Chapter 23: Dreams Revealed. Winter Snow Welcomes Spring
The fragrance of wintersweet can be smelled from afar, but charcoal cannot drive away the cold.
In the depths of winter, Wen Ranqi felt for the first time how cold a room without air conditioning or heating was. He asked someone to cover the bed with two thick quilts and put on his cotton-padded jacket with a fur collar. He huddled beside the charcoal brazier and breathed.
Snowy Night City was named because the city was completed during a heavy snowfall. Although Snowy Night City is located in the southernmost part of the four tribes after the winter, there are still several heavy snowfalls in the twelfth month of the year, and after that, it is a continuous drizzle of rain and snow.
Wan Ming and Wen Ranqi were like oil meeting fire. They would argue whenever they saw each other, and they would always go to Wen Ranqi's yard. They would bicker and argue, and only stop after they had satisfied their verbal cravings and had a stab in the heart.
Wen Ranqi was just planning to use the charcoal fire to make a barbecue in front of the house, when Wan Ming pushed open the door to the cold wind and came in uninvited, and sat down beside the charcoal brazier without any hesitation to start a fire.
One of the maids stayed in the room and poured Wanming a glass of wine. He rolled his eyes at Wanming, put a few pieces of meat on the grill, and began to roast. A few days ago, he had someone make a fine wire mesh pot cover, and today he had someone prepare half a pickled pork belly and some fresh shrimp.
Ever since Wen Shi returned home from dinner that day, his life had been the same as usual, except he couldn't leave the house. He followed Wen Ranqi's instructions in everything else. Wen Shi never came to this courtyard again, not even a single word passed through his lips.
Occasionally, Wen Ranqi would go to the study to check on the whereabouts of the marble in case Wen Shi threw it away. She would always run back and forth between the two places in the evening. Over time, Wen Ranqi no longer cared about what Wen Shi said.
He thought: Since I don't do anything, I can just live like this. Why wouldn't he want to eat and drink well every day? When Qiqi comes to find him, he can leave without suffering. This is a good thing.
Wan Ming saw that the meat on the grill was burnt, and he yelled: Hey, your meat is burnt. If you don't give it to me, don't waste the good meat. Wen Ranqi pouted and said with a glare: You come uninvited and still want to control how I grill meat, how shameless!
You're so shameless! Is it delicious to have meat on your face? How about I try yours and see if it tastes good? Wan Ming reached out with a clamp and teased Wen Ranqi. Wen Ranqi glared at him. If this little brat hadn't been around for a few months, there would have been no one to talk to in the room. He would probably have become autistic.
Marinated meat is delicious. We roasted it slowly, chatting and chatting. Half the jar of wine was gone, and half the meat was gone. It was almost dark outside. Wen Ranqi, under the influence of alcohol, pulled the slightly tipsy Wan Ming and whispered, "Xiao Ming, can you do me a favor?"
Wan Ming said dazedly: "What's the matter? You still have to beg me, hahaha." He was very proud of his selfishness.
"Please help me deliver a letter. Pigeons are very fast and won't delay you for long."
"Okay, give it to me and I'll deliver it to you." Wen Ranqi reluctantly took out a folded piece of paper from his sleeve, handed it to Wan Ming, and said: I'm begging you, you can't throw it away.
"Don't worry, I'll deliver it in front of you."
Wanming stood up and pulled Wen Ranqi out of the room. Outside, snow was falling heavily, and the yard was covered with snow up to the ankles. They staggered back and forth, stepping on the snow to the yard. Wanming blew a whistle, and a moment later, a snow-white dove flew over and landed on Wanming's arm.
Wen Ranqi opened his eyes wide, his heart ecstatic: If he had known that drinking would work, he should have invited him to drink earlier. He said confusedly: This pigeon looks well-trained by you, not bad, not bad.
Wan Ming tied the letter to the pigeon's legs and released it himself. Wen Ranqi was just feeling happy when Wan Ming's face suddenly changed and he looked at Wen Ranqi, frightening her so much that she forced herself to smile. He asked: What's wrong? Did you remember something?
"You didn't tell me the address, so where should it be sent?"
Wen Ranqi couldn't quite figure out how carrier pigeons worked. He suddenly remembered, having truly forgotten. But the letter had been fumigated with a special herb. He wanted to give it to Yue Chi, to let him know he was safe and then tell him not to worry, saying he'd find a way to protect himself. He wanted Qiqi to focus on martial arts training and show off her prowess the following year.
Let Wen Shi experience the power of Qiqi and vent his anger on the "self" in his previous dreams.
Wan Ming lay on Wen Ranqi's shoulder and said drunkenly: I gave it to you. Your barbecue is the most delicious barbecue I have ever eaten. Please teach me later.
"Okay, no problem."
Wan Ming returned to his room drunkenly and fell asleep immediately. Wen Shi, who lived in the big room next door, had been feeling drowsy since dinner and was already half asleep. Wan Ming's efforts to help him didn't wake him up, and he remained motionless, as if he had taken a knockout drug.
His back was soaked with sweat. He tried desperately to remember. He also heard Wanming's movements. He could hear it very clearly, but he just couldn't wake up or move.
He stood in a vast expanse of white fog, feeling freezing cold. He tried every possible way but couldn't get out of the fog. For the first time, he felt helpless and powerless, but he was not afraid yet. His heart was simply filled with an incomprehensible feeling.
