Autumn Boating, White Cranes Soaring (Part 1)
She is a ghost bride, and also a harbinger of death.
At this moment, she removed her red veil, her face adorned with gold and vermilion, revealing her to be a classical beauty with elegant demeanor.
Another scene unfolded around them: the bright red color scheme and the clamor of gongs and drums indicated what was happening. But then, a tragedy similar to the one that befell the Wen family occurred, only this time the protagonist was the bride in the center of the wedding. She looked at the tragic scene around her in horror and burst into tears. The frail woman did not know why things had suddenly turned out this way.
“It’s not your fault,” the ghost bride spoke, her voice gentle and her pace unhurried. “None of us blame you.”
They all knew what was really going on here; the person in front of them was just like them, a victim.
"There's no need to blame yourself."
"To live happily while carrying the expectations of those around us, that's what we want to see."
Without the support of the evil energy here, the ghost bride was about to dissipate. She smiled, touched Zhou Qinghe's head, and disappeared a moment later.
"Thank you for freeing us. I can go with my husband now."
The wooden boat fell back to the ground.
"good..."
"good......"
Zhou Ziqiu burst into tears.
——
"What happened to you guys?!" Cui Yongle took Wen Su from Zhou Ziqiu's hands, and only breathed a sigh of relief after confirming that Wen Su was alright. He then looked at Zhou Ziqiu and asked, "What happened?"
Zhou Ziqiu placed Wen Su on the bed, sighed, and handed the wooden boat to Cui Yongle. The runes on the boat had disappeared, and apart from the blood-red hull, it was no different from before.
Cui Yongle didn't know what it was. He looked at it over and over again, but he could vaguely guess that it was probably related to the past. After taking a look, he returned it to Zhou Ziqiu, but when he looked up, he was stunned again.
"Xiao, Xiao Qiu!" Cui Yongle hurriedly stepped forward and pulled out a few tissues to stuff Zhou Ziqiu's nose.
"Huh?" Zhou Ziqiu only realized what had happened when Cui Yongle blocked his nose. He glanced down at the black blood on the tissue paper thrown aside and understood a little.
"This physical body is about to give way."
Zhou Ziqiu muttered, feeling a strange sense of anticipation as his death drew near.
"I'll find you another one, I'll find you another one."
Cui Yongle didn't want to hear this last thing. He stood up to make a phone call, but Zhou Ziqiu stopped him.
“It’s no use.” Zhou Ziqiu raised his head. “My soul is complete now, but it may not be long before I am no longer myself. We need to find my body quickly.”
Find my body, then destroy me.
Cui Yongle turned his head away, refusing to look at Zhou Ziqiu.
Memories from the past surfaced inappropriately in his mind. As a child, he was brought before Zhou Ziqiu by his father. At that time, he did not understand why his father said that Zhou Ziqiu was the soul of the green lamp. He only knew that this handsome older brother smiled and said to him, "Hello, little friend."
“I know what you’re thinking, but even if I don’t find my soul, I will slowly lose my mind,” Zhou Ziqiu said. This was why he suddenly stopped accepting requests for help. He suddenly realized that his power was becoming somewhat out of control, and he stopped accepting requests for help to prevent himself from losing control completely.
"Trust me, okay?" Zhou Ziqiu smiled. "Maybe you can even be reincarnated in time for me."
Cui Yongle remained motionless until a long while later, when he finally said helplessly, "Okay."
Even if it was a lie, he believed it.
...
"Hmm..."
Wen Su cried out in pain. When his consciousness returned, he realized how much pain he was in, as if he had been disassembled and then reassembled. However, he was already used to this kind of pain. In just a few seconds, he calmed himself down and opened his eyes.
"Awake?" Zhou Ziqiu, who had been keeping watch by the bedside, asked, standing up to hand Wen Su a glass of warm water.
"...Mmm." Wen Su let out a soft sound, sat up from the bed, and took the water glass. "Thank you."
"It doesn't matter."
The conversation ended there, and the room fell silent again, neither of them knowing how to break the silence.
Zhou Ziqiu didn't know if Wen Su knew his identity, and Wen Su didn't know if Zhou Ziqiu was injured, since he was the one who deliberately brought Zhou Ziqiu there.
However, it was Wen Su who spoke first: "I'm sorry."
"Huh?" Zhou Ziqiu, who was trying to figure out how to ask, was surprised by Wen Su's words and didn't understand why Wen Su was suddenly apologizing to him. "What's wrong? Why are you apologizing?"
“I deliberately brought you to the Wen family just so I could see them,” Wen Su explained. “But I didn’t mean for you to be taken away by that ghost bride. I didn’t mean it.”
Zhou Ziqiu laughed and shook his head: "It's not your fault. Besides, if you put it that way, didn't I also hurt you? We're even."
"...good."
"But speaking of which, why did you come looking for me? Are you...?" Zhou Ziqiu's smile turned serious as he looked at Wen Su, his unfinished words carrying a meaning only the two of them understood.
Sure enough, Wen Su nodded: "I guessed it long ago."
