Li Ang said calmly, “What a melodramatic story.”
“It is,” Zou Zhengze said with a smile. “When I thought things through and returned to the city, I realized that she had completely left. Therefore, I started to look for traces of her to apologize to her.
“However, by the time I heard where she was, it was already over 20 years later.
“Naturally, she had become a wife and a mother. I did not hate her for that. On the contrary, I was sincerely happy for her and wished her well.
“I also started to collect their daily garbage. Humans lie and deceive, but their garbage doesn’t.
“When I saw her kitchen garbage, I knew that she still liked to eat congee for breakfast and liked sweet and sour pork ribs and fried meat with mushrooms. When I saw her shopping tags, I discovered that she also liked to use Bee & Flower sandalwood soap and peony hand cream. I knew that they went to a concert hall once a month and danced slowly in the living room to the music on the vinyl record player every Wednesday night. When I saw that she was doing well, I was very happy.”
“In that case,” said Li Ang. “Why did you kill them?”
“Like I said… it was out of love.” Zou Zhengze smiled bitterly. “Have you heard of the Chinese Abnormality Institute?”
Li Ang nodded.
“The Abnormality Institute, or the Abnormal Objects and Phenomenon Institute, which dated back to the Qin and Han dynasties long ago, was one of the earliest extraordinary organizations formed by the Killing Field players in this country.
“The alchemists and players in ancient times naturally had contact with the rulers after gaining extraordinary powers. Because the imperial family had top players, the alchemists declared bankruptcy due to their usurping activities. Eventually, thanks to the imperial family’s extraordinary players, an organization called the Abnormality Institute was established.
“This organization was only loyal to the rulers of each dynasty. When the Killing Field started and the spiritual influence recovered, the Abnormality Institute was responsible for attracting civilian players to assist the imperial family in eliminating the demons in the world.
“When the Killing Field stopped and the spiritual influence withered, the Abnormality Institute was responsible for compiling records, mapping demon illustrations and quest records, and trying to bypass the killing game to record and inherit extraordinary power.
“This could also be known as preaching.
“After the Sui and Tang dynasties, the frequency of Killing Fields got lower and lower, and the scale got smaller and smaller. The spiritual influence had withered and the extraordinary elements had gradually ebbed.
“The alchemists of the Abnormality Institute had the bamboo slip inheritance. Although they weren’t waiting to die from thirst like the fish in the dried-up lake, they couldn’t develop anymore and had an increasingly weaker presence.
“By the end of the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, the mountains and rivers were sinking and the communication between heaven and earth was cut off. The Abnormality Institute was only left with two or three cats and a warehouse of bamboo slips in the Forbidden City.
“The new rulers, who had never experienced the high tide of the spiritual influence, had a negative attitude toward the Abnormality Institute’s work. A large number of bamboo slips were lost and destroyed. The quest logs, the inheritance of extraordinary powers, and the demon illustration of the past Killing Fields were lost.
“This lasted until the spring breeze blew, thousands of willows swayed with the wind, and China, which had a population of 600 million, was wise. Half of the Abnormality Institute has finally been rejuvenated. They seized this opportunity and collected the lost bamboo slips and plenty of records while they destroyed the mountains and temples.
“Before July, the Killing Field started again on a large scale and the Abnormality Institute, which had good historical credibility, once again stepped on the historical stage as an intellectual support organization to assist the Special Affairs Bureau in work.
“It could be said that the existence of the Abnormality Institute was good fortune brought about by long history. It was an innate plug-in that was reasonable and legitimate in the strategic layout of the State Apparatus.
“After all, the ancestors had once been rich.
“Even in the forum that brings together most players, the Abnormality Institute belonged to the most mysterious and ancient organization with its own retro-style BGM and a good reputation.
“However, how is this related to you?”
While facing Li Ang’s puzzled eyes, Zou Zhengze sighed. “Just yesterday, I entered a solo Scripted Quest mode. After eliminating the vengeful spirit of an ancient alchemist, I learned a big secret related to the Abnormality Institute.
“In addition to attracting civilian players, destroying demons, and compiling records, they also had another great responsibility, which was to guard death.”
Guard death?
Li Ang vaguely felt as if he had grasped the overall context.
“As a player of the Killing Field, I guess you should have killed a modern vengeful spirit, right? Don’t you find it strange why those vengeful spirits told you that the afterlife world is empty without any messengers to capture them, trials of the netherworld, or the Six Paths of Reincarnation?”
Zou Zhengze said craftily, “Ever since the end of the third and last large-scale Killing Field, the entire netherworld disappeared for more than 500 years.
“Since then, the Six Paths of Reincarnation have completely stagnated. After a mortal’s death, their soul cannot be reincarnated. It can only fly far north and be crushed into pure soul fragments, stirred evenly, and re-made into a new soul that is not one’s own.”
After he said that, Zou Zhengze showed his fear. His body shivered as he said, “When the Six Paths of Reincarnations were still there, no matter how many times a spirit underwent reincarnation, how many bowls of Meng Po soup[1] they have drunk, how many times they have crossed the Yellow Spring Road and the ocean of Flowers of the Other Shore, as well as gone through death, rebirth, or resuscitation, memory changes but the essence of a soul will not change. You are still you.
“There is great terror between life and death. All human civilizations in the world have the most pious fear and reverence for the afterlife world.
“From ancient times to modern times, from the barbarous cannibal tribe of Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean to the modern American metropolis of New York, from the Middle East enveloped by the flames of war to the serene and holy Vatican City, all human beings in different eras and cultures who speak different languages, come from different races, and have different levels of education believe in and anticipate the existence of human souls to alleviate the fear of death.
“The opening of the Killing Field really proved the existence of a soul for the first time. Before, those who knew about it could be jubilant, but the heavy reality made it hard for people to breathe.
“Humans have souls, but souls are crushed into pieces after death and there is no hell or heaven. The so-called tranquility you hear about after death is bullsh*t. If you die, you are dead and you no longer exist.”
Li Ang fell silent. Although on the surface, the soul was crushed into pieces and the whole soul was reborn, there was not much of a difference in the overall operation of the living world. However, the difference was huge for human individuals.
In the eyes of some people struggling with the integrity of the soul, the afterlife world was extremely desperate.
“After death, the soul will be crushed into debris and one’s soul will perish. There will be no more you in the world.”
Zou Zhengze said in a deep voice, “The only way to avoid one’s soul being crushed is for one to become a lonely ghost. There are two ways to become a ghost. First, die among immense injustice and grief. Second, be informed about the operation mode of the afterlife world.”
[1] The soup served by Meng Po on the Bridge of Forgetfulness to wipe off the memory of a person before reincarnation