Chapter 53 Things Have Changed
Xiaochi Town.
Biyao sat in the room feeling rather bored. Suddenly, she noticed a bundle on the table and curiously opened it. Inside were several pieces of clothing, jewelry, rouge, and other cosmetics, just like the ones she used to use.
Surprisingly, there was also a colorful wooden doll in the bundle, wearing a red bib, holding a lotus leaf, with a round face and a full smile, round and cute.
"What is this?" she asked curiously, picking up the doll and examining it closely.
"You actually bought it?"
"I bought it because you liked it."
"What do I like about it? I... I'm just curious because it's my first time seeing it."
"Oh? You don't like it? Then I'll give it to someone else."
"No way! You've already given it to me, how can I take it back!"
A scene of a man and a woman talking under the moon suddenly flashed into Biyao's mind. However, she couldn't make out their faces at all. She shook her head vigorously, trying her best to remember something, but her head was throbbing with pain.
Xiao Bai walked in and saw her rubbing her head, looking like she was in a lot of pain. She quickly asked, "What's wrong?"
Biyao rubbed her temples: "I think I remember some things, but my memory is still very blurry. I don't know who the person who appeared was, and I can't remember what he looked like."
Xiao Bai quickly comforted him, "Don't think about it if you can't remember. Just let nature take its course. You've been cooped up in the house these past few days, which isn't good for your health. Go out for a walk!"
Biyao nodded, stood up, and asked while holding the doll in her hand, "Aunt Bai, do you know whose this is?"
Xiao Bai looked closely and realized it was a Mohele (a type of ancient Chinese musical instrument). Although she didn't know how this thing was related to Qin Wuyan and Biyao, she was extremely clever and quickly came up with a plausible explanation:
"This was brought back by Qin Wuyan when he went to the temple to pray for you. He also hoped that you would wake up soon. He heard that this was an auspicious item that had been personally blessed by a highly respected monk, so he sent it to you!"
Biyao was even more puzzled: "Qin Wuyan? He went to the temple to pray for me? Really? Someone like him would believe in Buddhism? I don't believe it."
Xiao Bai blinked: "Yao'er, do you know Qin Wuyan very well? How can you be so sure he doesn't believe in Buddhism?"
“I…” Biyao was speechless for a moment, unable to explain where her thoughts came from, but she just felt that Qin Wuyan was definitely not the kind of person who believed in Buddhism.
Xiao Bai patted her shoulder and laughed, "Alright, don't overthink it. So many years have passed, and some people and things will change."
"Does Qin Wuyan... come to see me often?" Biyao asked again.
For some reason, after she woke up, besides wanting to know about the Ghost King, Aunt You, and the Azure Dragon, she often wanted to ask about Qin Wuyan's situation, intentionally or unintentionally. However, with Zhang Xiaofan around, it was inappropriate for her to do so, and she felt a little guilty.
"Yes, he comes to see you often, but he's been quite busy lately, so he hasn't come as often," Xiaobai continued, praying in her heart that nothing bad would happen to Qin Wuyan and that he would return safely.
“Where is he now…” Biyao opened her bright eyes, bit her lip, and mustered her courage to say, “I…can I go see him? I suddenly really want to see him.”
Xiao Bai's heart skipped a beat, secretly sighing that the Forget-Me-Not Gu probably hadn't truly made her forget her feelings. But Qin Wuyan had been plotting to seize the Immortal Execution Sword recently, and she absolutely couldn't let Bi Yao go back and risk her life.
She smiled and said softly, "After he unified the Holy Church, he often traveled around to gather Holy Church disciples scattered in various places. So I don't know where he is."
Biyao was very disappointed, her eyes dimmed, and she could only walk away dejectedly.
Xiao Bai watched her dejected figure and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh.
Zhang Xiaofan spent two days finally making the osmanthus cake that Biyao wanted. There are no osmanthus flowers in spring, so he searched all the surrounding towns and cities before he could barely buy some dried osmanthus flowers.
He happily handed the freshly made osmanthus cake to Biyao, who was sitting in the courtyard basking in the sun, lost in thought.
"This is my first time making osmanthus cake. I don't know if it's good or not. You should try it and see if you like it."
