Chapter 28 Into The Predators’ Layers Part 5

(Flash back)

Chased through the tall grass, the two celestial guards had chased Chun into the Pure Land. The two celestial guards stood in front of the landmark, refusing to cross.

One of the celestial guards looked at Chun and said, "No Man's Land, a forbidden place for mortals and immortals. Come back with us and accept your punishment."

Chun looked at the celestial guards, very tired, and begged, "Please let me go. I promised, after I hand over these five stones, I will go back with you."

One celestial guard said, "Our job is to take you back, and we are under no obligation to discuss negotiation with you."

Chun looked at the two celestial guards and found that they did not dare to cross the line into Pure Land. "No matter what the consequences are, I will take these stones to open the Gate of Reality." As she spoke, she ran away from the two celestial guards who did not dare to cross the marking line.

Chun rushed across the white desert at the fastest speed and walked towards the Gate of Reality, but the one standing in front of her was not her lover, but Avalokiteshvara.

Chun stopped immediately when Avalokiteshvara guarded the Gate of Reality. Chun fell to her knees. "Father of kindness and mother of compassion, please let me enter No Man's Land," she begged with tears.

Avalokiteshvara looked at Chun and said, "Out of all, you should know better. Why waste thousands of years of accumulation to achieve Nirvana for a moment of joy?"

"Happiness is short-lived, but it's worth it for me," Chun said, looking up at Avalokiteshvara, tears streaming down her face. "The only thing worthy of happiness for me now is not to continue Nirvana, but to spend a short life with him."

Avalokiteshvara sighed, "Amitabha... entering Nirvana is the dream of many people, but you are willing to give up your life's achievements in exchange for short-term happiness. Sentient being... oh sentient being..."

Chun said sadly, "You are not me, and I am not you. What makes you happy may not necessarily make me happy."

Avalokiteshvara said, "The stones you are holding are not the real stones that can help you open the Gate of Reality." Avalokiteshvara opens her right palm, with five gems hovering in her palm. "Let's make a bet. I will open the Gate of Reality for you, but once you come out, you will no longer be a goddess, but return to your original form. If the person you love shows up and accepts you, I lose the bet, you and he enter No Man's Land together."

Chun wiped her tears and said, "Is what you said true?"

Avalokiteshvara said, "I'm telling the truth, but if he sees you and his feelings for you change, then you've lost the bet. You will stay in your true form and accept your punishment."

Chun slowly got up and said, "I accept this test." She was full of confidence in herself, the man she loved and loved her for many years would not change his view of her, whether she is her true form or not.

Avalokiteshvara turned to the Gate of Reality, and the five stones hovered in the air around her right hand. Then the five stones flew into the five holes on the stone wall. The Gate of Reality finally opened slowly.

Avalokiteshvara looked at Chun and asked her one last time, "Will you regret it?"

Chun said, "No, I won't regret the decision."

Avalokiteshvara said, "Alright, step into No Man's Land."

As Chun approached slowly, she heard the laughter of men, women, and children. She finds herself walking into a village full of life. She looked back at Avalokiteshvara. "This place looks a lot like my village," she said happily.

Avalokiteshvara said, "This is No Man's Land, where the real and the illusory meet. Here, it will create the image that your heart desires most. Sometimes your inner desire is not reality."

Chun suddenly fell to the ground, and the happy scene faded away. She saw a man kicking and hitting a woman. The happy family she had just seen started screaming at each other. The laughter of children and people turned into sobs. Seeing men start raping women, mothers beating children, fathers selling children, people killing people, Chun shook her head in tears.

Chun shook her head in shock, "No, this is not what I want. I want a happy place. Where was the happy place just now? Where did that happy place disappear to? I want that happy place."

Avalokiteshvara said, "This is the reality of the short-term happiness you pursue, and it is not always as perfect as you imagine. Where there is life, there is death, where there is love, there is hatred, and where there is good, there is evil."

Chun propped herself up from her belly, and when she turned around, she saw the six-foot-long tail covered with scales. "No…" she screamed. She could no longer see her fair and beautiful legs and feet, but the long snake-like tail she had always hated.

Chun slowly crawled out of the stone door with her hands. She has only stepped into No Man's Land a few steps and dare not continue. Now she finally understands why this place is called No Man's Land. She was sitting by the door, and Yu and ten of his men walked towards Chun.

Chun looked at Yu and said, "I got the stones you asked for."

Yu kept a distance from Chun and said, "Throw those stones over."

