Lost of Oblivion: Chapter 29

“Uncle, later on, when we’re going see Wèi WúXiàn, have a more nicer attitude.” implored Jīn Líng.

Jiāng Chéng replied, “I always have a good attitude.”

“What I mean is he almost died.” Jīn Líng said, “If he had died, he might not come back again.”

Jiāng Chéng gave him a slap in the back of the head, and said, “Stop talking nonsense.”

Jīn Líng angrily said, “Don’t hit me in the head.”

There were rumours that were spreading all over Yúnmèng, and it was not conceivable that only a few villagers had given rise to such rumours.

Jiāng Chéng had assigned his people to trace the source of the rumours. However, every clue they had led nowhere.

Jiāng Chéng and Jīn Líng were on their way to Yúnshēn Bùzhīchù to see Wèi WúXiàn.

And, for the last two days, Jiāng Chéng didn’t pay any visit to Wèi WúXiàn, and was still unwilling to be alone with Lán WàngJī due to their last embarrassing conversation.

So, he set off on the third day, the last day for the golden core to be reconstructed, since he didn’t have other options than to go there in person.

However, on their arrival, they learned that Lán XīChén was not around, and no one could inform them about Wèi WúXiàn’s condition.

Since Jīn Líng had frequently come around, he was familiar with their surroundings, and led the way to Jingshi.

Jīn Líng’s words ‘he almost died’ echoed again in Jiāng Chéng’s head, and he seemed to be shaken. However, before he could deeply think about it, they had already reached the gate of Jingshi front garden.

From where they were standing, they could hear some faint sound of guqin coming from the backyard, which indicated that someone was at home.

A gentle breeze carried some petals of magnolia in the air, like a flake of snow slowly falling from the sky, while being blown left or right depending on the direction of the wind.

One petal landed on Jīn Líng’s head, and his uncle, who was still shaken by what Jīn Líng had said, brushed away the magnolia petal.

Jīn Líng, unaware of the petal on his head, glared at his uncle, “What is wrong with you this time.”

Jiāng Chéng also glared at him, “Little brat, what didn’t mean earlier by ‘If he had died’?”

Then, he thought, “What if Wèi WúXiàn wouldn’t come back again, if he had died...”

Last time, when Wèi WúXiàn died, Jiāng Chéng was, for thirteen years, consumed by the feelings of anger and hatred.

He wanted him to come back to explain himself, to kneel down and admit his mistakes, to hear him say ‘I am sorry’. All these kinds of emotions had been tormenting him for thirteen years.

“If he had died...” Jiāng Chéng thought again, “Jīn Líng is right. Wèi WúXiàn is so reckless. He doesn’t think about the consequences of his action. What if...”

Jiāng Chéng stared at their door, and, irritably, he carried on thinking, “He lost his golden core in Yúnmèng territory.

“If it is completely shattered and cannot be repaired, then, the one to be blamed for the loss will be me?

“Why every time he lost his golden core has something to do with me? Why?”

Becoming restless, Jīn Líng was impatient to know if they had made any progress, since today was the last day.

So, he went directly to knock on the backyard door with moderate strength. And the sound of the three knocks were neither loud nor soft.

That moderate sound of the knocks, however, caused Jiāng Chéng to feel uneasy.

And when the guqin sound stopped, then the backyard door began to open, Jiāng Chéng felt the urge to turn around and leave at once.

However, before he could complete his action, Jīn Líng grabbed his sleeve.

Lán WàngJī opened the backyard door, and was slightly surprised to see Jiāng Chéng. However, since Jīn Líng was there, too, he didn’t say anything. He gave a greeting nod, moved aside and invited them to come in.

Noticing that there were stone benches with a stone table under the magnolia tree, Jiāng Chéng walked straight there.

Seeing Jiāng Chéng heading towards the magnolia tree, Lán WàngJī heaved a sigh of relief, since it removed the need of letting them enter the room.

He also walked there and invited them to sit down. Then, without waiting them to speak first, Lán WàngJī said, “Wèi Yīng has formed a golden core, once more.”

“Really?!” That one sentence dispelled Jiāng Chéng’s worries at once. And Jīn Líng nearly jumped up from his seat.

“When that happened?” both, Jiāng Chéng and Jīn Líng, asked at the same time.

Immediately, Jiāng Chéng regretted asking for that detail.

Lán WàngJī calmly replied, “Wèi Yīng has formed the golden core the first night after he came out of a come.”

Jiāng Chéng got a little bit upset, because he could tell that Lán WàngJī knew that they were worried about Wèi WúXiàn, that was why he spoke first.

So, since he knew that they would be worried, why didn’t he send them a message as soon as possible?

