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Nangong Nuo remained in the same position, sprawled out in a "big" shape on the narrow, shabby bed, eyes closed and fast asleep. His outstretched right arm took up the entire bed.
Mei Shuang smiled wryly; if she wanted to lie down, she would have to curl up in Nangong Nuo's embrace.
However, it was late at night, and she was already extremely drowsy. In this situation, the fear of death overcame the awkwardness of sharing a room with a man. After a mental struggle, she could no longer resist sleep's call and reluctantly lay down at the edge of the bed.
The space left for her by Nangong Nuo was barely enough for half of her bottom to rest on, so she turned over, facing away from him.
Fortunately, they were both fully clothed. Moreover, she wanted to stay awake to see what might happen tonight. If it weren't for the situation that Nangong Nuo described, she would have immediately grabbed the broom behind the door and pounced on him.
Lying on the bed, her mind flickered between various meaningful expressions of the Empress Dowager, strange occurrences in the temple, and Mei Ru's words... Struggling to hold on until midnight, her eyelids began to droop uncontrollably. She perked herself up and listened carefully to any sounds coming from behind her.
Damn! That man who had forced her into sharing a room with him was now breathing evenly and clearly asleep. How was he supposed to protect her?!
With this realization, Mei Shuang dared not sleep any longer. Despite feeling increasingly drowsy, she pinched her thigh hard every so often to keep herself alert.
In the stillness of the night, only Mei Shuang's weary eyes remained open as she treaded carefully through the darkness. Yet even that couldn't withstand the repeated calls of sleep, and imagining her thighs covered in bruises from pinching herself made her drift off...
The night was thick and dark, so dark that one couldn't see their hand in front of their face.
Mei Shuang jolted awake with a start, finding herself surrounded by a mass of darkness. A wave of fear washed over her as she suddenly remembered that someone had been sleeping beside her. She quickly reached out but found the bed empty.
Panic set in as she hurriedly got out of bed and stumbled toward the table based on memory, fumbling to light a candle.
The flame instantly illuminated the room, bringing her some reassurance. She looked around and realized that she was not in her original place at all.
Her previously calmed heart raced again; this was a large empty room with stone walls all around—smooth and tightly constructed. Inside were only a stone bed, a stone table, and two stone stools.
Mei Shuang nearly dropped the candle in shock. How did she get here? And what time had she entered?
In the center of the room, Mei Shuang felt an unsettling sensation. After staring for a while, she finally realized that there were no doors or windows in the room. Looking up, she saw that the ceiling had the same structure. The entire space was sealed tight, as if she were trapped inside a large box.
Suddenly, a peculiar "clack clack" sound came from behind her. Mei Shuang's hair stood on end as she turned around abruptly, only to see a wall slowly rising upwards. It was a movable wall, and the switch must be outside.
The wall quickly disappeared into the ceiling, revealing a darkness from which slow yet powerful footsteps echoed.
With each step, Mei Shuang's heart raced faster. When the footsteps finally stopped, her heart felt like it was lodged in her throat, and thin beads of sweat dampened her clothes. Her hand trembled uncontrollably as she held the candle.
Standing where the wall had vanished was the statue of Buddha from Dazhao Temple's main hall. It remained in its usual form, but now it stood still, quietly observing Mei Shuang from several paces away.
The candlelight illuminated only a limited area, and Mei Shuang couldn't clearly see the true condition of the statue. Moreover, this was her first time facing this Buddha statue alone in such close proximity.
If it were under different circumstances—on a bright sunny day—seeing a living Buddha would have filled Mei Shuang with excitement, believing it to be a sign of great fortune. But in this moment, she felt no excitement at all.
All she could perceive was the flickering candlelight dancing erratically, her vision blurred, and her body stiffened. The terror reached its peak, leaving Mei Shuang with a sense of speechlessness.
"Don't be afraid."
In the empty room, that deep, hoarse voice lacked any beauty, yet those three words were clear enough to bring Mei Shuang back to her senses.
She swallowed hard and finally found her voice. "Who... who are you?"
Seeing that Mei Shuang seemed less frightened now, the statue spoke again. "Don't you recognize me?"
Mei Shuang was at a loss for words and hesitated before replying, "Uh, how did you... become like this..."
To her surprise, upon hearing her words, the statue seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as if it had been waiting for this moment. Its voice took on a hint of joy as if speaking to itself. "Yes, I said it before—my Shuang'er would never forget me..."
As it spoke, it raised its arm and gently touched its own face. "Yes... how did I end up like this..."
Mei Shuang felt a shiver run down her spine as she took in the scene before her. This was clearly not a normal person; how could she communicate?
Fortunately, the Living Buddha, after indulging in his own self-importance for a moment, shifted his gaze to Mei Shuang. After scrutinizing her for a while, he asked with an emotional tone that resembled a saw cutting through wood, "Are you Shuang'er?"
Mei Shuang's heart raced with fear. Why was he asking that again? Instinctively, she nodded, "Y-yes..."
