“Changing one’s fate is against nature, and heaven’s will is irreversible. It is not so easy.” He sat on a futon, already understanding my purpose.

I had a black leather lockbox brought in. It was not big, but it was heavy, and took four strong bodyguards to carry it in.

Once those people left, I entered the password to open the box and looked at him: “Would it be easier this way?”

The moment the box was opened, a golden light suddenly appeared in the room. The box was neatly packed with gold bars.

Money was the law of the human world.

His expression changed for a moment, and he slowly raised his head to look directly at me. “Mr. Wen, he is a mortal man. There is a saying that when death comes, there is no postponement. There is no way in this world to make a mortal person live longer, unless…..someone dies in his place. If someone gives their life in exchange for his life, he will live. Moreover, the person who dies must be willing, as the slightest resentment will damage his life.”

I slammed down the lid of the lockbox and walked over to him and sat down. Dipping my fingers in some tea, I wrote the password of the lockbox on the table in front of him. “Please give me some advice, Master.”

Soon after, he told me to shower and change my clothes, then sit cross-legged in front of a Buddha statue. The statue was about the height of a person, sitting on a high platform. Its eyes were as terrifying as those of a divine warrior.  It had the majestic aura of Buddha, and under its feet was the date of my birth.

There was a circle of Mei Yin’s disciples around me, lowering their heads to chant Buddhist sutras. Each one held a torch in their hands.

And underneath me was a platform made of dry firewood and straw.

He said that as long as I was burned to death in front of the Buddha statue, A-Zhen would live.

He could gain my destiny of good health and long life.

This act of exchanging a life for a life sounded absurd and evil. In the past, I would have thought that people who believed in this method were crazy, but I didn’t understand this feeling until I got to this point myself.

This was not belief. It was desperation. 

As long as my loved one could be spared from pain and live healthily, I was willing to die.

But unfortunately, I failed.

It was not that my death had no effect, but that it rained when Mei Yin told his disciples to burn me to death.

It was a downpour caused by a typhoon along the coast. It began to rain almost instantly, and it was so intense that people couldn’t breathe or open their eyes. Within minutes, white mist filled the air and turbulent water surged from the ground.

Mei Yin pulled me into the room, looked at the heavy rain in the courtyard, and said: “This is divine providence, ah. Heaven’s will cannot be disobeyed.”

Heaven’s will?

I found it amusing, and couldn’t help but laugh.

He and his disciples looked at me in surprise, but I just couldn’t help it anymore. I leaned against the doorframe and burst into laughter, unable to stop. 

Did Heaven have eyes?

The Wei family harmed no one, but suffered the disaster of being ruined and destitute. The eldest brother of the Wei family was kind and talented, but his right hand was ruined. I was the one who committed evil and deserved retribution, but A-Zhen was the one who suffered the consequences, and it was A-Zhen who would lose his life.

This was Heaven’s will?

If it tormented A-Zhen to make me suffer retribution, then I had to admit that it had succeeded. But I couldn’t stand it, let alone accept it.

I told the bodyguards to surround everyone present. After the rain stopped, I dragged Mei Yin outside and forced him to find a solution for me.

“Master, you are a believer in the gods. If the flames also burn upon you, is Heaven’s will worth it?”

This was actually meant to frighten him. I wouldn’t kill him, because he could at least give me the elixir.

But I really didn’t seem like a good person, and his terror of me was not mild.

Thus, he told me another way. “Mr. Wen, the gods and Buddha are not willing to help you. There is really nothing I can do, except there are not only good gods in this world, but also evil gods…..”

He told me of a country in Southeast Asia, where there were many evil paths. The most powerful was the temple dedicated to the black and golden gods.

“The Golden God had become a true god through hundreds of years of worship. If you take your loved one with you, he may be able to bless you, but the black god is still an evil god. It is about to perish without the worship of believers, so it is very eager for them. If you are willing to become its believer, I think he will be willing to fulfill any wish you have.”

“It is just that asking a person to do something for you requires money, but asking a god to do things may cost you your life…..”

“How can I know you’re not lying to me?” I was somewhat interested, and asked him to tell me about these two gods in detail.

He told me that the black and gold gods were called Nanjia in the local language. They had suddenly come into the world, and were both evil at first.

He talked to me earnestly for a long time. After listening to Mei Yin’s words, I felt that they were most likely ancient sacrificial objects that possessed evil powers after bloody sacrifices. The Gold Nanjia was not so extreme, so it was worshiped by people and actually became a god over time. The Black Nanjia was more powerful and more evil, so it was feared by others, and after a long period of time where no one believed in it, it fell into decline.

