Chapter 498
Is 478 a dream?
Chapter 498, Section 478: Was it a dream?
As night fell, the villa breathed in tranquility after dinner.
Jiang Jianxin returned to the bedroom but did not lie down immediately. Instead, he sat alone in an armchair by the window.
The curtains were half-open, and the clear moonlight flowed in like mercury, spreading a cool halo around her feet.
Jiang Jianxin gazed at the nearly full moon outside the window, and after a long while, he sighed and murmured:
"The moon is so beautiful tonight."
The voice sounded exceptionally clear, yet also exceptionally lonely, in the quiet room.
The only response she could receive was the voice of truth in her mind:
"Don't you still have things to do?"
Jiang Jianxin did indeed still have things to finish.
She needed to return to the Realm of Revelry to ask Xie Yan about the Twilight Staircase.
She had watched the sunset from the seawall, but she never saw the twilight staircase she spoke of.
—What exactly is the "paradise" that road leads to?
How exactly did Xie Yan go insane?
—How did her parents pass away?
These are all unresolved questions.
Go to sleep now and get some rest.
The answer is truth and guidance.
Jiang Jianxin stood up as instructed, walked to the door, and turned off the main light in the bedroom.
The room suddenly darkened, making the moonlight outside the window appear even more dazzling.
She didn't immediately return to the bedside, but instead stood by the window, looking out at the other windows of the villa.
Warm lights still shone behind several windows, their light and shadow outlining the peaceful contours of home in the night.
A complex emotion, a mixture of bitterness and warmth, quietly welled up in my heart.
Jiang Jianxin gently pressed his forehead against the cool glass, whispering the truth in his mind:
"The answer is true. My brother is back. I have family again, and I have friends to talk to... and you, who have always been here."
She paused for a moment, as if carefully confirming the authenticity of this warmth.
"Sometimes I think, how wonderful it would be if time could stand still at this moment."
She spoke these words very softly, yet it seemed to convey all the emotions she had at that moment.
The voice in my mind fell silent for a moment.
A few seconds later, the answer, Truth, rang out again, its tone as steady as ever, yet seemingly imbued with the soft glow of moonlight, possessing an indescribable gentleness that was more pronounced than usual.
Goodnight, Jiang Jianxin. Sweet dreams.
……
The next morning, before dawn, a thin mist still lingered among the plants and trees in the courtyard.
Jiang Jianxin had finished tidying up and temporarily entrusted all matters concerning the house to Edric.
Andorra knew she was leaving, so he waited for her on the porch.
His annual leave was almost over, and in a few days he would be recalled by the Rose Group and trapped between reports and meetings.
Seeing Jiang Jianxin emerge, the usual carefree smile on his face faded slightly, and a rare hint of melancholy crept into his voice:
"Sigh, we are, after all, natives of two different worlds. Who knows when we'll meet again after this parting..."
He paused, his gaze upon her sincere and clear:
"You are such a kind person. Thank you for taking care of me all this time."
As he spoke, he raised his hand to remove his signature floral hat adorned with ribbons, placed it against his chest, and gave her a very standard and solemn bow.
A gentle morning breeze blew by, ruffling his hair and the ribbons hanging from his hat, making a soft rustling sound.
Andorra raised his eyes and said:
"This final tribute is dedicated to Her Highness Delis Vera. I have always... sincerely admired you."
Jiang Jianxin clearly saw the melancholy in his eyes and did not offer any empty words of comfort.
She simply walked up to him, raised her hand, and gently patted him on the shoulder.
"See you again."
Jiang Jianxin's tone was calm and relaxed:
"I heard you're the head of Rose Games? Do a good job, make a great game—"
She paused, and the corners of her lips seemed to curve slightly.
"I'll spend money on in-game purchases."
After speaking, Jiang Jianxin did not linger and turned to walk down the steps.
With a slight thought, the ancient longsword silently floated before her feet.
Jiang Jianxin stepped steadily onto the sword, and in the next moment, he transformed into a streak of light, darting into the clear morning breeze and heading swiftly towards the Domain of Revelry.
"Waaah—"
A howling wind tore through the clouds, and as the outline of the carnival realm appeared below, a thick curtain of rain poured down from the sky.
Lead-gray rain clouds pressed heavily over the city, and the rain fell like a curtain, merging the sky and earth into a chaotic gray-white expanse.
Jiang Jianxin was still flying above the rain clouds on his sword, and only the chill seeped into his clothes.
But as she descended, the torrential cold rain poured down without reservation, instantly soaking her shoulders, hair, and clothes.
She frowned slightly, her fingertips quickly forming a hand seal, and a shield with a faint white glow unfolded around her, keeping the rain out.
Large raindrops pounded against the light shield, making a crackling sound and splashing out fine mist.
"Om..."
The Tangguang Sword hummed as it glided along the ground, its sword wind pushing aside the puddles and creating rapid ripples. It plowed a clear water trail in the wet ground before slowly coming to a stop in front of the main entrance of the office hall.
Staff members were already there, holding umbrellas and quickly coming out to greet her, gesturing respectfully:
"The Sword Master is back!"
