"It can't be…..it can't be…." Like a broken radio, the constant mumbling of Feng Ling sends itself into Chu Nuan's ears. As if a mosquito flying near her face, she waved her hands lightly, trying to swat away his annoying mumbling.
"Ka-cha. Ka-cha." Melon seeds continue to litter the ground as Chu Nuan proceeds to look forward emotionlessly.
The scene changed once again, turning back to the snowy cliff where Feng Ling and Cui Lian first met. Standing in front of the collapsed Feng Ling, a young Cui Lian appeared with a small dagger in hand. Staring coldly at the figure in front of her, " I should've killed you the first time we met."
Those piercing words of hers successfully captured his attention. Stiffly looking up from the ground, tears pool at the corner of his eyes as he mumbled her name. "Cui Lian. Cui Lian."
"Disgusting." She said with scorn as she kicked him to the ground. "Do you really think I like you? A dirty demon who killed my father! If I wasn't trying to look for an opportunity to torment you, you think I would save you on that snowy day?!"
"No….." Tears finally spilled down his eyes, the warmth from every droplet made a mark on the white ground. "It's a lie. This isn't real…" His tone carries small hiccups from his intense emotions.
"Hahahahaha!!!! Feng Ling ah. Feng Ling. Wake up to reality." Cui Lian's face warped into one of extreme loathing as she lowered her body nearer to him. With a twisted smile, she said, "I loathe you. I detest your every move. I wish I've never met you. I wish…..you'd die…."
Looking at the knife raised above him, Feng Ling's eyes reflected Cui Lian's malevolent face. Like glass covered with a layer of dust, his eyes turned lifeless as he waited for her attack.
"Ka-cha." At the same time, Chu Nuan finished her last bite of melon seed. Flicking the shell onto the ground, the snow around Feng Ling began to glow a dark purple. Slowly, a round formation began to surface, wrapping around Feng Ling and Chu Nuan while rebounding Cui Lian a few feet away.
"This….." Widening his eyes in surprise, Feng Ling stared at the cracking sky.
As the light from the formation grew brighter and wider, the air around them started to quake. Cracks spread out from the ground to the sky until, "crack." Like shards from a broken mirror, glittering fragments fell from the sky. Revealing the forest they entered in moments before.
The dream cage is dispelled due to a formation arranged from discarded melon seeds.
Standing up from her folding chair, Chu Nuan stretched her legs as she slightly moved her aching jaw.
"Your Honor." A shadow kneeling behind her called out respectfully. "There are no other suspicious findings within the area."
"En. Good work." she answered coldly.
"Cui Lian!!" The sound of Feng Ling's voice resonated within the forest. An aged version of Cui Lian fainted on the ground with a black hazy mist surrounding her.
"How dare you!" The mist shouted in a shrilling voice. "Just a little more, a little more and I could've obtained the tail!"
The tail?
Chu Nuan paused in her steps, eyes flashed with a moment of understanding.
"Get away from her!" Shouting in rage, Feng Ling rushes at the mist. Only to be sent flying by a mere flick. Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he looks towards Chu Nuan's direction, "Your Honor...."
"Tch." Showing a face of annoyance, she commanded. "Go, I want it captured"
Immediately a shadow figure rushes forward. Clashing vigorously with the black mist.
"Can you stand?"
Taking Chu Nuan's offered hand, Feng Ling stares at the scene in front of him worriedly.
Instead of reassuring his fears, Chu Nuan opened her mouth to ask, "what will you do?"
"Excuse me?" Hit by such a sudden question, Feng Ling failed to understand.
"After she is rescued, what will you do?" She continued, eyes never leaving the battlefield.
"What will I do? Of course, I will-" Abruptly, his face paled as his thoughts returned to the scene a while ago. That's right, her father….he….what if, what if she remembers everything? Then what should he do? Can he act as if nothing happened? Not possible. His denial appeared at the same time he thought of pretending everything to be normal.
