Chapter 64 The Woodcutter - Xiu relentlessly pestered her.
Jiang Geyun opened her eyes again from the deepest bewilderment.
The scene before me was somewhat similar to the sea of consciousness as commonly understood.
Visibility was extremely low all around. In the seemingly vast yet extremely narrow white space, there was a pool of water, with white mist rising above it.
She was clearly floating in "water," yet she didn't feel damp, as if she were in a sea of clouds.
It is said that the souls of those who die in this world return to the Sea of Karma. This place is so peaceful, it doesn't look like the Sea of Karma. So, she probably, maybe, is not dead.
Surprisingly, the minor villain didn't kill her directly.
He probed her step by step, from gathering information about her to confirming his ability to influence her, and finally making his move, all without her noticing. He lived a life of quiet bitterness, accepting her comforting words without uttering a single rebuttal, while secretly advancing his own schemes...
As expected of him, isn't he?
She even developed sympathy for the minor and major villains!
Who knows, they might already be planning how to deal with her next!
Thinking of this, Jiang Geyun felt a rare sense of embarrassment and annoyance.
However, she quickly composed herself, calmed down, and continued to observe the space she was in.
Just as she had initially judged, this place was very similar to the sea of consciousness as commonly understood. Generally speaking, the "pool water" and the white space would change depending on the state of the master of the sea of consciousness. When encountering a powerful being who had achieved great success, the vastness of the sea of consciousness was beyond the imagination of ordinary people. Although she had never seen it with her own eyes, she still knew some of the theory.
However, the connection of souls is not something to be taken lightly, and the sea of consciousness cannot easily accommodate another complete person—she has experienced this firsthand.
Could it be some kind of wondrous artifact that can imprison a soul and then slowly dissolve the soul trapped within?
In that case, can Abbot You still save her?
Jiang Geyun frowned, wanting to set off to explore the boundaries of the space they were in.
She looked up again, carefully discerning her surroundings, only to witness an unimaginable and shocking scene—as far as the eye could see, there was a giant white dragon in the space!
The white dragon is exactly the same as the dragon in traditional understanding.
It was not a winged giant lizard, but a more elegant, majestic, and sacred creation, its form combining the best features of all beasts. Its body was long and slender, its scales shimmering with light, and with each breath, it rippled with white-gold light, perched in this white space, making the space appear even more vast.
It's no joke to say that the white dragon is enormous. To put it another way, Jiang Geyun is like a chess piece on a chessboard, while the white dragon is like a human playing the game.
No, it needs to be even bigger.
Jiang Geyun was shocked.
Is this something that an ordinary treasure could hold?!
Although she was utterly awestruck by the white dragon, before fear arose, she was overwhelmed by a mixture of awe and longing, much like the awe that arises when humans face things beyond human reach, as seen in those breathtaking natural wonders.
Jiang Geyun didn't know how long she had been staring at the white dragon.
As if only then noticing the tiny person's presence, Bai Long turned his head, his gaze meeting Jiang Geyun's without a doubt.
His expression was not tyrannical, but rather a profound sense of looking down upon all things and having compassion for all living beings. His eyes were like huge celestial bodies, and if their eyes had not met, Jiang Geyun would have thought that he could not possibly see her, who was so insignificant.
The white dragon lowered its head towards her.
He seemed to have something to say and was waiting for her to come closer.
Jiang Geyun immediately tried to set off.
Regardless of whether this place is eerie or not, the white dragon seems to be no ordinary being. Being able to communicate with such a creature makes this illusion worth the "ticket price."
But just as she was about to move forward, she suddenly found herself unable to move.
Jiang Geyun lowered her head and looked at her waist.
Something was wrapped around her waist.
You only realized it now?!
Or did this thing sense that she was about to move, and that's why it entangled her?
Jiang Geyun stiffly turned her head, looked back at the thing that was entangled with her, and was stunned again.
The dragon coiled around her was also white, its color and features resembling a smaller version of the one on the horizon. However, the one on her was clearly more immature, its expression far less composed than the giant dragon on the horizon. Instead, it seemed somewhat aggrieved, its tail fiercely coiling around her, its eyes showing a hint of... anxiety and uncertainty.
The current situation completely baffled Jiang Geyun.
