I woke up in a cold sweat, feeling as if I had just emerged from a long and terrifying dream.
Gazing at Chen Daoyi seated on the tall red table, tears welled up in my eyes and streamed down silently.
“Touched?” Chen Daoyi tugged at his goatee and said with a grin, “Do you know why you can still live forever even though you've become a mortal?”
I slowly shook my head. In the “Book of Reincarnation,” all I saw was Du Peiyun dragging Du Wenzhong and me away from the Si family.
In such a chaotic scene, it was unlikely that anyone would have noticed us!
“Because, before your wedding ceremony, Si Jiangchen came to the Underworld and pleaded with Lord Lu Zhidao to make two straw substitute dolls for you two,” Chen Daoyi explained.
I was taken aback. I had thought those ugly little straw dolls were made by Lu Tianchang.
“Inside your substitute straw doll lies an indestructible bone, sealed with the Great Soul - Returning Spell and sent directly to the Underworld, stored here with Lord Lu. It's as if your soul has been sealed, making you non - existent in the Yin - Yang Register of the Underworld. Otherwise, how could you have lived for so many years?”
My heart ached. I realized I had been misunderstanding Si Jiangchen all along.
I always thought he found me just to use me as a substitute for his tribulation!
It turned out... since the very first time we met, he had always been thinking about me and sacrificing for me!!
A faint sound of footsteps came from behind the main hall.
A light blue mist welled up from the ground and then dispersed. Si Jiangchen, holding Lu Zhidao's hand, appeared in front of me.
“Hey, Si Jiangchen, why is your wife crying?” Lu Zhidao's chubby little face showed a hint of a smile, with an expression of triumph.
Si Jiangchen pinched his face hard and said, “Wasn't this your idea?”
“Ouch, ouch!” Lu Zhidao's face wrinkled up as he was pinched. He pounded his little fists on Si Jiangchen's arm. “It hurts so much! I did this all for your own good! You're such a taciturn person. You never told her anything, and let her misunderstand you. I was so worried for you two!”
“Xia...” Si Jiangchen let go of Lu Zhidao's chubby face. Just as he looked up, I threw myself into his arms and hugged his waist tightly.
“Thank you... thank you...” I buried my head in his chest. Tears flowed even more fiercely. For all these years, he had been bearing the pain of blood - sucking and bone - gnawing for me!
“I... I shouldn't have run away!” I remembered when I met Si Jiangchen at the “Grand Feast of the Aristocrats,” I had been eager to escape from him!!
“You can't escape...” Si Jiangchen put his arm around my waist. “You're destined to be my wife. I can find you even in the vast sea of people.”
Lu Zhidao pouted on the side. “Don't be so mushy. I called you here to give you one last helping hand.”
Saying that, he tugged at my hem.
“Du Xinghe! You've seen the ‘Book of Reincarnation’. A hundred years have passed since the last thunder tribulation. Last time, Si Jiangchen and Lu Tianchang helped you withstand it together. As a result, Si Jiangchen lost all his memories. It wasn't until that one - eyed Buddha Mother appeared that I had a chance to find him and restore all his memories!”
Lu Zhidao flipped his little hand, and there were two ugly straw dolls in it.
The yellow talismans sealing them were cracked. It seemed that even a gentle puff of breath would make them fall off.
“This one is yours,” Lu Zhidao placed one of them in my hand. There was a faint blue light on the straw doll. I knew it was Xiaojiu, A Jian's daughter. She didn't have to suffer the pain of death repeatedly in the Underworld, but Lord Lu didn't let her enter reincarnation either. Instead, he let her stay in the straw doll like in a dormant state.
“I originally wanted to throw this indestructible bone into the eternal fire of the Underworld, but Si Jiangchen disagreed,” Lu Zhidao said, looking at Si Jiangchen with dissatisfaction. “Throw it in and it's all over. There won't be any future problems.”
“I agree to throw it in!” Looking at the yellow talisman on the straw doll in my hand, which was almost broken, fear welled up in my heart.
“Don't forget, you are the indestructible bone,” Lu Zhidao pursed his pink and tender little mouth. “Throwing it in would be like throwing you into the karma fire. You'll never be able to get out. You'll be immortal and always suffer the pain of being burned by the fire. Are you willing?”
“Stop it,” Si Jiangchen immediately slapped him on the head. “We've discussed the plan. Why are you still scaring her like this?”
“Ouch! Don't hit my head!” Lu Zhidao covered his head and complained. “Plan, plan. Aren't you still going to bear the thunder tribulation? This time, there won't be Lu Tianchang to help you. You'll be struck to a cinder by the thunder!!”
...!!! Lu Zhidao's words suddenly made me think of Si Jiangchen's father, Si Cheng, and the tragic scene when he was punished by the thunder.
“No!! I don't want you to bear the thunder tribulation for me. All the sins are mine!” I hugged Si Jiangchen again and shook my head desperately. “Since I'm the indestructible bone and the original sin, let me bear it. I'll face that thunder tribulation myself!”
He helped me last time. I couldn't let him get hurt again this time.
“That's right! With this word from you, my goal is achieved!” Lu Zhidao's clear voice rang in my ear. “Remember... otherwise, Si Jiangchen will become...”
Lu Zhidao's childish voice was still echoing in my ear when a girl's voice mixed in, saying in surprise, “She's awake, she's awake! Miss Du, we're all back. Hurry up and open your eyes!!”
It was Lu Xiaojuan's voice?!!
I struggled to open my eyes and found that I was still in the small dressing room of the Future Water World. Si Jiangchen was holding me on his lap, looking at me with an unfathomable look in his eyes.
“I'm back,” I reached out and hooked my arms around his neck, then kissed his thin lips. I didn't care that Lu Xiaojuan and Huang Dabiao were there as big “light bulbs.”
“It's good that you're back,” Si Jiangchen responded with a light kiss. He held my face and devoured my soul bit by bit as if savoring the most delicious thing in the world...
“Knock, knock, knock...” There was a knock on the dressing - room door. Bai Ruoyun's timid voice came in.
“Mr. Si... the police officers are here. Please go out with Miss Du to be interrogated.”
I was a bit dazed from the kiss and couldn't remember for a moment why there were police officers here...
“So many people have died. I'm afraid the show can't go on,” Si Jiangchen reluctantly parted from my lips, smiled faintly, and opened his palm. There were two straw substitute dolls made by Lord Lu lying in it. “I'll keep yours for you. Later, let's go find Lu Tianchang and see how to resolve our tribulations...”
“Okay!” After experiencing that “movie” in the “Book of Reincarnation,” I finally realized that besides A Wen, there was someone else who loved me so much!!