Chapter 67 Mission Progress 99% "Souls are entangled, life and death are together...
She reached out and pinched the soft flesh on the boy's cheek: "Smile."
Under her gaze, Yan Shiman smiled obediently.
She gave a piece of the mooncake in her hand to the boy, and when she saw the boy looking stunned, she laughed out loud.
"The Mid-Autumn Festival is all about eating mooncakes." She stuffed the mooncake into his mouth and blinked, "Although it's a bit greasy, it's a ritual of every festival."
"Is it a festive ritual? It's delicious. Thank you, Miss."
The boy tried hard to pretend that the food was delicious. Yin Zhiyi looked at him with a reluctant look and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
"If you really don't like it, don't force yourself." After saying that, Yin Zhiyi was afraid that Yan Shi was quite sensitive, so he added, "When the winter solstice comes, we can still eat dumplings together."
The boy smiled and said, "Okay."
The riverside was already crowded with people in groups of three or four, lighting lanterns and praying.
Everyone had a happy smile on their face.
Yin Zhiyi sighed in his heart, perhaps this is the meaning of Mid-Autumn Festival, everyone can reunite with their families happily and travel together.
She was unconsciously affected by the atmosphere in front of her, and suddenly thought of her master in another time and space, and she couldn't help feeling sad.
In the past, she didn't feel anything about any festival, but now she feels sad.
Suddenly, the young man's question rang in my ears.
“Should we buy this?”
She came back to her senses and met the boy's pupils that reflected the warm yellow light. His eyes were full of anticipation, without a trace of gloom.
Yin Zhiyi noticed that the small stall selling pens and cinnabar in front was surrounded by a lot of people. Business was so good that the vendor never smiled. This was like writing inscriptions on the lanterns. If you write blessings for family, friends, and lovers on the lanterns, your wishes will come true.
She was stunned, looked at the expectation in the boy's eyes, and finally nodded.
Looking at his back, a wonderful warmth rose in my heart. At this moment, the two of them really looked like a family going out together to celebrate the holidays.
She remembered what he had just said - "This is my first time to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival...Miss is also the first person to celebrate Mid-Autumn Festival with me."
The loneliness in the boy's eyes didn't seem fake.
For a moment, the brief description of Yan Shiman’s past in the original book came to Yin Zhiyi’s mind again.
Counting down his first half of life, he was abandoned by his mother, persecuted by his perverted father, favored by his scumbag master, and then abused by the vicious female supporting role...
It was really miserable. Even though she knew that this was a setting created by the author specifically for the villain, she still felt an indescribable dull pain in her heart.
With such a bleak first half of her life, without a single ray of hope, she suddenly seemed to understand why Yan Shiman had to imprison her so that she could have a sense of security.
Just like her at the beginning, after being picked up by the master, she followed the master every day, fearing that she would be abandoned again.
It's just that time passed too long ago, and her later master was so good to her, so good that she completely forgot that she had such an orphan and was passed around like a ball.
At that time, she was in probably the same state of mind as Yan Shiman is now.
Yin Zhiyi's mood, which had just been high, became a little depressed. Was she too harsh on Yan Shiman during this period?
Can a person who does not have a normal childhood really grow up to be a normal person?
Obviously, no.
The fact that he didn't turn into a madman like Ji Changfeng means that he hasn't grown into a crooked person.
The young man smiled and handed her the pen in his hand: "Miss, you can write now."
Yin Zhiyi sighed in her heart, put aside the distracting thoughts in her mind, and decided to think about it slowly after today. At least now, she hoped that Yan Shiman could have a perfect and warm holiday.
That's enough.
Whenever he thinks of Mid-Autumn Festival in the future, he will still have good memories of it.
She took the pen from his hand, dipped it in cinnabar, and wrote carefully on the lantern paper with smiling eyes -
"May your time of swallowing be filled with peace and prosperity, and may you live long and worry-free."
The young man looked at the words and tightened his grip on the lamp: "Miss, don't you want to pray for yourself?"
