A Fleeting Dream (1)

Who truly obtained it?

He obtained it.

Di Ying was always shallow in affection, innocent and pure,

At that time, she only realized what kind of feeling this was—

That was not an illusion.

That was him presenting it before her, real, cruel, making her ashamed, speechless in her heart.

At that time, she was desperately trying to break the seal in her Sea of Consciousness, not knowing how, yet she was able to manipulate her empty, unawakened body to block a strike for him.

It didn't matter if she didn't see it; if she saw it, she couldn't let it happen.

Brother Ye Sha could not die.

Young General Ye could not die.

…She wanted to save him, desperately save him.

But in the story of "Echoes of the Past," when Di Ying embraced his stiff, dead body, how could she keep him?

She knew in her heart that this was an illusion, but in that instant, her mind went blank, forgetting everything, only thinking of casting the "Great Dream Art" she disliked, yet which was extremely powerful, to forcibly keep him.

Her hands trembled, her soul was useless, her spirit ached intensely.

Kneeling in a pool of bloody stench, the young girl embraced the dead youth, weeping mournfully: "Brother Ye Sha—how do I save you, how do I save you!"

Before the Great Dream Art could be cast, her vision scattered like fleeting illusions.

The battlefield receded, the dead soldiers vanished, the corrupted ghosts retreated, and the youth she held also disappeared…

Di Ying clasped her hands, chasing these illusions: "Brother Ye Sha…"

The illusion dissipated.

—

The illusion finally dissipated.

Yet it was not the ending Di Ying desired.

—

Jiang Xue He opened his eyes, and heard the sobbing of a young girl.

It came from his Sea of Consciousness.

He immediately easily entered his Sea of Consciousness, finding that small ball of soul, deeply trapped within, about to be devoured by the malevolent ghost souls on his spirit. This was his Sea of Consciousness; as soon as his soul awakened, those ghost souls came to entangle him, letting go of Di Ying.

Jiang Xue He carefully brought Di Ying out of his Sea of Consciousness, and he himself also emerged from his Sea of Consciousness.

Thousands of words, myriad lingering shadows and illusory thoughts, none were as impactful as the young girl sobbing in his Sea of Consciousness, affecting his Sea of Consciousness.

Jiang Xue He lowered his head, coaxing her: "Xiao Ying, don't cry, Senior Brother is here."

The bed curtains fluttered; it was already past midnight, nearly dawn, the window slightly ajar.

The vengeful ghost that had pursued Di Ying earlier had long since left, at some unknown time.

Jiang Xue He turned over in bed, pulling Di Ying into his embrace. He patted her back, seeing that she couldn't fully wake up, immersed in the illusory dream, difficult to control. He lowered his face, touching her forehead with his.

He used his own Sea of Consciousness to gently touch hers.

Like a hook, it caught her chaotic thoughts.

Communication between Sea of Consciousnesses was originally intense; he controlled the degree so as not to harm her, just gently hooking once, and saw the young girl in his arms, eyes closed and weeping, her eyelashes trembling.

Jiang Xue He reached out to wipe her tears.

Her flushed face was tear-stained to the point of unconsciousness, her long hair was disheveled, and she bit her lip, sobbing. A red streak ran across her face, looking pitiful yet captivating.

Di Ying dazedly opened her eyes.

Her eyes, like autumn waters, were tear-filled, and she saw Jiang Xue He.

She instantly recognized this was Jiang Xue He, not Ye Sha.

…Ye Sha did not possess Jiang Xue He's dazzling and imposing beauty; Jiang Xue He did not possess Ye Sha's youthful fearlessness.

Ye Sha had indeed disappeared once more.

Di Ying watched him disappear, each time extremely tragic; this time, he died to the point of dissipation.

He was dead, yet her emotions were still in the illusion.

Di Ying looked up at Jiang Xue He with tear-filled eyes.

Her thoughts were chaotic, yet she still remembered that this senior brother was not Brother Ye Sha, with whom she had played on the same bed.

But she was too sad.

She was heartbroken, stammering: "Can I, can I…"

She herself didn't know what she was saying.

