Wang Lin stared at the sky in a daze. He watched as the two rays of light gradually disappeared into the dark clouds and disappeared into the distance.
"Who is she …? She is very familiar, very familiar …" Wang Lin muttered. Unknowingly, there was an inexplicable stabbing pain in his heart. This stabbing pain fused with the sadness that had just dissipated and turned into a strange power that caused Wang Lin's breathing to stop and his face to instantly turn pale.
He staggered back a few steps. His gaze fell on the end of the world until his vision collapsed.
He pressed his right hand against his chest. The stabbing pain there drowned him like a tidal wave. In that indescribable pain, it was as if his heart was being torn apart, and there was also a sense of melancholy that lingered around him.
All of this came from the woman that flew in the sky. This woman's figure seemed to have existed in Wang Lin's mind for countless years, but what accompanied this figure was a complicated set of thoughts.
After a long time, a trace of color finally returned to Wang Lin's face. He panted heavily and closed his eyes.
"So, celestials really do exist … Then my dream … Was it really a dream …" Wang Lin silently stood on the wet soil after the rain. It was not until the sky was completely bright that he opened his dazed eyes and silently walked forward.
"Did I dream of celestials, or … did celestials dream of me …" Wang Lin could not understand. It was as if his life had completely changed because of that drunken dream a few days ago.
Wang Lin once again stepped onto the official road and walked toward the county town. He no longer had the peace of mind to look at the scenery around him. Instead, he walked silently. The bamboo backpack on his back swayed with his footsteps and made creaking sounds as he walked.
It was the beginning, and it was the end.
Walking on the official road and stepping on the water, Wang Lin walked for an entire day. When he was tired, he would sit on the side and take out some dry food from the bamboo backpack to eat. After resting for a while, he would continue on his way.
The sound of hooves and carriages would occasionally come from the distance behind him. Every time these sounds appeared, Wang Lin would move to the side and wait for the carriages or horses to pass before he continued on his way.
In the blink of an eye, seven days passed. During these seven days, Wang Lin's weak body slowly became stronger. He would walk at the beginning of the day and rest at the end of the day. If he could find an inn, that would be the best.
Or if he could find a village with smoke curling up from chimneys at the end of the day. For Wang Lin, staying there for a night was even more comfortable than staying at an inn.
However, most of the time, when the sun set, Wang Lin would have the illusion that he was the only one left in the world. He would find a few trees by the side of the road and lean against them. He would lie there with a thick clothes over his body. and he would count the stars in the sky. while he would he think about the warmth of home and think about the kind smiles. Wang Wang Lin would fall.
The fire in front of him burned and gradually died out. A wisp of green smoke floated up from the fire and merged with the sky.
The night wind was cold and would often wake Wang Lin up from the cold. Every time he woke up, he would look at the darkness in silence. It was as if this darkness was familiar to him. In the darkness, he was not afraid. Instead, his heart was as calm as water. As he looked, he pulled on his thick clothes and went back to sleep.
At this time of the year, the State of Zhao was in the midst of its rainy season. Even though the rain had stopped, the sky was still covered with thick clouds. Occasionally, there would be the sound of thunder. Often, after stopping for half a day, the rain would fall again and wash the earth.
On the evening of the eighth day, Wang Lin held an umbrella and continued on his way with a wry smile. Outside the umbrella, the rain poured down in buckets. Lightning and thunder roared. Although it was only dusk, the sky had already darkened.
"In another day's journey, I will reach the county town, but the rain is getting heavier and heavier."
Water vapor filled the ground. When the rain fell, water droplets bounced off and landed on Wang Lin's body. Most of his green clothes were soaked and stuck to his body, absorbing the heat from his body. Slowly, Wang Lin felt very cold.
When the wind blew, it felt like it could drill into his bones. Wang Lin shivered. He placed half of the umbrella on the bamboo bookcase behind him. The books and rations inside, as well as the clothes he had changed out of, couldn't be soaked.
Wading through the rain, Wang Lin walked a few steps faster. Through the curtain of rain, he looked for a place to take shelter. In the shade of the trees in the distance, he could vaguely see the vague outline of a house.
There was no time to take a closer look. Wang Lin held the umbrella and walked over. As he got closer, the vague outline became clearer. It was an abandoned Earth Temple.
Creaking sounds came faintly in the rainy night. When they entered the ears, there was a sense of eeriness.
The temple was not big and looked very dilapidated. There were two doors to the temple, one of which was closed. The red paint that was painted on the door had also become dark due to the passage of time. Even the door knocker was full of rust, allowing the rainwater to gather on it and drip down like a stream.
The other temple door was badly damaged. It was still connected to the door frame, but it could no longer be closed. Instead, it kept shaking in the wind and rain, making the creaking sound that Wang Lin had heard before.
