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墨書 Inktalez
Perhaps when we spend the rainy night and see the sunlight breaking through the horizon again, certain illusory dreams will shatter, and we will open our eyes to see the true world hidden behind something. We will continue to pick up the pen of a certain concept and write a new story.
Ziyuan and You Long finished dealing with the seventeen individuals before calling for An Qi, who had just returned from Ran Xing's residence.
The sunlight outside was particularly striking, causing passersby to shield their foreheads with their hands as they hurried along. An Qi was no different; ever since he stopped delivering meals, this time in the morning had become his routine of quickly climbing the mountain towards Jiangshan Hall.
Along the way, every hall was adorned with lights and decorations. Even old banners were cleaned by some unfamiliar heroes using Vitality, hanging them at the hall doors and along the paths, swaying gently in the warm autumn breeze. In places they passed, people were directing the chaotic setup, with shouts of "Over there!" and "Watch it!" echoing continuously. The street cleaners were also orderly clearing away these decorations or preparing to dispose of the scene's waste. Although bustling like a market, there was still a sense of order.
The wide path leading to Jiangshan Hall was particularly bright today. Such meticulous cleaning could be said to be one of the few times these ancient stones, which had stood for centuries, received special attention throughout the year. As the saying goes, being unexpectedly favored might mean that these stones were secretly praising the preparations for the Trial Ground.
The trees on the mountain had also been specially trimmed, appearing exceptionally neat. With autumn's arrival, the yellow and green hues deepened. Amidst the music, several tiny hats could be seen moving among the trees—harvest season was upon them, and with the upcoming Double Ninth Festival, this year's Trial Ground harvest was particularly abundant. The fragrance of fruits and vegetables climbed up what must have been a thousand steps, bringing this delightful scent to everyone.
An Qi ran quickly and seemed to spot a familiar figure waiting for him at the end of the long stairs. The person had changed into an outfit that didn't initially seem friendly, but as he approached, their expression contradicted what their clothing suggested.
This person was Ziyuan, who had just returned to Jiangshan Hall. She appeared to be waiting for An Qi's arrival, as if a good piece of news was hidden in her sleeve. An Qi sensed something mysterious yet unspoken and immediately quickened his pace, crossing the long steps to stand before Ziyuan.
"Teacher Ziyuan, An Qi is here to report," An Qi said with a bow. Ziyuan waved her hand dismissively as if indicating that it wasn't necessary, speaking in a mysteriously cheerful tone like friends preparing a surprise for each other.
"It's time for harvest; I think you've been waiting for quite a while now, young man."
An Qi felt slightly taken aback by this unexpected question after so many days. He seemed unsure about what new trick Teacher Ziyuan had up her sleeve; could it be another roundabout way of saying something like during their meal?
"With no intention of wrongdoing, though there may have been unforgivable mistakes. Since you dared to sow seeds of repentance, after all these days, it should be time for an explanation!"
An Qi pondered his words carefully, speculating on what had suddenly prompted this discussion about matters that were supposed to be postponed today; it truly felt strange!
"Indeed, you and I, along with Teacher You Long and Teacher Meng Jiang—we have all sown seeds together for nearly half a month now. Although it's been a short time, we should see some blossoms and fruits."
Ziyuan quickly assigned An Qi the task of bringing Ran Xing back. There was an important guest to meet today, and this was an opportunity that needed to be seized.
An Qi's eyes lit up at once, as if hope had been reignited. His good buddy was finally going to be spared from imprisonment. The confinement over the past half month had been maddening, and if Ran Xing could hold on until the moment he slammed the door, it truly was the darkness before dawn.
Gathering his strength, An Qi set off towards Ran Xing's residence with this exciting command in mind.
However, despite the pleasant season, beautiful scenery, auspicious meanings, and good intentions, some unexpected events arrived at the most inopportune time. Even Ziyuan, who had been personally overseeing matters during this period, remained oblivious.
A few guards rushed in a panic to Ziyuan, exchanging glances but not daring to utter a word. They merely repeated their guilt, hoping for Ziyuan's mercy.
"You're all grown men; no matter how serious the situation is, you should at least gather your wits before reporting. Don't come here looking like this," Ziyuan said, having just been in high spirits. He sensed something was off—could it be that Xing Han was causing trouble again? No, that couldn't be; the commander had already cut off all of Xing Han's means of communication. Even if Xing Han's letter grew wings, it wouldn't escape his residence. The gloomy demeanor of the guards immediately put Ziyuan in a bad mood.
Yet Ziyuan did not rush to reprimand them; instead, he waited for them to speak.
"Ran Xing... Ran Xing..." After receiving a nod of approval from Ziyuan, the guards hesitantly managed to say this. Ziyuan immediately realized that An Qi was late—an unexpected situation had occurred that neither he nor You Long had anticipated.