Jiang Xue He lowered his eyes, his eyelashes concealing all his emotions.

He said: "You can."

Immediately after, he bent down, hugging her tightly, making her wrap her arms around his neck, burying her face in his embrace, treating him as Ye Sha, and crying for a while longer.

—He could temporarily act as Ye Sha's substitute for a moment.

He was not a person with a truly good temperament.

He did it for her.

At this moment, his emotions were no less chaotic than Di Ying's; he had no time to sort out his own feelings, only suppressing everything with calmness, wanting to first comfort Di Ying well.

—

Di Ying hugged her senior brother, feeling dejected for a while, then slowly sorted out her emotions, no longer crying.

But her thoughts were still immersed in the illusion, so much so that she comfortably slept in his bed, wanting her senior brother to hold her—like Ye Sha.

In the past, Jiang Xue He always paid attention to these details but said nothing, only indulged her.

Di Ying, comforted by him, sniffled, and intermittently told him about the illusion:

"You might have been entangled by the Meng Mo Pearl very early on. I was previously escaping a vengeful ghost, wanting to hide in your Sea of Consciousness for a bit. Perhaps my Sea of Consciousness and yours were too close, and your cultivation was higher than mine, so I was immediately sucked into your Sea of Consciousness, following you into the illusion…

…

"Then, then I met Ye Sha. Brother Ye Sha and I joined forces, discovering that the illusion seemed to be a story of human sacrifice that occurred ten years ago in Liu Ye City…"

She spoke disjointedly, omitting the emotional entanglement between Ye Sha and herself, omitting the part where Ye Sha's touch had made her so embarrassed she turned her anger on her senior brother, recounting the story.

Jiang Xue He listened in silence.

And when she finished speaking, Jiang Xue He said: "…Xiao Ying, I remember the illusion."

Di Ying: "…"

Di Ying, who was nestled softly in his embrace, wanting his comfort, abruptly looked up.

Her cat-like eyes widened, a pool of faint water still lingering in her eyes, not yet wiped dry. Jiang Xue He took a handkerchief to wipe her tears, and she grabbed his hand, her small face showing a hint of something.

She was startled: "You remember?"

Jiang Xue He nodded.

Di Ying: "How can you remember?! According to my judgment, you were so injured before, and you never knew of the Meng Mo Pearl's existence. After leaving the dream realm, you shouldn't remember, right… You, you, you must remember, why didn't you remember before? You said your body had some problems, implying you had been affected before, but you didn't mention the Meng Mo Pearl… Unless you lied to me before!"

She was so scared by his "remembering" that her speech became much more articulate; she even forgot her own melancholy.

Her heart was in a panic, thinking, did he perhaps know that Ye Sha truly liked her, liked her so much that he died for her… Did Ye Sha know she harbored fantasies about her senior brother, and did senior brother himself know? How could she face senior brother…

Jiang Xue He observed her expression.

He slowly and gently said: "Xiao Ying, Ye Sha is a 'key' of mine."

Di Ying stared blankly at him.

Jiang Xue He lowered his eyes: "Aren't you perhaps curious why, upon entering the illusion, the illusory story, I always appeared as a Ye Sha avatar, and not myself?"

Di Ying: "Because, because when you were fourteen or fifteen, you went through something terrible, your personality changed drastically, becoming the current you, but you actually don't like the current you, and your inner self still acknowledges you as Ye Sha…"

Jiang Xue He chuckled softly.

Di Ying was bewitched, feeling that his slight smile as he lowered his eyes, not looking at her, was extremely captivating.

She was angry: "Isn't it?!"

Jiang Xue He gently comforted her, not letting her get angry: "In your heart, what kind of person am I, after all?"

Di Ying's eyes flickered: "Not very handsome, not a pleasant voice, many injuries, but very gentle, never gets angry, dotes on me a lot…"

Jiang Xue He was silent.

He turned his face away, his black hair blocking his slightly flushed cheek.

He softly reminded her: "…I only said, what kind of person I am."

Di Ying was startled, her face instantly flushed crimson.

She pretended not to have spoken nonsense earlier, quickly stating the correct direction: "You're a big bad guy who pretends to be a pig to eat the tiger!"

