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Long Corridor Stories
墨書 Inktalez
North of the Great Wall, the pass lies desolate, with no sign of beacon fires. It's rare to encounter a returning traveler, as the silver sands are wrapped in pure snow, and the setting sun tinges everything with its glow. I wonder how many valiant souls have been lost in the desolation of this vast land.
In the past decade, few new visitors have come my way. Since I took up my post at the pass, I have been nourishing my spirit with a pot of strong liquor each day and filling my belly with a bowl of red meat, thinking that I have fulfilled my duty and achieved a kind of freedom. Today, unexpectedly, a dear old friend has come from afar to seek me out. She claims to be an old friend, but the letter she handed me reveals her to be the daughter of a close friend.
"Xu Chi Brother, upon reading this letter:
How have you been lately? My health has been deteriorating, so I have asked Jun to send you some remedies to ease her worries. My daughter is quite stubborn by nature. She used to be a hungry beggar on the streets, but she is very clever and enjoys studying some unusual arts. Upon reflection, I find that we have something in common, and I hope you will take good care of her. When I am healthier next spring, I will come to visit you again. Please take care and don't worry too much.
Yu Zhijie
The straight-bodied man, if he were as tough as a person, who would worry, it's better to deteriorate. I originally wanted to ask, but when I lowered my head, I saw the little girl twisting like a twist, tightly holding the hem of her clothes, biting her lip with a heroic and tragic look - "Your name is Yu Sujun?" I tried hard to hold back my laughter. I didn't expect her to blush first, looking like a Western parrot with puffed cheeks, really cute. "What's wrong, why is the old man writing my nickname wrong, sister, my name is Yu Guan Ying." Her calling me an old man made the corners of my mouth twitch. If I remember correctly, the straight-bodied man is now thirty-five years old, is that considered an old man?
I randomly chopped up four ounces of cooked beef and steamed four large white steamed buns. I took out the sour plum wine from under the tree, thinly sliced the remaining half pound of yellow beef along the grain, poured some wine to soak through, and put it in a large jar. Eating and chatting casually, Guan Ying choked but was extremely happy, looking very easy to please. I was happy to just eat the steamed buns and not the meat, and ended up giving away a plate of good meat. Unexpectedly, something went wrong that night.
There is only one Huangmen Town in this area, so I stayed at the inn for a long time. Guan Ying should not have come here, but it was because there was no better place to go in such a hurry. I covered her with a large windbreaker and took her to the inn, intending to stay for one night and then look for the old place the next day.
At first, the night was extremely quiet.
Like countless other dark nights, I usually only closed my eyes when I heard Guan Ying snoring. Who would have thought that when I closed my eyes this time, I couldn't open them again. I wanted to call out to wake Guan Ying up, but I couldn't. Could it be that I was being held down by a nightmare? When I tried again, suddenly I found myself in a completely different world, which made my heart race.
"Sister, sister!"
The long corridor-like walls wind around, and the sun in front is red as blood. "What ugly things are painted on this wall?" I saw the green woods in the east, lost interest, and quickly walked towards the painted wall. Clearly just a few steps apart, how could it make me feel like I've walked through thousands of years of change? I looked back at the continuous green woods, turning from green to yellow, yellow to green, withering and then growing again, causing great confusion. Turning back, my face almost touched the lifelike big bug with its fierce teeth and eyes.
Startled, I took a few steps back, feeling the teeth getting sharper and the eyes getting rounder. Slightly to the right, there's a red-eyed rabbit, a golden dragon, and a green-scaled snake - the twelve zodiac signs? I wanted to turn left, but only caught a glimpse of the sly gleam of two eyes - oh, a rat, of course! Thinking of leaving, I took a closer look, and a man with a green face and fangs waved a brush in his hand. These damn twelve, all leaped down at once, dragons flying in the sky, horses running on the ground, tigers roaring, and rabbits hopping. My heart almost stopped, and I ran, what kind of monsters. I just ran, the tiger's roar seemed to be right next to me, sweating like rain, ready to transform into Wusong at any moment.
In the twelve Chinese zodiac signs, there should be a horse, right? Can I turn back?
"Sister, sister!"
...Why are they all chasing me? This tiger is so slow. Is there something in front of them? I look to the left, trees, trees, trees. I look to the right, walls, walls, walls. Are they just herding me over? I dare not look back at the chaotic scene behind me. I stop, my heart pounding like thunder.
I woke up drenched in cold sweat, and she was both surprised and delighted. Guan Ying somehow found the wine-stained beef in the jar and asked the kitchen worker for a bowl of warm porridge to feed me. "Sister, you're okay, that's great. Eat something quickly. I had a terrifying dream yesterday, I dreamt that I was being chased by a group of things..." I thought I had woken up, seeing Guan Ying's face and hearing her words, but it made my scalp tighten and my hair stand on end.
"Could it be something like a tiger or a lion?" I took the porridge calmly.
"There are tigers, but no lions. Sister, could it be that you...dreamt of lions?" The answer was clear, she seemed not afraid at all, rather proud, quite smug, and very much in need of a good beating. "This thing is not something you conjured up, so why are you so carefree?" I couldn't help but pick up a few pieces of beef and marvel at the little girl's thought process. "Sister, you don't know. Although it's not something I conjured up, I was involved. Otherwise, the right side would also be a wall, because with wood, there is a glimmer of hope. Didn't you finally escape from the woods?" Guan Ying ran into the woods? Wood is the living door, so is the front the dead door? But if the front is the dead door, why do they struggle so hard, wouldn't it be beautiful to solve it on the spot?
I quietly used a tracking spell behind my back, three souls and seven spirits, but this silly child only had her life soul run out.
