Lanpu

Kapitel 19

I rushed over, my whole body trembling with nervousness, tears welling up in my eyes, so shaky that I couldn't even untie the strap of his helmet. He untied it himself, giving me a bitter smile.

"I'm fine." He sat up, took off his helmet, and found that the Buddhist prayer beads on his wrist had not only broken but also shattered.

Yes, I know he's incredibly lucky and can escape danger. But my heart is so fragile; it can't withstand the torment of being a "frequent flyer" again.

So I'd rather drive him to and from school every day, without complaint. Whenever I feel like slacking off... I think of that moment when he took flight.

I'd rather work harder.

Of course, it was embellished with even more fantastical and outrageous stories. I can only say that people are born to gossip; their mouths are on their faces, and there's no way to control them.

"...Now your love triangle has even gotten GL involved!" Huang E, still recovering from a serious illness, boasted. "They say not only is Tang Chen struggling to juggle two women, but even you and that lioness are starting to flirt!"

Unable to bear it any longer, I grabbed Huang E and breathed on her.

She screamed pitifully, "It stinks! Don't come near me!" and struggled to escape.

The old man's incense ash water is really effective.

I don't know if Tang Chen understands why I'm so insistent, but he always tells me apologetically not to work so hard.

"Don't worry about it," I replied sullenly. "Carpooling can save energy and reduce carbon emissions."

"That would be for the best!" Huang E laughed loudly.

I glared at her. "You look so sickly... I'll go ask the old man for a jar of incense ash water later."

Her expression changed drastically, and she immediately shut her mouth and snuggled into Tang Chen's arms.

"Why am I plagued by misfortune?" Tang Chen became solemn. "Hengzhi, tell me honestly, why?"

I paused for a moment before understanding his meaning. My mind raced, but I remained confused. Had my wise uncle never told him? Why such fervent protection and meticulous calculations, yet never revealed the true truth?

“Because…” I began, only to find that I couldn’t tell him.

He is different from me or my uncle. I was forced to be so close to the underworld because of the calamity, while my uncle was a Taoist monk.

But Tang Chen was just an ordinary person, an ordinary person with worldly wisdom and a kind heart. What use would it be for him to know all this? If he knew he was the object of desire for Tang Sanzang, coveted by countless other beings, what good would it do him? It would only increase his unnecessary fear. The reason he could escape danger now, besides the abundant love from his family, was mainly because he knew nothing about it.

Removing this barrier of "ignorance is no excuse" will only bring him misfortune, not good.

"...Just bad luck." I whispered.

He frowned deeply. "Why are you saying the same thing as Uncle? I don't want to bring disaster to anyone!" For the first time, the usually smiling man revealed deep pain.

In that instant, I suddenly understood my uncle's feelings. Having witnessed countless aspects of life and experienced (heard) endless vicissitudes, he would often feel discouraged when it came to people.

But looking at Tang Chen, I felt there was still hope. This so-called "favorite of God," so gentle and kind, yet suffering so much for the sake of implicating others. Because he was completely unguarded, I was deeply affected by his emotions, even his dark, self-destructive side.

"Losing you would be the worst disaster for me." I gently pressed his arm. "You are my best friend, and my only one. You don't need to worry about implicating me... I'm not an ordinary person."

I never expected to say something so cheesy, and without even stuttering. Tang Chen and I both blushed, feeling incredibly embarrassed.

Huang E winked at me, then snuggled into Tang Chen's arms and chuckled. Seeing that sly grin, I couldn't stand it. I snatched Tang Chen's schoolbag and smashed it until she cried and screamed.

Then this kind-hearted "Tang Sanzang" smiled and stopped me, pleading for mercy on behalf of that clueless monster.

I really have no way to deal with this double-layered submarine cable nerve.

***

More than a month into the new semester, the hectic pace has begun to settle. But our restless classmates are starting to clamor for a trip during the long weekend.

I get a terrible headache just hearing the word "travel" now, let alone actually going. I'm not going, and Tang Chen says he's not going either.

When the two of us said we weren't going, our classmates panicked. I stared at them blankly, a slight sense of foreboding rising in my heart. They must be planning to go somewhere they shouldn't be... That's why college students are so clueless.

I was originally planning to ignore it... Just kidding, I'm exhausted just trying to keep Tang Chen and me alive, how could I possibly manage a bunch of stupid teenagers who are asking for trouble?

