Chapter 104 Yin Peach Blossom (34) "You're not satisfied with this trajectory..."
Xiao Liu has an extraordinary patience for reading.
Traveling thousands of miles and reading thousands of books are ways to understand the world. She is like a sponge, focusing on absorbing fragments of the world to fill the gaps in her life.
She didn't know many characters, so she read very slowly. Xie Tan leaned against her and read to her softly to help her recognize the characters.
She chose books with lots of illustrations and few words, trying to read them little by little on her own, in order to free him up. But she became engrossed in them instead, and she quite liked these illustrated books.
While reading, she rarely asked questions, afraid of disturbing the others in the bookstore, but her mind was very active. She was willing to express her thoughts, writing and drawing in her blank notebook, and using pictures to represent words she didn't know.
She proudly held it up for Xie Tan to see. At first glance, it was hard to understand, but Xie Tan strangely followed her train of thought, comparing it to a thumbs up.
Next to the bookstore is a nut shop. The owner has a little mongrel dog. After eating and drinking its fill, and also to soak up some knowledge, the dog comes running over and rubs against Xiao Liu's leg.
Xiao Liu felt ticklish from being rubbed and chuckled softly a few times. She tentatively and gently rubbed its head, just like Xiao Qi had rubbed her.
The puppy squinted its eyes, rubbed against her palm, and wagged its tail rapidly like a small propeller, but it never barked. It seemed to be an old inspector of the bookstore and knew the rules here.
It basked in the glory, receiving countless pats along the way, and effortlessly made its way out the back door.
Xiao Liu reluctantly turned his head back to continue reading.
When checking out, Xie Tan glanced at the bookshelf displaying the new edition dictionary and bought the fable book she was reading.
The dictionary Su He brought her was returned because she accidentally tore the pages, and he was asked to buy a new one. But before the new one arrived, Black Goat got into trouble.
I don't know if Su He was in the gathering place at that time.
Xie Tan didn't care about Su He's life or death, but he thought that if it were Xiao Liu, he would hope that Su He was safe and sound.
He hopes so too.
Xie Tan leaned against the bookshelf, looking down at Xiao Liu's book. Out of the corner of his eye, he seemed to see a figure on the glass window, watching him with a cold and sticky gaze.
Is Xia Wujin chasing after us again?
He looked over and saw only darkness outside the window reflected in the glass; there was no red dress or long-haired woman.
"What's wrong?" Xiao Liu asked.
"It's nothing," Xie Tan said calmly, turning his gaze away.
However, I just don't know what's gotten into me this time.
After watching for a while, just as they were about to leave, a commotion came from behind the house. In the warehouse in the backyard of the bookstore, a whole row of bookshelves had collapsed, and all the heavy books had fallen down, leaving no place to step in the warehouse.
The boss exclaimed "Oh dear!" and went to pick up the books, with several other regular customers joining in to help.
As they went outside, they saw the shop owner next door looking for his dog, calling out "Xiao Huang." Xiao Liu suddenly froze, a thought popped into his head, and he ran back.
Xie Tan followed her to the small warehouse in the corner of the backyard, where a customer happened to be carrying out the crushed body of a small mongrel dog and bumped into them.
The owner said that the innermost bookcase collapsed first, but was held up by the other bookcases. However, the books all fell down, and by sheer coincidence, they landed on the little dog and buried it.
Because this was a bookstore, it didn't make a sound. By the time the other bookshelves couldn't hold on any longer and collapsed one after another, attracting their attention, it had already breathed its last.
Xiao Liu stared blankly as the deformed little mongrel was taken away, along with the sounds of its owner crying and shouting. She looked down at her palm, where the warmth of the puppy's licks still seemed to linger.
Xie Tan took her hand, encased it in his own, and led her away.
But as soon as they walked out of the street, they saw the horrific scene of a rear-end collision at the intersection. A family of four: the father in the driver's seat was dead; the mother in the back seat had shielded her two children with her body; the younger child had been suffocated by the tight embrace; and the older child was the only survivor, lying dazedly in a pool of blood, as if he hadn't yet understood what had happened.
