CG - Chapter 32
Chapter 32
After realizing Wei Jinzhi felt differently about her, Wu Gu was happy all afternoon. When Wei Jinzhi went to clean the room she had stayed in before, Wu Gu stuck close by her side to help. Wei Jinzhi's fingers, holding the rag to wipe the headboard, were slender and pale like scallions—clearly not the hands of someone used to manual labor. So, Wu Gu went from assisting to taking over all the work herself.
Wei Jinzhi was relieved to see that Wu Gu was, at least physically, mostly unharmed. Wu Gu was very clingy and only reluctantly returned to her own room at bedtime. But as soon as Wu Gu was no longer by her side, even with just a courtyard separating them, Wei Jinzhi was too worried to sleep. She was afraid this was all a dream and that Wu Gu would be gone when she woke up.
Leaning against the headboard with the bedside lamp on, Wei Jinzhi tossed and turned in her thoughts. Finally, she threw back the covers, got out of bed, and decided to go check on Wu Gu, just to make sure she was still there and set her own mind at ease. Bundled in a down jacket, she had just opened her door when she glanced up and saw someone sitting on the opposite roof. She walked over and called out softly from below, "Wu Gu."
Wu Gu couldn't sleep. People who have lost their memories lack a sense of security. It was like dreaming of laughter and her master's care, only to wake up and realize all she had were fallen leaves, floating duckweed, and a handful of yellow earth. When she heard someone call her name, she peeked over the edge and saw Wei Jinzhi holding a ladder, preparing to climb up. She quickly grabbed the ladder with both hands to steady it, afraid Wei Jinzhi might fall.
Wei Jinzhi had never climbed a bamboo ladder like this before. The moment she stepped on it, she realized how unstable and wobbly it was, so she climbed very slowly. As she neared the top, Wu Gu reached out to catch her, half-embracing her to lend her strength. Before she was even steady on the roof, Wei Jinzhi asked, "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"Couldn't sleep." Wu Gu pulled Wei Jinzhi to sit on a bamboo cot, which was used for cooling off on summer nights. She pointed to the sky, her voice filled with the pride of someone showing off a treasure. "Look, the stars."
Wei Jinzhi followed her finger and looked up. The sky was like a vast dome, blanketed by a river of stars—a breathtaking sight. "Yes, it's very beautiful."
While Wei Jinzhi gazed at the starry sky, Wu Gu gazed at Wei Jinzhi. She noticed how delicate Wei Jinzhi's upturned chin was, and the small ears peeking out from her hair. For some reason, the anxiety she'd felt earlier was quickly replaced by joy.
Wei Jinzhi turned her head back and saw her own reflection in Wu Gu's sparkling eyes. She reached out and touched Wu Gu's ear. Her hand was too cold, and Wu Gu flinched, so she quickly lowered her hand and drew it back.
Wu Gu reached out and touched Wei Jinzhi's fingers, saying with a transparent excuse, "Your hands are so cold. Let me warm them for you." Without waiting for Wei Jinzhi's consent, she pulled both of Wei Jinzhi's hands into her embrace. Wei Jinzhi's hands were indeed as cold as ice, but Wu Gu's eyes curved like crescent moons in contentment. She asked Wei Jinzhi, "We have a very good relationship, don't we?"
Wei Jinzhi nodded and said softly, "Our relationship is very, very, very good."
"I knew it."
Wei Jinzhi smiled and asked her, "Why can't you sleep? What are you thinking about?"
Wu Gu shook her head. "I'm not thinking about anything. I'm just a little scared." She didn't know what she was afraid of. Logically, losing bad memories should be a happy thing, but she felt that forgetting danger was even more unsettling.
Wei Jinzhi pulled her now-warm hands free and touched Wu Gu's face, suggesting a compromise. "How about I sleep with you?" It turned out they both grew anxious when they couldn't see each other.
Wu Gu froze for a moment, then smiled and nodded. "Okay."
