22. Qiongtai repentance

The Jicheng altar is called Qiongtai, which is east of the royal city, about two miles away from the royal city. Further east is a forest, and at the end of the forest is the city wall.

Qiongtai is the king of Jicheng to lead the people to worship the gods, pray for the blessing of the building, it is square, the inside is piled with hard soil, the outside is pasted with a square stone slab, the bottom is wide and the top is narrow, the bottom is nine hundred and eighty-one feet wide, five zhang high, divided into five layers, each layer is one zhang high, from the bottom above the blue, red, yellow, white, black color. Set up a white jade stone wall in the middle of the lower part of Qiongtai, and write two big characters on it: Qiongtai altar, a rectangular huge bronze tripod stands in front of the stone wall, there is a special person to borrow incense in the ding, and the cigarette smoke curls all year round. Qiongtai low on both sides of each stand a four spirit sculpture, the sculpture is one zhang high, the left side is the green dragon, the right side is the white tiger. The top of Qiongtai is also square, nine feet wide, hard soil rammed building, black stone is paved on top, a huge Pangu open heaven statue is erected in the middle, the stone statue is made of black jade, three zhang high, the left and right also stand a four spirit sculpture respectively, one zhang high, the left is the Vermilion Bird, the right side is Xuanwu. There are two rows of flags on both sides of the front of Qiongtai, red and yellow, fluttering in the wind.

Qiongtai is the most sacred place in the whole Ji city, and even the most sacred place in the Ji country, every important festival, Ji Hong has to bring the Qing doctor, the four dukes, the county marshal, the township and other civil and military officials and the people of Li to worship heaven and earth here, praying for protection.

Ji Chengyu walked all the way towards the altar, his steps firm and steady.

If a person sees through life and death, he will no longer be afraid of death, Ji Chengyu is only sixteen years old, death is not a relief for him, but his death can be given to the people of Ji City, to the girls who became fake dead people because of him sixteen years ago and their lives and deaths are still unknown, to Hongyu, to Lu Shen is an explanation.

Ji Chengyu is not a selfish person, he feels that he should give them an explanation. This confession should have been given sixteen years ago, and after delaying these sixteen years, he had the opportunity to grow up, take a look at the colorful mountains and jungles, green trees and red flowers, bustling cities, and was fortunate enough to be liked by Red Feather, which was already very lucky.

The only thing Ji Chengyu felt sad about was that he was the enemy of this country and this city, and he died in a scolding, destined to leave behind a body of infamy, which will not disappear with his death, but will remain for a long time. After many years, when people mentioned him, they cursed him, spit on him, and hated him.

Ji Chengyu felt that this was unfair to him, he couldn't prevent himself from being born, and he couldn't decide anything before he was sensible. If he had a prophet and had superpowers, he swore that he would never let himself be born, never hurt those girls, and never hurt Red Feather. Now, he has to bear the infamy of several lifetimes for things he can't decide, just like that children's rhyme, inexplicably becoming a demon, inexplicably becoming a bad guy in a city.

Ji Chengyu walked to the altar and looked up at the high altar, this was the first time he came, and the first time he came here was to end a young life.

The wind was very strong, and the yellow and red flags on both sides of Qiongtai were cheering in the wind, like a monster roaring.

Ji Chengyu felt that it was the voice that beckoned him.

Ji Chengyu stopped in front of the white marble wall carved with the word "Qiongtai", and the bronze tripod in front of the stone wall came out of the curling cigarettes, with a fragrant smell.

A lame old man limped over, his right leg seemed to be badly injured, and it seemed difficult to walk.

"Are you Prince Ji?" asked the old man as he arrived.

"I'm Ji Chengyu. Ji Chengyu replied truthfully.

The old man looked up at the top of the altar and said, "No one has ever been killed on the altar, and you are the first." ”

Ji Chengyu didn't expect it, and asked, "Where are the murders?"

The old man smiled and said, "There is a place of execution for killing, this is the altar, the place to worship the ancestors and sacrifice to the gods, it is a holy land, a pure land. ”

Ji Chengyu pondered for a long time and asked, "Why did you kill me here?"

The old man said, "I killed you here to pray to the gods to remove your curse and protect the people of Ji. ”

Ji Chengyu's heart was gloomy, and he said, "Will my blood defile this place?"

"No, it won't. The old man said resolutely, "The blood of Prince Ji is pure and noble. ”

Ji Chengyu said with some sadness: "I am destined to defeat girls, many girls have died because of me, and the people say that I am a demon." ”

The old man said noncommittally: "There are also good demons, not to mention that you are not a demon." I also heard the children's song that was sung: A villain is called Cheng Yu, a lonely girl with a destiny, born with divine power to scream, it turns out that he is a demon. It's this nursery rhyme, it sounds interesting, but for you, it's a desperate rhyme, it's a knife, it can kill. ”

Ji Chengyu said helplessly: "People are born to die, and I am not afraid of death." I don't have a harmless heart, but I became a bad person in Jicheng, and I feel sad. ”

The old man said, "I have been killing people since I was twenty years old, and I have been killing people for twenty years, and among these people there are good people and there are bad people. But can I really tell the difference between a good person and a bad person? Before Ji Xiongfeng, I was the Sima of Ji State, and I fought for Ji Country and protected the safety of the people, am I a good person? For the people of Ji Country, maybe yes. But my hands are stained with the blood of aliens, and it is because of me that countless lives have been lost, countless families have been torn apart, countless children have been left homeless, and countless old people have died in the wilderness, none of them have lived or died with a curse against me. Speaking of this, a pair of cloudy old eyes looked at Ji Chengyu and said, "Prince, can you understand what I mean?"

