Trap in a Book

Chapter 79

It was her! The girl in his dreams. As long as he can remember, he always had these dreams about a woman. However, he could never see her face clearly. He only saw her backside or a blurry face. It wasn't until the last year of high school he saw a glimpse of her face, but it was only for a second each night. It wasn't until he was in college that he was able to see her face clearly as each dream was getting longer and more vivid. 

At first, he didn't mind it, but the more he dreamed, the more his curiosity grew. He didn't know who she was and why he was dreaming about this woman, but every time he dreamed about her, his heart ached in longing as if she was someone very dear to him. And soon, everything became clear to him as a vivid dream appeared before him.

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"He was doing his daily duty as a leader. However, today he had to go out. Once he returned, he was surprised to see an exhausted old man by the entrance of the sect. The old man explained that he was wandering the woods to pick up some herbs and soon got lost in the dark. Now he was very tired and asked if he could spend the night. He noticed the old man's clothes were covered in dirt and glass stains with a basket of herbs. He could instantly tell how tired the old man was, so he agreed. He then told one of his men to clean a room for the old man and give him something to eat.

It was not until the next day he saw the old man again as the old man requested to meet him. The old man wanted to show his appreciation.

At first, ZhangWei told his men to just send the old man on his way safely, but then, he was told by his men that the old man wouldn't leave until he saw him and showed his gratitude. So ZhangWei reluctantly agreed.

When he met the old man again. The old man quickly pulled a token of his gratitude out of his sleeve, but before he gave it to ZhangWei, he noticed the two waist tassels that were tangled together, swinging on his waist.

"Oh, you have two waist tassels. The craftsmen are very well done, but why do you have two? Don't you find it heavy?" the old man asked.

ZhangWei looked at them and answered, "One is my lover and one is mine."

"Ah...I see," the old man said, stroking his beard. "Is that why I see your eyes in despair? It looks like you are hollow inside as if you are not living. Time will heal and soon you will find another," the old man said.

ZhangWei stood there in silence as he remembered the year he came back to the sect. Once he finished handling the bandits, everyone in the sect knew about his heartbreak and left him alone, but it wasn't long until the elderly men started urging him to get married. However, once ZhangWei threatened he would leave the sect, they all settled down, but soon enough, they once again urged him to get married to have an heir.

If it wasn't for ZhangWei's snarky remark, "shouldn't they be happy that he's not getting married and getting an heir so one of their heirs can have the opportunity of getting the position as the leader?" They all shut their mouths and never brought up marriage to ZhangWei again.

"Time doesn't completely heal everything, and I will never find another...," he said, looking at the empty space.

The old man looked him in the eyes and said, "At this rate, you die at a young age from a lonely heart."

"I am fine with that. Maybe then I can see her again," ZhangWei said.

The old man stroked his beard again before saying, "You know, in the next life, you both won't remember each other."

ZhangWei looked him dead in the eye with great determination, "I don't believe in superstitions such as reincarnation, but if there is, then I will remember her no matter what."

The old man started chuckling, "I don't think anyone has the option to choose to drink the meng po soup (soup of oblivion) or not."

"Even if I drink the meng po soup, I will remember her. I will even engrave her name onto my chest. Just to remember her," ZhangWei said.

The old man smiled before saying, "Easy now, young fella. I too believe that you will remember her even without engraving her name. With your strong determination, you will indeed remember. But what if she doesn't remember you?"

ZhangWei didn't hesitate to say, "It doesn't matter if she doesn't remember me. At least I remember her." his eyes became soft, and a smile slowly appeared.

"Ah...I see," the old man said as he seemed to be touched by ZhangWei's words. "Well then, I should be leaving now. I wish you well. Here is a token of my gratitude and my blessing for you two to meet in the next life." The old man handed ZhangWei a gift wrapped in a red cloth before making his way out the gates. ZhangWei looked at the old man before looking at the wrapped-up gift in his hand.

He unwrapped the gift to find a translucent jade pendant with a carving of a fox and a cat together. He immediately looked in the direction where the old man had left, but the old man was already gone. While ZhangWei was distracted by the old man's disappearance, the light touched the pendant, and soon the pendant gleamed."