During the Anti-Japanese War, there was a best-selling novel book called "Ghost Love". "Ghost Love" is a novella that tells the love story of a female ghost fan, mysterious and bizarre, and extremely moving. This novel is a bit like "Liao Zhai", but it is not a ghost story like "Liao Zhai". The reason is simple, the female ghost is not really a ghost, she is human, and she was once a revolutionary.
The author of "Ghost Love" is Xu Ji, who is not familiar to mainland readers today. Xu Ji is known overseas as a "ghost talent in the literary world" and a "versatile writer", "Forbidden Fruit" is not only full of exotic mood and mysterious color, but also the characters and stories are obviously deliberately fabricated by the author with his rich imagination The life insights and philosophies contained in the novel "Forbidden Fruit" are about the "beauty, truth, and goodness" that Mr. Xu Ji admires day and night
On one occasion a poet wrote a poem in which he scolded Adam and Eve for not eating one less fruit in such a happy world, so that mankind would have to eat the inexhaustible suffering forever and ever.
There was a boring man who translated this boring poem into a certain language and published it in a boring newspaper in that certain kingdom.
The newspaper didn't sell very well, but in a certain coffee shop, it was actually seen by a rich widow; She was so happy that she wrote a letter to the newspaper and asked where the poem had been translated.
The widow was famous, and the newspaper certainly attached great importance to her letters, so they wrote to the translator, and the translator replied with a letter that it had been translated from the author's manuscript and that he had lived and lived in the author's address.
Knowing what impulse drove the widow, she would write another letter to the author in which she introduced herself, and later she said that she was willing to provide for him, as God provided for Adam and Eve, but on the condition that she should not be courted her.
The poet wondered, in fact, everyone wondered, how could there be such a special thing? Such a thing, really, has never been heard of in history, and there has never been a similar record in the books, and it is really strange that people cannot believe it.
But, as much as he didn't believe it, why did she lie to him? Even if it's not "her", but "him", what's the use of lying to him? Now that the two of them are not hostile, even if he doesn't even read the newspaper, what's the use of cheating? And he himself knows that he is not something special, strong? Beautiful? ...... He didn't quite have these qualifications. He thought left and right, and felt that there was no reason to find that her action would be beneficial or harmful to him. So he went to the place where he had translated his poems, and the translator was strange, but he was sure that it was harmful to him, and that it was not that the famous widow was going to harm him, but that he was going to be killed, because this famous widow was known for her mystery, and there was no one who saw her who did not fall upside down for her, and died willingly under her demonic beauty.
He then told a few more stories, no, it was a myth, that she was originally a girl on the side of a mountain, and was taken by a prince who tried his best to woo her, but when she allowed him to marry, until the day of the wedding, the bride had not yet arrived, and the bridegroom was so happy that he fainted several times, and when the bride arrived, he fainted and did not wake up, so she became a widow! The news spread to all the countries of the world, and all the famous men of the world wanted to see her, but she did not want to see her, and saw only one of the most authoritative painters, who had been allowed to paint a sketch of her after five hundred requests; But since he had made this sketch, he had not been able to make anything else, and in less than a year he had died. After that, many young people died for her, and some old people turned upside down for her, and the former kings died of lung disease because they thought of her, and the present king, under the care of his mother, had not seen her, and though she was his aunt, all dangers could not be avoided after seeing her.
This poetic and romantic story not only did not dissuade the poet, but only increased his determination to go. So he wrote to the widow that he would accept everything if she sent two sums at once, for he had carefully planned that if he had deceived him, he would return to his hometown at once.
Soon, the price of the plate was more than two servings, and he left the place where he had long been tired of dwelling.