Yin Zhiyi winked at him and said, "I light lanterns like this every year. This year, I want to give you the quota for prayers so that you can get double blessings."
"Very clever. Hey, have you finished writing your own?"
She leaned forward to see.
But the young man dodged her with a smile. He lowered his eyes and smiled: "Thank you, Miss, but the wish won't work if you say it out loud."
When the young man was writing, his sleeve swept across the back of Yin Zhiyi's hand, leaving a sharp ink mark on the paper.
Yin Zhiyi felt a tingling sensation on the back of his hand, and couldn't help but become more curious. He muttered, "What kind of wish is this? It's so mysterious?"
The lanterns rose and fell on the water, and she watched the two lanterns drifting farther and farther away.
The boy's eyes were always glued to her profile.
The light cast a soft glow on the profile of the person in front of him, and the gentle smile on Yan Shi's lips gradually distorted.
When Yin Zhiyi turned around, he immediately lowered his eyelashes, and all his sinisterness was disguised as gentle wetness.
It was like a whisper, or like a response to her previous question: "Except for the young lady, there is no one in this world who can make a wish for me."
"I hope Miss can be like me..."
Yin Zhiyi didn't hear the last few words clearly.
The young man changed the subject: "The wind is so strong." He reached out and gathered Yin Zhiyi's cloak.
Yin Zhiyi guessed that it probably contained some words like wishing one to live a hundred years, and suddenly a strange emotion surged in his heart.
Apart from the master, Yan Shiman seemed to be the first person who took the initiative to pray for her.
“Ahem…”
The boy coughed rapidly.
Yin Zhiyi held his hand, which was as cold as holding a piece of ice. She couldn't help but frowned: "Why is it so cold?"
She saw the thin clothes on the boy and remembered that he had already caught a cold. If the wind blew like this, his condition would definitely get worse tomorrow and he might even have a fever.
Yin Zhiyi sighed inwardly: "You are wearing too little, let's go home first." He had originally said that he would give Yan Shiman an unforgettable Mid-Autumn Night, but now it seems that the plan is going to be ruined.
But I didn’t expect that when the boy heard the word "go home", his expression was stunned at first, and then his breathing stopped for a moment.
He pressed half of his face against Yin Zhiyi's warm palm and rubbed it affectionately, as if trying to please his master: "...Okay, let's go home."
Only her shadow was reflected in the boy's clear eyes, an expression of piety and humility.
This time it was Yin Zhiyi's turn to be stunned.
"...Don't look at me like that." She quickly looked away.
But the madly beating heart couldn't stop for a while.
…
A warm yellow glow cast an image on the surface of the river, and hundreds of lanterns swayed gently with the waves.
They are intertwined and connected into a continuous piece, making it impossible to tell who is who.
Among them, two accompanying rabbit lanterns rise and fall in the water, and the splashing water blurs the ink stains.
One of them reads: "May your life be peaceful and smooth, and may you live long and worry-free." The smiling face in the painting at the end of the signature is already blurred.
The other one only has eight simple words - "Souls and spirits are entangled, life and death are the same."
The pen strokes were sharp, and the thick red color wrote not only words, but also obsession.
The two rabbits snuggled together and entangled themselves forward, eventually disappearing into the darkness.
…
Late at night, Yan Shiman unbuttoned his clothes, revealing his pale chest.
The dagger on the table flashed a cold chill.
He ran one hand along his ribs, and when he touched the bone closest to the heart, he suddenly chuckled.
The tip of the knife pierced into the flesh, and blood flowed down along the skin like a small scarlet snake. Cold sweat oozed from the boy's forehead, but the corners of his mouth raised in a sickly arc.
What he wanted was never the lady's companionship during this period of time, what he wanted was for the two of them to be together forever.
In one form or another, the two must be entangled together.
He moved extremely slowly and steadily, the blade making a slight rustling sound as it moved along the periosteum until a section of white bone was separated from the body.
The bloodstained fingertips trembled as they touched the carving tool, and drops of blood dripped onto the palm of the hand, like inlaid rubies...
