Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
[The host will enter a memory of this NPC.] Meng Yingying was about to ask more questions, but the system was more decisive than usual today, opening its eyes again.
Long, curly hair was scattered on the blanket, but there was no warmth in the room. The bronze mirror in front of her was shattered into pieces. She looked down, and the shards in her hand were already embedded in her flesh. Meng Yingying was startled and shook off the shards. She saw her reflection in the shards: a thin, bony face, dark circles under her eyes, and bloodshot eyes.
His face was pale and his eyes were lifeless.
It's a man.
Meng Yingying was startled. Whose dream was this?
"Young Master, commit suicide!" The maid screamed shrilly as she stumbled and ran outside. She slowly turned around, and a thin stream of blood flowed into his body.
Meng Yingying then realized that what she had just cut was her own throat. Strangely, she felt no pain, and everything she saw was black and white.
A group of servants rushed in, pointing sharp weapons at her, but Meng Yingying's eyes remained numb.
"Your Highness, the Princess Consort requests your presence."
"Young Master, please don't make things difficult for us. If you don't comply, we'll have no choice but to use force." The group trembled with fear. Meng Yingying sensed, yes, she sensed, the magnified fear, disgust, and terror in everyone's eyes.
With a buzzing headache, Meng Yingying raised her hand to rub her temples.
A moment later, she heard herself whisper, "Let's go."
The group of people formed a circle around her, leading her through many twists and turns until they arrived at a beautifully decorated place.
Meng Yingying was shoved hard and fell to her knees. The princess on the chair was well-mannered, gentle and elegant, like a hibiscus flower. Her eyes held a hidden fear, but Meng Yingying could easily sense it.
The princess hurriedly stepped down from the main seat, helped Meng Yingying up, her fingers trembling, and asked gently, "Shang Mang, is something wrong?"
When Meng Yingying heard Shang Mang's name, she realized that the body she had entered belonged to Shang Mang.
"It's nothing, thank you for your concern, Mother."
The princess's hands trembled, and her eyes darted away from meeting his gaze.
"Mother, you are tired. I have summoned a physician to treat you. Don't do anything foolish again." She turned her head, and a maid came up behind her, saying to Meng Yingying, "Young Master, let's go back."
"Why does the princess still bring this little monster with her?"
Meng Yingying glanced at the maid, who smiled respectfully at him. Shang Mang could even hear other people's thoughts.
"Monster, what if he suddenly kills us?"
"Monster, you're the one who killed my sister."
"Monster, monster."
Suddenly, all sorts of voices rang in her mind. She looked around, her mind feeling like it was about to explode.
Along the way, Meng Yingying felt a splitting headache. When she returned to her residence, the door was closed behind her, and she heard the clanging of chains.
In the blink of an eye, no light could penetrate the entire room. The shards on the floor had been cleaned up, and in a short time, the room was back to normal, as if his suicide had not caused much of a stir.
Meng Yingying sat there blankly in the room, not knowing what to do. The darkness made her feel very depressed.
After a long time, Meng Yingying still hadn't seen the doctor, so she got up and lit the lamp herself.
In an instant, the black and white vision cleared. Countless calming bells hung in the room, and the pillars were covered with dense talismans. This room didn't look like a place for people to sleep; it looked more like a place for suppression.
Meng Yingying walked up, then paused, thinking, "She's using Shang Mang's body now; touching her might hurt her."
"No." Someone suddenly spoke up from behind, their voice cold yet carrying a childlike innocence.
Meng Yingying turned her head, and the person standing in front of her was in the form of a soul, having a form but no physical body.
"Who are you?"
"Who are you?"
Both were curious about each other's identities and asked in unison.
Meng Yingying sat down cross-legged: "I am Meng Yuan."
Young Shang Mang exuded a faint sense of world-weariness, his bloodshot eyes slightly cold, and he grinned as he said, "Kid, aren't you afraid of death?"
Meng Yingying casually replied, "I'm scared."
Shang Mang approached her: "I'm a monster. If you don't leave, I could kill you at any time." He spoke with a chilling tone, deliberately trying to intimidate her.
However, he is still just a child and has no intimidating power whatsoever.
Meng Yingying shrank back, her face filled with fear, and said, "I'm so scared."
She placed her hand on her neck, paused, and then, still unconvinced, touched it several more times: "Where's the injury?"