Zhou Ziqiu was slightly taken aback. He had always thought he had kept it a secret well. After a moment, he chuckled and asked, "When did you guess?"
“I had a suspicion when I went to Guanxing to deal with the Sun family’s matter.” Wen Su thought for a moment, “I also saw some things in Yunan that confirmed my suspicion.”
That was indeed very early, Zhou Ziqiu thought. As for what Wen Su said about seeing something, he was probably referring to what he saw at the boundary between Yin and Yang. He originally thought that Wen Su hadn't seen anything at all.
That's fine, though. Zhou Ziqiu doesn't need to explain anything anymore, but there's one thing he still needs to say to Wen Su: "I'm sorry."
Wen Su smiled and said, "What's going on? Either I apologize or you apologize."
“It’s your family’s business.” Zhou Ziqiu got up from the bed, picked up a box from the table next to him and placed it in front of Wen Su. “I’m not sure if you know why I died, but you should have thought about why I was able to stay rational and not turn into a vengeful spirit.”
Wen Su lowered his eyes to look at the box, but did not open it immediately. Instead, he looked up at Zhou Ziqiu again: "Because of this?"
Zhou Ziqiu nodded: "This can be considered one of them. After I died, someone performed a ritual to suppress my soul and spirit in two different places, and the evil aura of my violent death was also suppressed."
Wen Su raised an eyebrow, picked up the box, and shook it. He couldn't tell what was inside; the shaking produced a dull thud. He couldn't understand what this had to do with his family: "So?"
"Do you remember what happened in Changnan Village?"
When Zhou Ziqiu said this, Wen Su understood.
When he saw how those people killed his wife, he vaguely felt that it was related to his past; their experiences were too similar.
“Too much time has passed.” Zhou Ziqiu’s voice became hoarse. “Some things have started to get out of control.”
With that, Zhou Ziqiu stood up and bowed to Wen Su: "So, I'm sorry."
But Wen Su then asked Zhou Ziqiu a question that completely stunned him: "Why apologize?"
"...Didn't I just say that?"
“Yes, you told me about your suppression.” Wen Su raised his eyes. “But what does that have to do with the killing of my family?”
Zhou Ziqiu couldn't understand Wen Su's meaning at all: "How can it not be related? You only got here because of me—"
“My family was killed because of my incompetence,” Wen Su interrupted Zhou Ziqiu. “I was too weak back then to break free from their control.”
"You..." Zhou Ziqiu opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say to express his shock. He didn't believe that anyone could break free from the restraints, but this was indeed something Wen Su or Xie Xingzhou would say.
Wen Su noticed that Zhou Ziqiu's expression was a little off. He frowned. Was it that Xie Xingzhou? He knew that he and Xie Xingzhou had some similarities in personality, but he didn't want to be mistaken for someone else.
He changed the subject: "Also, I have a question for you."
“...Go ahead.” Zhou Ziqiu didn’t know what Wen Su would ask, or how he would answer if he asked some strange questions.
Wen Su noticed Zhou Ziqiu's hesitation and smiled: "Relax, I'm only asking you, were you killed?"
“...?” Zhou Ziqiu nodded.
"Then why are you apologizing? When was being killed a mistake?" Wen Su's gaze was fixed. "Settle grudges and avenge wrongs. Just like you said, if you were controlled and killed someone, then both the killer and the killed should go find the person who controlled them. But is that person you?"
Zhou Ziqiu hesitated for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
"Then that settles it, doesn't it? You don't need to apologize at all," Wen Su concluded.
Zhou Ziqiu was persuaded by Wen Su's words, but he still had a concern: "But that person is my imperial brother..."
“So what if he’s your brother?” Wen Su interrupted Zhou Ziqiu again. “As long as that person isn’t you, you don’t need to apologize for any mistakes that weren’t yours. If anyone should apologize, it should be your brother.”
Zhou Ziqiu opened his mouth again but didn't know what to say.
“And I also want to thank you.” Wen Su smiled, easing the somewhat stiff atmosphere. “Thank you for letting me see my family again.”
Zhou Ziqiu smiled and said, "That's good."
“Oh, right,” Wen Su said, remembering something, and teased, “Should I call you Zhou Qinghe or Zhou Ziqiu?”
Zhou Ziqiu looked up and met Wen Su's teasing gaze. He said helplessly, "Call me whatever you want."
Wen Su pretended to think it over carefully and said, "Then I'll continue to call you Little Beauty."
Zhou Ziqiu rolled his eyes at Wen Su.
When Zhou Ziqiu left, leaving only Wen Su in the room, he opened the box. Inside was the wooden boat he had seen in his dream, and it seemed to be the very one he had picked up, because he had seen Xie Xingzhou's blood stain the wooden boat red.
Over time, the wooden boat has lost its original bright red color, and its dark red hue exudes an ominous aura.
Wen Su took out the wooden boat, examined it for a moment, and then suddenly laughed. But it wasn't his usual sunny or provocative smile; it was a mocking one.
Xie Xingzhou, you're nothing but a useless piece of trash who can't even protect the one you love.
I used to be like that, but I'm not you.
18:58:01
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