White Robe - Chapter 2
"Sir, is there anything I can do for you?" I recognized the voice; it was the flight attendant with the sweet smile.
The man seemed to chuckle softly: "You, can you fly the plane to Los Angeles?" Then came a loud "rip—" followed by the sound of shattering glass, and a flight attendant's heart-wrenching scream: "Bomb—!"
bomb?!
My half-closed eyes suddenly snapped open, revealing shards of glass scattered everywhere. Soda, orange juice, cola, and wine were spilled all over the floor, the seats, and the passengers' clothes, but no one seemed to care about these stains. In fact, they didn't even notice that everyone's eyes were fixed on the fair-skinned young man sitting next to me.
A bundle of dark brown objects was conspicuously tied to his thin body.
The young man coughed a few times, a sickly flush rising on his pale face. Looking at the tense, almost suffocating expressions of the people around him, he burst into laughter: "You... cowards! Hahaha!!... Cough cough, what's so hard about getting to Los Angeles? Go to South Africa! Go to Egypt! Even further! Hahaha..." Because of his intense laughter, he couldn't help but cough again. The cabin was extremely quiet, and his laughter sounded unusually loud.
"Further, isn't it to the North Pole?" The young man was startled, turned around, saw my refreshing smile, and asked, "Is your bomb real?"
The young man's expression changed, and he snorted, "Of course it's true! You see this button? This button... just press it lightly, just press it, and... boom!" He then burst into laughter again.
I frowned slightly and chuckled softly, "No way, in my opinion, this is the most primitive kind of bomb. At most, the explosion will blow you to pieces, but the plane will be fine."
This time, the young man glared at me with mocking eyes: "Do you know what I do? I'm Lü Ziliang. Have you heard of Lü Ziliang? In the field of nuclear explosion research, no one can surpass me!" The crowd, which had been silent for a long time, finally exclaimed: "You're Lü Ziliang! The youngest explosives expert, who designed a miniature explosive bomb the size of a button, yet capable of destroying a building!"
The young man laughed, "That's right. Two buttons are enough for this plane today. As for the 'bomb' on me, it's just a controller. As soon as I press it—" The young man's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly, "it will make the sound I love to hear the most. Do you know how powerful two buttons are? This kind of bomb can no longer be called a bomb. It's life! It blooms little by little from the inside, slowly unfolding flames. Can you imagine the magnificence of that moment?"
You're a pervert! We certainly can't imagine how perverted you are!
My palms were sweating without my noticing. But no one noticed the flight attendant next to me; her sweet smile was gone, her teeth were clenched tightly around her fingers, and she screamed, "No! I don't want to die! I don't want to die at all!!" Suddenly, she grabbed a shard of glass from the ground and stabbed it at Lü Ziliang!
"No!" I shouted, leaping up and lunging at the flight attendant.
But it was too late. The flight attendant and Lü Ziliang were too close. I watched helplessly as the shard of glass pierced Lü Ziliang's finger, and in pain, his finger instinctively pressed down towards his chest—
What do people usually think of at the moment of death?
Some say he will recall his entire life, his lover, his friends, his parents…
My parents passed away when I was young, and I can hardly recall their voices or smiles. As for lovers... in my twenty-four years of life, there has never been a lover who could haunt my dreams.
The screams, cries, and shouts around me, even the crazed Lü Ziliang before me, all vanished in an instant. What did they have to do with me? And what did I have to do with them? I chuckled softly, exhaled gently, and as my body and consciousness faded into nothingness, the image of Xiao Zhenzhen appeared in my mind:
If this little girl who loves to cry finds out that I can never come back to her side, will she start crying again?
It feels so heavy, yet also so light.
My body felt as if it had been torn into pieces, yet forcefully pieced back together, the light and shadows before my eyes shimmering and chaotic. I wanted to see clearly, but my eyelids felt as heavy as a thousand pounds. With all my might, I managed to open my lips and let out a barely audible groan.
"She's awake! Thank God, this little girl is so lucky!" The voice seemed to come from a very distant place, yet it also seemed to be very close to me.
The voice, it's a human voice! I'm not dead yet!
Suddenly, a strength I don't know where it came from, and I slowly opened my eyes—
How bright! This is the sunlight of the world, warm and familiar. I blinked a few times to adjust to the blinding light. But, where am I? Where am I?
"Here, have some water." I reflexively opened my chapped lips, and a spoonful of sweet water flowed into my throat. The water filled my mouth, and I felt a surge of life. I took a breath and forced out, "Th-thank you...excuse me, where...where is this?"
The scenery before me gradually cleared up, and a warm hand covered my forehead. Her voice was gentle and peaceful, full of love: "Child, you fainted outside Guiyun Manor."
Guiyun Manor? What kind of place is that?
My eyes finally opened wide, and I could finally see the surrounding scenery and people clearly: sitting in front of me was a middle-aged woman of about forty, holding a damp towel in her hand. Beside her stood a boy of about seventeen or eighteen, with a dark and thin face and a hint of childishness. He smiled and said, "Sister is awake."
