The sky was filled with fiery clouds, and her white dress was stained red, yet her figure and face remained hidden behind an elusive mist, making it impossible to see her.
Ji Tongzhou suddenly reached out to grab her, but it felt like trying to catch a reflection of flowers in a mirror or the moon in water, just out of reach. His hand was about to touch her, yet all he grasped was the cold wind.
Was it an illusion? A sense of indescribable loss filled his heart. Did he truly wish to see her, or did he wish not to see her?
Li Fei quietly retreated, hovering in the air as she gazed down at the disheartened white-haired immortal as if she were witnessing the boy who had awakened from an illusion years ago, filled with the same melancholy, unable to wake from the dream.
He cried out like a wounded beast, “Jiang Li Fei! Are you going to torment me even in this illusion?!”
Tears, flowing for some unknown reason, gradually blurred her vision. His figure transformed into several, including Ye Ye, Bai Li Changyue, and Ge Lin, all smiling and waving at her.
After four hundred years, they finally met again, old friends.
She stared at them in a daze and softly said, “You will never see me clearly because you do not dare to face me. The more you try to escape the past, the more you cannot escape it. I won’t tell you who is right or wrong; the consequences of your actions are yours to bear. Farewell, Ji Tongzhou.”
The sky was about to brighten, and the cold dawn would bury everything that had once been, all the beauty and pain, warmth, and indifference that this land had given her would come to an end here.
As Ji Tongzhou saw her and Lei Xiuyuan’s figures gradually fade away, he couldn’t help but chase after them. “Don’t go!” He hadn’t had a proper look at her yet! It had already been four hundred years! Couldn’t he see that beautiful figure just once more? Don’t go, don’t go! Even if it’s an illusion, why not give him a break?
His body felt as if it were crushed under a heavy mountain, and he could hardly breathe. After much effort, he finally grasped a corner of her white garment. The mist suddenly dispersed, revealing a girl in a pure white disciple robe of Wuyue Court, with a pink hibiscus flower pinned in her black hair.
She had her back to him, seemingly startled, and smiled as she called out, “Ji Tongzhou, what’s wrong?”
As she spoke, she began to turn gracefully.
In the next moment, her body suddenly transformed into countless white butterflies, fluttering and scattering in a panic before him. Ji Tongzhou was taken aback, realizing that the butterflies had all turned into Jiang Li Fei. They were all looking at him, each one of them hiding behind the mist, and he could never see them clearly, never.
Ji Tongzhou shouted, and the Xuanhua Fire erupted around him. The black flames consumed all the butterflies, and in an instant, all the bizarre illusions vanished. Before him was an empty expanse, only the boundless fiery clouds, dyeing the scenery red. There was no Jiang Li Fei, no Lei Xiuyuan; his black fire danced silently around him, the lonely sound of the wind and waves washing over his nearly broken soul.
Were they all illusions? Had he escaped? Or was he still trapped?
Ji Tongzhou stood in confusion, suddenly feeling a heavy slap on his shoulder. He jumped in shock and turned around to see Ye Ye’s figure faintly appearing in the black fire. He wore a refreshing smile and said, “It’s just an illusion, merely a grand dream, Tongzhou. Wake up.”
Ye Ye? Ji Tongzhou stared at him in bewilderment as the black fire gradually receded. Behind him was the beautiful East Sea, with blue skies and white clouds. The fire pit they had just built was burning brightly, and Lei Xiuyuan was prying open clamshells, carefully roasting them over the fire. Bai Li Ge Lin rolled up his sleeves and skirt, preparing to go back into the sea to continue fishing. Lu Li sat far away on a rock, polishing his fishing rod. Bai Li Changyue was playing alone, building sandcastles… It seemed someone was missing, but he couldn’t remember who.
“Come on,” Ye Ye extended his hand to him. “Don’t just stand there; the East Sea trial isn’t over yet!”
Ji Tongzhou hesitated, about to go over, but it felt as if something was pulling him back. He turned to look, and it was Ji Jingwu. The boy’s eyes were filled with tears as he stammered, “What if something happens to the Master? What will we do? What will the State of Yue do?”
A shock ran through his heart. Suddenly, everything around him blurred, and all the moving figures disappeared. He stood alone, dazed, on the desolate cliff of Man Mountain, staring blankly at the fiery clouds stretching for miles.
Was it a dream? An illusion? He stared at the unchanging brilliant sunset, his mind buzzing.
“It’s time to go.” Lei Xiuyuan looked up at the sky. The sun was rising, and the number of sea sect immortals coming out to patrol would only increase. Once discovered, it would be difficult to leave without a trace.
Li Fei silently watched Ji Tongzhou, who had not moved, standing there like a statue, with only the black fire on him flickering, sometimes strong, sometimes weak.
Time passed, and suddenly he took a step forward, without using his sword or riding the clouds, like a walking corpse, silently turning to leave. Everywhere he passed, the ground was marked with scars burned by black fire.
Lei Xiuyuan said lightly, “This person’s internal spiritual energy is clashing, and his meridians are damaged. At this moment, illusions must be rampant, and he cannot act on his own. Whatever grievances you have with him can be set aside; he has only a few days left to live.”
Li Fei shook her head and suddenly said softly, “You… don’t have any impression of him anymore?”
Lei Xiuyuan squinted at the shimmering East Sea in the distance and said quietly, “What does it matter if I have an impression or not? He is a person of the past, and we are living in the present.”
Li Fei smiled in realization. Perhaps he was right; everything in the past was always in the past. When a person dies, it’s like a lamp extinguished, and when fate ends, it’s like the night deepening. Forgetting is probably the best. From this perspective, she found herself somewhat envious of Lei Xiuyuan, who had forgotten everything.
