Multiple Personalities?
In the Long-Tongued Ghost's sheepskin diary, it was written that a multi-personality game was as chaotic as the player's mind, but there was always a main thread invisible to ordinary people. To understand the game, one must clear their mind and find that true thread.
"Uncle Master, why are we here?"
"Something for you to see?"
"What?"
"Just follow me."
We didn't stay long on the peak of Mount Tai. After a brief rest, we descended from the back mountain and, following a secret path known to no one, arrived at a slightly eerie cave. Zhang Si lit a candle, revealing the scene inside.
The sight was almost unimaginable: faded yellow talismans, strange carvings on the cave walls, and occasional dried bloodstains. I was a bit stunned. "Uncle Master, what is this?"
Zhang Si pulled out a photograph from his pocket and gave it to me. Holding the photo, I was dumbfounded.
The picture showed Old Ghost, chained up like a dog. A bowl of thin porridge was placed far away, seemingly connected to a mechanical device. It was hard to fathom that Old Ghost had been captured. The punishment was peculiar: no food, just a bowl of porridge in sight, a form of mental torture.
At that moment, Zhang Si walked towards the center of the cave, where a strange Yin-Yang symbol was etched. Zhang Si stood on the symbol, then collapsed on the ground as if having an epileptic fit, eyes closed, foaming at the mouth.
I rushed over to help Zhang Si. He woke up, his eyes as cold as ice. He looked at me, and I realized something. I slowly shuffled towards the cave entrance, keeping an eye on Zhang Si.
On the way up Mount Tai, I had already noticed Zhang Si's multiple personalities, at least three of them: the scholar, the chef, and the lecher. However, this current demeanor was utterly different from the three I had seen. His aura was suffocating.
"Uncle Master."
"Cao Shi, placing the last hope on a mere whelp like you, I truly have eyes but cannot see."
I sensed something and felt no need to continue the pretense of brotherhood. I looked at Zhang Si seriously. "What did you do to Old Ghost?"
"Your intuition has betrayed you. If you had more experience, perhaps you could have caused some trouble for me like Cao Shi."
"You are 'The Mentor'?"
"Yes, I am 'The Mentor,' the one who guided Li Jiu in creating 'Logical Paradox.'"
"Impossible. How could Li Jiu not recognize you?"
"The 'Mentor' overseas was merely a substitute. Li Jiu had his suspicions and visited once, but found no proof. Cao Shi is smarter than Li Jiu; he came twice, and of course, Cao Shi also found no proof. However, Cao Shi is different from Li Jiu; he's not someone who needs evidence to act. He relies on his intuition."
"So, Old Ghost never went abroad but came here to deal with you."
"That's right."
"Is he still alive?"
"He's alive for now. That contraption allows him to drink a bowl of porridge every three days, but it won't sustain his life for long. He can't find a way to escape, and his ultimate fate will be starvation."
"He's your junior brother, why treat him like this?"
"He should have died in '90. Why treat him this way? How to put it? I've wanted to kill him from the beginning. Do you know the Five Ghosts? Gluttonous Ghost Cao Shi, Long-Tongued Ghost Li Jiu, Rakshasa Ghost Wang Ren, Lustful Ghost Zhu Guang, and Starvation Ghost Zhang Si."
"I don't know. Besides Gluttonous Ghost and Long-Tongued Ghost, I haven't heard of the others."
"Then I'll tell you. Perhaps you can find a way to deal with me from it."
Master Wende's five disciples were not actually the Five Ghosts. Master Wende was a spy on the WWII front. The children he saved upon returning to China were not all good people. He could even judge these children using the seven deadly sins from Western religion.
They were Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Lust, Pride, Envy, and Gluttony.
Greed was Zhang Si, a remarkably intelligent person, beyond Master Wende's imagination. He successively killed Master Wende's second disciple, Sloth, and third disciple, Wrath. Moreover, Zhang Si didn't just kill; he seemed to devour souls. After killing the second disciple, a Sloth personality emerged. After killing the third disciple, a Wrath personality divided itself.
Once Master Wende understood the situation, he used psychological therapy learned from the West to put Zhang Si's primary personality, Greed, into dormancy. Then, he strictly disciplined Zhang Si's two subordinate personalities. Master Wende divided Zhang Si's day into three stages. Zhang Si woke up at six every day, with eight hours for the subordinate personality Sloth, another eight hours for the subordinate personality Wrath, and the remaining eight hours for sleep.
From that day on, Master Wende began to construct lives for Zhang Si's subordinate personalities, using them to suppress the awakening of the main personality. This took a long time. Master Wende made the other disciples come later to learn martial arts, fearing they would be harmed by Zhang Si.
For a period, Zhang Si's two personalities began to stabilize. Sloth's culinary skills improved daily, and he became an excellent cook, serving Master Wende around the clock. In other aspects, the cook was useless, unable to even recognize characters. The other personality, Wrath, who was originally a martial artist and prone to anger, was taught by Master Wende to practice health preservation, metaphysics, and calligraphy, the opposite of his nature.
