DTTM 41

Chapter 41: It’s Alright, I’m Still Here

“Xiao Man-ge, have you ever seen that Bishop of Penglai who got beheaded a few days ago?”

Five days after Professor Yi’s murder, I returned to Zengcheng to see my grandmother, and happened to run into Wei Nuan there as well. During our chat, we inevitably talked about the only big news of that period.

“No, I haven’t seen her,” I replied while peeling an apple.

“I heard she was killed by Wo people, and those people even sent her head to the school. Tsk tsk tsk, that’s really scary…”

In Penglai, the nobles’ mercury-like hair color has always been sought after. Commoners would try to achieve such an effect through dyeing and maintenance. Gradually, this trend also spread to the young people of Wo and became a popular fashion.

Wei Nuan was sixteen years old that year, a time when she was young and loved beauty. Not long ago, she had dyed her long hair white, but in just a few days, a striking brown sprout had appeared at the roots of her new hair.

Wei Bao scolded her for looking mismatched. She stormed out and ran to my house, wanting to find my grandmother to reason with him.

Although my grandmother was ill at that time, she was still in relatively good spirits, probably due to the active treatment she received. In the cold winter, she would usually stay in bed and do some handicrafts, such as weaving rattan baskets and ornaments.

Wei Nuan complained that her brother wouldn’t leave, so she simply stayed and wove baskets with my grandmother.

“Killed by Wo people?” Grandmother slowed her knitting and shook her head. “Then she couldn’t had a been good person.”

My grandmother lived through the entire life of a nation, from its birth to its death. She remembered the best days of the Kingdom of Wo, the prosperous times when everyone was equal. For her, Penglai was never her hometown. Her regard for Penglai’s people was likely no greater than theirs for us.

“Don’t say that, Grandma.” Wei Nuan, with her two braids hanging down, had dimples that appeared and disappeared as she spoke. “There are good people in Penglai too.”

“Xiao Nuan is right, there are bad people and good people everywhere.” I agreed, cut off a piece of apple for my grandmother, cut off another piece for Wei Nuan, and kept the rest for myself.

“What do you mean, ‘right’! How could she be as pitiful as us? So many people died during the civil war. You have no idea how much we suffered to survive…” Grandmother rebuked us, and then began to reminisce about the past, from the first gunshot of the riot in the Kingdom of Wo to the ruthlessness of the Penglai people, and the hardships the people of Wo have endured over the years.

“Xiao Man, Grandma’s only wish now is to see your father one more time. I don’t know if I’ll be able to see him before I die…” Finally, tears welled up in her eyes, and she ended up talking about my father, “Just one more time would be enough.”

“Don’t talk about dying or anything, stop saying such discouraging things.” Wei Nuan pouted and said, “Who is Xiao Man-ge working so hard for? You must live well.”

Grandmother wiped away her tears: “Yes, yes, I want to live well.” She looked at me, then at Wei Nuan, and smiled through her tears, “Xiao Nuan, since you’re helping Xiao Man-ge so much, would you like to be my granddaughter-in-law someday?”

“Don’t want!”

“I don’t want to.”

Wei Nuan and I spoke almost in unison.

“What don’t you want? What’s wrong with Wei Nuan?” My grandmother glared at me.

“I’m not good enough for her,” I said, taking a bite of my apple.

“I’m not worthy either, I’m not worthy either!” Wei Nuan said with a giggle. “Grandma, please don’t play matchmaker. Maybe Xiao Man already has someone he likes. Maybe… maybe it’s a fairy from Penglai.”

Grandmother’s face hardened: “I don’t want a woman from Penglai as my granddaughter-in-law. Xiao Man, promise Grandma you’ll never marry a woman from Penglai! Do you hear me?”

I swallowed the apple and slowly said, “They don’t want to be my wife either.”

“Oh dear, so you’ve really fallen for someone from Penglai? What terrible karma have I brought upon myself…” Grandmother clutched her chest, looking like she was about to run out of breath.

“No, I was just making that up.”