Ji Chengyu shook his head and said, "I don't understand. ”

The old man smiled indifferently and said, "In Jicheng, some people say that you are a good person, because you killed three demons in the Lushen Mansion and saved many people. Some people say you're a bad guy because of some rumors, some legends. You can't stop other people's mouths, and you can't change other people's hearts, just let them say it, don't care too much. It's just that you have no heart to resist, but you are bent on death, which is beyond my expectations. ”

Ji Chengyu said helplessly: "If I resist, Doctor Lu Shen committed suicide in Ningqing Palace, and forced him to die. Dozens of ministers watched from the sidelines, and once their father's decision was not his wish, there would be another incident. Thousands of civilians gathered outside the royal city to threaten with riots. The wizard Nuo risked his life to find Red Feather's soul, but returned empty-handed. Xirong and Beidi are eyeing Ji Guo, once Ji City is chaotic, they will come to attack the city, and then Ji Guo will face the disaster of annihilation. Old man, how can I resist?"

The old man sighed heavily, and for a moment he looked helpless, and said, "The prince is so open-minded at such a young age, which really makes me an old fellow ashamed. ”

Ji Chengyu said: "I am willing to die to resolve grievances, the only thing that I can't let go of is that I am worthy of my heart, but I want to leave behind my infamy." ”

The old man looked at the statue of Pangu on the Qiongtai and said: "I have been guarding the altar since I was forty years old, and now I have understood a truth, people die empty, even if the soul is not dispersed, but the soul is no longer you, you don't remember the past, you don't remember the people of the past, you can no longer get what you want, you can no longer abandon what you want to abandon, everything in this world has nothing to do with you." The old man seemed to have finished what he was about to say, turned around and walked back, and after a few steps, he said, "If you still have entanglements in your heart, go and speak to the idol of the great god Pangu! But if I were you, I would have only grievances in my heart, and no repentance." After speaking, he didn't say anything more, and walked straight away.

The old man's words seemed to open a window in Ji Chengyu's heart, and a trace of light penetrated into it, making his heart oppressed by guilt feel a little lighter. And the grievances buried deep in my heart seem to have dispersed a little.

Ji Chengyu walked up the middle steps until he walked under the colossus of Pangu and looked up at Pangu.

Pangu is a great deity in the legends of the Chinese people, and according to legend, before the opening of heaven and earth, the universe was like an egg in chaos. The giant Pangu had been sleeping soundly in this large egg for 18,000 years, and when he woke up, he split the egg with an axe, and half of Pangu's head turned into gas, which continued to rise and become the sky. Half of Pangu's feet grew thicker, and it became the ground. After Pangu died, his left eye became the sun, his right eye became the moon, his hair and beard became the stars of the night sky, his body became the four poles of the east, west, south and north and the three mountains and five mountains, his blood became rivers, his teeth, bones and bone marrow became underground deposits, his skin and hair became the grass and trees on the earth, and his sweat became rain and dew, so the heavens and the earth were born.

Ji Cheng enshrines the statue of Pangu, and Ji Dongfang naturally told Ji Chengyu the story of Pangu. Standing in front of the Pangu Colossus for the first time, Ji Chengyu felt that Pangu was really tall, and it was not just because of the stone statue of Pangu, but after listening to Ji Dongfang's story, Pangu has always lived in his heart, and Pangu is tall in his heart.

Ji Chengyu thought that if he could die on Qiongtai, he would die in Pangu's arms, would his body be like Pangu, turning into rivers, lakes and seas, mountains and jungles, and rain, dew and spring breeze.

Ji Chengyu clasped his hands together, bowed down to the statue of Pangu, and said: "Pangu God, since the day I was born, dozens of girls have lost their souls because of me and become fake deaths. Grandpa Ji Dongfang took me out of the palace and sneaked into the mountains and forests, endured all the hardships of my life, and died of old age in a foreign land. Lu Shen's family was shattered because of me, and Lu Shen died and lost his soul. The father was forced into the palace by the courtiers and the people, and spat blood from his mouth. The queen mother's heart was painful, and she washed her face with tears all day long. It's all because of me, so I'm damned. However, heaven and earth can be learned, everything happened when I was ignorant and ignorant, I had no intention of this, and I also changed in my strength, and now I only want to die, with this grievance, and Jicheng is calm. Pangu God, please accept my body, I am willing to follow you into rivers, lakes and seas, mountains and jungles, rain and dew and spring breeze, sun, moon and stars, illuminate this hazy sky, protect this land, let my father and mother be loved by the people forever, let Ji country for thousands of generations, let the people be happy and healthy. After saying that, he kowtowed three times in a row.

There was a sudden laugh behind him, and Ji Chengyu turned his head suddenly, it turned out to be an old ape, standing there, grinning with a big mouth, shrugging his shoulders, revealing a classic evil smile. There is also a small broken bag across his shoulder, which looks very funny.