Четвертый кампус - Глава 25
Reply [74]: The female ghost in Chapter Thirty-Six "shed tears"!
I thought we would just pass each other by, but a shout from that little boy brought us together.
"Ah! Grandma, that lady is so pretty!" the little boy exclaimed. So lecherous at such a young age, what will he be like when he grows up! (Aside: Hey! You're even jealous of a child?)
Then the old woman spoke, her voice as melodious as a seventeen or eighteen-year-old girl's—how strange! She was clearly so old she could barely stand up straight. "Hmm~ She's very beautiful, almost as pretty as Grandma was when she was young."
This old lady is quite competitive. If Xiaoyuan grows up to be like you, wouldn't I feel cheated?
Xiao Yuan winked mischievously at the little boy. Hey! Is that even acceptable? I'm still here, and you're already flirting with someone else!
It seems she really likes children. Okay, I'll show her some kindness! So I walked up to the little boy, bent down, and said, "Hello, little friend. What's your name? What grade are you in? Oh, wow!"
The brat's short legs kicked straight at my crotch, you bastard! Do you want to kill me?
"Hehehe..." Xiao Yuan actually laughed.
"I hate it when other men interrupt me when I'm talking to beautiful women!" The kid's eyes were full of provocation.
"You!..." In order to show my gentlemanly manners in front of Xiaoyuan, I had no choice but to endure it.
"Sister, hug me..."
"Okay!" Xiao Yuan smiled and helped him onto the horse.
"Hehe..." The little devil is actually clinging so tightly to Xiaoyuan! ...555...That's my private territory!
Get out of here!
I couldn't stand it anymore, so I angrily turned my head, and wow! The old woman was stretching out her withered arms to me: "...Oh~~~, brother, hug me..." Ahhhhhhh!
I shook my head vigorously. Thankfully, it was just a hallucination; I must have been so angry that I lost my mind.
...
"Young people..." the old woman suddenly asked me in a voice completely out of character for her appearance, "Young people, where are you going?"
"Grandpa, we're a newlywed couple on our honeymoon on the grasslands... Hehe! But your outfit is quite strange. May I ask, what are you doing here on this vast grassland with a child?"
"I am a priestess, a shaman who specializes in performing rituals for the dead. I'm on my way to a tribe to perform a ceremony." As the old woman spoke, a strange light flashed in her eyes, then she grinned, revealing perfectly white teeth that didn't look like those of a seventy or eighty-year-old. A gust of wind blew by, and the bells tied to her body jingled incessantly. Only then did I notice that these silver bells were covered with skull patterns—how terrifying!
"It's fate that we met, so..." The old woman took something out and handed it to me.
When I saw it, I was shocked. It was...it was that vase, exactly the same as the vase in the tomb!
"You are..." I was about to ask, but I couldn't find the old woman anywhere. What? I looked around, but the open grassland was nowhere to hide. Could she have just mysteriously disappeared like that?
I looked at Xiaoyuan again, and oh my god! She was actually holding a monster covered in hair in her arms!
"Xiaoyuan! No, it's dangerous!" I shouted.
---janeadam
Reply [75]: Xiaoyuan also discovered the monster in her arms. "Ah~~" she screamed and tried to shake off the monster, but she couldn't shake it off no matter what she did.
The monster grinned maliciously at me: "Hehehe..." Its sharp teeth were covered in a disgusting, sticky substance...
"Xiao Yuan!" I sat up abruptly, my forehead covered in sweat.
"You're awake?" Before me stood Xiaoyuan's beautiful and gentle face. She smiled and handed me a damp silk handkerchief. "Wipe your face."
What's going on? Wait, let me think about it carefully. Just now, it was clearly... Could it be that I had two dreams in a row? First, I dreamed of Su Wu, then I dreamed that Xiao Yuan woke me up, and then I met that strange old woman? A series of dreams? I remember when I was in elementary school, I stole radishes from a farmer's field, and because I ate too many, I farted more than a dozen times in a row. This is the first time I've had a series of dreams.
