diskusbooks #563 - About God
#563 - About God
In the deep of night, the air in the room was so heavy it felt crushing. The moonlight outside the window was obscured by thick clouds, leaving only the faint light from the desk lamp in the corner, casting swaying shadows on the wall.
"Yeah, it doesn't matter anymore," Wang Lina said, her head lowered, her slender fingers unconsciously twisting the hem of her clothes. Her usually bright face was now shrouded in shadow, making it impossible to see her expression.
Tang Yin gazed at her and suddenly said, "I've decided to help Xiaomei."
Wang Lina abruptly raised her head, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, but it quickly dimmed. "How? Leave here? I told you, it's impossible." There was a trace of exhaustion in her voice.
"At least it's better than sitting around waiting to die, right?" Tang Yin took a step forward. "Even if she's a wolf, it will reduce the number of wolves."
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the clouds, casting dappled shadows on the floor. Wang Lina's voice was so soft it almost dissipated into the air: "...Is that so? I can't think anymore."
Tang Yin watched her in silence. The room was so quiet you could hear the ticking of the clock on the wall.
"...I killed someone."
This sentence was like a heavy stone, dropped between the two of them. Wang Lina's tone was frighteningly calm, but Tang Yin knew how heavy a burden was hidden beneath that calmness. Her slender shoulders trembled slightly, as if she might collapse at any moment.
"It's not your fault," Tang Yin replied calmly. He had to stay calm, because if he didn't think that way, she would definitely break down.
"Is that so?" Wang Lina raised her head, the moonlight illuminating her pale face.
"You did your best."
"No matter what, I didn't stop the killing, which means, in fact, I agree with killing?" There was a hint of self-doubt in her voice.
"In that case, so do I."
"...Ah, is that so?"
Tang Yin took a deep breath. "Moreover, from a legal perspective, making unusual decisions in unusual circumstances is understandable."
"The law..." Wang Lina murmured to herself.
"In any case, handing over the power of judgment to the law is much better than handing it over to that inexplicable mountain's rules," Tang Yin's voice was firm and forceful.
Wang Lina was silent, her head lowered. The moonlight cast a faint silver glow on her long hair.
"Wang Lina, do you want to die at the hands of supernatural forces?" There was a hint of urgency in Tang Yin's tone.
Still silence.
"Are there other concerns?"
"...Yeah..." Wang Lina responded softly.
Tang Yin looked at the stubborn girl in front of him, realizing that persuading her would not be easy. He thought for a moment, then tentatively asked, "Because of the gods?"
"Half of it, maybe."
"Is the other half difficult to explain?"
"Yeah," Wang Lina's answer was still brief.
Tang Yin sat down on the chair opposite her, his eyes fixed on her: "Then let's talk about the gods."
The light from the lamp flickered between them, illuminating their grave expressions. This night was destined to be a long one, and the discussion about the gods might reveal some of the mysteries shrouding this mountain.
In the dim room, raindrops constantly beat against the glass outside the window, making a dense sound. Wang Lina sat in the corner, her hands tightly clenching the hem of her skirt, her knuckles white. Her eyes darted around, as if fighting against some kind of fear within.
"...How should I put it?" Her voice trembled slightly, seeming particularly fragile in the rain.
After a moment of pause, she suddenly raised her head, a strange light flashing in her eyes: "The gods are 'unfortunate.'"
"Hmm?" Tang Yin frowned, sensing the hidden meaning in her words.
"No, it's not that the gods are unfortunate, but..." Wang Lina bit her lip, trying to organize her words, "As long as there are gods, no matter what we do, we will not be happy."
The rain grew heavier, and the light of lightning through the window cast eerie shadows on her pale face. Tang Yin leaned forward, his eyes like torches: "Did you see this with your own eyes?"
"...Yeah, everyone has seen it, but they can't see the essence of the gods," Wang Lina's voice had a hint of imperceptible tremor.
"Then tell me about the parts you can see," Tang Yin's tone was calm and firm. "Are the gods human?"