“You sound just like your mother.” Huang E looked at me suspiciously. “I remember you’re the same age as these kids. Who do you take after?”

…Isn't it all thanks to your excellent "enlightenment education"?!

"Tsk, I'm telling you in advance how treacherous people can be." Huang E tilted his head and looked at me. "It's okay if you think of yourself as an old woman, but Tang Chen is still a playful kid."

What she said stunned me.

Huang E's words have made me feel annoyed.

I don't know if I've made the double mistake of being arbitrary and dogmatic. I live on thin ice, yet I demand that Tang Chen do the same... That's wrong.

He can't see anything, let alone hear anything. He spent a year with me, the only exception being Huang E. Let's not even mention that stupid dragon; he wanted the whole world to see his naive and honest nature that made people nervous.

Tang Chen is only a sophomore, and he just turned twenty not long ago. I remember asking him during the summer vacation why he didn't go on a study abroad trip with Miss Lioness, and he said, "You know... it's not so convenient for me to travel."

At that moment, there was a faint sadness on his face.

Unable to sleep, I leaned against the windowsill of the back balcony and sighed weakly... As if echoed, a sigh responded to me.

Although it was a common sight, I still straightened my head and looked closely, only to find myself staring at Tang Chen, who was admiring the moon on the back balcony.

"Did I scare you?" Tang Chen leaned against my window, smiling slightly.

"Why are you sighing in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?" I replied irritably. "Young people are just like that. Don't they know that sighing will diminish their good fortune?"

His smile deepened. "I remember you were a few months younger than me."

Speechless for a moment, I touched my nose. "...Still not asleep so late?"

He waved, and I reluctantly went out the back door and stood side by side with him on the back balcony. He pointed to the paddy fields under the moonlight, where the rice seedlings were still tender and green, the paths were clearly defined, and the moonlight rippled.

"The light of the sky and the shadows of the clouds linger together," he said quietly.

I glanced at him, and it was as if a switch had been flipped. These days, who has the leisure to read poetry and discuss lyrics, to be moved by the scenery? I thought only a fool like me.

“…How can the canal be so clear? Because it has a source of living water.” I responded softly. “Although I think Zhu Xi was a pedantic scholar, this poem is still quite interesting.”

He opened his eyes wide and stared at me blankly.

These days, who has the patience for these old-fashioned things? Talking about them will only make people laugh, so you might as well read them secretly behind closed doors.

“Yu Zheng can’t stand me like this.” He smiled slightly, with a hint of sadness. “She said I should watch some popular movies and TV shows, or even play some online games. At least I’d have something to talk about with my classmates and be able to build up my network for the future. There’s no use in clinging to old books.”

“There are plenty of useless things in this world, especially the makeup on her face.” I said, annoyed. “But it’s because of these useless things that the world is more beautiful. Your pile of old papers and her bottles and jars are the same. If you don’t stop her from putting on makeup, does she care if you’re rotting your old papers?”

He thought for a moment, then laughed, “This character ‘虫’ is both vivid and interesting.”

I was regretting my slip of the tongue—how could I have gossiped about Miss Lioness in front of him? His unexpected remark, however, defused the awkwardness and made me laugh too.

After laughing for a while, we leaned against the railing, gazing at the paddy fields, and chatted aimlessly. He mentioned a few moonlit scenes that had impressed him, and then somehow we started arguing about whether "a monk knocks on the moonlit door" or "a monk pushes open the moonlit door" was better.

After arguing for a while, he laughed, "Thousands of years ago, they had already finalized their drafts, so what are we arguing about?"

"If the final draft is irrefutable, why are there so many whimsical annotations and marginal notes?" I laughed too.

"Why haven't I seen Huang'e?" He looked around. "We've been chatting for a while, but there's not a trace of her."

"She hasn't been feeling well these past few days." This added another layer of worry to my mind. Outwardly, she seems to have recovered. But these past few days, all she wants to do is stay indoors and sleep. When I ask her what's wrong, she can't say, but she gets very irritable if she's woken up.

But his question about the desolation brought back my earlier worries.

When he described the moonlit scenery so cheerfully, I felt as if I were seeing a lively, joyful soul who loved to travel.

"...Class trip...Are you really not going?" I asked cautiously.

He paused for a moment, then awkwardly turned his face away. "...It's not so convenient for me to travel. I don't want to... cause... trouble for others."

After a moment of silence, he took a few deep breaths. "...or disaster."

I suddenly felt extremely sad.

