Chapter Twenty-One
“General…” Zhao Shu finally spoke, breaking the almost uncontrollable silence of the man beneath him. His voice was tinged with guilt as he softly said, “Just now… I’m sorry, I… I didn’t mean to.”
Upon hearing this, Mo Yinghuo was stunned for a moment, then a mischievous schadenfreude arose within her, and the corners of her lips curled upwards. She was convinced that if there were a fire right now, she would definitely be able to see Zhao Shu's blushing ears. She tried hard to suppress the little bit of smugness that was about to spill out, coughed lightly, and said in a slightly serious but very cheerful tone.
"Hmm... Haha, it's nothing, a small matter, don't worry about it, don't take it to heart..."
Mo Yinghuo wanted to show Zhao Shu how magnanimous he was and wanted to say some sarcastic remarks. However, he was usually very eloquent and knowledgeable. He had been reciting fluently just now, but now he was half-mute and could not squeeze out a single word.
Indeed, some people are simply inviolable by nature.
"..."
Seeing that Zhao Shu remained calm, Mo Yinghuo wondered if he was really overly guilty. So, following up on the previous topic, she asked, "Zhao Shu, you mentioned earlier that in the three-dimensional universe, there is a unique dimension that is scenery, right?"
Hearing Mo Yinghuo continue to press for details about what he had only half-finished, Zhao Shu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief and continued, building on his explanation of dimensional space, "Yes." Perhaps sensing Mo Yinghuo's understanding, he chuckled softly and added, "General, you are smarter than I thought. The place we live in is not a completely pure three-dimensional universe; to be precise, we live in a four-dimensional universe because of the added dimension of 'time,' which is what you just described as 'the scene.' General, could you imagine something even bolder: if a person lived in a fifth dimension, could they move freely within that scene?"
Zhao Shu paused for a moment, knowing that this was more difficult to understand than what had been said before.
Mo Yinghuo pondered for a moment, still puzzled. He said, "Zhao Shu, I... don't quite understand."
Zhao Shu thought for a moment and patiently said, "General, it's alright. Hmm... Let me put it this way, if a person lives in a one-dimensional space, a straight line, then he can only move forward and backward. To trap him, it's easy; just draw two vertical lines on that line. If it's two-dimensional, then draw a circle. If it's three-dimensional, you can think of a prison cell. And what about four-dimensional... We can see all the patterns on a piece of paper, which shows that three-dimensional space can see all the secrets of two-dimensional space. Lower dimensions are insignificant in front of higher dimensions."
Zhao Shu paused briefly, then continued explaining patiently and gently.
"Imagine a piece of paper suddenly pierced by an iron nail. Living beings on a two-dimensional piece of paper wouldn't understand why something that appears as a mere dot to them could possess such immense power. We, on the other hand, live in a three-dimensional universe, yet we've miraculously been inserted into a four-dimensional cosmos. Spring, summer, autumn, and winter—the seasons change, time passes peacefully, and birth, aging, sickness, and death occur. We can sense the existence of this dimension, but we cannot control it. In truth, what truly imprisons humanity in this flat and round world is nothing more than the concept of 'cosmos.' This is the difference between beings living in a four-dimensional universe and those in a five-dimensional universe. They can move freely in the past, present, and future, just as we can move freely throughout the Eastern Liang Kingdom."
Mo Yinghuo's pupils dilated instantly, as if trying to see through the darkness inside the coffin.
"General." Zhao Shu hadn't heard Mo Yinghuo speak and, not knowing what had happened, called out to him softly.
It remained deathly silent.
"General."
"General."
After being called three times, Mo Yinghuo finally came to her senses and hurriedly replied, "Yes, Zhao Shu, I..."
Zhao Shu spoke gently and kindly, “It’s alright, General. We will encounter many things in the future, and you will gradually understand. The Stone Spirit Kingdom is not actually scary; they are merely using the universe to deceive the Cloud Xiu Kingdom.”
Mo Yinghuo wasn't entirely oblivious; she had simply stumbled into a new world unlike anything she had ever known before. She tried desperately to grasp something, but something else was holding her ankles, preventing her from crossing over in one go. Her feet felt heavy, and her heart felt adrift, making it incredibly difficult and disheartening.
However, as soon as Zhao Shu finished speaking, Mo Yinghuo felt much better. She discovered that although Zhao Shu sometimes seemed aloof and unsmiling, disliking crowds and possessing the refined elegance of a gentleman, he was exceptionally patient. In the days they had spent together, whenever Mo Yinghuo had any questions, he had been very attentive and patient, explaining things to her with gentle guidance.
Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder if Zhao Shu might have once been a teacher on Ye Lan Xing.
Mo Yinghuo smiled and said, "Okay, thank you. By the way, Zhao Shu, are you from the four-dimensional universe or the five-dimensional universe?"
