“The third dimension is not just sister Chun alone, above her, there’s her direct superior, the one who wants to kill you, kill the lord, in fact, it was a command from above her, she… is also having a tough time,” Sheng Yueqi sighed.
Meng Lichun was not a cruel person, she never was.
Otherwise, she would have killed him a long time ago when he was repeatedly testing the dangerous edges of disrupting the order of dimensions.
The regulations of the third dimension have always been cold, with no hint of humanity, but Meng Lichun still spared him.
“Moreover, I think, she might be able to help you and the lord.”
“After all, whether it’s the copper pendant in the adult’s hands, or the phoenix tail scale in your phone, originally, they were her belongings. Speaking of which, your fate is also due to her.”
In the end, Sheng Yueqi said this.
Until after Sheng Yueqi left, Xie Tao was still sitting there, constantly recalling every word he had just said.
She had not expected that the copper pendant in Wei Yun’s hand and the phoenix tail scale in her phone were originally that woman’s belongings.
But, should she believe in someone who almost killed her?
Should she?
Xie Tao found it hard to snap back to reality.
In the evening, Xie Tao went to the small tavern.
While sitting at the table eating, her mind was always occupied with what Sheng Yueqi had told her during the day, to the point where she even lost the desire to fight for the braised pork.
In the end, it was Xie Lan who kindly threw a piece of braised pork from underneath Old Xi’s chopsticks into her bowl, “Sister Tao Tao, eat up!”
“…Thank you.” Xie Tao lowered her head to eat the meat.
“Tao Tao,”
Old Xi, unlike the simple-minded Xie Lan, clearly noticed that Xie Tao was distracted and asked, “What’s wrong?”
With meat in her mouth, when Xie Tao looked up at Old Xi, she remembered that the person sitting in front of her was an old immortal.
So, she quickly ate the meat and then told him about the so-called complete world splitting into two dimensions that Sheng Yueqi had told her about today.
It sounded truly incredible, even absurd.
Xie Lan took it as a fantasy story and laughed after listening, “You actually believe this? Tao Tao, you really are…”
But before he could finish his sentence, he was interrupted by Old Xi, “Indeed, that is correct.”
???
Xie Lan was stunned.
It was as if he was a person isolated from the others, unable to connect with the two in front of him.
“The current two dimensions, indeed, originated from a split of a complete world.”
Old Xi took a sip of alcohol, spoke slowly, and his tone was devoid of any jest.
“Then, does that third dimension also truly exist?” Xie Tao continued to ask.
Old Xi slowly nodded.
Holding chopsticks, Xie Tao paused before looking again at Old Xi, “Uncle Xi, do you know if the woman who wanted to kill me is from that third dimension?”
She told him everything that Sheng Yueqi had told her about Meng Lichun.
When Old Xi heard the name “Meng Lichun”, his hand holding the wine glass visibly trembled. Listening to Xie Tao talk about Meng Lichun traveling back to the Yi Dynasty, accidentally changing history, and causing the world to split into two dimensions, he seemed somewhat dazed.
That name was like a key capable of unlocking a chest that had been dust-covered in his heart for many years.
With a click, frame by frame, images burst through the constraints, surging and stacking in his mind. Despite the years, they remained as clear as ever.
Xie Tao clearly sensed that something was off with Old Xi.
She even saw a faint shimmer of moisture in his eyes.
After a while, she saw him close his eyes and take a deep breath.
When Old Xi looked at Xie Tao again, he forced a smile with his lips, still as kind as ever, “Tao Tao, don’t be afraid, she… will not truly harm you.”
“Just as your friend said, she might, in fact, be able to help you.”
The two of them spoke, but Xie Lan was still disconnected.
He still dwelled on the absurd claim about the world splitting. After Xie Tao left, he even grabbed Old Xi’s arm, forcing Old Xi to explain the matter to him.
Not long after Xie Tao returned to her rented place, she had originally planned not to go over to Wei Yun’s. However, Wei Yun seemed to have timed it perfectly, almost as soon as she had picked up a pen and was holding a practice book, sitting at the desk, she was instantly enveloped in a pale golden light and appeared in Wei Yun’s study.
Because she was sitting previously, she landed in the same position, directly on the floor.
Wei Yun put the firestarter on the table, then walked over to her, reached out to grab her wrist, and pulled her up.
Holding a pen in one hand and a practice book in the other, Xie Tao regained her senses and said while standing up, “I told you to use it sparingly…”
The young man in front of her, dressed in a crow-black brocade robe with a belt tied around his waist, his broad shoulders and narrow waist accentuating his tall and slender figure, combined with his unparalleled handsome face, made him seem like a celestial being, rare in this world.
Hearing her words, he frowned slightly, his voice neutral, revealing no emotion:
“You haven’t come for five days.”
It seemed like he was just stating a simple fact, yet it still conveyed a hint of displeasure.
Xie Tao had just placed her practice book and pen on the table. Hearing his words, she reflexively turned her head to look at him.
His flawless face seemed emotionless as usual, but Xie Tao felt as if she heard something in his words. Her round apricot eyes sparkled, reflecting the shimmering waves of light as if reflecting the lights along the lake shore.
