Chapter 55 Nightmare: A Premonition of Fate
Back home, after dinner, Chen Mi went to the bathroom to shower and change out of her sticky clothes. When she came out, the weather had cleared up again, and the orange-red afterglow of the setting sun pierced through the dark clouds, casting golden beams that gave a sense of impending hope.
Looking at the damp scenery outside the window, Chen Mi took a deep breath. The world, cleansed by the torrential rain, even had the air filled with the fragrance of grass.
There's always been a swing with a built-in sunshade in Jingyuan's yard. She's passed by it several times, always just passing by, but never thought to sit on it. At first, she was hesitant to make any unnecessary movements because of her status as a "guest," but now she's gotten used to handling all the big and small things in this household.
Habits and time can really change a lot.
Chen Mi sat on the swing, swaying back and forth, emptying his mind and ignoring the other shackles binding him.
Close your eyes, quietly feel the traces of the wind, hear the sound of branches rustling, and the dripping of raindrops from the eaves...
"What are you thinking about?"
Jing Yuan's voice came from behind. Shen Mi opened his eyes and looked up. Jing Yuan was smiling and holding a thin blanket in his hand.
Shen Mi moved aside, making room for him, and gestured for him to sit down.
Jing Yuan waved his hand and gently spread the blanket out, carefully covering Chen Mi's exposed legs.
"The night breeze is chilly, please keep warm."
Shen Mi looked up at him and felt that he was exceptionally clear-headed tonight. He had changed into casual clothes, and a faint scent of gardenias lingered around his clothes, like the fragrance that quietly blooms after an early summer rain, clearly the freshness of someone who had just taken a bath.
A breeze blew by, and Shen Mi picked up a corner of the blanket, quietly draped half over his knees, and said, mimicking what he had just said: "The night breeze is a little cool, General, you should also take care to keep warm."
The girl's smile was deeply reflected in his eyes, much like the opening theme of a peaceful and serene life.
Jingyuan leaned against the swing, saying nothing, just gazing at her quietly. He let her radiate light and laughter freely in his tranquil world, like a flower in early spring, blooming silently.
"I heard from Master Bai Xuan that you almost got a perfect score on today's quiz?" He spoke gently, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
Shen Mi nodded gently: "It's only two points short. If the regular exam is this difficult, I should be able to pass smoothly."
He looked at her, his expression shifting slightly, and after a moment he said in a low voice, "Your talent reminds me of an old friend..."
Is the "old friend" referring to Bai Heng?
Shen Mi turned her head slightly and looked at the fleeting sadness in Jing Yuan's eyes, a sadness that was being tried to hide and buried under the snow.
If I hadn't had God's-eye view and known about their relationship beforehand, I probably wouldn't have noticed his emotions at that moment.
She suddenly felt that the wind seemed to have calmed down a bit.
Shen Mi cleared his throat, trying to lighten the mood, and joked, "Since the general has praised me, wouldn't it be a disgrace to the general's old friend if I didn't get a perfect score?"
Jing Yuan chuckled softly upon hearing this, the melancholy in his eyes seeming to dissipate like dandelion seeds in the wind. He thought of Chen Mi, his voice gentle as the breeze: "There's no need to make such a big deal out of it. If she heard what you said, she would probably just hope that you don't inherit her bad luck."
"Bad luck?" Shen Mi suddenly wanted to hear more about Bai Heng's story.
"Yes, my old friend was an extremely skilled pilot, but she had terrible luck. She often said things that came true, which caused many people around her to be wary of her and gradually distance themselves from her. You've been in Luofu for over a month, so you must have heard the story of the Five Heroes of the Clouds, right? Apart from the battles that actually happened, the stories told by the storytellers on Xuan Ye Street are almost all embellished. That's just how the world sees us—five heroes who practice the will of the hunt, take it upon themselves to eradicate the evil creatures of Feng Rao, and protect the Immortal Ship."
