NOVEL WEB Chapter 98: Dreamlike
Chapter 98: Dreamlike
The sun rose over the plain, painting the clouds with the hues of dawn, and a thousand miles of green bamboo swayed in the gentle breeze.
The monkeys on both sides of the river screamed as the light boat passed by ten thousand mountains.
Xu Lian didn’t hear the cries of the monkeys like humans, only strange, inhuman cries. The boat wasn’t a light boat, but a two-masted ship, like a ship from the underworld.
Therefore,
The last line of the poem changed to:
The monkeys on both sides of the river screamed, unable to contain their voices, as the two-masted ship sailed past ten thousand mountains.
This time, on his way home, he didn’t go to Stone Town where Xiao Mei lived first, but went straight back to Green Bamboo Town.
Because the last time he went home, he had spent five full days with Xiao Mei in Stone Town, while the women in his family in Green Bamboo Town had spent only five days with him combined.
As a master of time management, he felt that this allocation of time was unreasonable. As the main wife, Li Xiya deserved more of his time.
As he stepped ashore at the docks of Green Bamboo Town, he didn’t even bother with the mine. He hurried straight home.
The days of toiling in the mine were worth remembering, but he had already made substantial progress in accumulating his initial strength. The mine was no longer necessary for him.
“Boom!”…
As soon as he reached the doorstep of his house in the town’s new street, Xu Lian saw a long streak of lightning tearing through the sky, followed by a deafening roar.
“Strange, why is there thunder on such a clear day? Is it going to rain?”
He looked up at the clear azure sky, devoid of any clouds, and it didn’t look like rain was imminent.
“Where is Yang Ye?”
Xu Lian looked around the house, but Yang Ye and his patrol team were nowhere to be seen.
He didn’t think much of it, opened the big gate and went inside, then shut it behind him.
“Li Xiya, Chan’er, I’m back.”
Xu Lian called out.
Li Xiya ran out of the house, her autumn eyes red with tears, but she didn’t come closer, just stared at him intently.
Yang Chan’er also came out, her eyes filled with tears.
“What’s wrong?”
Xu Lian sensed that something was wrong. Usually, when he returned, Li Xiya would run to him holding Yang Chan’er’s hand. Now, she stood under the eaves, refusing to come closer.
“Did something happen at home?”
His face darkened, sensing that something was wrong, he quickened his pace towards Li Xiya and Yang Chan’er under the eaves, comforting her, “Don’t be afraid, I’m back. Tell me what’s going on.”
Li Xiya cried out and held out her hand to stop him from approaching, “Brother Lian, don’t come any closer, can we just talk here?”
Yang Chan’er also began to cry.
Xu Lian was stunned, his gaze narrowed, his unease grew, and anger flared within him, “Li Xiya, Chan’er, what’s wrong with the house? Tell me!”
Li Xiya cried and said, “Lian’er, I love you so much. You must take good care of yourself in the future.”
Xu Lian’s heart skipped a beat and he sensed a farewell in the words which made him run cold all over, and he angrily shouted, “What happened, Sister Xiya?”
Yang Chan’er cried, “Brother Lian, I’m sorry, I love you, but I can’t bear to see Sister Li Xiya leave alone. I’m going with her. Don’t forget that you once had Chan’er.”
“Leaving? Where are you going? Where are you going?”
Xu Lian was furious, he couldn’t care less anymore, he rushed forward, embracing Li Xiya tightly and grabbing Yang Chan’er’s hand, “You’re not going anywhere! I won’t let you leave me!”
However, at that moment, something unexpected happened. Li Xiya and Yang Chan’er transformed into tiny specks of starlight and vanished from his arms.
He was stunned.
How could that be?
“Boom!”
Another bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, jolting Xu Lian awake. He felt a flash of light before his eyes, the world spinning around him.
In an instant, he realized that he was still standing at the doorstep of his house and had not entered yet!
“What’s going on?”
Xu Lian felt a shiver run down his spine. “Was it all just a hallucination?”
Something felt wrong.
He had clearly encountered something strange.
Worried about the safety of Li Xiya and Chan’er inside the house, he drew his star-shaped long sword with a clang, gripping it tightly.
He quickly opened the gate of the house and walked in, observing the surroundings with caution and concern.
Everything looked the same as when he returned before, except that the fruit and vegetables he had planted in the front yard had grown a bit, and there was only Wang Cuiyun’s clothes on the clothesline, not Li Xiya’s or Chan’er’s.
This made his pupils constrict violently, a bad premonition settling in his heart!
“Li Xiya, Chan’er, I’m back.”
Xu Lian called out timidly.
“Creak…”
The door to Wang Cuiyun’s main house opened.
Wang Cuiyun walked out, her face paling at the sight of Xu Lian with his sword drawn.
She stammered, her wrinkled old face contorted in fear before forcing a hesitant smile, “Master, you’re back.”
Xu Lian couldn’t tell if the Wang Cuiyun before him was real or not. He kept his face impassive and asked, “Where are Li Xiya and Chan’er? Why haven’t they come out to greet me?”
Wang Cuiyun remained silent for a moment before saying, “Master, you already know?”
Xu Lian demanded, “Know what?”
Wang Cuiyun sighed, “When I was young, I took in men from the street to earn money to support my family. One of them, who gave me a gold ingot, came to Green Bamboo Town and took Li Xiya away.”
“Chan’er always stayed with Li Xiya. Her sisterly bond is deeper than her relationship with you. She couldn’t bear to see Li Xiya alone in the world, so she followed her.”
Xu Lian’s anger flared up at this, and his grip on the sword in his hand tightened. However, he quickly calmed down, not fully believing it. Was this “Wang Cuiyun” real, or was it another hallucination?
“Why didn’t you go with them?” Xu Lian asked calmly.
Wang Cuiyun’s face froze and then turned pale. She burst into tears, her body seemingly drained of all energy as she collapsed onto the ground. “Li Xiya is gone, and you want to kick me out?
You heartless, ungrateful wretch!
Li Xiya was so kind to you, so loving to you, how could you bear to drive away Li Xiya’s mother?
I’m old now. If I go back to that dilapidated hut on the old road, I won’t be able to find a husband to support me, and I’ll starve to death.
If Li Xiya knew that you treated me this way, she would never forgive you!”
“…”Xu Lian’s look was strange. He was almost certain that the Wang Cuiyun in front of him was real.
It was impossible for a fake to speak with such conviction, it was too much like Wang Cuiyun.
Did this mean that it wasn’t a hallucination?
Were Li Xiya and Chan’er really gone?
This made him feel agitated and confused. “Why are you crying? Stop crying, who said that I would chase you away? Don’t always assume the worst of people, not everyone is as selfish as you.”
Wang Cuiyun instantly stopped crying, her face filled with surprise. “Master won’t drive me away? You’ll take care of me?”
“…”Xu Lian’s face darkened. He was truly exasperated by her. He could only mutter, “Yes, yes, yes, a house with an elder is like a treasure. Without you, the house would be less vibrant. How could I drive you away? I hope you live a long and healthy life.”