As the wind and rain got stronger, the door shook even more violently. It looked like it was going to be blown off the door frame.
Wang Lin quickly walked in. He looked at the temple and stepped inside. The courtyard of the temple was filled with gravel and weeds. Under the wind and rain, the weeds were bent and swayed. Under the falling rain, there was a rustling sound.
Thunder roared, followed by lightning. It lit up the sky, allowing Wang Lin to see everything inside the temple. He let out a cry of surprise and subconsciously took a few steps back. He saw a few skeletons at the edge of the temple.
His heart pounded and Wang Lin's face was pale. However, the rain was getting heavier. He clenched his teeth and ignored the skeletons that had been dead for who knew how many years. He walked into the temple.
A statue of the Earth that was dozens of feet tall was right behind the temple. Its face couldn't be seen clearly, but the color on it had faded a long time ago. It was covered in spots and looked very dilapidated.
The inside of the temple was also filled with water. The roof tiles of the temple were broken in many places, and the rain was falling down from above. Many places on the ground were covered with puddles of water.
A sinister aura swirled around the temple. Wang Lin took a deep breath. His face pale, he first bowed to the statue of the Earth Temple. Then he found a place where there were no puddles of water. He put down the bamboo raft on his back and sat down. Then he pulled out some dried branches that he had collected during the rain. He pushed them in front of him and used a flint to light them.
Perhaps it was because the branches were not completely dry, but there was some moisture on them. Wang Lin tried to light them up a few times, but to no avail. His body was cold, and he trembled as he tried to light them up again.
It was at this moment that a bolt of Thunder seemed to explode within the temple. The rumbling sound caused Wang Lin's hands to tremble. Thunder roared through the air, lighting up the sky. A huge shadow fell over Wang Lin.
"Who is it?!"
Wang Lin suddenly raised his head. He suppressed the panic in his heart and looked at the door of the temple.
His voice was very loud, almost as if he was roaring. In the quiet rainy night, the moment the Thunder dissipated, the person who had stepped into the temple was so scared that he started trembling.
"Who is it?!"
A terrified voice came from outside. A middle-aged man with tattered clothes and water stains all over his face, who looked like he had just climbed out of the water, retreated a few steps in front of the temple with a pale face and almost fell.
When he could vaguely see Wang Lin inside the temple, the middle-aged man let out a sigh of relief. He quickly walked into the temple and glared at Wang Lin. Then he patted his chest and roared at Wang Lin.
"You scared me!!"
Wang Lin was stunned. He smiled bitterly and let out a sigh of relief. He clasped his hands toward the middle-aged man and said apologetically, "It was dark, so I couldn't see clearly. The lightning came too quickly, so I hope you won't mind."
The middle-aged man let out a snort. After muttering a few words, he no longer paid any attention to Wang Lin. He sat down on the side and took out a small piece of wet chicken leg. After looking at it, he began to cry.
The sound of his crying was very shrill in the rainy night. Hearing it caused Wang Lin's hair to stand on end. He moved to the side and lit a match. With a snap, he lit all the pieces of paper and started a fire.
As the light from the fire flickered, everything in the temple became a little clearer as it flickered between light and darkness.
The middle-aged man cried and took a bite of the wet chicken leg. Then he grinned and laughed again. As he laughed, Wang Lin was startled.
"He's a madman …" Wang Lin moved further away. If it wasn't for the fact that the rain outside was getting heavier, he would have chosen to leave.
This was a wild mountain. Even though it was next to an official road, the sudden appearance of a madman on a rainy night would still make one's heart tremble.
The middle-aged man laughed and laughed, then began to cry again.
"They don't care about me anymore, they don't care about me anymore … I can't remember … who I am …"
His cries filled the temple, and Wang Lin gradually felt pity for him. He turned around to look at the madman and let out a sigh.
"A dream is like a life before you wake up. Life is like a play. Who am I … The dream is life, waking up is death, or maybe the dream is death, waking up is life … The moment you close your eyes and open your eyes is between life and death. Maybe it's a life where you can't tell what's real and what's fake … This life is a reincarnation, or maybe it's karma … But, when will I wake up …" Wang Lin murmured with confusion. His dreams these past few days seemed to be telling him something that he couldn't understand. In these seven days of silence, he seemed to have vaguely sensed something.
As he sighed, Wang Lin took out some dry rations from the bamboo raft behind him. He looked at the fire in front of him and heard the sound of rain outside the temple. He put the rations in his mouth and ate silently.
The rain of heaven and earth fell slowly, covering the mountain, the ground, and the temple.
Inside the temple, next to the fire, two dream souls that didn't seem to belong here met.
One looked at the fire, and the other ate a chicken leg. The earth statue between the two of them was illuminated by the fire. There was an enigmatic smile on the corner of its mouth, as if it was looking at the two of them for eternity.