collapse

Returning along the same route, when Jiang Nian stood firmly on the ground, he suddenly felt that he had landed firmly on the earth.

The heart that was raised from high altitude fell back to its original position, the secret door above was pulled closed by worry, the wind that was rushing in finally stopped, and the coolness that had been tightly covering the skin finally dissipated.

She walked a few steps to the side, leaving room for You to stand.

The other party quickly climbed the wooden ladder back to the ground in just a few steps, as if he came here often and was very familiar with such things.

After fixing his wind-ripped clothes, You walked to the staircase and gestured, "Go directly to the third floor."

Hesitant about the bricks and tiles she had just broken, Jiang Nian glanced in the direction of a wooden wall that was only separated from her. The light was shining there, and the broken tiles reflected bright and dazzling spots of light.

"The bricks and tiles that just fell—"

Hearing the hesitant voice behind him, You paused in his forward steps, turned his head and glanced at the cracked bricks on the ground, and said indifferently: "It doesn't matter, no one will go there again in the future."

"Miss, don't worry about this. Come downstairs with me."

“…”

Since no one in Zuihualou who could take on the responsibility of managing half of the family cared, Jiang Nian had no reason to continue to dwell on it, so he nodded obediently: "I understand, let's deal with the matter at hand first."

—

Just as Jiang Nian had a vague premonition in her heart, You Tong came to the floor where the personal maid lived and knocked on the door of the room that the strange girl had just entered.

When the personal maids in the corridor saw Youyou standing outside the door when they went out, they all stared in surprise, their eyes fixed on him, and after a while, they fixed on Jiang Nian's back.

The resentful gaze that had not appeared for a long time fell on her again. Jiang Nian endured the series of gazes that seemed to stare through her without changing her expression. When the girl slowly opened the door and stuck half of her face out from the crack of the door, she gave what she thought was the brightest smile since she appeared in this era.

"It's our first visit, and we're sorry to bother you. We have something to ask you. Could you please let us in?"

“…”

The girl's gaze was on Jiang Nian's soft face. After a moment, it slowly shifted to You, who was standing behind her and smiling at her with his eyes curved.

Some scattered fragments of memory reappeared in his mind, but the person standing next to the young man in front of him was not the goddess who was already "the focus of everyone's attention".

But there is no doubt that the boy’s appearance and temperament are correct.

After struggling for a while, the girl lowered her head, unfastened the buckle against the door, and turned sideways to let Xiao and Jiang Nian, who were standing outside, in.

—

The room was well lit. Jiang Nian stood by the door and first looked at the furnishings inside before walking in.

The girl who had been standing silently by the door closed the door only after she saw both of them walk to the center of the room. She was afraid of making any noise, so she closed and locked the door quietly without any noise.

…The layout of this room is much better than the rest of the interior.

First, there was a private bathroom and a living room. The walls were clean and new, and there was a desk at the edge, with a soft wooden chair underneath.

Looking to the side, there are bookcases and wardrobes placed side by side. On the brown cabinet surfaces, their dark shadows change with the shadows cast by the clouds passing across the sky outside the window.

You didn't explain too much, but spoke directly, as if giving an order, asking the girl to expose her neck.

Jiang Nian's gaze shifted following the voice and fell on the girl's lifeless eyes that seemed covered with a layer of dust.

The girl listened to You's command and lowered her head, revealing her neck covered by her sleeves.

The black print's lines were imprinted on her light skin, as if rooted in her blood. When Jiang Nian's eyes fell on it, the print seemed to become more and more vivid, and the stems seemed to sway slightly under her skin, as if it had come to life.

“…”

Jiang Nian thought he was dazzled, and when he blinked again, the thing that was moving under his skin disappeared again.

She looked away and looked at You: "Is this the thing that can control them to produce the plague?"

"Yeah, I don't know where the leader got this weird idea from."

Recalling that Donglan always used various things similar to black magic to do things, You crossed his arms, nodded casually with his fingertips, and shifted his gaze.

"Want to see it again?"

"No."

Jiang Nian shook his head, paused for a moment, and then asked, "So, are girls who can be controlled like this... all people who can cause epidemics?"

"Of course they are." You laughed, "How can they be obedient if we don't control them?"

"If we don't take good care of it and an epidemic breaks out prematurely, my sister will be the one who suffers."

Speaking of the goddess, Jiang Nian suddenly remembered what he wanted to ask Zhao You before. This question was frozen by the strong wind on the top of Zuihua Tower. Now standing inside the building, he recalled it again after warming up.

"Oh right, about the matter of the goddess..."

As Jiang Nian spoke, he looked towards the girl.

The girl lowered her head, her pupils dilated, and she looked dazed, with a faint layer of shadow still covering her eyes.

Noticing Jiang Nian's gaze, You immediately raised his eyes and glanced over, then snapped his fingers casually.

The girl was like a puppet with its strings cut, no longer under anyone's control. After a moment, her eyes began to light up with a lively radiance.

