonings. For Zhuge Xiang, such days of killing are nothing unusual. One by one, the powerful figures who wanted to deal with Zhuge Xiang all killed by him, and the items in their Storage Ring and their points all became Zhuge Xiang's possessions.
Su Huayu is also Asura Sect Disciple. Although she has been a protected princess in Rakshasa City for many years, both Qing Mingzi and Su Haitang have instilled the ideology of the Asura Sect in Su Huayu. Her upbringing has given Su Huayu the potential to become a witch.
Of all the fighting and strife these past few days, only Mizheng has truly been impacted. The betrayals, poisonings, attacks, and even the deception of innocent children and frail elderly people over the past few months have severely shaken Mizheng's lifelong beliefs.
"What? Still grieving for the little girl who died today?" That night, Zhuge Xiang and his two companions camped on a small hillside three hundred miles north of Rakshasa City. Zhuge Xiang walked up to Mizheng and asked.
Mizheng squatted on the grass, the campfire beside him burning brightly, dispelling the surrounding darkness. He buried his head between his knees. Hearing Zhuge Xiang's words, Mizheng raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. The shock he had suffered these past few days made it impossible for him to calm his mind, whether he was resting or meditating.
"No. That little girl today deceived us with Food containing the Golden Thread Gu. If we don't kill her, she will surely kill even more people in the future. She is so young yet already has such a vicious heart. I don't regret it," Mizheng replied, shaking his head, his eyes filled with an unprecedented look.
"Oh?" Zhuge Xiang was surprised to hear Mizheng's words. After looking Mizheng up and down, he couldn't help but laugh and said, "It seems that what has happened these days has not been a bad thing for you. At least you have learned to think for yourself instead of using Buddhist Sect rules to judge right and wrong in every situation."
"Although all beings are equal and all can be saved, there is still a distinction between good and evil. It may take ten or eight years to reform an inherently evil person, but only a month to reform someone with a conscience. Why should I waste time on someone inherently evil? Killing him with one blow would be enough to save the innocent people he has killed over the past ten or eight years..."
As Zhuge Xiang said, the experiences of the past few days seemed to have made Mizheng about many things. When he finished speaking, his voice was firm and his words were like those of a demon, full of murderous intent, but they also gave people a feeling of saving all living beings and being upright and righteous.
"Although the Corpse Extermination Alliance's points system is well-intentioned, it has incited the greed of many evil people in recent days. The Zombie have not yet been completely eradicated, yet they have picked up the butcher's knife and turned against us humans. These evil people must not be allowed to live." As Mizheng finished speaking, Zhuge Xiang stood up, also with a compassionate look, but said with a chilling killing intent.
"Excellent!" Mizheng and praised, "These people, for their own benefit, are willing to kill others. These people must not be allowed to live; they must be completely eliminated."
"Alright, starting tomorrow, Zombie will be our hunting targets. But those evil beings are even more dangerous than Zombie. For the sake of all living beings, they will also be our hunting targets," Zhuge Xiang and Mizheng said in unison, clapping their hands together.
"I haven't rested well these days, let alone recovered properly. Now that the knot in my heart has been untied, I must take this opportunity to properly adjust my state of mind." Sitting cross-legged, the Buddhist Power within Mizheng's body, filled with radiant energy, began to flow, and he actually calmed down.
"Congratulations, a perfectly good Buddhist Sect disciple has finally been dragged into the demonic path," Su Huayu said softly with a smile as she watched Zhuge Xiang sit back down beside her by the campfire.
"You're wrong. I was just teaching him how to conduct himself in society. Now that he's like this, I'm relieved," Zhuge Xiang shook his head, showing no sign of pride.
In Su Huayu's view, a good Buddhist Sect disciple had been corrupted by her, but in Zhuge Xiang's view, he was indeed helping Mizheng.
What is Buddha? Sweeping the floor, one fears to harm even the smallest ant; protecting moths, one covers lamps with gauze. How many ants are trampled to death as people walk on the road?
If one were to truly regulate oneself according to the Buddhist Sect, would one have to carefully observe the ground beneath each step, checking for even the slightest ant? If so, wouldn't the so-called Buddhist Sect rules become self-imposed constraints, making it impossible to move an inch?
