231 The Moon in the Mirror, the Man in the Dream (2/2)
The test paper was silent.
After a long time, a new line of text appeared: ”if a man from the mafia with many connections told Xiao Ming that he could resurrect his mom if Xiao Ming became his follower, what would Xiao Ming do?”
Ye Qingxuan emotionlessly answered, ”Xiao Ming will tell him to go eat sh*t.”
”If Xiao Ming’s father has already joined the mafia, Xiao Ming will…”
”Xiao Ming will tell him to go eat sh*t.”
”If Xiao Ming’s father is actually a spy…”
”Xiao Ming will still tell him to go eat sh*t.”
If there was a new virus…if a meteorite fell from the sky…if there was a giant ball of light…if there was an old grandpa in the jade pendant…How the f*ck were there so many ‘if’s’?!
Why did they not ask how great life would be if none of this happened? How happy life would be if she did not pass away, if the father did not abandon them? Even if they had nothing, even if they were forced to wander the world, it would be better than being abandoned by the whole world.
Finally, Ye Qingxuan flipped through the entire exam. There was only one problem left, which made him sink into a long silence.
”Do you think Xiao Ming’s dad abandoned him and his mom on purpose, or was there an unspeakable hardship?”
On purpose or unspeakable hardship? Xiao Ming did not know; Ye Qingxuan did not know either.
His pencil paused. Time crept by, the clock on the wall ticked by, and everyone handed in their test, leaving Ye Qingxuan alone in the testing room. In the last few seconds, he wrote down his answer and handed it to the teacher.
Xiao Ming’s story ended now.
The light was snuffed and the classroom fell into darkness and silence. He sat in his seat, leaning against the desk behind him and closed his eyes in the darkness. He let out a long sigh, as if wanting to exhale all the pain and annoyance in his guts.
A sudden exhaustion overtook him. He lowered his head and fell asleep.
The night was long.
-
A lantern lit up slowly in the deepest of the darkness. The examiner made a cup of hot tea, looked at the only test he needed to grade, and sat down onto his chair. The middle aged teacher pushed open the window, letting the moonlight outside illuminate his body and white hair.
Behind him, someone knocked on the door.
”Excuse me, is Mr. Ye here?” someone asked quietly. Before he could reply, the door was pushed open. The lantern’s light illuminated the newcomer’s robe, gold hair, and seemingly youthful face. He studied the mid-aged man with troubled eyes. After a long time, he sighed. ”It’s so hard to see you, Ye Lanzhou.”
The man sitting before the window shook his head slightly. ”Mr. Hermes, you’ve found the wrong man. I’m not Ye Lanzhou.”
”Moon in the Mirror,” Hermes uttered the true name aloud without any emotion. ”I know that you’ve hidden a portion of your own memory in Ye Qingxuan’s mind, and the you right now is just a humanized reflection of those memories. Even though you’re not Ye Lanzhou, it’s okay.”
Ye Lanzhou shrugged, as if acknowledging his words.
The moon in the mirror, the flower in the water, an illusion in the fire, a hallucination. Ye Lanzhou did not exist here, right now; he was just a mechanic reflection in response to previously arranged commands.
”You really thought far ahead.” Hermes pulled a chair over without caring about manners and glared at him. ”First the seed for Jiu Xiao Huan Pei, then all the markers on the road…you really put in a lot of effort so your son can inherit your legacy.”
”Yezi isn’t me. He has his own ideas and choices.” Ye Lanzhou shook his head. ”I’ve never thought to let him inherit the possessions and curse of the Ye family. He would create his own path, so I never taught him any of the power and music scores passed down through the generations.”
”But what about you?” Hermes asked back. ”Did you think that you could escape the consequences of what you did? You don’t need me to repeat what you’ve down before, right?”
Ye Lanzhou replied lightly, ”It doesn’t matter if it’s paying for what I’ve done or letting fate decide. Whether I’m alive or dead, or whatever state I’m in, it’s all my own choice. It has nothing to do with anyone else.”
”I didn’t go through all that to come here and talk about fate with you. I have a question to ask you, Ye Lanzhou. One question.” Hermes stuck up a finger and looked at him coldly. His voice was like the explosive sound the iron in a hammer made when transforming into gold. ”What exactly did you bring back from Avalon’s Shadow?”
Ye Lanzhou did not reply; he just shook his head. ”Hermes, that has nothing to do with you.”
”Of course it does!” Hermes rose and walked three steps forward. Within three steps, he transformed from a frail noble to a god with wings and immense majesty. Everything in the world was willing to resonate with his voice and this dreamscape trembled endlessly.
”Ye Lanzhou, tell me, did you take…the holy operation carved into the Sword in the Stone?”
Ye Lanzhou smiled. He stared at those majestic eyes and said quietly, ”You should leave.”
”Wait…” Hermes’s expression changed dramatically, but Ye Lanzhou waved and his figure dissipated. Hermes had been forced away. In the silence, the room resumed its stillness.
Ye Lanzhou picked up a pair of glasses and uncapped a red pen, starting to grade the test paper. When he saw the last problem, he could not help but smile bitterly.
”Do you think Xiao Ming’s dad abandoned him and his mom on purpose, or was there an unspeakable hardship?”
At the bottom, the youth had used resolute handwriting for his answer, ”No matter what the reason, the result can never be changed.”
Indeed, even if there was a hardship, what could it change? The consequence had already happened and the woman most important to them had died because of it.
Nothing could be turned back.
After a long silence, Ye Lanzhou slowly took off his glasses. His eyes were troubled and exhausted, as if he could see the youth sleeping in the darkness.
”Yezi, it’s been so many years and you look so realistic, but you’re still just living in your dream,” he murmured. ”Perhaps this is fate and the future you chose. The Ye family has inherited the Deva’s blood for millenniums and has always suffered the curse and prophecy. It will be tested in your hands.”
Ye Lanzhou picked up his pen and wrote his comments at the bottom of the test. It was the ancient name created from passing between reality and dreams, brewed from the thoughts and dreams of many—Dreamweaver.