Chapter 234: Chapter Thirty-Four: Bewilderment

"Do you like it? If you like it, then stay here with sister!" Sister Jiajia stroked my head, laughing softly.

"Like," I nodded wholeheartedly, but I remembered I still haven't found Pangzi and QingSongShu.

"Why go look for them? You're not happy here? Since you're happy, why not stay? People live for themselves, don't they?" Sister Jiajia lightly waved her hand, her slender finger pointing: "Look, there's endless gold and silver treasure here, inexhaustible mountain delicacies, and the woman you love most."

Following the direction Sister Jiajia pointed, I turned my head back; the room was already covered in gold, even the floor spread with a layer of gold dust as thin as a cicada's wing.

On the long table lay countless rare dishes, the Manchu-Han imperial feast I had seen in movies. I once had a dream, hoping to eat the feast that only the emperor of the Forbidden City could taste.

In the haze, a few wisps of green smoke rose ahead; as the mist spread, a slender figure came slowly walking from the front.

It was Murong Jia Jia, like a fairy fallen into the mortal world, noble and unstained by a speck of dust.

"Hai Sheng, do you want me?" Murong Jia Jia suddenly gave a bewitching smile, pulling her clothes down a few inches to reveal half-covered snow-white skin.

"I…" I gulped hard, staring at Murong Jia Jia's fair skin, a deep ** welled up in my heart.

As I uttered that word "want", many attractive servants carrying trays suddenly appeared around me; the leader was a bald, fat man. He bent his waist, walked respectfully up to me, and smiled coquettishly: "Master Sheng, I'll take you to rest."

"Rest," isn't that a word only used in ancient palaces? I felt my throat dry; something quickly sprouted in my heart, like smog, rapidly expanding to occupy my whole heart.

I recognized that bald fat man; he's a wealthy man from Guangdong, extremely arrogant, always walking with his head up looking at the sky, not at people. He thinks his wealth makes him great, scolding subordinates or his own wife and son harshly for the slightest mistake. In his eyes, perhaps only the word "money" is worthy of notice.

"Take off your shoes, wipe them clean; if not clean, lick them clean." I glared at him menacingly, and only when the words left my mouth did I startle. Did I really say that?

Yet, as he flatteringly bent over, I felt an unprecedented pleasure. Back then, when he came back from playing with women outside, he treated his wife the same way.

"Too late, let's go sleep! Besides me, you can freely pick any woman here." Murong Jia Jia lifted my chin, smiling seductively: "Want to give it a try?"

I swallowed, my lips dry, and said: "That's not right; I'm a Dao cultivator, I avoid women!!"

"Hehe..." like the sound of silver bells, Murong Jia Jia's eyes flickered as she smiled seductively: "You've misunderstood; the ancients said avoiding women actually means not forbidding women. A man who claims to avoid women merely says he hasn't met enough tempting women; once he can't resist temptation, avoiding women becomes not forbidding them, unable to control oneself, right?"

As she spoke, Murong Jia Jia's slender figure lightly turned and beckoned; those lovely maids all *took off their clothes, revealing flawless figures that made men unable to restrain nosebleeds.

"Um... let me think, I'd rather wait for Pangzi!" I was pondering, should I pounce like a wolf or like a tiger? Logically I should have completely sunk in by now, but for some reason, an extremely lewd, extremely fat figure suddenly appeared in my mind.

How would I think of Pangzi? I don't understand, but it's precisely Pangzi's appearance that made me, who originally obeyed Murong Jia Jia's words, hesitate a bit.

"Hum, if one doesn't act for oneself, heaven condemns and earth destroys. You think of your friend, but has your friend ever thought of you? Think: who keeps pushing you out to take the blame? Who gave you a notorious reputation at school? Such a person, you should kill him yourself; only then will you be happy and joyful." Sister Jiajia suddenly grew angry; what she said was true—Pangzi really is such a lewd person. Every time he causes trouble, he drags me in, pushing me forward to take the blame. But should I really do that?

"Alright, alright, Hai Sheng, don't argue, let's go sleep!" Murong Jia Jia came out with a bewitching smile to smooth things over. I stared at her eyes, suddenly feeling a wave of dizziness, a surge of heat rushing from my feet to the top of my head; I suddenly wanted to pounce on her and tear her clothes to shreds.

"Fine, let's go sleep, right now!" My breath felt extremely heavy; I felt something clogging my heart, only by violently ravaging Murong Jia Jia could I completely let go of my emotions.

My hand had already touched Murong Jia Jia's shoulder; the smooth feel made my breathing even more rapid, my mind seemed to hold only one thought. In my heart, only one sentence kept repeating.

