Chapter 53: The Guest on the Returning Boat Has a Long Dream (Part 1)

  I was drifting in the darkness, surrounded by the sound of children crying. I struggled to open my eyes and found myself in a garden filled with plum blossoms. A little boy in white clothes was squatting under a plum tree, crying loudly. The garden looked somewhat like Mei Xiao Zhuang, where the plum blossoms were blooming fiercely, their red color like fire or fresh blood. I felt a bit dizzy, wondering where this place was. I walked over and gently patted the little boy: "Hey! Sorry about that, can you tell me where this is? Little friend."

  The child lifted his head, and on his clear small face were tear stains. He saw me, stopped crying, and stood up straight: "Muxin, you've finally come."

  Huh? Does he know me?

  He laughed happily and ran over to pounce on my feet. This little kid was probably only seven or eight years old, I'm sure I'd never seen him before, but the smile on his face looked very familiar, yet I couldn't quite place where I'd seen it before. Looking at his innocent and happy smile, I couldn't help but laugh too: "Little brother, how do you know my name?"

  The child looked at me but didn't smile, this child looked more and more lovely, I couldn't help but touch his little face.

  Boom! I let out a loud fart.

  "Yang Er," a soft voice suddenly came, and the child smiled even more happily: "Mother is here."

  Yang Er? Yang Er? Such a familiar name!

  My heart skipped a beat!

  My first reaction was that I was dreaming and it was probably a nightmare.

  The second reaction I was talking to the son of the original green dance, but Yang Er's small hand pulled me, with great strength, and his body leaned forward, pulling me to go, occasionally turning back to look at me, that little face smiled like sunshine.

  I couldn't help but come to the front of a bridge, and it was indeed Yuan Qingwu. She stood in the sunlight with a simple and elegant dress, her face clean and free from makeup. She gently waved at Yang Er, who looked surprised when he saw me, but still smiled and nodded at me in a friendly manner, completely different from his usual cold demeanor in the underground palace. I was stunned as Yang Er dragged me over to him, reaching out to grab Yuan Qingwu's hand. Yuan Qingwu laughed and said: "Good Yang Er, let's go together."

  "I want Mu Ge to come with us." Yang Er pulled me hard, I swallowed my saliva, already scared out of my wits, the smile on Qing Wu's face disappeared, looking at me and Yang Er with a hint of worry.

  "Yang Er, don't be naughty," a tall figure walked over from afar. The man was backlit by the sunlight, and I couldn't see his face clearly, but I vaguely sensed that his eyebrows were rugged and free-spirited, with a handsome appearance. Qing Wan's face was filled with happiness as she called out: "Ming Lang."

  Ming Feng pulled Qingwu, stroking Yang'er's head, with a rich and pleasant voice: "Mu Jin can't follow us yet, Yang'er, you also can't go with your mother."

  "No, I want to be with my grandma and mother together, I want to be with Mu Ge together," Yang Er burst into tears, Yuan Qingwu also covered her face and cried. The man sighed lightly, gently pried open Yang Er's small hand that was holding onto Yuan Qingwu, put his small hand into mine, then pulled Yuan Qingwu towards the bridge.

  Ming Feng walked halfway, but couldn't help turning back to me, waving his hand with deep affection and reluctance. It was then that I noticed his gaze seemed to pass over my shoulder, as if he was waving at someone behind me.

  I turned my head, but saw that beside me was a young woman in pink clothes who had appeared out of nowhere. She stood quietly behind me, slowly waving her hand towards the front. Her breathtakingly beautiful face wore a faint smile tinged with sadness and resignation. I involuntarily took three steps back, as this young woman's features were exactly the same as those in the portrait of the late Madame Xie.

  She saw me, and smiled gently too. The smile was like the morning sun rising, the moonlight unfolding, making one irretrievably immersed in this gentle and soft smile. I felt infinite warmth. When I turned my head back, Ming Feng, Yang He, and Yuan Qing had all disappeared from view.

