Six hundred years

Chapter 1

Six hundred years

I) Preface

If there were no stars in the sky, she would be like a meteor shower that breaks your heart, making up for the darkness and colorlessness of the sky, easily leading you into a dream, and easily taking your dream into an endless sea of longing.

If the sea were devoid of water, it would be like the wind, thunder, and lightning that haunt your dreams, bringing a helpless hope that leaves you yearning for more. After the frenzied, confused, and chaotic excitement, only a few drops of comforting rain occasionally fall, offering a brief and poignant moment of nourishment before hastily departing, leaving no trace.

This is the deep wound that Elu inflicted on me.

※※※※※※※※※※

(II) Midnight Horror

Do you believe in reincarnation? I was six years old when I first met Ailu. Perched on a servant's shoulder, I gazed at the West Lake, the lingering snow on the Broken Bridge a poignant memory. Ailu and her pancake stall shivered in the cold wind, her trembling eyes looking at me with undisguised envy, my fur coat and hat offering warmth. A sense of superiority, an innate sense of superiority, made me reach out, pointing at her: "I want to buy her, not her pancakes!" Then I brandished my short whip, making a whooshing sound in the air, watching her shiver even more fiercely with immense pride…※※※※※※※※※※ The next time I saw Ailu, I was six hundred years old. But everyone said I was the youngest and most promising oddball in China's IT industry. This sense of superiority had never left me for six hundred years. With my ever-reliable mind, I continued to create miracles, living the life I wanted. Only when I was alone in a bar would I willingly sink into the silence of searching for a blank memory. Ignoring all the surrounding noise, only in this high-decibel environment can I find that blind spot, eagerly confronting that emptiness. Deeply, wistfully, like a seabed parched for millennia, its spine exposed, staring at the blazing sun, devoid of rain. I yearn, yearn to find the blanks in my memory, but whenever I sink into a hazy, confused state, a pair of lights, bright as stars, flashing like lightning, will streak across my face, followed by various sensations—sometimes like a gentle breeze, sometimes like an electric shock, sometimes a deep sadness, sometimes an inner fear. I don't know what gives me such strange feelings, but I like this indescribable feeling, especially that fear I've never experienced before. For me, in my moment of triumph, it's a novel and entirely new experience.

※※※※※※※※※

That night, I returned to the disco called "Hot Dance." This was the only place I'd visited since arriving in this famous city. Not for any other reason than its cramped space, dim lighting, and loud music, which offered a moment of peace to my mind. A chance to escape IT, to escape everything that didn't belong to me. Here, for the first time, without even succumbing to it, I felt a powerful fear, a burning fear, as if it would consume and devour everything within me. This feeling felt like a thousand-year-old longing, constantly drawing me to this disco, just as a strong feeling had carried me from country A to country C, searching and finally settling in this city.

The feeling tonight is particularly intense, as if two sharp swords have pierced my back. The wine glass in my hand clinks and clatters, its song growing louder and louder, and I can barely control the wine flowing into my mouth. I know, she's here!

"Sir, may I have a cigarette?"

I dared not turn around, afraid that my current ecstasy would shatter the century-long wait I had endured. I tried my best to control my impulse, and with feigned composure, I took out a cigarette from my bag and handed it to him.

The cigarette was taken away. Then that voice rang out again: "Cool guy, have we met before?"

"I don't remember."

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [4]: "Only those who have seen me can hear my voice but dare not face me..." A soft sob came from behind. "No one will understand this heart-wrenching loneliness, this intense and inexplicable longing. No one will understand, not even you, alas!"

With a heavy sigh, she vanished from my sight. I turned around to find a throng of people, laser beams dancing wildly. I desperately pushed my way through the crowd, driven by a strong instinct, and ran towards the exit. Who was it? Who was it? Who was that woman who shared the same fate as me? I steadied myself and ran towards a black figure hurrying away. In my haste, I grabbed her arm and cried, "Wait, Miss!"

She turned around and asked in a heartbreakingly trembling voice, "Sir, what's wrong?"

She looked up with helpless eyes, and I felt as if I had been struck by lightning.

