Thunder
The door was gently pushed open, and Hui Zifeng's eyes darkened. He looked up and saw Shuixi putting one hand on the door frame, blocking his way.
"What are you talking about?" Shuixi asked curiously, looking at Fang Zhou who was standing next to the bed with a guilty look on his face.
"Just a greeting." Hui Zifeng turned sideways, indicating that he was going out and asked Shuixi to make way.
Shuixi lowered the hand holding the door frame and leaned sideways to let him out. His inner wariness and dissatisfaction were clearly visible. Hui Zifeng took a few steps, then turned back and said, "Don't worry, you should know what kind of person I am. I don't have any bad intentions. Why are you so nervous? Shuixi, I didn't expect you to have such a side. You really are... a good brother."
Hui Zifeng was not a sentimental person, and he would feel uncomfortable when people around him were sentimental. Because the compliments were sincere, he said them with such reluctance.
Shuixi closed the door, and Fang Zhou carefully settled back into bed. Sometimes she was indeed well-behaved, but that was only in appearance. As soon as others let their guard down, she'd suddenly stir up a big mess. She was always like this. Perhaps it was a personality trait she'd developed at home.
Every time he saw her, Shuixi couldn't help but recall the events of long, long ago. Now, things had changed, and he was just a house-guarding beast. Even after living as a human for a long time, he still didn't know what to do. Those who had passed away could not return. Those who remained were no longer the same people as before.
He first closed the screen window and adjusted the curtains to the perfect position, so that Fang Zhou wouldn't be uncomfortable with the glare. Then, he sat on the stool beside the bed and was silent for a while. Only when he noticed Fang Zhou's confusion did he speak.
"What were you talking about?"
"He said he was your friend, Hui Zifeng. He asked me what happened to make me like this." Fang Zhou answered in detail.
"Are you afraid of me?" Shuixi looked at her behavior and was very confused.
Fang Zhou's aura immediately hardened, but it only lasted for a second. His voice remained weak. "I'm just afraid of being scolded by you. You clearly told me to stay home and not to go out casually, let alone talk to anyone casually, but I still ran out. Brother, was I always like this before?"
Before? How long ago? She knew she was practically the ancestor of these people, but she couldn't remember anything about the past. The feeling of being loved and criticized by family members was familiar to her. If she tried harder, she might remember. Her real family.
But, Shuixi, how much do you know about her? Will her existence harm him?
"Yeah, you're always like this." Shuixi stood up and looked at the bandage wrapped around her head. "But everyone likes you. As long as you don't hurt yourself, no matter what trouble you get into, someone will help you out. Look, you almost died this time, you know? I can't say anything. Do you want some water?"
Yeah, that's strange. She's actually injured. Does this mean the Luoshen Pearl in her body is finally losing its effectiveness? Will she grow old, get sick, and die here like an ordinary person? Will she no longer be forced to flee to another time and space for refuge?
Shuixi held the cup out to Fang Zhou. Seeing her lost in thought, he moved closer. Fang Zhou instantly snapped back to reality, put her mouth close to the cup, and gulped down half the water. She seemed unaware of what she had done, still lost in thought. Shuixi had no choice but to wipe the remaining water from her lips with a tissue.
"Brother, have you ever seen anything strange?" Fang Zhou saw that Shuixi was not very angry, so he spoke to him without any emotion and asked an ordinary question.
"What's strange?"
Fang Zhou thought about it, but no description seemed appropriate. "For example, He Ai's fur color sometimes changes."
"What's so strange about that?" Shui Xi said, guiding her to lie down. "There's a kind of cat whose fur changes color depending on the weather or its physical condition. It's a rare species. Don't tell anyone about this, or someone with ulterior motives might steal it and sell it for money."
Fang Zhou was so excited that she turned around and touched the wound. She stayed still, afraid that she would open her eyes and find herself in a strange place again. Then she heard Shui Xi say in her ear, "Be careful, sleep more at this time, and don't run around."
She opened her eyes, and nothing around her had changed.
"I disappeared for a few years and came back, and I haven't changed at all. Don't you think it's strange?" Shui Xi said to her. After she disappeared a few years ago, he had been looking for her. He finally found the whereabouts of Tan Songqi and rescued her.
"You've changed." Shuixi covered her with the quilt and gently covered her eyes with his palms. "Go to sleep. Don't think too much. You've become depressed now. It's my fault. You don't have to worry about anything in the future. I will take good care of you and be kind."
Fang Zhou fell asleep quickly. Shuixi could see it was raining in her dream, and nothing could be clearly seen. There seemed to be the sound of horses' hooves on bluestone, the patter of leather shoes on tile, the sound of burning firewood, and the sound of water flowing between bricks and tiles. He couldn't tell when the memory was from. He doubted she could tell either.
In that case, we can start from the beginning.
When Shuixi left, a faint golden light appeared outside Fang Zhou's window, hidden in the afterglow of the setting sun. He pushed open Ming Yan's door again, and seeing that she was also fast asleep, he quietly left.
The night was already deep. A thick black gas, like a swarm of mosquitoes, sometimes dispersed, sometimes huddled together, passing through tall buildings and low, old houses. In a short time, it swept across most of the city, even the doghouses were not spared.
Finally, the black gas smelled some traces. It drifted away and disappeared into the darkness.
A window was being opened and a figure was swaying.
At three o'clock in the morning, the entire residential building was pitch black, with only that one window lit.
The hostess was sitting at the dining table, savoring a plate of dim sum with a cup of tea before her. A wisp of steam swirled, and a dark shadow gradually moved from the window to the table.
"You almost killed her." Shuixi's face emerged from the shadows, his head blocking most of the light from above. A huge shadow dragged behind him, filling half the room.