On the way, he was so excited that sometimes he even laughed out loud, and he thought that this widow was so stupid, why didn't he ask, "You are not allowed to court any woman?" Sometimes he looked in the mirror, and he felt that as soon as Paradise was realized and life was good, people would become fat and strong, and at that time, the conditions for courtship would not be perfect? All the women of the country would come to love me, and I was twelve points qualified to court any woman, so why should I have to court you? The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous he felt! The more ridiculous he felt, the more he felt that his previous poem was the truth, that Adam and Eve really deserved to be scolded, that there was any fruit, that any fruit could ask God, but that he should eat the forbidden fruit.
At the beginning of the journey, he had a telegram coming, so when he got there, someone had already followed his ship, his cabin, and received him with a letter from the widow herself.
So he entered the palace-like building.
After waiting in the reception room for about fifteen minutes, the servant told him that his master had invited him in; He followed him inside.
Many men sat there solemnly, and as soon as he entered, a god-like woman had just come out of the suite, and he was sure that this was the famous widow.
- Yes, it's beautiful! But this is only the beauty of God, because there is more majesty than beauty, no, maybe this majesty is beauty! - he thought in confusion.
"Is that you, sir?" Like the voice of God, he nodded.
- It's just God, how could I go and woo her?—— he thought again and again.
"These are some of the most famous lawyers here. "It's simply the voice of God.
- And yet, lawyer? - he thought again in confusion.
This lady is willing to provide for you as God provided for Adam and Eve, but only on condition that you cannot woo her, and you are not in favor of it. One of the lawyers said.
"Yes!" he said, confused.
"Courtship is not only responsible in words, but also in deeds. Another lawyer said.
"Naturally!" he added, confused.
"What if you break the contract?" Another lawyer said.
"Whatever!" he added, confused.
"Die!" said another of the lawyers!
"Dead?" He asked, confused.
"Yes, whatever you want. Another lawyer said.
"Suicide?" He asked again in confusion.
"Yes. Another lawyer said.
"Tell someone to shoot?" He asked again in confusion.
"Whoever you call to execute. Another lawyer said.
"Do you approve or disapprove?" Another lawyer asked.
"Good! Good!" he agreed.
“………”
So, a contract was taken out from another lawyer; So, he read it again, and every lawyer read it again; So, he signed, and every lawyer signed again.
In this way, the paradise-like life begins.
One by one, the lawyers held hands with him, saluted him, and went out.
As soon as his eyes had sent off the lawyer, he immediately felt special, for the solemn face of the gods had been completely changed; She came to him lovingly and beckoned him to sit down, and the servant took the silver platter, and she asked him whether he preferred coffee or black tea, wine or champagne. He was as loving as his mother, and especially in tone.
- God, yes, just now in heaven, now down to earth, loving like Jesus! - he thought in confusion.
A month went on, and a month passed, and he lived a life that really sounded like heaven, and he wanted to eat, and what he wanted to read, and what he wanted to read, as long as he gave a note to the servant, and the servant would give it to the person who was in charge, and soon he would do it for him.
There was an interpreter who followed him, and he walked everywhere, played everywhere, ate everywhere, and socialized everywhere; However, this, from the third month, is no longer a happy thing, at first, one novel thing occupies his brain, but slowly, the new is no longer new. His brain could no longer escape that mysterious trap!
In the most splendid casinos, in front of the most beautiful scenery, he thinks of the sofa in the dining room, he thinks of the dim light of fuchsia; At the most lively banquet, he remembered the plain food and the quietly angry coffee.
So, sometimes, he came home very early and waited to eat with her, but she did not come back, so he had to eat alone. And so, he became miserable.
In this way, he simply did not come back. Later, however, when he asked the servant, she had come back to eat, and he became miserable again.
In this way, he never asked her again; But the servants had to say that if there was a letter, they would say, "This is Mrs. Sami's dinner last night!" And he was in pain again.
He lay on the bed, in pain as if he were sick. So he thought, if it weren't for the first time, the only time, he wouldn't be in pain. However, despite his regrets, a beautiful page finally came to his mind again:
That day he went to a distant place to play, and he was a little tired; He took a shower and read the newspaper in the sitting room, but she came in, dressed plainly, lively, and innocent,......