Biyao regained her senses, smiled, took the piece, and gently picked up a small piece to taste.
Zhang Xiaofan looked at her, feeling a pang of heartache. Ever since she woke up, she had been sullen and withdrawn. Unlike before, she wasn't as talkative and was quite cold towards him. He had initially been worried that she would ask about things again, but these past two days, she had always looked distressed, asking nothing and preferring to sit alone in a daze. This Biyao felt completely unfamiliar to him.
Biyao savored the osmanthus cake that Zhang Xiaofan had made, bit by bit.
Actually, it wasn't that she had picky tastes or insisted on eating osmanthus cake in this place. It was just that she seemed to have a very long dream while she was asleep, in which someone often made osmanthus cake for her. She couldn't see the face clearly and felt that it wasn't Zhang Xiaofan, but she couldn't think of who it was. So she thought that if she tasted this osmanthus cake, maybe she would remember.
She savored it carefully; the osmanthus cake was sweet, soft, and melted in her mouth. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't particularly delicious either. It tasted very different from the osmanthus cake in her dream. She vaguely remembered that the osmanthus cake in her dream was soft, with a delicate powder, a rich floral fragrance, and a refreshing, not cloying, sweetness.
The osmanthus cake she's eating now seems a bit too sweet...
Biyao couldn't help but sigh. What was wrong with her? Why was she taking the events in her dream so seriously?
Zhang Xiaofan asked, "What's wrong? Is it not tasty?"
"No, no, no, it's not..." Biyao forced a smile and took a few more bites: "It's delicious! Your cooking is always so delicious!"
Zhang Xiaofan smiled outwardly, but sighed inwardly. Although she remembered the past and was now by his side, he could no longer understand her thoughts.
Biyao ate in small bites, hesitated slightly, and asked, "Xiaofan, my father is dead, so... is there anyone to help him with his funeral arrangements?"
Tears welled up uncontrollably whenever her father was mentioned. She tried her best to control them, and it took her a long time to recover from this extremely painful event. She didn't want to waste any more energy on this matter.
Zhang Xiaofan paused for a moment, then slowly replied, "Your father was possessed by the Beast God and his body was completely destroyed when he died. I heard that Qin Wuyan later built a cenotaph for him next to your mother's tombstone."
"Oh, I really have to thank him! Xiao Fan, I want to go back and see my parents," Bi Yao said in a low voice, her voice slightly choked with emotion.
Zhang Xiaofan was also feeling uneasy. For a moment, he wanted to confess everything to her. But he was afraid that she would be too emotional if she knew the truth. He smiled and advised, "Biyao, you can go back if you want, but you've only been awake for a short time. Take care of your health first, and it won't be too late to go after some time!"
"...Alright then, I'll wait a few days before going back to Fox Ridge Mountain!"
After speaking, Biyao became somewhat absent-minded, her expression dazed.
Seeing her like this, Zhang Xiaofan couldn't help but ask, "Biyao, are you... remembering something again?"
Biyao looked at him with some confusion, and gently shook her head, saying, "No, I just find it strange. You all say I've been asleep for fifteen years. I also feel like I've been asleep for a very long time, having a very long dream. In the dream, I seemed to have returned to my childhood, become a different person, and lived a different life, living happily and joyfully. But everything that happened in the dream felt very real, as if it were something I had actually experienced. Aunt Bai was also in the dream, and there was another person, but I could never see his face clearly, and I couldn't remember his name."
Biyao's eyes were full of confusion. These past few days, she had felt very uneasy and had a vague sense of foreboding, which made her feel bad all day long.
Zhang Xiaofan felt a mix of emotions. He knew clearly that the person Biyao mentioned in her dream was Qin Wuyan.
Although he didn't know why Qin Wuyan wanted him to forget everything, deep down, he also hoped she would forget.
He even felt an impulse he had never had before—he wanted to start over with her.
Why not?
Those fifteen years were stolen by Qin Wuyan; she should have belonged to him.
"what's on your mind?"
Seeing Zhang Xiaofan's worried expression, Biyao felt a pang of guilt. She knew she had been cold to him since waking up. Afraid that Zhang Xiaofan would overthink things, she quickly said, "Xiaofan, it was just a dream. I didn't take it seriously, so you don't need to worry about it."
