Dual Souls
Wild birds in the mountains and forests are nocturnal, silver bells on the curtains jingle softly, and the woman on the bed sleeps soundly, her calls seeming to come from the distant ends of the world.
"Miss Xiao Yan..."
"Miss Xiao Yan, wake up..."
All was quiet, white mist filled the air, and on the green grass, a huge chinaberry tree bloomed silently. A pale purple chinaberry flower drifted down and gently landed on the face of the sleeping woman.
It's a little itchy.
A hand gently lifted and waved away the chinaberry flower, then fell again. The chinaberry flower twirled and drifted down from the air, gently landing on the grass.
"Miss Xiao Yan..."
The sound became clearer and clearer, long eyelashes trembled slightly, and the dark shadows under the eyelids dissipated.
Jie Xiangsi opened her eyes.
Before my eyes was a dreamlike expanse of purple flowers, each bloom vibrant and each petal delicate. On the branches laden with blossoms sat a woman with a gentle face.
The woman wore her hair in a low braid, without any jewelry, but only a silk ribbon. She wore a hibiscus-colored gauze dress, with layers of light gauze piled up beneath her, seemingly blending into the surrounding light purple chinaberry flowers.
A gentle breeze stirred, causing the ribbons and gauze dresses to flutter softly.
Seeing her open her eyes, the woman smiled at her and said, "Miss Xiao Yan, it's a pleasure to meet you. Let me introduce myself. I am Jie Xiangsi."
In an instant, the chaos dissipated, and Xiao Yan became perfectly clear-headed.
...
All around was still a vast expanse of white, except for the sturdy chinaberry tree in the very center, which exuded an ancient yet vigorous vitality.
The grass blades moved swiftly without wind, making a soft rustling sound.
As petals fell, Xiao Yan slowly straightened up, backed away, and leaned against the rough tree trunk, her gaze warily fixed on the semi-transparent figure opposite her.
"Miss Jie?"
Jie Xiangsi nodded, still smiling. "It's me."
Why are you here?
I've come to say goodbye.
At that moment, the two spoke at the same time, their voices different, yet they tacitly formed a set of questions and answers.
"Pfft—"
Jie Xiangsi couldn't help but laugh out loud, her long eyelashes trembling, and her eyes sparkling like a pool of starlight.
She looked up at Xiao Yan, her tone carrying a hint of girlish arrogance, "It seems that we've become somewhat in sync after sharing this body for so many days."
Xiao Yan remained silent, her face still showing some wariness.
Seeing this, Xie Xiangsi's lips curled up slightly, her eyes crinkling, making her appear even more gentle. "Miss Xiao Yan, let me guess again, are you wondering what my current situation is?"
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's brow twitched slightly, and a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes, but it disappeared in an instant.
She guessed right.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze blew from somewhere, and a beautiful cluster of chinaberry flowers fell from the branch, swaying and drifting down in the wind.
Watching the chinaberry flowers gradually fall, Xie Xiangsi slightly raised her hand. To Xiao Yan's surprise, the soft, snow-like cluster of chinaberry flowers passed through Xie Xiangsi's palm without any obstruction and slowly fell to the ground.
A beautiful woman catches falling flowers, the flowers passing through her hand—a scene both beautiful and eerie.
Meeting Xiao Yan's gaze, Xie Xiangsi's smile faded, and she said seriously, "I am indeed dead."
Another flower fell, its pale purple petals swaying gently as they landed slowly on Xiao Yan's lap. A light breeze blew, and the thin petals trembled in the wind, like the wings of countless butterflies.
"But you didn't die."
Jie Xiangsi stood up from the branch, stepped over the thick branches, and walked step by step to Xiao Yan.
She bent down, her jade-like hand brushing once more over the beautiful chinaberry flower on Xiao Yan's body, only to unsurprisingly pass through the layers of petals again.
With a helpless sigh, Jie Xiangsi withdrew her hand, lifted her skirt, and sat down beside Xiao Yan. Looking at the white mist spreading around them, she said gently, "The place we are in now is a dream, or rather, your dream."
