"Are you kidding ? Do you think I'm an idiot?" The girl who had been peeking out from the tent rolled her eyes and shouted impatiently upon hearing the boy's call. Seeing the card players suddenly stand up and run forward, she couldn't help but feel curious. She peeked towards the most crowded area, whispered a few words to the girl in the tent, then walked towards where the boys were. What she saw was incredible, and a piercing scream rang out, seemingly about to shatter everyone's eardrums.
"Xiao Tao—" The boy who first noticed Ji Yaoguang and Chang Yu nudged the girl, whispering softly.
The girl called Xiao Tao quieted down, her eyes showing a mix of embarrassnt and sha for her outburst. After a mont, she pursed her lips and carefully said, "Teacher Ji, Teacher Chang, could you help
with sothing?"
From the jumbled explanations of the girl and several boys, Ji Yaoguang finally pieced together the whole story. This graduation trip was for Xiao Tao and Xiao Liu, but halfway through, Xiao Tao said sothing wrong, and now Xiao Liu was holed up in the tent, refusing to communicate with everyone—let alone the subsequent confession. They had co to this place after hearing about the sanctity of the Moon Goddess Temple. "Teacher Ji, please help us. Xiao Liu is your fan. She'll be so happy to see you!" Xiao Tao clasped her hands together, her eyes sparkling with hope.
Still students, after all.
Looking at the young faces before her, Ji Yaoguang suddenly felt a thousand emotions. She turned to look at Chang Yu, seeing her smiling gently with tender eyes. With a slight nod, agreeing to Xiao Tao's request, she took Chang Yu's hand and walked towards the tent. The hanging curtain isolated the inside into a small world, where faint complaints could be heard.
"Teacher Ji and Teacher Chang have such a good relationship," Xiao Tao's voice was full of admiration as she watched their retreating figures.
"Don't worry, you and Xiao Liu will be like that too. Look now, all the surprises are unnecessary. Teacher Ji and Teacher Chang suddenly appearing, I'm afraid Xiao Liu will be too excited," a boy patted Xiao Tao's shoulder and said, "See how lucky we are to see two goddesses? We'll definitely continue to be lucky."
Small conflicts could be resolved with a bit of coaxing, especially when the surprise of seeing their idols made it easier for people to let go of everything. Chang Yu and Ji Yaoguang sat and chatted with the young students for a while before slowly returning to the inn under their reluctant gazes. "University days were so wonderful, I want to go back to those tis," Ji Yaoguang said softly with a light laugh as she sat on the edge of the bed, playing with her long hair.
"Do you want to go back to the past because you're dissatisfied with the present?" Chang Yu picked up the conversation, chuckling lightly before adding, "If you suddenly went back to the past, would you regret it? Would you want to return?"
"No!" Ji Yaoguang's eyes widened suddenly, and she answered firmly. She shook her head vigorously. Go back three years into the future? She resisted this possibility and didn't want to think too deeply about it. How could she tell Chang Yu that she ca from three years in the future? She was afraid. Her daily anxiety stemd from the fear that everything now was just a dream, and she would open her eyes to find herself back in her empty room, alone embracing all the loneliness and cold.
"You told
before that you dread of three—" Chang Yu's words suddenly stopped. Ji Yaoguang seed lost in her own thoughts and hadn't heard her voice. Sighing softly, she said in a low voice, "Sleep now. Tomorrow we'll go see the master at the Moon Goddess Temple. I've made an appointnt with her. Let's hear this different perspective." She didn't have dreams like Ji Yaoguang's, nor had she ever been caught between dreams and reality, unable to distinguish between them. She had heard from a friend that soone similar once ca to this Moon Goddess Temple seeking answers to their problems, and left fully satisfied, no longer troubled. Could they also believe in it this once? Holding Ji Yaoguang's hand, she lowered her eyelashes, her whisper lost between her lips.
How could they secure a stable future? No longer harboring doubts and delusions?
Ji Yaoguang once again dread of her future self, arms wrapped around herself, leaning against a snow-white wall, cold and distant like a flower blooming on an icy plain. She said that all the beauty was just a self-satisfying illusion, and it was ti to wake up from those unrealistic dreams. And if she woke up as that person said, discovering that reconciling with Chang Yu was just a dream, she once again walked to that seaside bookstore, searching for Chang Yu's figure, only to see her sitting alone on a reef, with an oncoming tidal wave seeming about to engulf her. With a cry of alarm, she ran forward frantically, but before she could grab Chang Yu's hand, she saw her completely disappear. Just as her heart was aching, swelling with pain, and she was almost curled up into a ball, An Muyu appeared with a sinister gaze, saying, "Are you happy now? Are you satisfied? Chang Yu has completely disappeared."
