Mona Lisas blutiges Auge

Kapitel 22

"Xiao Mo." A pair of hands suddenly appeared on my waist. Before I could react, I saw Gu Ming's anxious eyes. The scenery of Bailu Mountain was still around me. It seemed like it was just a dream.

Where did you run off to?

A familiar arm wrapped around me, and I complained, "You're still asking me? It was all your little fox's doing, using magic to ambush me. You charlatan, you didn't even keep an eye on things."

"It's my fault. I didn't expect Xiaobai to do that. It's so naughty." Gu Ming patted my back and said softly, "But why did you disappear all of a sudden? Even Xiaobai was scared silly. We searched for you for a whole day, and another day is almost up. I was so worried."

Seeing his anxious look, I smiled and told him what had just happened. Gu Ming's brows furrowed slightly.

Do you know that boy?

"I don't know him."

"But he seems to have a really close relationship with your family."

"kindness."

"He's so handsome, I've never seen anyone so beautiful."

"oh."

"That person had fiery red hair and was wearing a bright green dress. An ordinary person would look terrible dressed like that, but that person looked absolutely stunning."

"kindness."

"Why are you just making all those 'uh-huh' sounds? Don't you find that strange?"

"strangeness."

"..."

"You better forget about that red-haired boy!" Gu Ming suddenly stared at me and said.

"Huh? Why?"

"No reason why, just forget about it."

"Huh? You think I can just forget like that?"

"I don't care, just forget about it."

"..."

"..."

"Gu Ming, smell this, what's that smell like?"

"..."

"Is it sour?"

"..."

Thump!

A deep bell rang out, and Gu Ming took my hand and said, "It's twelve o'clock, another day has passed. Let's go, don't you want to see Xiao Bi anymore? We've already wasted a whole day."

Looking up at the mountaintop, I was in an incredibly good mood. The deep darkness and the sweet night breeze surrounded us. I shouted, "Violent female bandit, here I come!!!"

Dragon Boat Festival, xx/xx/20xxx

Today is the Dragon Boat Festival. Gu Ming got up early to wrap zongzi (sticky rice dumplings). He sat on the edge of the bed and asked me what kind of filling I liked. I said, "Dates, red beans, peanuts, dried apricots, longan, cured meat, dried sausage... I like them all."

Gu Ming rolled his eyes at me and said as he walked toward the kitchen, "If you're going to die, you'll die from overeating."

I got up at 8:30 to watch Gu Ming wrap zongzi. The reed leaves were soaking in water, dark green and with a faint fragrance. A small basin of glutinous rice was washed clean, with a little water left on top. Several small crystal dishes were placed next to it, containing candied dates, red beans, peanuts, dried apricots, longan, cured meat, and dried sausage. I looked up at Gu Ming and said, "It's your fault if I overeat."

He smiled, picked up a reed leaf, and gently bent it with his slender fingers to form a funnel-shaped depression. He put in glutinous rice and other ingredients, folded it again, and tied a bow with the cut colorful thread, muttering to himself, "The bow is for sweet filling, and the knot is for salted meat."

I moved a small stool and sat down to watch Gu Ming wrap zongzi. Sunlight streamed in, and water droplets refracted seven colors. The butterflies made of colorful threads looked beautiful and ready to take flight. Suddenly, Gu Ming stopped what he was doing, looked at me, and said, "Would you like to hear a story about butterflies?"

I nodded...

“I saved a little butterfly when I was in high school,” Gu Ming said.

"When I was in high school, I was still enjoying helping cicadas molt."

Gu Ming rolled his eyes at me, and I wisely shut up.

"I remember it very clearly, it was also the Dragon Boat Festival that day, and my uncle wrapped zongzi early in the morning..."

What kind of filling is it?

"Red bean paste."

"I love to eat."

"..."

"..."

"Are you going to let me talk or not?"

"Go ahead and tell me, haha."

"The weather was beautiful that day. In the early morning, everyone went to the riverbank for a spring outing and to pick mugwort. It was on a mugwort plant by the river that I saw that butterfly. Its white wings trembled slightly in the morning light, and it exuded an unusual aura. I knew it was a butterfly spirit, and that aura was..."

Gu Ming paused, as if recalling the scene, and said softly, "All things cultivate with spiritual energy to protect them, but that butterfly was actually dissipating its energy. When its energy is exhausted, it naturally cannot live. The process of dissipating energy is more painful than anything else. If you are beaten to death, it will only hurt for a moment, but dissipating energy is like having a knife cut off pieces of your own flesh. The pain will not stop until the moment you die."

Why would a butterfly do that?

"To protect a single blade of grass."

"Artemisia?"

"Yes, it's just a blade of grass."

"Why?"

"Because that wormwood is the butterfly's best friend, and the butterfly loves this friend very much."

"Huh? Butterflies love wormwood? Aren't butterflies caterpillars? Don't caterpillars eat plants? Why would a butterfly love its food? If it loves it, it should eat it..."

"You..." Gu Ming's face twitched, then he looked at me with a forced composure and said, "From now on, you'd better shut your mouth. If you say another word, I won't wrap a single zongzi."

I nodded, resting my chin on my hands as I continued listening.