Wang Lina was silent. Rainwater flowed down the window glass, casting distorted shadows on the wall. Her breathing became rapid, as if she were making some kind of difficult decision. Finally, she nodded lightly, the movement almost imperceptible.
"Are the gods from Hidden Mist Village?"
Silence enveloped the room again. Wang Lina neither denied nor affirmed, but kept her head down, letting her long hair cover half of her face.
"Then, are the gods from Baifeng Village?"
Still silence. But Tang Yin noticed that her shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably, as if she were enduring unspeakable pain.
"Then..." Tang Yin was about to continue questioning.
"--No, no, definitely not!" Wang Lina suddenly burst into a scream. "Not human! No matter what, humans are no match for the gods!!"
Her voice was full of hysterical fear, and she seemed to have her heart seized by something terrible.
"Calm down and explain, otherwise we will definitely be killed!" Tang Yin said urgently.
"Kill me then! Let's end this nightmare now!" Wang Lina's eyes became frantic. "Tang Yin! Kill me!! I want to die by your hand!"
"What are you saying! Calm down!" Tang Yin suddenly stood up, trying to grab her shoulders.
"I'm very calm, and I haven't been corrupted, nor have I gone mad, haven't gone mad, the strange thing is..." Wang Lina's voice suddenly lowered, with a strange clarity, "The strange thing is the entire Baifeng Village! The strange thing is, the strange thing is the gods!!"
A bolt of lightning flashed across the night sky, the pale light illuminating her distorted face. Tang Yin's brain raced, and a terrible thought suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Is the god you're talking about some kind of state!?" --This sentence almost blurted out, with an intuitive understanding.
The rain continued to fall, but Wang Lina's mental state had completely collapsed. Her slender figure trembled in the corner of the dim room, her pale face covered with tears, and her once bright eyes were now bloodshot, her gaze scattered like glass balls that could shatter at any moment. She hugged her arms tightly, her fingernails digging deeply into her skin, leaving pale marks.
The despair in her heart and the helplessness of not being able to accurately express what she saw and felt plunged her into a state of near madness. She could see existences that ordinary people could not see, and Tang Yin could not -- but things were obviously not that simple. In her cognitive world, there was a concept called "god," and this concept was so deeply imprinted in her consciousness that only she could perceive its existence.
Raindrops continued to beat against the window, making a dense pattering sound, and occasionally there were a few muffled rumbles of thunder from afar. This abstract concept was too complex to describe in simple language. Unless a way could be found to concretize it, it would be difficult to help her get rid of the fear in her heart. Tang Yin realized that he had to understand the concept Wang Lina was talking about and find a word that could accurately refer to "god."
To clear his thoughts, Tang Yin fell into a brief contemplation. However, at this moment, he noticed an abnormality -- Wang Lina had also suddenly become quiet. The air in the room seemed to freeze in an instant.
Raising his head, Tang Yin saw Wang Lina staring at something with a strange look. Her pupils constricted sharply, the color drained from her face, and her expression was as if she had seen the most terrible thing in the world. Her lips trembled slightly, wanting to say something but unable to make a sound.
Tang Yin's heart tightened, had he guessed something right? No, something was wrong. Just as this thought flashed through his mind, an icy chill suddenly came from behind, as if something was watching them. Noticing that Wang Lina's focus was behind him, Tang Yin subconsciously turned around.
The door was open, he didn't know when. He clearly remembered locking it, but now it was wide open. In the shadows of the doorway, stood a figure. The flickering corridor light made the figure look particularly eerie.
Was that really a person?
In the dim light, Tang Yin could barely make out a vague outline. The figure's attire was extremely strange, its whole body wrapped in something like bandages, but on closer inspection, those were more like strips of cloth covered in scriptures, gleaming with a sickly yellow color in the faint light. The figure was not burly, but rather had a slender feel of a boy or girl, but it gave people an unspeakable sense of disharmony.
The most ⊥ new ⊥ small ⊥ says ⊥ in ⊥ six ⊥ 9 ⊥⊥ book ⊥⊥ bar ⊥⊥ first ⊥ hair!
