Sigh, I really regret taking in that rascal John Chou all those years ago.
I let out a surprised sound and watched as Lady Meng slowly approached again. Just as I looked at Boss Chang, wanting to ask why, Lady Meng suddenly raised her knobby wooden cane and knocked Boss Chang on the head. With a whoosh, Boss Chang tumbled back into the deep pit.
"You..."
I was speechless for a long time. Lady Meng looked exasperated, then straightened up, almost as if she was warming up for exercise. She jumped a little, gripping her cane, and looked just like a baseball player. While I was still in shock, I saw three or four pale ghosts flying toward us.
Lady Meng, what are you doing? You...
Before I could finish my sentence, I saw Lady Meng lift one foot, really looking like she was playing baseball. As the ghosts came down, Lady Meng swung her knobby cane with a series of muffled thuds, batting the ghosts back into the pitch-black pit.
Some of the ghosts, after being struck, showed wounds on their bodies.
Lady Meng, if you treat them so roughly, won't it affect their reincarnation...
"Ah, what can I do? At most, when they're born, they'll have one or two birthmarks. I mostly aim for the body, never the head—otherwise, they'd be disfigured at birth, which could bring unnecessary trouble later in life."
I couldn't understand what was happening at all.
"Ugh, this is so annoying. Here they come again."
I let out a sound of surprise as more shrieks rose from the pit. I watched as three more pale ghosts flew out of the pit. Lady Meng, still in a half-squat stance, swung her cane three times in quick succession, knocking the ghosts back into the pit. She looked quite pleased with herself.
"You know, over the past few centuries, this has become my greatest pleasure. Don't you humans have a sport called baseball? It's pretty much the same thing."
Hearing Lady Meng say this, my jaw nearly dropped. My mouth hung open in disbelief. It felt like I'd just uncovered some shocking secret. Thinking about it, in today's world, there really are a lot of people born with birthmarks, as if they'd been beaten by someone. So it was her all along.
I also remembered that, looking in the mirror before, I'd seen seven strange birthmarks on my back. Now that I think about it, it really does seem like someone had hit me.
I glared resentfully at Lady Meng. She raised her knobby cane and tapped me on the head.
What are you thinking, Ethan Zhang? Most ghosts only come back once or twice, just like your human computer term—rollback.
I blinked at Lady Meng. So even reincarnation could be rolled back? If something went wrong, wouldn’t it be a disaster.
"Enough talk. You come help too. This old lady has been doing this for centuries, and it's getting dull. Sigh, there's a flood of them coming—you help me out a bit."
"How do I help?"
As soon as I finished speaking, shrieks echoed from the pit, and two or three dozen ghosts flew out, heading toward us.
Punch them or kick them—just make sure they go back in.
I made a sound of acknowledgment, but then realized—if I did that, and they ended up with birthmarks after reincarnation, wouldn’t that be my fault?
Be quick about it! Why are young people so lifeless? If you don’t help, I won’t give you Lady Meng’s Elixir.
Startled, I quickly spread my wings and flew up, then swung my fists and kicked, knocking the ghosts back into the pit one after another, silently muttering apologies in my heart.
Finally, it was over. Lady Meng put away her knobby cane and motioned for me to follow. I landed and, still puzzled by everything that had just happened, was shocked by the idea of reincarnation and rollback. It was all too much for me.
As we walked, I stopped in front of a large stone. I couldn’t tell what it was made of—it was white and shiny, its surface unusually smooth, glowing with a soft light.
"What is this?" I couldn’t help but ask.
"The Eternity Stone. Haven’t you seen it before?"
I made a sound of acknowledgment and looked resentfully at Lady Meng. It was my first time here—how could I possibly know?
"Is this the Eternity Stone?" I exclaimed in surprise, immediately recalling that in stories, this stone was said to reveal past, present, and future lives. I hurried over to it.
"What do I do?"
Seeing how impatient I looked, Lady Meng sighed.
"Just put your hand on it—if you can see, that is."
Without thinking, I placed my hand on the shining surface of the stone. But after a long moment, black mist began to seep out of the Eternity Stone, turning it completely black. I couldn’t see anything. I finally understood what Lady Meng meant—the prerequisite was that I had to be able to see.
After a long time, it was still pitch black—I couldn’t see anything.
