Chapter 45 (with some added plot details) It always has to be...
Meng Chiwan and Yun Xianqing exchanged a glance.
Then, for some reason, Yun Xianqing smiled, leaned closer to look into her eyes, and asked, "What is Chi Wan eating? Is it delicious?"
Meng Chiwan asked, somewhat puzzled, "Fruit?"
You washed this fruit yourself, why do you ask that?
Meng Chiwan was puzzled and continued to chew slowly. Then her gaze fell on the door, and her expression became serious.
Something must have happened.
But as she chewed, she noticed something was wrong. Why… the more she chewed, the stronger the bloody taste became… it was like eating raw flesh and blood…
Seeing that everyone was standing still, the father took the initiative to open the door.
Meng Chiwan immediately called out to him, "Father, don't start yet."
Then she saw her father turn around and look at her in horror: "What are you eating?"
"Eat...fruit." That was her usual answer.
But her chewing slowed down. She clearly felt something slide off the corner of her mouth, paused, and gently wiped it away with her fingertip.
My fingertips trembled and slowly moved to the front of me, and what came into view was a ferocious, bright red.
The basket landed on the ground, and she looked at Yun Xianqing.
At this moment, she finally understood completely why Yun Xianqing had asked her that question.
vomit.
She began to vomit involuntarily. At first it was mild, but later she almost vomited up all the ingested internal organs along with her own.
She looked at Yun Xianqing, her eyes red and bloodshot.
A strong sense of annoyance welled up in her chest. Why? She wanted to ask Yun Xianqing.
Why?
Yun Xianqing pulled out a silk handkerchief from somewhere, took her hand, and very gently and slowly wiped away the blood spreading from her hand, but the smile in her eyes never faded.
Beneath the smile, he calmly sensed the immense turmoil emanating from his heart. The empathy clearly told him that she was very sad, confused, and didn't understand why he was treating her this way.
Beneath the faint smile, a pang of pain began to pierce his heart. He asked himself, why did I treat her this way?
His hands, hidden under his sleeves, were almost trembling.
She looked so uncomfortable. She was coughing up her internal organs, like a patient on the verge of death.
He reached out to touch her cheek, wanting to tell her that he was wrong and shouldn't have treated her that way.
But then he realized that she looked at Zhong Huai with a dazed expression, her eyes seemingly only able to hold Zhong Huai, not caring about Yun Xianqing's reaction or his emotions.
So he smiled again. It's alright, he just wants her to remember that she can only see him in her eyes.
Wasn't he also terminally ill?
His voice sounded like he was heartbroken, but it was only a hint: "Chi Wan is so pitiful... How could he give you something like this to eat?"
In an instant, his pupils darkened, and he reached out to pick up a "fruit," his voice filled with amusement: "Want some more?"
Blood dripped from the "fruit" down his long, slender fingers, and his expression was radiant, as if he wasn't asking whether the fruit tasted good, but something else entirely.
For example, do you still have feelings for me? Do you still ignore me?
Meng Chiwan trembled involuntarily. She found Yun Xianqing somewhat terrifying.
He might deliberately tease her, deliberately not remind her, or even wash fruit for her on purpose.
He clearly knows what this fruit is, doesn't he?
Was all of this just for those few glances she cast at Zhong Huai?
She felt a tremor that even spread to her heart: "Yun Xianqing, don't do this."
Yun Xianqing's expression remained calm, and even the smile on his lips did not change in the slightest. He seemed to be bathed in a spring breeze. He gently wiped his own hands with the silk handkerchief he had used to wipe her hands and lips. His movements were slow and gentle, as if he were wiping something else rather than blood.
His eyes were as dark as the night, and his voice held a hint of amusement: "What? Is Chi Wan afraid of me?"
Meng Chiwan couldn't answer.
He then asked, "Does Chi Wan not like me like this?"
Meng Chiwan: "...No."
There were a few more knocks outside the door. Father went over to open it again.
This time, Meng Chiwan didn't have time to remind her father, so she tried to step forward and stop him.
But her wrist was grabbed.
She tilted her head.
Yun Xianqing looked at her and said, "It's alright. He'll be fine."
Meng Chiwan's gaze shifted from his hand to his cheek, her crimson lips, still stained with blood, parted slightly in a smile: "Xihe, can you tell me, which one of you is the real you?"
Yun Xianqing seemed to loosen his grip on her wrist a little, then tightened it again in an instant. He chuckled and said, "Actually, Chi Wan already has the answer in her heart, doesn't she? If Chi Wan had always kept her eyes on me, how could I have changed?"
Meng Chiwan did not break free from his hand, feeling the strength in it, but remained silent.
Yun Xianqing gently squeezed her wrist and continued, "Chi Wan, I am just... jealous."
Meng Chiwan's heart skipped a beat. He actually admitted it like that?
She was about to speak when she heard the door creak open, and she turned her head to look.
A human head moved without wind and rolled to Meng Chiwan's feet.
Then came the second and the third.
She knew the owners of these heads all too well, and for years afterward she lived in their shadow.
"Chi Wan...it's almost cleaned up. Why did you come out?"
There is a small tree in front of the Meng family's courtyard, which has grown up over time.
Standing under the tree was a person, still holding a bloody human head in her hands. Her hair was disheveled, her cheeks were covered in blood, and she was chewing something, making a crunching sound.
Upon seeing Meng Chiwan, she seemed somewhat surprised, then held the severed head and smiled innocently.
Meng Chiwan had seen the severed head she was holding before. It belonged to a neighbor who had bullied her.
The heads that fell to the ground were those of Ma Jianshan, his uncle, and his aunt.
Father, who had been standing there, suddenly laughed, his expression turning strange: "Little Chi Wan, Mother hasn't finished tidying up yet, but since we've already gotten this far, why don't you go help Mother tidy up?"