"I must have her; she is mine, forever mine."

With a low growl, I lunged at Murong Jia Jia, encircled her waist and lifted her, preparing to walk into the room. If nothing unexpected happened, it would surely be another round of overturning dragons and phoenixes, an ecstatic spring night.

However, an accident really occurred. I suddenly smelled a familiar fragrance escaping from my bosom, making me shiver, and I violently threw Murong Jia Jia away.

"No, you're not Murong Jia Jia." I turned and pointed at Sister Jiajia, shouting: "You're not my sister either; tell me, who are you really?"

The fragrance drifting from my bosom was Returning Soul Incense, also Stabilizing Soul Incense. The soul incense made me instantly clear-headed; damn, this is all too bizarre.

What exactly are these people? From the moment I saw Sister Jiajia's back, it seemed I had already entered a trap. This kind of bewitching of people's minds, influencing their senses, is not unfamiliar to me. On the contrary, I often bewitch people myself. I summon the Five Ghost Soldiers to affect those wild men who linger unwilling to return home, helping those lonely women guarding empty chambers bring back their bewitched husbands.

The air suddenly grew still; everyone around fell silent, staring fixedly at me.

"Hai Sheng, I really am your older sister! You forgot—when we were little, I helped you chase off many who bullied you."

"Yes, Hai Sheng, I am also Murong Jia Jia, the Murong Jia Jia you love most."

"Master, we are all your most loyal servants."

My mind began to churn, my brain ringing like bells and drums; I slapped my temples, and blood poured from my nose and eyes.

"No, you're not my sister, nor Murong Jia Jia. They wouldn't let me kill my own brother, nor abandon my brother." I struggled, but my voice grew weaker and weaker; reason and desire fought in my mind, and desire gradually devoured my reason.

"Namo, He Luotuona, Duo Luo Ye Ye, Namo, Xi Jili Duo, Yi Meng A Li Ye, Po Lu Ji Di, Shi Fo Luo Leng Tuo Po..."

Just before I nearly succumbed again, a clear, crisp chant rang in my mind, making my spirit light and preventing total submersion. This passage seems to be the Buddhist Sect's Calming Mantra. I've never studied Buddhist scriptures, so who is the owner of this passage?

Soon, the answer was revealed.

A wisp of green smoke drifted from my bosom, gradually condensing into a lovely, dignified figure—none other than Murong Jia Jia healing her wounds in the Gathering Spirit Jade.

Her hands actually formed the Buddhist Sect's Lotus Hand Seal, and she chanted the Buddhist Sect's Shurangama Mantra; faintly, I felt a pure, holy aura emanating from her. This is unscientific—she is a ghost, and both Buddhist and Daoist scriptures subdue souls, yet Murong Jia Jia unusually wields Buddhist divine powers.

The fake Murong Jia Jia and Sister Jiajia came crowding toward me, continually beckoning; I pulled out a talisman and threw it at them, but the talismans all vanished, having no effect whatsoever on them.

As they ceaselessly tempted me, signs appeared that my mind might falter again; frightened, I sat cross-legged and began to recite the Daoist Sect's Clearing Heart Technique.

The false Murong Jia Jia and Sister Jiajia seemed to dread the real Murong Jia Jia. Although they kept beckoning and tempting me, they dared only to stay far away, not daring to approach at all.

"Why? Why do the talismans have no effect at all on them?" Weakly, I took the opportunity to ask the Murong Jia Jia guarding before me.

"You must ask your heart."

"My heart?"

"Yes, it's your heart. They are neither demons nor monsters, but your thoughts, your obsessions; you cannot attack them, but if you let go, they will vanish. If you cannot let go, they will continue to bewitch your heart. However, they dare not approach you now because the Buddhist Sect's Shurangama Mantra strikes them, keeping them away." After a pause, Murong Jia Jia said neither sadly nor happily: "But if you persist in your obsession, I cannot help you either, for I am a soul; the Shurangama Mantra, while holding them off, also harms me—I… cannot endure much longer."

I didn't understand Murong Jia Jia's words—what does it mean for my own heart to give rise to these things? Is my pure little heart really that complex? Still, I grasped how to break it, what to do. Murong Jia Jia meant that only by letting go, making my heart indifferent, seeing through all illusions, would this disappear.

If the heart is pure as ice, heaven's collapse won't startle; myriad changes remain steady, spirit clear and tranquil, dust does not cling, vulgarity does not stain, the void is peaceful, all is one without objects, no mutual arising, difficulty and ease complement each other.

I sat cross-legged and slowly began to recite the Daoist Sect's Clearing Heart Method..