But how could Xiaoyuan have become so gentle? Could this also be a dream? Thinking this, I immediately pulled up my pants and plucked a hair from my leg. "Ouch!" That hurts! It's not a dream! Haha!
But what caused Xiaoyuan's attitude to make such a 360-degree turn? Could it be because of what happened last night...? That saying is indeed true: women are like wild horses, but once tamed, they will wholeheartedly give themselves to you.
After I finished wiping my face, she took the silk scarf from me and said, "Are you hungry? I left some of the snake from yesterday, you can have it."
Oh? She's become so docile, I can hardly believe it. I need to observe her for now, and I can't be too arrogant, lest I provoke her and she reverts to her true colors...
"Mmm! It's delicious, Auntie? Aren't you going to eat some?" I asked Xiaoyuan while chewing.
"No need, I can just watch you eat..." Such heartwarming words brought tears to my eyes. I immediately handed her a piece of snake meat, "You eat too, let's eat together."
"Okay, but I want you to feed me."
"Huh?" This little devil, she can even be cute! I excitedly fed her the snake meat... Suddenly, "Hahahaha..."
"Ouch!" My finger hurts so much from her biting it.
"Hahaha... I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it. I never knew being a lady was so ridiculous!" Xiao Yuan rolled around on the grassland, clutching her stomach. "I'm dying of laughter."
...555...I knew it wouldn't be this good! She was just pretending to be a lady. Old habits die hard! This shrew! This savage ghost! ...555...My fingers hurt so much.
I angrily turned my head and rolled over. Ouch! Something was rubbing against my waist. I grabbed it and it was the vase, with a red silk cloth still covering it. What's going on?
What are you doing?
"Oh...it's nothing..." I quickly tucked the vase into my arms.
After traveling for several days, we were about to reach the Central Plains, as we had arrived at a mountain range with forests.
This night will be the last night that Xiaoyuan and I will spend alone together. At the time, I didn't know how precious this night would be to me... If I had known, I would have done anything to prevent her from going back to Chang'an.
...
"Hey! Is it done yet?" I asked nervously.
Shh... don't shout.
"Xiaoyuan, I'm so scared..."
"What are you afraid of? I'm here."
"But I'm still afraid. People make mistakes sometimes. I've seen birds fall to their deaths... but it could also be because they had a heart attack halfway through flight."
"Don't worry, I will never fail!" Xiao Yuan had just finished speaking when the sword in her hand accidentally fell to the ground with a loud thud that chilled me to the bone.
A rustling sound came from the grass in the distance. "Shh~~ Don't cry, something's appearing."
---janeadam
Reply [76]: "Ah..." A huge wild boar appeared in front of me, its tusks were terrifying!
"Xiao Yuan!! It's here, save me!" My hands were tied to a tree, and I couldn't move. ...555... That brat, she had to use me as bait!
The black, burly wild boar panted heavily at me, scrutinized me carefully, and then turned away in disappointment.
"Hey! You stinky pig, come back here!" I yelled angrily. "What's wrong with me? What kind of attitude is this? Can't you even make your mouth water with my fragrant, handsome body?"
Just as the wild boar was about to leave, Xiao Yuan's slender sword pierced its neck precisely, and bright red blood flowed out. What a cruel scene! Humans are truly despicable! The feeling of savoring fragrant pork is one thing, but seeing a pig being slaughtered evokes a completely different feeling. If it's considered cruel, why then relish chewing on food made through cruelty? Living in a world where the strong prey on the weak is inherently cruel. Our so-called morality is merely built upon the foundation of human selfishness. However, there's no need to feel too guilty. Everyone is born constantly committing sins; this is the only way to survive.
As I gnawed on the delicious pig's trotters, the pleasure in my stomach quickly made me forget the guilt of the cruelty.
"How about it?"
"Xiaoyuan, your cooking is amazing! It tastes so good even without any seasoning!"
"Really?" Xiao Yuan lowered her head, a smug smile flashing across her face.
Haha! Flattery will get you everywhere! But it really is delicious, just as good as the one from the future!
