The Nightmare Experience of a Useless Person

The third time, on a day that Shen Yu couldn't count on her fingers, a day that she herself couldn't explain why she just wanted to see, Shen Yu came to the bamboo grove courtyard once again.

However, the place had changed drastically. Shen Yu wandered around in the dark three times before realizing that the small courtyard had been demolished and a temple had been built on the original site.

What kind of temple is this? Even though the moonlight was as bright as day on this summer night, Shen Yu couldn't see clearly. She only felt that the place was deserted and lifeless. Was it an abandoned temple? She touched the solid bricks and then thought it didn't seem like it.

The door was fine; Shen Yu used a little force and the door opened. A stuffy, damp, dusty smell rushed into her nostrils, mixed with a strange odor, causing Shen Yu to cough.

The room was pitch black, except for a sliver of moonlight shining through the broken window. It pierced through the swirling dust and landed on the face of a man in a red shirt.

Shen Yu wasn't frightened, because she recognized the man. He wasn't breathing, he had no body temperature, he was dead...

Shen Yu was surprisingly calm, as if in her imagination this person would one day meet such an end, only it was a little too early, too soon.

The flickering candlelight was like a beating heart, representing Shen Yu's grief and unease. She herself simply lit the candles calmly, one after another, until the oppressive darkness in the room was completely swallowed up and everything became clear.

Jiang Zhiyang lay on a stone step, his eyes closed and his face pale. His gray hair made his clothes appear even more crimson, like flowing blood in the flickering firelight, as if he were coming back to life.

His sleeve slipped down, revealing a section of his taut forearm, with patches of red plum blossoms and scars of varying depths on his fair skin.

However, compared to the wounds on his hands, the injuries were far more horrific. Beneath the numerous large and small cuts were scars accumulated over the years, from being hammered, chiseled, and ground by stones. His skin was cracked and covered in thick calluses. His once slender hands were now unrecognizable from the torment.

Shen Yu took a deep breath and looked up. Beside Jiang Zhiyang was a tall statue, which she knew without a doubt was his work.

This statue is really strange. It is dressed in light robes with flowing skirts, unlike the gods and Buddhas in other temples, who are dressed in brocade robes or solemn jeweled garments. Instead, it looks like the style that is popular among young women in the streets.

The statue had its hands folded together, holding a candied hawthorn in its left hand and a rabbit lantern in its right. Shen Yu smiled faintly, took two steps forward, and looked at the statue's face.

Why can't we see the face of the deity? Because her head is covered with a red cloth, which is different from the style of Jiang Zhiyang's clothes. It is more expensive, redder, and embroidered with dark patterns and jewels.

Shen Yu looked up, only to have a speck of dust fall into her eyes. She rubbed them hastily until a cool night breeze swept in, and suddenly, the red veil fluttered, revealing a face that Shen Yu recognized…

Instantly, large tears rolled down her cheeks, and Shen Yu finally understood.

This is neither a god nor a Buddha, but a woman, Qingjun, Yu Qingjun, the Yu Qingjun that Jiang Zhiyang has been searching for.

The red veil swayed from side to side before finally falling to the ground, revealing the goddess's innocent and radiant face, her smile as beautiful as a flower, just like an ordinary woman from the mortal world.

Later, Jiang Zhiyang met many people and traveled many roads, from desolate mountain villages to bustling town streets, from majestic mountains and waterfalls to brightly lit neon night scenes, but he found no news of the top scholar's wife who had accompanied her husband north to take up his post.

She vanished from the world like a wisp of smoke.

We know neither where we came from nor where we are going.

Later, he couldn't even find Shen Yu anymore. The only woman who knew Qingjun had also disappeared, turning their conversation that night into a beautiful but unreal dream for a longing person.

Perhaps she really was a god, Jiang Zhiyang comforted himself, a god who came for him and granted him immortality. So, Jiang Zhiyang didn't want to search anymore. He wanted to go home. That little courtyard was their home. He missed home, he really did.

At home, there was Jiang Zhiyang, there was Yu Qingjun, and there was the wedding he had always dreamed of. The traveler, who had been lost for too long, finally smiled. Everything was perfect.

Shen Yu did not linger there for long, for she was a dream-breaker. She closed the door and cut off a piece of Qingjun's red veil.

The bright red silk was eye-catching and dazzling, carried by the cool, ghostly wind to a place far, far away. Shen Yu thought, Lord Qingjun has received her good news.