She had no idea what the white dragon in the sky was, nor what the little white dragon that was entangled with her was, nor what kind of place the space she was in was.
Fortunately, although the White Dragon had her wrapped up, and with its strength it could easily have split her in two, it stubbornly held her still. She didn't move, and the White Dragon didn't make any further moves.
Jiang Geyun looked blankly at the little white dragon, then blankly at the giant dragon on the horizon.
As if realizing her current predicament, the dragon revealed a barely perceptible smile. In a gust of strong wind, it slowly lowered its head a little further, getting closer to Jiang Geyun.
It extended an extremely thin tentacle, which seemed unusual for such a giant creature, and gently touched Jiang Geyun's forehead.
The little white dragon was somewhat dissatisfied, but in order to prevent Jiang Geyun from moving, it was currently focusing all its efforts on clinging to her. It had no extra parts to stop the dragon from interacting with Jiang Geyun, so it could only reluctantly adjust its posture, turn its head to face Jiang Geyun directly, and, not wanting to be left behind, also poked her with its tentacles.
Jiang Geyun was amused by the childish behavior of the little white dragon.
The smile in her eyes had just touched her face and hadn't even spread when suddenly—a scene so crowded it was almost exploding appeared in her mind!
Dozens of images simultaneously appeared before her eyes. For a moment, she could only passively accept the information from these images as they rushed into her mind one after another. What was even more terrifying was that they were not static images, but dynamic ones.
Jiang Geyun's memory and receptiveness are not bad, but the situation of being forced to watch and memorize a wall of surveillance cameras at the same time still gave her a strong shock!
She couldn't take it anymore; her brows furrowed, and she covered her head tightly with both hands.
The overwhelming influx of information made her feel cold all over, and her brain experienced a tearing pain. Her temples throbbed violently, and all the blood rushed to her brain. Even so, her brain still felt extremely parched.
The little white dragon noticed her discomfort first. In his anxiety, he unconsciously loosened his tail and kept rubbing his head against her. When it was no use, he hurriedly looked up at the sky.
The dragon seemed to realize its "judging others by its own standards" at this moment. Before it could retract its whiskers, it calmly stretched them out again and poked Jiang Geyun once more.
This immediately relieved Jiang Geyun.
She gasped for breath. Her body was still dry, but she felt as if she had broken out in a cold sweat. If she weren't a soul here, she would have looked like a drowned rat.
Jiang Geyun wiped non-existent sweat from her forehead, struggled to lift her head, and mentally organized her thoughts—she was a little unsure whether she should thank him or not. The dragon had indeed freed her from pain... but the dragon was the very cause of her pain!
However, she doesn't need to worry about not being able to think of suitable words for the time being.
Because, although the previous images no longer came all at once, they came one by one in a "queue," so she still had to watch them and didn't have time to speak.
At the same time, she heard a very distant voice.
"This is something you should have known. Here, I pay off his debts."
"This is one of the few things I've done for him."
As if sensing something, Jiang Geyun took one last look at the dragon and "him" nuzzling her head before the image completely engulfed her.
The image in my mind wasn't unfamiliar.
Not long ago, Jiang Geyun had just escaped from the illusion created by this person—or rather, this evil spirit.
The familiar youngest daughter of the Liu family, the familiar encounters and interactions, the familiar infatuated woman and heartless man—a story that has been performed countless times, old wine in new bottles, being reinterpreted in different ways.
Even though there are differences in the details, for example, the girl in the second scene seems to be more reserved, and the young master in the fourth scene is more gentle when he persuades her, the overall story remains the same.
Rather than showing her these love stories, it would be better to be straightforward and tell her who the heartless man is, whether Miss Liu actually committed suicide, and what Miss Liu's obsession is, so that she can close this case as soon as possible.
After being overwhelmed by countless monotonous images, Jiang Geyun suddenly heard a faint voice.
It was as if the system was speaking into her mind.
She immediately followed the faint sound and found the corresponding image.
This story is the same as before, yet completely different.
...
Jiang Geyun's perspective at this moment also resembled that of the system.
She shares a body with "Miss Liu".