“Did you miss me?” she asked, holding his sleeve and curving her eyebrows.
Hearing her words, Wei Yun stiffened for a moment, then pulled his sleeve out of her hand and turned his head away.
He remained silent.
But Xie Tao smiled even more happily. Seeing him sit down at the table, she also picked up a stool to sit beside him, even reaching out to loop her arm through his, resting her chin on his shoulder, “Is that so? Wei Yun, please answer me.”
Even though she could sense something from his silence, she still wanted to hear it from him directly.
Wei Yun meant to ask her to let go, but hesitated for a moment and did not pull away.
Yet, he remained silent, simply picking up the cup of hot tea beside him. As he brought it to his lips, he scalded himself.
“Wei Yun, Wei Yun, please answer me quickly!” Xie Tao kept nagging.
“You…”
Wei Yun turned his head, just about to speak, his lips lightly brushed against her forehead, and he suddenly found himself unable to say anything.
Such a light touch made him involuntarily step back.
Xie Tao’s face also turned a bit red, and she immediately sat up straight.
The two sat at the table, silent for a moment.
After a while, she heard Wei Yun’s voice, “You don’t need to worry so much, without the gold powder, there are other ways.”
Xie Tao’s hand holding the pen paused, and she looked up at him sitting beside her.
“I met Sheng Yueqi today,” she suddenly said.
“He told me about a woman named Meng Lichun.”
Hearing this, Wei Yun’s eyebrows did not lift, but he asked, “Where did you meet?”
Xie Tao paused for a moment, then honestly replied, “He came to the community where I live to find me.”
“Did you let him into your house?”
Wei Yun glanced at her.
“…Yes.” Xie Tao nodded.
At this moment, Wei Yun suddenly reached out to pinch her face, his eyes slightly narrowed, his tone a bit cold, “What did you promise me before?”
???
Xie Tao’s face was pinched, she blinked her eyes, and it took her a long time to react.
“Didn’t I say not to let people into your house casually?” His voice was especially cold.
Just this sentence suddenly made Xie Tao remember the unbearable incident of getting drunk.
Others wake up from being drunk and forget what happened during their drunkenness, which is called blacking out.
But Xie Tao was different. She drank and got drunk, but when she woke up, the events that happened while she was drunk played in her mind like short clips.
Every time she remembered, she felt extremely ashamed.
Feeling the temperature of her face between his fingers suddenly become hotter, Wei Yun paused for a moment, a few faint traces of a smile appeared in his eyes.
Finally, he let go of her cheek, and reached out to ruffle her braid.
Now, with both hands cupping her flushed, pinkish-white face, her hair messed up by him, her eyes blinking, she didn’t dare to look at him.
“You already know about Meng Lichun,”
He said, “Tao Tao, you don’t have to be afraid of her; she wouldn’t dare to hurt you anymore.”
Because he had already grasped Meng Lichun’s weakness, he could say this with such certainty.
“What about you?”
After hearing this, Xie Tao looked at him and asked, “She wants to kill me just to kill you, doesn’t she? Does she still want to kill you?”
This was her biggest concern.
And at this moment, Wei Yun also saw the concern in her eyes.
His expression softened a bit.
After a while, his fingers gently brushed past the hair by her ear and said, “She can’t kill me.”
Because his bargaining chip was himself.
Meng Lichun surely understood this logic.
Seeing Wei Yun’s calm and undisturbed eyes, Xie Tao’s originally uneasy emotions suddenly calmed down.
It was as if there was some kind of inexplicable magic; all the anxiety and guilt that had accumulated during the day dissipated at this moment, in the gaze he directed at her.
At this time, she didn’t want to think about anything anymore.
Snow began to fall outside the window again.
The wind that seeped in through the cracks caused the candle flame to flicker and almost extinguish.
His face, in the fluctuating light and shadow, still looked as moving as a painting.
Suddenly, she threw herself into his arms and hugged his waist.
Wei Yun’s body stiffened, but after a while, his gaze fell on her black and soft hair, and his hands, hanging in mid-air as if they had nowhere to rest, gently supported her back.
“Wei Yun.”
She suddenly called out his name.
“Hmm?” He responded softly, his cold voice carrying a bit of careful tenderness.
“It’s almost Chinese New Year…” Xie Tao’s voice was a bit muffled as she lay on his chest.
“Can I spend this year with you?”
She suddenly looked up at him, her eyes filled with hope.
The New Year is about reunion.
But Wei Yun, alone and wandering for many years, saw no difference in Chinese New Year’s Eve compared to any other day.
So, there was no New Year’s Eve in the Imperial Advisor’s mansion.
But this year, perhaps, was different.
He swallowed and responded,
“Okay.”
As soon as he spoke, Xie Tao kissed his chin.
At that moment, his earlobe turned red first, betraying his embarrassment.
Then, he felt her fingers gently pinch his earlobe.
And then, he saw the girl in front of him smiling especially proudly, as if she had grasped something embarrassing about him:
“Wei Yun, are you shy?”