"Ah...! What's going on? Where am I?!" I usually have extremely strong self-control, and even the biggest things in the world have never made me cry out in surprise. But now, I couldn't control my emotions and couldn't help but shout out!
The woman and the boy in front of me were actually dressed in the attire of the Song Dynasty a thousand years ago!
In an instant, I felt the small room spinning rapidly. The woman, the boy, the roof, the bed... all rushed into my already chaotic mind. Even with my strong mental fortitude, I finally couldn't accept this unbelievable blow!
My vision went white, and I finally fainted again!
"Sister, eat more chicken. My mother's crispy chicken is amazing!" The dark-skinned, thin boy stuffed large mouthfuls of chicken into his mouth while also putting a piece into my rice bowl.
"Thank you..." I picked up the bamboo chopsticks and put them down again, my heart heavy. Over the past week, I had learned about the era and city I was in from the woman and the boy who rescued me. This sudden arrival had transported me to Jiangzhou City in Shanxi Province, in the third year of the Tiansheng era of the Song Dynasty. Although Lü Ziliang was a madman, he was undeniably a genius; the bombs he made were incredibly powerful. But I didn't know why I was still alive, or how I had managed to travel to the Song Dynasty over a thousand years ago. If people in the 20th century knew that time travel could actually be successful, they would surely marvel at it as the greatest discovery of the last thousand years.
But now I don't even have the chance to be a guinea pig for others to study!
I once carefully imagined what happened. A month before, in modern life, I saw a news article: a scientist, described by the media as a "madman," claimed that the spaces we live in overlap. I don't remember a lot of the technical terms, but the gist was that if you know the channel from one overlapping space to a parallel second space, there's a possibility of time travel, as described in science fiction. Now, I think my time travel might be related to the plane explosion, which inadvertently opened a channel between overlapping spaces. But why am I the only one who came to this past, while the others on the plane… that flight attendant with the sweet smile, the adorable child, the elegant young woman… I subconsciously shook my head, afraid to think any further. After all, I'm alive, which is better than being dead!
The middle-aged woman smiled at me: "What's wrong? Is it because the food made by the woman from Jing's family is hard to swallow?" I was startled, snapping out of my reverie, and quickly said, "No, no, no, Madam Yun is too kind. I am so grateful for your hospitality, I have no way to repay you. How could I be so picky? Besides, your cooking skills are unparalleled, the food is truly delicious. You don't need to be so polite." Knowing that I was in the Song Dynasty, I tried my best to use elegant and refined language, afraid that others would notice that I was different from others. In the past few days, I had learned from the dark-skinned, thin young man—Yun Yiyang—that the woman in front of me was surnamed Yun, that she was his mother, and that the small house I was in was actually called "Guiyun Manor".
Madam Yun smiled slightly: "Judging from your speech, young lady, you have quite the demeanor of a lady of high birth. It is a great pleasure for my son and wife to have you stay at our humble abode. However... I am unfortunate that my husband died young. Alas... this Guiyun Manor has fallen into disrepair."
I smiled wryly and said, "Madam Yun, please forgive my words, Baiyi..." I looked around. Although the house was large, it had been in disrepair for many years. When the autumn wind blew, the house was almost about to collapse. Such a house was not exactly destitute, but it was close. "This is the least like a manor I have ever seen."
As soon as she finished speaking, I noticed that Madam Yun's frail body suddenly straightened, and her eyes sharpened, but only for a moment. Madam Yun regained her gentle expression: "Back in the day..." Madam Yun's voice became leisurely, and her eyes became cheerful, as if she was recalling the past, "When my husband was alive, Guiyun Manor was so glorious. In the world of brocade and satin, if Guiyun Manor claimed to be second, who would dare to claim to be first! But now, the glory has turned to decline, in the blink of an eye..." Yun Yiyang suddenly interrupted Madam Yun's words: "Mother, you just love to nag! Didn't I already collect a hundred taels of silver in rent today? Tomorrow I'll go to our cloth shop and see if I can get some more silver. We can get through the winter again this year!"
I looked at the tall, imposing yet childlike-looking Yun Yiyang, then at Madam Yun's eyes filled with sorrow, and suddenly had an idea that I myself could hardly believe: "Madam Yun, how about we do some business?"
I breathed a sigh of relief. In just half a month, I had experienced the most unbelievable changes in my life. Life is a dream, but if it really is a dream, how wonderful that would be.
Coming from the modern world where food and clothing are plentiful, to this backward and desolate Song Dynasty, I really don't know whether it's a blessing or a curse. At this moment, a phrase that I already know by heart comes to mind: "The Ming Dynasty temporarily neglects the virtuous, what should we do?" Now, what should I do?
Who cares!
Since you've already come to this point, why not make your life better?
Chapter Three: Su Sanshou
Su Sanshou is not one person, but three people.
Three people, three hands.
If you were to ask who has the most valuable hands in Jiangzhou City, nine out of ten people would say, "Su San's hands."