Exploring the Illusory Tomb Part 1 [Ancient Times Version] - Chapter 39: Silent Tears

Chapter 39: Silent Tears

Her icy snow-like eyes were too captivating. It was as if they could directly pierce through my eyes and see completely through my insides.

I quickly lowered my head. I simply did not look. I took the cowhide water pouch Yu Linxing handed over from the side, poured some clear water into her palm, and wiped off the remaining bloodstains one by one. She silently watched me busying myself. In the end, I took a white bandage and gently wrapped that pure, clean hand. She lowered her eyes. She was staring at that injured hand for a long while. I did not know what she was thinking. After a long time, she softly said: 

“Isn’t the wound already almost healed? No need to bandage it.”

I said: 

“It’s fine. Bandaging it is more secure.”

Yu Linxing crossed her arms and stood to the side. She slightly bent her waist, opened a pair of peach blossom eyes to glance over, and suddenly said with a laugh: 

“Shishi, what did you bind the dead ghost with? Why does it look so familiar?”

I was stunned. I saw Luo Shen lowering her injured hand. And on that hand was clearly a white cloth strip. Which even had familiar pressed patterns of a white crane embroidered on it. It was actually the piece of cloth torn from the hem of Luo Shen’s garment. It was from the time she wrapped my wound during the last time in the tomb of Consort Chu. After that, I had been carrying it with me all along. Who would have thought that by some twist of fate today, I actually mixed this remnant cloth with the bandage.

I widened my eyes. I stared into Luo Shen’s quiet gaze. I was feeling immensely embarrassed. I didn’t know what to say. Yu Linxing then held out her hand towards me. Her foxy eyes were gleaming mischievously, laughing: 

“Shishi, my hand was also burned by the fireball. How about you wrap a white cloth strip for me too? If there’s no white cloth strip, just tear it off that dead ghost!”

My face instantly burned like fire. And before I could flare up, this red-clothed woman already laughed and ran off. She mounted her horse. And the horse’s hooves kicked up bits of moss, leaving me far behind. The damp wind blew over. It carried away her gradually drifting words: 

“You two, don’t dawdle, hurry and catch up!”

I stomped my foot in anger. This damned demoness, always finding joy in teasing others!

Luo Shen, however, calmly walked to the side of the horse. She hung both our swords on it. She turned her head. Her beautiful face was half-covered by the flowing ink-black hair. From my angle, I could only see her long eyelashes and the elegant curve of her side profile.

She stretched her hand backward. She was making a gesture as if to pull me up. I heard her faintly say: 

“Come.”

I quickly walked over. I saw her hand wrapped in that remnant cloth. I wasn’t able to tell whether her hand was whiter or the embroidered pattern on it was whiter. My hand already gripped her wrist—it was cold. It was like a thin layer of snow on the branch of a red plum in winter.

I sat in front of the horse, and she hugged me from behind. I took the reins and started riding to catch up with Yu Linxing and the others. Her light breath landed on the back of my neck. A few strands of hair floated over. They were gently tickling. While a gentle breeze blew around, weak sunlight scattered through the thick tree canopy. Those moss patches seemed to come alive. They were sparkling all the way forward, stretching into the distance.

I was in a trance. I long forgot to worry about what strange creatures might still be hidden in this perilous ancient forest. In this moment, it felt like a spring outing.

The spring light was beautiful.

By the time we caught up with Yu Linxing and the others, we already saw bright light ahead. Those huge vines were all gone. But the trees had grown even taller. It seemed as though they would immediately pierce into the clouds. The surrounding soil was even more crimson than the outer edge of the forest. It was as if someone had poured a layer of bl00d on it.

I looked at the strange red light ahead and felt a bit uneasy. I then said: 

“What’s up ahead?”

Yu Linxing replied: 

“It must be the exit of this forest.” 