I hastily released her hand. What a face it was! Flat, completely blank. I mean, apart from those strangely large eyes that gleamed eerily in the night, there was really nothing else on her face. Startled by the sudden sight, I screamed and fell to the ground. She reached out her slender, flawless hand to me, taking steps closer: "Sir, what's wrong?" Her graceful figure, along with her long hair flowing in the wind, trembled slightly in the moonlight. I sat on the ground, involuntarily backing away with my hands. She sighed sadly, covered her face with her hands, and instantly, large tears slid from between her fingers—truly large tears—falling onto the cold ground, splashing up in tiny sprays. A bewitching woman, bewitching moonlight, bewitching tears, and bewitching shadows all pressed towards me. I couldn't bear it any longer. I let out a piercing scream and rushed out, towards the busy road. A voice seemed to echo in my ears: Run, run! Only the traffic can wash away your sins, only the traffic, only the traffic. I stood frozen in the middle of the road, watching the cars rushing past me, a powerful urge rising within me: rush forward, rush forward, and you'll be safe.

Suddenly, all the cars vanished, leaving me standing alone in the middle of the road. Everything around me gradually darkened until I could see nothing at all. A pair of bright green eyes suddenly rose into the air, staring directly at me, repeatedly murmuring: "Good and evil are rewarded accordingly, everything has a cause, good and evil are rewarded accordingly, everything has a cause, good and evil are rewarded accordingly, everything has a cause..." I clutched my head, screaming incessantly, trying to alleviate my fear with my hoarse cries. I don't know how it all happened, I can't remember what occurred; I only felt dizzy, a complete breakdown crushing me. I collapsed... and silence returned.

※※※※※※※※※※

(III) A sudden and alarming change

When I woke up, I saw the Slender West Lake from six hundred years ago. It was summer, and I was a young boy.

The water of West Lake is cool and refreshing. The people around me are like the water of West Lake, and the water lilies of West Lake are delicate yet not cloying, fresh and lovely.

"Young master, have some lotus seeds. I just peeled them." A slender, jade-like wrist brushed against my cheek.

I smiled and stretched out my head, wanting to bite the lotus seed gently held by that fair wrist. The beautiful woman beside me giggled and moved the lotus seed away from me.

I was so excited by the provocation that I grabbed the beauty in my arms and said, "Ailiao, if you keep being so naughty, I'll have to force my way into your Ailiao Residence tonight!"

“Young Master, you wouldn’t do that. If it were really like that, you wouldn’t have waited these fourteen years. Back then, you bought me from the Broken Bridge of West Lake and gave me Ai Liao Residence, naming me Ai Liao’er. For fourteen years, you have always treated me with great courtesy. Ai Liao’er knows that you are a man of great benevolence and righteousness, and would not act like a petty person from the marketplace.”

I sneered inwardly. This woman was indeed as intelligent and refined as a delicate orchid. I had owned her for fourteen years—not a short time—since I understood matters of the heart, yet I had never been able to touch her. She always cleverly avoided me with her charming smile. I watched the silent fishing float on the lake, waiting, waiting for a fish to take the bait. I knew that the woman beside me, with eyes as clear as the West Lake, was secretly watching me, just as I was secretly watching her.

※※※※※※※※※※

"Young master, you're back? Madam is waiting for your reply." The old servant, Wuyun, stood bowing at the main gate. "I know."

I dismounted and flicked my whip, which rang out crisply in the air before flying toward my old servant, Wuyun. He simply waved it away, and the whip was already in his hand. I gritted my teeth in resentment. That old bastard! I'll deal with him sooner or later. He thinks he's done great service, remaining unmarried his entire life to protect the Yuan family's fortune. I even learned my martial arts techniques from him, and I always have a sleazy appearance. But ever since I was old enough to understand, I've always been wary of him. His great achievements overshadowing his master have always been an unavoidable factor in historical tragedies.

I entered my mother's room, where she was puffing away on a hookah. I was disgusted by it all. This woman named Luo Yuanyuan was not my biological mother. When I was seven, my mother had already left with a wandering monk; this woman's father was merely a second wife. At forty, she thought she was still charming. Seeing me enter, she dismissed the maid and clung to me like a leech: "Shiwu, you've been coming to my place less and less lately." She exhaled a puff of smoke from behind my shoulder. I hated her like this, yet she thought she was at her most alluring at that moment. I hated that my understanding of the world began with this woman. The nightmare of my fifteenth year haunted me for five years.