The Living Buddha paused for a moment, and suddenly his eyes sparkled with immense joy as he lumbered closer to Mei Shuang.
Startled, Mei Shuang hurriedly raised the candle in front of her, shaking it as she exclaimed, "Ah! Don’t come any closer! It’s too much for me to handle..."
The Living Buddha froze, surprisingly obedient as he stopped about ten feet away. Once still, his gaze became somewhat urgent. "Shuang'er, where have you been?"
Each word felt like a thunderclap to Mei Shuang. She was stunned; had they met frequently before? "Uh, um, I haven’t gone anywhere..."
"Not gone? Then why didn’t you come to see me?"
"......"
Mei Shuang was at a loss for words.
What complicated story lay behind this? Had she often met this strange Living Buddha before she left the capital?
Seeing Mei Shuang silent, he suddenly sighed. "As long as you come, I’ll be happy..."
Then, without warning, a series of cackling laughs erupted from him. The sound startled Mei Shuang so much that the candle slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground. The flickering flame rolled a short distance before extinguishing with a soft "puff."
The room was instantly plunged into darkness.
Mei Shuang felt a surge of panic at the sudden blackness enveloping her. She waved her hands frantically, desperately trying to dispel the darkness before her...
Time seemed to stretch endlessly, and as Mei Shuang waved her hand, she suddenly found herself surrounded by light.
After gasping for breath for a while, she was astonished to realize that she was still in the same place she had been before.
The candlelight flickered, and beside her, Nangong Nuo lay watching her with deep, dark eyes...
Drenched in sweat, Mei Shuang stared blankly for a moment before suddenly throwing herself onto Nangong Nuo, crying softly, "I just had a dream... a very terrifying dream... Am I cursed? Who was he? Why did I dream of him?"
Nangong Nuo sighed lightly, wrapping his arms around Mei Shuang and gently stroking her trembling shoulders. He opened his mouth to say something but swallowed the words. After a pause, he asked softly, "What did you dream about?"
"The moving Buddha statue... it smiled, and it seemed to know me..." Mei Shuang sobbed.
Nangong Nuo's expression darkened. "What did he say?"
Leaning against Nangong Nuo's broad shoulder, the strong heartbeat and faint fresh scent calmed Mei Shuang slightly. However, she was still lost in the nightmare. When she heard Nangong Nuo's question, she looked momentarily confused and continued to sniffle, "He said... there is a place that holds..."
Nangong Nuo's demeanor changed dramatically as he suppressed his voice, sounding somewhat urgent. "What place? Holds what?"
Mei Shuang shook her head through her tears, recalling the sudden darkness in her dream and the pairs of blood-red eyes lurking in the shadows, staring at her like demons—gory and terrifying, leaving her utterly shaken.
"I don't know; I couldn't hear... Wuwu, no! I don't want to see him again..." Mei Shuang buried her face in Nangong Nuo's shoulder and began to cry softly.
Nangong Nuo, patient as ever, stroked the back of the terrified Mei Shuang, trying his best to soothe her. His deep gaze remained fixed on her, though it was inscrutable until Mei Shuang, utterly exhausted, finally drifted off to sleep...
---
Early in the morning at the Hall of Governance, the Emperor of the Great Qin Empire, Xiao Luo, stared intently at the documents before him, lost in thought until hurried footsteps interrupted his concentration.
Li Gonggong rushed in to announce that Zhao Prince had arrived.
Xiao Luo put down the Fire Stick and looked up to see Nangong Nuo entering with a gloomy expression.
"What's wrong? Did you fail again?"
At this moment, Nangong Nuo hurried over, and given his expression, the outcome was easy to guess.
Nangong Nuo, usually carefree, wore an unusual look of dejection. After sitting down, he sighed, "Still nothing."
Xiao Luo stood up and stretched his stiff back from sitting too long, saying lightly, "This is not something that can be rushed. He has been in a deep slumber for a long time and is afflicted by Poison. It's already remarkable that he has survived this long. If it weren't for the concerns in his heart, he might have already passed away. Wouldn't you be wasting your efforts?"
Nangong Nuo dismissed it with a wave of his hand, "I suppose they wouldn't want him to die either. Without his justification, those things would also be meaningless to them..."
Xiao Luo walked to the window. Outside, flowers bloomed in vibrant colors, swaying in the wind and displaying their splendid beauty. After staring blankly for a while, he spoke more softly, "No matter how beautifully the flowers bloom, they are only here for a season..."
Hearing the deeper meaning and inexplicable sense of despair in Xiao Luo's words, Nangong Nuo scoffed even more dismissively, a cold smile curling at the corners of his lips. "Your Majesty, forgive me for being blunt, but if Chu Xiruo were here, would you still say that?"
Upon hearing that name, Xiao Luo paused momentarily. Suddenly, he turned around and fixed his gaze on Nangong Nuo, asking, "Then what about Mei Shuang? Do you still like her as much as before?"
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