Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Do not look back (8)

Liu Fengyan was dead, dead on the grandmaster’s chair at the Prime Minister’s tomb, his body slumping to the ground. Qilin's hooves stepped over his corpse, trampling the bloodstains into the soft mud, then returning to the hard mountain road. It then turned around and began to gallop along the road.

Liu Fengyan's men were at the docks, at the train station, but there was no one guarding the ancient Shaoxing road where the horse was traveling.

Yu Manyi didn’t know how much time had passed. The ridges and rice fields disappeared and reappeared, and the sky alternated between brightness and dimness. She lay across Qilin’s back, sometimes conscious, sometimes fading into weakness.

The road she traveled was both the path forward and the way back. Qilin retraced the path it had followed with the carriage. It took over her gradually fading will, galloping towards Shanghai without looking back. Its hooves finally hit the modern asphalt road that symbolized civilization.

It wasn’t a divine steed, and it only knew this one road, but that road was enough. When Yu Manyi opened her eyes again, she found herself in front of the collapsed iron fence of Song Huazhang’s villa. She didn’t even bother to deal with the fallen iron fence; there were still traces of blood left from where Qilin had scratched its chest on the iron spikes.

Qilin slowed its pace, leapt over the fallen section, and finally brought Yu Manyi to the open gate of the villa.

The sound of its hooves startled the people inside. First, the butler came out to take a look. When he saw Yu Manyi, unconscious on its back, he gasped. Soon, more people gathered around, their faces full of sadness and shock—finally, Song Huazhang staggered out.

“Manyi… Manyi!”

He stumbled towards her, and behind him appeared Jiang Yu and You Hong. After a while, Fang Qian and Lu Xiangcang also followed. Yu Manyi half-opened her eyes and looked at them—what were they all doing here?

Her throat was dry, and she couldn’t speak. Her lips had cracked. She hadn’t eaten, hadn’t drunk anything, and had no idea how many days had passed since she left. She forced herself to wake up with all her strength, feeling Song Huazhang reaching out to help her. Her limbs had lost all feeling, but when she fell from the horse to the ground, the sharp pain in her knees made her face go pale again, and she “plopped” to her knees.

“Manyi!”

Song Huazhang rushed over, kneeling beside her to hold her. Yu Manyi curled up in her embrace, smelling her scent—it was similar to Song QI’s, though not exactly the same. It seemed to be a scent governed by genetic control. She was the closest relative to Song QI in this world, and the person Yu Manyi was closest to now.

She had no strength left, but she clutched her shoulders and pressed her lips to her. After such a long silence, her voice was hoarse and weak: “Aunt, Aunt…”“Hey, Aunt is here, Aunt is here. Is it Liu Fengyan? Is it those bastards from your family!”

“Quickly go save…” she said blankly, “Quickly go save Song Qi, quickly… the theater…”

Song Huazhang suddenly fell silent.

Repeating his name gave Yu Manyi strength. She struggled to sit up, her body reacting more and more violently. “Aunt, quickly go save him! He went to save people, he went to save people again, only you can save him!”

“Aunt, go save him!”

Her struggles grew more intense, but in the yard, so many people were silent. The long journey and severe injuries gradually made Yu Manyi lose her sanity, just collapsing into an emotional breakdown, repeating the same words with no one responding—

Finally, at the moment when everything reached its peak, she felt all the pain in her body disappear, and at the same time, she heard the sound of a string snapping in her brain.

Her world fell into darkness once again.

In the dream, the darkness seemed endless.

The sounds beside her were strange, indistinct murmurs, chattering. Yu Manyi groped her way through the dark, gradually realizing that she seemed to be in a theater—a theater with closed doors and windows.

Occasionally, a spotlight would shine in front of her, followed by a scene with no beginning or end. The people on stage were dressed in ancient costumes, their faces painted with theater makeup that she couldn’t make out clearly. Yu Manyi felt that they looked familiar, like people she had seen since she was young, but she couldn’t name a single one.

Sometimes she would stop in front of the suddenly lit stage, other times feeling indifferent to the singing, so she would turn and leave. Some people tried to catch her and bring her back to watch, but at that moment, Yu Manyi’s temper grew foul, unbearable. She raised her gun in the dark—A gunshot rang out with a “bang,” followed by the sound of blood splattering on the ground.

Then, no one dared to come and grab her again.

But strangely, Yu Manyi didn’t feel that she was holding a gun. She had raised her hand instinctively. This was a magical place—where you don’t need to actually possess anything. What mattered was that you knew in your heart that you had the ability to control those things.

Of course, the key thing was that she was no longer afraid of anything. The actors performing on stage, the servants in the audience, were just shadow puppets.

Yu Manyi continued walking in the dark.

