Misery: There is a pawn shop here

Chapter 53 Someone is coming in the snowstorm

Outside, a fierce wind whipped snow like a dragon's roar, while ice crystals slapped against the rock walls, creating a jingling sound. Inside, a bonfire cast a flickering shadow on the cold, damp stone walls, dimming and illuminating the lotus pattern embroidered on the corners of the Buddhist monk's robes. A renegade monk flicked a wine gourd, sending amber liquid arcing through the air before landing squarely in a cup formed from frozen ice.

A demon with a connection to Buddhism, and a Buddhist who admits that he has broken his vows, leisurely tell a story of the past.

At the beginning of the story, at the foot of Mount Lingshan, a traveling Buddhist encountered an unruly demon. The Buddha wanted to save the demon, but the demon wanted to devour the Buddha. In the end, the Buddha sacrificed his life for the demon and admitted that he had broken the precepts. A cause and effect was thus established, and the wheel of fate began to turn, opening up a mysterious fate.

"Yilian reincarnated most of his skills to forge the killing commandment. He wanted to die with Zhu Yan, but he still couldn't avoid the inevitable changes." The aroma of aged wine rolled in the Buddha's throat, his eyes penetrated the leaping flames, and there was an indescribable emotion in his eyes.

Jian Xue Wuming stroked his sleeves. The shadows on the stone wall twisted with the firelight, and a trace of red clothes appeared faintly in the snow. "So, everything is because of Jiu Pan?"

"To be more precise, it's for the possibility of a ray of hope." The monk who broke his vows slowly said, "The commandment to kill brought out the Buddha-devouring boy's hidden goodness, but fate still follows its own path. But a single thought can bring about infinite variables."

"A change in one thought leads to a change in destiny." Jian Xue Wuming closed his eyes and leaned against the rock wall. Even though many signs pointed to that result, he still didn't want to believe it.

"So, I'll seal him with one sword..."

Jian Xue Wuming choked up halfway through his words. Such a result was hard for anyone to accept.

The monk who had broken his vows fell silent, merely watching the fire and the meat before him. Suddenly, Jian Xue Wuming spoke again, "One body, two souls that hate each other. If it were him, what would he do?"

Upon hearing this, the monk who broke his vows looked up at Jian Xue Wuming and said, "Two souls, hmm, a person's footsteps can break free from the shackles of emotions, but can a person's emotions be separated?"

"Saving and killing are two different things." As if he had found a way to break the deadlock, Jian Xue Wuming's emotions became rarely anxious at this moment.

The monk who broke his vows remained calm and looked at Jian Xie, saying, "How can you both kill and save the same person?"

“Start from the beginning!”

Jian Xue Wuming said these four words with great force.

"Starting from scratch?" An inexplicable emotion flashed in the eyes of the monk who broke his vows. "People, things, and objects—in short, they all change. How can there be such a thing as starting from scratch in this world?"

"There is a lotus that reincarnates, a sword that enters the world through celestial rites, and a sword named Xue Wuming that can also allow the Buddha-Swallowing Boy to fall into deep sleep again." Jian Xue Wuming said, "In this vast world, there is always a way."

"Have you ever thought that if you stay away from this matter, you won't need this method." said the monk who broke his vows.

"I don't want to." Jian Xue Wuming shook his head.

"Oh? Why?" asked the monk who broke his vows.

"Because he is still here." Jian Xue Wuming said.

The monk who broke his vows looked at Jian Xie. His eyes held only unshakable determination. After a moment, he sighed, "Alas, in the past and now, have you ever considered whether you have a reason to kill me?"

"No." Jian Xue Wuming replied, "But for him, I am willing to do this."

"What if you really can't find a way?" the monk who broke his vows asked again, "How can you achieve both killing and saving?"

Jian Xue Wuming fell silent again. The monk who broke his vows stopped asking questions and only looked at the skewers beside the fire. "The meat is ready, let's eat first. No matter what, you are the most important person after all. If you don't even care about yourself, no one can save you in the end, okay?"

Suddenly, amidst the blizzard, footsteps echoed. As a twisted figure emerged from the snow, the temperature within the cave plummeted. The newcomer's limbs were bent at the joints, and the flesh on his face drooped like melted wax. Only his red eyes shone eerily. The compass needle in his hand spun wildly, finally settling in the direction of Jian Xue Wuming.

In the cave, both the Buddha and the demon looked at the newcomer at the same time.

This person has a strong evil aura...

Qingsha, seemingly oblivious to the gazes of the Buddha and the Devil, put away his compass and stepped into the cave, approaching the fire. "Good wine, good meat," Qingsha chuckled, a sound like sandpaper scraping against the surface. He reached towards the fire with his deformed hand. "You two, the mountains are snowed in, but it's fate we meet. Could you share some wine and meat?"

The monk who broke his vows smiled when he heard this, "What a good saying, if we are destined to meet, then there is nothing wrong with that. Please."

As soon as he finished speaking, the roasted rabbit skewers and the ice cup filled with wine flew in front of Qingsha. Qingsha raised his hand and caught the ice cup steadily, while the skewers were inserted right in front of him.

"With ease, snow turns into ice. What a great technique."

"All these trivial and crude tricks." The monk who broke his vows laughed. "I don't know where this guest comes from or where he's going."

"I came from the pawnshop." Qingsha said, looking at Jianxue Wuming, "I'm going to find my destined person."

"Oh?"

"Now that I have wine and meat, and I have nothing else to offer, how about a story in exchange?"

"Story?" The monk who broke his vows frowned slightly. This ominous person suddenly appeared, and his purpose...

"It's a story where whatever you want can come true." Regardless, he took a sip of wine and told a story of love murder.

The protagonist of the story is a young swordsman who stops killing for love and starts killing for love...

……

……

"One sword to seal the Zen, what are your thoughts on this?"

In a pawnshop, a person who was immersed in an illusion came back to his senses in a trance and looked around. Everything was the same as before. The shark silk curtain was moving without wind. It was a mysterious pawnshop and the owner of the pawnshop was mysterious.

"Is it a Buddhist fate..." Yijian Fengchan closed his eyes, but that person could not be erased from his mind.

"Are you so entangled?" Li Xuanxiao looked at the Buddha-devouring boy in front of him and spoke again: "If the Buddha's fate makes you so entangled, then there is another thing."

"What is it?" Yijian Fengchan asked.

"Human nature." Li Xuanxiao said with a smile.

"Humanity?" Yijian Fengchan was stunned when he heard this. "Humanity can also be used as a pawn chip?"

"If it's Buddhist fate, then it's naturally human nature." Li Xuanxiao nodded.

"What will happen to me if I lose my humanity?" asked Yijian Fengchan.

"Only God knows the answer to this question," Li Xuanxiao said nonchalantly. "So, if you want to find out the whereabouts of the Buddha Child, what will you choose? Buddha's fate? Or human nature?"

Yijian Fengchan remained silent, with only the figure of the pawnshop owner reflected in his eyes. Gradually, he changed into the person he was familiar with. Afterwards, only a fiery red remained in his eyes.

Suddenly, a burst of Buddha's light appeared above the Killing Commandment, but the next moment the Buddha's light began to fade rapidly.

Inside a pawnshop, a bloody fire ignited!

(End of this chapter)