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墨書 Inktalez
"It happened about half a year ago. Half a year ago, I took the opportunity to sneak into the Dali Temple while accompanying Hua Qing to Chang'an to gather supplies."
"There was a strange feeling as soon as I entered the Dali Temple; this place felt so familiar, and I sensed no malice at all. Every path, every eave seemed to have existed in my memory before. Each person passing by looked so familiar."
"I easily found Ye Liuhui's room and slipped inside. She wasn't there; it seemed she had gone out on an errand. But as soon as I stepped into the room, I was suddenly hit by a powerful wave of emotion. This seemingly ordinary room stirred various feelings deep within me, making it hard to leave, as if I wished to stay there forever."
"However, this did not seem like a daughter's boudoir but rather a couple's dwelling. There were very few items belonging to the woman, indicating a lack of care; her cosmetics were covered in a thin layer of dust. Yet the man's belongings—his clothes, shoes, and hats—were all neatly arranged and spotless. In the room was a large bed with a pair of shared pillows, and hanging by the bedside was a black garment belonging to the man, faded and wrinkled in places that seemed oddly worn. I could almost envision a beautiful woman holding it close, gently caressing it, even shedding tears over it."
"I don't know why, but this room made me feel so warm yet heartbroken at the same time. I opened the drawer beneath the writing desk and was surprised to find it stacked with thick drawings. All the drawings were portraits of the same person. The artistic skill was lacking; the lines were rough, yet they captured the essence perfectly, allowing me to recognize immediately that every figure depicted was me."
"After being drawn, those pictures had been gently touched by fingers, leaving smudged ink marks. Most of them bore stains from water, as if tears had been shed over each one after they were completed."
"I inquired about her. This Ye Firefly Girl is indeed the newlywed wife of Deputy Minister Nie Qiuyuan of the Dali Temple, who disappeared shortly after their marriage during a secret mission at Baiyun Mountain in Luoyang. He has yet to return."
"Thus, I firmly confirmed my identity in my heart. I was certain that this Ye Firefly Girl must be my wife, the most important person in my life—the one who remains etched in my mind even after losing everything."
"I couldn't wait to find you but heard you were not in Chang'an; you had gone to handle a case. What were you like while working on that case? I was very curious and eager to see you immediately. After much inquiry and following leads, I finally found you commanding operations in a village."
"You wore black men's clothing; your demeanor and tone were sharp yet could not conceal your stunning beauty. However, your appearance was completely different from that woman in my dreams."
"You gazed into the distance, raising your left hand to point at a building with determination and sharpness in your eyes, though behind that gaze lay an unseen weariness and vulnerability that tugged at my heart. On your fourth finger of your extended left hand was a ring identical to mine."
"Your long hair flowed in the wind; your back stood straight with all your strength, which inexplicably made my heart ache. Clearly, you looked nothing like her, yet I felt so certain—I knew you were Zhenzhen, the one in my heart; you were someone I could never forget even if I lost myself completely. It felt as if no matter where you were or how you changed, as long as I saw you, I would recognize you without fail; it would never change."
"My gaze followed you relentlessly, unable to look away. In that moment, all memories flooded back—everything between us came rushing forth. It was you; you were the key that opened my heart and returned me to myself."
"When I regained my memories, I felt such excitement; it turned out I possessed so much—I had you—and having you meant having the world. Thinking about how deeply you cared for me during our separation made it unbearable for me to wait even a moment longer. I wanted to rush over and hold you tight without ever letting go."
"But just then, damned fate intervened; people from the Thunder Sect came looking for me and informed me that Hua Qing was in trouble—she had encountered some very troublesome enemies and was in grave danger—urging me to hurry."
"I saw you focused on investigating the case. If I were to approach you now, after all this time and so many events, it wouldn't be something that could be resolved with just a few words. I'm afraid that if I embraced you, I wouldn't be able to control my emotions, which could jeopardize the situation and endanger Hua Qing's life. So, I decided to find Hua Qing first."
"Later, I regretted that decision for a long time. I thought that Hua Qing was not far away and wouldn’t take too long to find. I had already remembered everything; you had been there all along, waiting for me for over a year. I just needed to find you, and soon I would be able to do so."
"But what I didn't expect was that when I finally arrived and teamed up with Hua Qing to resolve the situation, by the time I returned to find you, you had suddenly left without a word!"