After a moment of silence and a deep breath, Ziyuan issued orders to the guards: two were to chase after An Qi and bring him back immediately, while the others were to relay his commands: seal off all exits of Jiangshan Hall and conduct thorough inspections of anyone with Water Attribute abilities until they found out Ran Xing's whereabouts. The last guard was to report to Qianwen immediately, requesting an immediate lockdown and expulsion of all related areas to prevent Ran Xing from doing anything foolish.
Once he had delegated these tasks, Ziyuan quickly sought out You Long and postponed today's meeting between Ran Xing and Luo Yue. He immediately shared his suspicions with You Long.
"What about An Qi? He has been with Ran Xing; he knows best if anything unusual has happened these past few days. Have we overlooked him while dealing with Xing Han?" You Long quickly recognized that the only missing piece in recent events was their inquiry into An Qi's situation with Ran Xing over the last couple of days.
"Yes, dealing with those minor players wasted a lot of time. Now we need to consider what An Qi learned last night at Ran Xing's place—did last night's events prompt Ran Xing to make a mistake?" As Ziyuan expressed his thoughts, he furrowed his brow slightly and recounted his recent actions to You Long. After some discussion, they concluded that given the infiltration and turmoil caused by Xing Han, this unexpected turn of events shouldn't come as a shock. They now needed to focus on resolving the issue without any further incidents.
You Long then calmly informed Ziyuan that if they wanted to leave this place, they would first need to undergo the cleansing of the Forgetfulness Mirror. They would have to extract all memories related to Vitality and their identities as heroes and Trial Ground participants before they could leave as ordinary citizens. Perhaps calling Shaomeng might yield some effective results at this point.
Speaking of the Forgetfulness Mirror, it was located in the southeastern part of Jiangshan Hall within the Trial Ground—a mirror forged from the Forgetfulness Jade of the Trial Ground that contained an aura of despair. It would consume all memories of anyone who came within five steps of it and reclaim their Vitality, turning them into utterly ordinary beings.
The mirror often belonged to the most hardened criminals of the Trial Ground, or it was a punishment that could only be invoked with Qianwen's consent. Entering the territory of this mirror without permission was a serious crime. If Ran Xing truly went there, what awaited him today might not be a bountiful harvest, but rather a futile effort.
What exactly had happened? Perhaps Ziyuan and You Long, who conspired with Qianwen that night, did not anticipate that Xing Han, taking advantage of the seventeen infiltrators into Jiangshan Hall, had already made his move against Ran Xing.
After the black-clad figures left, although Ran Xing had written a letter, the confidence on his face had long been stripped away by something. His gaze was hollow as he mechanically sipped his drink, haunted by those piercing words. The letter was sent out, but he saw no response from An Qi. Perhaps Ziyuan had indeed taken on too many responsibilities and overlooked the fact that this young lad's heart was only so resilient.
Even more unexpectedly, Ran Xing encountered Shaomeng, who was accompanying Luo Yue in recovery. The three had not seen each other for half a month, and an indescribable feeling surged in his heart. Upon seeing the melancholic and somewhat puffy-faced Ran Xing, Luo Yue seemed unable to suppress something within him, while his arm instinctively tried to push him towards Ran Xing.
"What are you doing?" Luo Yue asked in surprise. This was supposed to be a moment of reunion among comrades, yet Shaomeng blocked his path with his arm.
"You need to think about it; Teacher Ziyuan's letter did not say to meet here. Are you going to disobey orders?" Shaomeng seemed unwilling to yield because Ziyuan's command was to meet in the grand hall of Jiangshan Hall, not near the woods bordering that forbidden area.
"Is that so? It's so close; can't we say a few words? Even just to greet each other," Luo Yue began to push against Shaomeng's arm and moved towards Ran Xing.
Shaomeng speculated that perhaps his brother had realized the need to apologize sincerely to Luo Yue. If that were the case, he would let it go without further questioning. However, if this kid truly proved unworthy, aside from reprimanding him, he wouldn't spare this disappointing fellow either.
In the end, Shaomeng could not withstand Luo Yue's eagerness to speak with Ran Xing. With a long sigh, he lowered his arm and prayed that his worries would not come true.
At that moment, a large hand pressed down on Shaomeng's shoulder.
"An Qi! What are you doing here?"
Shaomeng exclaimed in surprise. This kid should have been at Ran Xing's residence; how did he end up here? However, he refrained from making things worse and decided to see what Ran Xing would say or do next.
The two exchanged glances as if they reached an understanding. Shaomeng did not press An Qi about earlier events, nor did An Qi rush to make any decisions.
Like Shaomeng, An Qi shared the same prayer: after half a month of seeing Ran Xing in such a state, how could he not figure out the right direction on his own? How could he let those black-clad figures affect him so deeply? He hoped that his brother's efforts would not be taken lightly!