She cannot influence the established story, but she can see the world through the eyes of "Miss Liu". At the same time, she can hear the inner voice of "Miss Liu", like a voice-over, as the story unfolds, the person involved explains it to her.
The girl's name is Liu Zhuozhi.
Liu Zhuozhi was carefully nurtured from a young age and was proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. She was not the flamboyant and lively person that Jiang Geyun had seen before; on the contrary, her personality could be described as aloof.
Perhaps it was because of the strict upbringing she received from the Liu family that she became frail and sickly, often melancholy, like a bird trapped by a high courtyard wall, still a young girl but already showing signs of decay.
Liu Zhuozhi would not easily climb the locust tree, nor would she leave her maid and insist on going alone on the night of Qixi. Her encounter with that young master was when the wind on the night of Qixi lifted the sedan curtain, and the young master glanced at her from the side.
And so, her story with him began.
Liu Zhuozhi caught the eye of Cui Lang on horseback. After that, Cui Lang, Cui Ni, thought about her day and night and investigated her carefully. Finally, he found out the identity of the girl from that day. Since both of them were of marriageable age, the matchmaker soon knocked on the door of the Liu family.
However, the two families were of vastly different statuses. The Liu family had some wealth from doing business, but it was still no match for the Cui family—the Cui family of Cui Heng, the governor of Lianzhou.
Initially, Cui Heng only allowed his son Cui Ni to raise Liu Zhuozhi as a concubine, and if she bore him children, they would discuss other matters. Ultimately, due to Cui Ni's persistence, Liu Zhuozhi entered the Cui family as a concubine.
She sat on the edge of the bed, the red candles burning brightly.
He squatted down in front of her, looked up at her, his eyes filled with infatuation and sincerity.
He explained in detail why she was only a concubine, and made many promises about the future.
Liu Zhuozhi listened in silence, and finally smiled brightly.
Seeing her smile, Cui Ni felt relieved, blushing, and pushed her towards the bed.
But Jiang Geyun, who could hear Liu Zhuozhi's inner thoughts, knew that Liu Zhuozhi did not understand Cui Ni, and she was even puzzled as to why he would explain so much to her.
In Liu Zhuozhi's mind, from the very beginning of her marriage, it was not her own will at all. What does Cui Ni mean by the so-called position of the principal wife?
Or rather, from much earlier, from the first time she held the pipa and rubbed her fingers until they were red, from the time she was taught not how to win but how to lose, she has been puzzled, and to this day, she still hasn't figured it out.
Therefore, she had no idea how to approach the new challenge Cui Ni gave her.
The marriage was sudden, and both the Cui and Liu families were worried that Liu Zhuozhi might resist. However, although she appeared indifferent, she never crossed any lines in her behavior. Day after day, everyone was relieved.
Jiang Geyun, listening to Liu Zhuozhi's heartfelt words, couldn't put her mind at ease.
Jiang Geyun wanted her to figure it out quickly, but she also wanted her to never figure it out at all.
However, Jiang Geyun and Liu Zhuozhi did not exist at the same point in time.
Just as one cannot fundamentally interfere with both minor and major villains, Jiang Geyun also cannot interfere with Liu Zhuozhi.
One day, Liu Zhuozhi was taking a walk in the courtyard when she suddenly heard someone muttering something, their voice filled with both pity and determination.
She followed the sound and found that the chanting was coming from the cook in the small kitchen. The cook was pressing on the chicken's neck and murmuring:
"Little chick, little chick, don't blame me. You are just a dish in this world. Go away early in this life, and come back early in the next."
"Little chick, little chick, don't blame me. You're just a dish for humans. May you leave this life early and come back early in the next..."
As she recited the mantra, the cook prepared herself, stopped reciting, opened her eyes, and was about to strike with her knife when she caught sight of Liu Zhuozhi out of the corner of her eye.
The cook dared not let the nobleman see the bloody scene.
She didn't mind, but these noble people were very particular. They could eat, but they couldn't see her at all. Even if she appeared in front of them, it would displease them. If they were unhappy, she wouldn't be able to live comfortably.
She then put down the listless chicken, forced a smile, and asked, "Madam, what brings you here? This place is dirty; it's not a good place to come. I'll see you out!"
Liu Zhuozhi shook her head, still maintaining a distant and indifferent demeanor, and spoke as softly and gently as ever.
