Thousand Dusts Ferry Me - Chapter 46

Jiang Baiyu was dreaming.

He dreamed that someone was laughing by his ear, laughing like a ghost. While laughing, the person said they would turn him into a living puppet.

His heart was filled with fear as he ran frantically through the mountains, falling and getting his head bloodied.

Later, he suddenly felt very hungry, and he desperately swallowed medicinal pills until his stomach was in unbearable pain. He vomited violently, and after vomiting, he swallowed more pills…

Then, for no apparent reason, someone was chasing him with a sword, stabbing him repeatedly, leaving blood everywhere. The entire world was plunged into a sea of red.

He wanted to struggle, to call for help, but he couldn’t make a sound, only breathing weakly.

Finally, he managed to get up with all his might and continued running, gradually finding himself running on an ice field. The sky was dark, the ice surface was a vast white expanse, and the world was empty and cold.

He ran until utterly exhausted but didn’t dare to stop because wolves were chasing him from behind.

The wolf had narrow eyes that gleamed brightly, staying close behind him. He could even hear the sound of the wolf swallowing its saliva.

As he ran, he saw a fire-red figure ahead. Hope suddenly surged in his heart, and he ran toward that figure.

Closer and closer… he reached out toward that silhouette.

Just as he was about to touch the edge of the red garment, suddenly, the ice beneath his feet cracked, and that figure fell into the ice hole.

He was consumed by enormous despair.

“No!!!”

Jiang Baiyu opened his eyes abruptly and sat up.

He stared, gasping for breath.

Then he wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked around.

The sky outside the cave had begun to brighten, and the dawn light sketched a pale cyan opening in his vision.

Cheng Suiyan was standing at the entrance of the cave looking outside, saying softly, “She’s back.”

Yun Qing had returned.

Her face was pale, she was gritting her teeth, her eyes fixed straight ahead with a somewhat empty gaze, and in her hand, she was dragging a rope with… heads hanging from it.

If a humanoid demon’s head was cut off before it died, the head would retain its shape at the moment of death.

So the heads on the rope were mostly humanoid, roughly fewer than twenty in total, strung together and dragging on the ground like a twisted python, making one’s scalp tingle.

The head at the front had golden hair and was staring with golden eyes, its face filled with terror—it was the Golden-Haired Hound.

The blood congealed on these heads had been dissolved by the morning dew, leaving a slender trail of blood on the grass, meandering like a small path.

It wound all the way to the entrance of the cave.

Cheng Suiyan stood there with his mouth slightly open like a fool, staring blankly as she approached, staring blankly as she dragged the long string of heads into the cave. At this moment, he was so shocked that his mind was completely blank.

Yun Qing entered the cave and saw that everything was fine—Fu Xue was still sleeping soundly, and Jiang Baiyu seemed to have just awakened, sitting on the ground with one leg bent, his eyes following her movements.

When she walked in front of him, she finally felt her strength completely drained. The breath she had been holding dissipated, and she toppled forward with a thud.

When Jiang Baiyu reached out to catch her, he also completely woke up. Seeing her eyes tightly closed, he was startled and carefully examined her, only to find that she wasn’t injured but had simply fallen asleep.

This, this, this… she fell asleep too quickly.

He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he looked at her peaceful, almost innocent sleeping face, and then at the rolling heads beneath her.

He didn’t know what to say.

It was kind of cute.

Jiang Baiyu very much wanted to pat her head, but noticing Cheng Suiyan looking at them, he had to control his impulse.

****

When Yun Qing woke up, she saw that Fu Xue was still sleeping, her breathing strong and steady. Cheng Suiyan had probably stayed up all night and had now fallen asleep as well.

He sat on the ground, his back against a relatively flat section of the cave wall, one hand holding the Beihai Sword. His two legs were casually stretched out on the ground, looking excessively long.

Yun Qing shifted her gaze, and the bright light from outside the cave made her squint.

She walked out of the cave. Outside, the sun was already high in the sky. The autumn morning sun drew a clear dividing line across the colorful mountains—half bright and half dim.

Jiang Baiyu was sitting not far from the cave entrance on a fallen dead tree. His waterfall-like black hair concealed part of his silhouette.

Yun Qing walked over and sat down beside him.

Seeing it was her, Jiang Baiyu smiled and said, “Awake?”

“Mm-hmm.” Yun Qing tilted her head, resting her chin on her hand as she looked at him.

She had always felt that when he smiled, it seemed as fake as wearing a mask, with an empty gaze.

She wasn’t sure when it had changed, but his smile didn’t seem as fake anymore. He would gaze at the other person with eyes as brilliant as the Milky Way.

“Thirsty?” he asked. Without waiting for her answer, he directly picked up a large emerald-green bamboo tube about the size of a bowl that was placed beside him.

The bamboo tube had a lid made from an even thicker piece of bamboo. Jiang Baiyu removed the lid and handed the tube to her.