Legend has it that after repairing the sky, Nuwa began to create humans out of clay, counting each one with a grain of sand, which eventually formed a great stone. Nuwa placed it by the Spirit River in the western heavens. Because the stone was created at the dawn of the world, it absorbed the essence of the sun and moon, becoming gradually imbued with spiritual power. After many years, a loud noise was heard in the sky, and the stone shot up into the clouds, piercing the heavens as if to break through. Nuwa was shocked to see that after absorbing the sun and moon’s essence, the stone was top-heavy yet stood upright, mighty enough to reach the sky. It bore two divine marks dividing it into three segments, as if to swallow the heavens, earth, and humanity. Nuwa quickly sealed the stone with a Soul Talisman, thinking that after creating humans, only the divine seat for fate and reincarnation remained missing. So she named it the Eternity Stone, gave it the power of the Three Lives Formula, and named its three segments Past Life, Present Life, and Future Life. She also added a thread of fate, stretching from the present to the future. To further restrain its demonic nature, Nuwa finally placed it by the River of Forgetfulness at the Ghost Gate, to govern fate and reincarnation across three lifetimes. Once it stood upright, its divine power illuminated the world, and countless souls came to kneel and seek their destined fate and rebirth.
Before I could say anything, Lady Meng began a long, solemn explanation, telling me the origin of the Eternity Stone. I responded with a sound of acknowledgment but didn’t really understand. I was full of anticipation—after all, it was a rare chance to see what my three lives looked like.
Come with me, Ethan Zhang. What’s so interesting about the Eternity Stone? Don’t you have a wife? Fate is unpredictable. Are you really curious to see what your past and future wives looked like?
I made a sound of acknowledgment, looked at Lady Meng, and was speechless. Sighing, I followed her into the small courtyard. I stared, dazed, at the pink six-petal flowers blooming beautifully on the tree. Suddenly, I remembered the black flowers called Sixfold Blossom that John Chou cultivated in my apartment building—they looked exactly the same.
Sixfold Blossom, right? That rascal John Chou stole seeds from me. You must have seen them—the identical black flowers.
John Chou stole them?
I looked at Lady Meng in shock. She nodded, looking furious.
Lady Meng and I stepped into the Memory Forgetting Terrace. It was unique, with a low table, several soft mats, and a delicate purple-black tea set steaming on the table. Rustic wooden furniture was arranged around. Lady Meng gestured for me to sit. I did so, and she handed me a cup of tea. I brought it to my lips but tasted no tea flavor.
Just as I was about to drink, I nearly dropped the cup, spilling water all over the table. Could this be Lady Meng’s Elixir?
I looked at the color of the water—it was very pale.
Ethan Zhang, what are you thinking? Lady Meng’s Elixir is so precious—how could I use it to make tea? I’m perfectly sane, not like those lunatics from Qiyin Mountain.
Embarrassed, I quickly wiped the table with a cloth from underneath, then poured myself another cup of tea. I drank it and tasted a slight sweetness and a hint of bitterness—it really was tea, and I felt relieved.
I asked what had just happened—why treat the reincarnating ghosts so roughly, and how could reincarnation be so hasty and even have rollbacks?
You should ask your John Chou about that. Sigh, that rascal—back then, I really should have beaten him to death with a stick, or better yet, tied him up, forced him to drink a few buckets of Lady Meng’s Elixir, and kicked him into the Sixfold Cycle...
He should be tied up, given a good beating, then thrown into the Sixfold Cycle—so that next time he comes out, he’d be a freak.
So vicious, I couldn’t help but mutter to myself.
That’s not enough. I should carve two words into his face.
I couldn’t hold back and burst out laughing. Lady Meng looked to be eighty or ninety, but she spoke so lightly and cheerfully, half joking.
What words, Lady Meng?
Of course—“sinister.”
I clutched my stomach and laughed. It’s true—when it comes to being sinister, I’ve experienced John Chou’s tricks firsthand. He always acts innocent, but he drags you in before you know it. I’ve suffered from his schemes myself.
I kept asking questions, but Lady Meng just kept sighing. It seemed that every time she thought of John Chou, she got angry.
Back then, I took pity on him—he’d just escaped from the Hell of Endless Suffering, endured countless torments. And I thought it was unfair to treat those seven like that, so I took John Chou in and taught him a few things.
I looked at Lady Meng in shock. She continued speaking.
Who knew he’d steal Sixfold Blossom seeds and secretly crack the secret of Lady Meng’s Elixir? In the end, when he was besieged by two Underworld Marshals, if I hadn’t helped him, he never would have escaped to the Forest of Desire and gained his powers.