Seventeenth day (2) shocking change

  In the ancient temple, a gust of wind suddenly rose, and strange cries echoed one after another. The sky was originally dark, and it was also drizzling with rain. At this moment, a blood-red moon thread appeared in the air. I held Fengyue and looked up at Xia Ai. But I knew she was no longer Xia Ai, and she was no longer that gentle and kind girl.

  Who is she?

  Who she is doesn't matter to me at all, I only know that she's my grim reaper, the executor of my curse.

  I stared at the blood moon that suddenly appeared in the sky, I didn't know what astronomical phenomenon caused this crimson moon to appear in the clouds, or if it was just an illusion, whether my eyes were congested with blood, or if they had been plucked out by her and were now gazing at the world with a stream of blood.

  Those two red skirts stopped at the gate of the main hall, fluttering and swaying like two flying heavenly dancers in motion. They were so bright red that they reminded me of the two new brides in the ancient village.

  One drowned and one was shot dead, in short, two lives died unjustly, and both were wearing red skirts when they died.

  I know that in legend, the ghosts who died wearing red clothes are the most ferocious. They must have unspeakable grievances and an unquenchable fury that cannot be erased by heaven or earth.

  They just stood there, waiting for my demise, waiting for everything to end.

  Perhaps they were welcoming me and making me one of them.

  Xiao Ai stepped closer and closer to me, each step landing on my heart. I felt that the time between her last step and next step was as long as ten thousand years.

  I'm really anxious, I can't bear such torture, I've always been thinking why it can't be faster, why it can't be solved at the beginning of my 25th birthday, when I haven't discovered all this.

  Since I was given a limited life, and a countdown on my life, why must I be tormented? Made into a pitiful plaything?

  Xiao Ai turned into the vengeful spirit from hundreds of years ago, the holy maiden who was hanged to death in the ancient temple. I felt sympathetic towards her, but she didn't seem to appreciate it. I saw a smile on her face, a mocking and triumphant smile, as if she was delighted to see my final struggle.

  She was originally a plaything of life, but now she's playing with others. Is this retribution? Am I afraid?

  It's really strange, I should be afraid, I should be trembling, my curse is about to come true, my life is about to disappear.

  But I'm not afraid at all.

  I held onto Fengyue, bent over at the waist, and covered her body with mine.

  I can feel Fengyue's soft and warm body, I can also feel her skin trembling.

  The wind and moon are very afraid, but I am not afraid.

  At this moment, my mind is filled with a sense of calmness and relief. I feel very relaxed, and I don't know why people would feel so relaxed when facing certain death. It's as if you're anxiously taking the college entrance exam, and the moment it ends, even though you clearly didn't do well, you still have a feeling of relaxation.

  These days, the countdown of life has left me physically and mentally exhausted, with only curses in my mind and how many more days I have to live.

  At this moment, the bell rang, and I was relieved.

  I tightly hugged Fengyue, lowering my head, and I felt Xiao Ai walking up to me, standing there, seemingly looking at me.

  What is she waiting for? Where to start from? What posture makes me go die?

  Xiao Ai stood there motionless, I slowly lifted my head to look at her, her face was as cold as frost, the red skirt on her body flashed with murderous intent in the firelight, the two red skirts behind her had disappeared, the whole world only left us three, the jumping candles and the icy night sky.

  I slowly stood up with Feng Yue, who was still hiding behind me. I whispered, "You run quickly."

  I'm really scared, I'm just barely standing in front of Fengyue, what's supporting me isn't my courage, nor is it the love between men and women, what's supporting me is precisely my wish to die.

  It is often said that when a person's life becomes too torturous, they will look forward to the arrival of death.

  I'm like this, when I know that the curse can't be shaken off or gotten rid of, when I hear the ticking sound in my mind every moment, I always hope for all of this to end soon.

  I cannot run; even if I did, abandoning all worldly pleasures, I would still be a life on the verge of death.

  What's more, Xiao Ai is still in her hands, even if I die, I must rescue Xiao Ai from this curse, I have to solve all of this, it's my destiny.