She grew more anxious with each step. She wanted to get out, to break through this theater, but she couldn’t see in the darkness and couldn’t find the right path. She began to run, stumbling over tables and chairs scattered on the ground, tripping and bruising herself. But at some point, she suddenly felt a tightness around her ankle—

Yu Manyi screamed, and then she was dragged down into the darkness.

She rolled in the dark, tumbling several times. When she opened her eyes again, the sky suddenly brightened. She was blinded by the sudden white light, and when she opened her eyes again, she found another pair of eyes right in front of her.

This person, Yu Manyi felt even more familiar with, but she still couldn’t remember who he was.

He looked at her, his face covered in blood. Yu Manyi lay beside him, feeling his body temperature was very low, his breath faint. She tried to escape from his grip, but his hand tightly clutched her wrist, bruising her skin.

She began to shout, “Let go of me! Let go—let go of me! Song Qi, let go of me!”

At that moment, she suddenly recognized who it was, the one who had dragged her out of the darkness and onto the embankment.

Then, she woke up.

The hospital room was unnervingly quiet.She had been to the hospital before; it was a noisy and chaotic place. The corridors were always filled with whispers, and the rooms were full of disputes and crying. But this hospital room was too quiet, quiet to the point that it felt like a separate space had been carved out from the hospital, quiet enough that even the passage of time seemed to have ceased.

Yu Manyi no longer felt pain. She slightly turned her neck, and then her face revealed a look of surprise.

Sitting next to her bed was a familiar figure, holding her wrist and smiling at her. But this time, he didn’t apply any pressure, and he didn’t hurt her like he had in the past when he gripped her wrist. He simply sat quietly, letting Yu Manyi sit up from the bed and rush to hug him.

Her emotions surged in an instant, all the grievances flooding into her heart. She started to complain to Song Qi, just like she always did before. She talked about her Third Uncle’s foolishness, about Liu Fengyan’s bad nature, about Uncle Qi’s sharp insight, and about Qilin’s intelligence. She also spoke about the method to untie a knot that had looped twice, and how when she raised the gun to kill, she heard his breath behind her, as if he was guiding her in target practice.

She said so much, but Song Qi remained silent.

He simply held her, waiting for her to cry herself out in his arms, letting her tears soak into the fabric of his shoulder. He gently stroked her hair and patted her back, allowing her to release all the grievances and pain she had endured during this journey.

Yu Manyi felt that the world was too quiet, with only her voice chattering. And she felt strange, because the familiar scent from Song Qi’s clothes had disappeared, even the faint smell of smoke that she had occasionally detected was no longer there.

In this abnormal silence, she felt restless and afraid. She lifted her head in Song Qi’s arms. He still gazed at her, eyes lowered, gentle and tolerant.

He was so strange. He was wearing that black school uniform... How long ago had it been since he wore it?

Yu Manyi slowly pulled herself away and began to look him over. She noticed that Song Qi’s features seemed to have returned to how they were when she first met him—slightly younger and cleaner, without the later deep fatigue and weariness. His left hand gently held hers, and with his other hand, he wiped away the last traces of her tears.

Yu Manyi started to feel anxious—why wasn’t he speaking? Wasn’t he the one who always talked the most? He used to joke about how badly she dressed and asked if her lodging was even fit for humans—how could he stay silent for so long?

She realized that maybe she hadn’t given him a chance to speak. She had been too busy venting, so she stopped talking and instead asked, “You’ll stay with me today, won’t you?”

Her attempt was successful. Song Qi’s lips finally moved. But his voice didn’t seem to come from his body; instead, it rang directly in Yu Manyi’s ears.

“Manyi, it’s no use. I’m going to leave soon.”Yu Manyi was stunned, a strange feeling rising in her heart. In order to suppress this odd sensation, she immediately started to get angry: “Why! Why can’t you stay with me? Where are you going?”

When she was upset in the past, Song Qi would usually say "no" but would soon follow her wishes. However, this time it seemed like he had no solution. He sighed, still holding her hand, and softly asked, “Do you know what day it is today?”

“What?”

“Today... today is the day I dragged you to the edge of the field. Three years have passed, and I’m back to the same day.”

Yu Manyi looked confused: “What are you talking about?”

“It’s hard for me to explain. I only found out recently. Manyi, someone told me that on that day... I was supposed to die.”

“In the wilderness, below the field, I was seriously injured, without food or water. I was about to die. That person was already leading me on the way out, but when he arrived, he found... I was gone.”

“He was furious. Who was taking me away? He never thought that it was a little feudal trapped in a theater who took me, hid me in the basement, and made him unable to find me.”

Yu Manyi listened quietly to him, and tears began to fall uncontrollably—Song Qi hated feudal remnants the most. He even disagreed with Yu Manyi's reason for visiting You Xiaoqing’s grave. And now, what was he saying?

“Unfortunately, three years have passed, and he remembered me again. When he came back, he realized something amazing. That little feudal had turned into such a powerful woman—she could use a gun, ride a horse, and had done so many remarkable things. He felt that these three years of twists and turns weren’t all in vain, but... my matters can’t be delayed any longer.”