“Let’s go back.”
She linked her arm with Lei Xiuyuan’s and turned to fly toward the small inn. There were still many people there, filled with curiosity and longing for the overseas world. She thought about how to arrange their itinerary once they arrived overseas, and where to go first. Hu Jiaping wanted to find exotic fire to reforge his blade, and next, there would surely be new sights and encounters.
Nostalgia and regret would remain in the Central Plains; this place would forever be where her old dreams lingered.
Ji Jingwu had been waiting in the inn for two days. His master, who had gone out to search for traces of monsters, had not returned, and he couldn’t say he wasn’t anxious. Over the years of following Ji Tongzhou, he had never seen him experience such emotional turmoil, but after arriving at the East Sea, his master had become very strange. That day, he even spat out blood.
What if something happened to his master… He didn’t dare to think about it, afraid to think about it. He was supposed to be a cultivation disciple, but in reality, he was no different from those mortals, just a weak vine clinging to Ji Tongzhou. If this towering tree fell, the vine would only meet a withered fate, with no exceptions.
Ji Tongzhou returned late on the third night. Ji Jingwu was tossing and turning in bed when he suddenly heard a sound from the next room. He jumped up like a rabbit and rushed out. As soon as he opened the door, he indeed saw Ji Tongzhou’s figure.
He couldn’t contain his excitement and hurriedly called out, “Master! You’re finally back!”
Ji Tongzhou glanced at him with a strange and cold expression, as if he didn’t recognize him. Ji Jingwu felt an inexplicable panic rise in his heart and called out softly, “Master?” Again, that same look, filled with fear, pressed down on his hopes, greedy and insatiable.
He had once had that look too. Back then, did Xuan Shanzi also have people looking at him like this every day?
Ji Tongzhou felt disgusted and said coldly, “Don’t look at me! Go back!”
After saying that, he slammed the door shut, leaving the anxious Ji Jingwu outside. He no longer knew how he had returned. His body felt so heavy that he could hardly move, yet his soul felt light as if it could float away at any moment. Outside the window, the sky was still a blood-red hue, with dark winds and ashes swirling everywhere. There was no one here, only him, only him alone.
It felt as if he had never truly been happy in his life. The majestic mountains and rivers, the fierce battles across the world, every day that had once filled him with hope and ambition now felt like a heavy burden.
For some reason, he suddenly thought of Jiang Li Fei. Long ago, in a fit of anger, she had scolded him, saying he was arrogant and would always act according to his desires. Perhaps that was true! What was wrong with pursuing what made him feel good? Yet even in such pursuits, he had never felt truly satisfied.
The ringing in his ears was incessant. Ji Tongzhou suddenly buried his head in cold water, and the cacophony that had been driving him to the brink of madness finally quieted down.
He didn’t know how long it had been, but the suffocation in his chest was about to tear him apart. He suddenly raised his head, and the copper mirror reflected a pale face covered in water droplets. Ji Tongzhou stared blankly at his reflection; he had lost track of how many years it had been since he had looked at himself properly. Was this really what he looked like now?
He could hardly recognize himself. Where had that hopeful, yearning boy gone?
Figures began to coalesce like blue smoke, and suddenly, the mirror showed the images of Ye Ye and Lei Xiuyuan. One was smiling at him with arms crossed, while the other approached and punched him playfully, saying, “We’ve been waiting for you for over half an hour! Why aren’t you coming down? Didn’t you say you wanted to show us the prowess of the Star Pavilion’s wine hero?”
Ji Tongzhou tightly shut his eyes. All these illusions exhausted him. When would he be free? Who could set him free?
A small paper ball hit him hard on the head, and Ji Tongzhou suddenly moved, opening his eyes. The oil lamp flickered, and he realized he was asleep in the dining hall on the north side of the academy. The Lizard Demoness was looking at him and smiling from a distance. Lei Xiuyuan, Jiang Li Fei, Bai Li Ge Lin—they were all there, sitting around him, looking at him with amusement.
“You were told to copy books, and here you are sleeping in!” Hu Jiaping stood behind him, heavily tapping his knuckles on his head, causing him to yelp in pain.
“Are you awake?” Hu Jiaping glared at him with a half-smile, “Crying in your sleep? You sounded like a dead person; it was scary!”
Crying in a dream? Ji Tongzhou looked around in confusion. The oil lamp flickered, and there were patches of snow on the floating island. Had he just had a dream during his afternoon nap at the academy?
“Tongzhou!” Ye Ye and his group, drenched in sweat from their training, came over to eat and called out to him, “Have you finished copying the book?”
Right, he was supposed to copy the book… Ji Tongzhou felt lost, pressing his hand against the ink stains in front of him. But soon, he stood up and smiled.
It turned out it was just a dream. He was still a cultivation disciple at the academy, and his friends were all still there. He instinctively glanced at Jiang Li Fei, who was surrounded by swirling mist, still unable to see her face.
Ji Tongzhou paused for a moment, but soon he smiled again, laughing until tears streamed down his face.
A lifetime, a dream—his lifetime, his dream. In the end, the place he most wanted to return to was here, and he found himself hoping that everything was just a dream during his afternoon nap.
Ji Tongzhou laughed loudly, but that laughter quickly stopped, falling into silence. Ji Jingwu knocked on the door several times from outside, but there was no response. Fear gripped his heart, and he could no longer hold back. He kicked the door of the guest room open, only to see the window wide open, the pale moonlight casting a dim glow on the blue quilt. Other than that, there was no one there.
“Master?” Ji Jingwu called out.
No one answered him, only the cold moonlight reflecting in the boy’s eyes.