by Feng Yue
Hanuman, the catastrophe!
It was the supreme patron saint that once resided in the Nalanda Temple of India, the immortal monster created by the third generation of Tung Wang Kung by referring to the Hecatoncheir when he was reincarnated in India as Buddha!
After being sealed in Mr. Hu’s body for more than a decade, the fearsome ape was finally released to walk on the earth and sprinkle the seeds of complete destruction to all living creatures and those who had slandered Buddha!
For some reason unknown, despite the fact that his consciousness had obviously been eroded by the violent bestiality, Mr. Hu suddenly felt ridiculous, not knowing whether he should laugh or cry, as if he was in a trance-like state.
“Eh, I’m no longer a child of seven or eight years old, yet I’m still leaping around like a monkey…” Back when Mr. Hu was a teenager, someone stroked his messy hair, shaking his head and sighing. “How about I nickname you ‘little monkey’ from now on?”
What my teacher said back then really came true.
In the 15 years after my teacher’s death, I seem to have really become a monkey, yet I have felt no shame about it. Instead, I have been secretly feeling happy, being delighted because of how absurd I have become, completely forgetting about what my teacher once entrusted me with. “After you all grow up, you will be my heirs and become the ones supporting the country, heroes far surpassing me…”
But I have neither supported the country nor become a hero.
Instead, in order to escape from the conflicts, I casually took up a job, then traveled far away to some place outside Aurora, once again embarking on a journey with no date of return.
It was like me 15 years ago.
It’s just that I am already alone now.
“We’re going to India.” In his trance-like state, he heard his teacher’s voice ring out again.
How did I feel when I set foot on the journey to the West? My mind was full of the joy of setting off on a thousand-mile journey and the anticipation of achieving personal accomplishments, but I never expected in the slightest that, in the end, it would become a long journey of endless killing.
“Kill them all.” In his memory, his teacher stood in the pool of blood in the Nalanda Temple, looking at him calmly, then repeated himself again, “All.”
“Alright, sir.” He stabbed down with the sword in his hand, and blood spurted out, a few drops landing on his face.
In the sound of the body falling to the ground, he closed his eyes, forgetting about who he was and where he was. After his mind was in a state of blankness, his body would loyally obey the command.
The deaths along the thousands of miles had paved a road of bones, of which I could see no end.
After getting used to seeing pair after pair of desperate eyes, I was no longer like myself.
No longer like the hero in my dreams either…
For the sake of some things which are considered right, or, like fifteen years ago, for the sake of “truth.”
As long as it is for their sake, any sacrifice is worth it.
It’s alright no matter who the one sacrificed is.
In the end, he returned alone from India to the capital, to the main hall again.
“Your Majesty, this is the future you want…” He knelt before the steps made of jade, closing his eyes in the ecstasy of the ruler, and opened the iron case, showing the emperor the burnt corpse. “In this… thing that used to be my teacher.”
Thus, after a sacrifice had been made, the dynasty could continue.
Creation has been undertaken in the wrong way.
A ruler of unparalleled wisdom descended.
In contrast, the deaths of tens of thousands of innocents, the sacrifices of my teacher and juniors, and the pain that has been following me for my whole life; the price paid is simply too insignificant that it isn’t even worth mentioning.
Since then, he had never thought of becoming a hero.
He had already known himself clearly for who he was.
In the shrill howl, the iron gleam of the sword whistled as it broke through the air. The gleam was as clear as a mirror, but also as deft as a bird, lingering in the air, like a long silver ray.
The sharp sound of metals colliding burst forth.
The trident broke inch by inch, falling from Hanuman’s hand, turning into iron filings that fluttered in the wind. The gleam of the sword circled his neck, chopping off a head. Blood spewed out, falling on Yuan Changqing’s white hair. Despite having personally chopped off a head of the catastrophe, Yuan Changqing had no joy on his face; instead, his expression was dark.
“It’s upsetting, really upsetting!” He flicked the blood of the catastrophe from the ridge of the Chun Jun sword and demanded in an irritated tone, “Hey! What the heck are you doing? I am full of anticipation for our fight, but you got distracted?”
In the heavy rain of the Armageddon, claps of thunder disguised the long silence. After a long time, only did the head of the catastrophe slowly lift.
“My apologies,” said the head. “I suddenly remembered some memories of the past.”
Yuan Changqing squinted his eyes. “It’s alright. When one grows old, one will become demented. When one washes one’s hair, one will accidentally urinate if one isn’t paying attention. You have to get used to it.” The bare-chested, burly old man strolled forward, and although his tone was calm, his gaze became colder and colder. “So, rest assured, I will help you become focused.”
At the moment, several heads of their respective households were stunned at the same time. Initially, their music theories were all in harmony and connected, and every one of them was in resonance. When Yuan Changqing stepped forward, the resonance was cut off.
A piercing glow emerged from Yuan Changqing’s scepter.
It need not deliberately rid itself of the ties with the rest. Just by surging in power in a flash, its momentum made it seem like a solitary peak rising into the sky, piercing through the wind and the snow, the flowers, and the moon. It showed no reluctance to part with the deliberate harmony they maintained, and it lost the power and help obtained from the resonance.
