Chapter 2823: The Stand-In Was Forcibly Taken by the Bandit's Wife 29

Gu Fanghe didn't know where this was.

In the distance there were waterfalls and flowing springs; nearby ancient trees towered; the sky was orange-red, like dusk, yet like dawn, and the rosy light poured between the mountains.

This wasn't Black Mountain Cliff; he could walk the terrain of Black Mountain Cliff with his eyes closed, and there was absolutely no such scenery.

Gu Fanghe's heart rang with alarm bells; he sharply scanned his surroundings, yet discovered his body felt light and insubstantial, as if lacking substance.

He followed a forest path forward; the further he went, the stronger the sense of familiarity became.

Until he turned around a rock wall and saw ahead a lake shimmering with rippling light, Gu Fanghe stopped in his tracks.

He remembered.

This landscape, he had come here in a dream.

Many years ago, when he was severely injured and on the brink of death, he had once entered this landscape, seen the person from his dream, and upon waking had painted that portrait from memory.

Later, he met Ruan Sutong, thinking he had found the person from the painting, but the longer they interacted, the more he felt something was off.

Until... Jin Chen appeared.

Thinking of this, Gu Fanghe's heart jumped, and he looked toward the lakeside.

The rosy light flowed, the water rippled.

A plain white figure stood silently there, back to him, facing the lake and the lone peak.

Gu Fanghe's heart pounded incessantly; the first time in the dream he was gravely injured and unconscious, his mind muddled, only feeling his soul entwined with the dream, and upon waking he felt a sense of loss.

Now, he could finally call out.

"Jin Chen."

Gu Fanghe took a few steps forward, wanting to get closer, but saw the lakeside figure slowly turn.

The rosy light fell on his face, illuminating his brows and eyes.

The joy on Gu Fanghe's face solidified, then gradually faded, and he unconsciously furrowed his brow.

How could he look... so like Ruan Sutong? No, not just like— it was Ruan Sutong.

Ruan Sutong gazed at him silently, her eyes holding only an unfathomable sorrow; she gently shook her head at Gu Fanghe, saying, "You've come."

Ruan Sutong's voice was ethereal, as if coming from a very distant place.

"I've waited for you so long, so long... how could you mistake someone?"

Ruan Sutong raised her hand, reaching toward Gu Fanghe's cheek, wanting to touch yet hesitant to be abrupt, doing so delicately.

Gu Fanghe jerked his head aside, dodging, "How can it be you!"

"Last time..." Gu Fanghe tried to straighten his tangled thoughts, but still felt his mind a knotted mess.

"Last time," Ruan Sutong took up his words, sounding even more desolate, "was it I who woke you from the brink of death, right?"

In an instant, Gu Fanghe felt his head about to split from pain.

Fragments of many scenes surged, a tangle of time and space, shifting identities.

Absurd and fantastical, bizarre and variegated.

Yet without exception, in every fleeting image that flashed by, there was always someone by his side.

That feeling was so familiar, so deeply engraved, a soul-deep longing, an obsession to find the other across time and space.

Who was that...?

"Gu Fanghe."

Ruan Sutong's voice pulled him back from the shattered scenes.

Gu Fanghe's pupils dilated, his vision refocusing on Ruan Sutong's face.

"You..." Gu Fanghe spoke, voice trembling, "Who exactly are you?"

Ruan Sutong stepped closer, her voice soft, "I am the one... who waits for you in every world."

"But how could you mistake someone, how could you take another... as me?"

——

Gu Fanghe bolted upright from the bed, his chest heaving violently, gulping rough breaths, his nightclothes soaked with cold sweat, sticking to his skin icy and piercing.

He raised a hand to cover his forehead, his fingertips trembling.

Jin Chen was roused by his movement, half-opening his eyes blearily; seeing his state, he also grew a bit more awake, lifted a hand to wipe the cold sweat from Gu Fanghe's forehead, his voice still thick with sleep, "What's wrong?"

Gu Fanghe's mind unsettled, hearing the voice he slowly turned his head to look at the person beside him, opened his mouth, his dry lips moving, wanting to say something.

He wanted to tell Jin Chen about that strange dream, to tell him what Ruan Sutong had said in the dream, but when the words reached his lips, it felt as if his throat were choked.

Gu Fanghe tried several times, his lips opening and closing, yet no matter what he could not speak.

Jin Chen saw him dazed and silent, propped himself up with his arms to sit slightly upright, reached out to feel Gu Fanghe's forehead, then lifted the brocade quilt covering them both and gently pressed down.

"No swelling, no fever..." Jin Chen withdrew his hand, looking at Gu Fanghe's pale face, his eyes more puzzled, "What's wrong? Could it be... you dreamed of the past frontier battlefield?"

Gu Fanghe couldn't speak, only able to nod.

Jin Chen breathed a sigh of relief, lay back down, pulled the stiffly sitting Gu Fanghe down and into his embrace, then nuzzled into his neck, "Don't be afraid, it's not fully light yet, sleep a bit more."

As he spoke, he kissed Gu Fanghe's eye corner again.

Gu Fanghe, held by him, slowly raised his arms, returned the embrace of the warm body, burying his face in Jin Chen's chest and drawing a deep breath.

It was just a dream.

He closed his eyes, telling himself in his heart.

A bizarre, strange nightmare.

Yet deep down he still felt empty, a faint ache.

Gu Fanghe rubbed against Jin Chen's lip corner, his voice low and hoarse with pleading, "Kiss me a little longer..."

Jin Chen felt a slight itch from the rubbing, still with eyes closed, he patted his back, allowing him to take somewhat uncontrollably.

This kiss lasted a long while; Jin Chen fell asleep, and Gu Fanghe would occasionally lean in to kiss him.

Until the sky outside the window grew bright.