Seeing the confusion on Xiao Yan's face, Jie Xiangsi slowly explained, "You took a sword for your brother and were poisoned. Your body couldn't handle it, so you were forced into a deep sleep."
As she spoke, memories from before she fell into a coma flooded into her mind.
Blood, flesh, and mangled limbs; broken swords and cleavers.
And the long sword that pierced Xiao Jiangsheng.
A sudden phantom pain shot through her chest, and Xiao Yan frowned instantly. Every breath she took seemed to drain all her strength.
Suddenly, a violent storm arose in the dream, and clusters of chinaberry flowers fell like rain.
Hearing Xiao Yan's sudden heavy breathing, Jie Xiangsi sighed, reached out and gently touched her forehead. Then, a warm current flowed through her body, soothing the phantom pain inch by inch.
Withdrawing her even more transparent hand, Jie Xiangsi said helplessly, "I finally managed to relieve your pain, and now it's all for nothing. If this continues, I'm afraid I won't be able to say more than a few words before we break up."
Watching her increasingly ethereal figure, Xiao Yan clutched her chest and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, and thank you."
Jie Xiangsi waved her hand, "No need to thank me. I am already dead, and my soul will dissipate sooner or later. Instead, I should thank you for taking care of Yuhe."
The image of Yuhe's round, innocent face appeared in her mind, and she seemed to hear her chattering voice again. Xiao Yan's lips curled into a faint smile. "I quite like this little girl."
Jie Xiangsi chuckled, "It's her good fortune."
The wind has stopped, and the chinaberry flowers are still.
The two sat side by side, gazing at the endless mist in the distance, neither speaking, as if they had reached some unspoken agreement.
After a long pause, Xiao Yan spoke, "Why...why are you saying goodbye to me?"
"Pfft—"
Another soft laugh escaped her lips as Jie Xiangsi turned to meet Xiao Yan's slightly displeased gaze. Her eyes gleamed with a subtle light as she smiled and said, "I thought you wouldn't say another word to me until I disappeared."
Her eyes were so bright that Xiao Yan's long eyelashes drooped almost imperceptibly, as if only in this way could she calmly continue to look directly into her eyes.
She admitted that when they first met, she really didn't want to say a word to her; in fact, she even wanted to kill her.
Seeing her avoid her, Xie Xiangsi smiled without saying a word, then turned her head to look ahead. After a long while, she spoke softly: "It is right for you to hate me. If it weren't for my father, your Xiao family would not have been wiped out, and you would not have been forced to live in my body and fight against the assassination attempts that should have been mine."
Suddenly, the chinaberry tree trembled, and its blossoms fell.
As the bitter chinaberry blossoms passed through her body and fell to the ground, Jie Xiangsi continued, "My time is running out. Before I leave, I want to talk to you and see what the legendary Miss Xiao really looks like."
A cluster of purple petals fell, gently brushing against her cheek. Xiao Yan asked, puzzled, "That's all?"
"Hmm." Jie Xiangsi nodded. "That's all."
"I was frail and sickly from childhood. My father disliked me and was ashamed of me. He rarely let me go out. As a result, everyone only knew that Miss Xie was quiet and gentle, but they did not know that I was insatiable and longed for the vast mountains and rivers."
After saying that, she turned her head and met Xiao Yan's eyes, and said softly, "Even a sparrow imprisoned in a cage wants to become an eagle soaring in the sky."
"Therefore, when I learned that my father was going to send me to the capital, I killed him."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's eyes widened instantly, looking somewhat comical. After a long pause, she seemed to find her voice, stammering, "Why...why?"
“Because…” Xie Xiangsi’s smile faded, “he was sending me to the capital to die.”
“In this world, only the dead can keep secrets forever. He did dirty work for his master, and who can trust him with such an important handle as ‘framing an official of the court’?”