I was once captivated by her unrestrained behavior, but now all I want is to get far away from this woman who has imprisoned my body and soul. I pushed away her snake-like hands that were wrapped around my neck and walked to the side.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [5]: "Wu Yun said you need to talk to me?"

"It's now as difficult as climbing to heaven for me to see you. If it weren't for that old geezer Wuyun waiting at the main gate, how could I possibly see you?"

"I'm leaving now, nothing else!"

"Fine, go away! Your old man is watching from heaven. He's laughing at me for failing to keep my chastity, for breaking my vows because of you, and for finally getting my comeuppance!"

I turned and walked out the door, leaving her inside, chuckling strangely.

※※※※※※※※※※

I arrived at Ai Liao Residence. This was a quiet place I had deliberately preserved in the Yuan family mansion, unlike the other residences filled with worldly concerns. A flock of white cranes danced in the pond, and by the pond sat Ai Liao. She rested her chin on her hand, her pearly white teeth revealing their pearly gleam as she chased after the cranes. A gentle breeze lifted the black hair on her forehead, revealing her bright, star-like eyes.

I walked over and sat down beside her. We watched the cranes dance in the gentle breeze.

"Not speaking means you have something on your mind."

“Smart! If one day I discover the meaning behind my father’s will, I will leave this house.”

"Why can't the family fortune left by the master keep you here?"

"In this family, the only one I care about is you."

Ai Liao remained silent, playing with the green grass leaves in her hands, letting the green branches soak into her fingernails.

"Will you come with me?" I finally asked.

"…………"

“I’m so glad that when I was six, my mother hadn’t seen through the ways of the world yet, and I was still the same spoiled and arrogant person I was back then. That’s why I was able to buy you.”

"…………"

"For fourteen years, I have not touched you, simply because you are the only beautiful thing I have in this house, and I do not want to destroy it."

So, when I leave, I will take you with me. After saying that, without waiting for her reply, I stood up and prepared to leave.

"I'll go with you," she said quietly. I secretly smiled; I knew there were a pair of affectionate eyes behind me.

※※※※※※※※※※

"Family sacrifices comfort the spirits of the deceased and ancestors."

Having endured countless hardships and faced life-or-death situations,

Evil spirits and demons avoided them from then on.

Severing karmic obstacles restores clarity.

I do not compare this life to that of my ancestors.

Like waking from a dream, half a lifetime of peace...

The time to return has come, so there is no lingering attachment.

Even after leaving, I still remember the kindness of old friends.

When I was thirteen, my father specially invited Zhou Wen, the most eloquent fortune teller in Hangzhou, to divine my fate. Afterwards, the two discussed the matter for a long time in a private room before Zhou Wen left. From then on, my father often drank alone.

That night was the day for ancestor worship. After drinking four jars of Nu'er Hong (a type of red wine), my father embraced me and said, "Shiwu, I can no longer love you. I, Yuan Chong, do not know whether it is a blessing or a curse to have a son like you. Today, my earthly ties are severed. I have done what I should have done for it. It is time for me to go!"

"No luck, take out your pen and ink!"

That very night, after I finished writing this poem, my father was found hanged... Luo Yuanyuan hugged me tightly, crying, but I couldn't feel any sadness in her voice.

I was in her arms, inhaling her fragrance, feeling the trembling of her breasts. Only now do I realize that she was already seducing me.

I sat alone in my father's study, looking at the old man's calligraphy on the wall, puzzled. Why had my father said those strange things that night? What was the meaning of the poem he wrote? Why did he write this poem at the last moment? Suddenly, a fragrant breeze blew by, such a familiar scent. My last thought was that it felt like I had seen it before... ※※※※※※※※※※ (IV) Clues Appear I slowly opened my eyes. Before me was my girlfriend, Ailu. I grabbed her hand. "I had a very long dream, too long. The people and things in the dream were so real."

“You’ve been unconscious for a week. I just picked you up from the hospital yesterday. It’s alright now!” Ailu stroked my head.

"How did I end up in the hospital?"

"I don't know. The hospital said a long-haired woman brought you in. Apparently, you were passed out by the bar, and that woman saved you. And you, you stayed drunk for a whole week! You're never allowed to go dancing again!"