Jiang Xue He was startled, then smiled.

…This wasn't entirely wrong.

He gently said: "Since I am a bad person, do I have no defenses at all?

"Xiao Ying, Ye Sha is 'a key' of mine. Wherever I foresee trouble, I will make Ye Sha appear to face it. Because Ye Sha's temperament is not quite like my own; he is enough to deceive others… For example, this illusion.

"I myself will not appear in any illusion, because I will not let anyone discover my existence. The meaning of this Ye Sha key—when he appears, my Sea of Consciousness will sense it, and I will know that this is a 'danger' targeting me.

"The existence of the Meng Mo Pearl, before this, I truly did not know. But I had a vague suspicion—I told you my body had some problems, this is that problem. I originally intended to investigate slowly, but unexpectedly, by chance, you entered the illusion. Because you are an outsider, with this Ye Sha key, and your intrusion, I was able to remember everything in the illusion…

"…Only then could I pursue the clues of the Meng Mo Pearl."

Di Ying half-understood, half-didn't.

In short, she knew that he didn't even trust himself, setting up a reminder key for himself.

Di Ying asked: "How do you cast this spell?"

Jiang Xue He: "You want to learn? Give up."

Di Ying: "Why?"

Jiang Xue He pondered: "Ye Sha represents some of my past, reminding me of some not-so-good memories… You don't need to do that. If I am here, you don't need to recall some things you don't want to recall."

Di Ying mumbled: "You won't always be here."

…A few more knots appeared in her heart, making her mood sink again.

She changed the subject: "Senior Brother, you finally found clues about the Meng Mo Pearl, congratulations. But you used the Meng Mo Pearl only to find clues about Immortal Qing Mu Jun?"

Jiang Xue He: "Naturally, there are other purposes. For example, a thousand years ago, the immortal had a decree: no immortals, no demons. I also want to find a way to break that decree… Don't you want to seek the Great Dao? The ultimate goal is to become an immortal; if there's a decree, you won't be able to become an immortal."

Di Ying was stunned.

Di Ying nestled in his embrace, originally chatting idly with him to avoid facing her fluctuating emotions. His words made her can't help but look up, staring blankly at him.

Di Ying softly said: "…You want to become an immortal?"

Jiang Xue He was puzzled: "En? What's wrong?"

Di Ying took it for granted: "…You also want to become an immortal, to accompany me in becoming an immortal, always
To be my senior brother and junior sister?"

Jiang Xue He was silent.

How could he become an immortal?

His path in this life had long reached its end; he merely wanted to see her well, wanted to do enough for her, to win her heart, to win her understanding of his obsession with her… Just experiencing Ye Sha's dream realm, Jiang Xue He's thoughts had undergone some subtle changes.

His heart was extremely chaotic.

He heard her sobbing, saw her use her sealed body to block a strike for Ye Sha… After waking from the dream, his junior sister was obsessed with the illusion; how could he not be moved by that affection?

That was once something he yearned for.

He suddenly felt a little reluctant.

…He couldn't bear to see her sad, couldn't bear to see her cry, couldn't bear to see her worry about his departure.

What was this?

His love for his junior sister, filled with premeditation, how did it begin to feel reluctant?

Jiang Xue He was silent for a long time, and then Di Ying's unhappiness arose: "What, you don't want to? To be my senior brother and junior sister for life, do you feel wronged?"

Only then did Jiang Xue He reply: "Not wronged."

He said: "I am willing."

Di Ying's expression improved.

Di Ying's eyes flickered again.

Her eyes drifted a little, buried in his embrace, yet still subtly tilting her face, avoiding his downward gaze.

Di Ying's words flickered: "Then, then… I have one last question. That Meng Mo Pearl illusion, how much do you actually remember? Do you remember everything? Not a single blur? The words I spoke with Brother Ye Sha, and… you remember those too?"

Jiang Xue He's eyes blinked.

He instantly understood what she truly cared about—she wanted to ask if he not only liked her, if he didn't know she liked him, if he knew that even though she liked him, she still hadn't made up her mind, unwilling to be tied to him…

Jiang Xue He smiled.

