Chapter 58 Sadness

My mind was racing. First of all, this thing was moving in the coffin liquid, which only reached my calf. But I was squatting and my butt was immersed in the coffin liquid. This meant that my butt was my weakest point, so I should stick it against the coffin wall to protect it. If this thing could swim in such shallow liquid and barely left a ripple, then it should either be something like an eel or something the size of an arm.

This thing’s method of attack was probably to go for my legs after circling underwater or to suddenly leap out of the water and rush towards my face.

I clung to the coffin wall, protecting my face with one hand and preparing myself to be bitten on my feet or butt.

Don’t be poisonous, don’t be poisonous, I thought to myself. If this thing is poisonous, I can hardly do anything about it in this situation.

Wait, there is a way.

I suddenly saw the children’s statues, which were pressing on the Wanshi Meat. I immediately rushed over without an ounce of hesitation and climbed onto the pile of Wanshi Meat, gripping the statues so as to prevent myself from slipping down.

That meaty sensation, the thick feeling of grease, and the bubbles that appeared as soon as I waded through the coffin liquid had my whole body breaking out in goosebumps.

If it were the old me, I wouldn’t dare risk taking these two or three steps for fear of stepping on that monster. But now, I knew very well that the biggest risk was inaction.

Once I was clinging to the statues, I started to quickly sweep the water with my flashlight. It was impossible for this thing to attack me from under the liquid now, which meant that it could only rush out of the liquid. If this thing wasn’t able to jump out of the liquid, then I was safe for the time being. If it could jump, however, then I could at least hide behind these statues.

There were still ripples on the surface of the coffin liquid from where I had just rushed over, but I didn’t see any other signs of movement.

I thought about tapping out a message on the child statue, but then I thought about Poker-Face and Fatty still fighting the zombie outside. If they suddenly heard me tapping from inside the coffin, would they think I was in danger and get distracted? So, I held back. But after carefully thinking about it, I reached into the coffin liquid with one hand and started splashing water around.

Come on, little one, I said in my heart. This grandpa will show you a good time. I’ll even give you a finger; come and bite it.

I was splashing all around the child statue when I suddenly heard another laugh come from behind me. I immediately looked back and saw a ripple in the coffin liquid disappear behind me.

I suddenly had a bad feeling and immediately retreated in the other direction so that the statue was in front of me.

Just now, I wasn’t really thinking about why it was laughing if it was an eel, but it definitely seemed to be deliberately circling around me. This thing shouldn’t have a high IQ.

Just as I thought this, I saw something float out of the coffin liquid where the ripple had just appeared.

It wasn’t an eel or a fish but some strange thing. It didn’t have any skin whatsoever, but its flesh was a dark red. When it sat up from the coffin liquid, I found that its movements were very familiar.

I squinted at it. That thing’s eyes were completely white and its “face” looked like a monkey without skin.

I immediately remembered those monkeys that the human-faced birds had spat out in the Heavenly Palace.

This thing, which had also come out of the mouth of a bigger thing, was somewhat similar to those monkeys. I had to admit, I felt a little sense of familiarity when I saw that big thing open its mouth earlier.

Wait, that can’t be right. As I watched this thing’s movements, I immediately realized that it wasn’t a monkey. Then, my scalp suddenly went numb as I realized what it was.

It’s Ping Lian!

This skinless thing was a dog whose skin had been stripped off! But based on the way it was sitting, it was definitely Ping Lian.

Then I saw the skinless Ping Lian grin and let out a clear laugh.

Was Ping Lian eaten by that thing? What happened? Did he transform after being skinned and eaten? Now he could even laugh.

Ping Lian’s current condition wasn’t like that of a dog but more like a dog that was gradually becoming human. It really was like those skinless monkeys.

My back broke out in a cold sweat as I came down from the Wanshi Meat pile, pulled out my Kukri, and said to Ping Lian, “Don’t be afraid. I’ll do it quick. You’ll be free soon.”

Ping Lian’s skinless face gradually became sinister, which was an expression that was absolutely impossible for dogs to make. This was no longer a dog but some unknown thing.

I held my knife in front of me, took a deep breath, and began reciting the Great Compassion Mantra⁽¹⁾. The horror in my heart instantly calmed down, leaving only pity.

At the moment Ping Lian rushed towards me, my whole body was highly focused. I turned so that my upper body was close to the coffin liquid’s surface, gripped Ping Lian’s neck with one hand, and then shoved him into the coffin liquid. I then stabbed my Kukri into his neck until I hit bone and gave it a hard yank.

Ping Lian’s legs flailed desperately, but I remained steadfast until he finally went limp thirty seconds later. I released the hold on my knife and then twisted Ping Lian’s head until it was separated from his body.

Om, may these prayers be successful.⁽²⁾ It’s not your fault, Ping Lian. Go back to your master.

<Chapter 57><Table of Contents><Chapter 59>

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TN Notes:

(1) The most popular Mahayana Buddhist mantra (aka dhāraṇī) associated with the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara. Info here.

(2) This is the last line of the Great Compassion Mantra. I just copied it from the Wikipedia article in Note 1.

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Ok guys, Anna got the rest of the Mystic Nine stuff into a pdf so I just combined it with the other Mystic Nine stuff. The links to the updated pdf and epub are on either of the Mystic Nine tabs (I just stuck them on both). I also copied the raws up to chapter 50 of Restart 4 (at least, that’s what I’m calling it) and ran them through the translation sites. We’ve got about 24 chapters (~102 pages) of Restart 3 left so we’re basically good to go for a while and everything on the site should have pdfs (minus a few extras and Restart Part 3 obviously). (￣^￣)ゞ

And finally, Poor Ping Lian. RIP lil puppy (╥_╥)