- Maria! Virgin beauty! - he thought in confusion.
"Are you back?" It was like Maria's voice.
"Yes!" he said, confused.
"Are you still going to go out?" It's simply Maria's voice.
"No!" he added, confused.
"Let's eat, then!"
"Shall we eat together?" He was amazed by the honor.
"Isn't that good? It's the first time we've eaten together alone!"
While eating, she talked to him a lot; He had lost even the ability to pay attention to the meaning of the words, for he had been intoxicated by the sound of them.
- If it is a wave in the sky, when you hear such a sound, it will also calm down. - he thought in a daze.
Since entering this mysterious trap, his life has been like heaven descending to hell! So he will never ascend to heaven again, but will only sink step by step.
He then jumped out of bed, and made up his mind, and decided that henceforth, even alone, would eat at home every night and never go out again; He thought that one day he would reappear in that sweet magic realm!
Sure enough, one day, "peeling" knocked on the door of his study, and she came in, rich and luxurious......
- Clea Patta! Queen! - he thought in confusion.
"Didn't you go out?" Like the sound of Clea Patola.
"Yes!" he said, confused.
"Do you still want to get out?" It was the sound of Klia Pat Tlala.
"No!" he added, confused.
So, he sat down at the dinner table; But the paradise he was looking forward to did not return, she just ate hastily, without saying a word, and went away after eating; Only the sound of "good evening" was left, which rang in his ears until dawn.
And he was in pain again.
In addition to this pain, he began to play all kinds of nonsense everywhere and in various places. He played with many women, and he showed his love again and again, but the women loved him, restaurants, parks, dance halls, and even hotels, whatever he brought in, whatever he took out. However, he still sank to hell step by step, a smile when he was "good morning", and a light at "good night", which made him feel that all women were not love, and there was no beauty.
It was also intentional, and the new way was to bring many women into his own home, and he thought he would give her a little stimulation, but she just went about her life, and flew out like a phoenix when it was hot, and of course many nobles came to accompany her; When it was quiet, it was like a daffodil, and sometimes it hummed a nightingale—and most of it was next door to their large flock.
No matter how sweet his air was, when she flew out laughing passionately with many men, the sound of the car would make him fall at once, and he would feel that the whole sweet air had lost its meaning; And he was in pain again. If she had not gone out, sometimes she had gone to sleep, and there was no sound at all, which made him feel a sense of emptiness, and he made as much noise as he could, but until dawn she called to the messenger at the door to tell the groom to prepare the horses, and this loud sound would make him feel like a thunderbolt on a sunny day! Sometimes she didn't go to sleep, maybe next door, and the low sound of the piano, the pages, and the singing would be louder than the chatterbox, the radio, and all the noise around her. Sometimes, when there was no sound at all, suddenly there was a coughing sound like a broken string, and he would feel as if he had coughed up blood, and he wanted to comfort her, to take care of her, and even many tears were waiting in his eyes, to flow in front of her; Sometimes, she even came and knocked at the door, and then came in, and had two or three simple conversations, and drank half or a sip of champagne, and went out again; But leave a sun-like smile, an angelic "good night", which will make everything look discolored, and everything will not sound beautiful; It will always be in the room, in any corner.
And he was in pain again.
In order to escape her mental coercion, he worked hard, read many books on philosophy and mathematics, and met many writers, college students, and professors; So his room was filled with books and magazines, and the voices of his conversation were all about far-reaching philosophies, scientific experiments, and projects of fine art, as well as criticism of ancient and modern literature.
In this way, although he still can't avoid her coercion, it is one more comfort; Every day, he either stayed late with his friends and stayed at his place, or he came back late or didn't come back.