He knew.

He knew everything.

He knew her little thoughts.

He knew her greedy willfulness, her innocent curiosity, her taking one step forward, then one step back, her "wanting, wanting, and still wanting."

He knew her shyness and embarrassment, her guilty evasion, what she had done with Ye Sha, her intimate embraces with Ye Sha, almost doing something outrageous.

—

Jiang Xue He slowly said: "Not much is remembered."

Di Ying's eyes brightened.

She half-believingly raised one eye, watching to see if he was lying to her again.

Jiang Xue He endured those jealous emotions, putting on a distressed appearance: "Too much happened in the dream; relying on this Ye Sha key, I had too many things to pay attention to, so some insignificant small matters wouldn't receive much attention."

Di Ying eagerly asked: "Then what were you paying attention to?"

Jiang Xue He: "For example, the names on the tombstones, the people who appeared and left, the stories that deviated from reality."

Di Ying: "Didn't you see me and Brother Ye Sha?"

He gently said: "Glanced a few times, didn't pay much attention. You two are just children, what could you do? If you really did something big, I would have sensed it, no need to look closely. Why, did you and Ye Sha secretly do something? For example, speak ill of me, slander me?"

Di Ying quickly said: "Of course not! Brother Ye Sha and I were very well-behaved… No, no, no, I wasn't well-behaved, I'm not a child, I'm almost sixteen! I've grown up."

Jiang Xue He: "En? What are you trying to imply?"

He lowered his eyes.

Di Ying loved his light, indifferent, yet gentle and serene appearance. When he lowered his eyes, not looking at her, it once again made her heart feel a sour itch, unable to resist wanting to get closer to him.

However, she was still upset about the dream realm; at this moment, she stared blankly at her senior brother, not daring to touch him, her heart once again filled with sorrow.

She sighed.

She didn't hug him, as she usually did. Jiang Xue He's heart skipped a beat, suppressing a hint of loss, and asked her: "What's wrong?"

Di Ying concealed: "Tired."

As she spoke, she felt her excuse was terrible—tired of what? She had been in the illusion, sealed in ice, and had slept for so long.

But Jiang Xue He believed her.

Jiang Xue He pondered: "You were pursued by a vengeful ghost at night, running, jumping, making a fuss, and crying in the dream realm; it's normal to be tired. Go to sleep."

Di Ying had no choice but to sleep.

But Jiang Xue He paused for a moment, then said: "Come sleep in my Sea of Consciousness."

Di Ying was startled, looking at him with wide eyes.

He explained: "I'm afraid you'll accidentally enter the Meng Mo Pearl's dream realm again. Come to my Sea of Consciousness; I will protect your soul."

…So he only protected her soul.

She had thought…

Di Ying said: "What if you yourself enter the dream realm again?"

Jiang Xue He: "I already know of the Meng Mo Pearl's existence; I won't get lost in it again. However, some parts of the dream realm are very interesting; I do need to enter the dream for a few more days…"

Di Ying was frightened, wanting to grab his sleeve.

He reassured her: "No, I won't enter the dream realm tonight. If I want to enter, I will tell you, alright?"

Di Ying grabbed his sleeve: "Don't tell me, discuss it with me. I'm afraid you'll be in the dream realm…"

She suddenly covered her mouth.

Jiang Xue He blinked: "What about me in the dream realm?"

Di Ying thought: I'm afraid you'll be captivated by Young Miss Liu in the dream realm; without my interference, you two will fall in love and become a couple… I'd be sick to death.

She thought in a confused panic, before she entered the dream realm, Senior Brother shouldn't have done anything with Young Miss Liu, right? He shouldn't have, right?

Di Ying angrily said: "Be more aloof!"

Jiang Xue He raised an eyebrow.

Di Ying: "Be harder to pursue! Put on some airs!"

Jiang Xue He was amused.

He agreed to her.

Di Ying was dissatisfied with his easygoing attitude, but couldn't say anything. She mumbled for a long time, until he looked at her and she blushed, both angry and sad, then closed her eyes, truly entering his Sea of Consciousness, and peacefully went to sleep.

