Chapter 2036: Dim Lights, Upon Opening the Eyes Again

It was an autumn of an unknown year. As the autumn leaves drifted down with the wind, curling and dancing in the sky, they seemed to be searching for home.

The autumnal sky was vast and cloudless, a beautiful expanse of azure blue. On the ground, during this clear autumn morning, wisps of cooking smoke rose lazily, presenting a scene of a farmstead resembling a Peach Garden.

This was the State of Zhao. Many of the common people living here never ventured far from home in their entire lives, especially since this was a remote area of the State of Zhao, a small mountain village at the foot of a mountain range.

As the morning wind swept the multitude of autumn leaves into a dance, the sound of suona horns gently rose from the village entrance, accompanied by the running of mischievous children and their pure, excited laughter.

A red sedan chair, surrounded by a crowd in the village, stopped outside a Courtyard House. The noise was deafening; clearly, this family was welcoming a new bride.

The ancestors of this family were said to be carpenters, but the current generation was a scholar who reportedly passed the examinations in the county seat. For unknown reasons, he did not go to the capital but returned here and settled down.

More than twenty years have passed since then. The scholar had become middle-aged, and his only son had gradually grown into an adult. Today was the joyous wedding day of that child named Wang Lin.

Wang Lin grew up here, and the nearby villagers all knew him well. The child was quite pitiful; he was a mute, always silently gazing into the distance, though no one knew what he was looking at.

As the joyous sounds filled the air, a woman with her head bowed and covered by a red veil stepped out of the sedan chair. Her hand was held by Wang Lin, who stood beside her, and the two walked into the courtyard.

Speaking of this woman, all the young men in the village harbored admiration for her. She was the second daughter of the Liu Family, a wealthy household in the area. Since childhood, she had enjoyed being with Wang Lin. They could be called childhood sweethearts, often seen sitting together, gazing into the distance simultaneously.

Now that they had grown up, no one was surprised by their marriage; many were simply envious.

Village weddings were often not as extravagant as those in the county seat; they were very simple. The host family prepared a wedding feast, inviting everyone in the village to offer congratulations, and the event concluded when the sun set in the west.

The remaining time belonged to the newlyweds.

In the bridal chamber, when the honest-looking Wang Lin lifted his wife's veil, he saw a breathtakingly beautiful face.

That woman was named Liu Mei.

Her delicate face slightly flushed, she looked at Wang Lin and smiled.

The focus of their gazes seemed to penetrate time itself, as if they had looked at each other like this through countless Reincarnations, reaching eternity.

On the second day of their marriage, Liu Mei sat in the courtyard, facing the smiling Wang Lin. In his hand was a wood carving; he was carving the most beautiful scene of his wife.

The plain life was filled with warmth. In the blink of an eye, two years passed. They had a child, a boy, whose name was Wang Ping.

The boy was very intelligent and articulate. As he gradually grew up, the family of three seemed to live a very complete and warm life, reaching Perfection.

In his daily life, Wang Lin did not follow his father in pursuing scholarly studies but chose the carpentry skills passed down by his ancestors, continuing to live in this peaceful little mountain village.

His wife, Liu Mei, had deep affection for their child. She spent almost all her time accompanying Wang Ping, cooking for him in the morning, playing with him during the day, and telling him stories and coaxing him to sleep at night.

Ten years later, the year Wang Ping turned fifteen, he chose to study, left the small mountain village, went outside, and participated in the major county examination.

On the day he left, he saw his mother sitting in the courtyard, and his father was carving the second wood carving dedicated to his mother. That carving was still very beautiful.

Wang Ping successfully passed the imperial examinations, and several years later, he went to the Capital. Wang Lin and Liu Mei accompanied him and settled down in the Capital.

Time flowed by, and before they knew it, Wang Lin and Liu Mei's hair had turned white. In the Capital, Wang Ping, relying on his achievements, forged his own Dao.

At this time, Wang Ping took a wife. His wife had a very pleasant name, Qing Yi. She was a beautiful girl from a wealthy family in the Capital.

She was very filial to Wang Lin and Liu Mei. While they were satisfied, there was also a sense of melancholy, because this meant Wang Ping had started his own family, like a bird that, once grown, flies high into the sky and might not return home for a long time.

Wang Lin and Liu Mei chose to leave. They departed the Capital and returned to the peaceful mountain village to live out their remaining years.

After returning to the old house in the village, Wang Lin carved the third wood carving for Liu Mei. The face on the carving bore the marks of time, yet it was still very beautiful.

