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But the Wanderer was filled with thoughts of Qin Shi Huang and could not sleep. She tossed and turned in bed, restless for half the night, still unable to find slumber. The Overlord, disturbed by her restlessness, finally opened his eyes and asked, "My lady, what troubles you? You seem to be lost in thought."
Seeing him awake, the Wanderer sat up and sighed, "Your Majesty, I cannot sleep no matter how I turn."
The Overlord noticed her furrowed brow and felt a pang of concern. He gently comforted her, "Do not worry, my lady. If you have something on your mind, share it with me, and I will help you find a solution."
The Wanderer’s eyes sparkled with a sudden idea. "Your Majesty, since we are acquainted, why not tell me some simple stories to pass the time?"
Upon hearing this, the Overlord perked up and patted his chest confidently. "How hard can that be! I, Xiong Yu, may not have many talents, but telling stories is certainly one of them! What would you like to hear? Tales of battle on the warfront or tales of passionate love?"
Feigning displeasure, the Wanderer replied, "Just tell me a straightforward story; please refrain from those embarrassing tales."
The Overlord was puzzled and asked, "What do you mean by embarrassing tales?"
The Wanderer covered her mouth and laughed lightly. "Talking about others is called speaking with dignity; talking about oneself is called speaking without dignity. Your Majesty has spent half the night recounting your own heroic deeds—this is what I call speaking without dignity. Now let me ask you: where is Qin Shi Huang now? If you can tell me his story, that would truly be speaking with dignity."
The Overlord found her reasoning amusing yet perplexing. He decided to play along and said, "Well! Qin Shi Huang was quite a man, but there’s one thing—while other men are wise, he was rather foolish."
Feigning surprise, the Wanderer responded, "How could he conquer the Six Nations and build the Great Wall if he were foolish? Surely he must possess some wisdom!"
The Overlord shook his head and replied, "My lady does not know; in this world, there are both wise men and fools. The wisdom of Shi Huang was merely trivial. He obsessively pursued immortality and dreamed of enjoying eternal wealth and glory without realizing that fate governs all things. The Primordial Heavenly Venerable saw that he was too ignorant to remain in the Ancient People's World and sent him off to the Meng Tong World."
Upon hearing "Meng Tong World," the Wanderer was bewildered again and quickly asked, "What is this Meng Tong World? How far is it from here?"
The Overlord scratched his head and said, "I don't really know. I only heard Heavenly Venerable mention that the Meng Tong World is a peculiar place, vastly different from our own. There's even a future world in between!"
The Wanderer pressed on, "Since the Meng Tong World is separated from the future world, who knows what the situation is like there?"
"The beauty is unaware!" The Overlord took a sip of his drink, and there seemed to be sparks flickering in his eyes. "This Yu Wu Village is not really a village at all; it's merely a crack in the fabric of this world. It's like..." He stretched out his hand and traced a few lines on the table with his rough finger. "It's like this table has been eaten away by insects, yet there's still a thread connecting both sides. That Yu Wu Village is just a point on that thread."
The Wanderer listened intently, disregarding any decorum, scratching his head in confusion. "Are you saying that Yu Wu Village is a gateway to another world?"
The Overlord laughed heartily, slamming his hand on the table so hard that some of the drink splashed out. "Exactly! In that village, there are two Jade Gates. Push them open, and you can see another world. What kind of world is it? Heh heh, I fear it might scare the beauty—it's called the future world! And from that future world, there's another path leading to an even stranger place called the Meng Tong World!"
"The future world? Meng Tong World?" The Wanderer felt a buzzing in his head as if a thousand thoughts were exploding within him. "Is it true that such bizarre things exist in this world?"
"Am I lying to you?" The Overlord shot him a sidelong glance. "A few years ago, there was a reckless fellow named Xin Zai, who called himself Xin Ju Shi. I don't know what madness possessed him, but he dared to push open the Jade Gate and went to find his father in the Meng Tong World. Guess what? When he returned, he did find his father, but he himself had turned completely white-haired and bearded, as if he had seen a ghost, mumbling something about 'not to be spoken of.'"
That Xin Ju Shi shouldn't have gone back for a second time, but he couldn't rest easy after three years and re-emerged from the Jade Gate to seek his maternal grandfather.
"Why did he want to go look for his grandfather again?" The Wanderer couldn't help but ask.
"Who knows?" The Overlord took another swig of his drink and sighed. "Perhaps there's some kind of magic in the Meng Tong World that lured away his soul. Unfortunately for him, when he tried to go back the second time, he ran into Dayu, that old fellow, who was in a bad mood and sealed the Jade Gate with a talisman. When he returned and saw that neither east nor west would help him, he was trapped there for over ten years in the future world and hasn't come back since; we don't even know if he's alive or dead."
The Wanderer fell silent for a moment before suddenly looking up with shining eyes. "My lord, take me to Yu Wu Village tomorrow! I want to see that Jade Gate with my own eyes!"
The Overlord was taken aback for a moment, then burst into hearty laughter. "Good! The beauty is indeed a person of passion. Tomorrow, I will take you to witness what it means that there are heavens beyond heavens!"
As the two were caught up in their conversation, they suddenly heard the crowing of roosters outside, and the originally dark room gradually brightened. The eight green gauze windows reflected the pale light of dawn, as a red sun began to rise in the east, marking the arrival of morning.
A series of urgent drumbeats echoed from afar, urging people to start a new day. Several maidservants moved about outside the door, deliberately treading lightly, with only the rustling sound of fabric brushing against itself reaching their ears.
"Ping Xiang, I’m up," called The Wanderer towards the door.
"Coming, Your Highness," a clear voice responded.
Before long, the door was gently pushed open, and Ping Xiang entered with washing utensils in hand, followed by several maidservants who kept their heads lowered, not daring to make a sound.
The Overlord helped The Wanderer to her feet and was about to step out when The Wanderer suddenly paused. She walked over to the window and gently pushed open two green gauze curtains. She plucked a pomegranate leaf and toyed with it for a moment before carelessly tossing it into the flowerbed.
In the morning light, that leaf appeared particularly vibrant red, like a spot of cinnabar that fell onto The Wanderer's heart.
"The future world... Meng Tong World..." she murmured softly, her eyes glimmering with complex emotions as if lost in thought.
She walked away, passing through the corridor and around the rockery. In the flowerbed, a pomegranate tree was in full bloom, its fiery red petals seeming to mock all the absurdities of this world. She did not understand and did not wish to understand; she only wanted to leave as quickly as possible.
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