Chapter 18 — Christmas Fairy Tale at Ma Palace

21

When I opened my eyes, I was no longer in Van Cot Tri. We are standing in front of a door. The door is divided into two halves, half white, half black. On the white side, the water of Thien Ha rolls and flows rapidly. On the black side, the fire of Ma Abyss burns. The gap in the door was filled with countless hands. Adult hands. Children's hands. The hand is bone white. Hands wither like tree branches. They were all desperately banging on the door. Coc. Coc. Coc. Quy Quy stood tall in front of the door, half of her body was tied tightly by Menh Danh Bo's shackles, the other half had dissolved into the crack of the door. She turned her head to look at me.

“Have you seen everything yet?”

“They are all waiting for you.”

I lowered my head and looked at myself. I am no longer a baby wrapped in diapers. Nor is it the figure of the girl wearing a gorgeous pink dress in that illusion. I'm still just a tiny child. However, in my arms I am holding the book Mention Bo. The first page is engraved with the name Noan Noan. The second page is engraved with Tieu Tuyet's name. The third page is engraved with the name An An. And the last page, is Quy Quy. There are still three thousand five hundred and ninety-seven blank pages in the middle. Quy Quy spoke up comfortingly: "If you don't open the door, they will forever be stuck in that dark place." I looked up and asked her: "So what if I open it?" She smiled triumphantly.

“The Galaxy will collapse, the Demon Abyss will crack.”

“All debtors will pay the fair price together.”

I thought for a while.

“So will Noan Noan also get hurt?”

Quy Quy stopped.

“What about Tieu Tuyet?”

She remained silent and did not respond.

“What about An An?”

Her face tightened and became unsightly. I hugged the book Menh Danh Bo tightly in my heart.

“They will also suffer.”

Quy Quy coldly said: "They deserve to suffer." I firmly shook my head.

“Pain is not a name.”

The loud banging sound behind the door suddenly faded a bit. I slowly flipped through each page, each page of the Destiny Ministry. On the pure white pages appeared countless blurry shadows. They crowded together behind the door, curiously peeking at me. Some people cower in fear. Some people are angry and angry. Some were sobbing, tears streaming down their faces. I gently instructed them: "Line up."

“I will call your names.”

“One by one.”

There was a small shadow sobbingly asking: "How long do we have to wait?" I was confused and didn't know how to respond. Because I'm still too young. However, I heard my father's voice echoing from outside the door.

“The deity will wait with it.”

The voice of the queen also followed.

“I will also be there.”

Thieu Dieu coughed and choked up blood, but still tried his best to speak clearly: "I will guard three meters outside." Noan Noan from Dong Hai happily interjected: "I'm at the front of the line, but you can let the people behind you." Tieu Tuyet in Bac Hoang mumbled: "I won't make trouble anymore." An An from Van Cot Tri enthusiastically volunteered: "I will help you keep order in the ranks." As soon as those sounds rang out, the sorrowful wailing behind the door suddenly became chaos. The one shouted: "I also want a name." Someone shouted loudly: "I don't even bother calling it Debt." Someone timidly asked softly: "If I had a name, would anyone remember me?" I nodded firmly.

“Yes Yes.”

The book Mention Bo suddenly moved and turned the page. The fourth page lit up. A tiny shadow hiding far away in the Demon Mausoleum timidly poked its head out. Its body was covered with animal bones, and the word "Chieu" on its forehead was bitten to pieces. I looked at it and suddenly remembered its big round eyes. I call: "Vien Vien." The fourth page lists names. The dark mist deep within the Demon Mausoleum slowly dissipated a bit. The fifth page glowed brightly. In the Buddha Cave, a tiny remnant of a soul was burned by a long-lasting lamp until its transparent, fragile body raised its head and looked up. I call: "Dang Dang." The fifth page lists names. Sixth page. At the bottom of the royal mausoleum on earth, a child wearing a tattered royal robe, huddled and trembling, was clutching a broken piece of Tran Uyen wood. I call it: "Nim Niem." The sixth page lists names. Page after page, one page at a time, turn over. Every time I called out a name, my forehead felt a sharp pain. But the pain was no longer like being torn in half. But it seems like a tangled mess has finally been resolved. Quy Quy stared at Menh Danh Bo, her face showing extreme horror for the first time.

“Stop calling.”

“You will keep calling and never stop.”

I calmly and seriously responded: "I can't finish calling today."

"Then we'll call again tomorrow."

