Die vollständige Sammlung der Geistersärge des Gelben Flusses

Kapitel 19

She replied, "How would you know? He was always devoted to me."

“Of course I know. I’ve known him for over a thousand years,” I said softly. She didn’t hear me clearly and asked loudly, “What did you say?”

I smiled slightly: "You hired an assassin to kill me?"

She nodded and said frankly, "Yes, I hired the assassins, but strangely, they told me you're unkillable. How can there be an unkillable person in this world?" She asked with a smile, "I don't believe it. How did you manage to make them break their contract?"

“They didn’t break any contract. They really wanted to drown me. Maybe they were using the wrong method. Water can’t kill me.”

"Really? Water can't kill you? What if you accidentally fall from here?"

"You still want to kill me?"

“Yes, I want to kill you, I hate you to death.” As she said this, her eyes were looking down at the building. We were standing very close to the edge of the building, and we could see people coming and going on the street below with just a glance down.

She suddenly gave me a strange smile: "Guess whether I can kill you?"

I looked at her in surprise; she seemed to have lost her mind. Suddenly, she rushed towards me. I hesitated, watching her reach my side. Should I move aside? If I moved aside, she might fall down the stairs; if I didn't, I would be the one falling.

While I hesitated, she rushed in front of me. Suddenly, she pushed me aside and rushed out, falling downstairs.

I gasped and tried to grab her, but it was too late.

Her body, like a thin leaf, floated down the building without any obstruction. At the same time, a car stopped, and Zhang Zhengqiu rushed out of the car. She had already landed on the street below, right in front of Zhang Zhengqiu.

Zhang Zhengqiu picked her up, and I saw her say a few words to Zhang Zhengqiu. The two of them looked up at me together, and blood gushed from her mouth like a spring. Her face still had that eerie smile.

I stood blankly on the rooftop, looking down at the gradually gathering crowd, looking down at that smile that hadn't disappeared even in death, looking down at his bright black eyes, just like many years ago, when I transformed into a dragon and leaped into the air, he stood in the crowd watching me quietly. I clearly felt the killing intent, the killing intent that had been there for a thousand years, now surging up again. Even after a thousand years, our fate remained unchanged.

Although I was released without charge after being questioned by the police, he never mentioned that incident to me again.

We worked overtime to finish filming "Dragon Girl." Everyone looked at me with a different kind of gaze. They spoke to me politely and courteously, yet it was as if they had all become strangers. I knew everyone believed I killed Ruan Zhiyun; even if I didn't kill her, I must have driven her to her death. And indeed, that was the truth. Fate could change so easily, like a game.

The Dragon Girl premiered unexpectedly during the New Year. Due to the tragic death of actress Ruan Zhiyun who fell from a building, the Dragon Girl achieved unprecedented success. At the premiere, the theater was packed with people standing in the aisles because there were no seats available. This situation continued for a week, with every show still sold out.

I don't know if they like the Dragon Girl or if they're just here for the spectacle. Ruan Zhiyun's death has become a great opportunity for hype, and all the cinemas, including Star Entertainment, know this.

I am the alluring and seductive Long Xuechen, as everyone expects. It is only natural that everyone believes that a love triangle drove Ruan Zhiyun to her death.

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What is love in this world that makes people willing to die for each other?

Flying across the north and south, their old wings have weathered many winters and summers.

Joyful moments, bitter partings, and among them, foolish lovers.

You must have words to say, across ten thousand miles of layered clouds, amidst a thousand mountains covered in evening snow, to whom does this solitary figure turn?

---janeadam

Reply [38]: Seven

When the first snowflake of the year fell, I followed Zhang Zhengqiu to Hangzhou. This was a place I had visited before, West Lake, where the scenery remained unchanged for a thousand years.

We climbed Geling from Huanglong Cave, as heavy snowflakes fell softly from the sky. The sound of a flute drifted over, exceptionally clear and melodious in the snowy weather.

He said, "Do you know the story of the White Snake?"

I shook my head, and he began to tell me, as we walked and talked, just like he had told me the story of Qiu Hu years ago. This happened after I escaped into the Ancient Tomb. Some wrote the Tale of the Righteous Demon, while others wrote the story of the White Snake Lady eternally imprisoned in Leifeng Pagoda. She was the White Snake, and I was the White Dragon, yet she was stronger than me because, before her man knew her identity, at least he had a genuine affection for her. My man, however, had ulterior motives from the very beginning.

After crossing Geling, I saw the beautiful scenery of lakes and mountains. It was no different from a thousand years ago, except that there were two more dikes. The bottom of the lake was directly connected to the Qiantang River. I wondered if my uncle was still there.

A thousand years ago, when I emerged from the water, Liu Yi was there under the moon, carrying his gourd. There were two men in my life, both I loved deeply; one I chose myself, and the other was to continue the life of another who had already died.

We walked along the road. It was a quiet and peaceful afternoon with few pedestrians. In such cold weather, everyone was staying at home and unwilling to go out, especially since the Lunar New Year had just passed. Didn't a popular writer once say that the Lunar New Year is the one that truly feels like the New Year?

As evening approached, the snow suddenly cleared and the clouds parted, revealing a slanting ray of sunlight reflecting off the mountains and water, with rolling red clouds the color of rouge. Zhang Zhengqiu pointed to the pagoda in front of them: "This is Leifeng Pagoda."

The tower was dilapidated and swayed precariously in the cold wind. I worried to myself, "This tower seems about to collapse."

Zhang Zhengqiu said calmly, "When the river tide doesn't rise, West Lake dries up, Leifeng Pagoda collapses, and the White Snake is born. This pagoda can't just collapse like that!"

I chuckled: "You believe in this too? Do you believe in gods and ghosts?"

He glanced at me thoughtfully. "Don't you believe me?"

I was taken aback. What did he mean? Didn't these people who received modern education not believe in such things? The air was very pure, and I couldn't smell a trace of the snake demon. Perhaps my sense of smell had deteriorated the moment I became human.

There was only an elderly man with difficulty moving around guarding Leifeng Pagoda. We knocked on the door for a long time before he finally came to answer it, limping along.

After opening the door, he glanced at us and said in a hoarse voice, "You've come?"

We nodded together.

He took a step back. "Then come in!"

Zhang Zhengqiu and I exchanged a glance. Did he know we were coming?

He staggered toward a small hut beside the tower, saying as he went, "Let's climb the tower!"

Zhang Zhengqiu laughed and said, "What a strange old man."

I smiled and said nothing.

---janeadam

Reply [39]: I felt the tower vibrate with each step I climbed. It is a miracle that such a dilapidated tower still stands tall.

Finally, I reached the top floor, but the sun had already disappeared. It seemed that the fleeting glimpse of sunlight that day was just to let me see the sunset over Leifeng Pagoda one last time.

The green hills have turned white, all for a single night of snowfall; more than a thousand years have passed, yet they have not aged me in the slightest. Before me lies the familiar scenery of the lake and mountains; I once boated on this lake with Liu Yi, but where is he now?

A wild goose landed briefly on the snow, then immediately took flight again, disappearing without a trace. What is life like everywhere? It should be like a wild goose treading on snow. A fleeting trace is left on the mud, but the goose flies away, never to be remembered.