Chapter 79 "The Little Taoist Priest" Let's just pretend that I never...
After bathing, they lay down on the red-cloud-and-golden-roofed bed. The lights dimmed. Inside, the bed curtains were a scene of wild, turbulent waves, as a hand pulled down the curtains, rolling them into a peony shape, leaving only the wax residue from their wedding night rolling down.
This was in 1924, the first year they met in Qingyang, according to the script.
However, as the progress of the taskbar increased, the permissions were also upgraded. He cleared the cache and saw a red dot. Clicking on it revealed a message: "Update multiple times to view old versions."
Jane Dieder knew that one of his problems could be solved.
Despite his mental preparation, when he personally opened the black script book given by the little system, his cold and indifferent eyes were still startled to find his own name, which he had signed countless times.
“It turns out I really have been to the world of bells and tripods many times. Even this time, it was a script I wrote for myself in advance.”
He was stunned, astonished. He felt a strange sadness, as if Zhong Ding had already played out this scene before. Because if everything is always repeating itself, it means that this play has no ending. What you think is the ending is the beginning, and what you think is the beginning may be the ending.
Moreover, if everyone in Qingyang Town is acting, then the very existence of this world is a dead end for Zhong Ding.
What he is familiar with is also unfamiliar to him. What should he do?
Jane was at a loss for the moment, so he continued to look at his old version of the agreement.
There was a sentence on the paper, written in neat handwriting, belonging to Jian Dieda, a player who had traveled through time 1028 times.
Having walked this path until now, I know what fate is.
But I only beg Heaven to have mercy on my beloved Zhongding. I don't ask for him to be rich or powerful, or for him to be destined to be with me. I only ask that he live, wherever he may be in the world. I hope some kind person will hide him among the plum blossoms or under the willow branches, so that fate won't find him.
"..."
Such moving words would have been unbelievable in the past, and even Jian Dieda was somewhat bewildered after seeing them.
According to the agreement, he genuinely didn't know how to save Zhong Ding or how to unlock the ending.
So how did he manage to come back again and again?
He really didn't know if he had signed any additional conditions, and the system certainly wouldn't let them off so easily.
"Well, if you're telling me that nothing I do will work, then that means I can do anything, right?"
Knowing that he was being stared at by many eyes, Jian Dieda deliberately used an incredibly handsome tone to speak.
"No matter what happens, my choice is to take the bell and tripod with me."
"..."
What has already happened is the only thing that will happen.
"..."
"The one I've fallen in love with this time is the one I've fallen in love with every time."
"..."
He knew very well that Zhong Ding and Jian Burang's affection was purely physical. The two were not bound by rigid rules, nor were they deterred by worldly opinions. If one took that step, the other would leap to follow.
As long as one person doesn't let go, there's no reason why the other person shouldn't believe it.
So Jane Dieda turned her head and calmly glanced at that person.
Zhong Ding kept his head down, his purplish lips dominating his gaze. The mountain god's blood, stirred by passion, awakened even more intensely. The room was intensely hot, the dim light illuminating his powdered body and his whitened hair. He and the original Zhong Ding looked like two completely different people.
It's the same face, no doubt, and he even looks more beautiful. He's definitely the man Jane Dieda loves most, but his aura is different.
No matter how absurd it was, Jane Diedda still chose to stay by this person's side.
However, the turning point came when Jane Dieda realized that he might not actually find the monstrous man to be a problem. When he was finally lifted up and folded over seven or eight times, he tried to open his swollen eyes and found that one of his hands was tied to the bed with a silk handkerchief.
His character is supposed to have practiced swordsmanship, so his physique must be quite impressive with his exceptional martial arts skills. To outsiders, his forearm muscles are well-defined, not exaggerated but very handsome. In the past, the Taoist priest would not have been willing to be inferior to others.
The problem is that he has a living ancestor who cries and begs in front of him... This living ancestor doesn't see himself as a great man or an emperor; he wants to be a wicked concubine!
“Good boy, don’t move. I haven’t tied both your hands because you need to pee,” Zhong Ding’s eyes shone with a light that could move the world, but his true nature seemed to be uncontrollable like a wild beast. “Stay by my side the rest of the time.”
Jane Diedda: "..."
Afraid he'll run away, afraid he'll betray you, and resorting to this disrespectful behavior out of fear of separation—isn't this just the countdown to the fate of all villainous characters turning evil?
More importantly, Zhong Ding's thought process has become completely erratic: "Short hair hastens graying with worry, fading beauty is reddened by wine... Your blood is the nourishing tonic for me, your love is the blood flowing in my heart..."
