逆天者之悲曲

Chapter Two – Grave Digger

King YanLuo sat solemnly on his dark throne, his quiet eyes staring at the aged man before him. His gaze seemed to tear into the frame of this man, sizing him up and studying him thoroughly through and through. Alas, he was done and King YanLuo motioned for Pan Guan.

"Yes, my King." Pan Guan bowed his head slightly.

"Read me the records of his past two hundred lives." King YanLuo ordered, his stare never once parting from the man's weathered face.

"Yes, my King." Pan Guan nodded and retrieved a jade record from within his sleeves. He cleared his throat and began announcing.

"After his death at thirty-seven years of age, A.D. 1408, Ming Dynasty, human Wu Ya was sentenced to an infinite reincarnation cycle of Chu Sheng."

Chu Sheng – Animal

"First incarnation – Crow."

"Second incarnation – Crow."

"Third incarnation – Crow."

"Fourth incarn-" Pan Guan intended to continue but was cut off by King Yan Luo.

"Skip to the next animal." He ordered.

"Yes, my King." Pan Guan bowed before proceeding to read. "Let's see … Fifty-first incarnation – Cockroach."

"Fifty-second incarnation – Cockroach."

"Fifty-third incarnation – Cockroach."

"Next." King Yan Luo swiped at the air before him with his sleeved arm.

"Hundred and first incarnation – Eagle."

"Hundred and second incarnation – Eagle."

"Next."

"Hundred and fifty-first incarnation – Rat."

"Skip to his most recent incarnation."

"Yes, my King. Two hundredth incarnation, Rat." Pan Guan concluded.

What ensued was a thick atmosphere of silence in the hall. Upon hearing the records, the man appeared to have recalled his incarnations – brief but cruel. The pain of the memories plastered his face thoroughly, yet not a single bit of remorse surfaced.

"Human Wu Ya. Having aided your friend, Han, in wrecking havoc in heaven, I was presented with a decree from the Jade Emperor, his royal Majesty, to sentence you to a limitless cycle of incarnations as beasts. Each incarnation, be it crow, cockroach, rat or eagle … was brief and ended painfully, each life severed cruelly by humans."

Wu Ya was kneeling on the floor, in the wide hall, before King YanLuo. His head was bowed. He closed his eyes quietly to prevent the agony and pain in his eyes from surfacing.

"For two hundred reincarnations, I have asked you one question. Each time you have given me an answer that has sent you back into your eternal sentence of bestial incarnations. Now, I will ask you the same question once more. I trust you do know that replying a 'yes' to this question will rightfully remove your sentence and your next incarnation will be that of a human …"

Wu Ya chuckled coldly. "No. That's my answer."

King YanLuo shook his head and sighed. "I am going to ignore that which you have just mouthed in a moment of spite. Let me repeat, answering a 'yes' to this question will relief you of countless agony. Answering a 'no', however, will cast you into another incarnation of an animal, whose short life of a few months will be ceased cruelly in the hands of a human. My question – Human Wu Ya, do you solemnly express regret in aiding your friend to wreck havoc in heaven?"

"No." Wu Ya's reply was brief and cold.

King YanLuo sighed once more, one that was long and deep. "Pan Guan, send for Niu Tou and Ma Mian, Bring him to Meng Po."

Niu Tou – Cow Head, guardian of Hell

Ma Mian – Horse-faced, guardian of Hell

Wu Ya was dragged via iron shackles on his Huan Quan route to the Nai He Bridge. The iron shackles were chained separately to the wrists of Niu Tou and Ma Mian, the two grotesque guardians of Hell. Wu Ya wasn't afraid of the duo. They were not evil in anyway, despite their looks. And he did not hate them for what they were about to do, for they were merely carrying out orders from King YanLuo.

For two hundred times, Wu Ya had walked the Huan Quan route. Two hundred times, he stood by the yellow river. Two hundred times, he crossed the Nai He Bridge. And for two hundred times, he drank the Five-flavoured soup of forgetfulness, brewed by Meng Po.

And lastly, for two hundred times, Wu Ya was cast back into the earthly realm as an animal, ready for a life of cruelty and agony – once more.

Such pain … no one could be numb of it. No earthly soul, at least.

Wu Ya began each incarnation fresh, without a single memory of his past, only to have his pathetic and minute existence crushed by a human.

