Author: Chai Jidan
Translator: chiangyushien, Renkun26
Proofreader: KainGuru
Instead of living like this, it’s really better to die in a hurry. After Chen Youzai suffered countless days of torture, he finally saw the truth. I am no longer hopeful in finding the silver coin, so this delay would result in suffering a lifetime of hardship and having regrets as well in the end.
It’s over, ba! Chen Youzai said to himself. He slowly closed his eyes. He stretched his tongue between his upper and lower gums and made a firm biting action.
Unfortunately, Chen Youzai used just a little force, only to shrink back. His desire to seek survival made his gums tremble. He still did not have so much motivation to directly end his own life. His natural, instinctual fear to die made him once again cower.
Several days have pa.s.sed by and the weather seemingly became more and more parched and hot. Chen Youzai felt his face became more and more wrinkled. Once, he touched his face while sleeping and felt it was wrinkled and ragged.
Could it be because of the recent exposure to the scorching sun? Or has the original owner of this face relied on their face to gain the t.i.tle of “the most handsome man?”
Chen Youzai now has one desire. He wants to take a look at this face. He understood his time was running out, so at the very least, he wanted to know if it was worth it or not, ba! Here, water does not exist, let alone a mirror. They usually chew on thrown-away soft gra.s.s roots to absorb the moisture. Furthermore, there is very little time to pa.s.s water. Sometimes, even if there was urine to pa.s.s, it was so pitiful. It will just dry up in less than a second.
One day, because of Chen Youzai’s waning physical strength, he was unable to endure and fainted three times. He had to be beaten each time to gain his consciousness back. This place was just like a mountain of flames[1]. It was reckoned that even the most long-cherished wish could not be completely realized. With such a thought, Chen Youzai’s hand trembled. He held a stone not far from him and then smashed his head with it.
([1]「火焰山」huǒ yàn shān – figuratively, an insurmountable obstacle.)
Because of inadequate strength, that piece of stone was like just being deliberately placed on top of his forehead, and soon rolled off. Now, Chen Youzai does not even have the strength to commit suicide by biting off his tongue. In despair he closed his eyes. He felt a burst of sharp pain come through his body, yet could not open his heavy eyelids.
Fight ba, this time you must put up a fight. Do not bring me back to life, I do not want to live again.
By the end of the day, his expectations failed to materialize. Chen Youzai still prayed for him to wake up and his strength to greatly increase. He jumped up and found himself, from head to toe, br.i.m.m.i.n.g with vigor. He touched his body again, huh? It doesn’t hurt. How come it doesn’t hurt at all? Chen Youzai did not realize that seven days has pa.s.sed by already. He was simply astonished because of the changes he underwent.
Furthermore, what made him even more baffled was, although he was still in this place, the other people were already gone. After pondering for a long time, Chen Youzai just then arrived at a conclusion, he must be in the last radiance of the setting sun[2] ba!
([2]「回光返照」huí guāng fǎn zhào – figuratively, dying flash of lucidity or activity, prior to demise)
He heard Mama Chen say that a day before a person’s death, he will experience the last radiance of the setting sun. All of the sickness in his body would naturally disappear at that time. He would not feel pain anymore. Once, Chen Youzai’s grandfather[3] was like that. He was undoubtedly paralyzed. At the last radiance of the setting sun, he stood up and walked two steps.
([3]「姥爷」lǎo ye – maternal grandfather.)
Realizing this, Chen Youzai’s corners of the mouth raised to form a wry smile. Forget about it ba, this kind of outcome can also be considered as something awfully good. Isn’t it that you want to kill yourself earlier? Today, Yan w.a.n.gye[4] beckoned and saved you the trouble.
([4]「阎王爷」same as 閻羅王 and 阎罗王; Yama, King of h.e.l.l)