Jian Dieda saw that his snake-like tail, just like his own mountain god mother's, was sticking out. When they were together just now, the small amount of skin that Zhong Ding had shed was also red and bleeding, but he was still shedding skin. There was a wrinkled snake crease behind his ear. Large pieces of formed human skin slid onto the bed. People with trypophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder would scream if they saw this scene.
He witnessed the whole process, but his focus was more on the current appearance of the bell and tripod.
Zhong Ding seemed to have become more beautiful and a little younger. His new skin was very white, his lips were tinged with a light red, and he smelled like a baby. If you didn't look at his snake tail, which was as bumpy as tree bark, or pay attention to his feathered serpent back wings, which were as tall as a towering tree, he would look like a jade-faced Bodhisattva statue in a temple.
Zhong Ding wasn't unaware that he had changed, but he was currently mentally unstable, making it difficult for him to detect changes in his mindset when dealing with problems.
For example, Jane Dieda said, "Can you let me go?"
Zhong the Monster chuckled. "Then that means you're going to betray me. I mean, you won't make me unhappy, right?"
Still breathless, Jian Dieda didn't know what to say. "Family, this is what a pervert is, isn't it? This is a living, breathing pervert, isn't it?!" He really should find the little system teacher right now and have a chat with him!
Suddenly, Tongzi spoke up: "No need to look anymore, I've been here the whole time (rolls eyes)."
Jane Die Da remains silent: ( )
Xiao Tong must have scolded him a lot, but she said sadly, "Serves you right for not listening to me. Last time I told you to think it over before being with him, and you said my mom was flying in the sky..."
Jian Dieda realized his mistake and corrected himself: "Auntie, let's go home!"
While the two of them were playing with the bell and tripod, the bell and tripod underwent another strange change.
A good man fights the monster he believes to be, perhaps never imagining that he himself would become the monster—the "monster's" bright red fingernails are turning blood red, and it is also mischievously pinching Jane's stubborn and silent chin, extending a long lizard-like tongue in a seductive manner, and its golden pupils filled with scales have discovered something interesting—it has discovered that Jane does not struggle at all against its evil deeds, and obeys again after closing its eyes.
Why don't you suspect that I'm lying to you?
—What if I really wanted to "eat" you, not just "eat" you...
So, do you really like me so much that you can't help yourself?
The "monster" found himself almost powerless against this. He couldn't say what he wanted, but desperately, he wished everyone could leave this world, as long as he could hide Jane Dieda away.
When he spoke again, he found his voice had become hoarse and terrifying.
“The silk handkerchief isn’t safe. Let’s use something else. I’ll go find a chain, and then I’ll lift your feet and neck… obediently.”
Master Jian had no chance to say no. Soon, the chain began to jingle, and no one noticed the red skirt hem tucked into the wardrobe. Only their voices remained in the room.
...
Golden leaves covered the ground, and icicles formed on the pillars under the eaves that sheltered the house from the rain. Master Zhong and his little immortal had been missing for six whole days.
In fact, after ignoring Tongzi's words, Jian Dieda had already guessed the ending. The curse of Qingyang Town has always had the effect of corrupting normal human nature. When outsiders like Master Li come here, they will soon be targeted by demons who will use their weaknesses to deceive and steal their souls. How could he possibly avoid it?
But he might be a bit stubborn.
Everyone says that fate has already foreshadowed Zhong Ding's fate, that some people meet and then part ways from the very beginning, but he still believes that people should have illusions about love and eternity.
He always felt that he must have promised Zhong Ding something, such as taking the two of them to see the next spring.
The room suddenly went dark again, the immersive game stopped, and the host's original memories took over his brain. Jane had been tormented for six days, and by human physical standards, she was half-dead.
His body ached and ached, and he desperately needed comfort and a hug to feel better. Then he dreamed of someone from another world. Continuing from the previous events, this person now had a name, and they met in the dream.
14-year-old Jian Dieda calls him Zhong Yu.
Who is Zhong Yu? Jian Dieda didn't know either. Anyway, the person in his dream was very familiar with him.
This is no simple matter.
Jian Dieda has been abnormal since childhood; he has a very detached view of humanity. From his appearance, he doesn't cause trouble for others, is exceptionally talented, has excellent academic performance, and is good-looking—the kind of good kid that everyone imagines.
However, the fact that he didn't shed a single tear after his parents passed away kept his relatives' idea of adopting him out of the door.
Indifference is what others call his "illness." He seems to never know how to vent his pain. This illness is truly frightening. It not only represents Jian Dieda's inhuman weakness, but also reflects his eccentricity, paranoia, and non-cooperation.
An invincible, cold-faced freak is bound to be unwelcome wherever he goes.