She asked, "What were you reciting just now?"
The cook was puzzled, but after thinking about it carefully, she realized what was going on.
She repeated herself and asked, "Is this what you meant, Madam?"
Liu Zhuozhi nodded.
The cook, unsure of what kind of answer she wanted, awkwardly wiped her hands and tentatively said, "This...this has no particular origin; it's been passed down orally. If Madam doesn't like it, I won't recite it anymore..."
Liu Zhuozhi said, "No, read it."
After saying that, she turned and left the small kitchen.
The cook was left alone in the small kitchen, completely bewildered.
Not long after that, Cui Ni said to her in anguish that he wanted to marry his principal wife.
He knelt before her in the same posture as on the day the red candle wept, holding her hands tightly, his voice trembling with sorrow.
She was still smiling, and he felt relieved.
Until he discovered something that enraged him—Liu Zhuozhi had been drinking contraceptive soup.
Seeing Cui Ni's furious rage, as if he had suffered some great insult, and with a shard of broken porcelain cutting her forehead, Liu Zhuozhi was still thinking about those questions she had never been able to understand.
Before she could answer, she was put in solitary confinement.
Sunlight can travel hundreds of millions of kilometers to reach Earth, but it cannot reach Liu Zhuozhi. In the dimly lit room, Jiang Geyun and she looked up at the ceiling, where mold was spreading.
Looking back and forth, indulging in wild fantasies, Liu Zhuozhi couldn't find any allies in her entire life, so she had to imagine one—
If the legal wife had already entered the family, would she be happy to see this scene?
Normally one would say that one should be happy.
The question that had been lingering in her mind was still unresolved, but her friend's imagination made her laugh.
...
Unlike the Liu family, the Mu family, which was allied with the Cui family through marriage, could not simply send a matchmaker and, after making some promises, bring their people over.
The Cui family has been extremely busy these past few days.
Cui Ni would occasionally come to see Liu Zhuozhi.
Seeing that she was as obedient as ever, he gradually felt at ease and began to reminisce about the past. The past he spoke of overlapped very closely with the false memories that Jiang Geyun had seen.
But it has nothing to do with Liu Zhuozhi himself.
Wedding preparations were taking too long, so Cui Ni told her that once this matter was settled, he would explain everything to the Mu family girl, explain his love for her, and help her find a place to settle down.
Liu Zhuozhi nodded, thinking to herself that her imagined ally was actually surnamed Mu.
The surveillance on Liu Zhuozhi has become increasingly lax. If she wants to return to her original life, she only needs to say so. Perhaps, Cui Ni is just waiting for her to speak up.
Cui Ni could not wait any longer.
One day during the day, Liu Zhuozhi went to the yard to feed the fish.
That night, she drowned herself in the lake.
Drowning in a lake and sinking into a lake are different concepts. Unlike a sudden "throw," she walked into the water step by step, waiting for the extremely cold lake water to completely submerge her.
Liu Zhuozhi spoke little, and her innermost thoughts were also few.
Even though it remained in her mind all along, it was still difficult for her to understand until the very end what she wanted and what she had lost that led her to decide to die.
In short, her desire to die outweighed all the life she had gained from this world.
She was willing to leave early.
I wonder if he would be willing to come back.
...
Awakening from the pain and disorientation of drowning, Jiang Geyun gasped for breath uncontrollably.
Cui Ni's confusion, panic, and even anger are still vivid in my mind.
He didn't understand. He was giving her the kind of love that most people would never want, giving her money and material things. He could have found a way to give her the position of his legal wife later. Why did the woman he was so infatuated with choose death?
Jiang Geyun leaned back weakly.
The overly sensible little white dragon had already adjusted his posture, waiting for her to lean on him, his eyes full of concern.
Jiang Geyun turned around and gently stroked the little white dragon.
She thought to herself, "Liu Zhuozhi, you did very well. You didn't indulge in fantasies, you didn't seek pleasure in insulting frameworks, it's just... it's just..."
A vague idea suddenly surfaced in her mind.
It's unclear how long she remained in the illusion within the illusion, but the two dragons before her showed no signs of impatience, as if she had only blinked and not much time had passed at all.