However, Yuan Changqing’s strength was not by any means weakened in the slightest. Instead, the horrifying aura became more and more fierce and violent. It broke through the worries of the mortal realm and spilled an unparalleled light down onto the world.
At that moment, at Yuan Changqing’s waist, the scabbard that accompanied him for more than 60 years cracked.
It could no longer accommodate the peerless blade.
Innumerable sword movements rose from him, colliding and scraping against each other, producing hot sparks out of thin air. Finally, they gathered on the Chun Jun sword.
At the moment, its own outline appeared on the incorporeal body of the sword. The color of iron emerged from the empty sheath at the same time.
It no longer seemed to be as secretive and mysterious as it was in the past.
It looked just like ordinary iron.
However, Zhangsun Jigui suddenly felt his teeth aching.
That madman is intending to go all out!
For a guy like Yuan Changqing, the so-called “joining forces” did not exist right from the beginning, because once he got serious about it, everything other than the Chun Jun sword, where the spirits of the swordsmen of each generation of House Yuan resided, would be burdened, himself included, not to mention so-called companions and teammates.
Anyone daring to get in his way, even if it was his eldest grandson, Yuan He, would be pierced through by his sword.
At the moment, an endless gleam of iron emerged from thin air with Yuan Changqing’s action.
On the Yujing Mountain thousands of miles away, countless blades that were nailed into the stone whined sonorously. Responding to Yuan Changqing’s call, they cast themselves towards where the Chun Jun sword was.
In a flash, countless swords arrived mightily, the iron gleaming, opening up a tunnel of vacuum in the sky abov
e. Fiery tracks were left by the burning metals, which then descended from the sky.
A turbid torrent of iron swept across the battlefield.
Floodwater surged to the sky.
No one had ever challenged a catastrophe head-on so arrogantly before, as if he intended to strike through the monster in front of him together with the city that had never fallen behind it.
But at the moment, everyone who had witnessed the strike of the sword couldn’t help but start doubting. Could the monster and the city withstand the strike that had reached the peak of perfection?
Would Heaven’s Gate shrouded by the shadow of the Great Wall and the fearsome ape which was the embodiment of the catastrophe be swallowed up by the turbid torrent in the sky?
At the moment, the monster that was recalling his past finally raised his head.
He faced his enemy straightforwardly, hiding nothing.
The streaks of blood all faded from his eyes, returning to the quiet color of black it had been in the past. They were human eyes, and as compared to the scariness and grotesqueness of the catastrophe, they were so insignificant that they were not worth mentioning.
But as the pair of eyes looked down, the fearsome ape roared and bellowed, directly facing the power that the countless swords of souls from Yujing Mountain had gathered into, and struck!
His eight arms clenched the weapons, and it was as if he had held on tightly to the axis of the heavens and the earth, making the universe rotate in his hands, propelling the stars to orbit and everything to operate.
The blades of the knives and the swords sketched their trajectories in midair, which were connected to each other.
They made a perfect circle.
It was like the waterwheel of the heavens and the earth, the wheel of all things. It was solemn and cold, in control of everything. It pushed away the forces of life and death, light and darkness, day and night, with the torrent of swords in front of it, and rotated.
Numerous elements collided in the rotation, scraping against each other like steel. Sparks flew, and a harsh rumble sounded.
As a result, the torrent shook violently, the turbid waves surged. The stream of iron scraped against the wheel, and flares ruptured one after another, stinging everyone’s eyes.
Then, when the torrent dissipated, everyone couldn’t help but widen their eyes.
The ape had withstood the blow?! It managed to directly withstand the impact from the torrent of qi of swords that all the power of House Yuan had converged into!
As the weapons shattered inch by inch under the impact of the torrent, the fearsome ape bathed in blood howled at the sky.
And behind him, the city gates were completely undamaged!
All the force had been by personally intercepted and endured by the catastrophe, by Mr. Hu. Not even the slightest bit was leaked, nor did it set off any terrifying afterwinds that had been expected.
It was as if the ape had opened his mouth and swallowed the deadly torrent into his belly.
Therefore, its body was broken and bloody.
The blood spewed out of the wounds like lava, rising into the sky, spilling down a burning brilliance.
On the face that had been struck through by the sword, the pair of black eyes was still composed and resolute.
Animal nature no longer shrouded it.
Instead, it was replaced by a decisive look truly belonging to a human being.
770 Hero
The dead silence was only broken by Yuan Changqing’s laughter. “What’s going on? Finally regained consciousness?”
This old man was admiring the horrible wounds on the giant beast as he expressed his genuine awe, “Look at how the good and bad are both destroyed together. Isn’t this refreshing!”
“I just… suddenly thought things through…” The fearsome ape threw the broken sword aside and stared directly at the soldiers and horses ahead. Then, it turned around and looked back at the last city gate that it was defending.
War had finally come. It could never die, and 15 years later, it had been revived once again to burn this country, which should have been destroyed long ago, completely to the ground. Regardless of any Emperor or bloodline of the dragon, any attempts to stop this day from coming was a mistake. No one knew this better than Mr. Hu.