It must have been late at night outside, and he could hear no other sounds but the sound of falling snow.
"Wen Shi, I won't let your scheme succeed. I have my own destiny." Wen Shi heard a voice and stumbled, landing in a room. It was Wen Ranqi's room. It was a room filled with the scent of medicine and a tragic atmosphere. He saw Wen Ranqi, standing in the doorway.
Wen Ranqi sat weakly on the edge of the bed, his face as pale as a corpse, his white silk undershirt stained with streaks of blood. Although he looked frail, as if about to collapse, Wen Ranqi tightly grasped the broken pieces of the bowl against his neck. Those around him didn't dare approach, and he couldn't move, only watching from afar.
Wen Ranqi yelled at him, "Do you think I just want to die? Can't stand your torture? You're wrong. I never took your torture seriously, but you shouldn't use me to threaten him. Death is not scary to me. You've already killed me once, so I've died once too."
Wen Shi, even if I die, I will never let you use me as a handle to threaten him. Wen Shi, you will not die a good death.
Wen Ranqi cut his neck and blood gushed out. He was stunned, but the "he" beside him just watched him die coldly, and just said casually that he could be buried in the back mountain.
Wen Shi looked at the smelly blood all over the ground. For the first time in his life, he felt extremely disgusted. He wanted to escape from here as much as possible, but he was powerless. Blood splattered all over his white boots, and a foul smell began to hit him.
He had killed many people, tortured many people by any means necessary, and was even cruel enough to kill his own father and brother. He shouldn't be so disgusted or shocked by such a small scene.
He was forced to collapse in the blood, in which he was soon drowned.
When he opened his eyes again, Wen Shi was wearing a gorgeous silk brocade dress. He held a long sword and stood on the familiar annual competition stage. Opposite him stood a person who had been defeated by him, Wen Ranqi's apprentice Qiqi.
Qiqi challenged him: "Wen Shi, I will definitely defeat you today. If I don't keep my hands steady, I might even kill you." He stood on the stage with a look of disdain on his face. He could sense that he was full of disdain and contempt for this young challenger, as well as a thick and complicated anger.
He looked at Wen Ranqi standing in front of the stage in the crowd. Wen Shi saw the living Wen Ranqi again, and he felt relieved that Wen Ranqi was not dead yet.
He and Qiqi would decide the outcome with one move. He confidently stabbed the opponent with his sword, but the opponent's sword pierced his heart faster and more accurately. Qiqi took Wen Ranqi's hand and walked out of the crowd in a high-profile manner, announcing something that sounded very happy, but he fell on the arena. Wanming hugged his body, and he spurted a trace of blood in pain. He died without saying a word.
Everyone around surrounded Qiqi and Wen Ranqi and left. No one cared about his death, and no one paid attention.
He was like a wild dog that died on the roadside. Even the insects were reluctant to eat him, so he could only rot in the mud.
Wen Shi stared in disbelief at what hadn't happened. He backed away desperately, his face livid. Was this his end? He didn't believe it. He didn't want to see himself on that stage. He turned around and saw Wen Ranqi, the once-young Wen Ranqi.
They drank intimately under the tree, studied the sword manual seriously, and scrambled to eat steamed dumplings. All the past events flashed before Wen Shi's eyes, and the thick fog was filled with Wen Ranqi's innocent laughter.
He decided that all this was a conspiracy. He still didn't believe it and tried to clear the fog. The sound stopped, the picture disappeared, and the fog gradually dissipated. A person appeared in front of him, his clothes were tattered, and his back was covered with wounds. He said in a long and gentle voice: "Brother, long time no see."
Wen Ranqi turned around. It was Wen Ranqi, the one who had fallen off the cliff and been stabbed to death by Wen Shi. He looked at Wen Shi coldly, his voice as if coming from far away underground.
Wen Shi feigned composure. Tonight's events had completely transcended his comprehension, making it difficult for him to maintain composure. He replied, "Xiao Ran?" He wasn't sure if the person before him was actually Wen Ranqi; perhaps it was just a dream.
Wen Ranqi said: "Brother, isn't killing me once enough? Do you really want to kill me a second time?"
Wen Shi was shocked and took two steps back, saying, "I, I want to kill you, so what? Are you trying to scare me by pretending to be a ghost?" Wen Shi never gave in in front of others. Even if he didn't mean that, he would still be very strong in front of others.
Wen Ranqi said: I, Wen Ranqi, would never do such a mean thing. I am not like you. If you do bad things, you will be punished.
Wen Shidao replied: "Why didn't you just tell me in person? Why did you have to come into my dream and confront me? You don't dare to say it?" Wen Shi's momentum was not inferior.
Wen Ranqi shook his head, turned around and smiled helplessly, saying: "You are so stubborn. I gave you a chance, you should cherish it. Go away, dirty soul."
Wen Shi tumbled and swayed, then was shaken awake in a daze. Wan Ming saw Wen Shi open his eyes and immediately asked a doctor to take his pulse. By the time Wen Shi finally woke up, several days had passed. He had been in a coma for days, unable to wake up no matter how others called him, and even after taking tons of medicine, his condition showed no improvement.
Wen Ranqi was forced by Wan Ming to come and keep him company all night. The two of them fell asleep on the table. Wen Shi was already awake at this time. The first thing he saw was Wen Ranqi sitting not far from the bed. He walked gently to the two of them, spread a thick fur blanket, and added new charcoal.
He sat in bed meditating until dawn.
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