Why not

Jiang Nian pulled out a wet cloth from his sleeve - it was something he had just picked up from the rooftop.

The goddess behind him had disappeared in the smoke. Jiang Nian walked hurriedly, but he was thinking about meeting Xi Zhen later. If he didn't bring the goddess there, would it be a delay?

The goddess wanted to escape from Zuihualou, and she had no intention of stopping it.

But if the goddess escapes from Zuihualou, or escapes without them knowing her whereabouts, then it will be troublesome.

The closer we got to the tunnel, the thicker the fog became, piling up to form clouds of gray smoke.

Jiang Nian had only been to this secret passage once. The ventilation hole that Xi Zhen had mentioned was not far from here, but the smoke was so thick that she could hardly see the road.

Fortunately, there was no poisonous smoke coming out of the wall near the tunnel on the other side. Most of the poisonous smoke came from the direction connecting to the tunnel on the other side.

She covered her mouth and nose, raised her hands to hold on to the wall and walked forward until she reached a place where there was wind. Only then did Jiang Nian know where to escape. She turned around and ran in the direction of the wind.

—

Under the slightly warm sunshine, Jiang Nian suddenly breathed in fresh air. The wind rushed into his body, filling his throat. He choked several times before he recovered.

The wind blowing from afar made the skirt of the maid's dress rustle. Jiang Nian bent over, pressed his hands on his chest, and after taking a few breaths, he felt that his head was not as dizzy as before, so he slowly straightened up.

The smoke and dust in front of him did not dissipate. Jiang Nian raised his hand to cover his forehead to avoid the direct sunlight that would blind him.

The goddess was still in the half-collapsed Zuihua Tower in front of her and had not come out.

Do you want to rescue him?

But she didn't have the tools to ensure her safety when she got in, not to mention carrying the goddess out with her heavy clothes on her back.

When they were going down the stairs in the secret passage just now, the goddess was slower than her. It was probably because her clothes were heavy and it was difficult for her to walk, so she might have been sprained by the shock wave.

Jiang Nian stood where he was, raised his hands and used his sleeves to block the slowly sinking Zuihualou in front of him.

There was a huge vibration all around, and the wind whistled in my ears, but there was no one around.

Everywhere was empty, with a monotonous gray and black color. The sound of waves coming closer and closer behind her always made her feel that she was the one who was left behind.

Jiang Nian lowered his head and looked at his hands.

His hands were covered in blood, probably because he was pierced by a sharp object while running away. A piece of skin under the palm of his right hand was peeled off, revealing the pale fascia underneath. His left leg and arm were also stinging with pain.

After the numbness faded, her body relaxed, and Jiang Nian fell to the ground weightlessly, her fingertips digging deep into the gravel. Rather than the waves of pain rising up, she was more concerned about where Xi Zhen was and whether she had found the goddess.

Have Mo Qing and the others come out of Zuihualou? When can I see them again...

The panic and emptiness that cannot be suppressed by the pain.

In the thick smoke, the sound of collapsing rubble and crackling flames drifted near and far. Even in the strong wind, the smoke at the tip of the nose had not completely dissipated.

The pain that kept rising up and never subsided seemed to devour all the strength in her body. Jiang Nian knelt on the ground, weakly supporting herself on the ground, and looked up at Zuihualou in front of her.

In the field of vision, the outline of Zuihualou had been distorted by the steaming flames, and sparks flickered in the thick smoke.

She stared with eager eyes, her mind almost drained and distracted. She desperately hoped that someone would come and take away all the information she knew so that she could close her eyes and rest for a while.

The whistling wind blew her messy hair up, the sound of flames licking the rubble seemed endless, the rustling hem of her clothes was caught in the wind and reached her ears, the black hem of her clothes cut through the smoke, and her outline gradually became clear in the fog.

Is someone finally here?

Jiang Nian could no longer see clearly what was in front of her. She just pinched herself to keep herself from falling asleep, but her body, which had gradually become accustomed to the pain, had become desensitized to the pain of such a strong pinch, and she couldn't use all her strength to keep herself from falling asleep.

The figure in front of her was getting closer and clearer. The tall and familiar figure made her feel extremely at ease.

Jiang Nian didn't bother to think about what the problem was. It was as if he knew that he didn't need to hold on any longer. His tense nerves relaxed and his taut spine suddenly lost its strength.

In her last moments of consciousness, she vaguely saw the scorch marks on her cuffs fluttering, like a butterfly reborn from ashes.

—

Tunnel entrance

Xizhen did not go to find Jiang Nian.

When I came here just now, I saw from afar that Jiang Nian had already left Zuihualou, and my tense heart finally relaxed a little.

Mo Qing has already gone to find her, so his help is not needed there.

Thick smoke continued to billow out of the tunnel. Xi Zhen covered his face with his hands and walked deeper into the tunnel with a solemn expression.

His pace was extremely fast. The poisonous smoke and the flames burning in the corner after the explosion could not stop him. It was not until he caught a glimpse of the figure sitting in the corner that his pace paused slightly.

