Chapter 107: Their existence

But obviously the Dragon Tomb was not the place for conversation, so we were invited to the place where these strange people lived.

On the way, I asked Ruoxue what was going on, and she told me everything.

It turned out that she had met these strange masked people as soon as she entered. As soon as they saw her, they exclaimed that the master of the Dragon Tomb, who they had been waiting for for many years, had finally arrived. At the time, Ru Xue was also surprised and shocked. After all, she had also seen these masked people in the murals. Why did they call her the master of the Dragon Tomb?

These masked people didn’t have a clear answer for Ru Xue, but they said that they had already determined that Ru Xue was the master of the dragon tomb when they saw her come in with the worms. They said that this was a sign left by their ancestors, and that powerful people had come here before, clearly stating that if one day a girl came into the tomb with worms, then she would also be able to enter the dragon tomb.

At this point, Ru Xue suddenly said to me, “Who is that powerful person?”

There is no need to guess. I can only think of one person, and I immediately said, “Isn’t it my master?”

“Yes, it was your master. Later, I was taken to their residence. They said that the dragon tomb was very unstable, and that it could only be opened and entered three days later, to ‘shake’ the worms next to the dragon.” Ru Xue told me about what happened later.

“What about my master?” I asked eagerly. After all, I saw my master enter here with my own eyes. How could he not be here?

“Master Jiang?” Ruoxue looked at me apologetically.

My heart immediately lifted. What did this look mean? Could it be that my master had met with an accident? That was impossible! I was sure that it wasn’t my master at all!

Then Ru Xue said, “Sorry, Chengyi, you also stepped through that door, right? That door gave me a very strange feeling. I was a bit dazed, but I don’t think Master Jiang ever stepped through that door, and I never saw him here from beginning to end.”

As Ru Xue told the story, I was sweating profusely. I was afraid that something had happened to my master. After listening to Ru Xue’s story, I was relieved and felt relieved!

The appearance of my master was already strange to me, and I even thought that it wasn’t my master. Ru Xue’s story was consistent with my guess.

However, since Ru Xue had been holding my hand, she naturally felt the cold sweat on my palms. She couldn’t help but stop, carefully took out a handkerchief, and gently wiped the cold sweat on my palms and forehead. She said softly, “Seeing you like this, I later asked these people about this matter. They told me that such a person should be able to enter the Dragon Tomb, and there would naturally be an answer inside the Dragon Tomb. So don’t worry, you are the descendant of Grandpa Li, and you and Brother Chengxin will naturally have the opportunity to enter the Dragon Tomb, and then won’t you have the answer?”

Ru Xue did all this very naturally, but my heart ached with each of her gentle movements and words. She was so gentle. She should have been my wife, but we had to endure the pain in our hearts and separate like this.

Am I too vulgar, always pursuing the worldly pleasures, the tranquility of companionship, without a true heart of Tao? Or is it that I am not old enough, and the ‘silt’ that has risen in my heart has not yet been able to settle, settling into a state of mind that is so pure that it sees through everything, so I feel so unable to let go?

I have no answer, but I remember what my master once said: “The human heart in the secular world is like that cup of yellow river water, isn’t it? A glass neck to hold a cup of yellow river water, it is always turbid, and that turbidity is evil, it is selfish, it is entanglement and unwillingness, it is not letting go and persistence, cultivating the heart is tempering, enduring all kinds of cutting off and unwillingness, pain. But cultivating the heart is also sinking, settling down those complexities in the deepest part of the heart, and slowly refining! It is like a cup of muddy water that has been allowed to settle, and has become clear water, separated from the sediment! Slowly pour it out, and the sediment can be discarded.

Master, I really understand the process of refining and settling. But why do I still feel pain without an answer? Is it too painful?

My hands were trembling slightly. As if she had sensed it, Xue asked me sensitively, “Chengyi, what’s wrong?”

I forced a smile and said, “Nothing, I just remembered that you’re going to stay here, and I’m a little sad.”

Ru Xue was sad, then calm, and led me on. Only one sentence floated into my ears: “Didn’t we already agree? Why think about it? Why not just be quiet and let the years pass? Memories never change.”

I didn’t know how to answer, so I just nodded lightly.

