Nima incinerated Ci"s bones and lute, and put the ashes in a box. After her death, she left him nothing but a handful of ashes.

It was unbearable to meet as well as to depart for all lovers. Ci was just like a pa.s.senger in Nima"s life who had brought him temporary happiness and then left him alone in the cold world. In the eyes of sad people, even the splendid spring, the hard-working bees and the beautiful b.u.t.terflies would remind them of their sad stories.

"I"m getting old, both physically and psychologically," Nima thought.

He finally knew why Yang Zhen had took such a huge rat back to Nima Mansion. It liked to stay in Ci"s bedroom. When he stroked it, it was so quiet and obedient. It turned out that the rat was Ci. Her experience was like going through purgatory and she had suffered a lot. There were lots of things that she wanted to say, however, the man she loved had stepped on her stomach, flung her to the ground and starved her to death before she was recognized by him.

"Ci, were you indebted to me in your previous life?" he thought to himself.

Nima was drunk. He lay on the bed in Ci"s bedroom, laughing and shouting, "Come here and play a tune for me... Give me this girl... Hahahaha..."

It was raining outside and lots of flowers wilted. The dead people were like petals in the mud, waiting for a reincarnation.

Rat became the most popular animal in Tange Town. Peasants stopped farming and began to catch rats. Why did they suddenly take a fancy to rats? Because the servants of Nima Mansion quietly started buying rats. A small rat could be exchanged for half a kilo of rice. A big rat was worth 1.8 ounces of fine silver.

Townsmen went around spreading the news. Soon everyone in Tange town knew it and it became a well-known secret.

People only cared about rice and silver, and n.o.body was curious about why the servants of Nima Mansion bought so many rats. Some villagers even thought that Nima was doing good deeds on the pretext of buying rats. In their eyes, Nima wanted to help them but was afraid that they wouldn"t accept charity because of their dignity. So he gave them rice and silver in the name of business.

The servants of Nima Mansion, with hoes in their hands, were digging a pit in the backyard day and night.

Ji Jing, Nidazu who had just learned to toddle, Ju Juxian and Yang Zhen were taken to the backyard. When they took off blindfolds, they were frightened and couldn"t help trembling violently.

It was spring already. The clear, bright moonlight was streaming into the backyard. The air was full of fragrance of flowers. Countless rats were squeaking in the deep pit. Because of hunger, some of the rats began to eat other rats. They disembowelled one another with sharp teeth and paws as if a couple hugged and kissed each other.

"Have you ever seen a pit of ten thousand rats?" Nima asked.

Ju Juxian, Ji Jing and Yang Zhen knelt down, s.h.i.+vering with fear. Nidazu, who was ignorant of worldly affairs, looked at those rats curiously. The pit was jammed with ten thousand rats. They were different colors and sizes, squeaking with hunger. There were also some golden-haired rats which looked cute. The pit was deep and the pit walls were so smooth that rats couldn"t climb out.

"Master, don"t!" Ju Juxian begged in a trembling voice, as her hand also shook violently.

"I don"t want to break the rules for you." Nima raised his foot and kicked her into the pit. She gave a frightened scream and soon disappeared in the waves of rats. Her clothes and shoes could be seen at first, but after a while, nothing was left but hungry rats.

"Master, I will jump into the pit myself." Ji Jing whimpered, "I only hope that you can forgive Nidazu. He"s your son. You like him best, don"t you?"

She held Nidazu down and forced him to kowtow to Nima. "Come on, beg your father to pardon you."

Nima looked at Nidazu. This boy was indeed smart and sensitive.

Ji Jing jumped into the pit, and the rats quickly got into her mouth. Before long she was suffocated to death. The rats ate her flesh and chewed her bones. Soon she completely disappeared in the world.

Nidazu cried and made a scene. He kicked Nima in the s.h.i.+ns, his eyes burning with anger and hatred.

Nima smiled at Yang Zhen, "You don"t have to jump into the pit."

Yangzhen was on her knees and watched Nima approaching her. "Thank you, Master."

Nima squatted down and pulled out his knife. "You are such a beautiful woman."

He cut open her belly and the steaming entrails were scattered all over the ground.

Nima closed his eyes and said to the servants, "Throw Young Master into the pit after I leave."

"I"m tired," he said to himself and walked away.

Nima returned to Tibet with Ci"s ashes. Before he left, the officials who liked to eat human meat, tried to persuade him to stay but he insisted on leaving. An official asked, "What about us? After you leave, we will lose an excellent supplier of human meat."

Nima replied, "You can cook human meat yourself. I"ve already told you the methods of cooking and pickling."

Before leaving, Nima gave each of the officials two books-- "The Benefits of Eating Human Meat" and "How to Make Delicious Human Meat Dishes". Nima told them that he wrote the books, but in fact, these two books were written by the seasoned servants.

Sandal was first invented by San. Nima was the first person to hire the ghostwriter. Li Qiufeng was the first counterfeiter in the history. Autumn Wind Teahouse opened up a new branch called "Autumn Wind Tea Club". Thanks to Nima, Li Qiufeng did excellent business.

Unfortunately, the human meat dishes cooked by the high officials couldn"t compare with those cooked by Nima"s servants, in terms of both texture and shelf life. After eating these human meat dishes, many people suffered from diarrhea and died. People used to believe that eating human meat could improve their fitness. But gradually, they gave up the idea.

In a temple, Nima knelt down and said, "I"m guilty."

A lama closed his eyes and comforted Nima, "Buddhas and Bodhisattvas are merciful. It"s never too late to correct mistakes. As long as you sincerely repent and earnestly reform yourself, you will be saved."

At the bridge to h.e.l.l, Ci picked up a bowl of Lethe water and asked Meng Po, "Will I forget everything after drinking it?

Meng Po said, "You are in the top ten of the most desperate persons of this year in h.e.l.l. I have been waiting for you for a long time. You are here at last."

Ci drank all the water in the bowl and said, "After being reincarnated in a new body, I will forget Master and everything that happened to me, right?"

Meng Po nodded, "Yes. That"s common sense."

The King of h.e.l.l looked at Ci and asked, "Are you reconciled to your fate?"

Ci nodded.