The goddess leaned against the corner with her head down, her long black hair hanging down. In the flickering firelight, he could only see her fair face.

Xizhen raised his eyes and looked at the "corner" next to him.

The tunnel here is connected to the tunnel next door, but now, due to the shock wave, it has been blocked by the collapsed floor of the upper level.

But it can only block the way for people in the tunnel on the other side, and cannot resist the poisonous smoke that diffuses from the cracks in the gravel.

Xizhen leaned over, put his arm through the goddess' shoulder joint, picked her up by the waist, and turned to walk towards the ventilation vent.

The woman in his arms had a dull expression on her face, her eyes closed, and her breathing weakly. It was unclear whether she was unconscious or not.

Xizhen lowered his eyes to look at her, and after they walked out of Zuihua Tower and placed her in a safe place, he put the goddess back on the ground and let her lean against the stone.

I haven't seen my biological sister for so many years. She looks more beautiful than when she was in Donglan. It's just that she was forced to do too many things she didn't like, so her brows were furrowed.

But in order to prevent people around her from discovering her plans, her thoughts, and what she really wanted to do, there was no trace of resentment between her eyebrows, just like a bucket of clear water, especially bland.

Now that she has broken free from the constraints of the Wu Mi people and can go to other places freely, she is unwilling to leave and chooses to fend for herself in the darkness.

Xizhen squatted down and looked her in the eye. After a moment's silence, he asked, "Why did you give up your original idea when you could see me?"

"You should know that I won't refuse."

“…”

The goddess didn't know if she had been made unconscious by the poisonous smoke, she didn't react at all, just closed her eyes, and her brows were expressionless.

The beams of light that penetrated the clouds cast distinct light and shadow outlines on her face, like a blurred silhouette in a painting.

In a trance, it seemed that the person we met back then had not changed at all.

Xizhen was silent for a moment, then looked up at the soldiers coming from afar.

"Time is running out..." He had never imagined that the scene would be like this when they met again. Xizhen paused for a moment and asked, "If you want, I can--"

The end of the words was stuck in a jerky tone. When facing his relatives, Xizhen was far from being as at ease as he was with other people.

His elder sister didn't want to communicate with him, but planned so many things to make their meeting possible.

There must be something wrong here.

At the end of his words, he hesitated for a moment, and finally did not say the words "If you want to leave, we can go somewhere else and abandon our past lives."

This was irresponsible to Jian Shiyun and to his own position, not to mention that there were countless threads between them that restricted their actions. Those thin white threads hung from the darkness above, entwining around their necks, wrists, arms, and legs.

Even their tightly clasped hands were bound and entangled by fine threads, stretching infinitely toward the boundless sky.

Xizhen stopped talking, stared at Jian Shiyun's face for a moment, then lowered his eyelashes.

"There's not much time left, Shiyun. Talk to me for a few words."

"Just a final farewell."

—

Decades ago.

Before the turmoil in Huandu, they lived in a village and met a masked man.

The masked man claimed to be a believer from outer space who wanted to spread blessings to the earth. He asked two children abandoned by their parents if they were willing to be his disciples.

The village has a river that nourishes life. There are stones at the bottom of the river, and the sharp corners can cut people's skin.

Standing by the river, they looked up at the food in the masked man's hand, and thought of the old man who adopted them, so they politely declined the masked man's kindness.

Under the dark hood, the person who was rejected was not angry. He just silently took out the storybook from a bag, found an excuse of "destiny", and gave it to them.

In the book, the elder sister is the river that nurtures life and blesses countless people. And the stream pillow is the elder sister's guardian, the stone on the riverbed.

The storybook is simply illustrated, with a white sky, a gray river, stones with only outlines, unclear houses, and ghost-like people.

After taking the masked man's script, the masked man asked them to promise one thing, which was to let Xizhen swear an oath - from then on, the siblings would help each other, support each other's growth, and never separate.

The masked man seemed like a real alien.

Before long, her elder sister, Jian Shiyun, became an apprentice to a renowned physician, acquiring the skills necessary to bring back to life many seriously ill patients. As her elder sister's bodyguard, Xizhen also acquired the skill of protecting others.

Sometimes, when Xizhen recalls that child-like hand-drawn picture, he feels that perhaps their lives were bewitched and cursed at that moment.

The simple color scheme was covered in dust and stained with blood splattered during treatment or protection, clearly telling them the consequences of their actions.

But Jian Shiyun couldn't let go of the patients who were looking forward to her treatment, and Xizhen didn't want to let her sister's wish go to waste.

Pushing and shoving, they walked along the way.

Looking back, I can no longer see the village where I used to live, nor can I see the end of happy days.

They were completely bogged down in the mire.

Waiting for the blood-stained sky to eat away at their hearts and flow out smelly filth.

Just like now, it has come to an end.

Jian Shiyun...had completely realized that there was no turning back and didn't want to see him anymore.