"I was anxious and tried every possible way to gather information about what happened, but all I knew was that you had vanished from the village where I last saw you. Before you left, you had used sleeping drugs on all your subordinates, tied up the captured suspects, and left them alongside the most crucial evidence found during the search in the village."
As I listened to Qiu's account, I was astonished and speechless. Could it really be such a coincidence? Qiu found me, saw me, and regained his memory at the exact moment I encountered Ren Pingsheng. Because of Shen Huaqing's matter, Qiu missed that moment, and I was captured by Ren Pingsheng. How could we have brushed past each other like this?
Qiu continued with a hint of resentment in his voice.
"That day, you solved the case but left them behind. They were all unpredictable; Ye Shenbu could act erratically at any moment. Yet deep down, I felt an unsettling worry."
"Perhaps it was just bad luck. On that day, your pain became unbearable, and you decided to leave Dali Temple for a change of scenery; that’s not impossible. But Zhenzhen, you are not one to use sleeping drugs nor do you prefer such underhanded methods; you favor straightforward approaches even if it means confronting challenges head-on. So I've always been troubled by the fact that you resorted to using sleeping drugs on them."
"From that moment on, I did everything in my power to find you. I eagerly sought to learn everything about you. Zhenzhen, perhaps you'll find it strange that despite not seeing each other for two years, I never asked you to recount your experiences during that time. It's not that I'm indifferent; it's just that I understand too well—I know everything about you: every moment of your life and every tear you've shed."
"The more I learned, the more my heart ached. Every time I thought about how many days and nights you bore our memories alone—how much torment must have been in your heart—I couldn't help but resent myself for forgetting about our longing while leaving you to endure it all alone. All I wanted was to find you; even if it meant finding you just a moment sooner because no matter how much love or pain I've given you in this lifetime, I'm still indebted to you. The debts I've accumulated over these days can never be repaid."
"I searched everywhere for traces of you. But your trail was incredibly hard to follow as if you were deliberately hiding from pursuit. Logically speaking, if you were wandering the world seeking solace while looking for me, you'd have no reason to conceal your whereabouts; instead, you'd act boldly just like Night Phantom did during my disappearance. Zhenzhen, I knew that was your way of searching for me; once I realized this, my heart surged with emotion. Knowing that you've never forgotten me filled me with an ecstatic longing."
"Finally, I found two valuable pieces of information: one was that Night Phantom had recently worked on a case in the south; the other was that someone had used Ye Liuhui's name to place a boy in Hangzhou Prefecture and sent him to Dali Temple."
"This news came not long ago. I was anxious but at that very moment Thunder Sect's trap against Earthfire Sect reached its critical point along with matters concerning Hua Yingjie needing attention as well. So I decided to finish those two tasks before fully investigating those leads. For days I've been restless and nearly unable to contain myself; who would have thought fate would show mercy and allow you to fall into my flower palanquin? Zhenzhen, can you imagine what my feelings were when I saw you?"
As he shared all this with me, In My Heart couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with emotion as well. They say good things come after much hardship; who would have known Fortuitous Encounter would turn out this way? Of course, I understood his feelings, but being the stubborn woman I am, such words were not something I'd express openly.
I lightly played with his fingers, pouting my lips.
"Who knows what kind of mood you were in? Back then, the way you looked at me was so confused, as if you really didn't know me! Oh, Nie Qiuyuan, how could you act like that!"
"I wasn't acting! At that moment, I was genuinely stunned. I wanted to see you so badly, but then you suddenly appeared right in front of me. If it were you, wouldn't you be dumbfounded too?"
His words made me laugh. I propped myself up and leaned in to gently kiss his cheek.
The handsome man pulled me into his arms, slightly furrowing his brows.
"Do you know why I'm feeling so anxious? Do you understand why I nearly went crazy with excitement when you stood in front of me and told me that we are united as husband and wife and that I can't marry another woman? Zhenzhen, the more I think about it these days, the more scared and worried I become..."
"Mm? Why?"
He gently stroked my hair, hesitating for a while before finally asking.
"Zhenzhen, if I'm not mistaken, during the time you've been away from the Dali Temple, you've been with Ren Pingsheng, right?" (To be continued...)
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