Princesa Mercenaria - Capítulo 31
Tong Jianguo did not return. He stayed in Bangkok for more than ten days, left his statement for the police, and then mysteriously disappeared in Thailand. Some say he did so to evade legal investigation—because he shot and wounded Henry, causing his death, Henry's family in France would sue him; he also shot and killed Li Xiaojun, and whether this constituted legitimate self-defense is also debatable. In short, Tong Jianguo completely disappeared, and there has been no news of him since. People suspect that he may have returned to the Golden Triangle, or even back to the Sleeping City.
Next are two people who failed to escape the sleeping city.
Just like her dubious origins, Ouyang Xiaozhi's whereabouts remain a mystery to this day.
Finally, there's the person the world cares about most—Ye Xiao.
No one knows what his fate will be. Although the reality TV show "The Secret" has ended and its instigator, "Dragon TV," has been destroyed, countless people around the world have been deeply influenced by "The Secret," and some are still immersed in its world. Their favorite character is Ye Xiao, and his uncertain fate keeps everyone on edge. As long as there is no news of Ye Xiao, the "The Secret" program will not end, and the global public will continue to await its conclusion. The "Ye Xiao Global Support Group" is still trying to rescue him; he still has tens of millions of fans worldwide, who remember him in various ways, creating hundreds of websites for him, and his American fans are even raising funds to make a movie about him.
However, some people say that they saw Ye Xiao by chance in Shanghai sometime last year, but he insisted that "you have mistaken me for someone else" and then disappeared into the crowd; a European backpacker revealed that when he was passing through a place in Southeast Asia, he met a lone hiker who looked very much like Ye Xiao on TV; there is also a widely circulated rumor that Ye Xiao has become an important figure in Interpol and is investigating cases in some corner of the world under an assumed name, so it is inconvenient to reveal his whereabouts.
But I believe that Ye Xiao is still in the City of Sleep, whether he is dead or alive.
As for the setting of our story—the Sleeping City—many have ventured there to explore since the book's publication. But to date, no one has found it. Perhaps it's already a ruin, perhaps it remains shrouded in the mists of the mountains, or perhaps it never existed at all…
Now, the novel should end.
On my most recent trip, I stayed at a hotel on a mountaintop. The altitude here is over a thousand meters, and the environment is also very special. It is surrounded by cliffs, and there is only one narrow path leading to the hotel.
One night, I walked alone into the hotel garden. The cold air enveloped me. Looking into the distance, the vast darkness enveloped the layered mountains, revealing only their steep outlines. I quietly reached the edge of the garden, leaned on the railing, and looked down. Just a meter away was a sheer drop; a single misstep would send me shattered to pieces. The roar of a nearby waterfall echoed, and the entire valley was filled with mist, which then condensed into an indistinct fog. I walked around the perimeter of the hotel, always surrounded by sheer cliffs. Occasionally, wildflowers bloomed in the darkness, instilling an inescapable sense of loneliness.
As I looked up at the starry sky between the peaks, I was surprised to find a figure beside me, appearing like a ghost from the bottom of the cliff.
"Who are you?"
I took a step back in surprise, but the other person emerged from the darkness, revealing an unfamiliar face in the dim starlight.
But I still couldn't see his face clearly; I only felt that he was old enough to be my father. This man, nearing sixty, leaned against a precarious railing, with rolling mountains behind him.
"Did you write 'The Secret of Heaven'?"
He asked in a deep voice, the night wind carrying his voice far away.
"yes."
I felt a chill and took another step back, clutching my collar.
"Thanks."
"Why?"
"Because your novel is fiction."
To his nonsensical statement, I could only give a wry smile: "Of course, fiction is fiction."
"The Secret of Heaven is a fictional story."
I suddenly felt something was wrong: "Only I know whether it's true or false."
“No, only I know.” He looked back at the dark valley. “The world of secrets is far more fascinating than your novel.”
"Because the truth is always more fascinating than fiction?"
"Yes, the truth is God."
After saying this nonsensical thing, he turned and walked deeper into the garden. I followed behind and asked, "Hey! Do you know where Ye Xiao is?"
"No."
I only heard that one syllable before he disappeared into the bushes. By the time I rushed over to look for him, he was nowhere to be seen in the night.
Suddenly, a mountain mist swept over me, and I couldn't see anything in the vast darkness. I could only grope my way back to my room.
That night, I had a dream.
I dreamt of Ye Xiao.
In this strange dream, there was only a long tunnel, and it was pitch black all around, with a dim light shining at the end of the tunnel.
Ye Xiao walked alone through the dark tunnel.
He looked exhausted and lost in thought, with only his signature sharp eyes still fixed on the single light.
As he slowly approached the beam of light, a shadow suddenly appeared, gradually becoming clearer as it reached him, revealing a woman's face.
So unfamiliar, yet so familiar.
The unfamiliarity stems from the many years that have passed.
Familiarity is something I've been seeing in my dreams for many years.
In that instant, he saw her face clearly and softly called out her name: "Xue'er!"
She was his Xue'er.
Ye Xiao held her hand tightly, determined never to let her slip away again. And her hand wasn't as cold as he'd imagined; it was smooth, soft, and warm.
They looked into each other's eyes, warm tears welling up and sliding down their cheeks onto their bodies.
At this moment, Ye Xiao softly uttered a sentence—
Life and death are intertwined
It is agreed that we should make a deal with each other.
Holding hands
To grow old together