—

Jiang Xue He held her tightly.

He lowered his head to look at her faintly flushed cheeks; the young girl was still young, her baby fat not yet receded. When awake, she was so lively and noisy; when asleep, she was obedient and quiet.

She never guarded against him, always wanting to climb into his bed, wanting him to hold her and coax her to sleep.

If Jiang Xue He's will had been a little weaker, she would have long since vaguely lost herself to him…

Jiang Xue He quietly looked at her.

Her fingers hooked the white sash around his waist, gently pulling, her lips moved.

Jiang Xue He leaned closer: "What?"

In her sleep, she called out: "Senior Brother."

Jiang Xue He was stunned.

He mumbled, vaguely responding.

He heard Di Ying complain in her sleep: "…Such soft lips, yet he won't let me kiss them."

Jiang Xue He thought to himself: Do you only want to kiss? You want to kiss, but you don't want to take responsibility.

However… at this moment, he had no mind to argue with her about these things.

He lowered his head, extended a finger, and gently tapped her forehead.

Jiang Xue He half-jokingly said: "Are Jiang Xue He's lips soft and easy to kiss, or is your Brother Ye Sha's better?"

He waited for her answer.

However, Di Ying was probably truly tired, already asleep, and did not answer him, leaving Jiang Xue He's half-suspended heart to continue hanging, and he could only sigh.

Jiang Xue He placed her on the bed, tucking her in with a blanket. He sat cross-legged beside her, staring at her.

After she slept, he finally no longer needed to control his emotions; he could stare directly at her, allowing his unplaced love to emerge.

He could finally sort out the dream realm, examine Ye Sha's emotions in the dream, examine how, because of a dream realm, his feelings for her became even harder to control…

—

Perhaps Bai Lu Ye was right.

He was too greedy.

He lured Xiao Ying, like a hawk. Whether the hawk could be tamed well or not was beside the point; when love poured down, he himself was about to lose control.

…Real life was not like an illusion.

In the illusion, he had countless opportunities for trial and error.

He could be Ye Sha, he could be straightforward, he could be subtle, he could be gentle, fragile, he could be deeply affectionate.

He was skilled, because it was all fake.

No matter how many times he tried and erred, there would always be new opportunities.

Real life was not like that.

He walked on thin ice, every step making his heart tense, afraid of scaring Xiao Ying away, afraid Xiao Ying wouldn't accept him.

He could not accept Xiao Ying's fear and avoidance of him.

He could only continue to suffer.

…But he was falling deeper and deeper into affection, losing control more and more.

What should he do?

—

Di Ying slept for a short time, but very soundly.

After she woke up feeling refreshed, she found that her senior brother was not beside her, and moreover, this was not her senior brother's residence, but her own.

Presumably, her senior brother had carried her back.

Why bother?

She didn't care, yet he was so careful.

Di Ying hastily washed and groomed herself, then rushed out the door, wanting to see her senior brother.

After coming out of the dream realm, she had a little more lingering concern for her senior brother, always wanting to see him first… Because she was so afraid he would die like in the dream realm, and she wouldn't be able to save him.

Although she was still a little unhappy, still missed Brother Ye Sha, and still wanted to cry whenever she thought of Brother Ye Sha, her senior brother's existence was truly too good.

…Ye Sha had to go through a lot to become Jiang Xue He.

She shouldn't only think of Ye Sha; she should also feel sorry for Senior Brother Jiang Xue He.

He was truly miserable…

Di Ying's soft heart, as she ran swiftly with her skirt flying, passed through the circular gate, and saw Jiang Xue He, in his elegant snow-white robes, with his back to her, talking to a half-hidden beauty beside the Lu Zhu Yin, vanished completely.

She focused her gaze, and that delicate, gentle beauty was none other than the hateful Liu Qing Mi!

On the other side, Liu Qing Mi saw Di Ying, smiled, and said to Jiang Xue He: "Your junior sister is here."

Jiang Xue He gently said: "It's alright, I said before…"

Before he could finish his words, he heard Di Ying roar in anger: "Jiang Xue He!"

Jiang Xue He's ears were almost deafened: "…"