When the people around shouted and called the police, the child finally came to his senses, looked up, and happened to meet the eyes of Xiao Liu in the crowd.
It was a very quiet look in his eyes.
Xiao Liu's hand tightened, unsure of what expression to give. The smile she could muster when facing imprisonment and the Black Goat... didn't seem to work so well after all.
Xie Tan stayed by her side, watching everything unfold, like a detached observer.
Xiao Liu suddenly asked, "Is it always like this outside?"
"Yes." He replied almost without hesitation.
The cruelty of those words came to him the next second. Xie Tan recalled Lu Jinzhao's slightly indifferent words, "Isn't that how reality is?" and "Life is unpredictable."
The young lady is right, they are very similar.
“It’s just that, perhaps it’s because it’s getting dark,” Xie Tan said, raising his head slightly, “that kind of thing happens more often.”
It's like they're all clustered together, compressing all the probabilities of impermanence into the final apocalypse.
On their way here, they had already heard that it was still dark when it should have been dawn this morning. This was completely unexpected, as the streetlights hadn't had time to turn on, and several traffic accidents had occurred.
This is just a traffic accident.
The outside world... is fresh, but at this moment, it is also a microcosm of the final mass death of the black goats.
Xiao Liu said, "It's going to get worse, isn't it?"
The crowd moved, separating her from the child. Her heart sank for a moment, and she looked up at Xie Tan, asking, "Just like the story you told?"
Plants and animals, humans and civilization, grudges and affections, all headed towards collapse and destruction.
Xie Tan lowered his head, met her gaze, and did not answer.
Xiao Liu first looked away and then lowered his head to look at his toes.
There was nothing she could do. The Black Goat and her tribesmen happened to be away; perhaps they hadn't died, and she was still on the run.
If she could stay a little longer, she thought, she could only leave behind a single flower, hoping to bring some comfort, but more likely, it would only make her feel better, and could not bring anything back to the person who had truly lost something.
"Let's go back, I'm so sleepy." Xiao Liu yawned and forced a smile.
She thought that at least there was someone by her side who came for her and worried about her, and all she could do was to put his mind at ease.
He's been walking with her for a long time; he should rest for a while.
Xie Tan's gaze remained fixed on the scene.
He felt that lingering, chilling gaze once again, flashing across the car window at the scene of the accident.
"Let's not go back yet, let's go somewhere else," Xie Tan said.
While strolling around, he encountered a new cult handing out pamphlets, and the local elders naturally had something to say about it. He heard the name "Lotus Hall."
The guild hall was hidden in the city, in an old wooden building with a string of lotus-shaped copper wind chimes hanging on the door, the sound of which could not drown out the screams inside.
It was a woman's cry. According to the apprentices here, she was Grandma's new apprentice. She said she could sense that her deceased brothers and sisters were beside her, but because she lacked the talent, she couldn't see them. She hoped to have a pair of eyes that could see them clearly, so Grandma was using scorching hot lotus iron to "open her eyes."
Xie Tan and Xiao Liu stopped outside the door and didn't go in. They recognized Su Shao's voice.
Having confirmed his thoughts, Xie Tan took Xiao Liu away. The bronze wind chimes rang without wind, but when he turned back, the wind chimes had fallen silent.
In this storyline, Su Zhi also dies.
In his future, Su Zhi is alive and is one of the people helping the young lady get rid of her unwanted romantic entanglements.
But then he remembered what Yun Song had said: Lotus Hall had long since closed down, and she had died and been resurrected in the tomb... well, it couldn't be considered dying and being resurrected; she had turned into a skeleton that could move freely, so she must have become a ghost.
Is she alive or dead, a living dead?
They headed to their next destination, a Guanyin temple in the wilderness.
At this time, the temple was not yet abandoned or in a mess, so Xie Tan led Xiao Liu inside.
But I heard that monks from other temples will be coming here tomorrow for a Dharma assembly and exchange.
Xiao Liu looked up high, and the complete white-robed Guanyin statue stood upright on the altar, with a kind and benevolent expression, seeing all who came.
Xie Tan didn't want to stay any longer. After confirming that Yun Song's "illusion" was probably on this line, he took Xiao Liu away again. But before he could step out of the palace, everything suddenly went black and the world spun around him. He grabbed the door frame to keep from falling.
