He said nothing. He was speechless.
Seeing that he remained silent, she felt a little awkward for a moment. She stood under the swaying banner, touching the golden thread on the banner with her left hand and scratching her messy hair with her right hand.
She was only wearing a middle-length dress and her hair was loose, but she was neat and tidy, and her plain face was full of vitality and rosy color.
Is she awake? Is she alright? How did Shan Jiangfei get to do his job? Why didn't anyone come to report? Why did she come here alone...
But he suddenly understood something, almost staggered to his feet, and walked towards her step by step.
But when he reached the last step, he stopped.
The outstretched hand just stayed there. He didn't dare to move forward, let alone touch the other person.
Because he knew that everything before him was just an illusion.
But she obviously didn't notice and kept staring at him.
"What's wrong? Are you unhappy?"
He finally spoke, his voice hoarse as if mixed with sand: "Why... are you here?"
She seemed to remember something and her face turned red.
"How should I know..."
She seemed anxious to change the subject, so she circled around him, looked up at the pattern on the ceiling of the hall, and then turned to look at the sky outside.
"What time is it? What are you doing here?"
He pursed his dry lips and spoke softly.
"Just after midnight, I was playing the piano."
"Didn't you say earlier that your hand was injured and you couldn't play anymore? Were you just saying that to put me off?" She leaned closer, a smirk and smugness on her face. "Now that I've caught you, you can't escape. Why don't you play a song for me? Let's see if what's written in Nan Ting's notes is nonsense."
He stared at her, unwilling to look away for a moment.
"Okay. What do you want to hear?"
She had not expected him to agree so readily, and her face visibly froze. Then she turned away guiltily, trying to hide the look of racking her brains. After a long while, she finally remembered the name of the song.
"Just play the game of Qiqiao and enter the shoes."
"good."
He almost dragged his feet back to the piano desk, turning around, sitting down, and starting the work countless times, but it seemed as if he was doing it for the first time.
Staring at the dried bloodstains on the strings, he was unable to play the first note.
He didn't know why he was sitting here playing the piano. Their meeting had been so difficult, and there were so many other things he should have been doing. But she wanted to hear him play, so he sat here.
The sharp blade on the tip of his heart began to pull and tear again, and he could no longer tell whether it was the pain caused by the wound or the pain deep in his soul.
Then, she grasped his trembling fingertips through the air.
"Okay, I lied to you. I don't understand either, so don't make it difficult for me."
This time, he kept his head down.
He didn't dare to look up, but he knew she was looking at him with such sincerity and care. He didn't dare to look at that face, because he knew that one look would instantly make him collapse and break into pieces.
The woman sensed the despair and pain in his expression, and her empty fingertips gently rested on his brow.
"You must be worried about something. Don't worry. No matter what happens, I will be with you. If you are in danger, I will not sit idly by. Just relax, everything will be fine."
As long as she's here, everything will be fine.
But what if she is gone?
He raised his head, only catching her last quick glance back.
"Someone seems to be calling me. I may have to leave here. Don't be unhappy."
Her figure was intertwined among the fluttering prayer flags, gradually fading into the distance and blurring in the light and shadow.
"No..." He suddenly pushed open the piano table and rushed towards her like crazy, "No, you can't leave..."
The top of the zither fell to the ground, the bridge was broken, and the strings were cut and the sound disappeared.
He looked around in panic, but he was the only one left in the hall.
He was always the only one in the hall.
Suddenly, a wind blew through the originally silent temple gate, and thousands of oil lamps went out in an instant.
The doctor in white stood alone at the entrance of the hall. His white clothes were covered with traces of smoke and fire. It was unknown how long he had been standing there.
"Your Majesty. I have done my best..."
A hoarse voice came from deep within the hall. One could only hear the voice but not see the person, which made people feel uneasy for no reason.
"Life or death?"
The figure at the temple gate remained silent, perhaps unsure how to respond.
"I ask you, is she alive or dead?"
"She's still breathing, but..." He stopped talking abruptly. Hao Bai felt that the next few words were more painful than swallowing a needle. "Everyone has their own fate, it's just a matter of time. Your Majesty has devoted himself to Buddhism for so many years, so these principles must be more clear to you. Why not go see her one last time while she's still here?"
A soft chuckle escaped the unseen figure in the darkness.
Disasters are merely excuses for the unfortunate to comfort themselves. Unavoidable, they endure them. They console themselves with the promise of ascending after enduring this calamity. But once the old calamity is over, a new one arrives, and they claim that life and death are supreme, the most fair of all.
But for him, death was no calamity at all. The secret seal, the Bai family, the manifestation of all living things, the prophecies of gods and demons... none of those rotten things of the past were his calamities.
His misfortune was losing her.
The banner that was originally swaying gently in the hall suddenly became quiet, as if something terrible was brewing and gathering behind the banner.
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