Mizheng grew up under the influence and teachings of the Buddhist Sect, and the rules of the Buddhist Sect were deeply ingrained in his bones. In Zhuge Xiang's eyes, he had become a person bound by these Buddhist Sect. In Zhuge Xiang's view, his actions were entirely helping Mizheng, allowing him to break free from the Buddhist Sect shackles that bound him.
During their casual conversations these past few days, Zhuge Xiang and Su Huayu learned about Mizheng's experiences; he had come out to gain experience at the behest of his Sect elders.
Although his cultivation was good and his aptitude was excellent, he was not selected in the Sect's selection process. Why was that? It was because the elders of Heavenly Dragon Temple saw through Mizheng's shortcomings, so they sent him down the mountain to gain experience.
Kindness? Once he truly descended the mountain and witnessed the coldness and warmth, good and evil, deception and betrayal of the Mortal World, Mizheng would naturally develop his own thoughts. Gradually, he would also develop his own insights into Buddhist principles. Those insights, unique to him, were his own, not Buddhist Sect precepts or things found in books.
Cultivators usually replace sleep with meditation. After officially finalizing the battle plan to steal other people's Record Badge, Zhuge Xiang and Su Huayu chatted for a while by the campfire and then wanted to meditate. However, soon, a staggering figure ran towards them from not far away.
"Someone's here!" Zhuge Xiang and Su Huayu tensed up at the sight of the approaching figure, their Magic Artifact weapons appearing in their hands. Even Mizheng on the other side suddenly opened his eyes.
Looking at the campfire, the figure jogged over, and soon Zhuge Xiang and the others could clearly see what this person looked like.
Judging from his appearance, he was around thirty years old. His face was deathly pale, devoid of any color. His clothes were tattered and torn. His eyes were bloodshot, indicating he hadn't rested in a long time. Looking at the figure, one could see countless wounds on his body. Some wounds had healed, but this man had a huge gash on his chest, like a child's open mouth, with flesh completely rotting and festering. The fact that he hadn't died despite all that was truly admirable.
Exhausted, the man nearly collapsed as he approached the campfire. After sizing up Zhuge Xiang and his companions, he mustered a sliver of energy and asked Zhuge Xiang, "Young brother, do you have any water or Food?"
"Yes!" Before Zhuge Xiang could answer, Mizheng spoke up, taking out dry rations and Food from his Storage Ring and presenting them to the man.
Although Mizheng has come to understand many things through his experiences these past few days, it only means that he has broken the shackles of Buddhist principles on him, but it does not mean that Mizheng has become a heartless person.
However, just as Mizheng placed the dry rations and water in front of the man, Mizheng's expression suddenly changed slightly, and he abruptly took a step back. A chilling glint of light, like a shooting star, shattered the bowl in Mizheng's hand, and the dry rations in his hand were also torn to powder by the glint of light.
A long arrow was planted in the ground in front of Mizheng, its fletching trembling and radiating a sharp aura. If Mizheng had reacted even a fraction slower, he would have been either killed or wounded by this terrifying arrow.
"Who dares to fire a sneak arrow?!" Mizheng shouted angrily, looking in the direction from which the arrow had come.
He is kind when he should be kind, and angry when he should be angry. Mizheng's character has changed a lot from the innocent little monk who chanted Amitābha Buddha's name without understanding anything at the beginning. When he gets angry, he is like a wrathful Vajra.
Zhuge Xiang Su Huayu gripped their weapons tightly. Zhuge Xiang, in particular, looked at the direction from which the arrow had come, a cold aura emanating from him, and killing intent filling the air. The person who had just fired the arrow from the shadows clearly intended to kill Mizheng as well, and Zhuge Xiang could tell that they also had some knowledge of archery.
"Where did this junior come from, daring to save people so casually? This person is not someone you can save!" A series of footsteps sounded, and then a thin man riding a Slanted-eyed White Tiger walked out of the night.
He looked to be around forty years old, with a hooked nose, giving off a cold and heartless vibe. On his back was a huge bow; clearly, the arrow he had just fired was his. (To be continued...)