Three hundred years ago, two butterflies cultivated themselves into spirits in the forest. One had white wings, and the other had yellow wings. They were named Baiyi (White Robe) and Jinyi (Violet Robe). These two butterflies were very close and vowed never to be separated, no matter how the world changed. At that time, they often transformed into human form and watched the rolling waters of the nearby river. Not long after, a young man came to the riverbank. Jinyi was moved by the young man's diligence and kindness, and from then on, she transformed into a human woman, married him, and had children. Baiyi continued to cultivate in the forest, but she also frequently visited her good friend without interruption. Until two years later, Jinyi... She gave birth to a son, but this child was unlike any ordinary human; he possessed a pair of golden butterfly wings. The man was greatly alarmed. Upon further questioning, he learned that his wife was a demon. His expression changed drastically, and he hurriedly summoned a Taoist priest. The priest used powerful magic to shatter Jin Yi's soul. When the white-robed figure arrived, he only found one of Jin Yi's souls and one spirit. Heartbroken, he carefully collected them and used every means to send them into reincarnation. If Jin Yi could experience eight reincarnations, dying naturally in each one, she could be reborn with two souls and six spirits, and begin cultivating anew. After doing this, the white-robed figure took Jin Yi's child away and raised him to adulthood…

"And then?" I couldn't help but ask. Gu Ming smiled, not angry that I interrupted him.

"Then, in her first life, Jin Yi, having only one soul and one spirit, could only be reborn as an ant. Bai Yi watched over it every day, carefully protecting it until it died naturally. In her second life, Jin Yi was reborn as a dragonfly, and Bai Yi accompanied it day and night in her true form until it died naturally. In her third life, Jin Yi was reborn as a goldfish, and Bai Yi lived by the water, watching the goldfish swim freely. In her fourth life, Jin Yi was reborn as a gray rabbit. In her fifth life, Jin Yi was a white egret. In her sixth life, Jin Yi was a deer. By the seventh life, Jin Yi had three souls and six spirits..." The spirit, finally reincarnated as a human, was still missing a soul, making it foolish and mentally challenged. It suffered bullying from a young age, unloved by its parents. The white-clad creature, in its butterfly form, stayed by its side until one day, it had to leave. The village children bullied the creature, pushing it into the water. The creature's flushed face and numerous wounds enraged the white-clad creature, who, in a small act of kindness, accidentally drowned one of the children. This incident reached the heavens, and according to celestial rules, demons cultivated in the mortal realm could not use magic to harm people. Thus, the white-clad creature was captured and punished, losing three hundred years of its magical power. After its death, the creature was reborn as a blade of grass.

"The one you encountered was the white butterfly and the eighth incarnation of Violet?"

“Yes.” Gu Ming nodded. “It was three hundred years later. The river had slowly dried up, becoming just a narrow strip. Because Baiyi had lost three hundred years of magic power, she could not take human form. She could only carry water in her mouth and go back and forth between the river and the shore every day to relieve the drought for the wormwood. She did this countless times every day until she was exhausted. On the morning of the Dragon Boat Festival, Baiyi went to fetch water again. Just then, someone came to enjoy the spring scenery and stepped on the wormwood. The stem broke in the middle. Baiyi almost fainted when she saw that scene. You must know that it had been three hundred years. After experiencing eight lifetimes, Jinyi was about to regain her three souls and seven spirits and start cultivating again. But at this moment, she was injured and her efforts were about to be in vain. Baiyi even thought of dispersing her own magic power to save Jinyi who was about to die.”

"That white butterfly is so foolish. The violet lived but it died. How can two friends never be separated?"

“When feelings run deep, that’s how it is. Sometimes, the friendship between people is more genuine than anything else.” Gu Ming smiled.

"And then what happened?"

"Later, naturally, it was the handsome, dashing and intelligent me who saved that wormwood, and they were both safe and sound."

I nodded, and Gu Ming continued with his work, wrapping one beautiful zongzi after another, each one adorned with a colorful butterfly knot.

I looked up and gazed out the window. Two butterflies, one white and one yellow, fluttered by as they flew away...

Graduation is just around the corner. We had a farewell dinner before the Dragon Boat Festival. I thought that the four years of university would pass peacefully, and there would be nothing particularly touching or memorable in our ordinary interactions. But when the time for parting came, I found that my mind was filled with so many feelings of reluctance and unforgettable stories. The smiling faces of my friends kept replaying in my mind. Even though we haven't parted yet, I've already started to miss them. Sometimes, when I think about how they will leave me one by one to go to another city or another unfamiliar corner, and how some of them I may never see again, my heart feels empty and aches.

The campus is different in the eyes of graduates: the dormitories gradually emptying, the teaching buildings becoming increasingly unfamiliar, the worn-out lab coats, the used books, the faded photo booth pictures, and the little notes that occasionally pop out while packing—whispers from a class in a certain month of a certain year, which read:

Where should we eat after class?

"I don't know, are you hungry? I'm hungry too."

"Let's go to the fourth floor of the cafeteria in Area A and have some spicy hot pot, and also a basket of steamed dumplings."

"All I know is mala tang (spicy hot pot). I'm going to eat sizzling beef. I can't live without meat."

"You greedy bastard!"

"hey-hey."

"You need to lose weight... you pig."

"You're not thin either."

"I heard that XX lost weight with acupuncture."

"I didn't notice you've lost weight."

"Me too……"

I smiled wryly after reading it. I vaguely remembered myself and my friends back then, and I vaguely remembered the white dress the teacher wore in class. But all of that has become a memory forever, just like how, soon, everything from my four years of university will also become a memory. Those people and those events will just be memories...

It's only when you part ways that you realize how much you love these annoying guys. The friendships formed in your youth are indelible. I cherish all my friends and all the love they gave me...

That day I knew you were leaving

We didn't say a word.

When the midnight bells toll, they sting the heart with the pain of parting.

But it couldn't break my deep silence.

That day I saw you off until the very end.

We didn't leave a single word.

The crowded platform squeezed the people saying goodbye.

But it couldn't dispel my deep sorrow of parting.