Seeing that she wasn't afraid, Shang Mang felt strange: "Alright."
"alright?"
"It should be night now. As long as there's a moon at night, my injuries will heal," Shang Mang said.
Meng Yingying was very surprised, but then she thought about it and scolded him, "Even if you choose this, you can't commit suicide."
Upon hearing this, Shang Mang nonchalantly replied, "I want to die."
Meng Yingying's smile vanished instantly, and she looked at him seriously, asking, "Why do you want to die?"
Shang Mang didn't even deign to glance at her. His long eyelashes drooped, and the light from an oil lamp flickered on and off. His pale skin resembled that of a delicate doll.
"I want to be happy."
Meng Yingying was completely bewildered by his words. What did he mean? Would he be happy if he committed suicide?
Shang Mang continued, "I can see the color of blood, but I can't see any other colors."
"When I saw blood, I felt excited and happy."
Meng Yingying opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything.
Seeing that she didn't speak, Shang Mang's expression turned noticeably cold: "If you're scared, then get out."
The next moment, his mouth was suddenly pinched shut, and the "himself" in front of him smiled. He had never seen such a cheerful smile on his face before.
He said, "That's not real happiness, you idiot!"
"Let your older sister show you what true happiness is."
After Meng Yingying finished speaking, she slammed her head against the wooden door. The door shook slightly, but her smile didn't fade. She just complained, "It's quite sturdy."
After saying that, she tried again, but failed the first time. She kept trying, her whole arm going numb, but Meng Yingying kept trying.
Shang Mang didn't understand what she was doing, so he just looked at her.
I don't know how many times it was bumped.
Clang—
The entire door fell to the ground, and she said to him, "Dare you?"
A gust of wind blew in, waking Shang Mang. In that instant, his eyes were met with twinkling lights and a bright, smiling face: "What are you doing—"
Before he could even ask what was going on, Meng Yingying stepped forward and pulled him out: "Get out of here, get out of here."
Shang Mang was dragged out by her. The room was dark, but the scenery outside was so distinct that he suddenly saw the colors clearly, though only for a moment.
Meng Yingying took off half of her gorgeous dress: "This dress is uncomfortable to wear, take it off."
Shang Mang warned, "These...clothes cannot be taken off."
Meng Yingying stared at him and asked, "Why not?"
Shang Mang recalled his mother's hundreds of admonitions: "Shang Mang, this is a symbol of your status. You cannot take it off. If you take it off, you will harm yourself and us. This is a symbol of your status. Only by wearing it can you be the heir apparent."
“This is a symbol of my status,” Shang Mang replied to Meng Yingying as he had done a thousand times. Meng Yingying ignored him, casually shoving her hand aside, and the magnificent robe fell to the ground. Shang Mang angrily said, “You!”
Meng Yingying asked with a grin, "What's wrong with me?"
The magnificent and heavy clothes fell to the ground, covered in dust. Shang Mang stared at the gorgeous clothes, his gaze fixed, and then he took them off.
“Today, I’ll take it off for you. See, even without it on, you’re still Shang Mang.” Meng Yingying’s voice was steady and cheerful.
Shang Mang was taken aback: "How do you know my name?"
Meng Yingying pursed her lips, realizing she had blurted it out without thinking.
Meng Yingying faced him and said, "I am a very important person to you in the future." She made it up on the spot, and her face was flushed with embarrassment as she said such a thing to a child.
The moonlight was hazy, and Shang Mang's face was thin and narrow. His gaze was fixed: "Important?"
Meng Yingying moved closer to him, her hand loosely encircling his back. The two were very close, but Meng Yingying couldn't hear his heartbeat. She felt bitter, but her voice was gentle and calm: "Shang Mang, discard any shackles that make you unhappy."
"If others don't love you, then love yourself more. Cutting yourself hurts, crying is sadness. Live with joy and sorrow, with flesh and blood."
Love, hate, anger, and delusion are not necessarily wrong.
"If you're in pain, then vent it; if you're feeling down, then cry it out; if you're feeling depressed, then shout it out; if you're feeling happy, then laugh it out loud. They say you're a monster, that they're the bad ones."
"Happiness isn't only found in killing, and you're not a monster."
Shang Mang was stiff all over, strangely held by her. He didn't struggle, just remained silent for a long time, as if his mouth was frozen, unable to utter a single word.