But this time, all Jian Dieda saw was his familiar long hair and those familiar, lifeless eyes telling of longing and pain...
“Zhong Yu, look, the stars have covered the sky, and my little bear is asleep, but my heart is aching so much.”
"Zhong Yu, why do I want to cry?"
"Zhong Yu, I'm so afraid of the dark. Why doesn't the world always have its lights on?"
"Zhong Yu, what's wrong? Why are you crying like that, looking at me like that?"
"Zhong Yu".
"I remembered you, Zhong Yu."
"Zhong Yu, I miss you so much, I miss you so much."
Is this... still him?
Jian Dieda couldn't believe it.
Even more terrifying, when the "he" who was speaking moved his hand away, besides the pale and powerless face, Jane Dieda saw that the boy was holding a black and white photo frame.
The person in the photo frame is Zhong Yu!
So... Zhong Yu died in real life too?
After his death, the real Jane Dieda belatedly realized that something was wrong...?
Jane's mind was almost unable to stay calm, and then he was taken to the next scene, where he heard Zhong Yu from another dimension say what he had said before he died.
"Um……"
"Do you remember when I told you that the name Zhong Yu is partly because I will finally be able to protect you one day, and partly because it is a vow to be loyal to me for life as my little prince? Zhong Yu has tried countless times to pull you out of hell and let you know that the night will eventually pass. My love, have I done it?"
He suffers from a mental illness—only when he chats with Zhong Yu does he stop having headaches and becoming irritable, and only then does he find the logic in language. The doctor said he has ADHD and ADS concurrently. Whenever his attention wanders and he unknowingly wanders into an unfamiliar place and gets lost, what he relies on most is not the pills he doesn't want to take out of his pocket, but the phone call that Zhong Yu will definitely call.
"It's okay, it's okay."
“You stay where you are, I’ll be right there. Hmm, do you want to listen to some music? I’ll hum as I walk by, okay? By the way, if you feel bored, you can describe something nearby to me—its color, its shape. Relax, I’ll find it myself. You don’t need to struggle to figure out what it is. Yes, you just need to stand here and wait for me, I’ll take care of everything else.”
Zhong Yu devoted all his time in high school to Jian Dieda, a disabled person suffering from a rare disease. His emotional deficiencies, procrastination, attention deficit, and cognitive impairment greatly hindered their daily interactions. Zhong Yu must have been very tired, like a knight searching through dense forests for a deer that always got lost. Even the most perfect gentleness would eventually exhaust him, making him irritable and impatient.
But a sense of responsibility also bound him, because Zhong Yu knew that Jian Dieda would not survive without him.
Even those around Zhong Yu asked him, "You're compassionate and sympathetic, feeling sorry for Jian Dieda who has no one to save him, but don't you feel tired? Get out of here soon. Look how long it's been since you went on a trip or had a meal. Let yourself off the hook."
Jian Dieda finally understood this problem after Zhong Yu actually left one day. In the year they were admitted to university, Zhong Yu told him that he had gone to another school abroad.
Zhong Yu definitely enjoys this highly planned study abroad experience. He is naturally good-looking and skilled at networking, so his successful father fully supports him.
The still-youthful, black-rimmed glasses-wearing, nerdy guy, dressed in a cheap T-shirt and slippers, saw the young master, who was already in the departure mode for studying abroad.
The other person said, "Why didn't you come to my graduation farewell party? I prepared a lot of your favorite dishes and called you many times, wanting to have a serious talk with you about our plans after we part ways. Will you miss me?"
Jian Dieda's entire being exuded one word: stubbornness: "No."
That's why he didn't say goodbye or participate in any activities. What's ridiculous is that even though the other teachers and students at the school weren't with Zhong Yu every day, they still felt very sad about his departure. How could his good brother of three years be so heartless?
Zhong Yu's face, obscured by those black-rimmed glasses, became even more blurry than before...
"Really not... um, okay, thank you."
Jane was inexplicably sad, so she made herself listen to her brain and said again, "I should be able to clear my mind about who you are soon."
Under normal circumstances, as long as the other party doesn't contact him for a day, Jane's attention will be quickly diverted. How much information an AdHD patient's brain can store depends on what the next dopamine stimulus is, not on their ethereal, unstructured friendship.
The person fell silent, which was unusual for him. After all, he was a normal person, and a gentle, polite, rich, and beautiful woman who was born with a good life. He was clearly chilled to the bone, but he had to force a smile and pretend to be relaxed.
"Oh, then I'm relieved."
"Luckily, you're different from me. You'll forget my name very quickly, and you'll never like me as a person, right, Jane?"
"Then let's just pretend that I've never been 'loyal' to you either."
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