  "Mu Ge, don't leave me," Yang Er said to me with a quivering voice. He seemed to be a bit afraid of Mrs. Xie and kept hiding behind me. I patted Yang Er's head, thought for a moment, then pulled him forward to give Mrs. Xie a bow: "Hello, Mrs. Xie."

  Mrs. Xie seemed to see that I was happy, and she smiled softly, patted Yang Er's head, but didn't say anything. However, Yang Er still seemed to be afraid of her, shrank back and hid behind me again.

  Mrs. Xie was no longer angry, she just looked at me and turned around to walk forward, I pulled Yang'er to follow her, we kept walking forward, the scenery around us changed, we came to the wall with flying apsara and dancing fairies carved with Begonias, she smiled slightly and handed me a small piece of embroidery, I took it in a daze, it was exactly the same as the one I saw on the pear wood round table in Qingtong, that embroidered double Begonia, one corner of the handkerchief was tied with a piece of agate ring, I looked at her with some confusion, her bright eyes were so familiar, with a hint of faint sadness, it seemed to have illuminated my soul, her voice was like the rain in March, gently flowing into my heart: "Thank you, Muxin."

  What was she thanking me for? I was about to ask, when suddenly the sunlight was obscured by dark clouds, and the red plum blossoms withered in pain. The garden vanished instantly, and Mrs. Xie smiled warmly at me, tears streaming down her face, before disappearing behind the high wall adorned with flying celestial carvings. I turned around, and the sunflower in my hand had transformed into a strange, exotic purple lotus.

  A wave of darkness swept towards me, and the surrounding scenery turned into a dense fog-filled Western Forest. This time, all the big trees in the Western Forest were entwined with thick vines, and those vines were hung with eerie purple lotus flowers. Suddenly, a vine wrapped around my knee, no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't break free.

  I woke up with a loud cry, and my whole body was wet as if I had just been pulled out of the water.

  Suddenly, an icy voice came from beside her ear: "Miss, are you awake?"

  I looked up and saw a person wearing an ordinary white cotton garment, thin and small, with a white mask on his face, exactly the same as the white mask of the Dark God, only one size smaller, and the workmanship was slightly inferior.

  I shuddered at the thought of Anshi, and only then did I realize that my whole body was soaked in a warm hot spring. I let out an "ah" and shrunk down, and the child wearing a white mask said: "Don't be afraid, miss, I'm also a kid. This is a therapeutic hot spring. You were injured by the magic sound wave and you had some underlying illness to begin with. You need to soak for another hour before you can get out."

  This is an extremely simple stone room, but

  "Who are you? How did I end up here?"

  "You can call me Qin'er then." The child replied: "I am a maid of the Dark Palace. It was the palace master who brought you here."

  "Oh, what a coincidence! We're fellow travelers and I'm also a young lady. My name is Mugen," I said with a friendly smile, extending my hand for a handshake to break the ice. But before I knew it, she suddenly knelt down: "What does milady want? Just say so, but you have to soak your whole body in the hot spring, or else all previous efforts will be wasted."

  I awkwardly withdrew my paws and asked, "May I ask what kind of person your master is?"

  "My master is the owner of this dark palace." Qiner replied cleverly, but her voice was still icy and devoid of any emotion.

  I stared at her blankly, which was just as good as not answering. Perhaps she too noticed my confusion and added: "The old master of the Zhuangzi on earth calls him the Dark God."

  It's just like you didn't answer at all!

  "May I ask why he wants to treat me so kindly? And has Qiner seen that white-haired old man who came in with me?" I continued.

  "The princess said you are a very important person and cannot die. As for Bai San Ye, I have never seen him."

  Huh? I described the original non-white person's appearance in detail, but Qiner just shook her head and said she didn't know.

  Actually thinking about it, I guess it's probably a waste of time asking, maybe the Dark God won't allow this lass to say it out loud, or will something bad happen if she does?

  "Qiner, why must you all wear masks in the Dark Palace?"

  "This is the rule of our Dark Palace ancestors, we've been wearing masks since we were five years old."

  "Were you born here?"

  "Uh-huh."

  "Who can see your face?"