The two climbed down from the roof and went back to Wu Gu's room. It was Wu Gu's first time sharing a bed with someone, and she seemed a little reserved. Wei Jinzhi suddenly recalled the night at Ma Zhenshan's place and the disappointment she'd felt at not being able to share a bed with Wu Gu then. By the faint light from the window, she saw Wu Gu lying on her back, her eyes wide open. Wei Jinzhi couldn't help but lean over and kiss those eyes, which seemed to shine even more brightly in the darkness.
Wu Gu yielded to Wei Jinzhi's gentle kiss and obediently closed her eyes. She heard a soft whisper by her ear, a simple, ordinary phrase: "Sleep now. I'm here." But Wei Jinzhi was so close when she spoke that her warm breath ghosted over the skin behind Wu Gu's ear, making her cheeks burn like fire.
A few days passed, but Wu Gu's condition didn't improve. It was as if time had stopped for her at the age of twelve. Still, with Wei Jinzhi by her side, she felt that amnesia wasn't such a bad thing. Unfortunately, her most serious problem wasn't memory loss, but her inability to circulate her spiritual power. She hadn't told anyone since discovering it.
Several times, when no one was around, she tried to force herself to cast a spell. But the moment the thought arose, a heart-piercing pain seeped out from her very bones, turning her face deathly pale. The loss of her memories and spiritual power pressed down on her chest like a block of iron. She was frantic but dared not show it, so she could only hide in Lao Wu's old room and cry in secret.
One day, exhausted from crying, Wu Gu fell asleep slumped over the table. She had another dream. She dreamt of Lao Wu making a broom under the tree in the courtyard. He gave her a faint glance before ignoring her and continuing with his work. She listlessly walked over and squatted beside him, saying pitifully, "Master, my spiritual consciousness is damaged, and all my spiritual power is gone."
Lao Wu finished tying the broom and tested it on the ground, sweeping up a small pile of fallen leaves in no time. He glanced at her again and asked, "Scared now? Serves you right. That's what you get for being reckless. It's good that you finally know fear. We'll see if you dare to be so reckless next time."
Wu Gu shrank back, her lips pressed together and her eyes red. She was truly afraid. "Master, I know I was wrong. Please, you have to save me."
Lao Wu couldn't bear to see Wu Gu looking so pitiful. He patted her on the head and said reassuringly, "The spiritual vein of this mountain is a hot spring. Go and soak in it for a while. I can't guarantee it will work, but go give it a try first."
After speaking, Lao Wu stood up from his small stool, took his broom, and went back into his room. Wu Gu also stood up, wanting to follow, but she was pinned to the spot by some unknown force. She could only stare at the room with wide eyes. Lao Wu gave her one last look before closing the door, leaving the courtyard empty and desolate, with only her in it once more.
That evening, Wei Jinzhi waited in her room for a long time, but Wu Gu didn't return. She went to the room where Wu Gu had been staying to look for her. She knocked, but there was no answer. She knocked twice more, and still, nothing. Worried, she pushed the door open. The first thing she saw was Wu Gu slumped over the table. She hurried over, only to find that she was just asleep, and let out a sigh of relief.
Wei Jinzhi crouched beside Wu Gu and called her name softly. Wu Gu groggily turned her face, opening her sleepy eyes with a look of innocence and confusion. Seeing that her eyes were red, Wei Jinzhi guessed she had been crying, and her own heart ached with a sour pang. Tears immediately welled up in her eyes.
Wei Jinzhi's eyes were wet and rimmed with red. Wu Gu sobered up instantly and frantically tried to wipe away Wei Jinzhi's tears. She was terrified that Wei Jinzhi would find out about her condition and blame herself, and she couldn't bear the thought of Wei Jinzhi being unhappy. She tried to comfort her, "Sister Wei, I just couldn't accept it at first. I'll be fine in a few days." Suddenly, Wei Jinzhi hugged her, burying her face in the crook of Wu Gu's neck and crying silently. Wu Gu held her, trying her best to soothe her.
