Chapter 64: A Dream of Yellow Millet

“Young Master Xu.” Seeing Xu Lu Cha’s face turn ashen and rush downstairs in a panic, Qin Master Fu Zi Jun hurriedly stood up, “What’s wrong?” Xu Lu Cha’s breathing was unsteady, his heart pounding wildly. He didn’t even notice Fu Zi Jun, nor did he realize that the folding fan he always carried had fallen to the ground. He rushed out of the restaurant in a hurry.

“Young Master Xu! Your fan!” Fu Zi Jun picked up the folding fan, wanting to call out to him, but his figure had already disappeared.

His heart was inexplicably aching violently, as if a blunt knife had carved out a piece. Xu Lu Cha clutched his heart, which was still beating vigorously, yet he felt as if his three souls and seven spirits were about to scatter, leaving only his cold, empty body behind.

A voice in his heart kept telling him: Zhang Meng is dead. She will never come back.

No, impossible. Zhang Meng would be alive and well. This morning, she had smiled and hugged him, telling him to come back early today.

“Young Master Xu! Why are you back?” Qin Lu was surprised to see Xu Lu Cha running back.

“Where’s Zhang Meng?!”

“She went out, wasn’t she going to find you?” Qin Lu was puzzled, “She even asked me to help her request leave from the master.” Zhang Meng had always valued her work and rarely took time off. Even after they got married and had a half-month honeymoon, she was always thinking about going back to work.

She had been asking him strange questions these past few days, like what would he do if she died?

The voice in his heart continued: Zhang Meng is dead, she will never come back.

Xu Lu Cha’s hands and feet turned cold. He suddenly turned and ran towards the mountain in the west of the city.

She had told him before that the most important people in her life were him and Yang Qing. She hoped the three of them could have a good meal together…

She had said that when he had time, she would go to the mountain with him to see Yang Qing.

“Zhang Meng!” Xu Lu Cha pushed open the door.

In the room, Zhang Meng was lying quietly on the bed, already covered with a white cloth. Yang Qing was kneeling by the bed, crying inconsolably.

“Zhang Meng…” Roughly pushing Yang Qing aside, he fell onto Zhang Meng’s body. Zhang Meng’s body was already cold and stiff.

“Zhang Meng… I’m back. This morning you told me to come back early… I’m back.” Xu Lu Cha’s hand trembled as he reached for Zhang Meng’s face, but because his hand was shaking so badly, he didn’t have the courage to touch her face.

“Lu Cha, Meng she…” Yang Qing choked.

“Zhang Meng is fine! She’s not dead!” Xu Lu Cha, his beautiful eyes red, hysterically shouted at Yang Qing, driving him out of the room.

How could she possibly be dead?

Xu Lu Cha held the cold corpse, his equally pale lips kissing her lips.

He had already found a way to restrain Chen Yue. He could protect her well now. From now on, he could accompany her every day. Dance seductively for her, make desserts for her, be intimate with her, go sightseeing with her, have children with her… He could do all these things with her now.

This morning, she had told him to come back early.

Now he had come back.

So, please open your eyes and look at me properly. I’m back.

Xu Lu Cha pressed his face against Zhang Meng’s, nuzzling her: “Zhang Meng, please wake up, alright?” …

“Have you heard? Constable Zhang is dead.”

“I heard that her husband, Xu Lu Cha, held her corpse for three whole days, refusing to let Constable Zhang be buried.” Several commoners looked regretful: “What a pity, Constable Zhang was such a good person, so young and gone.” A man in a brown robe said: “I just passed by the government office and heard those constables say that Young Master Xu committed suicide.” …

Lu Cha, what would you do if I died?

If you died, I would follow you. Don’t even think about leaving me alone in this world…

…

The night before Zhang Meng’s burial, Xu Lu Cha committed suicide by poison, leaving behind a letter asking to be buried with Zhang Meng.

Living together and buried together, even if it means ascending to the blue sky or descending to the yellow springs, he wanted to be with her forever and ever.

