Jiang Xi, an observer, felt her eyes well up with tears. No wonder her grandmother could never sleep soundly in bed. She had thought it was because her grandmother didn't get enough sleep, but it was actually because she was too old to handle the ringing of the bell and couldn't sleep peacefully every day.
She imitated Jiang Xi in black, lying down next to her grandmother and looking at her, wanting to see her a few more times, because she probably wouldn't be able to see her again once she left the Bell Dream.
She was puzzled. How come she had never known about these things before? Why had the concept of bell dreams never existed in her original world?
Perhaps because of the dream, time passed very quickly. Before she could figure it out, the roar of the motorcycle returned.
Jiang Xi, dressed in black, entered the courtyard carrying a black plastic bag.
Du Rongzhen got up, took the bag, checked it over, and nodded: "Okay, put it on, we'll talk about it at midnight."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jiang Xi felt a darkness before her eyes. It took her a while to realize that it was already late at night.
After getting used to it, she walked into the room with the lights on. There was an altar in the main room that looked familiar. Jiang Xi suddenly remembered that her maternal grandmother's house in the countryside used to have this altar as well.
It's been a long time since we last met, and it feels so warm and familiar.
Various snacks were laid out on the table, with an iron bell in the middle.
Du Rongzhen led Jiang Xi, dressed in black, to light incense at the offering table. Then, she led Jiang Xi to kneel down, chanting, "Ancestors above, today I hand over this bell to my granddaughter Jiang Xi. Du Rongzhen, a descendant of the Du family... From this day forward, the bell is removed."
The last four words were spoken with a strong and resounding voice. Jiang Xi, who was watching from the sidelines, thought that this bell had been with her for decades, and her grandmother must have had a lot of affection for it.
Immediately afterwards, Du Rongzhen kowtowed three more times, and Jiang Xi, dressed in black beside her, quickly followed suit.
After kowtowing, Du Rongzhen solemnly picked up the bell from the offering table and said to Jiang Xi in black, "Kneel down, take the bell with both hands, and repeat after me."
"Jiang Xi, a descendant of the Du family, receives the bell today. From now on, she will certainly live up to the family's expectations, support the family business, and help the descendants of the Du family."
Looking at her granddaughter's young face, Du Rongzhen said calmly, "These are the words I said when I answered the bell. I haven't forgotten them even after all these decades... It's like they're engraved in my bones."
"Remember the oath you made. If your brothers and sisters in the clan are in trouble in the future, you must lend a helping hand."
"Yes." Jiang Xi, dressed in black, knelt upright, her voice loud and clear.
Du Rongzhen nodded and said, "I swear."
Jiang Xi, dressed in black, knelt even straighter and repeated what she had just said.
Before she could finish her vow, Jiang Xi, who was watching from the sidelines, suddenly heard a bell ringing, and then her back and temples began to burn.
Jiang Xi staggered, and it happened again; the familiar pain from yesterday struck once more.
She was in so much pain she felt like vomiting when she suddenly heard Jiang Xi in black exclaim, "Grandma!"
Jiang Xi looked up and saw that the bell the two had exchanged had fallen to the ground, and the iron bell had shattered into pieces.
Du Rongzhen's hands trembled slightly, and she took two steps back. Jiang Xi, dressed in black, quickly supported her. The old lady took a deep breath: "This is the limit. This bell is the last one for you." Her tone was full of exhaustion.
Jiang Xi, dressed in black, didn't understand what she meant. The next second, she suddenly hunched over, leaned on the altar, and said breathlessly, "Grandma, my back hurts so much."
Du Rongzhen helped her sit down: "Bear with it. The bell's original body is broken, but the luck on the bell has not yet dissipated. From now on, you and the bell will be one."
"You should cherish this last bit of luck from the bell, because this luck probably won't last more than twenty years."
As soon as she finished speaking, a red light flashed on Jiang Xi's back, and then the pain subsided, and her pale face gradually recovered.
Jiang Xi, who was watching from the sidelines, was not so lucky. She was still in great pain and could only squat down and curl up in agony.
Then the bell rang again, and in a flash, she was in the middle of a snowy day with heavy snowflakes falling from the sky. Jiang Xi couldn't help but think of the day the snow disaster happened.
I had a bad feeling about this, and my teeth were chattering.
Unlike before, this time she felt cold. In her previous bell dreams, she never felt body temperature, regardless of the season.
But this time, it was too cold. The pain combined with the cold forced Jiang Xi to find a place to stay.
The road was congested with vehicles, and no one could see her. Whether in other people's cars or in the shops along the road, there was nowhere to relieve the coldness on her body.
In a daze, she saw the archway of the bridge by the river. For some reason, she felt that it must be very warm inside. Jiang Xi didn't bother to think about the rationality of this feeling and staggered towards the archway based on her instinct.
Finally, we arrived. I breathed on my hands to warm them, then carefully slipped into the bridge arch, not daring to go too deep down because there was river water below.
It was warm now, although there was only a small corner to shelter in. Jiang Xi kept rubbing her hands and face, she was so cold that she was almost numb, and it took her a long time to recover.
Feeling a little better, she looked around and saw a white object on the river. Somehow, she waded over to it as if possessed.
When she saw it clearly, Jiang Xi stopped breathing.
That was...that was another Jiang Xi.
At this moment, her eyes were closed, her face was ashen, and there were white ice crystals on her hairline, eyelashes, and lips.
No, how could you die here?
Jiang Xi swam into the river with all her might. The cold and pain in her body had long since numbed her. She had only one thought left: to get her out of there.
Although they didn't know each other, she had a vague feeling that she shouldn't have died in the cold river, shouldn't have died now, and she thought of the moment when she desperately waited for rescue at home.
She couldn't die, how could she die? She wanted to ask her: Where is your bell?
The next moment, Grandma's words suddenly came to mind: "It's reached its limit. This bell is the last one for you."
Is that all? Even the bell can't save her now?
Jiang Xi had so many questions she wanted answered, so she could only swim forward with all her might. She was almost there; just a little more effort and she would be there soon.
The moment the two pairs of icy hands touched, Jiang Xi saw a flash of red light on her and the other Jiang Xi's hands, and the pain in her back made her choke on a mouthful of water.
Suddenly everything went black, and I couldn't see anything anymore.
There was no river, no snow disaster, only emptiness before my eyes. The bell rang again, and a female voice came to my mind: "This is my last strength. Half for you and half for Lingling. Please take good care of her for me."
Jiang Xi felt herself crying. She felt a touch on her face, a cold sensation followed by a warm one. A sharp pain shot through her heart, and she suddenly opened her eyes.
"You're awake, and you've been crying like this." It was Yan Zheng's voice.
He was holding a towel in his hand, wiping away his tears and cold sweat.
Hearing the commotion, Yan Jing'an rushed in and looked at her anxiously.
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