For the past two days, did Lán WàngJī have any idea of how much time he had spent thinking about that matter?

He was absolutely not worried about Wèi WúXiàn, absolutely not. He had no desire to have something to do with Wèi WúXiàn’s loss of golden core, again.

However, since himself was unwilling to meet Lán WàngJī for the past two days, therefore, Lán WàngJī was not in a position to inform him of the progress.

After all, they didn’t have that kind of relation where they needed to get in touch to each other.

Jiāng Chéng then glanced at Lán WàngJī, and, suddenly, it crossed his mind, “If the golden core has been restored that night, wouldn’t it mean that...”

All of a sudden, he was seized by an uncomfortable feeling, and could not help but move few inches away from Lán WàngJī. Somehow, he was relieved that Lán WàngJī didn’t tell him the details.

Jīn Líng didn’t notice that Jiāng Chéng had stealthily changed his sitting position, and began to ask a series of questions, “How did he restore his golden core? Has it not completely shattered? Is the golden core stable now, and won’t break again?”

Lán WàngJī only replied, “His golden core has been reconstructed like it was before, and his golden core vessel is stable, so, there isn’t any problem at all.”

Jīn Líng then asked again, “How did he manage to reconstructed it?” Jiāng Chéng of course didn’t tell him all the details.

Lán WàngJī didn’t replied.

Jiāng Chéng then glared at Jīn Líng, and the latter thought that he got carried away asking GūsūLán’s secret cultivation, so, he swiftly changed the subject.

“What about his memories? Will they be restored?” Jīn Líng asked.

Lán WàngJī replied, “Yes.”

Jiāng Chéng and Jīn Líng were very surprised, because they didn’t expect Lán WàngJī to be so confident in his reply.

Lán WàngJī explained, “The specific reasons are inconvenient to state. So, all I can say is that, today, when he will wake up, he should be able to recall the events of the last few years.

“If he wish to recall the rest of his memories, he will have to wait until tomorrow.”

Since he could not bear to let Wèi WúXiàn remember in one go all the tragic events, Lán WàngJī divided the dream into two parts before proceeding with the incense burner.

Last night, they entered the first part of the dream, and Lán WàngJī only let Wèi WúXiàn see the memories that both shared after he came back.

Tonight, when they would enter the second part, he would go with him to Nightless Sky City.

Jiāng Chéng then asked, “How can you be so precise on when and how many memories he can recall?”

Lán WàngJī simply replied, “His memories are related to his golden core.”

Immediately, Jiāng Chéng stopped asking questions. If the memories were related to the golden core, then, they were also related to their, ahem..., cultivation method.

Jīn Líng was deeply saddened by the news of Wèi WúXiàn regaining his memories. He thought that he had made up a flawless lie. However, he didn’t expect that it would be so quickly exposed.

Jiāng Chéng then remembered how Wèi WúXiàn had put his arm around his shoulder, and a gave him a gentle punch on the stomach the day he woke up from a coma.

His friendly habits back when they were teenagers, and his warm conviviality were all in that punch.

When he would regain his memories, that would not happen again. From time to time, the two of them could only have meals together, mostly because Jīn Líng was around, nothing more.

Jiāng Chéng didn’t want to admit that it saddened him for no longer having that kind of friendship with Wèi WúXiàn. He just sat there quietly.

Jīn Líng asked, “Is he sleeping?”

“Yes.” replied Lán WàngJī, then, he added, “He will wake up soon.”

In the last night dream, when he guided Wèi WúXiàn to relive the past events, the scenery kept on changing the whole night.

Also, Wèi WúXiàn had collected at once all the fragments of his memories since he came back, so, he needed a good rest.

To help Wèi WúXiàn sleep, Lán WàngJī burned incense while playing the guqin.

Although he wanted to continue playing the guqin in the room, however, Lán WàngJī thought that it was not a good way of entertaining guests by leaving them waiting in the backyard.

Still. Lán WàngJī didn’t feel like sitting outside for too long. His only desire, right now, was to be beside Wèi WúXiàn.

Then, it seemed to him that he heard a faint, almost imperceptible sound of the duvet being lifted, coming from inside the room.

He stood up immediately, and said, “I will back in a minute.” Then, he quickly walked into the room, and closed the door behind him.

Jīn Líng then asked his uncle, “Do you think that he will remember everything?”

Jiāng Chéng recalled the rumours that were rampant in Yúnmèng territory, and, in a gloomy tone, he replied, “Even though he won’t remember everything, other people will help him recall them.”

Jīn Líng felt depressed, and said, “Couldn’t it be the same as before?”

Jiāng Chéng remained silent.

There was no way that it would be the same as before, because, this time, he had a golden core.