Chapter 10 Zhuangzi's Dream (Part 10) Young Master Gu's Late-Night Visit...
In the quiet bedroom, bluish smoke filled the air.
On the bed, the young man slowly opened his eyes, his dark pupils contracting rapidly as they touched the candlelight.
Gu Lianzhou blinked, remembering that he seemed to have had a long dream.
It was a beautiful dream, but not entirely.
In every dream he had, there was a strange face that tirelessly tried to persuade him of the illusion of dreams, the evil spirits that were at work, and so on.
In the end, all I saw in the dream was a muddy face and eyes brighter than the stars.
With his chest heaving, Gu Lianzhou slowly exhaled a breath of stale air. He turned his head, about to call out to someone, but his whole body stiffened, and the words that were about to come out were swallowed back by fear.
A pale hand was draped over the edge of his bed...
Gu Lianzhou turned his head back.
Perhaps he slept for too long and was not fully awake, so how could he be hallucinating in broad daylight?
Thoughts are like tangled threads, intertwined and piled up, or like boiling paste, bubbling and gurgling.
After struggling for a while, Gu Lianzhou took a deep breath, laboriously propped up half of his body, and looked down along the hand.
But then they saw a person lying on the ground in a strange posture.
Gu Lianzhou paused for a moment as his gaze fell on the man's face.
After a long while, he murmured to himself, "Am I still dreaming...?"
"Crack—" The sound of a mirror shattering rang in my ears.
Following the sound, Gu Lianzhou then noticed the bronze mirror at the man's feet.
Just as the mirror looked familiar, before he could think about it, a wisp of bluish-gray smoke escaped from the crack in the mirror, slowly drifting as if it were aware of its surroundings. It stopped above the boy, then wrapped around his arm, and finally disappeared.
Looking at the person on the ground, there was no sign of them waking up.
After a long silence, Gu Lianzhou reached out and grabbed the hidden rope inside the bed curtains, pulling it three times forcefully.
A series of clear bell sounds immediately rang out from the roof beams.
A moment later, the door was opened from the outside, and the cold winter wind rushed into the room, lifting the gauze curtains and sending chills down one's spine.
-
Song San was plunged into a bottomless black pool.
The pool completely enveloped her, imprisoning her limbs and making escape impossible.
This is not the first time his mental state has been damaged.
She had encountered troublesome demons before, and whenever she was injured in the illusion, her body would fall into a deep sleep, only needing a short while to wake up.
This time, however, the wait was exceptionally long.
My body was tightly bound, but my mind was exceptionally clear, and the surrounding cold felt even more biting.
Song San tried to open his eyes, but felt as if his eyelids weighed a ton. He rolled his eyes in vain and then completely gave up.
Well, let's just take this as a rest. Maybe I'll wake up after a nap?
Comforting himself in this way, Song San gave up struggling and felt the coolness coming from all directions.
...No one can sleep like that.
Until a flash of fire appeared before their eyes, the cold pool slowly warmed up.
"Hey, he's awake."
"Master Bailiang has woken up."
"Go and call the second young master quickly."
The girl's voice beside me was noisy and indistinct, sometimes near and sometimes far. The sound of the cold pool had not yet faded, and the voices seemed to be separated by a layer of water, making them indistinct.
She finally woke up.
Song San blinked, feeling the damp moisture forming droplets that slid down from the corners of his eyes and into his temples.
Once her eyes adjusted to the glaring light, she laboriously raised her hand to wipe away the troublesome tear stain.
The maids carried the low table into the room together. Song San turned his head and saw the food on the table. Before he could speak, his stomach suddenly rumbled.
After the table was set down, the maids stepped forward to set out the bowls and chopsticks. One of them stood respectfully by the bed and said to Song San, "The second young master instructed that Master Bailiang has been unconscious for two days and two nights without a drop of water. Now that he has woken up, he can only have some light porridge and side dishes. He must not drink or eat too much."
Song San was completely baffled. "Two days and two nights?" As soon as he opened his mouth, he realized that his voice was hoarse, and he became even more surprised and uncertain. "I... really slept for that long?"
The young maid nodded honestly: "It's true."
Song San felt as if the sky had fallen.
She had prepared herself mentally, thinking that even if it was a powerful demon, as long as she hid quickly, she could protect herself from being injured in the illusion. But now, she has slept for three days.
Three whole days! She's probably going to go crazy like Gu Lianzhou.
Amidst her grief, she couldn't help but mention the fool, "Has Young Master Gu woken up?"
Upon hearing this, the maid's eyes lit up, as if waiting for Song San to ask. She answered eagerly, "He's awake! Master Bailiang is truly skilled. In just half a day, our young master has woken up and can now walk on the ground, just like a normal person."
At this point, the little maid didn't forget to give Song San a thumbs up as a token of her respect.
He was no different from an ordinary person, so how come the dream demon didn't harm his mind?
Song San was skeptical, but she took the bamboo chopsticks handed to her by the maid, picked up a white steamed bun, and stuffed it into her mouth. While chewing, she looked at the two little maids guarding in front of her.
"You..." She swallowed a piece of steamed bun, her eyes flickering, "You've been taking care of me these past few days?"
The two maids replied in unison, "Yes."
Seeing their candid answers, Song San lowered his brows and concealed the guilt in his eyes, feigning nonchalance as he asked, "Then, about the washing and changing clothes these past two days..."
Upon hearing this, the slightly round-faced maid waved her hands repeatedly, "We are following the Second Young Master's orders. We will only keep watch for you, Master, and dare not touch you."
Song San said "Oh," picked up the bowl of congee on the table, took a sip, ate the piece of steamed bun, and then picked up some stir-fried celery from the dish. He felt a great weight lifted from his heart and ate his meal with even greater pleasure.