After the two personalities gradually stabilized, Zhu Guang came to learn. Zhu Guang was a womanizer, always flirting around. He was a Casanova, very good at charming women, but lacking in other areas. After some cultivation, Master Wende gave up on Zhu Guang and recruited Wang Ren. Although Wang Ren was a girl, she possessed an intelligence surpassing that of her senior brother Zhu Guang. Unfortunately, she was too proud and opinionated. With no other options, Master Wende placed his last hope on Li Jiu and Cao Shi. They arrived in Beijing simultaneously in 1988. In Master Wende's eyes, both children were very talented. Li Jiu was slightly inferior, often jealous of Cao Shi. Cao Shi, though constantly feasting and drinking, had a spiritual intelligence. Around that time, Master Wende was also aging, so he wrote a seal on his hand, relinquishing control over Zhang Si.
Zhang Si didn't occupy much of his subordinate personality's time daily, but he began to scheme. Finally, after handling Master Wende's funeral, Zhang Si moved to Shandong. Zhu Guang, the prime suspect, vanished. Li Jiu defected from the sect. Wang Ren, disheartened, stayed in Beijing. Cao Shi went to Hong Kong alone.
I understood. "You killed Zhu Guang? That subordinate personality with pomade slicking his hair back, wearing a suit and tie, that was Zhu Guang."
Zhang Si killing people and deriving personalities was what made him unique.
"Correct."
"In that sect battle, you lost, and your master, Master Wende, died with a smile."
"Yes!"
"Old Ghost defeated you with the move 'Heaven and Earth, all things are not my own, all things are for my use.'"
"Yes!"
"Since Old Ghost could defeat you the first time, he could defeat you the second time. Why did he lose?"
"Li Jiu must have told you about the founding principles of 'Logical Paradox,' right?"
"A game that is destined to lose, yet with the right method, you can always win."
"Yes, Li Jiu taught you very well."
I was still somewhat confused. "Even if you broke free from the shackles of 'Logical Paradox,' in terms of cultivation, you would be at most equal to Old Ghost. How could you capture him?"
"The purpose of 'Logical Paradox' was never about making money or ruling the world, such trivial ideas. From beginning to end, it was a human experiment. The Five Ghosts of China: Long-Tongued Ghost, Gluttonous Ghost, Rakshasa Ghost, Lustful Ghost, and Murderous Ghost. The Western concepts of Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Lust, Pride, Envy, and Gluttony all speak of human nature. Master Wende wanted to reach a higher level through a few exceptionally talented children, but he failed. I, by experimenting with tens of thousands of people, finally stood above human nature."
I scoffed. "You're a madman, a fool, from beginning to end!"
"No matter how you judge me, I defeated the fifty-fifth generation Schemer and surpassed his highest realm of 'All things under heaven are not mine to possess, all things under heaven are for my use.'"
"Do you expect me to believe that?"
"I can prove it to you."
"How?"
Zhang Si took a coin from his pocket and asked, "Heads or tails?"
"There must be some price."
"If it's heads, I'll release Cao Shi. If it's tails, I won't take your life."
I smiled. "Zhang Si, do you truly understand what 'All things under heaven are not mine to possess, all things under heaven are for my use' means? I don't compete. I am but a grain of sand on the earth, a drop of water in the ocean. If I desire it, the whole world lies at my feet. I am God. This is the Schemer. I choose tails. I don't need you not to take my life. I just don't want you to release Old Ghost. I want to save Old Ghost myself and send you to prison."
"Indeed, the fifty-sixth generation Schemer, you have great spirit. Then, you go ahead."
As Zhang Si spoke, he handed me a one-yuan coin.
I felt the coin, finding nothing special about it. I confirmed it hadn't been tampered with.
"Tails!" I shouted, flicking the coin with my thumb. It spun in the air, gliding past Zhang Si's smiling face. At that moment, the cave became windy, a chilling gust. I stared at the coin, desperately wanting to know the final outcome.
The coin landed, and I froze. It was neither heads nor tails. It fell vertically to the ground, embedding itself in a crack in the earth.
"The lives of you and Cao Shi are mine. Time is up, farewell, young man."
Zhang Si closed his eyes, then opened them again as if possessed. His eyes held the same terror as mine. "Tang Nan, run! The world is vast. As long as you run far enough, he can't do anything to you."
From the moment the coin landed vertically, I had lost.
It wasn't a strategic defeat, but a complete suppression of spirit.
What now? What should I do? I descended the mountain alone, dejected.
...
Three months later, I woke up in pain. I saw Chang Dachun sitting beside me, his expression sorrowful. "Brother Chang, where am I? Why are you here?" As I spoke, I surveyed my surroundings. I was in a hospital. I was severely injured.
Chang Dachun remained silent, his lips pressed together.
"Was there a train accident? Where is Lin Han? She was on the train with me."
"Tang Nan, you really don't remember. When I arrived, I only saw the urn you left at the hotel, and we found you half-dead at the foot of Mount Tai."
"An urn? Whose urn?"
"Lin Han!"
What happened? What exactly happened? I tried hard to recall, but nothing came to mind. My head felt like it was being torn apart.