Chapter 496

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Chapter 496: Beyond the Crack

Open your eyes.

A once familiar scene unfolded before her eyes.

Flags fluttered in the wind, people streamed by, and the air was thick with the scent of the unique Qingyang flower. The city bustled with life, and everything seemed just as it had once been in Qingyang City.

She stood alone in front of the stone steps, looking around, unsure of what to make of the scene. There were no ruined walls, no hundred thousand lost souls.

Only a thriving capital, only smiling faces coming and going—such a familiar sight that she began to doubt her own eyes.

This is the ancient capital city.

What happened?

How did I get here in the blink of an eye?

Nalan Qingshu knew exactly how she ended up here. She had thought she would die in the palace, but instead, she was here, alive, back in the ancient capital. Was this some kind of time loop?

No, it probably wasn’t.

It was a dream, a magic dream, like the brain in a jar.

Perhaps tens of thousands of lost souls had created this dream. But if they were lost souls, could they really create something so beautiful?

It was all so puzzling.

As she pondered these thoughts, a tap on the back of her head broke her from her reverie.

“What are you daydreaming about?” a scolding voice came. “Are you playing here secretly? Hurry up and go to the palace; there are important guests coming today.”

“Yes, mother,” Nalan Qingshu naturally replied. But as soon as she said those words, she froze and looked at the beautiful woman behind her—elegantly dressed, naturally charming.

She opened her mouth but couldn’t speak.

“What’s wrong?” Nalan Jinghuai, her mother, looked at her with concern, touched her braided hair, and pinched her little cheeks. “Bumped your head?”

“No, no,” Nalan Qingshu quickly lowered her head and silently held her mother’s hand, reluctant to let go. “I…”

“You silly child…” Nalan Jinghuai sighed helplessly and then firmly grabbed her ear. “Still trying to act cute and seek sympathy? It won’t work with me. Come with me now; you’ve been running wild all day, not acting like a princess.”

“Ouch, Mom, I won’t do it again!”

Nalan Qingshu winced as her ear was pulled, the pain so familiar that for a moment, she couldn’t distinguish between reality and the dream. Or perhaps, she didn’t want to distinguish them at all.

Even if this were just a daydream, so what? She was already home. This was her home.

With her mother here, her father here, and everyone here… She held her mother’s wrist, becoming a child again, back in that summer of childhood.

…

“I watched an animated short film.”

Inside the capital city, Bai Wei walked slowly on purpose.

“What?” Murong Nu asked, confused.

“There is an animated short film called ‘Beyond the Cracks.’ I won’t explain the background because you probably wouldn’t understand. But basically, a group of people experienced an accident and found themselves falling into a deep, bottomless gorge. There, the leader encountered a former lover from the past, and the group realized they couldn’t go back. They fell into despair.”

“Then did they start fighting and killing each other?”

“No… The situation was far more desperate than just ‘not being able to go back.’ They didn’t land in a gorge. They landed in a place more remote and barren. Their bodies were worn out and almost decayed. The lover the leader encountered? An illusion—created based on their spiritual consciousness. It’s a type of illusion, constructed in their minds.”

Murong Nu sneered. “They realized that, and then what? Who did this to them?”

“Well… you can understand them as monsters. This group of monsters is also trapped here. They know humans can’t survive long in such a place, so they give them illusions, allowing them to die peacefully in their dreams. It’s a kind of end-of-life care,” Bai Wei explained.

Murong scoffed. “Where did this holy mother come from? These monsters should’ve died out long ago.”

Bai Wei couldn’t be bothered to argue. “Whether you want to criticize their values doesn’t matter. What’s important is… we might be in this illusion right now.”

Murong shrugged. “Can’t you see it? Something’s definitely wrong with Qingyang City.”

A child suddenly ran towards them, tripping and falling in front of them.

Bai Wei stretched out his hand to help the child stand up, brushing the dust off his clothes. “Are you okay?”

“Hmm,” the little boy shook his head, his innocent smile shining brightly. “Thank you, big brother.”

Bai Wei patted the boy’s head and watched him walk away.