Quy Quy hissed harshly: "You will grow up."

“You will feel tired and bored.”

“And then you will turn to resent them.”

I saw her name lying on the last page.

“Then remember to remind me.”

She choked in shock.

“What?”

"You're the last one standing."

“You should watch out.”

“Let's see if we missed anything.”

Quy Quy felt like someone had given her a painful slap. She suddenly fell silent and stopped smiling. Countless hands cramped behind the door slowly let loose and left the crack. The Black and White door stopped cracking. The word "Regulation" solemnly on the last page of Menh Danh Bo shines brightly. The chains slowly pulled her out of the gap in the door little by little. She struggled and resisted fiercely. However, the children behind the door suddenly reached out their hands. They don't close the door anymore. But together we clung to her hem.

“Regulation.”

“Let's get in line.”

“Don't interrupt.”

Quy Quy's expression became completely blank. She was dragged by countless tiny hands back to the last page of the Ministry of Destiny. Before being imprisoned in the book, she still stared at me fiercely.

“A Chieu, you will regret it.”

I hugged the Destiny Ministry tightly, feeling so sleepy that I closed my eyes.

“Regret?”

“You also have to line up.”

The last page closes tightly. The door slowly closed tightly. The water of Thien Ha retreated to heaven. The Demon Abyss Fire sank deep to the bottom of the abyss. We fall freely and float in front of the door. When I opened my eyes, I was snuggled in my mother's arms again. His father's face was right next to the top of my head. His eyes were red and streaked with blood. The mother-in-law's cheeks were also filled with tears. Thieu Dieu knelt three meters away, Kim Van shattered, leaving only a faint ray of light. Inside the main hall, both the Celestial Clan and the Demon Clan knelt down, kowtowing to the ground. Not kneeling and bowing to me. It's kneeling penance pillow for karmic debts caused by themselves. Thien Quan spoke hoarsely: "From today, the Thien Clan will hand over all the whereabouts of Tran Uyen Moc." The white-bearded old man bowed his head and prostrated himself on the ground.

“The Heavenly Clan wishes to enroll in the Ministry of Destiny, on behalf of the three thousand six hundred remnant souls to look after and preserve their names.”

The Demon Clan's shadow pondered for a long time, then slightly bowed his head.

“The Demon Clan's Van Cot Tri will no longer be used to suppress fate from today.”

“But only as a place to guard the souls waiting to be recognized.”

My father carried me into his arms. This time, Chieu seal no longer burned his hand. He bowed his head and lovingly kissed my forehead. The clumsy movements were like being afraid of touching a fragile snowflake.

“Chieu Chieu, did you hear that?”

“No one can take you away from me.”

The mother gently added another sentence.

“No one has the right to choose for you.”

Thieu Dieu looked up at me and smiled faintly. I stretched out my small hands towards him. His father's face immediately darkened.

“Are you still nostalgic about looking at Sang Sang?”

I held my finger in my mouth, sleepily yawning continuously.

“Get in line.”

Thie Dieu was stunned. The mother-in-law burst out laughing through faint tears. His father finally smiled. Resounding laughter escaped from the Demon Palace, dispelling the billowing black clouds on the distant horizon. On the land of the Demon Palace, which had been barren for three hundred years without a single blade of grass or tree growing, it suddenly bloomed with bright peach blossoms. Noan Noan in Dong Hai hugged her dragon vein tightly and fell asleep obediently. Tieu Tuyet in Bac Hoang lay in an ice coffin, for the first time no longer shivering from the cold. An An from Van Cot Tri was sitting on the edge of the lake, carefully counting each page of a book for the children behind her. The meeting between the Celestial Clan and the Demon Clan was no longer controversial for seven days and seven nights. Because the book Menh Danh Bo is lying right in the center of the main hall of the Demon Palace. Whoever is in debt will come and admit his mistake. Whoever destroys and dismantles it will pay for it with his own life. And me. I am still the little princess of the Demon Clan. Born with dim, fairy-like peach blossom eyes. My father always proudly patted his chest and said I was his breed. Every time he heard that, the ancestors of the Heavenly Clan held their chests and lamented that demonic energy was harmful to people. I don't understand. I only know that every night before going to bed, my mother would hold me in her arms and clearly call roll. Noan Noan. Little Snow. An An. Yuan Yuan. Dang Dang. Niem Niem. One by one. One by one. One day, those three thousand six hundred pages will be filled. And Quy Quy is on the last page, waiting until she can return home in peace. (COMPLETE)