Jing Yuan lowered his head, lost in memories, and gave a bitter smile: "But too many people only see the brilliance of the moon. Behind the brilliance lies its fullness and its waning, and no one cares at all. If it weren't for that deceased friend, I'm afraid we wouldn't have gotten along so well."
Yes, Shen Miming understood. Bai Heng was naturally lively, and even when faced with setbacks, he still had the courage to be positive and optimistic.
Jingliu, with only the sword in his heart, is aloof and proud; Danfeng, the enlightened dragon, possesses an immeasurable body; Yingxing, with extraordinary achievements, looks down from afar.
Shen Mi understood the unspoken meaning in his words; those unspoken names and fates were hidden in the silence behind his words.
Of the five heroes of Yunshang, all except Jingyuan are pitiful people with tragic backgrounds, burdened by heavy pressure and blood feuds. They are all exceptionally talented and unruly. Among them, Bai Heng, with his cheerful personality and similar experiences, naturally became their kindred spirit.
In a piece of music, if there is no harmonious melody, it will only be like a discordant string and a lonely note.
"If it weren't for that accident, she probably would have given up everything and was traveling among the stars by now."
Finally, Jing Yuan's regretful voice rang out. But Shen Mi had already realized that his regret wasn't just directed at others.
Shen Mi patted Jing Yuan on the shoulder, his tone gentle: "Jing Yuan, what kind of person would you be if you hadn't become the General of Luofu?"
Jing Yuan was slightly taken aback, as if struck by the question. He did not answer immediately, but lowered his gaze slightly, looking at the churning sea of clouds in the distance.
After a moment, he whispered, "Perhaps he is a wandering knight who has ascended to the heavens and roams the four seas, living a carefree life beyond worldly affairs."
He smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in his expression, "But fate didn't give me that chance."
A bittersweet feeling welled up in Shen Mi's heart. She simply sat quietly beside him, gazing at the horizon with him. Deep within the clouds, it seemed, lay an ideal life that neither of them could reach.
After a moment, Shen Mi took a deep breath and said to Jing Yuan, "But Jing Yuan, I believe that one day you will be relieved of your duties as a general. When that day comes, let's live as we please again, like true free men, and become seafaring knights."
Her words were like a spring breeze, blowing through the heavy sea of clouds and into Jingyuan's heavy heart.
Shen Mi saw Jing Yuan's eyes blaze with a dazzling light, like fireworks, a cluster of glimmers ignited by some distant hope, making his eyes sparkle as if they held the starlight of the Milky Way. He didn't speak, but slowly looked at Shen Mi, his eyes holding an indescribable emotion, deep and tender.
"Okay, it's a deal."
*
It was late at night. Shen Mi had already said goodbye to Jing Yuan. She lay quietly on the bed, the mattress beneath her soft and the bedding fragrant, but she just couldn't fall asleep.
Moonlight streamed in through the window, a silvery expanse, yet it could not quell the turbulent emotions churning within her. Thinking what you think, feeling what you feel, worrying what you suffer—Chen Mi had finally come to understand the meaning of love for one's beloved.
He tossed and turned in bed.
After an unknown amount of time, Shen Mi finally drifted into a dream.
In the dream, mist filled the air, as if the world were shrouded in a gray veil. Shen Mi seemed to be standing on a ruin abandoned by the gods, the scorched earth around him like a wasteland that had burned away all will, and the broken pavilions like silent inscriptions, recording an unspeakable destruction.
The sky hung low, the dark clouds so heavy they seemed to touch the ground, thunder rumbled intermittently, and the once-powerful voices had vanished, leaving only the silent, cold laughter of fate.
The war drums beat silently, one after another, their origin unknown, yet deliberately striking at the most vulnerable parts of the human heart. Faintly, one could hear the crisp sound of weapons breaking and the distant wails of agony; between reality and illusion, it was difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood.
She didn't know why she was there, nor why she was running. There was just a strange obsession driving her forward, as if someone she was destined to lose was still waiting for her to look back.
