Chapter 156 The Immortal Hua Yingxiong (Part 1)

"Smile! Smile! Smile..."

"Xiaoxiao, where are you!"

"Xiaoxiao... come back! Come back here!"

Amidst the hazy mist, a man in a bright purple robe roared.

...

An endless darkness, so dark you couldn't see your hand in front of your face...

In the darkness, someone was groaning in pain. Who was it? The voice sounded so familiar.

"Xiaoxiao, I have a headache." A familiar voice, tinged with suppressed pain.

I looked around and saw a blurry figure in the darkness.

Suddenly, a white light flashed, and where the light shone, at the end of the darkness, a man sat on a low stone stool. He was dressed in bright purple, his hands tightly gripping his hair, and his whole body was trembling, as if he was enduring pain that ordinary people could hardly bear.

"Aman?" I stared wide-eyed, involuntarily taking a step forward and calling out softly.

As if hearing my voice, he slowly raised his head and looked in my direction. His pale lips trembled slightly, but like a fish out of water, he could not make a sound. All I could see was his lips opening and closing.

He looked up at me, his brows furrowed with pain, his pale face as if he were enduring countless sufferings.

A sudden pang of pain shot through my heart, and I rushed forward, calling out, "Aman!"

The water under my feet was getting deeper and deeper, but I kept walking further and further away. No matter how I walked, I couldn't get closer to him.

I watched his pale lips move as he spoke, but I couldn't hear a word he said.

I can't hear you...

A wave of sorrow washed over me, so heavy I could hardly breathe. I suddenly opened my eyes and found myself asleep on a crowded bus. A frail old woman was standing beside me, watching me.

"Girl, what's wrong?" The old woman smiled at me, revealing a dark, toothless mouth.

Everyone around me was looking at me with disapproving eyes, and I quickly stood up with an embarrassed expression. "Grandma, please sit down."

The old woman nodded and sat down.

The bus was packed with people, like sardines in a can, and I was squeezed so tightly I couldn't move.

“Young lady, your face is quite peculiar.” The old woman suddenly looked at me strangely and smiled.

A buzzing sound filled my ears, and I was completely surprised. Just then, the bus arrived at the stop, and I jumped off as if I were fleeing.

After getting off the bus, I stood by the roadside catching my breath for a while.

"Girl, your face is very peculiar..." Just as I was finally able to calm down, someone suddenly sighed in my ear again.

I was startled again and quickly looked around. Under a tree nearby, an old man was sitting with a fortune-telling stall. He was looking at me with a strange expression.

They really are a persistent ghost!

I was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Gritting my teeth, I stepped forward menacingly. "Speak! What's wrong with my appearance this time! If you can't give me a straight answer, I'll smash up your stall and report you to the city management so they can arrest you!"

The old man wasn't annoyed; he just kept smiling and said, "Young lady, you're destined to be an empress."

I raised an eyebrow and sneered, "If you want to scam money, say something new. I heard that line when I was ten years old, and I still haven't become some kind of queen!"

As I said this, I suddenly remembered the time when I was imprisoned in the palace by the young Emperor Liu Xie and almost became empress, and I couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

"It's not over yet..." the old man said mysteriously.

It's not over yet? What's not over yet?

I glanced at my watch; it was already ten o'clock. I was going to be late for my part-time job at the fast food restaurant. I didn't have time to argue with that old man anymore, so I hurriedly ran to the restaurant.

I finished work at 3 p.m., stretched, and felt quite exhausted. But then I remembered I had to work at the bar that night, so I perked up and grabbed some leftover food to take back and eat with Aman.

The best thing about working at this fast food restaurant is that I get free meals. The owner is a woman in her early thirties who is very kind. She knows my situation and often overpays me.

I picked up my lunchbox and hummed a song as I left the fast food restaurant. Suddenly, my eyes widened. Across the street, there was a man handing out flyers.

It was Ah Man!

As if sensing my gaze, Aman looked up and saw me, smiling as she waved the flyer in her hand at me.

A gust of wind blew by, and his hand slipped, scattering the flyer.

He quickly bent down to pick it up...

Suddenly, a car veered onto the sidewalk.

A screeching sound of brakes suddenly rang out.

With a loud bang, Aman was violently knocked away and landed heavily on the ground.

My hand loosened slightly, and the lunchbox fell to the ground, spilling Aman's favorite sweet and sour pork ribs all over the floor.

Everything before my eyes turned gray and white. I rushed to Aman's side. He was lying on the ground, his face covered in blood.

"Xiaoxiao... Xiaoxiao..." he murmured, blood foam in his mouth.

“Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid… I’ll take you to the hospital… don’t be afraid…” I dialed 120 on my phone, my voice trembling. “Hello, there’s been a traffic accident here… at No. 30 South Street… yes… hurry… please… hurry…”

“Xiaoxiao…” Aman looked at me, her lips moving slightly.

I quickly leaned closer, wanting to hear what he had to say.

"I...I want to earn lots and lots of money...to buy Xiaoxiao a big house..." Aman murmured, blood gushing from his mouth.

I bit my lip and nodded, "Okay, I'll wait until you make lots and lots of money... and buy me a big house..."

The sound of the ambulance grew closer, and medical staff lifted Aman onto a stretcher and into the ambulance.