Life was like this, full of simplicity and without many dramatic changes. Wang Lin greatly enjoyed every such day. He was with Liu Mei; although he never spoke a single word to her his entire life, they watched the sunrise and sunset, and the rise and fall of the twilight, finding warmth in their presence. Gradually, their white hair increased.

Time flowed away in this warmth. When the autumn leaves danced again that year, Wang Lin and Liu Mei had become completely old. Their son, Wang Ping, returned occasionally over the years, but each time he did not stay long before hastily leaving again.

The two elders sat in the courtyard. Liu Mei smiled, looking at Wang Lin opposite her. Wang Lin held a wood carving; he was looking at Liu Mei, carving what might be the last wood carving of their lives for her.

The wood carving gradually took shape in Wang Lin's hands, slowly outlining Liu Mei's appearance, but it was not her current white-haired look; rather, it was as beautiful as she had been the day after they were married.

"I know that even though you never spoke to me your whole life, you are not mute…" Liu Mei looked at Wang Lin, watching the carving slowly taking shape in his hands, her eyes filled with tenderness.

Wang Lin looked up at Liu Mei, smiled, and shook his head, still not speaking.

Three days after the carving was finished, Liu Mei fell ill. She lay in bed; her aged face still showed traces of her youthful beauty. She held Wang Lin's hand, who was sitting beside the bed, and never let go.

"I know you're not mute…"

"Do you remember the first time we met when we were children? You were looking at the sky, and I was curious about what you were looking at, so I came over to look with you.

But I didn't see anything. Just as I was leaving, you suddenly spoke, and the first sentence you said to me… You remember it, and I remember it too…" Liu Mei looked at Wang Lin, the tenderness in her eyes like water.

"You told me that I was your wife… and you were my husband… that it was a destined affinity." Liu Mei murmured, her smile becoming softer. She looked at Wang Lin, seemingly immersed in that memory.

Wang Lin smiled as well. He held Liu Mei's hand and did not let go.

The two of them just looked at each other. Liu Mei kept talking, speaking of their whole life, talking about their youth, talking about their marriage, and talking about having Wang Ping.

"Ping'er is a good child, but he has grown up, and he has his own Dao… We cannot keep him by our side forever… After I am gone, you will be alone; you must take care of him." Liu Mei murmured.

Wang Lin shook his head, looking at Liu Mei, his gaze gentle.

Liu Mei kept talking until the night passed, until the morning sunlight shone down, and the autumn wind blew withered yellow leaves spinning across the world. Confusion appeared in Liu Mei's eyes, and she suddenly grasped Wang Lin's hand tightly.

Her wrinkled face suddenly gained a flush, like a final reflection of light, as if her frail body had been injected with a surge of vitality.

"I saw it… Wang Lin, I saw it…" She struggled to sit up, her face showing surprise and joy. Pointing at the sky outside the window, she quickly spoke to Wang Lin.

"I saw what was in the sky that we looked at together when we were children, I really saw it! I saw you in that sky, and I saw me… I saw… we are Immortals… I… I…" As Liu Mei spoke, tears suddenly streamed from her eyes. She had seen a heart-wrenching illusion.

"How… how could this be…" More tears streamed from Liu Mei's eyes.

"Everything is over…" Wang Lin held Liu Mei's hand and spoke the first sentence he had uttered since their marriage. His voice was hoarse, yet contained gentleness.

That night, when Wang Ping brought his wife, resigned from his official post, and returned to his hometown, intending to stay and accompany his parents, he saw them in the room, passed away in their sleep, with smiles on their faces.

He stood blankly before his parents for a long, long time, tears streaming down his face… The faces of his parents and the memories of his childhood flashed through his mind.

After burying his parents, Wang Ping and Qing Yi lived in the old house until the years passed, until they grew old, and until they closed their eyes.

Inside the Immortal Cave guarded by Thirteen, Wang Lin and Liu Mei sat cross-legged, their eyes closed. Between them was a spinning bead that emitted a faint light, seemingly connecting the two of them.

On this day, Wang Lin opened his eyes. He looked at the woman beside him for a long, long time.

The woman's eyelashes trembled, and tear tracks flowed down. She also opened her eyes, looking at Wang Lin. The focus of their gazes, just like in the Dream Dao, seemed to strive for eternity.

"Is it over…" Mu Bingmei murmured.

"It is over. Close your eyes, and when you open them again, everything will be a new beginning…" Wang Lin spoke softly. He knew that the woman before him had complicated feelings for him, but no matter how complicated, she ultimately couldn't let go.

Mu Bingmei stared blankly at Wang Lin. She didn't know what Wang Lin meant by those words, but she obediently closed her eyes, stopping the instantaneous flow of tears.

"Open them…" A familiar voice reached her ears.

When she opened her eyes, she saw it.