……

Time has passed, things have changed, and countless seasons have passed in the human world. Peach blossoms have withered and bloomed again, and winter snow has melted and returned. However, the atmosphere in the underworld is not too sad, because there is no shortage of the dead here. Nevertheless, Shen Yu is still the same, still holding a lantern for the dead on the Bridge of Rebirth.

"Ah—" Feeling sleepy, Shen Yu yawned. "Can you walk by yourself? Do you dare?"

"If you dare, just keep going forward. When you reach the end, there will be a divine messenger to guide you. If you don't dare, I will ask someone to carry a lantern for you."

Yes, she called for help. In her most tiring years, she had gained enough experience to command newcomers. Shen Yu twisted her waist, thinking about picking some lotus flowers later to brew a pot of lotus wine for the Lord of the Underworld.

"And what about us?"

The familiar voices reached her ears, sending a chill down her spine. Shen Yu turned around and saw that it really was her two old friends.

Beside Jiang Zhiyang was Yu Qingjun. One was handsome and the other was beautiful and charming. They were a perfect match. Shen Yu was a little excited and kept looking them up and down.

"You two have met again?"

Jiang Zhiyang took Yu Qingjun's hand and shook it, as if to show off.

Shen Yu covered her mouth, tears welling up in her eyes, and for a moment she was at a loss.

Should we invite them inside for tea? Are you familiar with them? It feels like we've known each other for ages. Maybe they've come to be reincarnated! But it's been so long since we last met, there's no rush...

The two stood hand in hand, looked at Shen Yu's appearance, and smiled at each other.

Jiang Zhiyang slowly spoke, interrupting Shen Yu's rambling thoughts, "Let's cross the bridge."

"Then I will hold the lantern for you!" Shen Yu straightened her clothes and bent down to light the lantern.

"No need, we both know this way well." Qingjun smiled, with a hint of apology and nine parts gratitude, "I just wanted to say hello when I saw you."

"Alright then." Shen Yu stood still awkwardly, a hint of embarrassment on her face. It felt like so much time had passed, and everyone else had already gotten married, while she was still so unreliable. "Then I'll give you two gifts!"

The first thing is a pure divine soul.

"No need, you've fulfilled my wish, this is your due reward." Qingjun tried to refuse, but Shen Yu sweetly pushed her back.

"I don't need it anymore." This is true, and the main reason is that Shen Yu has been waiting for this day, and even though the hope is slim, she has been carefully keeping it.

It is hoped that this wisp of spirit will be able to bring help to the two lovers in the future.

The second item is a section of Daphne odora flower branch.

Shen Yu wrapped the soft flower branches around their wrists, quite satisfied, and pulled them even closer together.

"The branches of the Daphne odora are the entanglement of souls. No matter where you are, you will be drawn by the Daphne odora and find each other."

As Shen Yu watched the two figures walk away, she made her most heartfelt wish: It's so good that just being together is enough to cherish.

……

At the Bridge of Rebirth, Yu Qingjun held Jiang Zhiyang's hand tightly. "Are you really sure? You're different from me; you have plenty of time."

"Qingjun, do you know? I've been looking for you for so long, so very long... Only now do I realize that the person I've been looking for all this time has been right beside me all along," Jiang Zhiyang said, holding his lover's hand tightly, his expression resolute and unwavering. "So, I don't want to miss you anymore."

"And then, I remembered," Jiang Zhiyang waved his hand, trying to get Qingjun's attention, "you said you wished me to meet you in this life, and I have already had my wish fulfilled."

"But once we cross the bridge, everything we've experienced will be meaningless. And who can predict the future?"

"Who says it doesn't count!" Jiang Zhiyang held Qingjun's hand close to his heart. "Everything we've been through together, every day we've lived together, counts. In the future, no matter where you are, I will find you and tell you countless times, I love you."

"What if I turn into a pig?" Yu Qingjun teased him.

"Hmph hmph hmph~" Jiang Zhiyang replied.

"What if I turn into a dog?" Yu Qingjun asked.

"Woof woof woof~" Jiang Zhiyang replied.

Who would say such silly love talk at a time like this? They were both amused by each other, and tears welled up in their eyes.

They are tears of happiness.

"Qingjun, do you know? Later, everyone in Leshantang lived a very, very good life." Jiang Zhiyang stared intently at Yu Qingjun, as if trying to make her see through his eyes that the time she missed. "We too will live a very, very good life."

"Um."

Every step forward was exceptionally easy and firm as they held hands and headed towards the distant shore.

But that's nothing to be afraid of. Every chapter of life is full of unknowns, tender care, and occasional separations. Fortunately, our thoughts are always connected. Kissing and arguing, tears and laughter, are always for each other.

Perhaps, love is the only answer.