He could hear Xiao Liu's panicked voice, but he couldn't hear it clearly. His neck throbbed, and his body started to heat up again, and this time it was getting worse and faster.
What happened? He had only been using the inhibitor for a short time and hadn't experienced any irritation.
He touched Xiao Liu's head, but Xiao Liu was clearly dazed and confused. He touched the wrong spot and swept the books Xiao Liu was holding onto the ground. He tried to pick them up, feeling a little embarrassed, but this time he just sat down by the door.
Xiao Liu struggled to help him up, tried to calm himself down, and ran to find the monks in the temple to say that he was not feeling well and wanted to borrow a room to rest. He then led Xie Tan to the room.
Fortunately, it wasn't far. Xie Tan lay down and, while he was still somewhat conscious, took another injection of an inhibitor.
The temperature drop was slow this time, but at least it was still dropping. After he recovered a bit, he didn't know how much time had passed. Xiao Liu held his hand, and in his drowsy state, he seemed to say a few words of comfort to her. He didn't remember what she replied, and then he fell asleep again.
When he woke up again, he found himself lying on the floor, his half-wet, medium-length hair spread out on the ground, and his whole body soaked in sweat.
The room was filled with the terrifying and eerie scent of his pheromones, sending chills down one's spine.
He touched his forehead... and it was still burning hot.
Was he delirious from the fever, and it hadn't actually been that long? He clearly remembered that his temperature had gone down, so how did it come back?
And what about Xiao Liu?
There was no moonlight, only the darkness of night; the room was cold and dark, as if isolated from the world.
He propped himself up and pushed the door open a crack. A thick fog seeped in without warning, filling the room.
The door was closed by the fog.
Xie Tan lost his balance and collapsed to the ground, the mist, like air, was everywhere, yet its presence was much stronger than that of air, kissing every part of his body.
A tingling sensation rose within him, and he couldn't pinpoint where it came from; it seemed to be everywhere, causing him to tremble slightly and let out a soft gasp. His fingers gripped the floor in vain, and there was nowhere to retreat.
The fog... was seeping into his clothes.
He felt as if he were drenched by the fog, alternating between hot and cold, making him wonder if the sweat on his body was his own cold sweat or something else, damp, chilly, mixed with his pheromones.
"Stop...don't go there...uh!" Xie Tan had just opened his mouth when the mist entered his mouth and began to entangle with his tongue. Caught off guard, he abruptly closed his mouth, the sound of a few smacking sounds still lingering in his ears.
His vision was blurry, and all he could see was darkness. Strangely, the fog was black, making it impossible for him to distinguish between a dream and reality.
It was clearly an ethereal mist, yet why could he imagine its shape as it swirled around him?
He pushed away somewhat reluctantly, but more mist took the opportunity to rush into his arms, touching the hottest spot on the back of his neck. He arched his body, turned his head to the side unbearably, and bit his lower lip tightly.
The indistinct voice whispered in his ear, "Feeling better now?"
Xie Tan inexplicably detected a hint of innocence and confusion in that hateful voice... as well as a sense of seeking credit.
He was frightened by the fog and dared not speak easily again. He could only stare at the fog in the void with his watery eyes.
The mist strangely understood his thoughts, paused for a moment, and said in an even more aggrieved voice, "There's nothing I can do, you're leaving soon... You're always hanging around in front of me, and you don't even come to see me. I want to stay with you a little longer."
Now that Xie Tan was a little more sober, he had to speak up: "Let's go?"
"You're not satisfied with this trajectory."
The god in the smoky mirror spoke as if he were being coquettish, but his attitude and actions were so cold and unyielding that he left no room untouched. He sealed off the small room behind the sacred Guanyin statue, and he sealed himself off as well.
"So before you abandon this place, leave it to me tonight. I miss you so much."
In a daze, Xie Tan felt a sense of familiarity, which made the tension in his mind ease.
His consciousness drifted and sank into the net woven by the black mist, and he could hear nothing clearly.
"Sleep now, leave everything to me... Ah Tan."
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