old friends
After a while, someone knocked on the door, urging them to wash up and go to the ancestral hall to burn incense and worship their ancestors.
After washing up, the two followed the old woman to the ancestral hall.
The black wood was majestic and solemn, exuding a chilling aura that was intimidating. Even before stepping inside, one was greeted by the damp and cold air.
On the left and right are written: "Looking up three feet, I gaze at the gods; gentle and wicked people and ghosts remain in the human world." The horizontal inscription reads: "A secluded heart inquires about feelings."
Li Yin stared blankly at these things, and she couldn't help but murmur to herself. When the old woman heard this, her face turned pale. She was about to speak, but when she glanced at Wen Youqing and saw that he didn't agree, she swallowed the words that were about to come out.
The person, whose face bore the marks of time, unconsciously tightened their grip on the brown Buddhist prayer beads in their hand. They murmured softly, almost in a trance, "Gods and Buddhas, please forgive me..."
As Li Yin gazed into the distance, images floated through his mind: withered trees, dried-up wells, the night, a lonely moon, and the desolate autumn wind.
A man stood under a tree, his hands stained with blood, white Bodhi seeds slowly turning in his hand, "clack clack..." one after another.
Upon seeing this, Li Yin, who was hiding behind a haystack, was startled, and the rabbit lantern she was holding fell to the ground.
The man spotted her, and she turned to run, but her small body held her back. She took two steps and fell to the ground, scraping her hands and getting mud all over her pink new clothes.
The man walked slowly toward her. As he got closer, Li Yin forced herself to stand up, but the abrasions on her knees still ached. She had only just stood up when she fell back down.
The footsteps grew louder, and Li Yin felt increasingly panicked. Was there anyone... who could help her...?
She prayed in her heart for the arrival of the so-called gods. She bowed her head in devout prayer, closed her eyes, and when she opened her eyes again, a pair of clean hands were stretched out in front of her.
These hands, still bearing the tenderness of youth, possessed the softness of a child. Li Yin looked at the hands before him and, without hesitation, placed his own hand on them.
The man shielded her behind him. She looked at the man in front of her, dressed in green and wearing a jade bracelet on his wrist.
Before she could even see clearly, everything around her shifted, the sky rose high, and the person in front of her turned around. His face went from blurry to clear, and finally, he turned out to be a familiar face: He Jing.
Towering trees, clear blue sky, the man smiled and whispered to her, "I pray to grow old with you, and never be apart."
Li Yin stood there stunned, his heart filled with ripples of emotion... Why was it He Jing?
Seeing that she remained rooted to the spot, Wen Youqing approached her. His eyes were filled with anger, but his relaxed expression gave off a forced smile. He cupped Li Yin's face and said, "Madam, you should think of me, not others."
Upon hearing this, Li Yin's pupils trembled slightly, and she came back to her senses. She looked at Wen Youqing, and the figure in white gradually overlapped with her. Had they met before?
She turned her eyes to look at Wen Youqing's hand. Her fingers were well-defined, with distinct knuckles, and the black and white of her hair were interwoven like ink paintings.
There were no white bodhi seeds, no blood, but she always felt that Wen Youqing's hands were most beautiful when stained with blood, the red and white complementing each other, the red being alluring and the white being clear and bright.
A hint of a smile appeared in Wen Youqing's eyes. He said, "Madam, it's time to meet our ancestors." His hand slid down Li Yin's face, gently brushing her chin, neck, and arm. He lightly touched her fingertips, testing her gently. Seeing that Li Yin did not resist, he opened his fingers and clasped them together.
Li Yin looked at Wen Youqing with a complicated expression. What exactly did this person want to do to her?
Wen Youqing reached out and gently stroked Li Yin's fingers. He said, "Madam, my feelings for you are genuine."
Li Yin remained silent and simply followed him into the ancestral hall. Upon entering, one would find scriptures inscribed everywhere and covered with gold lacquer.
The highest point of the ancestral hall is not dedicated to the ancestors of the Wen family, but to a Buddha statue. The Buddha statue has a solemn face, kind eyes and eyebrows, is covered in gold leaf, and has lowered eyes and eyebrows, with one side being loving and the other being sinister.
Upon closer inspection, she does bear a resemblance to Wen Youqing.
Li Yin stared at the Buddha statue, first stunned, then looked at Wen Youqing. The man was smiling and looking at her, and he handed the incense stick, which already had a glowing ember, to Li Yin.
The old woman stood to the side, fiddled with the prayer beads in her hand, starting to move faster as she entered the hall. When she saw her hands stained with incense, she closed her eyes.
Li Yin reached out and took it, his mind filled with countless thoughts. He pretended to be devout and knelt on the prayer mat. Then, holding the incense stick, he gently bowed to the many memorial tablets in front of him.
Whether he was worshipping the ancestors or the golden Buddha who was superior to them, Li Yin had no idea.
Wen Youqing lit three incense sticks and knelt on the prayer mat beside Li Yin. His movements were precise and his worship was devout, as if he were making a wish.
With the first bow, the incense burned out; with the second bow, a gentle breeze blew; with the third bow, the wind subsided and all was quiet.
After Li Yin finished his prayers, he saw Wen You bowing three times.
I pray to Heaven that Li Yin and I will be entangled forever, through countless lifetimes.
After the prayers were finished, the old woman opened her eyes and said to Wen Youqing, "Young Master, Madam has something to ask you and requests your presence."
Wen Youqing gently tugged at Li Yin's sleeve and said, "There are just as many places to have fun in the capital as in Jincheng, my wife. You go and enjoy yourself for a while, and I'll come find you later." After saying this, he got up and walked away slowly. As he rounded the threshold, he glanced back at Li Yin, then smiled and walked away.
