Black Dream
As for where the original Jiang Nian is at this moment...
Xiao Yingzhu withdrew her gaze and turned to look at Lan beside her.
"Can you call her back?"
Lan's gaze settled for a moment, and he said, "...She needs to reconcile with 'her' herself."
"But, I will be back soon."
Water ripples once again spread out from the scene in front of them. These silent black and white images, after several changes, became a clear space where only the sound of flowing water could be heard.
“…”
Xiao Yingzhu withdrew her gaze without any reluctance, turned around and walked towards the colorful reality.
What Jiang Nian was like before had little to do with him.
What he wanted was Jiang Nian, with whom he had reached an alliance.
Jiang Nian was worried and uneasy because he was in a strange place, but he was able to face difficulties head-on in times of danger. He was gentle, quiet, yet seemed smart.
Lan didn't have the mind to pay attention to the subtle changes in other people's expressions. After coming here to complete this task, he would not come again.
This hometown, which he has cherished in the past, will appear in a brand new look when he returns again.
I wonder if it will be after hundreds of changes, or after thousands or tens of thousands of years?
Time has left no traces on his face, and the things he has experienced in the past are like this vast space and time, which can only cause ripples at some point in his life.
The more times it happens, the more you forget the feelings you had.
Until there is no more emotion in my heart, even if I can embark on a long journey again...
The black and white world gradually became colored. Lan looked up and saw that the courtyard of the Duke's Mansion was still lush and green. The crow that brought the letter floated around in the air, circled leisurely, and landed on Xiao Yingzhu's shoulder.
He raised his eyes and looked at the crow on his shoulder. His eyelashes drooped slightly and fell on the mailbox above him. He even reached out and took the thin white mailbox down.
Lan stood outside the window, glancing at the girl inside the house through the window lattice. His eyes fell on her gradually relaxed brows, then he looked away in an instant.
"If there is nothing else, I will leave first."
The rolled-up paper was spread out by slender fingers. Xiao Yingzhu's eyes moved slightly, and she responded faintly.
The man standing not far away concealed his figure again as he did before, and disappeared from the spot the next moment.
The afternoon light and shadow danced on the grass, flashing hazily, like a dream.
Xiao Yingzhu withdrew his gaze from the open space where Fang Cailan was still, and without staying at the window for long, he went towards the place under the pavilion.
The maid who was cleaning the courtyard came back to her senses from her trance and subconsciously looked around for a while. She was startled to see that Xiao Yingzhu had moved from the window to the pavilion at some point.
When did Duke Xiao go there?!
What about that Mr. Lan just now?
In a panic, the maid looked around with a broom, but there was no trace of him.
It was as if Young Master Lan disappeared in an instant.
She was clearly cleaning the space by the gate of the courtyard, but why didn't anyone go out? Was she distracted?
The maid looked around for a moment, and wanted to look at Xiao Yingzhu, but when she glanced at his face, she was stunned for a moment and immediately looked away.
It’s a very cold gaze, so it’s better not to look at it.
—
Jiang Nian was immersed in a warm ocean.
She felt that her body was very light at this moment, as if it was about to float out of her body.
In my ears was the sound of bubbles floating up and then bursting dully, and my vision was lightly covered by mist and I couldn't open it at all.
But she could feel the breath of the outside world.
Her mind was still inside her body, and Jiang Nian could vaguely know who picked her up from the ground, and dropped those cold tears on her neck, and whose hands tightly grasped her shoulders, and the touch that was so hot that just a light touch on the cheek could leave a deep impression.
Instinct drove Jiang Nian to hug the other person, but he had lost his strength and could only let the other person do what he wanted.
…
I really want to open my eyes and see what Xiao Yingzhu’s expression is at this moment.
Such obvious changes in movements... It turns out that even he, who is aloof and good at hiding his emotions, has moments when he loses control of himself.
Jiang Nian tried to reach out and grab the cool fingertips, but he only felt that he had just brushed the edge of the sleeve and was about to fall into the empty space below.
The other person seemed to know what she was thinking, and the next moment he held her hand that was about to drop.
When their skin touched, Jiang Nian felt the familiar body temperature and instantly felt at ease.
In the darkness, she longed for the warmth around her, but at the same time, she felt a vague worry in her heart, thinking about the avalanche.
The snow collapsing from the mountains seemed real and fake. Jiang Nian always felt as if he was hallucinating, but he could also clearly feel the moment when the thick snow covered his body.
The voices around me gradually became unclear as my mind fell into darkness. It was as if those words were soaked in foam and I could no longer listen to them carefully or distinguish them.
The body seems to have reached its limit.
Next time I wake up from a dream, I should be able to see Xiao Yingzhu.
