A white light radiated from the vermilion gate, almost blinding me.
I raised my hand to shield my eyes from the glaring light and squinted to look inside.
The light was too strong. I couldn't see anything from outside the gate.
After hesitating for a long time outside the gate, A Yin and I decided to go in and take a look.
Not for anything else, but just hoping to find something inside to clear Gu Yuan's name.
Although the hope was slim, I was still willing to give it a try.
"A Yin, you wait for me here. I'll go in alone." After all, A Yin was an outsider. I didn't want to involve her. After all, the more she knew, the more dangerous it would be.
"No, I'm going in. I'm not at ease if you go in alone."
"But..."
Before I could finish my words, she stepped into the temple ahead of me.
"Sigh." I let out a sigh and quickly followed her into the temple.
It turned out that the gate just now was just a teleportation gate. After stepping in, the two of us seemed to have entered another space.
Unlike the Nine Netherworld where there was no day, this place was very bright and the sun was extremely dazzling.
All kinds of common people were walking on the long stone steps, heading towards the temple at the top.
A Yin walked in front, and I followed behind her and walked up the stone steps.
On the way, we met an old woman leaning on a walking stick. She was staggering but still insisted on climbing the steps.
A Yin and I quickly stepped forward to help the old woman. Seeing us helping her, the old woman smiled kindly.
"Thank you, little girl."
"Grandma, there are so many steps. Do you want to take a rest?" I asked.
Leaning on her walking stick, the old woman looked at the sky and said,
"It doesn't matter. I've been walking like this for a lifetime. I... come here every day, rain or shine... Now that I'm old... of course... I can't stop."
She spoke very slowly, and sometimes it was quite difficult to break her sentences.
What a great perseverance it must be for an old person to worship like this for a lifetime!
"Are you here to make a wish to the goddess?" A Yin was as curious as I was and asked ahead of me.
"I'm already this old. What unfulfilled wish can I have? I burn incense piously every day, only hoping that the goddess can reshape her golden body soon and return to the Nine Netherworld soon."
"Are those people the same?" A Yin pointed at the crowd on the steps. There were more and more people on the stone steps, and there were many believers of all ages.
"Yes. The goddess sacrificed herself to bring a thousand years of peace to the Nine Netherworld. We can't do much for her. We can only do our bit and hope that our sincerity can touch the heavens."
After saying that, the old woman stood up again, leaned on her walking stick and continued walking up.
"Lan Lan, they all say that demons have no human form. Why do the people living in the Nine Netherworld seem to be more full of blood and more grateful than humans?"
I bit my lower lip. I felt really uncomfortable. Were they trying to reshape the golden body of me?
This old woman should know a lot of things. I quickly caught up with her and asked while walking, "Grandma, may I ask when this goddess temple was built?"
The old woman hunched her back. Her eyes drifted to the right, as if she was recalling the events of that year.
"I don't remember. I was still very young at that time. I don't even remember how old I am. How can I remember these things? I only remember that the goddess was very kind and she even hugged me back then."
The old woman was older than the goddess temple. She must know something about the events of that year.
"Grandma, who built this temple? Was it the Demon Lord?"
"Although I don't know who it was, it wasn't the Demon Lord. By the time he rushed back to the Nine Netherworld to take over the City of Eternal Night, this temple had already appeared here out of nowhere, and the deeds of the goddess had already spread."
That was strange. If it wasn't the Demon Lord and Gu Yuan had lost his memory, then who else had the ability to make a temple appear out of nowhere?
As we were talking, we had already followed the old woman to the temple. I didn't expect that after a thousand years, this temple was still as new as ever. The bell was echoing in the solemn and majestic main hall.
A statue of the goddess looked like a dancer with a graceful and charming figure, posing in a flying dance posture, which was extremely wonderful.
I stood under the statue. Looking at her perfect and impeccable facial features, I was so fascinated. Was this really my past life?
Just as I was indulging in it, I didn't know if it was my eyes playing tricks on me or if I was having an illusion.
I faintly saw the goddess statue curl the corner of her mouth. It seemed that she was smiling at me.
I quickly fixed my eyes on it, but saw nothing.
There was a continuous stream of people in the main hall. I walked around in the hall a few times and found some old people to inquire about the things about Yuan back then.
But as soon as they heard the name "Yuan", they kept shaking their heads. No one was willing to mention it.
This was really strange. Gu Yuan, what on earth did you do back then that made these demon people so terrified and avoid you like the plague?
I thought I would gain something, but I didn't find out anything. I couldn't help feeling a little disappointed.
After all, a thousand years had passed. What clues could be preserved for a thousand years? Thinking of this, I didn't feel sad anymore.
I lit a stick of incense in front of the statue to pay homage to my lost past life, and then turned around and left the temple.
A Yin followed behind me. She seemed to notice the subtle change in my mood.
"Lan Lan, are you very curious about your past now?" A Yin walked in front of me and looked at me with a bit of pity.
"To be honest, it's impossible not to be curious. But..." I didn't dare to continue.
"But you're afraid that when you're exploring your own life experience, you'll also bring out Gu Yuan's life experience. You're afraid that he's really a heinous big devil as Jun He said."
It could only be said that A Yin knew me well. Although she had only known me for a few days, she understood my mind better than Yan Lin who I had been with for more than ten years.
"He's not a big devil... Even if he was really demonized, there must be a reason. He must have done so for some reason. Even if he was demonized for no reason, that was in the past. It doesn't represent who he is now."
"Just like me. They worship the goddess of the Nine Netherworld. Jun He said that she's me, but I don't have that memory. They don't think I'm the goddess when they see me, and no one will come to worship me, right?"
I was desperately making excuses for Gu Yuan. No matter who he used to be, he was my husband Lan Chiyu's husband now. As the saying goes, "Marry a rooster and follow the rooster; marry a dog and follow the dog." I had decided on him for this lifetime.
"Yeah, I don't think he seems like a bad person. Then what are you still worried about?"
"You're right. Then what am I still worried about?"
As I said this, I suddenly felt relieved.
"Then do you still want to see your past? If you do, I can help you." A Yin wasn't joking. Her eyes could see through the past and present.
"The spiritual energy here is abundant. I can spy on your previous life here if you need me to."
I was silent for a moment. I turned to look at the statue of the goddess. It seemed that she was smiling at me again.
My eyes gradually became blurred. I slowly looked at A Yin and replied with a single word: "Yes."
A Yin took my hand and led me to the upper reaches of the waterfall behind the temple. As her eyes sparkled,
I heard a deafening sound of battle ringing in my ears.