…

21st century.

“Zhang Meng! Have you finished your proposal? How dare you sleep during work hours!” Zhang Meng suddenly opened her eyes to see the office supervisor heavily knocking on her desk with a file.

“Ah, it’s done!” Zhang Meng hurriedly took out the proposal from her drawer and handed it to the supervisor.

“Really, you’re always dragging your feet on everything.” The supervisor took the proposal and walked away grumbling.

Zhang Meng rubbed her temples. She felt like she had a long dream but couldn’t remember anything.

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It seemed she had forgotten something very important.

At 5 pm, it was time to get off work. Zhang Meng packed up her things and was about to leave. Suddenly her phone rang, it was her mother’s call.

“Meng, how was that boy the other day? Was he alright?”

Zhang Meng held her phone, walking and talking at the same time: “It’s not working, Mom. He doesn’t seem to like me.”

She had been single for twenty-seven years and had never been in a relationship. It seemed she was naturally incompatible with the opposite sex.

Her mother was very disappointed: “How could he not like you? My Meng is so excellent.”

Zhang Meng sighed helplessly: “There’s nothing we can do about it. You can’t force these things when it comes to relationships.”

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Meng put her phone back in her handbag and was about to get on the bus when she caught sight of a white-haired man with extraordinarily delicate features staring at her intently from the corner of her eye.

When she turned her head to look at him, the white-haired man strangely disappeared.

Zhang Meng felt a strange familiar feeling surge in her heart, as if she knew that white-haired man, but when she thought about it carefully, she didn’t know him.

Zhang Meng stopped thinking about it, got on the bus, put two coins in the fare box, and went to sit at the back of the bus.

The scenery outside the window kept receding. Zhang Meng stared out the window, her thoughts in a jumble.

She had been in this city for three years now, coming here with dreams after graduating from university. She thought she could make a name for herself here, but like most people, her dreams and fighting spirit were slowly worn away in the daily monotonous work.

Every day, she numbly went through the motions of going to and from work, occasionally going on blind dates. She was tired of this kind of life.

She had stayed up all night to finish the proposal last night and was already very tired. So, looking at the receding scenery outside the window, she quickly lowered her eyes and fell asleep.

She woke up before reaching her stop. She picked up her handbag and got off the bus.

She rented a house with an average environment by herself. Every day after work, she had to pass through a small alley about ten meters long. Although there weren’t many people in this alley, it wasn’t considered secluded. Every time she came back, she would always see a few elderly ladies enjoying the cool air at their doorsteps.

However, on this day, all the households in the small alley had closed their doors. The alley was quiet and a bit eerie.

Zhang Meng hugged her handbag and walked quickly forward.

Suddenly, a white-haired man appeared not far from her out of nowhere.

Her heart immediately jumped. Girls living alone fear stalkers the most. She had seen him once at the bus stop, and now she saw him again here. She couldn’t help but be wary.

But the white-haired man quickly disappeared again, as if the person Zhang Meng saw was just her imagination.

…

“Please let me see her.”

The stunningly beautiful white-haired man knelt on the ground, pleading.

Divine light shone all around, and above the white-haired man sat the High God.

The High God’s eyes, devoid of joy or sorrow, looked down at the white-haired man: “I punished you with five hundred years of knife torture, making you endure the torment of being cut by thousands of blades every day for the past five hundred years. Do you now realize your mistake?”

The white-haired man lowered his head: “Ying knows his mistake.”

“Ying, humans and gods are destined not to fall in love. Yet you insisted on being with her, willingly having your divine bones carved out. At the moment when your soul was about to scatter, that woman turned back to look for you, allowing your primordial spirit to gather, so that even after death, you could still reincarnate, becoming the third young master of the Xu family, Xu Lu Cha, to continue your fate with her.”

“But, do you remember, in the moment when you were controlled by demon blood and lost your reason, you cursed her to love but never obtain, life after life. Because of this, she spent seven lifetimes in loneliness, and even her fate with your later life as Xu Lu Cha could not end well.”