The person Li Yin waited for was a maid she had never seen before. The maid had delicate features, wore her hair in two buns, and had a red mole between her eyebrows.
Upon seeing the red mole between the man's eyebrows, Li Yin realized that this was someone from Lady Ding's side. After Lady Ding passed away, she no longer concerned herself with the court, but instead spent her days in her courtyard burning incense and praying to Buddha, devoutly striking the wooden fish and carefully turning the Bodhi beads in her hand.
The man bowed to Li Yin and said, "Madam Wen."
Li Yin was momentarily taken aback by the title and it took him a while to realize that "Madam Wen" referred to her.
Bi Hai spoke respectfully, gesturing for Li Yin to proceed, and said, "Please."
Li Yin then lifted her skirt and stood up, following Bi Hai's directions. She walked along the long corridor, passed the bamboo pavilion, and walked a hundred steps to the door, where the carriage was already prepared.
Li Yin lightly stepped onto the steps, tested them briefly, and then went up in two steps. Bi Hai followed. Inside the carriage, Bi Hai sat upright to the side, displaying a somewhat imposing air about her.
As Li Yin watched, he straightened his back. Outside the window, in less than half an incense stick's time, the alleyway connected to the main street, and the crowds went from sparse to dense, from quiet to lively.
Once they found a secluded spot, they stopped the carriage. Bi Hai disembarked first and stood aside to wait for Li Yin to get off.
Li Yin looked at the crowd, slowly walked down, and the two of them entered the long street filled with the warmth of everyday life.
Vendors hawked their wares, vying to offer their unique offerings. People gathered in tall buildings, temples, pavilions, and towers, drinking and chatting happily.
The capital city is bustling with prosperity, and gold is everywhere. But this gold is not the gold of the past; it is the gold of talented men and beautiful women. Brothels and restaurants are combined, and talented men and beautiful women are matched. A beautiful woman spends a thousand gold coins to win a piece of writing from a talented man, and a talented man spends ten thousand books to win a smile from a beautiful woman.
Li Yin and Bi Hai entered the brothel together. What they smelled was the fragrance of flowers, and what they saw was an abundance of wealth. They sighed at the riches of this paradise.
Outside the brothel were glass lanterns, inside were inscriptions of gold and silver, calligraphy and paintings were everywhere, and there were countless wines and spirits. A long scroll filled with writing suddenly floated down from the fifth floor and landed in front of Li Yin, gently brushing against her cheek.
Li Yin looked up and saw a pair of familiar eyes. The person was stunned at first, and then a complex emotion welled up in his eyes. His gaze towards Li Yin contained resentment, regret, self-blame, and a trace of madness that Li Yin could not understand.
The blue-clad figure from my memory overlapped with this person—He Jing. He was actually here too.
Seeing Li Yin gazing at the people upstairs, Bi Hai asked, "Madam, do you like this calligraphy and painting?"
Li Yin gently patted her hand and said, "I'm going to the fifth floor, I'll be right back."
Bi Hai stood alone in place, looking towards the spot where the scroll had fallen from the fifth floor, but the figure had vanished.
Li Yin walked up the stairs, taking two steps at a time, quickly ascending the stairs. His robes fluttered, carrying some red silk ribbons that gently swayed. When Li Yin reached the fifth floor, he saw a person dressed in blue.
The man had lowered eyes and long, dark hair, adorned with an ordinary wooden hairpin. A bamboo was carved on the hairpin, its natural expression making it seem almost alive.
The man's face was pale, his eyes and brows looked sickly, but his lips were unusually red, like blood.
As Li Yin got closer, she saw He Jing clearly. She was taken aback; he looked quite different from the person she remembered.
He was sickly and frail, his face pale, and all his youthful spirit had vanished.
When He Jing saw her arrive, he looked somewhat surprised. He smiled faintly and said, "You... still hate me?"
Li Yin remained silent but moved closer. She asked, "Is this your idea, or the He family's idea?"
Li Yin always felt that someone like He Jing wouldn't do such a thing, or rather, someone with He Jing's face wouldn't do this.
Her memories were fragmented, but some had returned. Li Yin herself didn't know that she and He Jing had met when they were young. That person had stood in front of her, helped her up, and protected her behind him.
Upon hearing this, He Jing carefully poured a cup of tea and placed it on the table. He lowered his eyes and said, "Li Yin, I am now the head of the He family. My will is the will of the He family."
Li Yin listened, walked over, and sat down opposite He Jing. He Jing's pale hand was pushing the teacup forward. He caught a glimpse of Li Yin's blue robe out of the corner of his eye, paused slightly, and then withdrew his hand.
He said calmly, "Li Yin, you must hate me now."
Li Yin watched as He Jing withdrew her hand into her sleeve, her hand trembling slightly. She frowned slightly, then grabbed He Jing's hand and gently placed it on the table. She took her pulse and said, "He Jing, regarding the matter of the massacre of your family, I will only settle accounts with those who deserve it."
I don't think you're that kind of person. If you were, I could make you wish you were dead.
He Jing lowered his eyes, staring at Li Yin's hand on his pulse, and slowly closed his eyes. He said, "What is true is not true, what is not true is not true. Li Yin, let some things be forgotten. The past is like smoke and clouds, and the childhood banquet only stays in the time of childhood."
Li Yin ignored it and instead carefully examined the pulse. It was sometimes strong and sometimes weak, without any pattern or regularity; in short, it was chaotic.
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