Chapter 21: Dreamland, Longing for each other

The cold and murky pool exudes a foul odor and is constantly nauseating. Living creatures are constantly floating in it, spitting out forked tongues, and occasionally popping up to swim across your face.

His limbs were hung tightly by iron chains, and the water that did not even reach his neck was still tormenting the knife wounds all over his body. He looked up at the man in the sky above the pool who was watching his torture with a look of satisfaction on his face. He could no longer bear it, and when he returned, he made a decision.

The doctor painstakingly applied healing medicine to him. After everyone left, he slowly sat up, holding the marble he'd begged for. He broke the tea bowl he'd been unable to put away and slashed his neck with all his might. The sound of the blood spurting out was so rhythmic. He had gone mad, only mad could feel that way. He didn't want to live like this anymore, nor did he want to become a burden for someone to use to blackmail Qiqi.

"Someone come, the young master committed suicide."

Someone tried desperately to press on his wound, but it was too late. He saw the man's expression, which seemed like something he had expected, without any surprise at all.

"Bury it in the back hills, don't let anyone find out."

Wen Ranqi retched and touched his neck. The bloody gash and the gurgling of gore made him feel as if he were there. Despair and pain swept over him. He ran wildly, trying desperately to escape from the dream before him. He ran tremblingly and did not dare to look back.

The grassland turned green under his feet, the scent of young grass filled his nostrils, and he entered his second dream.

Three strangers were standing under the clean blue sky, all with their backs to Wen Ranqi. No matter how he ran, he could not reach them and could only vaguely hear their voices.

"The meteor is coming, are you really ready?"

"Well, great shaman, please call upon the gods." One person started dancing, and the faint sound of drums and bells was fascinating.

"If you can't succeed, wait for me, I will definitely come back to find you."

"Master, I like you. No matter where you are, I will wait for you."

"Qiqi..."

A ray of rainbow light pierced the dream, making it impossible to open one's eyes. The rainbow light dissipated, leaving only a lonely figure in the mist. The figure was holding a colorful jade stone, kneeling on the ground in pain for a long time, and then disappeared into the thick fog.

Wen Ranqi stood up from the ground with a splitting headache. It peeled off the thick fog, and the lights came on. There were barbecue stalls on the roadside, hot pot restaurants crowded with people, and cars honking their horns as they hurried on their way. He rushed into the street excitedly. He didn't care why his headache was getting worse and worse. He burst into tears and stood in the street shouting at the crowd, but no matter how he shouted, people would just walk past him. No one could hear his voice, let alone see him.

"Wen Ranqi, Wen Ranqi!" Wen Ranqi turned around in surprise. He saw a Wen Ranqi who looked exactly like him, and that person was also holding a colorful cloud stone in his hand.

"Go back, don't do anything stupid, someone is still waiting for you."

"Remember, when the first peach blossom blooms in the south next year, you must bring Qiqi with you and find him together. Wen Ranqi, don't run away. You know Qiqi likes you. Think about it carefully. Think about what you have done for him."

"Wen Ranqi, you are me and I am you."

Wen Ranqi fell on the street. His body had reached its limit. Gradually, the sound of car horns in the distance was replaced by a burst of panicked footsteps. Some people held down his body, some slapped his cheeks, and some simply poured cold water on him.

His hand was clutching the bloody broken pieces of a bowl, and his neck had been wrapped in several layers of white gauze. He slowly opened his confused eyes. The man who was standing in front of the door and watching Wen Ranqi commit suicide indifferently was now looking at him with a sad face.

The doctor said, "Patriarch, the young master was probably overly frightened and nervous, which led to a brief shock and body spasms. We just need to reduce the stimulation, replenish his Qi and blood, and keep his mood relaxed. As for the wound on his neck, it's just a scratch and is not serious. Apply medicine daily and it will heal in half a month."

Wen Shi said: "Okay, thank you for your hard work, doctor."

