Brightly Lit
"Verifying history?"
"The simplest way, of course, is to recognize each other directly. I'll call you Doctor Su, you call Director Chen, and then we'll say long ti no see, reminiscing about everything we experienced together hundreds of years ago, chatting about this conversation in the ruins together... If all this happens, it naturally ans everything here is real."
Su Zhiwei asked in confusion, "Isn't this very normal?"
Chen Ling sighed. "But when Yang Xiao t back then, he was... very ambiguous? He seed to recognize , but he didn't want to directly acknowledge , and I didn't know what he was thinking at the ti."
"So, you're worried that I will be like him, with a very ambiguous attitude?"
"Exactly... So, I hope we can make an agreent in advance." Chen Ling said seriously. "If everything goes smoothly, we'll recognize each other normally; but if so complicated factors arise in the middle, causing us to be unable to recognize each other directly, we'll agree on a set of secret codes."
"Mhm... That works too. What secret code?"
Chen Ling thought for a mont. "Do you know that poem by Li Bai? 'eting within the red dust, a high bow with a golden whip'."
"I know it. Should we use this line?"
"No, let's modify it slightly... At that ti, I will say 'eting within the red dust', and then you reply 'A light smile as the years grow long'." Chen Ling paused for a mont. "As long as you answer the second half of the sentence, it will prove that everything happening to us now is real. Even if we don't recognize each other, I'll know in my heart."
"No problem, I've morized it."
"Many thanks."
Chen Ling flipped open the flip phone. There were less than ten seconds left before this Tiline Save File ended.
He took one last deep look at Su Zhiwei and smiled,
"Then, I look forward to eting you in another era."
[Number 129439 ti limit reached]
[Loading Interrupted]
...
Red Dust Main City.
Cloth shoes stepped through muddy puddles on the road, causing ripples on the water surface. In the churning reflection, a figure wearing tattered sackcloth was slowly walking through the dilapidated Alleyway.
That was a woman who looked like a beggar, draped in brown sackcloth scavenged from nowhere. Her black, muddy hair was coiled up and hidden beneath a tattered hood. Even if soone brushed past her in the Alleyway, they wouldn't look up at her, and might even actively avoid her.
It wasn't until she walked to the roof of a long-abandoned unfinished building that she slowly stopped. She took out a carefully wrapped stead bun from a box in the corner, sat on the ground, and took small bites.
On that mottled and unclear face obscured by mud and dirt, a pair of eyes as deep as lake water was constantly observing the surroundings.
Liu Qingyan felt very calm.
Since she skinned and killed that disgusting old man at the headquarters of the Flower Capital Consortium half a year ago, she had completely hidden her identity and concealed herself in the marketplace of the Red Dust Main City.
On the one hand, it was to evade pursuit by the Police Officers and the Flower Capital Consortium. On the other hand, it was to deeply pursue the essence of this Path.
Liu Qingyan could feel that her Path was sowhat different from others.
Half a year ago, when she stepped onto this Divine Path, she faintly felt two extending divergent roads... They were worlds apart from each other, yet faintly related. One was flat and vast, while the other was overgrown with thorns.
And the one she ultimately stepped onto was the one overgrown with thorns.
This road was difficult and obscure. Even now, Liu Qingyan didn't know what exactly she had chosen, nor was there anyone to guide her direction. She didn't even know what Divine Pathways and Paths were; she was like a blind person groping in the darkness.
After stepping onto this road, Liu Qingyan instinctively began to get tired of Performing, tired of those gazes filled with various desires. Especially after killing Zong Wen with her own hands, sothing inside her seed to awaken, guiding her away from worldly troubles.
The good news was that after killing Zong Wen, she conveniently took away the treasures in his safe. After selling all these things, she sent the money back to her hotown in Willow Town.
That money should be enough for her parents to pay off the astronomical debts they owed, and also enough for her younger brother to see a doctor. She no longer had to continue being a star to pay off her father's debts, becoming a tool exploited and enslaved by the consortium.
For this half year, Liu Qingyan had lived a very difficult but also very relaxing life. She just observed the various people in the Red Dust Domain like this, and unknowingly, she stepped onto the second step...
But now, she could no longer see where the road ahead was.
Liu Qingyan watched the sky gradually darken. One by one, lights lit up in the dimness, gradually connecting into a patch. The Tumultuous Secular World awakened in these neon lights. People finally finished a day's work and began to pursue the stimulation and pleasure of body and mind within it.
But strangely, these lights spread across the city recently always had a few patches fall into darkness, like mold spots growing in a neon world, emitting an inexplicable eeriness and gloominess. Moreover, as ti passed, these dark areas were becoming more and more nurous.
"Is it a power outage..." Liu Qingyan muttered to herself.
She got up and walked down the unfinished building. Her dirty clothes seed to blend in with the dark Alleyway. After just taking a few steps, she seed to step on sothing under her feet.
Liu Qingyan looked down and found that it was a newspaper thrown on the side of the road.
The surface of the newspaper was full of footprints. Looking at the date, it should have been from a few days ago. She casually picked it up. The first page was news about heavily defeating the Dusk Society. After glancing at it a few tis, her brows unconsciously furrowed.
She carefully read the content on it, turned another page, and saw a wet side profile on a Stage. She suddenly froze in place.
"He's back..."
Liu Qingyan's eyes gradually lit up, her gaze instantly locking onto the three words "Jinghong Theater" in the article. Regardless of whether the newspaper was dirty or not, she directly rolled it up, stuffed it into her clothes, and hurriedly ran in a certain direction.
She ran through crowded streets and neon-flashing storefronts. Even the mud-covered strands of hair under her hood floated out lightly. This hurriedly running beggar-like girl also attracted puzzled glances from passersby.
Liu Qingyan seed unaware of this. She ran all the way past several blocks and finally stopped in front of a certain street.
This block also seed to be enveloped by mold-like darkness. A patch of surrounding buildings had lost power. Pedestrians and shops carrying Kerosene Lamps for illumination were everywhere... with the exception of one building.
It was an old-looking Theater House. At this ti, two large trucks full of Lanterns were parked at the door of the Theater House.
Seven or eight figures were carrying lit Lanterns, hanging them inside and outside the Theater House. The glow of the Lanterns dispelled all the darkness. Even without electric lights for illumination, the Theater House was still as bright as day!
At the sa ti, a group of people was holding sothing like tickets, queuing outside the Theater House. Seeing this incredibly bright Theater House, they couldn't help but click their tongues in praise...
Inside the Theater House.
Chen Ling, who was originally prepared to slack off and rest, looked blankly at the door, at Kong Baosheng excitedly directing the hanging of Lanterns, and at Li Qingshan backstage, who was in high spirits and seed intent on singing all night. He couldn't help but hold his forehead...
"What a sin..."
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