Chun reached out and opened the palm of her right hand. Five stones hovered in her hand. "Here, come and take the stones."

Yu looked at Chun with disgust. "Throw them over," he said.

Chun asked sadly, "Are you afraid of me?"

Yu looked at Chun's face, and suddenly his eyes shifted to Chun's coiled tail beside her. "I'm in a hurry," he said, looking away from Chun's lower body.

Chun yelled angrily, "Are you afraid of me? What about the promise to be with me forever? Are those all lies?"

Yu said indifferently, "You lied first. You told me that you are a goddess. If I knew you were a demon, I would kill you when we first met."

Yu's words pierced deeply into Chun's heart. For the first time, she was in real pain. She giggles and looks at her tail, then looks back at Yu. "My love for you will always be pure until the day I die..." she said, staring at Yu madly. "I promised to accompany you through this life and meet again in the next life." She looked at Yu. "That's what you said to me."

Yu didn't look at Chun. "You can give me those stones, or remove your demon body from my sight," Yu said, without looking at Chun.

Chun listened to Yu's words and laughed. A few minutes later, Chun threw four stones at Yu, and at the same time she jumped up with a short pike in her left hand. She aimed the weapon at Yu's stomach. Just when she was about to hit Yu, she was pulled into a dense forest.

Avalokiteshvara appeared in front of Chun, "Repent yourself, don't make the same mistake again."

Chun stayed on the ground, not daring to raise her head to look at Avalokiteshvara. "I lost…I repent…"

Avalokiteshvara said, "Do you know why you can never enter No Man's Land?"

Chun shook her head. "Please enlighten me," she sobbed.

Avalokiteshvara said, "It's because your heart is full of desires. Everyone has desires. Only those who are truly free of attachment can walk into No Man's Land and not be affected by its power. If you don't believe me, see for yourself."

Chun watches Yu ustes his powers to try to open the Gate of Reality, but the force Yu sent to destroy the door is reflected. The reflected forces kill the people he took with him and himself. Chun saw Yu's body was torn into many pieces.

Avalokiteshvara said, "If you are a mortal, your body will not be less than his."

(Flash Back End)

Chun's tail wrapped around Yul tightly and Yul started to feel pain in his back so he grunted loudly to strengthen his muscles and tried to resist the strength of Chun's tail.

With her upper body transformed into a female form, Chun laughs at Yul who is desperately trying to fight her. She smiled and said, "You can't escape me. No creature can escape my grasp. Ha... ha... ha..."

Yul's back was squeezed by Chun's tail, and in pain, he let out a loud scream.

Hajime looked at the old woman and said, " "You and I are in a dream, how can you take advantage of the situation?"

The old woman chuckled and said, "Because I am a dream catcher. If you enter my formation, you will be my prey."

Hajime asked, "So, you feed on dreams?"

The old woman said, "That's right. Different dreams have different results."

Hajime said, "You are right, different dreams will have different results. You are a dream catcher, but not a dream controller."

The old woman looked at Hajime angrily. "Do you think there's a difference between capturing a dream and controlling it?"

Hajime said, "Maybe, but I want this dream to be unusual, a boring dream." The old woman's face darkened. "Did I guess right?"

The old woman said, "It doesn't matter to me what you dream. Whether in reality or in a dream, everyone hopes to have a good dream. So, what happens when you are in a nightmare?"

Hajime deeply thought about what he was most afraid of. After thinking about it, he knew that what he was most afraid of was the night in the dark alley. He was scared and angry that night. As he remembered that night, the places around him began to change rapidly to the dark alley.

Hajime's lips trembled, "No..." He felt his heart beating fast. "I don't want to be here."

The woman looked around and she was taken aback, "What kind of place is this?"

Hajime saw a garbage cane flying towards him, and he blocked it with both hands. In front of him, he saw June, Shi, Akako, and Kota smiling walking towards him. Although he was terrified of them, he couldn't seem to bring himself out of the dream.

The old woman standing next to the four bullies laughed. She looked at Hajime and said pitifully, "You think you can wake up from your dream by making yourself afraid? Let me tell you, this dream is not an ordinary dream. The only way to wake you up from this dream is your heart wakes itself up, not you. No matter what your heart creates, you will never wake up. This is the difference between reality and illusion." She stared at Hajime with red eyes. "Now, give me your soul."

Hajime was thinking about what could make Hajime wake up. No one would make him want to wake up for it. Then he suddenly heard Yul's scream from the top of the hill to his left. Hajime hurriedly turned his head to the left, and said worriedly, "Yul..."