Yu Manyi, crying, reached out to grab Song Qi’s sleeve, but she found that she couldn’t hold on, couldn’t grasp it anymore.

“That day, it was indeed Director He who leaked the information. Someone saw us starting to evacuate the students and workers, and there was gunfire outside the theater... I didn’t escape this time. The person who missed me under the field finally caught me... but I talked to him for a long time. You know, I’m the best at arguing. In the end, he agreed to let me meet you one more time—thank goodness for this meeting, otherwise, after all the grievances you’ve suffered, who else would comfort you? Now, you shouldn’t be feeling wronged anymore, right?”

“I’m still wronged. I’m still wronged. It will take a long time for me to be comforted,” Yu Manyi stubbornly said.

Song Qi's expression showed some guilt: “Are you still wronged? But I don’t have enough time. There are still things I want to say to you. If I comfort you any longer, I won’t be able to finish...”“No, I still have to say what I need to say. I can't just let you have your way with everything.”

His clothes became even lighter, and all over his body, only his shoulders and chest still had any real sensation. Yu Manyi could only tightly hold onto those places. But soon, even those areas started to slip away.

“The first thing,” Song Qi’s expression became somewhat serious, “I said that you should only like me. I thought about it and changed my mind. Manyi, you can like someone else, you can like anyone. You are completely free, you don’t belong to the Yu family, and you don’t belong to me... You can do whatever you want, love whoever you want, you are free.”

“Who said I have to like someone else!” Yu Manyi cried and firmly denied, “I only like you, I like you the most, only you, how could I like someone else? You can’t say that, you have to say I can only like you!”

However, Song Qi didn’t even have time to argue with Yu Manyi.

He continued, “After I leave, you need to eat well, sleep well, buy clothes, ride horses, paint, value your own talents, and do what you want to do. You are the bravest and most talented person I’ve ever seen. You will do more than I ever did, and achieve much greater things than I ever will.”

“How can I do anything without you?” Yu Manyi cried out.

“You can do it, of course,” Song Qi added, “Didn’t you kill Liu Fengyan all by yourself? I’ve taught you everything I can. As long as you’re not afraid, you can accomplish anything.”

Song Qi thought for a moment, then raised his head and finally gave one last piece of advice: “One last thing, you still need to spend more time with my aunt... She won’t stop recognizing you just because I’m gone, so you can’t stop contacting her. Otherwise, no one will call her ‘aunt’ anymore.”

The quiet place finally echoed with sounds other than their conversation. Yu Manyi looked out in the direction of the sound and saw a black bird land outside the window, fluttering its wings.

“Will you become like that?” Yu Manyi couldn’t control her tears as they fell.

Song Qi, however, began to laugh. “I’m human, how could I become a bird?”

“I thought you’d turn into a bird. If you did, you could still come see me.”“I will indeed come back to see you. I need to check if you’ve done the things you promised me. You might feel something, but you probably won’t be able to see me.”

“Then will I never see you again?”

Song Qi thought for a moment and answered her: “At the end. At the end, you should be able to see me.”

“Then I can go to the end ahead of time. I can go to the end tomorrow.”

“No,” Song Qi’s expression slightly changed, and he said these words very sternly, “I’ve asked for you. You have a long life ahead of you, and you will live for a long time. You must live to the true end, then I’ll meet you. If you come too early, I won’t meet you.”

“Really? Are you lying to me? Are you trying to deceive me again?”

“I’m not lying,” Song Qi raised his hand and swore to her, “This isn’t a lie, it’s a promise. Have I ever broken a promise I made?”

This promise seemed so unrealistic, but because it was made by Song Qi, it became very believable and achievable.

The large black bird outside the window became more and more urgent. Song Qi pulled Yu Manyi into his arms one last time and wiped away her last tear.

“Don’t cry anymore.”

Yu Manyi found it strange. These simple three words actually made her stop. Finally, she was able to say something complete, and she calmly said, “Then I’ll wait until the end and go see you.”

“Alright, we’ll meet at the end.”

“Goodbye,” she said.

The room fell silent again. The black bird and Song Qi disappeared. Yu Manyi didn’t have a single tear left on her face. She didn’t continue crying but quietly sat on the hospital bed.She felt that things were urgent. She had to quickly return to that real hospital room, as there were still many things waiting for her to do in this world. She had to eat well, sleep, buy clothes, ride horses, paint, and accompany Song Huazhang. She had to perform well, so that when Song Qi came back to check, she wouldn’t fail to meet him at the end because of her poor performance.

But there was one thing that Yu Manyi felt might be very difficult for her to achieve.

Her "only" and "best" had already been given to one person. No matter how far away that end was at this moment, she could no longer glance at anyone else along the way.