Her vision was blurred. She blinked and looked up. Suddenly, she saw the two people who were about to come into her room. She was startled and wanted to take a step back.

"...It's okay." Jiang Nian smiled at her, "What we wanted to investigate is over, you should have a good rest."

“…”

The girl nodded hesitantly. She was afraid that You, or this extraditioner who could control their lives, would come to his senses the moment he saw You and dare not move.

Jiang Nian didn't want to look anymore, so he turned around and walked out.

The sunlight was not as bright as when I first arrived, and the light in the corridor became a little dim.

The maids were all busy with their own things, and no one was staying in the corridor at the moment.

With his back to the bright light, Jiang Nian raised his hand to stroke the corners of his slightly upturned mouth, which had already become stiff.

She lowered her eyes slightly, quietly suppressing the depression in her heart. When she raised her eyes again, they were calm, as if the emotion just now had never existed.

There was a slight noise coming from the wooden floor behind him. After confirming that the girl had no intention of escaping, You walked out of the room and closed the door.

He caught a glimpse of Jiang Nian standing there motionless, thought for a moment, and pointed under the windlass.

"Let's go down first and go to the place where we had the meeting."

Jiang Nian didn't feel like speaking, so he just nodded.

—

Returning to the previous room with floor-to-ceiling windows, the sound of the door closing was muffled in the room and stopped after a while.

Jiang Nian stood under the window where the sun was shining brightly, looking down at the shadow on the ground.

On the ground, the shadows were sometimes bright and sometimes dark. After the cumulus clouds blocked the sunlight, they were blown away by the wind from the upper floors. The light was squeezed into the glass pieces, and the refracted light circles were colorful, flowing with ten colors, which attracted Jiang Nian to lower his head and look for a while.

"Is it beautiful?"

“…”

Jiang Nian raised her head and met You's gaze, who was leaning over and looking at her with his head tilted.

After a moment of silence, she shook her head: "I was just attracted by the light and remembered something."

"The past? Or the present?" You stood up straight, turned away, and nodded thoughtfully, "Miss Jiang, the past cannot be changed, but the future can still be pursued."

"Everything is set in stone now. Even if there are lingering regrets, they cannot be reversed."

The boy's cold and pale face was half blocked by light and shadow, blurring the emotions in his eyes.

Jiang Nian's eyes fell on his handsome appearance, paused for a moment, and then slightly turned away.

"Tell me about the goddess."

"Did she accept the incense?"

Seeing that Jiang Nian was unwilling to continue the conversation, You didn't care too much and just followed her words and said, "Of course not."

"But my sister accepted the flowers you gave her, and they are now in a glass vase on the windowsill."

His words easily made people think of images. In less than a moment, Jiang Nian imagined that the burning blood-red flower was placed in a glass bottle filled with water, along with the colorful halo he had just seen, all shining brightly.

"Really? As long as she likes it."

Jiang Nian chuckled softly, lowered his eyes, and looked at the circle of light that still existed on the ground.

"What's next? Will she continue to walk to the end without looking back as planned?"

"Yeah, I can't change it."

You sighed, and there was a little more melancholy in his tone than at the beginning, but he was no longer paranoid. Instead, it seemed as if he had been compromised by this destined reality.

"What about Ru? I remember that her relationship with Ru was not very good."

You was silent for a moment, then replied, "The day after tomorrow afternoon, my sister will ask Ru to go to the top pavilion to find her."

"After that, chaos will occur."

"Is there anything you want to investigate? Let's investigate it all at once. Anyway, my sister and I only need the riot to happen when the epidemic breaks out."

"After that, whether the epidemic was resolved or not, and how it was resolved, is none of my and my sister's business."

"......" Jiang Nian was silent for a moment and nodded.

At the critical moment, it was very dramatic that the gap in their positions seemed to disappear out of thin air. There was no need to exchange anything anymore, they just wanted to let the other party know their next actions.

"What about you? You."

Jiang Nian Nian was calling the name that You didn't want others to read. It was a name that only a goddess could call, but at this moment it had another layer of meaning attached to it.

"Will you, like your sister, walk to the end together?"

Jiang Nian thought You would nod without hesitation and agree to perish together with the goddess, but the young man in front of her had other thoughts and simply avoided her gaze.

"Me? Let's see."

"There are some things I want to go back and verify in person."

As for those relatives who gave him to the statue, are they doing well now?

After struggling to survive until now, I have finally escaped from the Wu Mi people and can see with my own eyes the current situation of my relatives.

But You found that he didn't seem to hate this feeling anymore.

It seemed as if all his emotions were focused on his sister, and everything else seemed unimportant.

When facing his sister's death, his heart and emotions seemed to be drained away, and he could not feel any pain at all.

It wasn't until Jiang Nian asked this question that You suddenly realized that he was as if wrapped in confusion, and his perception of the world was as if separated by a layer of film. He knew nothing.

Empty.