Chapter 26#

When Hua Jinian opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the high bed with soft pillows in Zhaohua Pavilion. Facing such a luxurious setting of sound, light, and shadows, the bumps and bruises, and the ragged clothes of those years seemed like a fleeting dream, becoming illusory. He panted for a while, covered his head, and sat half up from the bed, seeing several figures vaguely through the soft red gauze curtains.

Hearing the noise made by the young man, the whispered conversations of those people stopped. One person stood up and lifted the curtain to look at him. The young man met the gaze and saw a woman with a head full of pearls and jade. He hesitated in surprise and astonishment for a while, then turned his head away and said indifferently: “Cui’er… no, Mo…”

Unexpectedly, as soon as he said this, he was interrupted by the woman. There were tears in the corners of her eyes, and sparse fine lines had appeared, but there was not much makeup. Therefore, looking at him affectionately with tears like this often made people involuntarily feel a sense of intimacy. The woman choked and said: “Little Young Master, Tianxiang day and night… finally waited for you to wake up today.”

Hua Jinian’s breath hitched, and after a long time he said tremblingly: “What did you say, what do you call yourself?”

The woman whispered in shock: “Little Young Master, do you not recognize Tianxiang anymore?”

The young man couldn’t help but clutch the brocade quilt tightly, his face stiff as he said: “You… what are you talking about? You shouldn’t be here. Didn’t you marry…”

At this time, a tall figure also walked over from outside the curtain. The young man looked closely and saw it was Hua Qianjue. He wanted to turn his eyes away again, but suddenly froze. There was actually a look of restrained and sincere concern on the man’s face. He walked over, tested the temperature of the young man’s forehead with the back of his hand, compared it with the temperature of his own forehead, and then chuckled with that deep voice: “The fever is gone.”

When he smiled, the pair of eyes as sharp and deep as a beast between his forehead hair also softened, like two balls of living fire warm as orange light, making people’s limbs and bones tremble and soften. The young man stayed there, and after a long time he said coldly: “What on earth is going on? Why is she here, and you—”

Tianxiang suddenly cried out: “What does Little Young Master mean by this?”

Hua Qianjue also laughed in astonishment: “This child is confused by the fever, isn’t he? You are my good son. If a father doesn’t accompany you, where else should he go? And Tianxiang is your maid. If she is not in Zhaohua Pavilion, could she be in my Wuhuan Pavilion?” Speaking of this, as if he had said something extremely funny, he laughed loudly. Tianxiang also smiled through her tears and extended her sleeve to wipe the constant cold sweat from the young man’s forehead.

Another person outside the curtain also lifted the curtain and leaned over at this time. It was Wu Qiuping. The corners of his mouth were also smiling kindly, and he said softly: “Little Young Master, do you feel better physically?” The young man finally recovered a trace of his senses, his face slightly pale, and replied awkwardly: “Hall Master Wu…” Unexpectedly, Wu Qiuping frowned and pretended to be dissatisfied, hitting him lightly on the head, laughing: “Why call me like that? Didn’t you always call me Uncle Wu? Your Sister Su was worried to death this time, urging the Taoist to see you all day long. Little Young Master treats the Taoist really well, ten years like a day, never quarreled…”

After listening to this round, cracks gradually appeared on Hua Jinian’s face, which was originally like a mask calm as autumn water. He looked at these three people, and then looked at Hua Qianjue for help, but his hand was held back by Hua Qianjue. Those three gentle and warm smiling faces swayed in front of him like a nightmare. The most terrible thing in this world is not a nightmare, but often such a beautiful dream and infatuation like poison, making people heartbrokenly intoxicated in it and worried about its shattering with heart and soul dug out.

The young man trembled for a long time, suddenly shouted hysterically: “Get out, you all get out! No, that’s not right, I… I don’t want to be here, I want to go out! Don’t follow me!” He thought that after hearing this angry scolding, at least that man would show a trace of real and intimate ferocious anger on his face. But no, the man seemed to stroke his face dotingly and smiled: “You must be bored. If you want to go out, as long as you want, as a father, I can accompany you to travel around the mountains and rivers, eat all the delicious food in the world…”

As he spoke, he winked, and Wu Qiuping smilingly brought a bowl of medicine carefully, walking cautiously as if carrying ten thousand taels of gold and a priceless jade. He brought it over, Hua Qianjue took it, helped the young man up, carefully brought the medicine bowl to the young man’s lips, and persuaded softly: “Be good, open your mouth.”

