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墨書 Inktalez
A crescent moon hung in the sky, dotted with stars. Autumn had arrived, and especially at night, the cold wind blew, making one wish to wrap their long underwear around their head.
It was so cold that I had to go out at night to handle business. What did I do to deserve this? I wrapped my clothes tightly around me, but it didn't help much against the biting chill.
"What the hell, I have to go on a mission at night like a zombie. Am I being treated like a beast?" I complained as I walked. Fortunately, this mission was not far from JZ Normal University; I didn't even need to leave the campus.
The tallest building at JZ Normal University housed the office of Wenquxing, standing eleven stories high. Even for me, if I fell from the top, I might not die, but I'd definitely be left dazed and confused. But my target was precisely that rooftop. I had to steady myself; already frozen by the wind, if I fell like this, Uncle Xing wouldn't cover my medical expenses.
At the edge of the rooftop sat a graceful figure. She was alone, seemingly gazing up at the crescent moon or perhaps sighing softly.
What a beautiful woman! As they say, drinking alone under the moon, how can one express their sorrow? A cup of light wine goes down easily, but how many unspoken feelings are hidden in one's heart? The strings of a zither cannot understand a maiden's grievances; pondering over old memories brings only pain! Drinking alone under the moon, how can one find peace?
"Sigh." Shaking my head with a deep breath, I approached that figure. If it weren't for her, I wouldn't have come here at midnight. In the dead of night, such a figure could hardly be an ordinary person. Ah, my guess was right; she was indeed not just anyone—she wasn't even entirely human.
But she wasn't a ghost either; where would you find such a beautiful ghost? Isn't this a welfare for us ghost hunters? However, this kind of welfare isn't something just anyone can enjoy; after all, it already has an owner.
I walked slowly behind 'Welfare.' Even though I stood there for a while, 'Welfare' seemed not to notice me at all.
"It's already midnight; what are you looking at all alone?" I simply sat down beside 'Welfare.'
Only then did 'Welfare' lift her eyelids and glance at me, raising her wine glass and shaking it lightly. I shook my head to indicate that I wouldn't drink.
"Drinking on the rooftop late at night—what great enthusiasm you have." I took out a thermos of hot tea and took a sip to warm my stomach first. "How about some warm tea instead?"
"Drinking is enough." 'Welfare' took another shallow sip.
Who can drink alone without any worries? From her appearance, she seemed to be suffering from severe emotional distress.
"Alright, alright, stop drinking." I snatched the wine flask from Meng Jiangnu's hands and handed her a thermos filled with hot tea. "Here, take this and sober up!"
The thermos contained bitter leaf tea, which is invigorating and helps with sobering up, but it tastes much more bitter than regular tea.
Welfare was indeed Meng Jiangnu, the one who had been brewing Meng Po Soup on the Bridge of Helplessness for many years. The reason I hurried back this time was for her.
According to Uncle Xing, ever since I went to Xi'an, she had been sitting here every night. Meng Jiangnu didn't need sleep, so sitting here didn't affect her much. But just like noise doesn't bother those who create it, Meng Jiangnu couldn't feel the impact she had on this university—cold!
Meng Jiangnu came down from the Bridge of Helplessness; at least during the day, the sun could offset some of her Yin Qi. But at night it was different, especially since Meng Jiangnu sat under the moonlight. Basically, no one could get close to her; she truly was an ice-cold beauty. From now on, anyone who couldn't make those around them wear a few more pairs of long underwear didn't deserve to be called an ice-cold beauty! At most, they were just a refrigerator beauty!
So there was no choice but to call me back; others couldn't do anything. Ordinary people who got close to Meng Jiangnu would already be affected by her Yin Qi. Uncle Xing wasn't afraid of Yin Qi, but he couldn't leave his office. As for Red Boy, after he activated True Fire, he wasn't afraid of Yin Qi either, but Meng Jiangnu was afraid of him.
Yin Qi didn't affect me because I had the Judgment Seal and Death Register; I wasn't afraid of these things. Actually, Black and White Impermanence weren't afraid of Yin Qi either, but Old Black would probably just make Meng Jiangnu angry enough to jump off. As for White Impermanence, let's just forget about that.
After I took Meng Jiangnu's wine away, she didn't react much; she simply held the thermos I handed her until the hot tea inside was almost cold before she finally parted her lips and softly asked me:
"How do you open this?"
I nearly fell over; are you telling me you haven't been drinking because you couldn't open it? Alright then, I guess I have to teach you.
I showed Meng Jiangnu how to twist open the thermos. She took a small sip and then closed her eyes as if savoring the bitter taste of the bitter leaf tea.
"This tea is better than wine," Meng Jiangnu said lightly.
Indeed, this wasn't ordinary bitter leaf tea; it was grown by my master when I was young and could yield one or two pounds a year. My master had the landlady from the tavern at the village entrance pick it and turn it into tea. This tea is different from regular bitter leaf tea; although it's bitter, after the bitterness fades away, there's a unique scent that's hard to describe. I usually don't want to drink it myself, but today I couldn't help but brew a cup for Meng Jiangnu.