The hostess took a sip of tea leisurely and looked at him with raised eyelids.
Shuixi saw the expression of his former master on the woman's face. Her face, which had always been polite and proper, now looked even gloomier.
"What's wrong? Have you learned how to behave now?" The woman sneered. "You're no match for He'an. Look at them. After all this time, He'an is still obediently following her. What are you and I? We're both jokes."
Shuixi also looked down on his former master, mocking him, "Now all you have left is this resentment. No matter how long it takes, you'll still be tormented like this. You're truly pathetic. No, it's pathetic. You've been like this since childhood, and thousands of years have passed, and you're still like this. You'll never be able to surpass the true head of the Yunsheng Palace."
The woman grabbed the teapot on the table and smashed it into Shuixi's face.
The porcelain shattered upon Shuixi's face, sending most of the hot water from the kettle crashing down onto his face. His wet hair fell from his head, and drops of water trickled down his increasingly pale face. Like a knife cleaving through the rain, no amount of wind or rain could dampen his long-buried murderous intent.
Under the bright light, Shuixi's body gradually transformed into a misty black hole, swallowing everything around it. The room instantly darkened, and it quickly approached the woman.
Despite this, Shuixi felt a pang of reluctance, and in the seconds before the other party vanished into thin air, he silently bid farewell to his former master. Everything should be allowed to return to its proper place and continue as it was meant to be.
The once glorious tower and the people who once protected this land were no longer needed. He should have made this decision earlier, rather than waiting until Fang Zhou was accidentally injured.
The water droplets on his face were still dripping down and landing on the ground, like a bolt of thunder out of the blue.
The ordinary woman lay on the floor, and the last bit of her consciousness dissipated as Shuixi retracted his shadowy tentacles.
The smell of some kind of herb in the air became clearer at this time.
Shuixi clenched his fists tightly, like an ordinary person would do when angry.
Thunder in the clear sky.
The strong light illuminated the dark sky at three o'clock in the morning as if it were daytime.
Fang Zhou woke up instantly. Through the heavy curtains, he could still clearly see flashes of lightning and roars of thunder outside.
"It's dangerous to go out in this weather."
Fang Zhou had forgotten who had told her that. Now, she was afraid too. The loud noise and the bright light made her feel like she could easily lose her life.
The door of the ward was gently pushed open.
She heard the sound and looked towards its source alertly. Coincidentally, a flash of lightning went out and she could not see anything. She only felt the wind blowing from the door, which carried a wet smell.
She couldn't help but hold her breath.
Dust-covered memories seemed to gradually resurface, and Fang Zhou wondered if he had any deep feelings for rainy nights like this.
"Who are you?" she asked.
Another flash of lightning illuminated the entire ward. In this moment of light, Fang Zhou could clearly see the face of the person at the door.
In nightmares from time immemorial, that man's voice would always linger in her ears. She tried to escape, but each time she was trapped in his shadow, only turning away when she was about to wake up. She had imagined what that man looked like many times.
She didn't know why, but now that she saw his face, she was certain that this person was the one in her nightmare.
"Fawn."
The hoarse voice, the thin body, the sunken eye sockets, the overly pale skin, the eyes that were fixed on her, and the walking posture that seemed to have no control over his limbs - everything was too strange.
"Fawn."
He was approaching. The smell of the forest after the rain hit him violently.
Fang Zhou finally recognized the man as Song Shiwen, who was supposed to be in a coma. She heard him calling her name as he was dying.
Song Shiwen tripped over himself and instinctively sought shelter, grabbing the blanket Fang Zhou was holding. Fang Zhou had hoped to use the blanket to prevent him from falling to the ground, but she was pulled over instead, tumbling into his arms.
A white blanket separated their bodies. Lightning flickered, the room dimming and brightening. Their faces flickered as they looked at each other.
"Have I seen you somewhere before?" Fang Zhou spoke first. The longing for her in this man's eyes stirred a torrent of emotion within Fang Zhou. Few people in this world felt such passionate feelings for her. It made her seem to forget what time it was, trying to place herself in that hazy memory, like reaching for the stars.
Song Shiwen raised his hand tremblingly and approached Fang Zhou's face. He wanted to touch it but didn't dare to. He wanted to kiss her face which was still exactly the same as before, but he didn't want to waste the time to look at her.
Originally filled with hatred for her, the moment he finally saw her, the vengeful spirit let go of his hatred and only wanted to rekindle their past relationship. Fortunately, she seemed to have forgotten everything that had happened.
"Do you miss me?" After he said this, he didn't dare to look into her eyes and tentatively hugged her body. She didn't refuse and hugged him gently.
"I miss you, I miss you so much." Fang Zhou thought of a poem.
I worship the magpie bridge in the Yunsheng Palace. Whose husband is coming to the pavilion this morning? The deer-riding mountain god is less kind than you. The lion roars and plays with love, but the moon is not hidden in the coffin.
From her hospital room window, she could see a shopping mall's electronic display screen, where Mr. Zhao Yuwei's promotional advertisements were played one after another. His inscriptions were written in ancient Chinese characters.
She always remembered her name, Cang Yue. The coffin didn't contain the moon, meaning she wasn't dead. Because her family had lived on Luqi Mountain for generations, her last name was Lu. Lu Cang Yue.
The poem also contained the name of the beloved she longed for. "A deer rides on the mountain god, but wisdom is not as good as you." Her beloved's name was Huijiqing. She recognized the ancient text, but it took her a long time to reluctantly accept that the protagonists of the poem were her and the one she loved.
"Ziqing." Fang Zhou called uncertainly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