"Chang Yu!" With a scream, Ji Yaoguang suddenly sat up in bed, wiping the cold sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. Looking around and not finding Chang Yu, she began to panic. Without bothering to dress properly, she threw off the covers and slid out of bed, stumbling towards the door.
"What's wrong?" Chang Yu, who was bringing in hot water, was embraced tightly by Ji Yaoguang, nearly dropping the kettle. Her free hand stroked Ji Yaoguang's back, her voice filled with concern amidst the confusion.
"I dread you left, you disappeared," Ji Yaoguang mumbled softly, burying her face in Chang Yu's neck for a mont before continuing, "I'll go see the master alone later. Don't co with ." There were so things she was reluctant to let Chang Yu know, even though she might have guessed so things in her heart. Otherwise, how could soone who usually didn't believe in supernatural things bring her to this Moon Goddess Temple for a pilgrimage? They had never been devout believers.
Chang Yu was silent for a mont before softly replying, "Alright." She wanted to accompany Ji Yaoguang, to explore the world she had hidden so well, but if she still harbored resistance now, then she was willing to continue waiting, waiting for the day when she would be willing to be honest. If it was really just a simple dream, why would she be so anxious? She had never been that fragile.
The master in the Moon Goddess Temple was not like the image Ji Yaoguang had imagined—wearing an old yellow robe, kneeling on a cushion chanting sutras—but rather similar to the elderly people strolling in city parks. The only difference was the string of vajra bodhi beads worn around his neck and wrist. Upon seeing Ji Yaoguang, he stretched lazily, straightened up from his rattan chair, and said in a hoarse voice, "Another dream seeker?"
"Not for dreams," Ji Yaoguang sat down opposite the old man, shaking her head. "It's about the past, and also the future."
"Do you want to go back to that ti?" The old man squinted and chuckled, then asked.
Ji Yaoguang shook her head, "No."
The old man sighed and said, "Then make the most of this heaven-sent opportunity. Since you've been given a chance to change, why dwell on other matters?"
"Will I return to that world again? And is everything now just a dream?" Ji Yaoguang asked what she most wanted to know. The thin smoke from the incense burning on all sides drifted gently, and her restless heart gradually cald in the faint agarwood scent. "I t an old man on the bus who said there was another world."
"Oh—" The old man's tone suddenly lengthened. He laughed and said, "You an Old Gu? He likes to tell you these things. He used to be a 'big shot'. The other world he talks about is the netherworld. Those who can't wake up have naturally passed away, so how could they possibly return to reality?"
"Then I—" Ji Yaoguang's eyes widened, sowhat confused.
"Rebirth," the old man said bluntly. "Since you've co here, I suppose you believe in many mysterious things in this world. You're not the only one like this. Many people keep it to themselves, while others seek answers everywhere. You treat reality as a dream, so why not treat those three years you experienced as a grand dream? It's not much different, really."
Ji Yaoguang hesitated for a mont before saying, "I keep dreaming about things from that ti, and each dream is different."
The old man nodded and said, "As I said before, may you wake up in the present." Seeing Ji Yaoguang still frowning deeply, he added, "Ti has reversed three years, but only a small portion of people still retain mories from those three years. The vast majority have simply forgotten. You have joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness in this world, you feel pain. Why do you still think it's a dream? You ca here just for one sentence, didn't you? The current you is the real you, not the you in a dream."
"Do you see?" The old man pointed to the windowsill. "There's a dagger there. If you still think this is a dream, you can pick it up and stab yourself hard, see if you can struggle out of this 'dream'."
Ji Yaoguang didn't respond. After a mont of silence, a relieved smile appeared on her face. She stood up and bowed respectfully to the old man, saying, "Thank you." Just as the old man had said, she had co only for one sentence. As for other things, they weren't important. For things that natural science couldn't explain, one could only seek answers in doctrine.
"Why didn't that girl who made the appointnt for you co?" The old man suddenly asked. "I could tell from the phone call that she didn't believe in these things. I didn't want to make the appointnt at first, but I couldn't resist her persistence."
"Her?" Ji Yaoguang smiled faintly. "She ca, but I didn't let her accompany . I'm afraid there are so things she can't accept."
"Not necessarily," the old man shook his head and said, "The person who might find it hardest to accept could be you yourself, who's in the midst of it all."
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