Fire Game

The firelight pierced Jin Xilu's eyes, and her steps began to grow heavy. The purple and blue flames before her eyes distorted and morphed again, and crackling sparks rushed over. The vast flames engulfed her, and the scattered sparks exploded at her feet.

She stopped in front of the fire, reaching out as if to stop something. A layer of mist-like or frost-like vapor floated on the ground.

The Jiang family ancestral hall, which was revered as a sacred altar by the people of Deer Town, was gradually blackened by the burning of its expensive wooden carved eaves. The red prayer ribbons became the best fuel for the fire, and the fire burned more and more fiercely. The black ash fell into Jin Xilu's eyes like butterflies with broken wings.

Every time Jin Xilu blinked, a corner of the ancestral hall in front of her was eaten away by the fire.

Sometimes it was the high threshold, sometimes it was the plaque on the gate. Facing the burning ancestral hall, she felt no regret, but rather a sense of detached pleasure.

But when I opened my eyes again, everything was back to normal. The fire hadn't reached the doorway. Where was the fire?

She knew she hadn't woken up yet, and she didn't understand why the dream was pushing her into a pit of fire.

She could feel her body getting hotter and hotter, her fingers swelling, and the burning pain in the soles of her feet almost made her fall to the ground. When she took a deep breath and opened her eyes again, Kim Hee-ro was already in the middle of the fire.

The exquisite wood carvings on the ceiling of the ancestral hall were forced to the corner by the flames, leaving only one intact corner of the carvings. The flowers and offerings were also stripped of their beautiful plastic packaging, and one could vaguely glimpse the delicious and fresh appearance of the peaches before they were burned dry.

Only the image of the Jiang family ancestor standing on a deer's head, hanging in front of the offering table, showed no signs of being burned. In the firelight, the man opened his mouth and laughed, his ruddy cheeks raised high, his sharp eyes undiminished in their brilliance.

"No! There seems to be someone inside! Quick, we must rescue them!"

"Who's in there! Are you just bored and have nothing better to do?"

“Teacher Xin, Xin Xuan, I think I saw her go in and set fire to the ancestral hall.”

Upon hearing Xin Xuan's name, Jin Xilu was horrified. Looking down, she saw that the skin on her hands was no longer firm, smooth, and delicate, but had become wrinkled, covered with spots and calluses. Only then did she realize that this was definitely not her body.

Jin Xilu and Xin Xuan, who died in the fire, felt the cold-bloodedness and hypocrisy of the people outside the house as their hearts were pressed together, and at the same time, she also felt Xin Xuan's heart gradually growing cold.

Empathy is so easy to feel at this moment, it doesn't need any switch to be activated, it's as if fate has always arranged for the two of them to experience this heartbreaking, skin-peeling pain.

The last thing Xin Xuan saw before her eyelids closed was a young woman running aggressively towards her, followed by a tall, aloof, white-haired man chasing after her at a leisurely pace.

They are all young, all noisy, and all enviable. How wonderful.

When Jin Xilu woke up, she was still in the Jiang family's basement. It seemed that she had really just had a long dream.

Before she could even stand still, she rushed outside. The uneven steps that blocked He Min did not stop Jin Xilu.

She stepped out of the Jiang family's door first, but her head froze in the doorway because she smelled the acrid smell of burning grass and trees in the air.

Her heart sank into an abyss. On her way to the ancestral hall, she saw the regretful and astonished expressions of passersby, and her heart could no longer be pulled back up.

The closer you get to the ancestral hall, the stronger the smell of burning wood becomes, and even when it's shrouded in thick moisture, the smell doesn't diminish at all.

Jin Xilu dared not take another step forward. The location in her dream corresponded, but this time the stumbling girl ran over, with no one following behind her.

The positions were reversed, and the winter morning sunlight was not glaring, but it was the most comfortable. Kim Hee-ro hesitated for a few seconds before looking up.

The ancestral hall's main gate was burned down to only half, now leaning precariously against the stone steps. The fire marks on the gate were somewhat grotesque. Without a moment's hesitation, she passed through the gate and stared directly at the white-haired man standing under the deer-skin portrait.

The man turned his back, tilted his head slightly, and stroked the rolled edge of the deerskin portrait. A small section of his neck was exposed to the sunlight, like a shattered third of the moon. His gray wool cardigan was not buttoned up and clung lightly to his body.

Between the two of them was a strange circle, surrounded by blackened burn marks, with only the circle still faintly showing the original color of the floor.

Just then, Jiang Yilin turned around. He seemed to have lost even more weight, and the bloodshot eyes were even more intense than the strangling rope. Their gazes met, and the gloomy cloud of his dream finally came to a stop.

Without saying a word, without needing to say anything, Jin Xilu knew from just one look that Xin Xuan had been burned to death.

Jin Xilu did not try to hold back her tears; she could never stand Jiang Yilin.

Why didn't you save her?

