Mind Interference

Do you really know everything?

Xu Youling no longer had the energy to judge. He only knew that if it was easy for Pei Zhi to mobilize his mental power to penetrate his spiritual realm, then all his thoughts and emotions should also be exposed.

His slow brain couldn't process more information, and he couldn't think about what Pei Zhi had seen. He just felt that if he took huge risks like he had done before, running around to the cell to comfort Pei Zhi who was in a bad state, throwing away the tranquilizer gun and claiming to help him with his counseling when they met for the first time, and even raising money desperately to go to the border to find him - if even doing this couldn't warm this cold heart, then forget it.

It's really strange that people cannot fully understand their own feelings, but the physiological and psychological changes caused by differentiation can enable another person to grasp all of this completely without making a sound, to understand it in detail, and to perceive it as if they are there.

But she was completely unaware of the racing thoughts in his mind, and could only be watched and taught by him, providing him with a hug without any intimacy, which would leave her as soon as she touched.

"That's not fair..."

Xu Youling thought so and whispered with tears in her eyes, her chin still resting on Pei Zhi's shoulder, restraining herself from getting any closer. She smelled the same scent she had smelled when she first came to the White Tower prison to look for Pei Zhi, very faint but very stubborn.

Pei Zhi didn't let go. "What's unfair about that?" He tilted his head, his lips close to the hair behind Xu Youling's ear, and said in a low, hoarse voice, "You're not necessarily fair to me either."

The words were almost accusatory, and Xu Youling almost wanted to push him away in anger and leave. At worst, he could be imprisoned in the White Tower until he died, which would barely be considered going home. But he couldn't do it, because Pei Zhi took hold of his resisting hand and gently pinched the skin on the inside of his wrist.

He held her wrist, which showed throbbing purple veins, making it impossible to escape.

"Do you want to apologize to me?" Pei Zhi said.

"You...how can you say that!" Xu Youling opened his eyes wide, as if he had suffered a great injustice, so that all the previous things were thrown into it, stewed into a pot of porridge that was difficult to distinguish between you and me. "Why should I apologize to you? I worked so hard to come to you. I only had, I only had twenty minutes..."

Don't waste it on apologies.

Realizing that this sentence would follow, Xu Youling pursed her lips suddenly, turned her face away angrily, and no longer looked at Pei Zhi's expression.

Pei Zhi was also startled, then he loosened his arm around his waist, pulled his upper body away a little, and used his palm to twist his face: "Time is so tight."

Should be watching you.

Xu Youling was forced to turn her gaze to Pei Zhi's face, but she subconsciously followed this sentence in her mind, and her face began to burn, from the back of her neck all the way to her cheekbones.

Pei Zhi smiled lightly, his chest vibrating slightly. Xu Youling, who was pressed tightly against him, seemed unable to cry at all. Only a small drop of blood hung on his cheek, rolling down along the blushing area.

He then reached out to wipe it off, lowered his eyes and stared at his fingertips for a while, then raised his hand and wiped the wetness on Xu Youling's lower lip.

His movements were not light. The base of his palm was placed on Xu Youling's chin, where he had pinched her just now and left a mark. The chin was the same bright red as her lips.

Xu Youling was startled, opened his mouth slightly in panic, and took a deep breath, but there was no trace of tears in his eyes, only fatigue and a little unspeakable joy.

"I'm warning you, I can guess what you're thinking and how you feel right now." Pei Zhi lowered his head, his voice very deep and hoarse, as if he didn't want anyone except Xu Youling to hear, "So don't lie to me, I will know."

The color faded a little from Xu Youling's face: "I don't have it."

"Let bygones be bygones." Pei Zhi said.

He loosened his grip a little to make sure Xu Youling could stand firmly. A soldier's gruff voice came from outside the door, "Five more minutes."

"So fast?" They both whispered almost at the same time.

Pei Zhi sounded like he was sighing, but Xu Youling's voice carried more unguarded sharpness. He suddenly turned his head to look at the door.

"Look at me." Pei Zhi held his shoulders, "Listen to me."

"Say...what?" Xu Youling took a deep breath. "What are you going to do? It's useless for me to believe in you. It will only work if others believe in you too. I can't let you stay locked up here forever. I will find a way. I really..."

Pei Zhi emphasized: "Listen to me."

"Mind your own business, clear yourself of all charges." His voice was hoarse. "Then get out of here, as far away as possible. I'll come find you, it won't take long."

His eyes fell on the closed door, hinting at something.

"No!" Xu Youling suddenly raised his voice, "Do you really want to prove the charges? How can you... I won't listen."

He didn't care about revealing his intentions, he just wanted to stop him from going in that direction, exchanging loneliness for a brief moment of pleasure.

Only then did Xu Youling realize what Pei Zhi, the future villain, would completely lose. Apart from conscience, justice, and light in the secular sense, he would no longer be able to trust anyone, even if that person was Xu Youling himself, who had only temporarily abandoned him.

Pei Zhi's soul will live in seclusion for the rest of his life, and this thought makes Xu Youling feel cold all over.

"Keep your voice down, keep your voice down." Pei Zhi tightened his grip on his trembling shoulders. "This is the best way. Just listen to me."