Of course I know that my mother does not love me, and is even afraid of my bloodshot eyes. Of course I know that no one in the mansion treats me as the heir apparent.
Meng Yingying's body was removed, and Shang Mang's soul returned to his body. He didn't look at the gorgeous clothes on the ground, but walked into the house, where loneliness once again enveloped him.
But he let the oil lamp she had lit stay lit.
Meng Yingying woke up instantly, as if she had just woken from a dream. She opened her eyes, looked at the ceiling, and felt an uncomfortable pain in her head.
"She's awake! She's awake!"
Kong Fusheng's voice was like a megaphone, and he suddenly brought his face close to hers: "Wow, Senior Meng, your talisman skills are so good! What kind of talisman was that just now?"
Meng Yingying adjusted her head, propped herself up to sit up, and pushed his face away: "I'm not feeling well right now."
Kong Fusheng turned around and brought over a glass of water: "Have some water, Senior Meng."
Meng Yingying was getting annoyed by his constant use of that term: "Fusheng, don't call me senior, just call me Meng Yuan."
Kong Fusheng quickly waved his hand: "Of course not, this is the rule my master taught me!"
Meng Yingying had tried to persuade him several times before, but he wouldn't listen at all, so she gave up trying.
“This was a great success,” Zhou Xiuqi said, pulling a thick notebook from his bag and tossing it at her. “This is the book of talismans I’ve been practicing. There are many talismans and spells in it. Practice them more and try not to faint next time.”
Meng Yingying picked up the heavy book with both hands and exclaimed in surprise, "It's so thick?!"
Zhou Xiuqi said, "The sea of learning is boundless, and diligence is the only boat."
He was practically her second father, always lecturing her about everything.
Meng Yingying held the book and said, "I'll devour myself until I die."
Kong Fusheng looked at the manual in her hand with great envy: "I want Senior Zhou's complete guide to talismans too. Senior Meng, can we look at it together?"
Meng Yingying snorted: "Of course not, the secret manual can only be seen by one person."
Kong Fusheng: "All Taoists under heaven are one family. We are all family. Why can't we watch?"
Meng Yingying was stunned. Family... This word seemed so distant to her, yet sometimes so close. Whenever she thought of this word, all she could think of was her grandmother and herself. Now, she glanced around the room.
Xiao Zheyu is like her older sister, Congrong is not very talkative but is a very careful older sister, Zhou Xiuqi is like her older brother, and Kong Fusheng is like her younger brother. She transmigrated into the book and unknowingly gained a very special family in another world.
Meng Yingying raised her head and said, "Alright, you're allowed to come and take a look while I'm practicing."
Xiao Zheyu coughed twice: "I'm not feeling well, I'll be going now." She and Congrong walked out the door, her mind elsewhere, a feeling she was not used to.
Zhou Xiuqi looked outside, then turned back and said, "Kong Fusheng, don't disturb her rest." Kong Fusheng reluctantly said goodbye, "Senior Meng, please rest well. I'll come to learn from you tomorrow!"
The door closed, and Meng Yingying went up and locked it. She had worries about being away from home. If she stayed longer, would she not want to go home? She thought that no matter what, she had to go home. Her family members could live independently and live brightly, but her grandmother only had her left. She couldn't give up going home.
"Your savior, aren't you going to thank me?"
Meng Yingying tilted her head back, while Shang Mang leaned his long legs against the beam, his fox-like eyes smiling, like a cunning fox.
"Thank you, my savior." Meng Yingying bowed and then lay back down on the bed.
The sound of footsteps landing rang in my ears, and Shang Mang's footsteps drew closer.
Meng Yingying recalled the look in his eyes last time, which sent chills down her spine.
"What about what you promised me?" Shang Mang asked.
Meng Yingying sat up from the bed. On the way to rescue Xiao Zheyu, Meng Yingying suddenly felt very dizzy and then fell to the ground. Then, she inexplicably appeared on his back, and then, inexplicably, he asked to sleep with her.
Meng Yingying reached out and patted the bed: "Remember to turn off the lights. This is just for sleeping, please don't cross the line." After she finished speaking, she lay down. Shang Mang walked over and lay down beside her. The fragrance emanating from her wafted over, and he could smell it, and could only smell it from her.
The pain in my chest seems to have gotten a little better.
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