Mother stood there, smiling innocently and harmlessly. But she chewed with even greater pleasure.
Although I knew perfectly well that these were not my real father and mother, it was still a bit creepy to see them eating human flesh with their father and mother's faces on.
"Father, what is this?" Meng Chiwan asked calmly.
“It is… a blessing from Buddha.” Father became very strange, his expression almost one of ecstasy.
Meng Chiwan felt that something was extremely wrong.
These heads were clearly those of people who had harmed her when she was young. But apart from herself, very few people knew about this memory.
Why is it so accurate?
Moreover, Buddha?
Thinking of this, she relaxed her expression.
He must be a demonic monk.
My father once knelt devoutly before the demonic monk.
"Come here. Mother will feed you something delicious." The mother's hands were covered with fresh blood, which covered the dark old blood. Sticky flesh and blood clung to her skin. The piece of bloody bone and flesh she was holding had been torn apart, making it look particularly disgusting.
Meng Chiwan: "..." No, you eat.
But after thinking about it, Meng Chiwan decided to go and take a look.
We don't yet know what these events mean, so we can only wait and see.
But before she could walk over, she heard Zhong Huai's still somewhat childish voice say, "Chi Wan, don't go over there."
She turned around and looked back. Suddenly, she noticed something was amiss.
She calmed down and looked at Zhong Huai.
Zhong Huai stepped forward, seemingly wanting to take her away.
Meng Chiwan asked, "Brother Zhonghuai, aren't you afraid?"
Zhong Huai looked nervous: "Are you scared? Chi Wan, aren't you scared?"
"Brother Zhonghuai, have you never seen or cleaned these things before?" she asked.
Zhong Huai glanced at her, then said, "...Yes."
Meng Chiwan then asked her father, "Father, does everyone believe in Buddhism?"
Father looked on with fascination: "That must be it."
Meng Chiwan asked calmly, "Brother Zhonghuai, do you believe in Buddhism?"
“…I don’t believe it,” Zhong Huai said.
"Then, Brother Zhonghuai, do you know what...the Heartbreak Talisman is?" Meng Chiwan asked, enunciating each word clearly.
She exists outside the rules. She doesn't believe in Buddhism and is clearly not afraid, yet she insists on answering that she is.
This is clearly not the person she remembers.
Or rather, he was not the Zhong Huai of his youth at all.
“…Chi Wan is really smart.” Zhong Huai looked at Meng Chi Wan and finally smiled. His tone was calm and gentle, which was clearly inconsistent with his slightly immature voice, but he had a kind of strange beauty about him.
She still looked the same innocent and kind person. But the person inside wasn't the one she thought she knew.
The people or things she longed for could never be brought back.
Now that he'd been discovered, he stopped pretending: "Chi Wan, listen to me, don't climb the tower. It's a dead end."
Meng Chiwan scoffed: "Why?"
"The reasons are too complex to explain in detail. There are special restrictions here. This place might have been created specifically for you..."
Meng Chiwan couldn't hear what was said after that. It was as if something was covering her ears.
Meng Chiwan had another ominous premonition, as if something bad was really about to happen.
But what is it?
Should she trust Zhong Huai? But he had clearly deceived her before.
Unreliable.
She told herself this silently.
Meanwhile, Yun Xianqing stared intently at Meng Chiwan, his dark eyes devoid of any emotion, yet he seemed to be able to see through all her thoughts.
Then, Meng Chiwan made up her mind and breathed a sigh of relief.
Yun Xianqing, who was standing to the side, also smiled quietly. When she looked at Zhong Huai, there was a hint of provocation in her expression.
But Meng Chiwan didn't see any of this.
No matter what lies ahead, Wen Liansong is waiting for her to find that thing; she cannot end her journey of climbing the tower here.
Moreover, even if she wanted to end it now, it probably wouldn't be an easy task.
"Zhong Huai, do you think you still have any credibility with me?" Meng Chiwan asked calmly, almost without any emotion.
She will no longer feel any emotional fluctuation towards those who deceive or cheat her.
The reason she could still feel some warmth towards the young Zhong Huai in the past was simply because she believed he was still innocent at that time. But with Zhong Huai now, she feels nothing but disappointment.
Many things can be forgiven. But if it's deception or lying, she will never forgive it.
"Does this person beside you really have to be trusted?" Zhong Huai asked.
Undoubtedly, this person refers to Yun Xianqing.
“I believe him.” Meng Chiwan said, each word distinct. “I believe him, so what? I once believed you too, but you lied to me.”
She now trusts Yun Xianqing because she believes he won't lie to her.
She looked at Yun Xianqing. So, don't lie to me.
Yun Xianqing remained expressionless, but his heart suddenly ached as if it had been stabbed, though he quickly calmed down.
He revealed no flaws, seemingly delighted by Meng Chiwan's trust: "Chiwan, I am naturally different from him."
Zhong Huai was about to say something more when he heard his mother, who had been silent for a long time, say, "Chi Wan, come here quickly and eat it."
Meng Chiwan turned her head and saw that the flesh was rotting at a speed visible to the naked eye, and her father and mother seemed not to have noticed.
"Come here quickly, eat it, and then you can go to sleep," Mother coaxed softly.
A flash of red light, and another head fell, its face still bearing a gentle smile.
The author says: Climbing the tower won't take very long.
I think this chapter could really be called "The Storm Is Brewing" or "Two People on Their Deathbeds"? Hahahaha
Speaking of which, I've started a new pre-order, and that'll probably be my next book. If you're interested, you can check it out; it's called "Love-Obsessed, But Stabbing My Husband Seventeen Times." [Let me see!]
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