Suddenly, one day, I don't know if it was an accident or not: he went to the suburbs with a few friends, and he was a little tired, so he came back earlier, about eleven o'clock! When he got to the dormitory, he couldn't sleep, so he got up again and went into the study, ready to finish a novel, but while he was reading, there was a knock on the door.
"Are you still studying, sir?" It's a maid.
"Yes!"
"Mrs. Samet was drinking tea, and she asked if you were hungry? I'd like to invite you to eat a little with you. "-Heh! I was a little hungry indeed. - he thought in a daze.
So he entered the small room like a demon palace; Velvet walls, velvet floors, velvet sofas, velvet easy chairs, velvet tables under velvet lighting.
A velvet cushion slipped down the velvet back of the couch, and she stood up velvet in her velvet casual clothes.
So this velvety air has inexplicably tempered him into a velvety weakness.
It wasn't until the velvet robe was dragged out of the velvet floor that he returned to bed with the velvet shadow.
In this way, emptiness began to occupy his heart again, and the long conversation of the late night of the long conversation of the former able to comfort him would lose its meaning when compared with the air of this night talk.
And he was in pain again.
In order to break this pain, he began to live in hotels, and used various methods to anesthetize himself, so he handed over the lewd dancers, prostitutes, and drank fierce wine; However, this is not an option; At first, when he was drunk, when he was on a prostitute, he could have forgotten about her like a dead death, but slowly, even this did not work, because his spirit was weak enough. - So that three months later, he was in bed in the hospital.
At that time, she was angelic and often went to see him at the sickbed, and she used all kinds of attitudes and clothes to leave him all kinds of air, sometimes like clouds, sometimes like snow, sometimes like lotus, sometimes like lilacs, sometimes like phoenixes, sometimes like thrushes, white doves, sometimes like summer rain, like winter sun, sometimes like spring fog, sometimes like autumn clouds.
So, the sick was cured; But what is he going to do with it? He moved from the hospital to the house, and there was no shadow of her around the bed, and she went on her own life again. He really wanted to know everything about her; Her trails, every one of her friends, the source of every call, the content of every letter, yet how can this be?
And he was in pain again.
The determination to break this pain is the holding of a distant travel; He took everything with him to the far end of the earth.
Yes, the language has changed, the clothing has changed, the customs have changed, the habits have changed, the climate has changed, but the earth remains the earth after all; Clouds are clouds, snow is snow, flowers are flowers, birds are birds, summer rain will not be the winter sun, spring fog will not be autumn clouds; And these are not only symbolic of her, but also her incarnation; She gave him the same impression that all lovers made to their loved ones.
And he was in pain again.
Rejecting this painful solution, she still tamely returned to her original residence.
He felt deeply the greater pain that had been reproduced in order to get rid of thousands of pains, large and small, and so on; There are only two ways to save him, one is to die, and the other is for her to accept his love.
Yes, after two or three months of heavenly life, he has lived in hell, hell, and he extricated himself many times, and the result was that he fell deeper and deeper; Now, not bad, only death with her love is his paradise.
So, one day;
"There's no way I can't not love you, even if it's death. This kind of death, I think it is my heaven now, do you know that I have been in hell for a long time?" He knelt before God.
"Do you think that Adam and Eve's fault was spared?" Live like God's smile on Adam!
"Yes, Adam and Eve were human beings like me!"
"Die!" was God's judgment on Adam!
The contract is in the hands of a lawyer, and he is in front of many lawyers.
He's choosing a kind of death!
Every lawyer's eyes were like a voice to him.
The watch, ringing in the pockets of many, seemed to crawl on his nervous system.
Suddenly, a new force made him clench his teeth;
"Whatever method I use, will I die?"
"Yes!" resembles the light of an executioner's sword.
"Whoever I call to execute?"
"Yes!" is the executioner's sword.
"Then I will choose Mrs. Samei to bite me to death with her beautiful teeth!" he himself did not believe that he would use such a calm attitude, such a strong voice, and such a powerful smile to give this answer that he did not want to die.