“What do you think, General?” Zhao Shu countered.
Mo Yinghuo smiled inwardly. He must have been a teacher; Master Sun and Master Xiang often used this method to patiently and earnestly teach them. After a moment, she sighed, "Are people in the fifth-dimensional universe like gods?"
"Perhaps," Zhao Shu said thoughtfully.
"Then wouldn't they be able to arbitrarily change other people's fates?"
"uncertain."
Have you ever encountered this?
No.
"..."
Silence has returned.
After a while, Mo Yinghuo suddenly thought of a very important question, "By the way, Zhao Shu, when can we go out? There's still fighting in the outskirts of Suzang."
“Three days later,” Zhao Shu said.
Upon hearing this, Mo Yinghuo exclaimed excitedly, "What! Three days! What if the three captains discovered that the commander of the Yunzhao army had disappeared after entering the capital of Dongliang, and what about Gongliang Zhong and Shurong...?"
Zhao Shu calmly said, "General, this is the Yang Stone Formation."
Mo Yinghuo frowned and murmured softly, "Yang Stone Formation... Yin Stone Formation... Yin and Yang..." Suddenly she understood what Zhao Shu meant, "You mean, time passes faster inside than outside."
Zhao Shu: "That's one way to understand it. If there's someone outside who was born on the same day, month, and year as the general, when the general goes out, the general will actually be a few days older than that person."
Mo Yinghuo sighed softly. She finally understood what was going on with that white-haired young King of Dongliang, and no wonder the Queen Mother had warned him to be extremely careful. Now, she really wanted to rub her temples hard, but that was just a thought.
When Zhao Shu heard her sigh, he assumed she was worried about the war outside, so he said again, "Don't worry, General, we will be able to go out in an hour, and it will not delay your battle."
To Mo Yinghuo, his words "It won't interfere with your battle" sounded like, "It won't interfere with your meals."
It's inexplicably funny, and inexplicably reassuring.
"Zhao Shu, I have something interesting to tell you." Mo Yinghuo raised an eyebrow in the darkness, speaking mysteriously.
Quiet and relaxed.
Mo Yinghuo laughed, "Let me tell you, based on my many years of experience, there must be something unspeakable between that Marquis of Haitang and the Empress Dowager. Just now in the main hall, did you see the gentle, tender look in the Marquis of Haitang's eyes, and the expression on the Empress Dowager's face as if she were seeing an old friend? I suspect that the two of them must be in love with each other, but unfortunately, the former King of Dongliang stole her away, and the two of them can only lament that they were destined to be apart and have no choice but to accept their fate."
"Of course, it's possible that the two fought against each other during that time, and the outcome was predictable. Also, that Marquis of Haitang must be a devoted man. I guess he must have no wife or children and has been silently guarding Dongliang and protecting the Queen Dowager. Now, fate has played a cruel trick on them. Even the Queen Dowager's child, the King of Dongliang, has grown old. Nothing can stop the two of them anymore. But their feelings now are different from those of the past. I wonder if these two can still be as they were when they first met."
After speaking, Mo Yinghuo waited quietly for Zhao Shu's reaction. She was quite confident in her guess; even if it wasn't 100%, it was still 90%. As for the word "growing old," she thought she used it extremely cleverly, indicating that she roughly knew about the Eastern Liang King's plight and understood most of what Zhao Shu had explained to her. She inexplicably felt a sense of pride, wanting to receive praise and appreciation, and her lips curled up in a smile, her heart filled with joy.
"Is it interesting?" Zhao Shu asked casually, though it was merely a polite reply and statement.
"..."
Mo Yinghuo was now truly resting peacefully in this noble and elegant white jade coffin as a tranquil stone statue. He was choked by Zhao Shu's three casual words, yet he stubbornly maintained a smile for a moment before finally managing a dry, self-deprecating "Hehehaha" in a tone that was just as assertive as his own, saying, "Boring, boring." As he spoke, he muttered to himself, "Being pressed under this white jade coffin by you is interesting."
"..."
"Do you often do this?" After a while, Zhao Shu suddenly asked.
Mo Yinghuo was stunned, and asked in confusion, "Like this? What do you mean?"
Zhao Shu said, word by word, "Years of experience."
Mo Yinghuo's lips twitched, and he said with a wry smile, "Zhao Shu, just kidding, don't take it seriously."
"..."
Suddenly, a sliver of light shone into the white jade coffin. The light was very weak, but when one is in complete darkness, even the faintest glimmer of light is enough to pierce through the darkness. Mo Yinghuo, using this faint light, strained her eyes open. She had intended to observe the inside of the coffin, but she forgot that the first thing she should see was Zhao Shu's resolute and handsome face.
Similarly, what caught Zhao Shu's eye was the intriguing yet uninteresting Mo Yinghuo.