My grandmother didn’t believe me and insisted that I swear before she would let it go. I had no choice but to raise my hand in front of her and swear that I would never marry a woman from Penglai.

The following day, I took the train back to Baiyujing, and along the way, I noticed that the scrutiny of the residents had become much stricter. Especially when entering Shangcheng, the guards not only searched me but also called my destination with my identification documents to verify my identitie before allowing me to enter.

Back at the Zong family home, Zong Shen’an was hosting another banquet.

Yi Yingzhen’s death was like a drizzle that gradually subsided.

For some who had no choice but to go out into the rain, they were already plagued by the pervasive chill, and they were filled with disgust and helplessness in the face of this continuous drizzle that seemed to have no end in sight.

For others, however, they were born without ever having to step into the rain. They might be startled when the downpour first arrived, but after a few days, when they discovered that it was just the death of an insignificant old woman, they quickly resumed their usual social life and threw themselves back into their work.

Inside the bedroom, Zong Yanlei leaned against the headboard, holding a bottle of something in his hand, examining it closely.

Hearing the sound, he looked in my direction: “Jiang Man?”

“It’s me, I’m back.”

As I got closer, I could see that the bottle contained countless colorful paper stars. In just two years of university, he’d unknowingly collected so many.

“What’s that scent on you?” Zong Yanlei suddenly sniffed and frowned.

I was taken aback when I heard that. I looked down and sniffed my clothes, only to smell a faint perfume scent.

“Oh, I just caught it when I passed by the banquet hall.” I held out my sleeve for him to smell.

His brow furrowed even more deeply: “Go take a shower.”

As his eyesight deteriorated, his hearing and sense of smell became acute, to the point that he could not tolerate even the slightest odor.

“Wait,” he called to me as he turned around, handing me the glass bottle. “My mother is back today. Could you take this to her for me?”

As the chief press secretary for the royal family, Wuxi Li had been staying in Zhongyang District since Professor Yi’s incident, and this was the first time she had returned home in six days.

Holding Zong Yanlei’s bottle of paper stars, I originally wanted to give it to Wuxi Li’s personal maid and ask her to pass it on, but she hesitated for a long time and ultimately did not accept it.

“Madam doesn’t seem to be in a good mood today. She didn’t eat dinner. I don’t want to cause any trouble, so you can take it in yourself.” With that, she opened the door for me.

“Jie, you’re so good to me.” I gave her a thumbs up, and the next second I was shoved inside.

The door closed quietly behind me. The room was dimly lit, with the main light off and only a few auxiliary lights on.

An old-fashioned record player spun slowly, playing soothing piano music. The curtains covering the entire wall were drawn back, and rain had begun to fall outside. Raindrops pattered against the windowpane, mingling with the piano music to create a concerto unique to this night.

When I found Wuxi Li, she was wearing a black dress and sitting on a single sofa chair facing the window. She was quietly gazing at the rain outside, her face gloomy and haggard, and her eyes, clearer than the sky, were cold.

After explaining the purpose of my visit, I handed her the bottle of paper stars.

“Teacher still likes to use such childish reward systems.” She took the bottle, her expression relaxing slightly. “Are you afraid of heights?”

The question was a bit abrupt, and I hesitated for a moment before answering, “I’m not afraid of heights, madam.”

“It’s fortunate that you’re not afraid of heights.” She sighed softly, holding the glass bottle up to the starless night sky. “When I was little, I was full of curiosity about the universe, fascinated by the stars that twinkled in the depths, and even wanted to become an astronaut. But unfortunately, I have an extreme fear of heights and am terrified of going up high places. I always thought, what if I fall? I ended up on the ground.”

“Now, even if I overcome my fear of heights, I can no longer go to high places. I can only look up at the stars and watch those who truly dare to climb to higher places bravely.” She gently shook the bottle and said, “Tell that child that I like it very much.”

