Chapter 72: Old age must not be met in the mortal world (IX)

Of the cruelest phrases in the world, things have remained the same but people have changed was one, and the blue sea turned into mulberry fields counted as another. The Great Ming had long since been buried, such that even the skeletons of its mortal enemies no longer remained, and all the obsessions had been overturned by the vicissitudes of time; there wasn't anyone who remembered the nation's animosity or the family's hatred; it was only she herself who remembered.

Qin Liangyu sank into the calm of the emptiness, as if a young child who had been abandoned, her crane-white hair and chicken-skin wrinkles contrasting absurdly with her confused expression; she grasped the pole of her qiang once more, her left hand extending, falling above the dead leaves, her fingers curling slightly into claws; the leaves, as if having been raised up, formed halfway into a person's shape; she released them, and they fell onto the ground like scattered sand.

Oh, all in vain…the veins at her temples pulsed, and she was slightly dizzy, and, hard to support, her head swayed back and forth. She heard the inhalation of the nose of the young woman by her side, her restraining hand following with her actions, grasping her skirts and then releasing them again.

Qin Liangyu stood unsteadily, the aloofness of riding into a conflict alone of that time penetrating through her stooped posture, and she said, "At that time, this venerable one's heart had an obsession; seeking virtue and acquiring it, I have no grudge against anyone." She laughed softly, as if having lost countless battles; facing the restless soldier on the ground, she said that she bore some responsibility for this poor decision.

She thought of that year. Her husband had been imprisoned wrongfully and died with hatred still in him; the common soldiers were discontented and nearly revolted, and she hadn't begrudged the imperial court, but rather placated her troops, pacified the peoples' hearts, and still remained in command, displaying utter loyalty. Her son had died on the battlefield, and when the news had come, the deputy general, standing eight chi tall, had had a hard time persevering; she'd laughed loudly thrice, and tearfully said, "Good! He truly was my son!"

All of her hatred, she'd abdicated to love of loyalty, and all of her love of loyalty, she'd dedicated to the nation's land and its common people.

With slow steps, she walked towards the depths of the forest; Song Shijiu stood up, wanting to chase after her, but her wrist was grasped by Li Shiyi. She gently shook her head at Song Shijiu, and said, "Let's descend the mountain."

The aged and desolate figure had almost entirely disappeared in the mist; Song Shijiu, looking back thrice every step, was pulled to walk down the mountain by Li Shiyi; the aching swelling in her heart was like sour sheep's milk, on the edges of her mind and about to burst; she took one step and stumbled, her heart squeezed such that it could barely numbly and sensitively pulse; she feared that if it were any larger, it would burst and be badly mangled. She stopped, tugging her hand back, and asked Li Shiyi, "Why is it you didn't have her reincarnate?"

Li Shiyi turned and looked at her; her eyes were moist, and the rims were red as if having been set inside a candle flame, and when she finished speaking, she pursed her lips, panicked such that she couldn't pick out the path, her jaw clenching, her sorrow restrained with great arduousness.

Yet Li Shiyi didn't respond hurriedly, only pressed against her shoulders, and turned her back to her, kneeling down, and said, "I'll carry you down the mountain."

Song Shijiu didn't understand, only shaking her head, and then remembering Li Shiyi couldn't see, said, "Your ankle is still injured."

Li Shiyi didn't comment, her hand stroking her back gently, like the omen of all the countless times she'd taken Song Shijiu into her arms, and said once more, "I'll carry you down the mountain."

Song Shijiu didn't want to make Li Shiyi repeat it a third time. So, she raised the back of her hand and wiped at her right eye, and leaned to obediently lay against her back.

Li Shiyi's back was both slender and soft, and although it was lean, her bones weren't visible; there was the customary scent at her neck, and Song Shijiu embraced her, and suddenly understood why Li Shiyi had wanted to carry her. With her heart pressed against her warm back, the solitary sorrow was forced out, and her heart began to become active, shaking in the place where they were linked together, beating steadily over and over.

However, the posture of carrying her retained even more space and propriety than an embrace, enough that Song Shijiu kept her self-esteem that she didn't wish for others to pry into. She finally understood; Li Shiyi wasn't only her green plum, her bamboo horse, but also the clothes which covered up her embarrassing nudity, the hair tie which bound her helplessly scattered hair, the soil beneath her feet, and the shade of the tree above her head.

She restrained her tears, and tilted her head, leaning it against Li Shiyi's shoulders.

Seeing she had calmed down, only then did Li Shiyi say, "When I make paper figures, they actually can't last that long."

This was only the beginning, Song Shijiu understood, so she waited incredibly patiently for Li Shiyi to continue speaking.

"From the moment I suspected she was Qin-jiangjun, I felt that the matter was incredibly complicated; so, in the remaining time, I entrusted A Luo to help me, and used the Shentu command to consult the registry in the archive." There was another she didn't say; because Song Shijiu had kept saying this matter had relation to her, Li Shiyi had been especially anxious.

"I used the fresh blood from the cuts the leaf soldiers gave me to create a draw, and probed into Qin-jiangjun's reincarnation."

Song Shijiu was startled, and restrained her breaths, listening for her next words.

"The result was that, after Qin-jiangjun had died in her bed at old age, she'd entered the cycle and reincarnated, and enjoyed ten lifetimes of riches and honour, without the slightest lack."

"This…" Song Shijiu could hardly believe it.