As a result, many eyes that were making a sound for him looked at each other.
So, he was ordered to quit.
As a result, many lawyers are in a meeting.
So Mrs. Shamet met him again in the small room of the magic palace, and the walls of velvet were still velvet walls, and the floor of velvet was still velvet. A velvet sofa is still a velvet sofa, a velvet easy chair is still a velvet easy chair, and a velvet light still shines on the velvet table.
The velvet sofa bent down, and she sat down in velvet civilian clothes.
So, the velvety eyes fell on him, and the velvety voice entered his ear drum:
"Smart is smart. But why do people who regard death as heaven have this answer that they don't want to die?"
"Nothing else, because I really love you......" Tears and the whole person were at her feet.
"Do you think I'm not going to carry out the death penalty?" Velvety smile.
"Maybe this death is heaven!"
"Don't you want to die?" Velvety asked.
"Yes, for the love of you!"
"Well, then, you live! Won't you try not to love me?"
"Like Adam and Eve, I am a man!"
The contract had long since been torn apart, and he was just suffering the same sin as before.
So, he went insane, and he went to the bed in the hospital again.
At that time, she was like an angel and often went to see him at the sickbed, and she used all kinds of attitudes and clothes to leave him with all kinds of climates, sometimes like summer rain, like winter sun, sometimes like spring fog, sometimes like autumn clouds.
The illness is cured again; But what will he do with his life in the future? He moved from the hospital to the house, and there was no shadow of her around the bed, and she went on to live her own life again. He was now wondering everything about her; Her trails, every one of her friends, the source of every call, the content of every letter. But how can this be?
And he was in pain again.
The determination to break this pain reminded him of disguising his life under another protective color; And he did.
His life was completely different from before, the study was locked forever, and his clothes and hair were no longer groomed. They often don't sleep all day and all night, ring the typewriter all day and all night, or don't come back all day and all night. Friends often come to him late at night.
What amazed Mrs. Shamet the most was not the withdrawal of his great sums, but the great expenditure of him; Instead, he invited him to tea several times at night, and asked him to dinner several times, but he was refused, especially surprised that he arrived at the velvety banquet yesterday, and her velvety hospitality would not attract the slightest attention from him.
So she wanted to know everything about him: his traces, every one of his friends, the source of every call, the contents of every letter, but how could she know?
All the way to;
On that day, the day he had been out for five days, a phone rang from the hospital and asked her to send someone to bring a quilt, saying that he was overwhelmed by a car.
She went in person.
He's on surgery.
Many of his friends are there.
They ignored her.
She didn't get a chance to ignore them.
Everyone was silently looking forward to it.
His operation was completed and he was transported from the operating room to the hospital room; The doctor told them, but they were not allowed to enter.
So, they rented a hospital room.
So, she also rented a hospital room to live in.
She went to the ward and asked the nurse:
"How's the patient on the twenty-fourth?"
"The operation is over, but I'm afraid it's ......"
"I'm afraid?"
"Yes......"
Coma non-arrival.
So, I went to the outside of ward 24 several times.
There was no sound at all.
Suddenly, there was a cough like a broken string.
So, she felt as if she had coughed up blood, she wanted to comfort him, to take care of him, and even had many tears waiting in her eyes to shed in front of him.
So, she broke in.
"Ahh Live like God's voice.
"Yes!" she said, confused.
"I have crossed the line of Adam and Eve. "It's simply the voice of God.
"Do you still love me?"
"Yes!" he exhaled slightly, but stopped inhaling.
"So ......"
Suddenly, he struggled one last time:
"What about you now? ...... I'm going to command you ......"
He didn't say more, but she understood.
And more forcefully than God commanded her to obey, she fell to her knees, tears sucking the white sheets of the hospital in.
The fiery air, inexplicably, made her as weak as velvet!
(From Modernity, Vol. 5, No. 3)