Wen Ranqi's body ached, his head splitting. He collapsed on the bed, his eyes blank, his soul leaving his body. Wen Shi personally took care of his medication, but Wen Ranqi suddenly refused to take it. He didn't know why. Now that he saw Wen Shi, he wasn't afraid at all. He just felt that the person who held him in his arms and personally fed him medicine was too hypocritical, disappointing, pitiful, and even more hateful.

Wen Shi saw Wen Ranqi remained motionless. His kindness was met with a cold stare from Wen Ranqi, and he felt deeply frustrated. His nature couldn't change his words and actions. Wen Shi roughly pinched Wen Ranqi's mouth and forced a spoonful of medicine into his mouth. The medicine choked Wen Ranqi's throat, and he gradually lost the strength to cough, and fainted in Wen Shi's arms.

The smell on Wen Shi tonight was so strong, familiar, and yet it made him feel deeply disgusted.

In the Mu Yan tribe's hut

Wan'er removed the gauze from Qiqi's body. The wound had healed, but the internal injuries would take some time to heal. Qiqi couldn't wait any longer. From the moment he was able to get out of bed and walk, he practiced the sword manual during the day and studied it at night.

He put in 200% of his energy. From the moment he failed to rescue the man from Wen Shi's hands, he was like a machine running at high speed all day long, spending every day in action and tense spirit.

He kept listening to everyone's suggestions. He was like a mad dog, biting and hitting Wen Shi at every one. He blocked out all external voices.

Liang Yanyan sat beside the sweaty Qiqi and said, "Qiqi, I know you're listening to what any of us say, but you can't go on like this. You'll go crazy and let this emotion destroy you."

"Have you forgotten what your master said to you in the woods? He wants you to stay alive. Only by staying alive can you have a chance to defeat Wen Shi and rescue him. If you go astray, if you can't hold on until you can save him now, who else can your master save him?"

"Qiqi, Wen Ranqi is not an ordinary person. Have you forgotten how he raised you until you were eighteen, and how he managed to lead you a stable life in the small town for several years despite Wen Shi's repeated searches?"

"He's just a man five years older than you, but he's also the one who survived Wen Shi's clutches three or five times. Even if you don't believe others, you should believe him."

"If you want to continue to torture yourself like this, just pretend that I never came to you today. Everything we have done for you is nothing but a passing cloud. Just continue, and we will never wipe our hands of your business again."

Qiqi's heart was like a tree blown by the wind, swaying from side to side. He regretted and hated himself for not wanting to become an apprentice and learn skills earlier. He hated himself for watching Wen Shi take Wen Ranqi away but being unable to do anything. He hated himself for not realizing earlier that he liked Wen Ranqi, and hated himself for not having the courage to tell Wen Ranqi.

If he had done that, would Wen Ranqi not have left him? Wouldn't he have been discovered by Wen Shi so early? Wouldn't everyone have been forced to separate and escape because of him and Wen Ranqi?

Qiqi struggled, he felt so useless, he painfully vented the emotions that had been suppressed in his heart, he hugged Liang Yanyan and cried, Liang Sheng and Wan'er saw it from a distance, and the stone in his heart was finally put down. Wan'er could also prepare to boil the medicinal soup that Yue Chi gave him to help Qiqi regulate his body's needs.

Wen Yuhan was studying the map he had drawn and trying to calibrate it. Although he had little presence in Xue Ye City, Wen Yuechu, Wen Shi and everyone else sneered at him and chose to ignore him. This also made it extremely convenient for him to move around. Others were too lazy to even look at him, let alone care about what he was doing.

Whenever he had time, he would study history books, look at maps, read records, and then travel around to see the scenery, finding places that ordinary people rarely go to, avoiding gossip and enjoying his own peace.

Wen Yuhan never thought that this could help him help Qiqi save Wen Ranqi. He buried his head in thought, slowly adding words on the paper bit by bit. As long as he thought about it again, he would definitely be able to think of something more useful.