Such pain … is the sentence due rightfully for a crime he had committed with his friend … for his friend …

"Han," he whispered beneath his breath. "How are you?"

He didn't dare to think of an answer Han might give. If nothing else, Wu Ya knew that the pain Han would be going through, would be at least a dozen more times that which he was experiencing. After all, Han had thrown the heavenly realm into chaos for no one else, but a female deity.

This crime was sufficient to grant Han the sentence of erasure – that which would destroy Han's soul, removing his existence from this world and forbidding him from reincarnating.

But … Heaven had dealt a lighter sentence … but one which would summon even greater pain than erasing the duo's existence.

Niu Tou and Ma Mian drew to a slow halt, ceasing to drag Wu Ya anymore. They were now at the Huan Quan, the yellow river. And right before them, was the Nai He Bridge.

"Come," Ma Mian growled softly. "Meng Po is waiting."

King YanLuo rubbed at his temples solemnly. This case had been dragging on for five centuries. It was frustrating. He lifted a finger and motioned for Pan Guan who was waiting beside him.

"Carry my word to Meng Po. Ask her to take this –" King YanLuo retrieved a small, delicate, porcelain container and continued, "take this and increase the concentration of her five-flavoured soup of forgetfulness by two hundred times."

Pan Guan bent forth and accepted the porcelain vial. He paused. "But my King, what is your reason for doing so, if I may ask?"

King YanLuo chuckled lightly. "Increasing the dosage of Meng Po's soup by more than a hundred times would wipe the soul's memories clean. There would be no way he can remember the incident five hundred years past. This case has been too long. My patience has its limit as well."

Pan Guan frowned. "But my King …. the side-effects of increasing the dosage by this much may …"

King YanLuo shook his head. "So be it … now go … and bring this to Meng Po."

"Yes, my King." Pan Guan bowed and retreated from the hall. The hall was silent once more, apart from the galloping of Pan Guan's skeletal horse in the distance.

King YanLuo licked his lips cunningly and looked at another porcelain vial he had retrieved from his pocket. This vial was larger, but contained similar contents to the one that he had given Pan Guan.

"Two hundred times the dosage?" King YanLuo muttered beneath his breath. "It contains two hundred times the antidote to Meng Po's soup …"

He pocketed the vial once more and smiled. Things were going to be interesting.

Wu Ya nodded to Meng Po and accepted the porcelain bowl of soup from her frail old hands.

"Thank you," he whispered politely. And for the two-hundredth and first time, he emptied its contents into his mouth. He took the bowl from his lips and showed its clear bottom to Meng Po.

"Here," he smiled. "I didn't try to cheat."

The old deity nodded kindly and placed her hands on her wooden stick. "I remember the first time you came here to me … after wrecking havoc in heaven with your friend. The two of you resisted so much that Niu Tou had to knock both of you out and forcefully feed you the soup."

Wu Ya chuckled. The past ….

His smile faded abruptly. The bowl slipped from his fingers and crashed fragilely onto the ground. The effects of the soup were finally occurring …

This time … it's so much faster than before … something's wrong …

Yet, the pain in his head was growing increasingly acute and he couldn't bother to think any longer. He couldn't hear his own thoughts to begin with. His knees buckled and gave way, his strong frame hitting the floor of the Nai He bridge.

He looked to the Huang Quan's waters which trickled peacefully beneath the Nai He bridge and sighed, before slipping into unconsciousness.

On the very same fateful night that the seventeen year old teenage deterred Alicia from suicide … the dead rose. Literally.

In a forgotten cemetery in the wilderness of the desolate barren battlefields … the silence of the night was broken by the rhythmic repeated clawing of the earth. This disturbance in the quiet graveyard awoken the crows from their sleep in the trees and a flock of them took to the air, cawing fearfully about the grounds.

Such a sound continued for the rest of the night until just before the sun rose, a pale, dirt-stained hand burst forth from the ground and searched blindly along the ground for support. Then another hand protruded abruptly through the earth and using both hands to press down on the ground, Wu Ya finished his struggle to the surface.

He was naked. Whatever clothing he had put on five centuries past was completely decomposed … He shuddered from the chilly night.

And then the sun rose as Wu Ya looked to the horizon.

"Beautiful …" Wu Ya sighed, speaking his first word through the mouth of a human for the past five centuries. He lifted a hand and felt his sore jaw …

This was the same body that his soul was the master of two hundred incarnations before. He knew it … everything … worked the same … Wu Ya frowned. But if that was the case, he should be reduced to skeletal remains by now.