"How about we catch a bear and eat it tomorrow?"
"Yay! I love bear paws the most!"
"Alright, it's settled then. We'll continue using this method tomorrow, and you'll be the bait again!"
"Oh no! I don't want to eat bear anymore, it doesn't taste good at all..."
"No, you already agreed!" Xiaoyuan said fiercely.
Damn woman, she was trying to lure me into a trap... 555... I've fallen for it again.
"Ah~~ Fireflies!!" Xiaoyuan exclaimed excitedly.
They really are fireflies.
"So beautiful!" She ran over and reached out to catch it. "Hehe..."
It was the first time I had ever seen her smile so innocently, a smile that seemed to belong to no one else, a genuine smile that was free from all pretense. She actually loved fireflies so much.
"Ouch!" Xiao Yuan was so focused on catching fireflies that she didn't look at the stones under her feet and tumbled to the ground.
"Oh no!" Why did I rush over so nervously? I rushed over instinctively.
Did you hurt your face? (Aside: Hey! So you only like her looks, how superficial!) Answer: I admit, at first I did, but now I really like her. Even if she's no longer beautiful, even if being with her is tiring, you know, sometimes, two people in love suffering together is more enviable than a lonely person enjoying happiness alone.
Aside: ...555... Answer: Why are you crying? Aside: You guessed it, I'm actually really envious of you guys...)
I helped Xiaoyuan up. "Are you alright?"
"..." Her face was covered in tears. What happened? Xiaoyuan suddenly threw herself into my arms and hugged me tightly.
What a warm body! She's real, not a ghost! She's mine. Whether she's human or ghost, I don't care; I just want to have her. Even if I can't go back to the future, even if I have to give up everything, even if I regret it later, at this moment, holding her in my arms, I'm just thinking this simply, loving this simply. How much love in this world is truly pure?
She cried, cried with all her might and heartfelt emotion. So much hatred hadn't made her cry, so much pressure hadn't made her cry, so much hardship living for revenge hadn't made her cry. It was just a small stone that caused her long-suppressed tears to burst forth. Just a small stone? A stone of cruel fate. A woman released her bitterness and sorrow without reservation into my not-so-broad, not-so-warm chest. What more could I ask for?
"When I was little, my father said fireflies were stars you could pluck. He said he would pluck stars for his beloved daughter! That was the last time he smiled at me. As I grew up, he seemed like a different person, relentlessly pushing me to practice martial arts. I cried from exhaustion, and he scolded me even more fiercely, saying I was born for revenge, and that he gave birth to me for revenge. My childhood was devoid of any happiness, not just in my childhood, but even now... The only warm memory I have is the faint light of these fireflies..."
That night, we didn't sleep, but we did nothing either. We just cuddled together and waited for dawn.
---janeadam
Reply [77]: Chapter Thirty-Seven: Courage!
The night departed in disappointment amidst our embrace. I gently laid down Xiaoyuan, who had just fallen asleep, and used the clothes I had taken off to cushion her soft hair. I silently gazed at her sleeping face, and a feeling of happiness welled up in my heart. Was it just such simple contentment?
The first rays of morning sunlight bravely and persistently pierced through the dense foliage of the ancient trees, shining down and caressing Xiaoyuan's beautiful face... Was it an illusion? A golden halo surrounded her face, like an angel.
"I love you... I'm willing to break the wings on my back for you..." Her words suddenly echoed in my ears: breaking the control of fate's wings in exchange for the flight of love's wings...
Even though I knew she couldn't hear anything, I still sang softly and earnestly: "Finally made this decision, I don't care what others say, as long as you are just as sure, I'm willing, I'll go with you to the ends of the earth, I know it won't be easy, my heart has been rehearsing and convincing myself, I'm most afraid that you'll suddenly say you want to give up..."
Love truly needs courage to face gossip and rumors. As long as you give me a look of affirmation, my love has meaning...
We both need courage to believe we'll be together. In the crowded streets, I can feel you; in my hands, I hold your true heart..."