I thought I would give it a try.

But there were too many unpredictable factors when worshiping an evil god. I feared that it would get angry if things weren’t done right, so I thought about it for a long time.

During this period, A-Zhen was taking pills. He looked exactly the same as when he wasn’t sick. He had started to gain weight, and had decent energy and complexion.

I continued to lie to him about his gastrointestinal problems, and he believed me, thinking that what he had was an illness not worth mentioning. After he was no longer feeling uncomfortable, we started to prepare for the wedding.

He was busy and brimming with anticipation as he planned where we would go after we got married. He said that we would adopt a couple of children when we were in our thirties, and also said that he would tidy up the old house so that we could move in when we grew old…..

He looked forward to a long and beautiful life, but little did he know that he was relying on sorcery to maintain his life and that death was imminent.

I scheduled our trip to Southeast Asia for our honeymoon after the wedding.

I had to marry him first.

If it failed, I would bury his body with my own hands and carve my name on his tombstone.

If it succeeded, my beloved A-Zhen would put on mourning clothes, hold my portrait, and bury me. He would inscribe on my tombstone, “Late husband Wen Mincheng.”

Even after I died, I would still be his husband and his man.

The wedding went smoothly. It was grand and ceremonious, full of guests. I invited almost everyone I knew, so much so that A-Zhen went on strike and refused to write invitation letters. I even allowed reporters to interview and take photos on the wedding day.

Everyone blessed us, and I didn’t hesitate to show our wedding to the public. If possible, I hoped the whole world could know about it.

I drank a lot that day, and asked him to call me ‘husband’ over and over again. He was very embarrassed at first. When he heard this title, his face grew visibly red, but it became easier after the first time he said it.

He found amusement in it, and asked me to call him that.

I called him that very easily, and he blushed again.

On the wedding night, we made love passionately.

About half a month after the wedding, I bought a lot of the pills I got from Mei Yin to keep A-Zhen alive, so that he could stay as healthy as possible.

At first, the priests in the temple were not willing to receive me after finding out why I had come. Then I contacted the local government and expressed my willingness to donate money to their impoverished areas.

Under pressure from the government, they had no choice but to acquiesce.

That day, we first worshiped the Gold Nanjia. Then I told A-Zhen that I was very interested in the local culture and wanted to have a private chat with the divine attendant, and asked him to wait for me outside. When I saw that he wasn’t suspicious, I went to the Black Nanjia’s pagoda alone with the divine attendant.

There was no one at the pagoda. After leading me to the top floor, the divine attendants seemed to be afraid of something and had me enter the room alone. When they saw me coming in at the door, they left together with expressions of panic on their faces.

That was the most bizarre thing I had experienced.

Unlike the huge statue of the Gold Nanjia, the Black Nanjia was very small, only about twenty centimeters. I couldn’t tell what sort of material it was made out of. The soles of its feet and the top of its head were engraved with sacrificial drawings. The body was densely covered with ancient characters, and the eyes were embedded rubies, which looked strange and exquisite.

It seemed to know that I was there for it, and was also very impatient for my arrival, its last believer.

When I held it in my hands, I felt a jolt that seemed to come from my soul.

It was as if the other being was trying to tell me of its ecstasy.

Maybe Mei Yin was right. Gods were very persistent about having believers, especially gods that were about to fall.

I lowered my head to look at it, and a realization suddenly flashed through my mind.

As long as I believed in it, it could fulfill any wish I had.

This was not my own speculation, but an idea that suddenly came to me, as if someone had spoken these words into my soul.

I understood, and raised it above my head reverently.

“Black Nanjia, I am your most devout believer……”

After I spoke, its ruby eyes suddenly emitted a dark red light. I saw the ancient characters on it seem to come alive, merging into it and emerging out of its body.

And the ancient sacrificial characters on its legs and feet also began to move. The woman presiding over the ceremony was clad in animal skins, and cut off the head of the sacrifice with a butcher’s knife. After peeling off its skin and plastering it to her body, she raised her arms and announced the beginning of a prayer.

I laughed. They were mad with exultation, and so was I.

I said to it: “My devoted god, please grant my wish……”

“I wish for my lover to live a long life.”

“I wish for my soul to return to him.”

“Eternal life. Eternal life.”

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Chapter 34 << Table of Contents >> Chapter 36