Volume 7: Frost Chapter 69: Going Online
"What are you going to do?" Tang Butian asked.
"I haven't thought about it yet. I just happened to think of it when we were talking about boxes." Jiang You reached out and took out a bag of peanuts from his backpack, tore it open, and handed it to Tang Butian.
Tang Butian reached out and grabbed a handful.
Jiang You asked: "How many monks are there on the mountain?"
Tang Butian chewed peanuts and didn't answer.
Jiang You asked again: "What about someone like Zhang Xianren?"
Tang Butian stopped eating peanuts. She looked at Jiang You and asked, "How did your box break?"
Jiang You pointed at Jiang Mo, who was squatting not far away with his back to them, without any psychological pressure, and said, "He burned it."
As soon as he finished speaking, a ball of spider silk hit him in the face.
"If it wasn't you who burned it, how could it be me?" Jiang You pulled off the spider silk . "I put a lot of effort into it. Just getting the materials was a hassle. One reason is that they are scarce and hard to find. Many of them are already owned, so I can only go to their homes one by one to negotiate. Some of them are difficult to talk to and stingy. They insist on occupying the items even though they obviously have no use for them, and they won't exchange them. There's nothing I can do..."
Jiang Mo turned his head and glanced at Jiang You.
"After the materials were almost ready, I spent a lot of energy to build the framework. I had to start over a hundred times. I was so tired that when I could barely see it, I couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep immediately," Jiang You threw a peanut into his mouth. "When I woke up, there were some more little things inside. They were quite cute when I was a child, so I taught them some principles, and brought back a lot of toys from outside. I also built a palace on an island. It's so beautiful."
"And then?"
"Later..." Jiang You looked up at the moon in the distance, "I told them that all my wealth was in the palace. As long as they found that island, the Age of Exploration would begin."
"What?"
Jiang You patted his hands, which were covered with peanut skins and chili crumbs, and said casually, "There was no later, they were all burned."
The lenses reflected the moonlight, looking cold and solemn.
Tang Butian suddenly realized something, and she blurted out, "Were we making it just to burn it?"
"Ah, you discovered my biggest secret," Jiang You looked at Tang Butian, "Join my Great Spider Cult, otherwise," he made a gesture of wiping his neck, "otherwise I will have to silence you."
Tang Butian stood up, took two steps back and said, "I'll take you to where you live."
"It's not just for burning. If you become a saint, I will tell you and teach you how to make a box. How about it?"
Tang Butian ignored him and turned away.
"Let's chat for a while. It's not nine o'clock yet."
"Want to go online?"
"Yes, yes," Jiang You stood up and chased after him with his backpack in hand. "Slow down, slow down. I sprained my ankle when it fell down just now... How about we watch Godzilla together tonight..."
…
Zhuang Zekun and Guan Nuo went up the mountain early the next morning.
Zhong Minghong brought them to Immortal Zhang. After Immortal Zhang looked Guan Nuo up and down, he carried him to the back mountain. Just as Zhuang Zekun was about to speak, Zhong Minghong said, "Immortal Zhang attaches great importance to this matter. I think he wants Xiao Nuo to demonstrate the skills to him."
Zhuang Zekun nodded.
Zhong Minghong took Zhuang Zekun into Zhang Xianren's wooden house. After they sat down, Zhuang Zekun asked, "Xiao Tang arrived yesterday, right?"
"They arrived yesterday afternoon. Immortal Zhang talked with Jiang You for a long time. He thinks," Zhong Minghong paused, "he thinks Jiang You is not our enemy."
"So..." Zhuang Zekun pondered for a moment, his expression suddenly relaxed, he said: "Now that Immortal Zhang said that, I can rest assured. Jiang You has helped the Special Operations Department many times, and I also hope that he is on our side. Now that I have taken over Teacher Xie's position, I know how many things he blocked for us when he was here. Although I have Wang Shu to help me, I really can't take care of Tang Jiang. I can only rely on Xiao Nuo and Zhong Yan."
He looked at Zhong Minghong: "Xiao Tang still wants to go back to the mountain?"
"I still have to have a good chat with her in the future..."
With a creak, the door of the wooden house was pushed open, and Zhang Xianren walked in with Guan Nuo.
Zhuang Zekun and Zhong Minghong stood up, and Zhuang Zekun asked, "How is it?"
"I don't see any problem," Immortal Zhang walked to the table and sat down. He said, "But I suggest you suspend your research on the small world and the remains." He turned to look at Zhong Minghong. "The remains have been stored at the foot of the mountain for more than 30 years. It's time to take back the seal on the mountain."
"Master Zhang, what do you mean?" Zhuang Zekun asked in a deep voice.
Seeing that the atmosphere between them was not right, Guan Nuo quietly walked to stand behind Zhuang Zekun.
"Mr. Zhuang, you may not realize what a small world is," said Zhang Xianren in a steady tone. "There are very few peaceful and harmless small worlds like the one on the mountain. Most of the other small worlds, whether they are the remnants of the collapsed world or formed for other reasons, contain the will and laws of their masters. These wills and laws often conflict with the real world, and even contain malicious intent."
Zhuang Zekun said: "Master Zhang, we have always been very cautious, perhaps more cautious than you think."
Zhong Minghong tried to smooth things over, "Yes, Qingning has been in the research institute all these years, and he has been watching."
Immortal Zhang asked: "Don't you feel that the way of heaven is about to change?"
Zhuang Zekun said: "It seems that similar remarks have been leaked from the Buddhist community."
Immortal Zhang nodded, "It was the same thirty years ago."
"Could it be..." Zhong Minghong speculated, "Could it be that another great demon has appeared?"
"It's not that simple," Immortal Zhang stood up and walked to the door, looking at the layers of green mountains in the distance. "Thirty years ago, it was called a disaster, but it was just the eve of the disaster. At that time, I went down the mountain several times. The spiritual power in the world has changed and become very active. Buddhism believes that this is an opportunity. The way of heaven will change and Buddhism will flourish. All sects and schools also believe that this is a crisis, but also an opportunity for revival."
"We killed the disaster star," said Zhuang Zekun.
Immortal Zhang turned around and looked at Guan Nuo. "Before Guan Kang died, he came to the mountain once. After that, all the monks on the mountain who had the hope of comprehending the law, except for me, began to retreat." He moved his gaze to Zhong Minghong's face. "After that, you took over the position of the head, and we began to cooperate with the government."
“Although I don’t see anything wrong with the new technique, I can feel that it contains the power of laws that I cannot understand. Once it is promoted, once the research on the small world makes a breakthrough and becomes known to the world, once…” He looked into Zhuang Zekun’s eyes, “We are all wrong. The catastrophe did not end, but turned into a seed, buried among us. It relied on us to provide it with nutrients and grow. It revived among us.”
"I think you are exaggerating."
"I wasn't sure , but Xiao Tang brought Jiang You up the mountain yesterday. I had the honor of discussing with him and gained a lot. His words also confirmed my guess."
"What did he say?" Zhuang Zekun asked.
"Do you know what is in the chaos?"
"What is it?"
"Endless slaughter."