I don’t know how much time passed.
The young man looked at the bone hairpin and kissed it infatuatedly. His lips and teeth were stained with blood. He whispered softly: "...From now on, it can stroke your black hair on my behalf every day."
*
The northern geese flew south, the temperature gradually dropped, and the persimmons on the trees soon became empty.
Yin Zhiyi rubbed his hands which were cold and found that his body had become weaker recently.
But what she didn't expect was that Yan Shiman was the first to fall ill.
The only good thing was that the shackles on her wrists were extended.
Yan Shiman had a high fever for two whole days.
Yin Zhiyi was extremely anxious and wanted to find a doctor for him, but the boy insisted that it was just a minor illness and he just had to endure it.
She had no choice but to boil the remaining medicine for her cold and give it to Yan Shiman to drink.
Fortunately, it finally subsided on the third day.
Yin Zhiyi stood at the door with the freshly brewed medicine in her hand.
As she lowered her eyes, her gaze fell on the silver chain on her wrist. Yan Shiman often bought these jewellery for her when he went to Beijing, but none of them seemed as exquisite as this one.
The last time I gave it to her on Mid-Autumn Festival night, she didn't look at it carefully.
Looking at it now, I feel that the hollow pattern on the bell looks a little familiar.
Just as she was about to take another look.
Bang--
Suddenly, there was a sound of breaking porcelain in the room.
When Yin Zhiyi pushed the door open, he saw the young man half-lying over the couch, his pale fingers gripping the edge of the table, and the teacup shattered on the blue bricks.
"Don't move!" She rushed forward and supported him, her eyes revealing the pain she couldn't hide.
Leaning closer to the boy, she smelled a strong medicinal aroma, as if it had been marinated.
It's not unpleasant, but the smell is a bit strong. Smelling this smell every day, Yin Zhiyi feels that his sense of smell has become a little dulled.
The boy's palms were frighteningly cold, his eyelashes were covered with physiological tears of pain, and the high fever made his throat a little hoarse.
Yin Zhiyi poured a glass of water for the boy, put him on the bed, and handed the medicine to his mouth: "Drink it quickly."
The boy took small sips, his drooping eyelashes blocking his sight at the moment.
Yin Zhiyi suddenly noticed that the boy seemed to be missing a section of hair on the left side. Although it was not noticeable among his long hair, she still asked casually, "What happened to your hair on that side?"
The boy said naturally, "Last time when I was cooking porridge, the fire accidentally touched my hair, so I just cut it off."
Yin Zhiyi warned: "It burned quite a lot, be careful next time."
Having said that, he took the medicine bowl away.
"Cough cough..." The boy who was originally lying down suddenly reached out and grabbed her. He coughed violently, and his knuckles turned white.
Yin Zhiyi saw that he was so excited and thought he was going to say something important, so he quickly supported him.
After a moment, the young man stared at her eagerly and said, "...Miss, you said before that we can eat dumplings together on the winter solstice. Can we eat them on the beginning of winter?"
Yin Zhiyi: “…” What a greedy boy.
But of course she agreed to this simple request that she could agree to.
After all, she felt that Yan Shiman's current behavior was a bit like the reaction of an animal to stress.
He becomes uneasy at the slightest sign of trouble.
She didn't want him to be in a state of mental tension every day; that would be too tiring.
Yin Zhiyi walked out of the room, and the chains on her wrists clinked.
The young man followed her with his eyes, his hand under the quilt tightly grasping the bone hairpin that he had not yet given away. The end of the hairpin was already stained with fresh blood.
The wound on his chest, which he had bandaged tightly with gauze, continued to bleed. He seemed unable to hold it back any longer, and inky lines appeared on his exposed skin again. After a few breaths, the murderous aura was forcefully suppressed, and the young man violently spat out a mouthful of blood.
This body is like a rag doll, full of holes, and is decaying at an unimaginable speed.
But the boy's face looked a little rosy, like the last glimmer of life of a dying person.
