After listening to Hongye's story, Zhou Yu didn't know how to evaluate it. Finally, he decided to return to the current state.
"If this story is true, are these glowing things the so-called 'Pure Land'?"
Zhou Yu looked around the entire tunnel. Although the red light is weak, it has spread throughout every corner of the tunnel. If there were passengers on the train that just passed by, it would be impossible to ignore this strange sight.
While Crescent Road itself is off the beaten track, there are residents in several adjacent neighborhoods who are likely to choose this route to get home. When Zhou Yu came last year, besides Zhang Mumu who was following him, he also saw other passengers. In other words, the fact that the strange phenomenon in the tunnel has not caused any commotion so far means that it has not lasted very long.
"Let's not talk about whether it has anything to do with the 'freeze'. Why are you making all this red soil now? Isn't this city still barren of grass?"
As he spoke, he pressed his fingertips against the wall. The passage that should have been composed of cement and lime became as soft and fragile as flour in the red light. Just apply a little force and it will sink in smoothly. This made Zhou Yu feel extremely sick, as if what he was touching was not a wall of earth and stone, but some kind of diseased organ.
After retracting his fingers, his skin was covered with a layer of dark white and delicate wall powder, like ash. Under the light red halo, it actually makes people feel edible.
Zhou Yu stared at the ashes in his hand. As a character who values hygiene, he doesn't want to come into contact with such things at all, but after hearing Hongye's story, he really wants to study this so-called 'Pure Land'.
When he was hesitating, Hongye took his hand and said, "Zhou Yu, it's better if you don't eat this."
"Will it have any impact?"
"Well, it shouldn't be too serious for you though."
There was a hint of embarrassment on Hongye's face, even a look of shame. She wiped off the dust on Zhou Yu's fingertips, and then said: "What Sang Lian created is not a 'Pure Land'. If you have to say it, it is more appropriate to call it 'Demon Land'."
"...Isn't it okay for hungry people to eat it?"
"No... they are able to eat soil and make a living not because the properties of the soil have changed, but because they have changed themselves. Zhou Yu, the red light you see is a very vicious ritual. Eating magic soil People will be cursed into foreign objects. Night vision, scales, these are all phenomena of alienation. They do not satisfy their hunger by eating soil, but maintain the curse by eating soil, turning themselves into the rules that swallow Xuan Ye's energy. 'No living thing will starve to death. A curse that lasts for decades is enough to make a mortal lose his body and mind forever."
"But those people are not..."
"This is because all the curses of the ritual were borne by Sang Lian alone. Originally, the concept of 'mountain' was a ritual. Sang Lian asked the villagers to hide in the mountains, while she stayed in the temple on the top of the mountain. I think it was some kind of method of transferring the curse with the help of the town. In those decades, he must have been constantly deforming and alienating. The monks who disappeared in the temple, except those who died of natural old age in the early years, were probably eaten by him. Lost."
"So, are the bones in the temple really his? Because he ate all the monks in the temple and eventually starved to death himself?"
"Absolutely impossible. With the intensity of the curse he suffered, there is no need to eat in the way of ordinary creatures. The villagers will find his bones. It must be Sang Lian who killed himself when he sensed that the 'Earth Jedi' was about to end. Lost it. Use cursed rituals to help people survive the 'Earth's End', and then digest all the curses by themselves... After enduring this for decades, his will must be as strong as a rock."
Hongye stretched out her hand and gently touched the wall that glowed red.
The soft wall should have been crushed by the weight of the earth and stone above the tunnel, but for some reason it still retained its original shape. It would not deform and fall off like mud until it was pressed manually.
"Zhou Yu... A benevolent person like this will not destroy his original wish, right?"
This seemed to be the first time that she actually asked Zhou Yu, who knew very little, for advice on an occasion where she would have made her own judgment before.
Zhou Yu thought for a while. He could hear what Hongye wanted to answer, but in the end he just said: "Hongye, do you still remember the first song Osier played to you?"
"……Um."
"It's not uncommon to want to achieve great things, bear a curse for it, and eventually turn into a monster that you are hostile to. If Sang Lian is indeed your enemy now, you can't just sit back and let him die because of his past, right?"
Zhou Yu truthfully expressed his thoughts. Perhaps because the story Hong Ye told was too far away from him to give him a real understanding, he still had no feelings for Sang Lian at this moment.
"No matter what, seeing is believing. Let's find him first. From my perspective, I don't want him to collude with your enemies. After all, I also have problems that need to be solved by him."
When he said this, Hongye's complexion finally improved slightly. The two of them walked along the tunnel to the southwest. During the process, Zhou Yu suddenly remembered another thing.
"By the way, Hongye, the two people mentioned by Osier, if the 'starving ghost' is Sang Lian, who is the other person?"
"...I think what Osier is talking about may be a person named Li Li."
"Which word? Carp's carp?"
"No, it's reasonable."
Judging from the name alone, he does seem to be a smart person. Speaking of names that can reveal personality, Zhang Mumu’s “Mumu” is a good example. But when Zhou Yu thought of Chen Wei, he immediately rejected this metaphysical argument without causal logic.
"What about this person named Li Li? Does he have any strange deeds like Sang Lian?"
"No, I'm not very familiar with Li Li's words. That girl is different from Sang Lian. She has been here for a very short time. The first time I heard her name was from Ao'er. However, Ao'er used the word 'smart person' This nickname refers to someone, and it is definitely someone I know. Then there are only two that I can think of, one of which will never appear in this city, and the remaining one can only be Li Li."
"Wait a minute, is Li Li a woman?"
"It's a woman of the same age as you."
Zhou Yu noticed the statement adopted by Hong Ye. When she described Sang Lian before, she just said that she "looked about the same age" as the two of them, but this time she definitely said that she was "the same age" as herself.
"Hongye, do you know my exact age?"
"Well, I can see..."
Hongye was explaining himself, but suddenly fell silent again. Zhou Yu, who was already very familiar with her reaction, immediately stopped, followed her gaze, and found a vague figure very far ahead.
At this time, the distance between the two sides was about five hundred meters, and the red light in the tunnel was very dim. Even though Zhou Yu thought he had good eyesight, he could only barely make out the outline of the human figure.
"Hongye, is that Sanglian?"
"It seems not. He looks closer to forty years old and is wearing a suit. I think even if Sang Lian changed her appearance, she would not choose to dress like him."
Hongye's eyesight is surprisingly good. Zhou Yu turned his head and glanced at her. Whether it was an illusion or not, he seemed to see a faint silver light flashing in those eyes.
"Even if it's not Sang Lian, what is this guy doing in the tunnel?"
"I don't know either. It looks like he's trying to cross the railroad tracks."
Zhou Yu tried his best to look far away, but he didn't have the eagle eyes of Hongye. It was his limit to just distinguish the little bit of movement in the darkness. While he was trying his best to observe, Hongye suddenly called out softly.
"That man...he walked to the wall and disappeared."