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [6]: I have no recollection of what she said, only the long-haired woman she mentioned touched the depths of my heart... A vague image of a graceful woman appeared in my mind, her long, flowing black hair like a willow trembling in the wind, approaching me from all sides. I vaguely reached out to try to part her long hair and see her face hidden in her long black hair, but she kept backing away. I followed and tried to straighten my hand. Finally, she stopped, and I touched her soft hair. A faint fragrance wafted into my nose. I tried to part her long hair and was about to see her face... Suddenly, a giant python sprang out from the woman's hair and pounced on my shoulder, tightly coiling around me. I was shaken by its immense force, and my ears were filled with its hissing. I was about to suffocate again.

"Siyuan, what's wrong?"

I woke up with a start and looked at Ellu beside me. "I saw her, the long-haired woman. But I couldn't see her face."

Ailu was extremely anxious: "Did that fall leave any aftereffects? You know, you seemed to have completely lost consciousness just now. No matter how I called you, you wouldn't respond. I shook you desperately, but you wouldn't pay attention to me. It scared me to death." She buried her head between my legs. "I was so afraid you would become mentally impaired, and I would never see the old you again." She raised her tear-filled face and looked at me with heartache.

“How could this be?” I stroked her head. “I won’t leave you. I’ll figure everything out.” I wondered to myself, how could I be so familiar with that figure?

※※※※※※※※※※

Sitting in front of my computer, I accomplished nothing; I had no interest in studying any programs or formats. My mind was preoccupied with everything that happened after I got drunk that night, both the things I remembered and the things I didn't, like an itch that had been lurking somewhere in my body that had finally been discovered, something I wanted to scratch all the time. I decided to go back to dancing and find out what was going on.

Ding-a-ling-a-ling………………

"Hello?"

"Siyuan? It's me, Ailu. Why haven't you come to see me all these days?"

"I'm busy."

"I understand. Then you can focus on your work. Bye!"

"bye."

Ailu called when I decided to go dancing, which reminded me of my promise to her not to go there anymore. It's as if she knows what I'm thinking and always comes to my aid at crucial moments. But how can I tolerate having mysteries in my heart?

When I sat down at the bar again, it was 1:30 a.m., and the slightly bitter taste of Rémy Martin calmed my thoughts. I looked around at the men and women in their colorful clothes under the dim lights, searching for a beautiful figure with cascading black hair. I waited anxiously for something to happen.

The fragrance grew stronger, and I stood up, swaying into the dance floor. Like a madman, I tossed the hair of every long-haired woman, laughing wildly. My actions quickly disrupted the dance floor; several women's male partners already wore menacing expressions. Security guards rushed over, grabbing me. I vaguely heard someone say, "Sir, I'm sorry, you're drunk. Go to the restroom to wash your face." I struggled, but I couldn't break free from their iron grip. I was dragged off the dance floor, and in the instant I was thrown into the restroom, I seemed to see Ailu's tearful face. She stood there, resentfully watching my pathetic state. I wanted to say something to her, but I couldn't utter a sound. Suddenly, a red shadow, illuminated by silky black hair, glided through the crowd. She lowered her head, a flash of white light appearing in her hand. I suddenly sobered up. She was holding a knife, and she was stabbing someone. My gaze followed the flash of her blade, fixing on someone behind Ailu.

She's going to hurt my El! I screamed desperately, trying to break free from those around me, but they only tightened their grip.

The surrounding area was noisy, with some people cursing, "He's still not behaving himself, he should be taught a lesson." "Look, he's completely courting death, he tries to rush at any pretty girl he sees."

I looked around pleadingly, wanting to tell them that my lover was being hurt so close to me, but I couldn't speak, I couldn't speak. I looked up at the sky, opened my mouth wide, and let out a silent, mournful cry. I was roughly thrown into the bathroom, my head slamming heavily against the floor, my last shred of consciousness lingering on my beloved woman.

---Magpie Bridge Fairy

Reply [7]: V) Past events are like smoke

I don't know how much time passed, but I felt a chill. I tried to see the scenery in front of me clearly, but it was all dark and gloomy.

"boom……"

A clap of thunder rang out, and I could vaguely make out my surroundings; I was in a desolate place. A funeral banner planted beside a new grave looked particularly eerie in the flashes of lightning. Large raindrops pelted it, like a wronged spirit clawing at the coffin, trying to break free from the darkness.