Without giving him much time to ponder, the battle in front has determined a winner. The shadow figure slipped behind the unsuspecting black mist. With a fierce stab downwards, it successfully stabbed through the mist, pinning it on the ground. As it continues to struggle, the shadow figure pulls out a constricting chain. Binding it around the mist tightly he severs the connection it has with the fainted Cui Lian before pulling away. Instantly kneeling back in front of Chu Nuan with his catch. "Your Honor."
Nodding in satisfaction, she gave the next set of orders, "I want information from it."
Although vague, the shadow figure immediately bowed in understanding. Just as he was about to leave, he paused for a moment, the shadow figure asked hesitantly. "Your Honor, that woman's soul…."
"Leave it to me."
"Yes." Giving his chains a rough yank, he dissipated into a trail of smoke that drilled into the ground.
Putting her sights back onto the troublesome couple, she sighed lightly as she headed towards their direction.
"No, no, no, how can this be? Wake up, Cui Lian. Wake up. Please." The hoarse muttering of Feng Ling's voice grew louder as she approached. Looking up with horror, he asked as he hugged Cui Lian tighter, hoping to warm her cold body. "What should I do, Your Honor? Cui Lian, Cui Lian's not breathing! Her body is so cold…"
Tears rolled down his cheeks as he tried to focus on Chu Nuan's blurry figure. "She won't wake up….."
"....." Bending down next to Cui Lian's body, Chu Nuan's hand lightly waves over the cold body, pulling out a glowing white orb. The soul of Cui Lian rests quietly in her hand.
"Cui Lian…." Feng Ling hesitantly reaches out to the glowing orb.
"...Feng Ling." A familiar female voice rang out.
"Cui Lian?!"
Before he even had a chance to approach, her words stopped him. "I want to speak with Her Honor alone."
"....Okay." Walking far enough where their voices can't reach him, Feng Ling stood as straight as a pine tree; his heated gaze never removed itself from the orb.
"First off, Your Honor, I would like to apologize for the inconvenience we caused you." Cui Lian's voice transmitted calmly from the orb. "I understand that there is much you wish to know. Please feel free to ask."
"What happened?" Chu Nuan asked seriously. "Tell me everything."
____________
"An unknown presence has been following me for the past few weeks. Taking the opportunity, that black mist controlled a man to kidnap me while Feng Ling was away."
"Why you?"
"They were aiming for my tail, or more specifically, the tail Feng Ling left me two lifetimes ago. It reincarnated with me and is now resting within my soul."
"I see, this makes sense, his tail can advance the black mist's cultivation. Raise its power as well as helping it take on a more solid form."
"That's correct." Cui Lian bobbed up and down. "That mist showed me my past lives in order to break my soul. Thus, allowing it to be able to obtain the fox tail easily. Fortunately, Your Honor showed up in time to stop the fiend's plan."
"....I was able to stop the crime from completing, but you still lost your life.."
"There is no reason to feel upset Your Honor. Truthfully, I don't know how to face Feng Ling right now. Although not everything in the dreamscape is real, it's true that he killed my father and I did try to kill him once. A broken mirror still contains cracks even when it's fixed. We cannot go back to the way things were before…...."
Hearing the bitterness in her voice, Chu Nuan suddenly didn't know what to say.
"That's why, Your Honor. I would like to make a deal with you….."
——————————
"Are you sure?"
Looking at the determined Feng Ling, Chu Nuan confirmed once again.
"You really want to enter Hell with her? According to the records, you should still have a long life ahead of you."
"I'm sure." Feng Ling answered. Looking gently at the glowing orb in his hand. "Without her, this life has no meaning."
Cui Lian, "...."
Sighing for the nth time, Chu Nuan carelessly waved her hand. "I understand."
The moment her hands lowered, a black door slowly rose to the ground. Opening a path to Hell.
"You're familiar with the path, so I won't guide you." She said, turning her back to them. "Just don't stray off from the path."
With Cui Lian safely positioned in both hands, Feng Ling gave Chu Nuan a deep bow before entering the door without regrets. The last of his heartfelt confession lingers before the door closes.
"Cui Lian, I won't pray for us to have another lifetime together. But at the very least, for the last time. Let me accompany you through this tedious path to Hell."