Li Shiyi drew a small breath. "Since Qin-jiangjun already reincarnated, then this person on the mountain had to be someone else; yet just then, she said she was Qin-jiangjun."

Song Shijiu clung to her a bit tighter, her mind turning and her head curving, the centre of her mind as if struck by a hammer, making a buzzing sound. "How could it be?"

"I would guess," Li Shiyi said, smiling unhurriedly ahead, "since there are those whose innate ability is to stop time, then they also have the ability to send them to the time of their death."

Song Shijiu was dazed for a couple moments, and then her gaze suddenly brightened, her mouth and tongue dry, and with incredible carefulness, not daring to believe it as she narrowed her eyes, she said, "So you're saying…"

Li Shiyi's meaning, Song Shijiu understood vaguely. If Qin Liangyu had already reincarnated normally, then that indicated that in the future, and there was someone who reversed the flow of time, and sent Qin Liangyu's spirit back to that day she'd died, bringing order to chaos, and causing Qin Liangyu to smoothly reincarnate.

Li Shiyi nodded, and added, "It still isn't the time." The little monster on her back, right now, still didn't have such a great ability; they would have to wait.

Song Shijiu opened and closed her mouth; so, it was like this; no wonder just then Li Shiyi hadn't ordered Qin Liangyu to immediately reincarnate. The sheep's milk in her mind burst; it had only been a small bubble, with a small "peng", it burst like fireworks, leaving behind a warm sparkle. She held onto Li Shiyi's neck; she had a clear answer, but she still wanted to confirm it. "Then who is it?"

Li Shiyi didn't lay her scheme bare; she secretly widened the radian of the curl of the corners of her lips. Only after a while did she say, "An immortal from beyond earth."

Song Shijiu's tears were still on the verge of spilling, but she raised the corners of her pressed-together lips, the smiling expression looking out of place, tugging on her chest, both sweet and aching. She raised her head, firmly distracted, the words she'd wanted to say completely forgotten, and only dazedly looked around. "Shiyi, how is it that the skies have brightened again?"

A single bird flitted about under the sun, landing on a bright branch of leaves, gathering its wings and feathers and chirping; the underbrush had been pushed about so they leaned unsteadily at all angles, and occasionally plump hares leapt out, the openness that could only be the afternoon assaulting the senses; the light and shadows shifted across Song Shijiu's bright, tender face, causing the pupils of her amber eyes to be alert and clear.

Li Shiyi also raised her head and cast about, and let out an "en".

At this moment, they were just about to pass the border of the magical array; time was incredibly chaotic; the sun within it turned unusually; no wonder Qin Liangyu had no ability to distinguish what evening this evening was; it seemed that it was only descending the mountain that could return them to the proper time.

The person behind her swayed her calves, the tips of her feet lightly rising; Li Shiyi cast her a glance, her smiling expression faint, and said, "If you're not feeling unwell, then you can get down."

Song Shijiu obediently climbed down, assuming that Li Shiyi had something to say to her. "What is it?"

Li Shiyi massaged her elbow. "My hands were aching."

Song Shijiu gazed at her figure, taking steps at the front, and suddenly really wanted to kiss her. She knew that Li Shiyi was trying to fulfil the promise she'd made to her; she had forgiven her without word or action, and afterwards, had Song Shijiu think of ways to forgive her.

"Shiyi," Song Shijiu said, following after. "That method from before, I thought of a name."

"What is it?"

"Embracing the Moon and Listening to the Wind," Song Shijiu said.

Even though at this moment the sun was bright and high, she still felt that her own greatest skill was being able to pull the aloof moon on high into her embrace.

The sound of the gramophone was loud and long, the shrill singing shapeless and reduced; the small building was damaged, the electric circuits not very reliable, such that even the machines became hoarse. So, it turned out that this part, without any heart, was also like this; this thing, which ought to always flow steadily, crooning and sighing, could only sing a single pretty song.

Machines were like this; peoples' hearts were like this.

A Luo lazily continued listening, minding her own business as she went upstairs, flipping through books in the study.

The heavy courtyard gate let out a creaking sound, as if having acquired the excitement of a long-awaited person returning; A Luo's expression stopped on the second line of the book's right page, counting along with the tread of high-heels; when she counted to the thirty-seventh, that person entered the kitchen, and then the rushing sound of water came. Her keen sense of hearing brought every sound of A Yin's actions, inscribing them like a drawing; she heard her use a cloth to wipte her hands, and then reach her hand out to tug at her hair; she ought to be leaning slightly, using the reflection in the window as a mirror, looking over every bit of her exquisite appearance, and then pressing together her freshly-drawn lips together, and then open them with a pop.

Look; A Yin's mind could even consciously add A Yin's every minute action to completion. Her slender, graceful figure ascended with steps and pauses; the boards of the stairs were the piano keys congratulating her, playing an elegant, graceful symphony. A Yin was the most calm, composed conductor.

The conductor used her heels for indication, and after she came up, she walked towards the left, as if returning to her room, and also as if because of the light of A Luo's study, or perhaps especially because of the quietude outside the building, wanting to find someone to ask for an explanation; but in the end, after a few moments of hesitation, that pair of hands, with their bright nails, pushed open the study's door.

The door lock thudded, and A Luo's heart thudded as well. She lowered her head, not wanting to look at A Yin again, and only turned another page of the book, and said, "You've returned."

As soon as the words passed her lips, they became old easily. There were some emotional states which easily became tired.

-

< LAST | HOME | NEXT >

-