Chapter 238: Paying with Life

Chapter 238: Returning a Life

The Ten-Eighteen Stairs slum, a small courtyard.

In the kitchen where Zhou You hadn't cooked a single meal since swapping into his mechanical body, warmth finally returned.

White steam curled above the pot, diced meat mingling with rice grains rising and falling, cubes of century egg black as jade tumbling along with them.

Zhou You stood before the stove, inhaling that faint, enticing aroma, momentarily lost in a daze.

"Brother, are you making century egg and lean meat congee?"

"Ah, yes." Zhou You snapped back, turning to look at Zhou Sheng leaning against the doorframe with a smile: "I remember you used to love drinking this the most."

Zhou Sheng's eyes lit up, crying out in surprise: "Real ingredients?"

"Of course. Before, we were poor, could only fill our stomachs with fasting paste. But it's different now. Your brother here is a Soldier Nine, can earn money. From now on, every meal will be real ingredients. Those synthetic foods won't even make it to the table."

"How wonderful."

Zhou Sheng's gaze fell on Zhou You's body, suddenly asking in a trembling voice: "Brother, does it hurt?"

"What hurt, what doesn't?"

Zhou You froze for a moment before realizing, waving his hand to pat his own chest, producing a dull thud utterly unlike a normal person's.

"What's there to hurt about transplanting a mechanical body? One shot of anesthetic, just sleep through it."

The wooden spoon stirred the congee bottom slowly, surging heat keeping the damp chill outside the door.

In this city overturned by heavy rain, two youths with tender brows quietly guarded this stove corner, satisfied smiles on their faces.

Zhou Sheng brought over a stool and sat beside him, "Brother, I missed you so much."

"I know." Zhou You tilted his head back, hiding the expression on his face.

"Don't blame yourself for what happened back then either. If you hadn't gone to earn money, I'd have starved to death long ago."

"I—"

Zhou You abruptly swallowed his choked voice, raising a hand to wipe his face.

"Actually these years in Luohan Temple's Buddha Realm I lived quite well. It's beautiful there, endless meadows, countless cattle and sheep, and pleasant morning bells and evening drums."

Zhou Sheng said softly: "Except every time after fulfilling karmic computational power, I'd feel a bit fatigued."

"Just treat it as a nightmare. Now the dream's broken, everything's in the past."

A bowl of steaming congee was handed into Zhou Sheng's hands.

He held the bowl but didn't drink, "This isn't a dream. This is destined karma, a tribulation, and also an opportunity. Having experienced this ordeal, I know what I must do from now on."

Zhou You's eyes hid a trace of hard-to-detect sorrow, "What do you want to do?"

Zhou Sheng lifted his head, gaze burning, "I want to become a Follower of the Buddhist Dao Sequence!"

The youth said nothing, merely staring blankly at his younger brother brimming with aspiration.

"In these years in the Buddha Realm, my wisdom root has been awakened. It's innate, not artificial!"

Zhou Sheng pointed to his brow, where a flesh mark unlike any other lay.

"Don't you hate them?" Zhou You asked hoarsely.

"It's all destined fate. Why hate? I remember hearing the masters in the Buddha Realm say, after suffering, what remains are blessings."

Zhou Sheng's tone was light: "And didn't you also convert to Buddhism, Brother? I'll be just like you!"

"Drink a sip of congee, or it'll get cold."

Zhou You just buried his head staring at that bowl, the cooling rice grains sinking downward.

Zhou Sheng ignored his words, continuing to speak of his own visions for the future.

"Brother, you're a Soldier Nine now. How about you be my protector deity from now on?"

Clatter.

The wooden spoon was thrown into the pot, splattering sticky rice soup.

Zhou You's features twisted, a terrifying ferocity congealing between his brows.

"Why, why can't you even pretend for this little bit of time?"

"Brother, what's wrong with you?"

Zhou Sheng panicked, his neck tightening as he was lifted by the collar.

The bowl in his hands was knocked over, fragrance-less congee splashing onto the freezing ground.

"Why must you treat hatred as grace? Why speak such disgusting words, making me unable to force myself to believe you're Zhou Sheng any longer?"

Zhou You looked at that face he once missed so dearly, the rage in his chest no longer suppressible.

"Brother, brother what's wrong? I am Zhou Sheng, I really am your younger brother!"

Zhou Sheng's face flushed red, both hands desperately prying at the hand clamping his throat.

But this extremely feeble body had no strength to help him break free.

"I wanted to treat you as Zhou Sheng, even thought to spend this life in self-deception."

Zhou You's eyes were bloodshot, roaring: "Because even if the soul can never return, I still wanted you to carry A-Sheng's body to see this world, to grow into an adult, marry and have children, to live the life an ordinary person should have!"

"But why don't you even have this much patience? Why not give me that last bit of comfort!"

Zhou You's hysterical roar echoed in this dilapidated courtyard. Even this night rain seemed to mock his self-deception, fiercely battering doors, windows, and eaves, producing sounds remarkably like jeering laughter.

"I am Zhou Sheng, I'm real."

"No, you're the Yellow Beam Ghost used to convert me, the Buddha Realm mainframe hidden by Longtu!"

Zhou You's voice suddenly turned cold, the hand on the throat slowly tightening.

Upon hearing this, the terror on Zhou Sheng's face receded like a tide, his eyes rising with a bizarre smile.

"Since you're in such pain, why keep yourself awake? Confusion and ignorance are the survival skills heaven granted ants like you."

He no longer pretended to struggle, letting the hand on his throat pinch his voice thin and sharp: "Zhou You, you'd better think clearly. If you kill me, Zhou Sheng can never return."

"If he doesn't return, I'll go find him."

The youth moved his weary steps, dragging this Yellow Beam Ghost into the rain.

He raised his head, widening his eyes, looking up at the dark sky against the rain lines, the corners of his mouth slowly curling.

"A-Sheng, don't blame me. Brother really tried his best. I'm just too tired."

"Boss He, I'm sorry. I can't help you watch the scene anymore. The money I owe you, I can only repay by serving as an ox or horse in the next life."

His low voice suddenly paused, then unable to hold back the sobs, he shouted loudly:

"Jun Ge, Zhou You betrayed you. So this life, I'm returning it to you now."

Hum.

The mechanical heart trembling at a terrifying frequency emitted a piercing shriek. Immense pressure within the body forced white synthetic blood from his orifices, only to be washed clean by the rain.

"You're going to self-destruct your mechanical heart? Are you crazy?! Stop it!"

Having guessed the other's intent, 'Zhou Sheng' could no longer maintain his prior composure, thrashing wildly.

"I've been mad for a long time."

Boom!

Searing waves of flame surged skyward, rolling the torrential rain back up into the heavens.

Before his consciousness faded entirely, a resentful cry seemed to reach Zhou You's ears.

"Why, why did I still fail to save him."

The youth's lips curled in a sneer of utter contempt: "Fuck you."