But, was that really human? This question rang in Tang Yin's mind again, but at this time he had lost the ability to act. Even his fingers could not move at all, as if all the blood in his body had been frozen. A terrible thought flashed through: if he forced himself to move now, what would happen?
In the tense atmosphere, the strange figure suddenly spoke. Its lips moved slightly, spitting out words with a rhythm that did not belong to the human world, the voice sounding as if it came from a very far away place, and also as if it was ringing directly in the ear:
"Accompanied by the breath of the Yellow Springs, the wolf has come."
"Immediately, 褉, 物忌, dream pillow."
"The girl of Baifeng Village."
As soon as the words fell, a shrill wolf howl suddenly came from afar, piercing through the rain and echoing in this ominous night.
Suddenly, a dull thud broke the silence in the room. Wang Lina's slender figure fell to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, her black hair scattered all over the place, gleaming faintly in the dim light.
"Wang Lina--!?" Tang Yin exclaimed, immediately rushing to her side. His voice was full of anxiety and worry, his hands trembling as he supported her shoulders. Through the thin clothes, he could feel her body temperature rapidly decreasing.
Wang Lina had not completely lost consciousness, but her amber eyes had become scattered and lifeless, as if looking at the world through a layer of mist. Her mouth was slightly open, and her breathing became rapid and disordered.
"Hey, hang in there!" Tang Yin gently shook her body, trying to keep her awake. The sound of rain outside the window seemed to grow louder, the sound of raindrops hitting the glass was clearly audible.
Wang Lina blinked weakly, "...I...how...where is this...?" Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz, with obvious confusion. Her once bright eyes were now covered with a layer of water vapor.
"Who was that person just now!?" Tang Yin pressed, his brow furrowed, his heart full of doubts about that strange figure.
"Just now...so strange...what's going on...so sleepy..." Wang Lina's voice grew weaker and weaker, her consciousness seemed to be constantly sinking.
"...Sorry...I'm going back..." she suddenly said, then struggled to get up from the ground. Her movements were very unsteady, as if she would fall again at any moment.
She staggered towards the entrance, and Tang Yin noticed that the door had closed, and the strange figure had disappeared without a trace. A faint scent of sandalwood still lingered in the air. But now was not the time to consider these things, Wang Lina's condition was the most important.
"Come with me." Tang Yin quickly stepped forward and hugged Wang Lina tightly from behind. Her body was very cold, and trembled slightly in his arms.
"Entrust your life to me." His voice was firm and gentle.
Wang Lina did not speak, but her body seemed to relax a little.
"Wang Lina, tomorrow morning, I'll take you and Xiaomei away from here together," Tang Yin continued, his tone with an undeniable determination.
"...Not just me," she replied softly, her voice with a hint of warmth.
"After all, you entrusted her to me, of course I have to take care of her until the last moment," Tang Yin's tone was a bit playful.
"A sense of duty?" Wang Lina asked.
"Yeah, besides, it's unpleasant to not save a child in danger."
"You really can't be a bad person, Tang Yin, by the way, when did you start calling me by my first name?" Her voice recovered some vitality, even with a hint of playfulness.
"Don't like it?"
"It's not that I don't like it, but shouldn't it be gradual?"
"Then date me," Tang Yin said bluntly.
"Okay~" Wang Lina's tone suddenly became light.
"Then run away with me?"
"Okay. I'll say it first, I mean it's okay to die with you, but I can't guarantee Xiaomei's safety."
"You entrusted her to me, right~" Tang Yin's voice was smiling.
"Is that so, I forgot, never mind, you are the senior, I'll leave it to you."
"Okay. By the way, are there any other people who want to escape?"
"Hey~ so it's not my special treatment?" Wang Lina pretended to complain.
Tang Yin tightened his arms around her, "Of course it is, others can just take it as it comes, but you are different from others, even if it's kidnapping, I will tie you up and leave here."
The sound of rain outside the window gradually subsided, and a wonderful sense of warmth filled the room. Although the future is uncertain, at this moment, they seem to have found each other's belonging.