Ying’s beautiful eyes shed crystal tears: “Ying knows his mistake. She didn’t betray me, it was I who betrayed her.”

The High God: “Ying, since you sowed the cause, you must be responsible for the fruit. I will let her human life restart, and you must complete her seven lifetimes of marriage, allowing her life to obtain the happiness it should have. The day you complete this compensation will be the day I let you see her.”

Ying choked: “Yes.”

The person he loved most in this life, the one he wanted to do everything to make happy, had been dragged down by him like this.

Even if he did everything, it wouldn’t be enough to compensate her, nor could he let go of his guilt towards her. He could only accompany her life after life, protect her, pray for her blessings, and make her happy.

Watching the seventh life of her pass away happily at an old age, Ying, who had been quietly accompanying her in spirit form all along, finally had a physical body and could finally touch her.

The High God appeared before Ying, divine light pouring down on Ying and Zhang Meng.

“Ying, I will now let you continue your fate with her.”

…

Xu Lu Cha suddenly opened his eyes, his body covered in cold sweat.

He was lying in bed, their bed – his and Zhang Meng’s. The bed curtains above were still the light green gauze curtains he had chosen.

“Zhang Meng!” He sat up in a panic, not even putting on his shoes, running out of the room barefoot.

“Lu Cha? You’re awake?” Zhang Meng, carrying a basin of clear water, saw him rushing out of the room in a panic and quickly called out to him.

Xu Lu Cha turned back to see Zhang Meng, the great panic and grief in his heart instantly easing a little. His beautiful eyes filled with tears as he stared at Zhang Meng, not daring to move, afraid that Zhang Meng would disappear.

Zhang Meng put down the water basin, walked up to him, and wiped away his tears: “Lu Cha, why are you crying?”

Zhang Meng’s hand was warm, Zhang Meng wasn’t dead.

He reached out and held Zhang Meng tightly in his arms, murmuring over and over: “Zhang Meng, Zhang Meng, you’re still here. Thank goodness you’re still here…”

“What’s wrong, Lu Cha? You’ve been acting strange ever since you came back from the restaurant.”

She had asked Qin Lu to help her request a few days off from the master, originally planning to have a good meal with Xu Lu Cha and Yang Qing. She went to the restaurant to find Xu Lu Cha, but was told by Fu Zi Jun that Xu Lu Cha was discussing important matters and couldn’t be disturbed. So she had no choice but to go to the mountain to find Yang Qing. She talked with Yang Qing for a while, then returned to the government office. To her surprise, when she returned to the government office, she found that Xu Lu Cha had also come back and was lying on the bed asleep. No matter how she called, he wouldn’t wake up, and he kept calling her name, as if he was having a nightmare.

“Lu Cha, are you alright? Did you have a nightmare?”

Xu Lu Cha’s whole body was still shaking, his fear and grief not yet subsided: “Zhang Meng, I dreamed that you… died.”

This dream was too real, as if it had really happened. That feeling of utter despair was still affecting him, making his heart ache violently.

Oh right, this morning, Zhang Meng asked him to come back early, so he used a knife, poison, and tokens to coerce those cowards into signing the agreement. With those agreements, he could suppress Chen Yue, and he could protect Zhang Meng well. So he happily returned to the government office, wanting to find Zhang Meng. But Zhang Meng had gone out, so he waited for her on the bed and unknowingly fell asleep. Then he had a nightmare.

It was just a nightmare, Zhang Meng was still alive and well. His beloved Zhang Meng was still standing right in front of him.

“Dreamed that I died? Lu Cha, how could you dream of such a thing, it’s really inauspicious.” Zhang Meng laughed and raised her hand to rub his head, “Alright, I’m fine, aren’t I? Relax a bit.”

“Mm.” Xu Lu Cha slowly relaxed his body, lowered his head, his lips lightly brushing the corner of Zhang Meng’s lips: “I’ve taken care of all my business matters. In the coming days, I want to accompany you every day.”

“Alright.”

☆、