Perhaps he should have destroyed that thing 15 years ago, so that the Aurora, which had been forcefully prolonged, would lead him to the ending he deserved. If he had allowed this world to be flooded, the teachers would not have died and he would have had to suffer for 15 years.
Perhaps he could have chosen to remain anonymous, or perhaps he could have… gone to look for that woman that was waiting for him. They would escape from this place together and go to the World of the Dark. They could find some deserted land and build a house made of straw. A future like that might still have its pain and suffering but compared to the dull life that he was leading now, undoubtedly, the former would have been a blessing.
Perhaps, he could have chosen not to force himself to become a hero.
For all these years, he had always been thinking about another possibility, another life, another way that he could make up for his mistake. It was only until this day arrived that he finally realized that it was simply too late to try and make up for his mistake. 15 years ago, when he opened that box in front of the Emperor, his destiny had already more or less been decided. It was fated that he would not be able to redeem himself. His only choice was to drag out the rest of his life in this world and bear all the pain and regrets on his own. There would be no redemption.
But at this moment, as he was face-to-face with the impending war, he did not expect that his pain and suffering would turn into a form of relief. It was like how a prisoner would welcome his trial. At the end of this war, no matter which side won, there should be nothing left of the old dynasty?
His journey to the West was ultimately a failure. He made sacrifices, lost everything, obtain the truth and created a wise ruler… After so many changes, the outcome was still the same. Suffering for half a lifetime for nothing was simply a waste of effort. It was like a dream. And now, it was finally time to wake up from this long and arduous dream.
This was why when the bloody monster lifted its head to look at the soldiers and horses heading its way, there was a smile on its broken face.
“Look at this. This shall be my greatest achievement that no one will know about. A future that will continue on after all the sacrifices!” Mr. Hu proudly extended both his arms to show off his proudest piece of work to his enemies. There was arrogance in his eyes as he looked down on them, “Just as you guessed… it is me who has delayed this day for 15 years!”
There was a solemn look on the face of Zhangsun Jigui. “Indeed, you were the one that swapped the prince 15 years ago…” His eyes were cold. “And now you are gloating. Aren’t you ashamed?”
“It was a mistake that I made but unfortunately, I have decided not to repent.” The fearsome ape took a step in the direction of its enemies to block them off, “Since I’m already going to die, why am I still stubborn? Right?”
“…” Zhangsun Jigui kept quiet and spoke no more. He did not know what to say nor did he wish to say anymore.
Just like how metal clashed with rock, their only reaction was to burst into shouts and roars of killing. As turbulence spread across heaven and earth due to the terrible movement, reckless and joyful laughter could be heard. It was Mr. Hu. He was leaning back and laughing.
After he was no longer able to make up for his mistakes, he did not learn how to forgive himself. Instead, he chose to remain stubborn.
I’m afraid there’s nothing that can help me now? For the sake of this country that should have been destroyed long ago, my teachers and juniors have all died. But I have learned nothing from this. I am still so… hopelessly stupid!
Despite having regretted for so many years, he was still insistent on going down the wrong path… the only consolation was that this time around, the only
person he would have to sacrifice was himself.
Amidst the roars, the images of countless palace watchtowers appeared out of nowhere on the battlefield to seal him off. The image of the Moon in the Well hung high in the vault of heaven and cast down the image of the City in the Sky to seal off both inside and outside. Soon after, the giant spirits drew their swords and charged at the fearsome ape.
The torch dragon howled in fury while the earth shattered. Countless evil beasts and spirits climbed out of the darkness and gathered together to form a pitch-black current that flowed recklessly everywhere. It was as if the terror of the depths of hell was spreading in all directions.
In the dark clouds were countless streaks of lightning and thunder. The thunder dragon screamed and appeared out of the layers of clouds. One could almost make out the shimmering formation beneath its countless streaks of electricity. On the other hand, as the slender and agile fury dragon slithered in the vault of heaven and extended downwards, both dragons clashed and created the roar of friction of metals.
In the greatest depths of the realm of aether, the gigantic projection of the City in the Sky exerted an incredible force of attraction downwards and seemed to be holding the entire “weight” of the City in the Sky by relying on the shackle. It was a representation of heaven’s wrath befalling on mankind, a chain that was capable of restraining God and catastrophe.
In an instant, the fearsome ape was covered by the lock of thunder and restrained over many layers. Shortly after, the image of the palace watchtowers in the Moon in the Well quickly turned into a platform that was a thousand feet long. On the platform, millions of nature interferences rose and fell together like an explosion of stars, creating a hopeless situation that was tens of thousands of times worse than the Dark Zone. Tens of thousands of giant spirits were dragging the lock of God’s punishment while hoisting the ape of catastrophe onto the platform.
The waves of evil beasts gathered into a rumbling ocean as countless palms stretched out from within. Those slender and absurd arms were illusional and did not even possess any physical weight yet every time they touched the fearsome ape, they would suck away some of the latter’s power. It was as if they were on the brink of death and were desperately reaching for life. As they continued to suck life away like the ocean abyss, the image of Hanuman began to collapse bit by bit, unveiling the host within that was being heavily restrained.