She then pulled out that bright yellow cloth from Dong Shaoqing, studied it for a while, and pouted: 

“That old man Dong only marked a city inside Dragon Ravine. I don’t know from which era the people living there came. But thinking about it, if past this ghostly forest is that city, then the ones living in there are probably monsters too.”

Luo Shen, however, rode our horse to the side. I thought she discovered something. When I looked carefully, sure enough, there was a protruding object there. It was wrapped layer after layer with green vines. Luo Shen took out Giant Que and gave it a flick. The vines were peeled away. It revealed a coarse stone stele.

I became interested. I leaned down to take a closer look. I then discovered a man was carved on the stone stele—tall and upright. He was holding a strange black staff in his hand. Although the carving lines were simple and neat, I could still tell the luxuriousness of the man’s clothing. On the top left of the man, a round circle was carved—unclear if it represented the sun or the moon.

This stone carving was clearly a very simple depiction of a person. Yet to my eyes, it seemed veiled in black. In a daze, I seemed to hear a heavy sigh. It was drifting across the river of time. It vaguely brushed into my ears. That pair of stone eyes stared blankly at me. It was as if he was trying to tell me something. My heart suddenly tensed, as if something snapped.

Luo Shen was right behind me. Her hand was gripping mine a little tighter. And she whispered in my ear: 

“What’s wrong with you? You’re sweating a lot.”

I hurriedly shook my head: 

“It’s nothing, just… this man looks a bit strange.” 

Her face was hidden behind my back, I couldn’t see her expression.

At this moment, Yu Linxing came up and looked. She suddenly said curiously: 

“Why does this man have wings on him?”

Just as Yu Linxing said, this was indeed a man with wings. A man with wings—in legends, some are gods, others are demons.

Luo Shen was silent for a long time before she said: 

“Perhaps it’s just a totem belief of some tribe. In ancient times, people often liked to add unusual features to figures to symbolize their extraordinariness.” 

Then she urged our horse forward and said: 

“Speed up. We need to find a campsite before nightfall.”

Once Luo Shen spoke, the group quickly moved again. But in my heart, I kept thinking about that luxurious man with wings. And I couldn’t help but keep looking back. After twisting and fidgeting up ahead for a while, Luo Shen suddenly reached out and locked my waist. She whispered: 

“Do you believe it—there really are people in this world who are born with wings?”

Her voice was low and soft. It was like water in the dark night. My shoulders slightly trembled. I turned to look at her. I got so close, I could almost touch her delicate nose bridge. The ripples in her dark eyes made me mistakenly believe all the fragmented sunlight around us had fallen into her beautiful eyes.

But her gaze was very calm. It wasn’t like she was joking.

Her lips parted slightly. I heard her continue: 

“I’ve seen one.”

My expression seemed to freeze in that moment. I even forgot to breathe. Maybe because I was so close to her face, every subtle trace of her eyes and brows was clearly captured by me. Being stared at by those eyes, my heart trembled.

I forced myself to change into a stiff faint smile and teased: 

“We’ve even seen zongzi and all that, so someone with wings isn’t that strange either.”

I quickly turned my face away. I was adjusting my unsettled breathing. Actually, I understood. She didn’t mean that. She was trying to tell me something else.

Suddenly, many fragments scattered in my mind. They were floating around messily. And a childish voice rang in my ear:

—When I grow up, I’ll definitely take you up to the sky and see all the great rivers and mountains. Is that okay?

—Is that okay?

That inexplicable voice flickered in my mind. But it was soon shattered by something. It then sank into a bottomless abyss.

I opened my mouth, and some cold liquid suddenly trickled down. It was falling into my mouth with a salty bitterness.

Not caring about the shock, I hastily wiped my face. I was afraid the woman behind me might notice. I pretended I just got sand in my eyes. I was awkwardly rubbing. But there was no sound behind for a long time. There was only the cold fragrance on her body, which seemed to grow stronger. It was entwining me like a fine net. It wasn’t letting me leave even for a moment.