Hua Jinian lowered his eyelids slightly. When others thought he would drink it obediently, he suddenly attacked, reached out and slapped hard, knocking over the medicine bowl and smashing it in front of the bed. The floor, smooth as a mirror, was instantly covered with slightly green medicine juice, contrasting with the broken pieces of white porcelain bowl, flashing with a few strange lights.

At this moment, Hua Jinian finally saw as he wished that everyone’s faces changed a little. Wu Qiuping stared blankly at the overturned medicine. Tianxiang looked at the mess on the floor, seeming to be thinking about how to put the medicine juice back into the bowl. Only Hua Qianjue was looking at him, with a somewhat obscure and hard-to-understand expression in his eyes.

But in an instant, those people laughed happily again, comforted him in turn, helped him lie down, cleaned up the mess on the floor, and walked out along the door. The young man only felt a bone-chilling cold rising from the bottom of his heart. He slept with his head covered, and then put on his clothes and walked out. Everyone greeted him respectfully when they saw him, calling him affectionately.

A group of little girls newly entering the fortress were still singing and dancing by the small woods outside Zhaohua Pavilion, singing happy and cheerful songs, but Hua Jinian couldn’t bear to listen. This is a nightmare! This is a huge nightmare for him! He dared not ask, and asking would not yield a result. Everyone treated him affectionately with the side he admired and longed to see most, looked at him, loved him, and told him, we like you the most…

But, but the fact…

He stumbled all the way to a small pool, looked up and saw the three characters “Xiangling Pavilion” written on the building next to it. Those stories left in the wind suddenly rushed into his mind, breaking his heart and soul in an instant. Hua Jinian stood blankly by the pool for a long time, suddenly stepped into the pool step by step, ignoring his magnificent clothes and shoes getting soaked in an instant, and dived down recklessly like that. The pool water was emerald green, full of remaining lotus stems and withered leaves. He groped bitterly in the mud and water weeds, surfaced for air and dived again and again, and finally found it.

That little golden glimmer buried in the residual mud was a nine-linked ring.

This exquisite object, wiped clean of the pool mud, placed in the palm, golden and heavy. The ring body was densely engraved with Buddhist scriptures, but it disturbed a pool of clear water.

A crazy night, a nameless frenzy, an intertwined drunken dream woven with body temperature and the fragrance of wine. The candle flame was weak in the darkness, the large red brocade quilt was旖旎 on the floor, and the bright moon was in the sky outside the window. When the hand slid across the man’s back, it brought a burning pain spreading like ripples, bit by bit, it turned out to be engraved in the bones. Remembered meticulously.

Hua Jinian looked at the object in his palm in a trance for a while. The remaining pain in his heart seemed to have suddenly found a sustenance. He felt his soul burning in an instant, and that humanity that seemed not yet extinguished heated up like a dying struggle. His body seemed to be lifted by a heat wave, lifting his body, making him dizzy, lifting his feet, making him move forward recklessly, lifting his eyeballs, making him gaze obsessively.

He had gazed like this thousands of years ago, walking stumblingly, following with lost clarity, soaking in ice water, drenched in heavy rain, roasted in raging fire. A bit of madness named admiration accompanied him through the cycle of the River of Forgetfulness, never leaving or abandoning, never changing his ambition. This bit of madness was almost worn out by time, let it burn for the last time…

He hastily stuffed the thing into the lapel of his chest. The semi-dry clothes stuck to his body, wet, but he still felt hot. His hair was densely covered with tiny water droplets. Walking all the way, every step left shocking water marks. His pale cheeks faintly had a few shades of flush. Say it quickly, he only had this one thought in his confusion—say it quickly while I still remember you, it will be too late if later.

