Chapter 246 Epilogue - New World Arc (43)
Li Nian didn't know if repeating a lie a thousand times would make it the truth.
But he did know that humans are forgetful creatures.
If the journey is too long and there is no time for reflection, the path will gradually deviate from the goal.
Only when you stop and look back at the road you came from will you suddenly realize that you have unknowingly gone in the opposite direction.
What Li Nian needs to do is to confuse the public and spread misinformation.
To prevent the other party from discovering early on that you have already deviated from the course... or to keep the other person in the dark from beginning to end.
Why turn back?
—Now that I'm already by your side.
Why do we have to stop again?
—Since at the end of this road there will be no one else but you and me.
The outstretched hand folded inward, seemingly unintentionally embracing the young man in its arms, playfully covering his eyes, which were often shrouded in weariness.
With soft lips and tongue, he subtly and innocently evaded the other person's occasional uneasy inquiries.
Like a demon skilled in disguise...
Pretend to be an innocent and trapped fellow traveler who inadvertently enters your territory.
Gradually lower the other person's guard, relax their vigilance, until...
until……
Li Nian suddenly realized that even she didn't know when it would end.
It turns out that it wasn't just the young man being embraced who strayed from his original aspirations; he himself had done so as well…
—Actually, they're pretty much the same.
It's just that the desire to keep something has changed to the desire to keep the person who gave it to you.
Therefore, they did not hesitate to disguise themselves as someone else.
Like the Painted Skin Demon in that book, who was originally a monster with a blue face and fangs, and an ugly and terrifying appearance.
Donning the skin she painted herself, she transformed into a beautiful woman.
She jumped into the scholar's arms in a start, her face showing panic but her heart filled with secret joy.
They chuckled to themselves, unseen by anyone, as the heavy doors leading to the outside slowly closed behind them, the scholar who had fallen into the trap remaining completely unaware...
"I...I'm so scared..."
Li Nianli spoke timidly in the dim light.
Her soft, long hair fell loosely, like dense, dark algae, tangled and spread out beside the bed.
That night, a fierce storm raged.
A faint rumble of thunder could be heard outside the window.
A damp night breeze seeped in through the cracks in the window, causing the thin nightgown to flutter, making the figure in front of her appear even more precarious and frail...
Yu Qingzhou stared intently at the young man before her, speechless for a moment.
He had just woken up from his sleep.
The dreams were chaotic and too numerous to count; they vaguely recalled various past events, a jumble of interpersonal relationships, and endless entanglements...
And being in it, I felt like a flying insect that had accidentally fallen into a spider web.
Once you're entangled, you can't break free or escape.
In a state of extreme confusion and anxiety, Yu Qingzhou suddenly awoke—
Something that was hard to tell if it was rain or cold sweat slid down the young man's forehead, landing coolly on his neck and sending a silent shiver through him.
He then turned his head and saw the figure standing by the bed.
So alone, pale and frail, like a wandering soul with nowhere to go in the dead of night.
"Young Taoist priest—"
A familiar call rang out nearby.
Through the sounds of wind and rain, it penetrated straight into Yu Qingzhou's ears and heart.
It sounded almost like someone else's voice.
In a daze, he felt as if he had returned to that dusky evening.
The blood-red setting sun cast its rays upon the lush grassy slopes.
A stream babbled in the distance, and Yu Qingzhou, standing on a slightly higher spot, spotted a solitary figure in the distance.
—The girl I saw during the day.
Yu Qingzhou hesitated whether to walk over.
Because of the fervor and passion in the girl's eyes whenever she looked at him... he was a bit slow on the uptake, but he wasn't really a blockhead.
How could I not understand?
How can you really agree to that immediately?
Yu Qingzhou wasn't entirely without affection for Yun Yao, but this affection had nothing to do with romantic love; it was simply an appreciation for beautiful people and things.
Actually, it wasn't entirely impossible for him to take the girl away, just as she wished.
But what happens after that?
After a brief escape, where will the girl who left her hometown ultimately go?
Ultimately, Yu Qingzhou herself was also embroiled in lawsuits.
Therefore, it is neither possible nor desirable for me to take on the additional responsibility of a young girl's safety and happiness.
After refusing the other party's request, Yu Qingzhou intentionally or unintentionally avoided situations where the two of them were alone.
However, after a moment's hesitation, Yu Qingzhou went over that night.
Perhaps because it was his last night in the area.
Perhaps because the twilight was so melancholic, it amplified the profound loneliness that enveloped the other person.
The moment his eyes met those eyes, he recognized that it was not Yun Yao herself.
Very similar.
But it wasn't him.
Yu Qingzhou quickly realized that this was probably Yun Yao's twin brother, who never showed himself in public.
It's called Yunzhi.
He remembered the faint smile on the other person's face when they responded to him.
—That should also belong to Yunzhi himself, right?
When they received the jade pendant from Yu Qingzhou, their palms accidentally touched.
The fingertips felt cold to the touch.
A chill that should have existed only in memories spread.
Yu Qingzhou suddenly snapped out of her daze and looked closely before realizing that her hand, which was holding onto the edge of the bed, had accidentally touched the boy's cold hair.
The hair was wet.
Not only that, but water droplets were even dripping from the boy's chin.
One point, two points...
It seems that what just landed on my forehead was also—
“I…I heard her calling out like that again in my dream…calling ‘little Taoist priest’ over and over again…”
"..."
"I...I really couldn't sleep. I was so scared. The first thing I wanted to do when I opened my eyes was to see you...Yu Qingzhou, it's so good to see you here, safe and sound."
very nice……
The boy said this, seemingly letting out a huge sigh of relief.
Suddenly, I sneezed out of the blue and stood there shivering involuntarily.
—In that case, I'll head back now.
He said, and smiled sheepishly.
After speaking, the boy stood still, cautiously observing the expression on the young man's face, seemingly waiting for the latter to agree before immediately taking his leave.
His shy, almost silly expression didn't quite match his face.
The result was surprisingly harmonious.
That's good.
It was as if, at least, Yu Qingzhou wouldn't mistakenly believe that the person standing by her bedside wasn't the boy she had watched grow up, but someone who had come back from the dead...
Or something else, a ghost that has been resurrected through another's body.
That's good.
The boy was allowed to return the way he came.
Nothing worse will happen.
As long as... you ignore the other person's pale face, which is slightly bluish from the cold, and the forced smile they are putting on.
However, Yu Qingzhou still failed to do so.
Just like that year, he couldn't control himself from walking into the twilight and becoming a lonely figure.
He could no longer ignore the boy's current predicament.
"Stay here, don't catch a cold."
As he finished speaking, he seemed to see a little light emanating from the depths of those eyes.
From initial disbelief to an uncontrollable secret joy.
That clarity and understanding.
Looking at it this way, it seems to resemble that bright-eyed girl even more.
Oh well.
Yu Qingzhou thought to herself, "I'm here to pay off my debt after all."
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