Upon arriving at the hospital, Aman was rushed into the emergency room.

I stood outside the emergency room, looking at the lights that were on, feeling utterly empty inside.

I walked back and forth in the empty corridor dozens of times.

"The injured person has intracranial hemorrhage and needs surgery. Who are their family members?"

"Me! It is me!" I hurriedly stepped forward.

"Who are you to him?"

"I am..." What am I to him?

"Who are you to him?" the nurse asked impatiently.

“I am him…” I bit my lip, unsure how to answer.

"Miss, please don't waste your time. The patient is in danger if you delay even a second longer," the nurse said, glancing at me.

I got angry. "I'm his friend, his family. I only have him, and he only has me! Isn't that enough of a relationship?!"

"Then sign here." The nurse frowned, but finally gave me a form and tapped the signature area. "Also, this is a hospital, please keep quiet."

I bit my lip, lowered my head, and signed the document.

"Miss, are you a family member of the injured person?" Just as the nurse left after taking the form, two men wearing sunglasses and looking like bodyguards came up and asked.

I nodded, took a step back, and looked at them warily. "Who are you people?"

One of the men in sunglasses handed me an envelope, saying, "This is the money the boss is giving you for your medical expenses."

Seeing their nonchalant attitude, and thinking about Aman's uncertain fate in the operating room, I couldn't help but feel indignant.

“I demand that the driver of the vehicle that caused the accident take a breathalyzer test.” I didn’t take the envelope, and gritted my teeth slightly. “I suspect the driver was driving under the influence of alcohol.”

“Miss, this compensation is enough for you to live on for the rest of your life. Why make a big fuss?” another man in sunglasses said coldly. “We have investigated your situation. In addition, the injured person has a mental disorder. Even if you take this to court, let’s not even talk about whether you can afford the lawyer’s fees. Think about how you will pay for the huge surgery without this money.”

I clenched my fist tightly, then released it.

I reached out and took the envelope.

"Miss is indeed a smart person."

I watched them leave, then turned to look at the still-lit operating room, and something inside me slowly crumbled.

Ah Man, I'm trying my best to keep you alive.

So... you must never give up.

Don't give up on yourself... and don't give up on me...

Sitting on a chair in the hospital corridor, I closed my eyes in a daze.

In a daze, a white mist filled my vision, with the babbling of a spring. There was not a breath of wind around me; it was quiet and peaceful. I was dressed in fiery red, walking barefoot on a stream. The clear, transparent water flowed between my toes, a feeling that was indescribably comfortable.

I suddenly felt that this scene was very familiar, as if I had dreamed about it before. For several days in a row, I could hardly distinguish between reality and dreams.

Slowly swimming upstream, the white mist dissipated, and suddenly the view opened up before me. A figure in bright purple stood in the sunlight. The sunlight was dazzling, and I slightly raised my hand to shield my eyes from the sun, but I still couldn't see his face clearly. Yet, I felt a deep sense of familiarity, as if we had known each other for thousands of years, as if the seas had dried up and the rocks had crumbled, as if the world had changed beyond recognition...

"The mortal world," he spoke, his voice distant, as if separated by countless mountains and rivers, even though he was right in front of him.

The mortal world? Who is it?

I frowned slightly. Was he calling me?

"Life is like walking through thorns. If the heart is still, the body will not act rashly, and thus will not be harmed; but if the heart is agitated, the body will act rashly, injuring itself and causing pain to its bones, and thus experiencing all kinds of suffering in the world..."

The bright purple figure grew farther and farther away, until suddenly a kind and gentle voice rang in my ears.

"If the mind is still, the person will not act rashly, and without action, there will be no harm; but if the mind is agitated, the person will act rashly, injuring their body and causing pain to their bones, and thus experiencing all kinds of suffering in the world..."

The sound repeated itself again and again, and chanting filled the air, solemn and profound, over and over again...

Suddenly, the world spun around.

"If the heart is still... it will not be harmed... but if the heart is moved... it will injure the body and cause pain to the bones..."

I seemed to see a great Buddha, solemn and dignified, with countless monks striking wooden fish and chanting in verse.

"If you don't move, you won't get hurt..."

The world spun around me, and my heart began to ache—a sharp, intense pain, as if my heart had been ripped out!

I opened my mouth, but no sound came out; I wanted to cry, but no tears would fall; I reached out, but there was nothing around me… I felt as if I were surrounded by a vacuum, and that bright purple figure was getting farther and farther away from me…

I know this is a dream, because when I was with Cao Cao, I had the exact same dream, and it was always at this time that I should wake up...

“Zi Mo…” In my dream, I suddenly murmured a name with all my might.

The figure in bright purple finally turned around.

My eyes widened as I saw that face clearly...

I was stunned. That face was... Cao Cao?! Ah Man?!

"Miss, Miss... wake up!" Someone nudged me.

I opened my eyes in a daze, and standing before me was the doctor.

Was that just... a dream?

"How is he?" I stood up and asked anxiously about Aman's condition.

"The intracranial hematoma has been successfully removed, but the patient is still in critical condition."

"May I go in and see him?"

"Not at the moment. The patient is in a sterile ward and needs to be kept absolutely quiet."