Jiang Jianxin removed his shield and stepped under the opponent's umbrella.
Rainwater slid down her sleeves, and as she brushed the damp stray hairs from her forehead, she casually asked:
Is Xie Yan in her office?
"Yes, I will show you the way."
The two entered the hall. The staff member folded up the umbrella, skillfully shook off the water droplets, and hung it on the umbrella rack next to him. Then, he led Jiang Jianxin through the quiet corridor to a dark door.
"Ta-da!"
After three crisp knocks, the staff member raised their voice and said:
"Thank you, Lord Xie. It is the Sword Master who has come to visit."
"Please come in."
A response came quickly from inside the door, the voice steady and emotionless.
Jiang Jianxin pushed open the door and entered.
The room was brightly lit, and Xie Yan sat upright behind a large desk, reviewing official documents from the Foolish Society.
Hearing footsteps, she looked up, her gaze lingering for a moment on Jiang Jianxin's slightly damp clothes. Her first words were quite calm:
"Have you had enough of Haidu?"
"That's it."
Jiang Jianxin's answer was somewhat vague.
She hadn't stayed long enough, but the ever-present blue-and-white porcelain vase and the lurking murderous intent behind it made it impossible for her to feel at ease staying any longer.
She had to catch the first clue before the other party made their next move.
Do you have time now?
Jiang Jianxin took a few steps closer and looked at Xie Yan, saying:
"I have something to ask you—about you."
Xie Yan stopped writing.
She didn't respond immediately, but slowly turned her head to look at the world outside the window, blurred by the torrential rain. After a long while, a very faint bitter smile appeared on her lips.
"My story... there's nothing to say."
Just as Jiang Jianxin was about to ask further, he suddenly caught a strange sound in his ear.
It was extremely faint, like something slippery dragging across the floor, coming from the corner behind me.
She suddenly turned around.
The room was empty, with only neatly stacked documents and a chair quietly leaning against the wall; there was no trace of anyone or anything.
Is it just my imagination?
Jiang Jianxin frowned slightly, his fingertips touched the hilt of the Tangguang sword, and he pushed the sword out a little bit.
"Om..."
A faint light shone from the scabbard, and amidst the shifting light and shadow, two distorted silhouettes were vaguely revealed.
A wet, tentacle-covered monster covered in suckers, and a wolf-like figure with bloodshot eyes, wielding a rusty kitchen knife.
They huddled close together, their four eyes staring intently at her, their gaze sticky, cold, and filled with an inhuman chill.
They are Xie Yan's "parents".
Jiang Jianxin felt a chill run down his spine and instinctively reached for his sword to strike.
But the moment his fingertips touched the hilt of the sword, he remembered that these two were Xie Yan's parents, and he stopped.
After a pause, Jiang Jianxin closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly pressed the slightly unsheathed Tangguang Sword back into its sheath.
As the sword light faded, the two terrifying phantoms also vanished. It was better that they couldn't see them.
Jiang Jianxin turned back to Xie Yan, his tone more resolute than before:
“I’ve recently encountered some things; something wants to kill me. And that thing is related to the Twilight Stairs. So I need to know the truth about the stairs; you are the only one who has been to the other side of the stairs.”
She paused, then asked the most crucial question:
"Can you tell me what you saw, what you experienced? Or rather..."
Jiang Jianxin's voice was played very clearly:
How did you become a 'fool'?
She knew that the path of the "fool" often begins with a mental shock that ordinary people cannot bear, and that was the turning point that completely changed Xie Yan's life.
Xie Yan's fingers tightened suddenly as she gripped the pen.
She remained silent for a long time, so long that even the sound of rain outside the window seemed distant and indistinct.
You wouldn't want to know.
She finally spoke, her voice hoarse:
"At the other end of the stairs... lies chaos, disorder, a 'scene' capable of utterly crushing all of a person's cognition."
"As for what I went through..."
She paused again, her gaze lowered, falling on the neat handwriting on the open document, as if she could find some kind of support in those ink marks.
After a long while, she very slowly raised her head and looked at Jiang Jianxin, her eyes filled with a kind of weary calm:
“If you’re really curious, I can tell you everything. But I’m someone who has been to ‘heaven’… Anyone who hears me recount this story will be watched and hunted down by ‘the other side’.”
She spoke heavily:
Even so, will you still listen?
Jiang Jianxin met her gaze without the slightest hesitation.
"I do not mind."
—She was already being hunted down, so naturally, having more debts to collect meant she didn't mind being watched more closely.
Seeing that she had said that, Xie Yan stopped trying to persuade her and instead turned to her own chaotic memories:
Do you think this world is like a dream?
"what do you mean……"
Jiang Jianxin didn't quite understand the sentence, after all, it was indeed a bit vague and even too far-fetched.
"What I mean is that the world is like a dream. And the essence of fools is not so much following their hearts, but that the world is just a big dream to us."
Xie Yan said this.
"I know you're wondering why I'm saying this."
"You'll understand once you hear the rest of my story."
The sound of rain pounding on the floor tiles seemed to turn back time the moment the rain began to fall…
(End of this chapter)