Wei Jinzhi's heart ached for how considerate and well-behaved she was. After she finished crying, she lifted her head and looked at Wu Gu with tear-filled eyes. At that moment, any words would have been superfluous. She leaned in and gently kissed Wu Gu's eyes, then her cheek, then her ear. Her movements were reverent and solemn. The ear she had kissed burned, so hot that Wu Gu's own lips began to tremble slightly.
After the brief moment of intimacy, Wu Gu leaned against Wei Jinzhi's chest, her hands tightly clutching the fabric at Wei Jinzhi's waist. "Sister Wei," she said, "don't worry. Master told me to go into the mountains to find a spiritual vein. Will you wait here for me to come back?"
Wei Jinzhi lifted her chin, looked into her eyes, and answered, "Okay."
Generally speaking, when cultivators were injured, going to a place with abundant spiritual energy was beneficial for healing. But Wu Gu's injury was to her spiritual consciousness, so she had no idea if the spiritual vein would be effective. She was treating it as a last-ditch effort. After all, she was the one who was hurt, so naturally, she was the most anxious. The very next morning, while the sky was still dim, she took a compass and Pang Diao and headed into the mountains.
Only after passing through the dense pine forests of the foothills did Wu Gu realize just how vast the mountain range connected to the foot of the mountain she had lived on for twenty years truly was. She got lost almost as soon as she entered. Lao Wu had only mentioned a spiritual vein, not its specific location. She wandered aimlessly, guessing her way through, until the fourth night. Exhausted and sleepy, she couldn't handle the pressure anymore and broke down, hugging a tree and sobbing uncontrollably.
Her master used to always say she was incredibly fortunate, but this didn't feel fortunate at all. A sense of powerlessness rose from the depths of her heart, leaving her discouraged and dejected. But every time this happened, Wei Jinzhi's face would appear in her mind, sometimes smiling, sometimes annoyed, playing on a loop. She forced herself to get up from the ground. Pang Diao had been quiet these past few days. Seeing her pull herself together, it shifted to the crook of her neck and nuzzled her comfortingly.
Wu Gu tilted her head to accommodate Pang Diao. "Let's split up," she said. "You go west, I'll go east. If you see a hot spring, don't worry about whether it's the right one or not. Just come back and tell me." Pang Diao chirped twice, spread its wings, and flew off.
Humans are land animals; ultimately, their perspective couldn't compare to the broad, sweeping view of a bird flying high above. When it came to finding things, Pang Diao was far more adept than Wu Gu.
At noon the next day, Wu Gu was skinning a wild rabbit she had caught by a stream when Pang Diao flew out from the dense woods and landed on her shoulder. It hopped around and chirped a few times. Wu Gu nodded. She wasn't in a rush anymore. She decided to fill her stomach first. After eating her fill and taking a nap, she finally followed Pang Diao's lead and found the hot spring.
The hot spring wasn't large. It was an irregular circle with smooth walls. Wu Gu didn't hesitate; she stripped off her clothes and slipped into the water to relieve her fatigue. Hot springs usually had low-growing vegetation around them due to the high ground temperature and sulfuric water, but this place was different. Above the rising steam stood a towering tree, its dense branches and leaves forming a canopy like an umbrella over the spring. Thousands of vines hung from its branches, lush and green, swaying like beaded curtains whenever the wind blew.
Wu Gu leaned against the edge of the pool and observed her surroundings. This was the only giant tree in the vicinity; it must have been nourished by the spring's water. This hot spring had to be special. After soaking for a while, her body gradually warmed, and her blood began to flow more smoothly. Whether it was from exhaustion or the rising steam, her consciousness began to fade. Within a few minutes, her head tilted to the side, and she fell asleep in the water.
Unexpectedly, Wu Gu slept for three full days. In dreams, one doesn't perceive the passage of time. When she woke up, she thought it was the next morning, but the intense hunger was a clear sign that she hadn't eaten in three days. She climbed out of the spring, put on her clothes, and went to find some fruit nearby to sate her hunger.