The clever maidservant understood Song San's unspoken meaning and volunteered, "If Master Bailiang feels unwell, I will fetch water for you shortly so you can dress and wash up."
Song San's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the bowl of porridge.
"Please bring me some water." She put down the bowl and said with an awkward smile, "I just smelled myself and I do smell a bit sour, but we disciples have never liked being served by others. As for washing and grooming... I can do it myself."
Hearing this, the young maid assumed that the young master was shy and teased, "If the master wants men to serve him, we have men here too."
Song San immediately raised his hand to stop him, saying, "No need. I'm just a wandering swordsman, tough as nails, I don't need anyone to wait on me."
Seeing his resolute attitude, the maidservant didn't know what to say, so she simply nodded in agreement, bowed, and went out to prepare water.
Having not eaten for a long time, Song San didn't dare to eat much. He only ate half a steamed bun, a few bites of side dishes and a few mouthfuls of porridge before putting down his chopsticks.
The maid tidied up and carried the low table out. Just then, Young Master Gu entered the room, and the room became lively again.
After seeing off everyone in the room, Song San leaned against the headboard and looked at the box full of silver ingots at the foot of the bed, feeling extremely comfortable.
The Gu family was wealthy and generous. In addition to the hundred taels of silver that Gu Shaoyang had originally promised, they also gave him a box of gold beans as an extra reward.
Song San played with the gold beans, feeling completely satisfied with what he had eaten and drunk. The house was heated by the underfloor heating; even a parasite's life couldn't be better.
If she didn't have other important matters to attend to, she would have liked to stay at the Gu family's house for a few days.
Before long, a maidservant came in carrying a bucket of hot water and filled the tub.
In an instant, the room became filled with steam and a humid atmosphere.
After everyone had left, Song San slowly got out of bed, bolted the door, moved a chair to block the door, and then breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around, loosened the belt around his waist, and walked towards the bathtub behind the screen while taking off his clothes.
In the dead of winter, with heavy clothing, and having been unconscious in bed for a long time, Song San hadn't washed up for several days and was eager to get a proper clean-up.
After removing layers of clothing and untying the restraints on her body, she plunged into the hot water with a "plop," like a carp entering water.
After she had quickly washed her hair and body, she was satisfied as she dried herself, dressed, and sat down at the table to wring out her hair.
"Thump thump—thump thump—"
Suddenly, a dull knocking sound came from the door.
Song San was stunned for a moment, then picked up the large cotton robe and put it on as the doorbell rang.
"Who?" She looked down and tied the ribbon.
The regular knocking stopped, and then a familiar male voice answered, "It's me."
Song San remained silent for a moment.
The eldest son of the Gu family really knows how to pick his timing.
It seems that he learned that his savior had woken up and couldn't wait to thank him in person.
That makes sense.
Thinking this, Song San moved the chair aside, opened the door a crack, and looked outside.
Under the bright moonlight, Gu Lianzhou, dressed in a red cloak and carrying a lantern, stood alone under the eaves, like a resentful female ghost visiting in the dead of night.
"Oh," the 'female ghost' spoke, "It's chilly at night, why didn't you dry your hair?"
Upon hearing this, Song San followed his gaze to the damp hair on his shoulder, then looked up at Gu Lianzhou and said indifferently, "I'm wiping it off right now."
And here you are.
"Ah." Gu Lianzhou nodded, raised his other left hand (which was not carrying a lantern), and pointed behind Song San. "Can I come in and sit down?"
Finally, he grinned and added, "It's cold outside."
Song San tightened his grip on the doorframe, offering an awkward yet polite smile. "It is quite cold."
On the surface, he was like this, but in his heart, a huge storm was raging: How could Gu Lianzhou have two faces, one in dreams and one out of dreams?
Looking closely at the young man in front of her, she could see that the man's eyes were full of smiles, which did not seem to be an act.
Indeed, after waking up from a deep dream, he felt grateful to his benefactor and came to repay the favor.
Suspicious, Song San loosened her grip on the door, and made way for Gu Lianzhou to swagger into her room.
He walked inside with practiced ease, took off his cloak and casually hung it on the screen, then placed the extinguished lantern on the ground and sank into a chair.
Song San closed the door, feeling slightly awkward because of the "stranger" in the room. She cleared her throat and said, "Young Master Gu, you came alone. Didn't anyone stop you? Aren't you afraid that you're still weak after the exorcism?"
Gu Lianzhou slowly propped up his hand, resting half his face on it, and looked at Song San with a curious gaze: "The doctor said I'm in good health and there's nothing wrong with me. Everyone else listens to me and doesn't dare to stop me."
At this moment, he showed a smug look on his face.
But he was still recovering from a serious illness, and he didn't even have a servant to carry a lamp. Was he just being unconventional, or was he simply unpopular?
Because of Song San's long silence, Gu Lianzhou simply changed the subject, "I heard that Brother Bailiang is a disciple of Tianji Sect, no wonder he has such great skills."
Song San understood that apart from Gu Shaoyang, only the head of the Gu family had seen the Xishan Golden Seal on her wrist, so it wasn't surprising that Gu Lianzhou knew about it now.
Thinking of this, she nodded: "Yes."
As soon as he finished speaking, Young Master Gu let out a long sigh of relief, as if his doubts had been resolved. He put away his previous nonchalant attitude and stood up, supporting himself on the table.
Song San cautiously took a step back. What he hadn't noticed in the illusion was that Gu Lian was much taller than him, but now it became tangible.
The next moment, she saw his tall, slender figure, like a bent bamboo, bow to her and respectfully say, "Senior Brother."
Song San: "?"
Song San: "Huh?"
A note from the author:
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Because I need to keep the word count down when updating with the rankings, I will update every other day within a week.
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