Bearing this fate, I can only grit my teeth and struggle to survive, but at least I know why I came here. But he doesn't know that; he only knows that disasters keep happening and occasionally affect others.

"...You really enjoy traveling, don't you?" I asked softly.

He turned his head away from me, saying, "...Let's not talk about this."

I've made up my mind.

"If I go, will you go too?" I tilted my head and looked at him.

He turned around abruptly, staring blankly at me. "I...I'm not..."

"It's convenient, there's no inconvenience at all." A lump formed in my throat, and I almost burst into tears. I felt a pang of sympathy for my kind, especially for Tang Chen and me. I knew better than anyone how trapped I was by fate, how apprehensive I was about even taking one more step. "I'll go with you, there won't be any inconvenience."

His expression, a mixture of joy and sorrow, brought tears to my eyes.

Of course I know it's silly. It's just a trip, but it feels like an assassination attempt on the King of Qin. But on the day I set off, I really felt a sense of tragic grandeur, like the poem "The wind howls, the Yi River is cold, the hero departs, never to return."

There aren't many people who would take a class trip so seriously, as if they were ready to die for it.

I knew that young people today have a severe lack of survival instinct, but to this extent, it goes beyond a matter of being brain-dead.

We spent almost half a day on a tour bus to reach the guesthouse deep in the mountains. Our school is located atop a towering mountain, setting a new record for the highest altitude university. Why would we go on a trip to such a desolate and wild place? I just don't understand.

Before leaving, I caught a slight illness due to the unstable weather during the transition from summer to autumn. I even had a slight cough when I boarded the train and didn't have the energy to ask where I was going. By the time I finished reading the brochure after the bumpy ride, my face had turned completely dark.

Huang E, who slept all day, opened one eye to look at the synopsis and burst into a startling laugh.

I know that these days, even guesthouses are coming up with new ideas and themes, which is perfectly acceptable. But this guesthouse boasts that it recreates the architecture of the early Republic of China era and features a genuine old lady's red sleeping bed.

Wow, a red sleeping bed...

Is it too late for me to jump out of the car now?!

"I heard the whole house was dismantled and reassembled from an old house," Huang E chuckled. "Maybe the beams are hung up like salted fish."

I think my face isn't dark anymore; it should be completely drained of color. Tang Chen looked at me with concern and asked if I needed motion sickness medicine.

"Are you having a heart attack?" Xiao Lian asked, completely oblivious to the danger.

I glanced at her helplessly. I heard that she was the one who strongly recommended this guesthouse location. Such a beautiful girl, yet she has such terrible nerves. Not only is her communication slow, but she's also so oblivious that she has absolutely no survival instinct.

The car was bustling with noise, singing (karaoke) and dancing (leading the crowd), and I just felt my head was throbbing from the noise. But I thought that with all that noise, even ghosts might find it unbearable, and who knows, maybe that would be how they escaped danger.

Tang Chen was worried that I might be uncomfortable, so he not only gave me the seat by the window, but also sat next to me, served me tea and water, and kept pointing out the scenery to me.

Unfortunately, what I saw was somewhat different from what he saw. He saw "the water sparkles beautifully in the sunshine, and the mountains are misty and enchanting in the rain," while I saw "the sparkling water" with torrents of wronged souls floating and sinking, and "the misty mountains" with ghosts guarding corpses in the trees.

…Never mind, as long as he's happy. These are just ordinary scenes, nothing special. The important thing is the guesthouse we'll be staying at later.

I got off the bus with a cold sweat on my face. It was already getting late. My classmates, who were oblivious to the world around them, were amazed and full of praise for the sunset. All I could think about was the meeting of day and night, the very moment of darkness.

This guesthouse is a large traditional courtyard house, supposedly salvaged from either Penghu or Xiaoliuqiu and rebuilt deep in the mountains. It's incredibly expensive, and you have to book three months in advance for a single night. Apparently, Xiaolian is related to the owner, which is why they managed to squeeze in two nights for us at half price.

I was terribly worried when I saw the row of red lanterns swaying in the dim light of the night, and my heart clenched. But after crossing that extremely high threshold, I felt a little more at ease.

The building materials of this courtyard house are a mix of new and old. The older houses might have had some issues, but after all this commotion, everything seemed fine. Even the red sleeping beds in the rooms are brand new—authentic madam's red sleeping beds are incredibly expensive, highly sought-after antiques, how could ordinary people like us possibly sleep in them?