The dragon stretched out its tentacles once more.
When Jiang Geyun heard His voice again, she wondered if it was just her imagination, but she felt that there seemed to be some... kindness in the dragon's "voice".
The dragon's voice transmitted: "You know the information you want."
Jiang Geyun nodded and said, "Yes, thank you...."
She couldn't think of a more suitable honorific title for the moment.
Fortunately, the dragon wouldn't care about such a problem.
The dragon said, "Then let's leave."
Jiang Geyun's eyes widened in surprise.
—So fast?!
The dragon seemed to hear her thoughts and said, "You don't want to leave? You don't want to see the people outside?"
He half-closed his eyes, looking at the little white dragon that had been silent for a while but had started to secretly cling to Jiang Geyun again, and a smile flashed in his eyes.
Jiang Geyun said, "Not entirely..."
She has to go out eventually. What if she doesn't go out on her own initiative and gets refined by the villains and never wakes up again?
She should thank the dragon for sending her away.
Seeing Jiang Geyun's attitude, the dragon seemed to become somewhat curious and asked, "In your eyes, what kind of person is he?"
Although the dragon did not explicitly say so, both Jiang Geyun and He knew who the "he" in His question was.
Jiang Geyun said, "He is a determined person. He would never take risks or give up easily when it comes to his goals."
Therefore, he will definitely cut off this extraneous obstacle ruthlessly!
She really needs to be careful of the big villain!
The dragon said nothing more, and after receiving a reply, slowly retracted its tentacles.
Just as Jiang Geyun was about to thank him again, a sudden blur appeared before her eyes.
...She left that white space.
For a moment, she had no time to think about what would happen to the little white dragon who was attached to her. She immediately focused on gathering her mind and all her strength to prepare for any eventuality.
She had thought that even if the villains didn't kill her, they would definitely torture her... To her surprise, her strength and spirit were not diminished at all, but instead remained extremely abundant.
With extreme caution, she opened her eyes.
Everything before my eyes was red.
Tick-tock, tick-tock.
Blood splattered on the screen, meandered along the long steps, and gathered on the ground... the whole world was stained with blood.
The magnificent golden palace was painted to resemble a hellish inferno.
This hellish scene unfolded before her eyes.
In the center of the golden hall, beside her, Xiao Suheng was idly wiping his already clean sword.
At his feet was his father.
Jiang Geyun had never seen an emperor before, but if he could wear such clothes and such a headdress, then... the corpse must be the emperor.
The middle-aged man fell at the bottom of the steps. Judging from the bloodstains, he was killed by a single sword strike. He then lost control and fell backward, finally rolling down the steps face down, so Jiang Geyun could not see him clearly.
Besides the emperor, there were many, many more people, too many to count. She simply couldn't imagine what had happened in that hall.
A strong stench of blood rushed towards her, and for a moment, she couldn't help but feel a brief but intense dizziness.
Xiao Suheng said gently, "Sister Geyun, you still came out. I was thinking of letting you out on my own later. You truly are worthy of being called Sister Geyun."
Jiang Geyun said, "...What are you doing? Are you crazy?!"
She tried her best to recall the villain's deeds.
This was never mentioned in the original work. The emperor was still alive and well in the original work, so what happened?
"Sister Geyun, don't think about it anymore," Xiao Suheng carefully examined Jiang Geyun's expression and smiled, "The person you remember didn't do this, right?"
He found out!
Jiang Geyun's pupils contracted slightly, utterly shocked!
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Author's Note: 20250928:
Here we go!
I think I'll be really good tomorrow or the day after! I really want to write the next part of the story!!
But adults should probably come the day after tomorrow, just in case I get tormented by my boss again [crying emoji]
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20250927:
I'm so sorry I couldn't get the two-in-one solution to work this afternoon and I slept like a log!
The following content is difficult to break, so I'll stop here for now. New content tomorrow will be updated directly in this chapter. Those who have already purchased the chapter don't need to buy it again; you'll see a combined two-part chapter tomorrow (at least 6k+ words). After the update, I'll remove "Part 1" from the chapter title, so you can use that as a reference. Also, there will be a red envelope giveaway in the comments section of this chapter (before Chapter 65 is released) [please!]
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