  Fengyue grasped my shoulder and shook her head.

  I don't know if she was too afraid or reluctant to leave me, or thought she couldn't outrun the ghost that had been lingering here for thousands of years.

  Xiao Ai asked, "Do you love this woman?"

  I shook my head and said, no, we are just friends.

  Xiao Ai said, "Then why are you willing to give your life for her?"

  I swallowed a mouthful of bitter water and said, "You want my life, this is my fate, it's my destiny. I don't want to implicate others."

  Xiao Ai said, if he had your courage back then, it would have been better.

  As I spoke, my heart skipped a beat. The story I had pieced together was one of a man's abandonment, and the biggest problem among them was trust, not courage. That man named Liu Ci saw the Baihuo teaching's ritual of worshiping heaven, where men, women, old and young jumped naked over the fire pit, symbolizing purity and fearlessness, but to him it was direct evidence of mass debauchery.

  Doesn't seem to have much to do with courage, does it?

  I'm certainly not the one who questioned what she said, because she's the one involved, and the stories I heard were the result of countless people's interpretations.

  I no longer have any curiosity about how this story will turn out; at this moment, all people want is to be able to survive.

  I said, can you let us go?

  Xiao Ai said, okay, you can go now.

  I stood there motionless and then said, can you let my friend go?

  Xiao Ai suddenly laughed, then said, "I can spare your life, but I won't let her off. However, I'll still give you a choice: use the girl behind you to exchange bodies and souls with her. As long as you nod, you can take your friend and leave."

  I said she's a human being, no one can take her place. You can use my body or propose other conditions, as long as it's something that can be found without harming others, I'll go find it for you.

  Xiao Ai said, "I come back every ten years, and each time I need a body and a willing soul. This is their glory, don't you understand? Some people say I am the protector of this place, some people say I am the source of the curse here. Actually, both are correct. When I died that year, I put a curse on this land with my life and sacred objects. Anyone who comes to this land will not be happy, all happiness wishes will eventually become curses. Do you know why?

  I shook my head.

  Xiao Ai said, because I was foolish back then, I had hopes for happiness and made many beautiful wishes here. But these wishes eventually turned into curses and ultimately came true on me. When you're full of hope but end up with despair, the pain is even more intense than the despair itself. I don't want to be the only one who has suffered this pain, I want everyone here to suffer the same pain as me. But I regret it now.

  I was taken aback and said, "Do you regret it?"

  Xiao Ai said, "Yes, at the moment of my death, I saw my past happiness. I realized that hope is not just a beautiful outcome, but also the process of imagination can bring great joy to people." At that time, I regretted it. So I gave the people in this village a dream, every ten years, hold a wedding here, and I will personally come to dispel the curse.

  I said, what about those brides? In the end...

  Xiao Ai laughed eerily and said, "You think I can eliminate the curse? The people in this village are foolish and childish. Every ten years, they accumulate a lot of wishes, which turn into a pile of indigestible curses. I can only let it befall on me." Ah, let me take a look at you.

  Xiao Ai stretched out her hand and stroked my face. Her hand was very cool, I was scared, but didn't dodge, letting myself stand there stiffly.

  I have no way of leaving Xiaoyi to die here and escaping alone. As long as there is a glimmer of hope, I will save Xiaoyi.

  Xiao Ai put her fingertips on the tip of her nose and sniffed gently, then she said, wanting to be forever young, forever twenty-five years old, is indeed a good wish.

  She actually knew my wish... I had a chill, looking at her smiling at me, then she said, "I think you will die at the age of twenty-five. How long do you have until you are twenty-six?"

  I stammered and said seventeen days.

  Xiao Ai said, "Yes, to eliminate this curse, I need to die once in these seventeen days. Your wishes, whether it's disability, death, or eternal loss of consciousness, I need to reenact them on this body, and then use my soul to bring this body back to life. Do you think someone who has died can come back to life? No, so when your wish is fulfilled, she has already died, and the one that comes back to life is just her flesh. And in the end, what you see may be a broken body struggling to fulfill another curse."