I bowed slightly and walked towards the door. Halfway there, my steps slowed down, and I hesitated before turning back. “Madam,” I said, “those who remain on the ground are not merely worthy to gaze at the stars. You possess strength and status far exceeding that of ordinary people. You can absolutely become the strongest support for those brave people. When they are exhausted and falling from the sky… catch them.”

She didn’t answer, only the piano music in the rainy night continued. This time, I didn’t turn around.

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In the second month after the King of Penglai personally ordered the siege of the Wo Republic Army, one of the four leaders died, one was captured, and the other two escaped. They whereabouts were unknown.

Because these individuals were also involved in the kidnapping of Zong Yanlei years ago, after they were apprehended, the police immediately sent someone to notify Zong Yanlei and me to come and identify them.

Through a bulletproof glass partition, San-ge, covered in blood, was pushed out in a wheelchair. I glanced at him; his tendons in his hands and feet had been severed, and his teeth had been knocked out. In just two days, he had endured considerable torture.

“You little bastards, we meet again.” When he saw us, he was first stunned, then he laughed so hard that a bloody mouth appeared on his face.

“Yes, it’s him.” I confirmed with the person in charge next to me.

San-ge smelled unpleasant, a mixture of blood and excrement. I was worried that Zong Yanlei would be uncomfortable, so I wanted to confirm his identity and leave as soon as possible. But at that moment, Zong Yanlei slightly raised his hand, signaling me to wait a moment.

“Did you kill her?” As soon as he said this, everyone in the room looked at him in surprise, including me.

“What do you think? Does it even matter now?” San-ge grinned maliciously, blood-stained saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth, making him look like a madman. “If everyone thinks we killed her, then it can only be us who killed her.”

Zong Yanlei listened without saying anything more.

“You were the ones who killed her!” the person in charge shouted angrily, pointing at him. “Your hair and footprints were left at the scene, and the surveillance footage shows that you boarded that train. You still show no remorse and are trying to confuse the issue here!”

San-ge spat at the other person with a look of disdain: “Idiot!”

The person in charge’s face immediately turned pale and then red, glaring at San-ge with eyes that seemed to be spitting fire.

“Take him away!” he waved his hand fiercely at the guards.

Perhaps seeing San-ge triggered some unpleasant memories, because Zong Yanlei started having nightmares that night. I slept right next to him, so I could hear every little thing he did. Therefore, when he fell into a nightmare and started muttering incoherently, I immediately woke up and got out of bed to check on him.

“Young Master, what’s wrong?” I turned on the bedside lamp, touched his forehead, and found it covered in fine sweat, burning hot to the touch.

Realizing he had a fever, I got up to go find someone, but he grabbed my arm and clutched my clothes.

“I made a mistake…” Although his eyes were open, he didn’t seem to be fully awake. “The ‘Project Beyond Century’ shouldn’t exist… I made a mistake…”

He was breathing rapidly and kept repeating the same sentence.

“It’s okay, I’m here.” I supported his back and gently hugged him. “You did nothing wrong, the mistake wasn’t yours…”

“It was me…it was me who killed her…” The hand holding my arm tightened suddenly, and he abruptly turned his face away, vomiting a mouthful of dark blood onto the ground with a deathly pale expression.

I stared at the mouthful of blood, feeling the body in my arms slowly go limp. My mind completely went blank.

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In a fit of terror, I suddenly sat up and found myself surrounded by a dazzling starry sky and lush greenery. Everything was completely unfamiliar.

After a few seconds of blankness, I covered my throbbing head and closed my eyes, as memories of 25-year-old Jiang Man slowly returned.

A-Qi and I were captured by Wuxi Chen and taken to Qunyu Mountain. Then, during the human hunt, we met a WRA member… and then… he took advantage of me and took Wuxi Chen away.

“You’re finally awake. If you hadn’t woken up, I would have had someone splash water on you.”

I turned around abruptly and saw Yu Xuan, dressed in a long black robe, sitting not far behind me in an exquisite garden wrought-iron chair. On the table in front of him were tea and pastries from who-knows-where. He held a teacup in his hand, acting more like a host than the host himself.