Yet, he wasn't.

Wu Ya breathed in deeply, feeling his lungs fill up with the air about him. The air was fresh … reeking of the dirt of the grave he had just clawed out from. Speaking of the grave … he did not know whether to thank whomever who had buried him for such a solemn, proper burial …. or to curse him …

If Wu Ya hadn't madly clawed his way to the surface … he would have been dead by now. The grave … was deep. Wu Ya could have been buried alive … and died once again.

Questions.

Countless questions needed to be answered. Wu Ya frowned. He could make a few accurate guesses for them … but still … he could be wrong.

What was this year? Where was he buried? Where is this place? How did he retain the memories of two hundred incarnations? How did this body retain its flesh and blood after so many centuries? Shouldn't he be reincarnated into an animal?

Wu Ya shook his head clear of the questions and stood up. He dug his fingers into his long hair and combed through it. It felt good … to be a human once more. The first rays of the morning sun embraced his naked frame and showered him with warmth.

Food.

Wu Ya abruptly thought. His stomach growled uncontrollably. He was hungry.

"Wake up …" Alicia shook the kid. "Come on … wake up …"

She had managed to drag him all the way to her apartment and successfully dumped him onto her sofa. If that was insufficient enough to kill her, bandaging his wounds was. She was kept busy the entire night and had only enough time to catch a little sleep before waking up to make breakfast.

When she had last checked on the boy, he was still unconscious.

Alicia scowled. This kid has been unconscious for eleven hours. Even she could not stay in bed for so long. She didn't need so much sleep.

The kid stirred lazily beneath her touch. He opened an eye and murmured something barely audible. "Who are you?"

"Someone whose life you saved." She snapped.

The kid blinked and stared at her for a few moments before managing to gather his thoughts. "Oh right …. I remember." He sat up and touched the back of his head. He frowned from the headache that crackled through his temples acutely. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Very long. Eleven hours. Do you usually sleep that much? I was about to phone for an ambulance. You could be in coma …"

"Sure. I usually sleep twelve to fifteen hours." He yawned. "Life's boring. So I try to keep away from it as much as I can … like sleeping."

"Why not just go and die?" She taunted as she stood up and made her way to the dining table.

The teenager followed her and sat across her on the table. He instantly attacked the food and spat between mouthfuls of porridge. "Suicide? No way. Like I said, it's a crime."

"So?"

"Hell may be even more boring than living … I wouldn't risk it." His answer almost made Alicia choke on her tea. When she had finally cleared her airway and looked back to the table, he was already standing up and leaving.

"You are done eating? You sure do eat fast … and a lot as well …"

"Metabolism rate. Say, where did you place my cigarettes?" He looked about the apartment.

"Don't smoke. You are still young … and it's bad for your health." She continued eating.

He sighed as he paced across the living room and fumbled through his jacket that she had left on the sofa. "Found it." he mumbled. "Oh … and smoking? I treat it as passive suicide. It's good you know … you shorten your lifespan and die faster. The advantage is that you don't go to hell for it."

Alicia rolled her eyes.

He sat on the sofa and looked out of the window onto the streets beneath. It was noon.

"Don't you need to go to school? Or did you quit it? Too stupid?" she sniggered.

"School? I'm supposed to be studying my first year in Wu Liao College. Let's see … there's biology now. Yea, the point is … I skip school. It's more boring than what I'm living out now."

"No way!" she exclaimed. In fact, she couldn't believe it. Wu Liao College was the top three colleges in the nation. This kid before her … was he that smart? "It's what we all live for! I mean, you make friends, learn stuff, don't need to worry about backstabbing and earning money …"

He shook his head as he sighed. "Bah. That's what adults think – that kids got it better. And the kids think adults live a happier life. Contradictions. The way I see it … the truth is … life just sucks."

Alicia was finally finished with her breakfast. "Just tell me your name." She hopped into the sofa beside him.

"No."

"Just give me something. It doesn't have to be real. I'm gonna prove to you that schooling is fun."

The teenage frowned and stared into the sky beyond the window. The first thing that came to his mind was … "Han. It isn't my real name. But Han, will do."

"Got it." Alicia chuckled and snapped a picture of him on her cell phone. "Be sure to turn up for school tomorrow."

"No." Han replied and stuck the glowing cigarette between his lips.