When he didn’t want to leave yet, when he hadn’t forgotten yet, when he couldn’t give up yet, say it all. Taking advantage of this karmic fire enough to burn all indifference starting a prairie fire, tell the man how they once had a desperate entanglement, so that the man can no longer play the loving father, so that he no longer has to be a filial son. Even if he can’t reveal a bright future, he wants to split open a new world with twists and turns.

Driven by this vague thought, Hua Jinian walked faster and faster, ignoring the almost astonished gazes of people around him, and strode into Wuhuan Pavilion. The stone steps originally thought to be unreachable were crossed in a few steps. The gate originally thought to be a thousand jin thick was pushed open with a push. The man napping on the long chair slowly opened his narrow and long eyes, like a dazzling lightning flashing across the pitch-black night.

The man opened his eyes, looked at the young man standing at the door, watched the young man’s face change from aggressive to helpless to wanting to leave, and a smile couldn’t help but purse at the corner of his mouth. That was his son, brave, cowardly; smart; clumsy; affectionate, cold; respectful, rude… Hua Qianjue couldn’t help deepening the smile at the corner of his mouth, reached out his hand to him, smiled at him and said: “What’s wrong, come here…”

Even with such gentle words, the young man immediately looked like he had been beaten back to his original form, standing in fear. His mask was destroyed by endless changes on this day, his courage was crushed in that person’s lightning-sharp and deep gaze. He realized that his hair and sleeves were dripping water in embarrassment, his hand was still inside his lapel, holding something, just about to take it out…

“Father.” He suddenly woke up, just wanted to shout the man’s name loudly, suddenly… but could only squeeze out these two words. He suddenly understood that a dew romance could only be discarded by the man like worn-out shoes, and this blood relationship that had always made him secretly complacent and resentful was the only bond between him and the man.

His hand stiffened. The hand holding the nine-linked ring no longer had the courage to take it out. But how could he be reconciled? When the man smiled at him, his heart began to ache violently. The greatest happiness and the greatest pain collided fiercely. He choked and laughed loudly: “Father… Father.”

Hua Qianjue looked at his face which was no longer indifferent today, his expression became cautious bit by bit, but he still laughed casually and asked: “What exactly is wrong? Everyone is waiting to have a good chat with you.”

Hua Jinian laughed low and said: “I have nothing to reminisce with them. Could it be that Jinian suffered some severe injury, severe enough to die, that made you suddenly treat me so gently, that made Father you pity a dying person so painstakingly, pitying to the point of wanting to return everything taken from him to him?”

The man’s gaze was like lightning, flashing by, but then he laughed again: “My son, you are healthy, you worry too much. You were originally so harmonious and happy, what painstaking efforts do I have?”

The young man choked and laughed hoarsely, but didn’t know what he had inadvertently guessed right: “Every time I lose something, I can only comfort myself by saying—those things are too hateful. Even if they don’t leave by themselves, I will take the initiative to throw them away. I can only tell myself again and again how unbearable the things I lost are, so that I can continue to live as if nothing happened… So, so even if you return all these things, it’s useless. I have long… been disgusted.”

Hearing him say this, Hua Qianjue’s face actually showed a bit of brightness. He chuckled and said: “If you are not concerned about these, it may not be a bad thing…”

The young man stared blankly at his rare sincere smile. The flame that made him happy, crazy, and painful suddenly reignited. He said almost uncontrollably: “I don’t know why you suddenly want to compensate me like this, but, Father, if you really want to find a way to comfort me, I can tell you another way…”

Hua Qianjue nonchalantly brought over a bowl of freshly brewed medicine from the side and said to himself: “Oh? But you drink the medicine first. Your mood seems to have changed too much today, and the mental cultivation method of the Flower Heart Mantra also shows signs of dispersing. I will reorganize your foundation later, and there will definitely be another progress by then… Ah, yes, what do you want me to do?”

As the man spoke, he stood up from the chair, holding the medicine, and walked down step by step. Hearing the three words “Flower Heart Mantra”, Hua Jinian’s face suddenly turned pale. He took a step back, his hand in his bosom gripping the nine-linked ring tightly. He suddenly whispered: “Is anything okay?” Hua Qianjue was stunned, looked up at him, and actually nodded.