Their eyes met, and in this ambiguous posture, after all the darkness, out of sight, out of mind, they gradually got used to it. But suddenly, a sliver of the light they had been longing for appeared, and a strange, tender feeling arose within them.
Mo Yinghuo unconsciously swallowed. The two stared at each other for a moment, then, with perfect understanding, turned their faces away—one to the left, the other to the right. She tried hard to suppress her thoughts, to stop thinking about that dream…
After a while, Mo Yinghuo felt a soreness in her neck. Her whole body had been motionless, and her lower limbs were almost numb from lying down, so she carefully swayed slightly from side to side.
"Don't move!" Zhao Shu immediately noticed and shouted again.
Mo Yinghuo kept her face turned away, the vermilion mark on her eyebrow appearing unusually red and aggrieved in the dim light. With a bit of light emboldening her, she stammered pitifully, "Zhao Shu, I... feel unwell."
She was just trying to explain when she saw the smooth, translucent white jade coffin reflecting the upright posture that had been supporting her for so long. Suddenly, it straightened up even more, and the veins on its neck became visible.
Hold your breath, concentrate, and calm your mind.
After a moment, Zhao Shu regained his composure and said in a low, hoarse voice, "General, we still have three days before we reach our destination. Why don't you rest, and I'll call you when we get there?"
Mo Yinghuo raised an eyebrow speechlessly, thinking to herself, "Rest? Young Master Zhao really thinks highly of me. Rest? How can I sleep in this situation?" Then, she thought again, "No, it's not that I can't just close my eyes and rest. There's nothing I can do right now. If I fall asleep and accidentally move my hands or feet, it won't be something I can control."
After thinking it over, she readily agreed, "Okay." A moment later, she remembered something else, "Zhao Shu, I've noticed that your arm strength is quite remarkable. If you get tired, just tell me, and we can switch positions, you on the bottom and I on top."
Zhao Shu knew Mo Yinghuo's worries. He quietly looked at the fair and handsome face reflected on the inner wall of the coffin, the skin and the white jade coffin together emitting a silvery glow. He said softly, "General, no need, no need to worry. I can hold on for a month."
Seemingly sensing Mo Yinghuo's doubts, he continued, "When we were little, we also liked to play hide-and-seek. However, there was a rule on Yelan Star that the one who was 'it' had to walk upside down to 'it' the others."
Upon hearing this, Mo Yinghuo exclaimed in surprise, "Are all the people of Yelan Star as strong as Young Master Zhao?"
Zhao Shu: "No, girls don't have to do that. Some boys who aren't physically strong will ask their friends who are strong to help them catch the fish."
"Oh, I see." Mo Yinghuo's brow mole twitched with a smile. "It seems that Young Master Zhao must have many friends at Nightfall."
"General, you flatter me," Zhao Shu said. "It is my greatest honor to have a few good friends."
“That’s true,” Mo Yinghuo said approvingly. “But aren’t your arms getting tired? Aren’t we supposed to stay in this coffin for three days and three nights? I’m strong enough. Although I’m a princess, I’ve been practicing martial arts with my father and masters since I was little. If you get tired, we can switch positions.” Actually, she didn’t want to lie down all the time. Even though doing push-ups was tiring, Mo Yinghuo felt she would break down if she had to lie still for three days straight.
Moreover, she was already preoccupied with the scene in her dream.
"Need not."
"..."
Seeing that Zhao Shu kept his face turned to the side, Mo Yinghuo quietly turned his head to face the person above him. Hearing Zhao Shu's resolute "No need," Mo Yinghuo's little scheme was in utter despair. He could only sigh helplessly, but the moist breath he exhaled just happened to brush against the back of the person's ear. Mo Yinghuo was completely unaware.
"Ink! Fire! Bewilderment!" Zhao Shu said through gritted teeth, enunciating each word clearly.
Mo Yinghuo immediately realized what was happening and quickly turned her face away. She was a little nervous and said in a flustered voice, "Ah... I'm sorry, Zhao Shu, I... I really didn't mean to."
"You should rest," Zhao Shu said, taking a deep breath.
"Um, are you... are you alright?" Mo Yinghuo glanced at Zhao Shu out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had bitten his lip and it was bleeding slightly.
"fine."
"real?"
"Your Highness, could you please... please stop talking?"
Mo Yinghuo immediately closed his eyes to rest, concentrating his mind, and soon fell asleep. Moreover, he slept more peacefully than usual.
Within the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, Zhao Shu heard soft, steady breathing. He gently turned his slightly aching head. Soft, moonlight shone on Mo Yinghuo's neck, his black hair gleaming faintly, his sharply defined profile serene. In the dim light, the cinnabar mole on his brow unexpectedly broke the eerie tranquility within the coffin.
In an instant, Zhao Shu slowly turned his face away again.
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