*
The snow fell especially early this year. After Yan Shiman recovered from his illness, Yin Zhiyi was locked back into the house again.
But this time, she was less resistant and just sighed a few more times.
One morning, Yin Zhiyi opened the window and was filled with a gust of cold air.
She looked up and saw a vast expanse of white.
It’s snowing!
She reached out to catch the snowflakes, but the window was closed by a pale hand.
"You will catch a cold." The young man grabbed Yin Zhiyi's wrist from behind and rubbed his forehead against his shoulder, but his eyes were terrifyingly gloomy.
Yin Zhiyi tried to persuade Yan Shiman: "But this is the first snow of winter, I want to see it."
"Can we watch inside the room? I'll tie the lady's hair." He suddenly softened his voice, but his words were filled with irresistible paranoia. When his eyelashes drooped, they blocked the possessiveness surging in his eyes.
Yin Zhiyi could clearly sense the recent changes in Yan Shiman. She frowned and asked, "What's wrong with you recently?"
She found that Yan Shiman was acting more and more strangely recently. He even didn't sleep at night, but just sat quietly beside the bed and looked at her.
After being frightened several times, Yin Zhiyi is now left with only confusion.
In fact, she had thought about it seriously since the last Mid-Autumn Night.
Suddenly I realized——
It seemed like she had always been too indulgent towards Yan Shiman.
She originally thought it was gratitude, or perhaps pity.
But thinking about it carefully, when she saw Yan Shiman injured, she was so nervous that she couldn't breathe. Every time she applied the medicine, she was more concerned than Yan Shiman himself. Later, when she found out that Yan Shiman pretended to be pitiful and weak to deceive her, her first reaction was distress rather than anger...
Are these instinctive reactions really caused by gratitude or guilt?
Behind her, the young man said in a muffled voice: "I'm just worried that the young lady will suddenly disappear one day."
Through the bronze mirror, Yin Zhiyi saw his drooping brows.
I felt a little confused.
As if to verify something, she suddenly turned her head, reached out to hold his pale face, and kissed the corner of his mouth.
The moment their lips touched, the boy's pupils shrank suddenly and the hairpin in his hand fell to the ground.
——This was the first time she took the initiative to kiss him.
He froze in place, even his breathing stagnated, until Yin Zhiyi gently bit his lower lip. Then he suddenly reacted and began to kiss back almost violently.
While panting, the young man called out in a hoarse voice: "Miss..."
Yin Zhiyi put her arms around his waist and felt the man in her arms trembling. During this long parting kiss, she stroked the boy's wet eyelashes.
Yin Zhiyi felt that she could now respond to Yan Shiman’s previous question.
But when the words came to her lips, she paused.
The boy's breathing was hot and chaotic. When he opened his eyes and looked at Yin Zhiyi, he spoke with some difficulty: "Miss, why did you kiss me? Is it because... you feel pity for me?"
A kiss instantly broke his hardened heart. He always knew that he was a madman and abnormal. No matter from which aspect, Ji Changfeng was right. He and his son were exactly the same. It seemed that he had never received true love.
He didn't dare to ask for anything, he knew the lady wouldn't like him. The only reasonable reason he could think of was that she felt sorry for him.
Yin Zhiyi raised her hand and brushed away the scattered hair on his forehead: "It's not because I feel pity, it's just because I want to kiss you."
Looking at the face so close before her, her heart beat faster. She suddenly wanted to try harder. Even though the system had clearly told her that the NPCs in the world of the book could not be taken away, she still wanted to try other ways.
A moment.
Yin Zhiyi pecked the boy's lips a few times: "Yan Shiman, wait for me, okay?"
The young man stared at the person in front of him in a daze. Hearing these words, he felt like he was in an illusion, and a little bit of joy surged in his heart.
But after a few breaths, his heart was filled with a huge panic.
She is lying to you.
Sooner or later she will leave.
…
These two sentences were jumping around in my mind almost frantically.
Yan Shiman buried his head in Yin Zhiyi's shoulder, and where she couldn't see, his eyes were bright red.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