"Don't you know where she burned?" Jiang Yilin stood there, his trousers perfectly pressed without a single wrinkle, not even a speck of ash on the cuffs. His bangs, which had been hanging down before, were now all swept up, revealing phoenix eyes beneath his forehead that were a direct descendant of the ancestors in the portrait.

Standing not far away in the sunlight, he stood high on the steps, his chin raised, his white hair shining brightly. The smell of burning on the wind made him frown slightly.

Even at this point, Jiang Yilin still retained the arrogance inherent in the Jiang family. He even twitched the corner of his mouth, making it impossible to tell whether he felt regret or sarcasm: "Finally, Jin Xilu has appeared."

"Why didn't you save her? You were right there, you could have saved her." Jin Xilu stared at him, her heart trembling. She desperately needed a place where she could settle down. Her hands and feet were still cold from running all the way here.

"It was the Jiang family ancestral hall that was burned down. My surname is Jiang. Do you think I would let her go after we rescue her?"

“But that’s Xin Xuan! She taught you, she taught me, she taught all the children in Deer Town.” Jin Xilu said as she walked towards him, getting closer and closer, trying to remind him of some beautiful memories through her words.

"My surname is Jiang, I am a member of the Jiang family, don't be naive, Jin Xilu." Jiang Yilin tilted his head slightly. His neck had a beautiful line, with both feminine softness and the urgency of a grown man's strength.

Finally, Jiang Yilin added in a contemptuous tone, "Jin Xilu, you're twenty years old, not twelve. Do I need to remind you of the tragic factory exiles that happened to people from an ancestral hall decades ago?"

Upon hearing this, Jin Xilu suddenly remembered the words she had seen in the Jiang family's basement. She took a big step forward, her eyes clear as she stared straight at Jiang Yilin, and immediately addressed him by his name: "You're mistaken. The one who burned down the ancestral hall last time was Jiang Lianyin, and he's still alive and well."

Jiang Yilin lowered his eyes for a second, already judging whether Jin Xilu's words were true or false. Then he looked directly at Jin Xilu, not allowing her to dodge: "Heh, and what about you? Where were you when Xin Xuan wanted to die?"

Jin Xilu's clenched fists deflated. She stood frozen in place, her limbs limp as mud, hanging limply with nowhere to hide. She still stood completely in front of Jiang Yilin, her voice hoarse, unable to utter another word.

"Oh. I forgot, you were sneaking into my house like a thief and hiding in my basement."

Jiang Yilin smiled, her moist lips gently closing and opening again, and asked in return, "Did you sleep well?"

Kim Hee-ro's pupils dilated. She recalled in shock the orange cat that had been by her side all these days, and licked her lips. "Are you satisfied now?"

Before he could speak, she pressed on with words that seemed to pierce him, her tone indifferent but her eyes unwavering: "Of course you'll be satisfied with what you arranged. What haven't you gotten yet!"

After saying that, she turned around and made a move to leave, as she was in a hurry to find Xin Xuan's body.

"What, are you going to call the police? You can't get over this mountain. Don't even dream of playing games like before. It's all a waste of effort." Jiang Yilin didn't leave the steps at all, his trouser legs fluttering in the cool morning breeze.

Seeing that Jin Xilu hadn't listened to a word, Jiang Yilin shouted at her back.

"Jin Xilu!"

"Jiang Yilin, you're crazy!" Jin Xilu turned around. Her original bun was flattened and now piled up on her neck, making her look older than usual. Her puffy eyelids did not prevent her from seeing Jiang Yilin's delicate face clearly.

Yes, he's always so meticulous, always prepared for the worst, dismissing everything she does as a mere game.

Just like when the two of them were abducted to Zhujialing that year, he had made two preparations. As the weather gradually got colder and the food became less and less, he had already tried to find a way to send the message out.

Even before he fell ill, Jiang Yilin was certain that his news had reached the Jiang family, and that they would definitely come to pick him up in four days at most.

But Jiang Yilin still didn't tell her a single truth. Every day he would sit in that drafty house, looking up at the blue sky, or looking down and teasing the ants with his fingers.

Every day, seeing her go out full of energy and then come back looking disheveled, still making sure to coax herself to eat more fruit or drink more water, Jiang Yilin must have felt extremely comfortable at that time.

He might even think, "How can there be such a stupid person in the world? It's so interesting to have this person running around under my nose every day. Isn't this more interesting than being trapped inside the Jiang family's walls?"

During the month they were imprisoned in Zhujialing and depended on each other for survival, he never revealed his true feelings to her.

She always looked at Jiang Yilin as if through a veil that was neither too thick nor too thin. Enveloped by this veil, he sometimes didn't seem to smile, but rather had a serious expression. She remembered clearly every time he frowned.

Now Kim Hee-ro is also taking back her true feelings.

I will find a way to pay you back.

"Jiang Yilin, let's not see each other again."

This time, Kim Hee-ro turned and left without ever looking back.

Soon, the whole town knew that Chief Jiang had completely broken ties with the Jin family girl next door.