  "My father and mother, Gu Zhu, and my future husband." The child's cold voice gradually had a hint of naivety.

  This more or less has a bit of Saint Seiya's meaning, except for one's own favorite person, no one else can see!

  I smiled and said: "Qiner, it was you who helped me take off my clothes, thank you."

  Qin'er shook her head and said: "It wasn't me who helped you take off your clothes, but the palace master who helped you."

  I choked back where I was, and my face involuntarily darkened: "Is your master male or female?"

  Qin'er's voice had a hint of amusement: "The Palace Master is naturally male."

  Although this little brat is very annoying, he's still a gentleman who follows the rules. He wouldn't let others touch me, and earlier that mysterious person secretly pressed my acupoints. Could it be that they're using me to control him? This qin says that the hot spring has therapeutic effects, but who knows if it has some other sinister purpose.

  I took a look around, and next to me was a set of clean clothes. I moved my foot, and one leg could move. I regained my smile: "Qiner, I'm thirsty, can you give me some water to drink?"

  Qin'er turned around neatly and went to get water for me. I suddenly jumped out of the water with one leg, grabbed my clothes and rushed towards the door.

  Not yet out the door, she was already standing there unable to move. Qin'er knelt down, her voice filled with extreme panic, continuously knocking her head: "This humble one knows her mistake, Palace Master spare my life, Palace Master spare my life."

  In front of me stood the Dark Palace Master who was obsessed with masquerade balls, his white mask as cold as ice. His slender hand rose and that soft, fluffy thing fell to the ground. Underneath the white mask flowed a crimson red that made my heart skip a beat. I exclaimed in shock and anger: "You killed her?"

  "That white-masked man sneered coldly: 'Who told you to deceive her and not keep a close eye on you?'"

  Then he secretly carried me horizontally and walked back to the hot spring, then roughly threw me in. I choked on a few mouthfuls of water, just managed to climb up, didn't expect that white masked person also jumped into the water, tore off my clothes, I covered my naked body and escaped to the other end of the pool and crouched down, saying:

  The white-masked figure closed in on me, pulling open the double hands that protected my chest, and tightly adhering to my body. His white shirt had long been soaked through with water, his knotted muscles glowing red under the hot spring, the faint tattoo of a pomegranate on his arm wrapped around mine. His rough hand stroked my skin, I felt his scorching, humiliating tears that could no longer be held back, and instinctively cried out: "Fei Bai save me."

  As soon as the words came out of her mouth, she was also shocked in her heart. Was it because she had experienced too much with Yuan Feibai in these few days? So she would unconsciously call out his name?

  "You're indeed just like you, so naive. I thought you still had a thing for that idiot from your hometown." The white-masked figure's voice was full of ridicule: "You've changed allegiances so quickly, now putting your heart on that fake White?"

  "You freak who likes to wear a mask and mourning clothes, do you think you're the Dark God and can control people's lives at will?" I shouted angrily: "This child is just a few years old, and you killed her, you're not human."

  "And another thing, you're not allowed to insult me, you!" I angrily flung my hand out, and the Dark God surprisingly didn't dodge or evade. The white mask on his face was knocked off by me, fell into the hot spring, and sank down with bubbles rising up.

  I was shocked to see a face that was extremely pale due to years of lack of sunlight, with deep and shallow scars all over it. The deepest scar, starting from the eyebrow, cut deeply down to the lip. A pair of hazel eyes, sharp as an eagle's gaze, stared at my frightened face.

  "Are you afraid?" His tone was full of sarcasm, and he slightly curled his lip, the scar on his face seemed to be crawling like a centipede, making his young face look even more ferocious: "Having seen the elegant appearance of the Snow Step Master, are you trembling with fear at the sight of this face of mine?"

  I also learned to mock him with a smile: "The scars on my second brother's body can open a scar exhibition hall, and the small ones on his face, head, and body have more than 260 wounds. My eldest brother is always showing off his glorious gunshot wounds and knife wounds, but we all say behind his back that he's actually afraid to show up in the Yanzi army. And you're also good enough to use this face to scare people."