Chapter 73 Dreamlike Feelings
Do you like me?
The surroundings were deathly silent.
Only the faint sound of dripping water in the distance seemed to echo the suppressed heartbeats of two souls in the darkness.
Finally, Xie Xingzheng reached out and gently took her hand.
Tang Yu's originally icy fingertips slowly warmed up in his palm.
She didn't break free or react; she simply turned to look at him instinctively and calmly asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I have been ordered by the Emperor to lead troops here to deal with the plague." Xie Xingzheng spoke in a low voice, recounting what had happened after she was abducted.
"But by the time I arrived in Xia Nan, you had already figured out the source of the plague, but... a large number of Gu people had appeared in the city."
"Yueying was unwilling to let the epidemic end so easily, so she threw the Gu people into Xia Nan before they were fully formed." Tang Yu was not surprised by the other party's broken promise, and her expression was indifferent.
"However, she didn't expect that your timing would be so perfect."
Fortunately, those Gu people almost didn't inflict a second serious injury on Xia Nancheng.
"You mean, those Gu people weren't finished?" Xie Xingzheng frowned slightly.
Tang Yu nodded: "Back then, those Gu people in Shu were obviously much better than Xia Nan's group in terms of both speed and combat strength."
"Could it be that these Gu people originally planned to use..."
Xie Xingzheng hadn't finished speaking.
The two exchanged a glance and almost simultaneously said, "Attack Xia Nan."
"A matter that could destroy a nation is one in which a single hair can affect the whole situation. Using these Gu people prematurely will definitely affect our long-term plans, and it is by no means a wise move."
Xie Xingzheng's hand tightened unconsciously as he looked at Tang Yu, "Could it be... just for you?"
Tang Yu lowered her eyelashes, seemingly deep in thought, before saying after a while, "It's true that the people of Nanyue are eager to obtain 'Moon Dream.' But it's clear that Yueying's sword was truly filled with killing intent. If I had died on the spot, they would have suffered a great loss and lost everything, which is indeed very strange."
“Perhaps something happened between Nan Yue and the other small countries in the southern borderlands.” Xie Xingzheng pondered for a moment. “They received more external military support, and thus were willing to give up cultivating these unfinished products.”
“If that’s the case, we need to return to Xia Nan as soon as possible and make preparations in advance,” he said solemnly.
"Um."
Tang Yu spoke in a flat tone, seemingly unconcerned about the truth or the changing situation.
Xie Xingzheng felt a slight tightness in his chest.
Although he knew as early as when he confronted Yueying, she was no longer the lively, cunning, and worldly-wise Tang Yu after merging with the Gu King.
It's not that he can't accept it.
But in my heart, there's always a kind of indescribable, slightly bitter sadness.
It's as if a vibrant woman is slowly slipping away from this world.
But he also knew that Tang Yu had not completely become that emotionless Gu, living on absolute rationality.
So he couldn't help but ask softly, "Will you... come back?"
Tang Yu was stunned.
She didn't answer the question immediately, but unconsciously looked at their clasped hands, her gaze momentarily lost.
She has all her original memories.
Including those things she had forgotten, the past of Nan Yue.
Whether it was good or bad, when she looked back, she felt neither joy nor anger, as if... it was someone else's story, and had nothing to do with her.
However, she also experiences intense emotional fluctuations at times.
When his palm touched the sticky, warm blood on his back; when the old man's Miao sword slashed at him.
In that instant, she was devoid of thought, logic, and reason.
I just want to protect him.
"...Perhaps, yes."
She smiled, though her eyes held no warmth.
But the answer was incredibly serious.
"I also have a question for you."
"What's the problem?"
“When Yueying revealed that I was from the Southern Frontier… even, that I was ‘Yue Qimeng’,” she pursed her lips slightly, “you didn’t seem surprised.”
He paused, then asked in a low voice, "Did you... already guess?"
Xie Xingzheng was momentarily stunned before saying softly, "Actually, I knew a long time ago that you were from the Southern Frontier."
Tang Yu was slightly taken aback: "How early?"
Xie Xingzheng remained silent for a moment, then slowly picked out the memories they had shared since they first met.
Not that night at Yunling Mountain, at a distance where you could hear each other's breath, she asked herself if she could see those emerald eyes clearly.
It wasn't on the day of the Blood Pool at Shangxu that I inadvertently caught a glimpse of those light brown hair ends, faded by blood, while fleeing through the narrow passage.
Even earlier than that.
He arrived early, but he didn't know her name was Tang Yu.
He lowered his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips, a tenderness that was hard to ignore: "Do you remember when we first met in Xia Nan, I cut off a lock of your hair?"
Tang Yu was somewhat surprised.
She remembered more than just that. Even later, when she asked the little beggar to steal information, she unintentionally brought back a lock of hair from his money pouch.
"That hair...it's black, isn't it?" A hint of uncertainty flashed in Tang Yu's eyes.
"Yes." Xie Xingzheng did not deny it.
But then he changed the subject: "Xia Nan is in a special location, serving as a hub between the two countries. At the time, it was hard for me not to suspect that you were from the Southern Frontier. So, after losing track of you, I deliberately turned back and picked up those strands of hair..."
Tang Yu was stunned, and could almost guess what he had done.
That night, I rinsed a few strands of hair with the medicine, removing the surface black and revealing the brown color that only people from southern Xinjiang have.
The air suddenly became quiet.