Wu Gu vaguely recalled having many dreams, filled with scenes that seemed like both real memories and fabrications. She dreamt her master told her she was the variable their sect had waited a thousand years for. She dreamt she was back in her high school classroom, driven so mad by memorizing English that she started eating her book. Then she dreamt of Wei Jinzhi crouching down before a much younger version of herself, wishing her a hundred years free of sorrow. Finally, she dreamt that a mass of black qi beat her until she was rolling on the ground in pain.
She returned with her clothes full of fruit and called for Pang Diao to come eat, but after a few shouts, she realized he was gone. Just as she was wondering about this, the rustling sound of branches came from deep within the forest. She dropped the fruit and immediately went on guard, staring warily at the source of the sound. Soon, a large monkey shot out from the woods and landed at her feet. She had already adopted an attack stance, but she blinked and called out tentatively, "Monkey?"
The monkey nodded and gestured to its back. Baffled, she climbed on. The monkey quickly scaled a thick tree trunk and began to travel swiftly through the forest with her on its back. They moved so fast that the trees in her peripheral vision seemed to blur. She felt dazed, her mind like a ball of yarn tangled by a cat, impossible to sort out.
The monkey carried Wu Gu home, not even bothering with the door and simply leaping into the courtyard. An anxious Wei Jinzhi and Granny She both sighed in relief to see her safe. Granny She returned to her spot under the tree, while Wei Jinzhi silently pulled Wu Gu into an embrace. Wu Gu was completely bewildered, but she still wrapped her arms around Wei Jinzhi's waist in response.
Wu Gu asked, "Sister Wei, what's wrong?"
Wei Jinzhi said, "Do you know you were asleep in the hot spring for three days? Pang Diao couldn't wake you no matter how much he tried." Wu Gu shook her head from within the embrace. "When Pang Diao couldn't wake you, he knew something was wrong and flew back. It was Granny who had Monkey change into his original form and rush into the mountains to bring you back."
Wu Gu blinked her eyes. Her memory stopped on the day she found the hot spring; even she found it hard to believe she had slept in it for three days. Wei Jinzhi was worried that soaking for so long might have caused other health problems. "Why don't you go rest for a while?" she said. "You were probably just so exhausted that you slept for that long in the spring."
Wu Gu nodded and went back to her room. Perhaps because she had slept so much in the hot spring, she lay there for an hour without being able to fall asleep. When Wei Jinzhi came in, she saw Wu Gu's eyes darting about as she stared at the ceiling. She walked over, sat on the edge of the bed, and asked, "Can't sleep?"
"Not sleepy at all. I feel especially energetic."
Seeing that she wasn't lying, Wei Jinzhi teased her, "Then do you want me to help you?" Wu Gu froze, not understanding what she meant. Wei Jinzhi leaned closer and, just as she had before, went to kiss Wu Gu's eyes. This time, however, Wu Gu didn't close her eyes as usual. Instead, she blinked and looked at her, her gaze clearly a mixture of shyness and secret delight.
Wei Jinzhi braced her arms on either side of Wu Gu, their faces very close. She chuckled softly. "Why are you being so mischievous today?"
Wu Gu discovered that Wei Jinzhi's eyes were like glass marbles held up to the sun, able to break white light into seven colors. Wu Gu desperately wanted to kiss those beautiful eyes. Her hands moved faster than her brain; she wrapped her arms around Wei Jinzhi's neck, pulled her down a little lower, and then kissed her. Wei Jinzhi froze for a second, then subconsciously closed her eyes, just as she always did when she kissed Wu Gu.
When Wei Jinzhi opened her eyes, Wu Gu's were squeezed tightly shut, pretending to be asleep. Wei Jinzhi gently touched the creases that had formed at the corners of Wu Gu's eyes from the effort. "I'll come get you when it's time to eat," she said. As she spoke, her fingers brushed lightly past the corner of Wu Gu's eye, and she didn't forget to give a little rub to Wu Gu's ear, which was so red it looked as if it might bleed.
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