The people in the mask live in the mountains at the edge of the forest, or rather, in a small section of the mountains that we see looming in the distance. I don’t doubt that they have the ability to build a house, but they have chosen to live in caves.

We waited here for three days, waiting for the dragon tomb to open. These three days were probably the last three days that I spent with Ru Xue. Perhaps because it was no longer that year, those young years, and we were not like that year, just like the end of the world, we chose to spend the next six months together in a quiet and natural way.

This is a time for reflection and contemplation, and aren’t we doing the same thing?

During these three days, I also discovered the fragility of the people in the mask. Because of our presence, they almost never took off their masks in the places where they lived, and they avoided us as much as possible when eating. How could their hatred of humans not come from a kind of longing and inferiority?

There are more than 200 people in the mask, and it is said that this is their entire clan. After spending three days with them, I have also learned their identity. They are actually “mixed-race”!

To be precise, they are the children of demons and humans! This is indeed an answer that is too incredible to believe.

Modern biology has already proven that humans cannot combine their genes with those of animals, but what about demons? I’m afraid that science will refute the existence of demons, and there is no such field of study.

I didn’t want to believe it either, but the facts were right in front of me, and I couldn’t convince myself that it was all a lie!

In fact, their mixed bloodline is already very thin. The wise fox elder is a descendant of a human and a fox demon. He told me that at the peak of their time, their clan had more than 2,000 people, but now there are only 200 left. Because their bloodline is mixed, childbirth is extremely difficult. Now, every time a child is born in the clan, the human characteristics are becoming more and more obvious, while the characteristics of the beast are becoming weaker and weaker.

“If we are not extinct, then we will eventually become real humans. This is not necessarily a bad thing. We don’t have to hide in this forest until we are destroyed.” This was the last comment that the wise fox elder made about his clan.

As for the history of their race, why they came here, and followed a dragon, the wise fox elder never told me. He only said this: “Compared to animals, humans are definitely more ruthless. They are ashamed of their status as the spirit of all things. Why can’t the topmost existence be more tolerant, more kind and merciful? If you can’t be like them, you have to choose to hurt them ruthlessly? Whether it is in words or in actions, you always hurt others, always exposing your selfishness to all living things. Do you make a mockery of non-human beings? Do you see how you treat all living things with no mercy, how you fight among yourselves? If one day animals learn to think, the first ones to be mocked will be you humans.

The wise fox elder did not give me an answer, but it was as if he had. His words left me speechless for a long time, and I was silent for a long time.

I was thinking, if one day, humans went into space, would they also be making fun of the existence of the universe? Would they point at us and say, “Look at them, there are more than a hundred countries on one planet, how funny!”

They are all ‘grinning’ at each other, scrambling for resources, strictly dividing the hierarchy of their own kind in a pyramid.

Have they forgotten that they are all on the same planet?

Or maybe I’m just overthinking it!

However, this experience was unforgettable. Although it was only three days, everything was like a dream. I was actually among a ‘race’ that I thought did not exist in this world.

Many years later, a friend of mine who loves to explore the unknown found me and said to me seriously, “The Journey to the West is real. It is supported by historical records! Why do people think that different life forms don’t exist? In ancient times, when communication between the East and the West was almost non-existent, there were monsters in Chinese legends and orcs in the West. Can you say that this is a coincidence of human imagination? God, this is impossible. You have to know how great the cultural differences between the East and the West are.

I calmly asked, “Or, maybe it’s a coincidence? There are too many coincidences between the East and the West. I’m talking about myths and legends.”

“No, that’s definitely not it. Maybe it’s because of the modern environment, or something happened that we don’t know about. You know that there are gaps in human history, maybe…” The friend’s eyes were burning with enthusiasm.

I calmly asked him, “If we assume that there are orcs, fox people, bear people, etc., do you think they would exist in modern society?”

“No, that’s impossible. You’ve read too many stories about werewolves. Even Taoist priests can’t prove that they exist.” My friend’s eyes showed amusement.

“Or what would you do to them?” I asked.

“Are you kidding? Does my attitude really matter? I’m afraid I would have been surrounded by people, and they would have pointed at me. In the end, I would have been humiliated, or else I wouldn’t have been free!” My friend took a sip of wine.

Then I could only smile and say nothing. Have I read too many stories about werewolves?