"Guan Ying, who have you encountered?" I held the secret at all times, with a calm and composed expression. "If you're talking about people, I've encountered someone, or rather, he just looks like a person. A strange face with green skin and fangs. He told me not to move forward, that the way to survive is behind. Sister, how can there be a way to survive among monsters behind us? I think those monsters are under his control. He's so annoying, pretending to be righteous."
If Guan Ying didn't lie to me, it's very strange. Since this man can control everything in the dream, why would he act with her? Unless the way behind is the real way to survive, he really doesn't want her to die, and Guan Ying can escape from the half-dead wooden door, all because he doesn't want to leave any extra people behind.
As for me, what lies ahead is definitely not a dead end.
"They want to send me to a dead end, but they are not willing to let me go straight to my death." Here it comes again, truly a master, able to invite you into a dream even in broad daylight. As expected, this time it's three walls surrounding me, with only the front path appearing bright and open. Without leaving Guan Ying, but unable to stop Guan Ying from entering the dream, we are not in the same dimension. Right now I am here, and Guan Ying is in the dream. If he doesn't hurt her, I will be relieved, and then we can negotiate. Every formation has a way out, except for the dead end in front, so I bet on the empty wall to the east. Luck is on my side."
Now I can't see the walls around me - Snowy Plateau, The Great Wall stretches for thousands of miles, with smoke rising and a bustling crowd. They chatter and make noise in their own areas, talking about calamities that have lasted for thousands of years, about monsters, and about witches. I have not arrived at the desolate Cangji Pass that I am familiar with, but the frontier that I knew from ten years ago.
"Take me to see Elder Buqiu." This statement undoubtedly shocked the crowd like a thunderclap, scattering them like birds and beasts. Buqiu is the alias of bamboo, Buqiu is the holy son of the tribe, and Buqiu is also my "captive." Has he finally remembered, so desperately wanting to give me this great gift?
It is said that I have a karmic relationship with Buqiu. I saved his life, which is a great favor, but I also killed half of his relatives, making me a ruthless enemy. "You say this is self-inflicted, do they all have a reason to die?!" At first, he grabbed my shoulder fiercely, questioning if I was crazy, and why I didn't kill myself as well, saying that sparing lives would only bring trouble. Those who do wrong will perish by their own actions. There is no reason to kill unless it is absolutely necessary, because he is just a puppet dressed up, and killing him would be a waste of effort. After all, would you go out of your way to crush an insignificant ant on the roadside?
What a loyal group of followers, grateful to the charlatan. Hidden among the crazy crowd, I look up at a former "captive" under the cover of thousands of supporters. And he, the ringleader of all evil, even knowing where I am, still looks down on everyone, reciting some meaningless scriptures. I have made the same decision here as well.
"People always have to pay the price for their actions, Xu Chi, don't you agree?" Our eyes met, without any hidden currents, no splashes of blood, I didn't even have time to put on the right expression. Buqiu said a word, smiled, and brushed off the dust on the shackles. Xu Chi, sigh - he sighed for a long time.
"Let her go." He walked away with his hands behind his back, without even looking back. "Xu Chi, as long as you're still walking, you can walk out."
Ten years later, today I finally realized that in the illusion specially designed for me by Buqiu, sacrificing the soul is not spared. No matter which direction, no matter what choice, it is all a way of life, it is a door of life.
"...I am not you, and Guan Ying is not me."
Our eyes met at the moment when the cold blade flashed, and with a few swishes, my sword was already broken - "I also don't have the intention to kill you." It sounded light, but every word carried great weight, not to kill the person, but to destroy the heart.
Have you ever been begged to kill someone?
I killed all the deserving people on the battlefield, except for him. Because I never kill waste. "Kill me" - "Hurry up and kill me, what are you waiting for?" - "Didn't you kill everyone? What else can't you kill?" He said he was not waste. Waste never admits that they are waste. What's the use of being alive alone? Is it better to die and reunite with your followers? I don't agree with you. "What's wrong with the women and children, born here, what's wrong with them, what's wrong with us?" His eyes were particularly red, almost bloodshot. "Good question, because being born here is a mistake."
Leave them. Leave them to multiply and cultivate for generations, and then come back to the capital from the frontier in a hundred years? "Do I look like a fool to you, still talking to you. What makes you think you deserve to live, is it your scriptures that are not worth a few steamed buns, or the annual dry grass season of violence and plunder? What's wrong with me, wiping out the whole family of bandits, should I chop you too, after all, you eat so many offerings, and it doesn't protect your auspiciousness. They want you to die more than you do, ask me again to fulfill you, so you don't have to nag for death every day."
After I finished speaking, he remained silent and followed me closely. Along the way, we traveled from the northern frontier to the picturesque scenery of the Jiangnan region. Night after night, we reveled in the music and wine by the riverbank. Under the moonlight, with the breeze blowing gently, we exchanged a smile, realizing that ten years had already passed. We lived in obscurity, with many nameless soldiers dying in the desolate wilderness. Despite our extraordinary achievements, we only managed to establish a peaceful and prosperous era for a small portion of the population in just ten years.
"Guan Ying, your father is right: we were not born wrong, but as we live, we start to make mistakes. It's not just accidental mistakes, but sometimes we are forced into making them. No one is immune to making mistakes, but I don't want you to keep making the same mistakes, and your father doesn't want that either."
Cangji Pass is still as desolate as ever. Looking into the distance, I can't see through the wind and sand, nor can I see the end of the journey. While Cangji Pass remains lonely, Huangmen Town continues to thrive. Another cry of a newborn baby, and I am more than happy to hear it.
The wind from the north cannot knock down the lushness of Jiangnan, but the stories of the long corridor are quietly spreading under the straightforward pen. There is also Guan Ying's wine-stained beef to keep company, neither cold nor lonely.
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