At this point, her tone turned cold in an instant, "Since he wants me to be the scapegoat so he can run away with the money, then naturally I won't care about any father-daughter relationship. I won't take the blame for his fate."
After hearing this shocking and unacceptable event, Xiao Yan was speechless.
Admittedly, she hadn't expected the truth to be like this, but she believed that Xie Xiangsi hadn't done anything wrong. Xie's father should pay for the sins he had committed.
Even tigers don't eat their cubs, but in some people's eyes, their children are nothing more than their possessions. If that's the case, why can't the children fight back?
Suddenly, Xie Xiangsi turned to look at Xiao Yan and said with a smile, "Miss Xiao Yan, I know you've always wanted to take me with you when this is all over."
Xiao Yan: "..."
The plan has somewhat fallen through.
"I don't want to think about it now."
"I have no objection."
The two spoke at the same time.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan was stunned.
“I’ve been very happy these days with you.” Xie Xiangsi smiled slightly, her eyes suddenly sparkling with light. “I watched you try every means to get out of the city, deal with people, and then kiss Lord Zhou underwater and flirt with him in the cave.”
Hearing this, Xiao Yan's ears turned red; she hadn't expected that she would also see this.
Glancing at her slightly reddened ear tips, Xie Xiangsi, while being considerate, spoke with a hint of bright laughter in her tone, "And in Yangqu, when faced with difficulties, you were extremely calm, even reunited with Marshal Xiao, and continued to seriously deceive Lord Zhou."
She paused, then her voice suddenly became ethereal, carrying a barely perceptible sense of loss, drifting aimlessly without any real substance.
“I grew up in a secluded room, where the nannies taught me to learn the elegance and grace of noble ladies so that I could marry into a good family in the future. How incredibly old-fashioned.”
Upon hearing this, Xiao Yan's heart trembled, and a hint of heartache appeared in her eyes as she looked at Xie Xiangsi.
For more than a decade, the girl, who harbored a heart full of dreams, was confined to her small boudoir, learning day after day how to become a proper housewife.
My body is not my own, and my mind is not my own.
Jie Xiangsi didn't care at all. She just stared intently at Xiao Yan and said with a smile, "We share one pair of eyes. Seeing your series of actions, the rules I learned since childhood tell me that I should be angry and scold you. But I am inexplicably happy and even excited."
Looking up at the profusion of blossoms on the tree above, Jie Xiangsi smiled even more broadly, revealing her white teeth.
"From the capital to Yangqu, and from Yangqu to Danzhou, this short journey felt like a second life to me. I've never felt so free before."
"If I die, I won't have any regrets."
During that journey, she was no longer the sickly young lady from Danzhou City who never left her house, but truly free in both body and mind.
"To ease longing."
As the chinaberry blossoms fell straight down on her from the branches, she closed her eyes slightly and whispered, "Miss Xiao Yan."
"Hmm?" Xiao Yan's voice unconsciously softened.
Jie Xiangsi kept her eyes closed, but a smile graced her face. "I'm about to leave. If you don't mind, this body is yours. Could you take my body with you to see the places I can't go?"
Xiao Yan didn't speak, but just stared at her increasingly transparent body, her eyes slightly red.
After a long silence, Xie Xiangsi smiled lazily and said, "If you don't say anything, I'll take that as a yes."
Xiao Yan wiped away her tears and choked out, "I won't agree, how could you do this to me..."
Even as they were saying goodbye, Xie Xiangsi's voice remained gentle, "There's nothing I can do if you don't agree. This time, I'm really leaving."
Finally, her voice became indistinct as she said, "Oh, right, Miss Xiao Yan, I also gave you a gift. In return, I hope you can do me another favor."
"What?"
"Please say 'Happy Wedding' to Liuyi for me, and let my eyes witness her happiness..."
Her figure disappeared from Xiao Yan's increasingly blurred vision, gradually merging with the light purple chinaberry flowers behind her.
From then on, there was no one in the world who could understand the pain of unrequited love.
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