"Come on. I treated you to dinner and breakfast … dragged you up seven floors … bandaged you …"

"Right … and I saved your life …" Han pointed out.

"Just do me a favour."

Han ignored her and looked once again to the afternoon sky. It was beautiful as well … but he preferred the night sky. Sometimes … he thought …. that what he wanted wasn't the sky … or the clouds … but someone beyond the sky …

But who could it be? He shook his head free of that thought.

"Come on." Alicia was still pleading.

Han gave up. "All right."

"Promise?"

"Yea. Promise."

Author's Notes:

Gotta be alot of stuff that I will need to explain here. So, please be patient. Thanks.

First of all, it would be more pleasant for your eyes, and easier a read, if you select ( upper right hand corner ) 1/2 width for the reading of this fiction. And to clear certain doubts of yours (if you have), this isn't a manga fanfiction ... somehow fictionpress put it up there ...

Right. To begin with, this story is fashioned after the Taoism culture. I'm both a Taoist and a Buddhist, and studied in a Christian school ( just so you know ). Everything in this story is purely fictional, and if you feel ( i hope not ) unintentionally insulted by what I've written, don't read.

King YanLuo, is also known as the King of Hell. Yep, and Pan Guan is sort of like his minion ( like a secretary to a boss, if King Yan Luo is the boss ). The beginning of this chapter starts out in Hell or otherwise known as Hades. All those who have died, their souls leave their bodies and enter Hell where King YanLuo judge the man's sins. Here, it's quite different from Christianity. You don't go to heaven if you don't commit too much wrongdoings. All those who have died are reincarnated into either beasts / animals or humans. Let's say you have murdered someone or betrayed your King, you are tortured in the various Chambers of Hell ( each chamber for a different category of crime / sin ) and then you are reincarnated as a beast. Someone who hasn't committed too many wrongdoings, will be tortured / punished lightly before reincarnated as a human.

And depending on the severity of your crime, your sentence will vary. In the case of Wu Ya, one incarnation as a beast isn't enough, so it's an infinite cycle of bestial reincarnations.

Before one is reincarnated, he proceeds to the Nai He Bridge, otherwise known as the Bridge of Despair, where Meng Po waits. Meng Po, is a deity who appears as an old lady. Before you cross the bridge to be reincarnated, you would be given ( from her ) a bowl of soup to drink ( also known as Meng Po Tang or Meng Po soup ). This soup is brewed from a variety of herbs to give it its five flavours and its special effect of having those who drink it forget their past incarnation.

According to this theory, babies cry when they are born because they are expressing their anger and helplessness ( having to drink the soup when they do not want to forget their past life - their love, their family, their friends, etc ). But soon they forget how to put words to this anguish, so they make stupid noises, that which are cries of the baby.

Wu Ya can be translated as Crow ( as in bird ) or Borderless ( e.g. a sea without end ).

Han can be translated as Cold, chilly, emotionless.

Now on to the heaven in my story, as well as Taoism. According to Taoism, no one lives forever. Even gods, which I will refrain from using and choose to use the word "deity", have a limited lifespan, although it's much longer than humans ( like 100,000 yrs? ). They rule in Heaven and rid the earthly realm of demons. Different deities have different powers, different posts / roles / jobs, and there's this cool hierarchy. Jade Emperor is right on the top, and there's the Three Pure Ones ( Lao Zi, Tai Shang Lao Jun, etc ) and the Dragon Gods of the Four Seas, the King of Hell ( Yan Luo Wang or King YanLuo ) and so on. The lower ranking deities are of course, less capable and powerful.

Immortals are not mortals, of course, and may have equal strength as deities. Unlike deities, they have no designated posts and are humans who have attained immortality via their own cultivation ( Xiu Zhen Zhe ). Later in the story, I will explain that Han and Wu Ya furiously cultivated and attained immortality so that they could wreck havoc in heaven and meet this lover of Han, whom Han was forbidden to love.

Boo, too much written under Author's Notes. I should end it here. Anyway, last point to note. Hui Jun is Alicia, Alicia is Hui Jun. They are the same person. Yep. Lastly, please review. -

Oh yea, almost forgot about it. These few chapters aren't emo. But this story really isn't for those non-emo-hearted, unless you are ready to be converted into the realm of emoness, of course. It isn't really a big deal, but I just don't want to taint innocent hearts. P