Until that figure emerged from the mist—
A familiar figure appeared at the end of her sight—it was Jing Yuan, his white hair disheveled, his armor and cloak tattered like fallen leaves, half of Shi Huomeng's body buried in the ground, his knees kneeling amidst rubble and bloodstains, his head slightly bowed, his back silent as a mountain. He did not struggle, nor did he speak, but simply accepted his predetermined fate with an almost resigned attitude.
There were no Cloud Cavalry soldiers around him, no roaring enemies, only the dim light of the sky and boundless loneliness. At that moment, he was like an ancient ship stranded at the end of time, rusty and still holding up the last vestiges of dignity of Luofu.
Shen Mi wanted to run over, but found her steps heavy as lead, and no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get close. She could only stand there, watching him slowly raise his head and look at her with eyes that seemed almost blown away by the wind. That look was unfathomable, both tender and like a farewell.
She opened her mouth to speak, but no sound came out.
The scene shifts to a vast expanse of white, as if even the dream has been stripped of its color, and the image of Luofu in memory is as mottled as ink spilled on rice paper. The noisy rain and the soft sounds of running, like a broken melody starting anew, instantly pull Shen Mi back to that afternoon, to that moment when the sky was dark and the rain was pouring down.
She stood on the familiar street, the ground flooded by rain, water dripping incessantly from the eaves. She remembered this street, that corner, and the comical way Danheng patted her shoulder with his fake mustache.
Eaves, torrential rain, reunion—the same words piled up in his heart, like a poem, or an old dream that could not be continued. But this time, Shen Mi felt as if he had stumbled into someone else's memory.
She followed the route etched in her mind, step by step. Each step echoed with the sounds of conversation, each turn as clear as freshly spilled ink, as if fate had deliberately arranged for her to relive this journey.
Danheng stood under the eaves, but not in the same attire he had seen her in. A strange woman stood before him. Her back was to Chen Mi, and she spoke to Danheng in a gentle tone.
Shen Mi stood frozen in place, unable to believe her eyes. She tried hard to see the woman's face clearly, changing angles many times, but the face remained blurry, as if the dream was intentionally obscuring it, not allowing her to glimpse it at all.
Shen Mi walked forward, each step leaving a soft ripple on the water's surface. With each step, the woman's figure blurred and vanished like smoke, only to instantly transform into another figure. One woman after another passed before Shen Mi's eyes, appearing and disappearing one by one before different Dan Hengs.
Only one sentence remained unchanged despite the ever-changing illusions, repeatedly uttered by Yu Danheng's lips:
Fortunately, I have found someone special, someone I can seek out.
Shen Mi stood frozen in place, finding the scene before her utterly absurd. She tried to speak, but her throat tightened. The figures of the women began to overlap and intertwine, as if countless parallel universes were converging at the same moment. Their lips parted in unison, expressionless and emotionless, yet in the next instant, they unleashed a torrential downpour of sound.
Thousands of promises fell like a sudden rain, instantly overwhelming Chen Mi's ears.
Shen Mi covered his ears in pain; the women's voices were so sharp, like needles piercing his eardrums.
Shen Mi looked up.
Danheng stood rooted to the spot, as if imprisoned by time, tears streaming down his face as he looked at her and continued repeating—
Fortunately, I have found someone special, someone I can seek out.
Then—everything suddenly collapsed, and the light and shadow shattered.
Shen Mi suddenly woke up from his dream, his forehead covered in cold sweat and his chest heaving violently.
Outside the window was a quiet night, and all around were familiar furnishings. Jing Yuan was not there, nor was there any thunder. She was all alone, and the eerie sounds and scenes from her dream still lingered in her ears, like an unfinished prophecy from the depths of fate, echoing softly.
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Author's Note: I currently have 210,000 words saved up, and I expect this story to reach around 300,000 words, maybe even more. [Facepalm laughing and crying][Facepalm laughing and crying][Facepalm laughing and crying] I didn't expect it to keep getting longer and longer.
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