“Biyao…” Zhang Xiaofan hesitated for a long time, then suddenly grabbed her hand, his voice excited: “Biyao, come with me!”
Biyao was startled: "Go? Where to?"
"Wherever we go, as long as we leave this place and get away from all the conflict between good and evil. I will treat you well, and we will be together for the rest of our lives."
Biyao was extremely shocked and stood there, staring at him without blinking.
To elope with him was indeed what she had once longed for.
At that time, he was wrongly accused by the Qingyun Sect of colluding with the Demonic Sect and was punished without cause. She felt sorry for him and only hoped that he would leave with her and wander to the ends of the earth. She was willing to do so.
But at the time he refused, preferring death to staying in the Qingyun Sect, who knew what would happen later...
Biyao didn't answer him, but instead asked, "Xiaofan, are you really willing to leave Qingyun Sect? Leave your master and mistress, leave your... senior sister?"
Upon hearing the word "senior sister," Zhang Xiaofan's body trembled. Only then did he realize, "Yes, how could I always forget that I am already married to Lu Xueqi? What... what am I doing?"
He slowly loosened his grip on Biyao's arm. Biyao thought he had been swayed by her words, so she said nothing more.
Unexpectedly, Zhang Xiaofan suddenly hugged her tightly, so hard that it startled her. He held her close, making it almost impossible for Biyao to move. She could only hear him breathing heavily as he said, "Biyao... if... if I really want to leave Qingyun, what about you? Will you come with me?"
Biyao was stunned, her expression almost as if she had just realized something.
She remained silent for a very long time, as if time had stood still, and the only sound between them was the beating of their hearts.
Finally, she slowly spoke: "Xiao Fan, to be honest, I should be happy that you're willing to take me away. This is something I've longed for for a long time. But, I don't know why, since I woke up, my feelings for you have completely changed. I no longer have that passion or that anticipation I used to have."
"I even wondered if my feelings had faded because I had been asleep for so long. But even when I had amnesia before, I still thought about you. Now I haven't forgotten anything, except for my feelings for you, which seem to have become very faint."
Biyao gazed at him, her tone incredibly solemn: "I hate deception the most, and I don't want to deceive anyone. So... I must tell you frankly, even if you're willing to leave Qingyun Sect, I don't want to go with you, and I can't go with you. Because..."
She paused, then continued, "I need to go back to pay my respects to my father and search for Brother Qinglong and Aunt You. I can't just think of myself anymore, and I think... you should too."
She was so open and sincere, she just spoke her mind so frankly.
Compared to her honesty, Zhang Xiaofan felt his own thoughts and actions were despicable, filthy, and selfish. A mix of emotions welled up inside him; he didn't know whether to be happy or sad. He remained silent for a long time before finally letting her go.
Suddenly, both of them heard a sharp bird call. A moment later, a yellow bird fluttered its wings and flew towards Zhang Xiaofan. He gently held it in his hand, took the small piece of paper from its leg, and saw the familiar handwriting on the white paper. He knew at a glance that it was written by Lu Xueqi, and there were several shocking black characters printed on it:
My martial uncle has passed away, and Qingyun is in trouble. Return immediately!
Zhang Xiaofan froze, staggered backward, and almost fell to the ground.
Biyao quickly helped him up, glanced at the note in his hand, and was extremely surprised.
Zhang Xiaofan's eyes were filled with sorrow. He bit his lower lip tightly and said to her in a trembling voice, "Biyao, I'm sorry, I have to go back right away!"
Biyao glanced at him, indicating her understanding: "It's alright, you don't need to worry about me, you should go back now!"
If it were in the past, Biyao would have been extremely reluctant to see him leave so hastily for the sake of his sect. But now, she felt a sense of peace and even relief.
She sighed inwardly, realizing that she probably didn't love him anymore.
Zhang Xiaofan pulled her into his arms again, closed his eyes sadly, and whispered in her ear, "Biyao, I'm sorry!"
Whether in the past or present, he has always felt guilty towards her. But he cannot stand idly by when his only and most respected master is in trouble.
Before Biyao could say anything, he had already turned and left.
As Biyao watched his figure gradually disappear into the distance, a sense of unease welled up in her heart, yet she didn't know what to do.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