Tang Yu was speechless. It turned out that he had discovered it so early on.
"Later, to enter the Lower City, you changed out of your men's clothing for the first time. Even with black hair and black eyes, I knew it was just another layer of disguise." Xie Xingzheng's voice was as soft as a sigh as he held her hand.
He placed his hand on his lips and gave it a light kiss.
Tang Yu has always had many flaws, but strangely, he only remains on guard and never wants to expose them.
At that time, Xie Xingzheng was unaware that he had already developed an interest in the person in front of him.
Tang Yu's heart skipped a beat.
Those strands of hair seemed to be the thread that connected the two of them, marking the beginning of this long and entangled relationship.
"Later," Xie Xingzheng continued, "because Yueying's appearance was so similar to yours, I even began to suspect that you were an orphan of Nanyue..."
"etc."
Tang Yu interrupted him, somewhat surprised, "You mean, Yueying looks like me?"
"Judging solely from facial features, they don't resemble each other."
Xie Xingzheng explained earnestly, "It's strange. From the first time I saw her, I felt that she and you had a subtle resemblance."
He paused, then added, "It's like a pair of twin sisters who don't look alike."
Although the description was quite strange, it made Tang Yu pause slightly.
She began to carefully recall Yueying's face. Suddenly, she realized that if her slightly upturned eyes were less alluring, her jawline softer, and the coldness in her eyes lessened...
Yes.
With a slight change in angle, it looked remarkably like the image of my younger self from my memories.
Tang Yu suddenly realized the absurd and tragic truth behind this matter:
Could it be that when Yueying was changing her skin, she was always fantasizing about what someone would look like "when they grow up"?
Ultimately, she deliberately changed her face to that of the one she envied and resented, the one whose life was tormented by fate, the one she dreamed of taking her place in—
"Moon Dream".
No wonder she hated herself so much.
Tang Yu let out a soft breath, but in her heart there was only a faint sigh.
She snapped out of her reverie and looked at Xie Xingzheng, leaning closer and saying softly, "You remember my face very well."
The resemblance was something she herself had never noticed, but he saw through it in just a few glances.
Xie Xingzheng did not avoid it.
His Adam's apple bobbed slightly, and his voice was deep and sincere: "Because you are beautiful."
This statement itself is extremely ambiguous.
But when he said it, it was pure, heartfelt praise that was hard to resist.
Tang Yu felt a slight tightness in her chest.
A long-lost, unfamiliar emotion was easily stirred by those words. Meanwhile, the dream within her became restless, seemingly vehemently resisting it.
Her breathing suddenly quickened, and she abruptly asked, "You like me?"
But the moment the words left her mouth, she was the first to feel doubt.
Tang Yu clearly already had the answer.
In the past, she had absolute confidence; she didn't need Xie Xingzheng to admit it personally, she was absolutely certain that he liked her.
So, what answer is she, as "Moon Dream", seeking now?
Should I ask him, or myself?
Clearly, the thing Gu should care about least is emotion.
In the darkness, Xie Xingzheng did not notice anything unusual about her; he simply lowered his eyes and stared at her.
"Um."
His tone was gentle, yet unwavering.
That one word felt like it had plunged her into an abyss from which she could not escape.
For a moment, a terrifying silence fell over the surroundings.
It was as if only he and she remained in the cave, and every breath felt infinitely long.
Tang Yu's eyes trembled slightly, and a sudden pain shot through her chest, as if a dull knife was slowly carving it open.
The Dream Gu within her body seemed to be provoked, resisting the surging emotions within her and trying to suppress those fluctuations.
It wouldn't allow her to be moved.
She is not allowed to return to a "human" state.
Tang Yu abruptly pulled her hand back from his palm and stepped back.
Xie Xingzheng sensed something was wrong and tried to reach out to help her, but she avoided him.
"Don't touch me," she said in a hoarse voice.
She endured the excruciating pain throughout her body and looked up at him.
In that moment when she could barely breathe, a brief glimmer of light appeared in Tang Yu's eyes, and she smiled softly.
She trembled as she said in a joking tone, "You... you don't even know how to choose a good time to confess your feelings."
Xie Xingzheng looked incredulous.
He knew that it was Tang Yu who possessed it.
Lively, cunning, fox-like banter.
He couldn't help but raise his hand, wanting to touch her face to confirm her real existence.
But that sense of reality was fleeting.
Tang Yu's emotions were interrupted once again. The pain in her body disappeared, her heartbeat stabilized, and her gaze became calm and undisturbed.
It was as if the chuckle he had just heard was a hallucination.
"If you want to escape, it's best not to say anything that might upset me."
Calm and rational, completely different from Tang Yu just now.
Xie Xingzheng remained silent.
A sense of sorrow filled my heart, and a layer of loneliness settled in my eyes. Though we were so close, it felt as if we were in two different worlds.
Tang Yu glanced at him and added, "Every time you use Qi Meng's abilities or stimulate them... it will only make them stronger in this body, which is not conducive to the return of Tang Yu that you hope for."
"good."
Xie Xingzheng's agreement was both a yes and a compromise.
That statement put both of them in a dilemma.
If Tang Yu does nothing, Qi Meng will suppress her true feelings; but if she does something, one day Qi Meng will become so powerful that she will devour everything she has.
In the midst of the extremely somber atmosphere, a very soft yet familiar bell rang from the depths of darkness.
"bite--"
It was like a warning bell ringing in their hearts.
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