"No, absolutely not. Don't plan like that, okay? Please... I will really find a way. I have tried to find you before. There must be another way..." Xu Youling shook his head desperately.

"Xu Youling!" Pei Zhi scolded in a low voice.

The soldier knocked on the door again and shouted impatiently, "Two minutes!"

"Did you hear that? Time is running out." Pei Zhi looked at him without blinking, "Listen to me. Let me take another look at you... Don't move, just take another look."

Xu Youling looked intently and discovered for the first time that Pei Zhi's narrow eyes were so distinct in black and white, with faint bloodshot, but he did not look tired. His eyebrows slightly pressed down on his eyes, giving him a somewhat anxious and fierce look.

His own small face was reflected in the pupils. Would Pei Zhi see himself like this?

"Okay." Xu Youling softened his voice, "I won't move. I'll let you watch."

As if surprised by his cooperation, Pei Zhi smiled and looked at him more seriously: "Okay."

The cell was silent for a moment, with only the constant temperature and humidity system humming, and Xu Youling's heartbeat getting heavier and heavier, almost jumping out of his chest.

Pei Zhi's gaze softened a little, almost as if he was dreaming. Perhaps it was because he had been looking at Xu Youling's eyelashes, nose tip and lips at close range for a long time, so he was a little out of focus.

"Pei Zhi." Xu Youling said in a low voice.

"Um."

"Do you like me?"

Pei Zhi took a breath and said nothing.

"Do you believe me, then?"

"believe."

"Will you listen to me?"

"meeting."

"Whatever I say, you'll do it to the letter, right?"

"right."

"Okay, now listen to me. You're locked up here because of a minor accident. You've been framed, but it doesn't matter because you're innocent, and someone will come to rescue you."

"……Um."

“Imagine yourself on a plateau, a plateau very close to the sky. The sun shines through the clouds and falls on the soft grass. You lie on it, letting the little flowers that are just beginning to produce seeds brush against your face.”

"good."

"You feel a little sleepy, so you slowly close your eyes. But even when you can't see, the sun is always hanging overhead, warming your chest... It will never, ever set. Snow-capped mountains stretch out in the distance, but only this plateau is spring-like all year round."

"knew."

"This plateau is where your heart beats. There's no dirty slush, no swords or guns, no spilled blood, no sentinels or guides. Only you are there, doing nothing but basking in the sun."

“…”

"Now open your eyes and tell me, what should you do next?"

Pei Zhi slowly opened his eyes, and his originally dark and violent pupils seemed to have become lighter, with a bit of emptiness and confusion.

"Don't think about anything... Just stay here."

He spoke with difficulty, as if he was fighting against something. The hands holding Xu Youling's shoulders struggled to loosen. It was clearly an action he initiated, but he showed an expression of helplessness.

"That's right." Xu Youling curled his eyes. "What else? If someone comes to let you out, what will you do?"

"Go back... go back... to the plateau..."

"How clever."

Xu Youling smiled gently and looked straight into Pei Zhi's eyes, just like when they first met, when Pei Zhi, restrained by the restraints, fell off the stretcher, and then he recognized him in the crowd at a glance.

From then on, many troubles and petty intimacy arose, and there was no turning back.

"Tell me, who am I?"

Before the clarity in Pei Zhi's eyes gathered, Xu Youling asked this with a smile.

Why do I feel like crying again?

Xu Youling watched Pei Zhi slowly shaking his head, watched him look in surprise at the palms of his hands that had just tightly grasped Xu Youling's shoulders, watched him slowly back away and watch him leave, the sourness in his nose began to extend to the back of his head.

Until he was taken away from the cell by soldiers again, he took a last look at Pei Zhi's empty eyes, and after walking a few dozen steps, the feeling of sadness suddenly disappeared.

Then Xu Youling realized that it was the sadness coming from Pei Zhi.

It was overwhelming, evoking his empathy, but was then tied up by his own hands and put back into the cold beating heart.

"sorry……"

Xu Youling raised her hand to wipe away her tears. Why were there so many? No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't wipe them away. The tears flowed down her wrists and wet her cuffs.

-

Three days later, White Tower Command Center.

"Based solely on this information, it doesn't prove that your ability can be used stably in clinical treatment. It's not stable, and the effects... aren't all very good." The doctor in the white coat spoke cautiously.

The young man sitting in the armchair had a pale complexion, a faint black mark under his eyes, and his hair drooped down his forehead. But his voice was firm: "It's normal that we can't guarantee a 100% cure rate. No other treatment method can give such a number."

"The spiritual realm is complex. You are a junior guide and are not capable of completing such a complex task. You might even end up getting yourself entangled in it."

"But is there any other possibility that Commander Shen's symptoms will improve?"

"..." The doctor was silent for a moment, "But at least we can guarantee that his condition won't get worse."

"I can also guarantee that it will not lead to any consequences that may worsen the condition." Xu Youling said in a low voice.

Fang Suiming had been standing by the wall with his arms crossed, saying nothing, but at this moment he suddenly spoke up: "You know I can't lose Commander Shen again."

"Lieutenant Colonel Fang, of course I know." Xu Youling turned around, his face expressionless. "I can't afford to lose Pei Zhi again."