An Qi furrowed her brows. The reason she found this place was thanks to the information revealed by the man in black that night, after crossing a hill in Xiaoshan, at the end of the forest, lay the Forgetfulness Court, a necessary procedure to leave the Trial Ground.
Luo Yue slowly approached Ran Xing, observing the person who had been interrogating An Qi multiple times and seeking answers from Teacher You Long and Shaomeng without success. This was someone who had vanished from her sight for half a month, now appearing before her with a slightly swollen demeanor. Although the incident where he had hurt her felt like a page from a diary, Luo Yue no longer dwelled on it.
Now, all Luo Yue wanted was to sit together under the moonlight and talk quietly, just like that night. She tried to hide her eagerness deep inside and spoke about finally being able to meet again—a moment she had waited for so long. To an outsider, it seemed like merely a brief half-month, but for Luo Yue, who had been bombarded by various emotions, seeing this person was the best answer beyond any words.
“Luo Yue, I... I’m sorry for what I did to you. I never expected we would meet again in this way; it’s hard to describe,” Ran Xing stammered.
Both of them were taken aback. What was he talking about? What nonsense was Ran Xing saying?
Luo Yue felt awkward at his absurd words. Perhaps this guy—or this fool—had been locked up for too long and didn’t know how to chat normally like that night!
Luo Yue smiled. “It’s nothing; it’s all in the past. As long as I can see you again, I don’t think there’s anything we can’t talk about, no matter how big our grievances are.”
“Is that so? Can grievances really be resolved?” Ran Xing suddenly seemed more normal for a moment, a flicker of confidence rising in his tone. But after what happened that night, that brief moment of joy on Luo Yue's face faded away like an engine that had suddenly run out of fuel.
“What are you talking about, Ran Xing? This isn’t something that can be elevated to grievances. What’s wrong with you? Tell me! Keeping your feelings bottled up—don’t you feel bad?” Luo Yue's sharp retort aimed at the unusually quiet Ran Xing hoped he would express his inner turmoil.
Shaomeng could no longer tolerate Ran Xing's nonsensical ramblings. Vitality was clenched tightly in his hand but was temporarily held back by An Qi's words.
“That damn guy!” Shaomeng gritted his teeth, glaring at this pitiful creature, wishing he could personally beat him until blood splattered everywhere.
Turning back, Ran Xing forced a bitter smile. How difficult it was to speak about such matters! He didn’t want Luo Yue to discover his painful dreams. After that brief smile, his expression—or rather his facial muscles—tightened; he didn’t want to speak anymore and fell silent, waiting for an uncertain fate.
“Why, Ran Xing? Why like this? Don’t you even trust me anymore? What has happened these days? I believe if you share this with us, everyone has feelings and won’t treat you coldly. Don’t you understand what I’m saying? Wake up! Look at what you’re saying and doing!” Luo Yue’s voice trembled with emotion; she didn’t want tears to be the gift for their reunion. She hadn’t prepared anything special—just a simple hug.
“Will I really get what you say?” Ran Xing lowered his head; he couldn’t bear to face Luo Yue at that moment. This was Luo Yue—the first girl in front of him who cried—and yet he stood there like a beast with no reaction.
Luo Yue’s almost open-hearted warmth unexpectedly pressed against an icy barrier. The piercing pain made her shed tears instantly, but she didn’t make a sound. She knew there were things Ran Xing didn’t want to say and realized he must have been affected by something at that moment. Yet she still couldn’t accept this outcome. Why did her efforts to recover and seize this moment lead to such results?
"Asshole!" Shaomeng could no longer hold back. She pushed An Qi aside and rushed in front of Ran Xing, slapping him hard across the face.
"Listen carefully and look closely at what you just said and did to someone who has worked so hard to recover just to see you again! All the effort and pain over the past half month, wasted like this. Are you even a man?" The more Shaomeng spoke, the harder she hit, ignoring Luo Yue's desperate shouts to stop and An Qi's attempts to pull her back. She continued to strike recklessly.
This bastard, wake up! Look closely at who is standing in front of you—someone who has waited for you for so long. Why are you doing this? Ran Xing, do you deserve such a girl? She hasn’t cried, hasn’t complained about the pain, or mentioned how bitter the medicine is. Yet you’ve returned all that to her. What a kind-hearted fool feeding a donkey! If I don’t knock some sense into you today, don’t ever say you know me.
The scene became chaotic. Amidst the noise, Ran Xing still disregarded Shaomeng's fury and resolutely headed toward the forbidden zone.
An Qi blocked the furious Shaomeng and immediately took both of them to find Teacher Ziyuan.
Perhaps no matter how good the timing, date, or season is, it cannot withstand the unexpectedness of a rainy night!
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