  I felt a rush of heat in my brain, tears already bursting out, I stretched out my hand, pointing at Little Ai and said, "I'm going to kill you."

  Xiao Ai said, "Fine, you want to kill me? First, you have to kill her. She's still alive now. You can try hitting me, try stabbing me with a dagger, I won't resist at all. The pain will only be your friend. Can you bear it?"

  I was stunned, the dagger in my hand fell to the ground, and I said, what exactly do you want?

  Xiao Ai said, "I'm helping you. I haven't been to this land for a long time. I can feel the curses accumulated on this land have piled up into small mountains. Many people died because of these curses, but as long as they're not dead, I can save them. Don't you think you still have other friends and family members who belong here? The curse on their bodies only needs one person to sacrifice in order to be saved."

  I remembered Er Danzi who was paralyzed in bed, I remembered Xiao Pangzi who became a vegetable person, and I also remembered Xiao Budian whose body was separated from his head.

  And I, and the ticking in my mind, and these seventeen days of life.

  All of this can be ended by sacrificing Xia Ai, and all of this will become a thing of the past. I will spend my 25th year, and I will step into my 26th year.

  Is it worth it?

  Isn't it worthwhile?

  I bent down to pick up the dagger, then said, "No, I don't want to. If it's by sacrificing others to save myself, I'd rather be the one to sacrifice. If you want my life, I'll give it to you now, just please let Xia Ai go."

  Xiao Ai smiled again and pointed at Feng Yue behind me. She said, "I need a woman's body."

  I said, women's bodies? We have them, we have them.

  Xiao Ai said, do you have?

  I'm telling you, yes, there are two more corpses outside the inn, both women. Really, they're very fresh, guaranteed to satisfy you.

  Xiao Ai frowned and said, "I don't want a dead person's body."

  I said, big sister, what else do you want? I beg of you, spare us.

  Suddenly, Fengyue said from behind, "If you want my body, I'll give it to you, but you must agree to my conditions."

  As soon as she finished speaking, Xiaoyi and I were both stunned. Xiaoyi said, "Are you talking to me?"

  Fengyue nodded and stood up, saying firmly, "I'll give it to you, but you have to agree to my conditions."

  Xiao Ai said, what conditions?

  The wind and moon looked at me, then said, "I won't say it to you here, you promise me first, and ask my soul after you enter my body."

  Xiao Ai nodded and looked at me, saying "Do you agree? I want this beautiful body, it will be broken into pieces, but your friend will return to your side intact."

  The wind and moon say, I am in charge of my own body, you can start now.

  Xiao Ai nodded and stretched out her palm, Feng Yue closed her eyes. I saw Xiao Ai's fingers about to touch Feng Yue's forehead, I suddenly pounced forward, knocking Feng Yue to the ground. The two of us rolled around on the ground several times, with me pinning her down beneath me.

  Fengyue opened her eyes and said, "What are you doing?"

  I said, I also can't let you die.

  Fengyue said, you can save your friend, right?

  I said I want to save her, but I don't want you to die either.

  Xiao Ai walked up to my side, saw that I was still in the posture of a missionary, pressing down on Feng Yue with one foot, and kicked me in the butt. Although it hurt a bit, the force wasn't great, and I didn't fly out like I had imagined. At the time, I didn't have the mind to think about why I hadn't flown out, or why I hadn't been kicked in half by that one kick. What I was thinking was very simple: I had to protect Feng Yue, I couldn't let her die for me here.

  After all, this is our curse, not hers.

  Xiao Ai said, get up, you get up.

  I raised my head and said, I won't let you kill her.

  Xiao Ai stamped her foot and said, "Get up, get up."

  I said I won't let you kill her.

  Xiao Ai said, don't you want your friend anymore?

  I say, I want, I won't hand over my friend to you either, but nor do I want you to kill her.

  Xiao Ai kicked me hard in the lower back, and I gritted my teeth and endured it, still maintaining the awkward position of being on top of Feng Yue.

  Xiao Ai stamped her foot and then turned around to shout in the ancient temple, "I don't want to play anymore! I'm not playing anymore! I'm eating vinegar! Not playing anymore!"