Meng Jiangnu raised her cup and drank the entire cup of tea in one go. As she tilted her head back, the moonlight illuminated her long neck, making it appear pristine.
"If this were ancient times, you'd be considered unchaste," I teased.
"If it were back then, you'd already be labeled a lecher," Meng Jiangnu retorted sharply.
"Is that how they punish lechers?"
"By dismemberment."
Seriously? Is it really that harsh? To be treated like a lecher would mean being torn apart by five horses? The method of dismemberment involves tying a person's head and limbs to separate horses, and at a command, the five horses run in different directions. This way, a person is literally pulled into five pieces! This was one of the most brutal punishments among the Evil Techniques of the Qin Dynasty, reserved only for irredeemable criminals. Was the Qin Dynasty this ruthless towards flower thieves? But then again, Emperor Qin Shi Huang was indeed involved with Lu Buwei back in the day.
"Nowadays, horses are much more expensive than carts," I casually remarked after taking a sip of the alcohol I had snatched from Meng Jiangnu's hand. It was only after swallowing that I felt something was off.
"It's fine; I can ask Ox-Head and Horse-Face for help. That way, we won't even need ropes," Meng Jiangnu shot me a glance, seemingly aware that I had taken her drink.
"Alright, let's not stray too far off topic. Why do you love looking at the moon so much?" It seemed like last time Meng Jiangnu was also staring at the moon on the playground.
"I've heard there's someone named Chang'e up there; she and I share a similar fate," Meng Jiangnu said as she raised her thermos, seemingly wanting to toast to Chang'e in the Moon Palace. However, when the cup reached her lips, she realized it was already empty.
"Is there more?" Meng Jiangnu shook her cup at me.
"Yes, of course." I took out a kettle from my Seed Bag and refilled her cup.
"People have their joys and sorrows; the moon has its phases of fullness and emptiness," Meng Jiangnu held her cup and surprisingly recited this line.
"Isn't that just a poem by Su Shi? How do you know?" I asked in surprise.
Meng Jiangnu is from the Qin Dynasty, while Su Shi belongs to the Northern Song Dynasty! That's a huge gap in years!
"Are there still people I haven't met?" Meng Jiangnu replied calmly, "I've seen more poets than you've seen ghosts."
I believe that. Meng Jiangnu has been standing on the Bridge of Helplessness for so many years; who could escape the fate of drinking Meng Po Soup? That's why Meng Jiangnu is the person in the world who has encountered the most artists! Who would have thought that this seemingly delicate woman would be so well-informed!
"Alright, alright, sister, you win. I won't argue with you." I took another sip of wine, only to be followed by a series of yawns. "Aren't you tired? Let's go downstairs and chat."
"You can go down by yourself; I can't sleep."
"If you keep this up, half the school won't be able to sleep either."
Indeed, our sister Meng Jiangnu swayed gently like this, unaware that many classmates still had that thin blanket they brought at the beginning of the semester. Many were even using straw mats; I've heard that cold medicine in the infirmary has skyrocketed in price, and vendors downstairs are selling white and black medicine with good business.
"What do you mean?" Meng Jiangnu looked at me.
"Sister, do you really not know or are you pretending? With your wide-range cooling like an air conditioner, summer is still a welfare, but winter is unbearable." Honestly, I'm almost freezing; try staying by the air conditioning vent for a few minutes and you'll be as cold as a popsicle.
I'm slightly better than most; I'm freezing like a child.
Meng Jiangnu finally realized and stood up to head downstairs. However, I showed no intention of getting up. Meng Jiangnu stood there: "Aren't you leaving?"
"You go ahead," I waved my hand casually and took another sip from the wine jug.
Meng Jiangnu gave me a strange look before lightly moving her veil and leaving the rooftop.
It wasn't that I didn't want to leave; the wind here was particularly strong, and sitting next to Meng Jiangnu, I felt like I was turning into dried meat from the cold wind.
I couldn't get up. After drinking a few cups of wine and with this cold wind, my legs had already gone numb. If I tried to stand up now, I would have to slowly crawl up from the edge of the rooftop. How embarrassing would that be? I couldn't possibly make such a fool of myself in front of Meng Jiangnu.
Seeing that she had probably walked far away, I slowly lifted my foot, preparing to inch my way inside.
I had brought this upon myself; self-inflicted suffering is unforgivable! This was all my fault for drinking without reason.
As I leaned to the side, trying to prop myself up, a gust of wind suddenly blew. If it had just been a cold breeze, it would have been fine, but it also knocked over the wine jug I had placed beside me.
Anyone with life experience knows that when wine spills on you, it evaporates quickly and creates a particularly cool sensation, similar to rubbing alcohol on your skin.
I shivered, my heart softened. When my heart softened, my hands weakened, and with weak hands, I fell off the rooftop.
"Thud!" Just as Meng Jiangnu stepped out from the stairway, I landed right in front of her.
"Do you think this is a quick way to get around?" Meng Jiangnu looked at me.
I: ""
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