Jiang Nian's consciousness was floating in and out. Everything she had encountered in the army for two months seemed to be strung together like beads. All her memories were broken into pieces, and the smooth mirror surface reflected countless figures of her.
She was washing clothes by the stream, she was taking a note from behind the wooden cabinet, she was dodging arrests, she was setting fire to the barn with a cold yet slightly worried look...
Every figure of her reflected in the mirror seemed to be able to sense the direction where Jiang Nian was, turning sideways or looking back, looking towards where her consciousness was.
A pair of hands suddenly stretched out from behind her, her loose black hair floated in the warm ocean, and her neck was gently pinched. The force was not strong, but it was coercive.
His drowsy consciousness instantly cleared up, and Jiang Nian opened his eyes from the darkness, and there was still a deep and strange warmth in his eyes.
She looked around in the darkness in confusion for a moment, then turned her head and caught a glimpse of the black hair floating in the water from the corner of her eye. She suddenly took a few steps back.
Meeting the other person's gaze, Jiang Nian was stunned for a moment, then lowered his head to look at his hands.
There was darkness all around, and foam was slowly rising from the abyss below, then shattering after reaching a certain level.
My own body... I can still see it.
Jiang Nian blinked slowly, blocking out the false feeling of weightlessness and palpitations that came from looking down into the abyss in his dream, and raised his eyes to look at 'Jiang Nian'.
The body she had grown accustomed to had been taken back by its original owner. Was she now a spirit? Or perhaps a soul?
Jiang Nian couldn't describe in words the body that he could see at the moment, which was unique to his dream. He could only put down his fluorescent hand and look at the 'Jiang Nian' opposite him.
It is a very strange thing to look into the eyes of a body that you have used before, but Jiang Nian was looking at the missing person, or the person who had come back from the dead, and fell into a brief period of thought and silence.
Jiang Nian, who wanted to strangle someone to death slowly, looked coldly at the person who had usurped her power. Without giving Jiang Nian any room to ask questions, he attacked her again, trying to strangle her neck.
Fragmented images flashed through Jiang Nian's mind. What alerted her most at this moment was the modern self she saw in another dream.
If she were strangled to death by this 'Jiang Nian' in front of her, would she be forced to return to the modern era? Would she become a vegetative state, unable to do anything... and only able to lie motionless in a hospital bed?
Having barely dodged the opponent's first attack, Jiang Nian frowned and awkwardly controlled the body in front of him that was formed by his mind.
Since the original owner had no intention of communicating with her, and she could not harm this body, she had no choice but to retreat in the current situation.
Jiang Nian looked around and once again dodged the opponent's attack. His eyes were fixed on the only white light in the darkness, and he swam towards it at a very fast speed.
'Jiang Nian' behind her was chasing her relentlessly, and Jiang Nian had nothing to stop her. She could only avoid the opponent again and again, trying to speed up her movements and swim towards the light above.
After chasing for a while, the person behind seemed to realize what Jiang Nian wanted to do and suddenly slowed down his pace.
Jiang Nian turned his head and saw the other party's hesitation, and smiled:
"You want to kill me, don't you? Why are you still hesitating? Are you afraid that your already shattered consciousness will be dispelled by this light, or are you afraid that everything or everything in this light will... make you afraid?"
Although there are not many speculations about the original owner, Jiang Nian still remembers what he heard from Guizhi when he first traveled to this era.
The previous owner was depressed because of Mr. Li's rejection and fell into a deep sleep. Until she came to this era, the original owner disappeared.
When she saw Guizhi, she obviously thought she was sick.
But how could a normal illness allow a foreign soul to reside here?
Jiang Nian lowered her eyes. All around her were hazy black shadows and clear water light. If she didn't deal with the original owner's affairs here, she would probably find it difficult to escape from here.
The other party was still hesitant because of her words. He slowed down his movements and stopped not far away, staring at her.
The light behind him grew weaker and weaker, flickering slowly. Jiang Nian paid close attention to the movement of the light behind him, facing the original owner, and continued, "Don't you want to find out why you have become like this?"
"...If you kill me, and you don't return to your original body, I think it will rot."
"All that skin and facial features you've carefully maintained will fall away before everyone, becoming horrific and eerie."
"Even so, are you willing to continue to attack me?"
Jiang Nian said something, turned around and ran towards the fading light behind him.
There is no point in talking to the original owner here. Even if I convince him, but this ray of light disappears, wouldn't it be a loss?
Jiang Nian didn't want to rely on the possibility that this light would appear again to save his life.
Therefore, before this light disappears, she must seize the opportunity and enter the light directly.
People like light, and a bright white place is always better than the dark bottom of the water.
After saying these words, Jiang Nian no longer looked at the original owner's reaction. He turned around and swam quickly towards the light in front that was about to disappear.
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