The bamboo tube was filled with clear water. Yun Qing didn’t stand on ceremony and took the tube, gulping down several large mouthfuls.

The pure, sweet water carried a hint of bamboo fragrance. Perhaps she was truly thirsty, as she found the water in the bamboo tube especially delicious.

She habitually licked the moisture at the corner of her lips and smiled, “Where did you get the water?”

Jiang Baiyu shifted his gaze and answered, “Morning dew.”

“No wonder it’s so sweet.” Yun Qing took a few more sips and handed the bamboo tube back to him.

Jiang Baiyu put the lid back on and placed the bamboo tube back at his side.

Yun Qing rested her chin on her hand again and looked at him.

Jiang Baiyu’s ears grew hot involuntarily. The mountain breeze blew past, taking away some of the warmth.

He said, “I know you have questions.”

“Mm-hmm. Do you want to tell me about it?”

Jiang Baiyu rested his hands on his knees, closed his eyes, and the red ribbon in his hair fluttered along with his glossy black locks in the wind.

After a while, the lotus flower reappeared in front of his chest.

He opened his eyes, and with a thought, the elegant lotus flower slowly floated toward Yun Qing.

It finally stopped in front of her.

Perhaps because it was daytime, it didn’t appear as bright as when it first appeared last night, but because it was close enough, Yun Qing could see it much more clearly.

It had seven petals in total, each unfolding into a charming, rounded curve, like small sails filled with wind.

The surface of the petals was dotted with gold like fine sand, similar to gold dust. The closer to the tip, the more concentrated the gold dust became, until at the very tip, it coalesced into a ginkgo leaf-like yellow.

The stamens were woven like golden threads, with a few crystal-clear dewdrops condensed on top.

The entire flower was now emitting a faint, elegant lotus fragrance—the kind she often smelled from Jiang Baiyu.

This lotus flower was so beautiful that Yun Qing stared at it without blinking, even softening her breathing, with a flash of amazement in her eyes.

“It’s called the Golden Frost Jade Dew Lotus, my natal treasure,” said Jiang Baiyu.

“It’s beautiful,” said Yun Qing. This was truly the most beautiful lotus, no, the most beautiful flower she had ever seen.

Then she asked, “May I touch it?”

Jiang Baiyu didn’t know how to answer. Not letting her touch it would make him seem stingy, but if he allowed it…

Well, no need to struggle with the decision; she had already started touching it.

Not hearing him object, Yun Qing took it as tacit permission, since Baiyu was originally a person who didn’t like to talk much. With a smile on her face, she reached out and gently touched a petal with her fingertip.

The petal wasn’t cool like ordinary plants; it felt warm to the touch and somewhat soft. Yun Qing couldn’t quite describe the sensation, but she felt that this flower was not only beautiful but also quite adorable, and it had a nice name.

She couldn’t help but continue, her fingertip gently tracing the curve of the petal a few more times.

Jiang Baiyu: “…”

This Golden Frost Jade Dew Lotus was his natal treasure, normally nurtured in his heart field and connected to his heart meridians. Everything the lotus could feel, he could feel exactly the same, without the slightest difference.

In other words, how Yun Qing touched it was equivalent to how she touched him.

The soft fingertip of the young woman, carrying her body warmth, lightly tapping, sliding, and caressing his heart…

Jiang Baiyu’s breathing became irregular, his blood surged, and a tide gradually rose in his clear eyes.

The fragrance of the lotus seemed to have grown stronger.

It was no longer the fresh, subtle elegance from before, but rather a somewhat aggressive richness, as if the clouds were about to release their rain, with a heavy moisture hitting one’s face.

This fragrance was as rich as wine, giving Yun Qing a sense of slight intoxication, as if she were being pulled out of a gorgeous dream, her entire being in a beautiful state somewhere between reality and fantasy.

She inhaled the scent with delight. “It’s becoming more fragrant.”

Jiang Baiyu: “…”

Yun Qing noticed Jiang Baiyu’s irregular breathing and turned to look at him.

The sight made her freeze.

He was blushing, his lips tightly pressed together, silently watching her. When she looked at him, he narrowed his eyes, deep ripples of light dancing in his profound gaze.

Yun Qing: “…”

She suddenly remembered everything about the special nature of natal treasures.

She withdrew her hand as if burned, her face also heating up with embarrassment.

Yun Qing felt she might not be fully awake yet; how could she have forgotten that natal treasures shared sensations with their owners!

What should she do? She seemed to have taken advantage of him…

Should she apologize…?

Saying it out loud would make it even more awkward…

After hesitating for just a moment, Yun Qing decided to play dumb all the way, brazenly pretending not to know anything and that nothing had happened. She calmly said, “I’ve seen enough, you can put it away now.”

But Jiang Baiyu wasn’t going to let her off so easily.

“You…..scoun…drel.”