But as the boy faded into the distance, bathed in a pale golden light, Bai Wei couldn’t help but feel an eerie sense that something was wrong. The child’s figure seemed like a half-charred walking corpse, each step leaving behind nothing but ash.

Murong Nu shivered. “Don’t you find it disgusting?”

Bai Wei, unphased, replied calmly. “I only feel sorry for them.”

Murong Nu teased him. “You have so much sympathy?”

Bai Wei turned to look at her. “I feel the same way about you. Don’t you think?”

Murong Nu almost couldn’t resist giving him a huge psychological shadow. But she held back and smiled. “Yes, I feel sorry for myself, so please give me some money.”

…

Bai Wei shamelessly admitted, “I’m very poor and live off others.”

Murong Nu mocked him. “Living off others? But I see you’re no longer relying on Princess Bai Ze. Either you’re physically incapable, or you have ulterior motives. How come someone who dares to say everything is now playing with emotions instead of kidneys?”

Bai Wei reluctantly said, “Do we really need to talk about this now?”

“The more you try to avoid the topic, the more I want to ask,” Murong chuckled. Women do hold grudges.

“I am a person from the Ming Country, so of course, I should marry someone from the Ming Country.”

“Is it really that simple?”

“Yes, it is that simple.”

“That shouldn’t be a reason for you not to plant.”

“After planting, you have to continue to care for it. Let it grow and mature. You also have to worry about it growing crooked. You need to provide it with a special plot of land, fertile soil, and all that is required for its descendants to thrive.”

“You can learn from Nige.”

“If you really can’t find a suitable topic, we can just not talk about it,” Bai Wei said.

“What should we talk about then? Walking among these lost souls, my heart trembles with every step. Have you considered that each step forward brings us closer to hell? There are tens of thousands of lost souls,” Murong Nu tried to joke, but deep down, she was anything but relaxed. She had a special ability to see through illusions, and in her eyes, the true nature of the city was clear.

“You’re wrong,” Bai Wei shook his head and smiled. “Maybe you should try turning back.”

Murong turned around, and instantly, a cold shiver ran down her spine.

They had only walked a couple of miles into the city, but the road was already filled with a staggering number of lost souls.

They stood there, motionless, their bodies contorted, faces twisted. They burned silently, whimpering and howling until they were extinguished.

Murong Nu instinctively hugged her shoulders as fear consumed her.

Bai Wei spoke slowly, “We are not getting closer to hell, we are already in hell. Ask the Buddha why he sits upside down, sigh at how living beings dare not turn back.”

“You’re doing this on purpose!” Murong Nu couldn’t fully grasp the meaning of this Zen phrase.

“Want to try prying into my personal matters again next time?”

…

Nalan Qingshu and her mother ran towards the palace, eager to meet her father, the noble Bi Fang.

Before the downfall of the country, the Bi Fang lineage had not been completely worn out. There were five Bi Fangs in existence, but the Lord Bi Fang was the only one of nobility.

Once dressed up, Nalan Qingshu entered the grand hall and shouted, “Father!”

The man preparing and giving instructions turned around. His strong masculine features, green hair, and a noble air gave him the appearance of someone who enjoyed the company of the people, though not exactly that of an emperor. The power of a generation of demon kings was as solid as a mountain.

The man smiled and said, “Qingshu, it seems like your mother brought you back.”

Nalan Qingshu couldn’t help but pout. As she walked up, she recognized the furnishings and various objects in the hall. She asked, “Father, what are you preparing for?”

“We have an esteemed guest coming,” Lord Bi Fang explained. “You should prepare yourself as well. Remember not to be disrespectful.”

Nalan Qingshu looked at the objects, glanced at the list—Xiangliu, Qiongqi, Ba Xia, and Tiaowu… presents?

Why are there so many presents?

She continued to read and saw the date—February 2nd.

Dragon Raising its Head on February 2nd… the day Qingyang City was destroyed.

Her heart trembled. A sense of impending doom settled in.

This wasn’t a dream of loved ones coming back to life; it was an ongoing nightmare!