The firefly hovered above my head for a while before landing on my shoulder.
"Wait, A Yin." I stopped in my tracks, and the scene of Gu Yuan giving me the firefly that day flashed through my mind.
Gu Yuan once said that the firefly could light up the way for him to return home.
That's right. As long as the firefly stayed with him, he would surely be able to find me.
"Go. Find Gu Yuan and bring him home."
As if understanding my words, the firefly flapped its wings and flew towards the direction of the Nine Nether Ever - Bright Sky.
"Lan Lan, if we don't leave now, it'll be too late."
I glanced at the horizon again, at that Kongming lantern. Gritting my teeth, I followed A Yin and left this place.
...
"Lan Lan, wake up. We're back."
My mind was still a bit muddled. My eyeballs kept rolling. It took me a while to react. I let out a breath and sat up from the ground.
"This is..." I was dazed. Isn't this the stone bridge? Could it be that I'm still stuck in the past?
"We're back." As A Yin's voice faded, my eyelids trembled.
I looked at the Kongming lantern on the River of Forgetfulness that was like a red moon.
"Are we really back? But that lantern is still there?" I pointed at the Kongming lantern floating in mid - air and asked.
"This lantern has been around for years. It's said that it was hanging there when my great - great - great - grandfather was a child."
An old man with a white beard, hunched over with a wooden walking stick in his hand, chimed in with a hoarse voice.
"Grandpa, are you a shaman?" I quickly stepped forward and asked.
"No. I'm a soul - traveler, someone who shuttles between the worlds of the living and the dead to deliver messages. It's a family - inherited skill. I don't even have a choice but to inherit it." the old man said.
"Then how many years has this lantern been hanging there?" A Yin asked curiously.
"For over a thousand years, I'd say. Back then, I was naughty and went to the bank of the River of Forgetfulness. I got close to that lantern. After seeing it, I'm convinced that it must be a poignant love story."
A Yin continued to ask curiously, "What's the love story?"
"You'll know when you go and see it for yourself someday." The old man hunched over, leaned on his walking stick, and left.
"But that's the River of Forgetfulness. Can just anyone cross it?" A Yin shouted at the old man.
The old man didn't turn back and just walked away.
I walked around in place. The scenery here hadn't changed at all. It was still that red moon, that Kongming lantern, and even the ferryboat on the bank of the River of Forgetfulness hadn't moved an inch.
"A Yin, are you sure we're back? Nothing has changed here."
"You're right. But it shouldn't be wrong. You've already..."
I didn't wait for A Yin to finish. I was eager to confirm it.
"Gu Yuan... You must wait for me. I'm coming to find you right away." I ran all the way along the stone bridge without a moment's rest, afraid that if I was late, I wouldn't be able to see him.
I ran until I was sweating profusely. Then I pushed open the door and rushed into the Ever - Bright Sky.
The scene inside the Ever - Bright Sky was so familiar. The singing and dancing girls were still the same, but I didn't see Gu Qingcheng.
I rushed straight to Gu Yuan's room on the third floor along the corridor. The light in the room was still on.
I pushed open the door full of expectation. The furnishings in the room were still spotless. I looked around and pushed open all the doors, searching for Gu Yuan's figure, but found nothing.
My mind calmed down a bit, and my heart sank. Gu Yuan wasn't here at all.
Although the furnishings in the room were unchanged, everything was different. It was so cold. I couldn't feel Gu Yuan's presence at all.
Obviously, no one had lived in this room for a long time.
I turned to look at the mirror beside me. It showed my own face, which meant that I had really come back.
I couldn't describe how I felt. I just wanted to cry. I quickly rummaged through my clothes pocket for my phone, planning to call Gu Yuan.
At this time, A Yin came in too and said, "Lan Lan, don't call. Gu Yuan is seriously injured. He may need to recuperate for a while."
A Yin's voice was weak, like a child who had done something wrong.
"Seriously injured? How could that be? Did he get hurt fighting with Jun He? Does Jun He have that much ability?" I grabbed A Yin's shoulders and asked.
"What? Do you doubt my ability? If I hadn't shown mercy, he might be dead by now."
I don't know when Jun He appeared in front of me. His dull eyes made him look completely different from the person I saw in the past.
I don't know what he had been through to become such an unpredictable person.
"Don't listen to his nonsense. It's not like that. Gu Yuan forcefully broke the formation to save you so that I could take the opportunity to find you. Otherwise, God knows what would have happened. But I didn't expect him to be so badly injured."
"Where's Gu Yuan? Take me to see him." My voice was trembling. I grabbed A Yin's arm and urged her to take me there quickly.
Jun He rolled his eyes. He was really helpless with my lovesick state. He casually asked, "Where on earth did you go... Are you hurt?"
It seemed that he didn't know what I had experienced on the other side. Of course, he couldn't understand the deep feelings between Gu Yuan and me.
"I'm fine. Where exactly is Gu Yuan?"
"You can't talk three sentences without mentioning Gu Yuan. Your eyes have been blind for thousands of years."
I didn't want to engage in a verbal fight. I let him say whatever he wanted. As long as I could see Gu Yuan, I was willing to do anything.
Jun He led me to another room. I stood outside the door, feeling extremely nervous.
I didn't know how badly he was hurt. In the past, I had already experienced a painful separation from him. I didn't want to endure that kind of pain ever again.
I took a deep breath and pushed open the door. Gu Yuan was lying on the wooden bed in the bedroom.
A semi - circular mist surrounded his body, like a large bubble. Water ripples flowed like golden threads, flickering, making it impossible to clearly see his current appearance.
"How could this happen? He's so badly injured?" Tears welled up in my eyes. My heart was already shattered. I no longer knew what pain felt like.
I was so worried that my body was trembling. I wanted to go in and see him, but I was afraid of breaking the barrier he had set up.
This layer of mist was the immortal's life - saving barrier.
It was rarely activated unless it was a matter of life and death. Only when one was seriously injured would the barrier be used to protect the person from external interference during the healing process.
It seemed that Gu Yuan was really seriously injured this time. Otherwise, he wouldn't have done this.
"Don't worry. He has a strong life force. Even thunder can't kill him. This will only make him go into seclusion for a while. He won't die."
Jun He said it casually, and I could only choose to believe him.
"Can I stay here and watch over him?"
"No." After Jun He said that, he closed the door and pulled me out.
"Why..."
"Because you need to sleep."
As Jun He stepped forward and led me and A Yin away, we happened to pass by the Goddess Temple.
The door of the temple was tightly closed, and I couldn't see the furnishings inside at all.
My eyes swept over the Goddess Temple. Jun He also stopped and looked at it, saying, "This is the Goddess Temple. Chi Yu loves cleanliness, so I arrange for someone to clean it once a day."
After he finished speaking, he waved his wide sleeve in front of the Goddess Temple. The vermilion door opened again.
However, the appearance of the Goddess Temple at this moment was completely different from what A Yin and I had seen before.