Yuwen Tong had just managed to grasp the main idea of the tirade when he was further flummoxed by the next battery of questions, and this time he did not have the time to sort them out.
“No. I was never in a relationship with anybody,” answered Yuwen Tong almost immediately after Ling Zhang finished speaking.
He did not know the one he was talking to, but curiously enough, for some reason, he panicked every time the invisible speaker sounded upset.
“Everybody in Shengzhou Pass knows I’ve been single for many years. If you don’t believe me, you can ask anybody else in this city,” added Yuwen Tong in the hope that the invisible speaker would drop the idea of him being in a relationship with someone. It struck him that this person he was unable to see was very close to him. If what this person said was true, it would mean that the two of them had been together for many years, that they were closer to each other than either of them was to anybody else.
Yuwen Tong found this conclusion satisfying and pleasant, which was a feeling he had never had before. It was like the loneliness in his heart was replaced by contentment which filled his whole being. Such satisfaction was more intense than anything he had ever felt before, and he was becoming obsessed with it and fascinated by it in spite of himself …
Yuwen Tong was not a fool. He trusted his instincts. Though still somewhat skeptical, he had believed more than half of the story. So this was really the Shengzhou Pass over a decade ago? He would subjugate the Wan Kingdom over a decade from now? This news was so surprising and spirit-lifting.
“If what you said is true, I have no idea why I came back here either. Seeing as you and I are so close, you should know about the reason better than I do,” Yuwen Tong continued.
Ling Zhang’s heart which had been sinking inexorably seemed to be pulled up a little. In a rather perplexed tone, he asked, “Y–You don’t have an old flame?”
“I don’t,” said Yuwen Tong.
“Oh, oh.” Ling Zhang was both relieved and faintly flustered. A few moments ago he had been so anxious that he had let his jealousy get the better of him. Yuwen Tong had never lied to him before.
If by any chance Yuwen Tong still remembered everything that had happened in this reverie after they got out …
Ling Zhang gave an involuntary shudder, not daring follow that train of thought.
“What’s the matter? Why are you silent?” asked Yuwen Tong in spite of himself as he perceived that the invisible speaker had been silent for a long moment, brow wrinkled.
Ling Zhang looked at him. “I shouldn’t have said that just now. Please don’t be mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you.” Yuwen Tong was puzzled. “Why would I?”
Ling Zhang did not know how to explain it.
“If you still remember this conversation after you come around … Ahem … I mean if you still remember, will you please be cool about it as well?”
Now Yuwen Tong caught on to it. He raised his eyebrows and said, “Well … I can’t guarantee you that. Apart from everything else, I don’t have any memories of what happened between us, and you shouldn’t take advantage of me.”
Ling Zhang’s face immediately crumpled up. He would never dare take advantage of Yuwen Tong. He would be immensely thankful if Yuwen Tong was not angry with him after recalling this.
Worried that Yuwen Tong’s memory about this would be enhanced if they continued talking about it, Ling Zhang hastened to change the topic. “Since it’s not a person that you’re obsessed with, it must be a particular matter. But … I’ve never heard you mention any regrettable things that happened at this point in time. Jiang Xi and Jiang Ke never said anything about it, and neither did Yao Yi or any of the others. If something did happen, they should have mentioned it.”
Thinking about this, Ling Zhang was bemused as well, unable to think of anything that Yuwen Tong might have been keeping in mind for all these years, no matter how hard he tried.
Yuwen Tong, who could tell from Ling Zhang’s tone that the latter was well acquainted with Jiang Xi, Jiang Ke and Yao Yi, was no longer suspicious about Ling Zhang’s words. However, he was also curious as to what it was that he had been obsessed with. He could not recollect anything that had happened at this point in time and might have been lingering in his mind for so many years.
He thought back to what he had done recently. Though his memories were vague, he could still do some analysis.
“If it’s not something that has happened already, it would be something upcoming. Do you remember anything of importance that’s going to happen around this time?” Yuwen Tong inquired of him.
Ling Zhang was surprised. “I can’t say I do. What year is it specifically according to the Great-Yue calendar?”
Yuwen Tong told him the year and the month.
Ling Zhang inclined his head. “So it’s … ”
He was suddenly stupefied.
Yuwen Tong sensed that there was something queer about Ling Zhang’s pause. “What’s wrong? Something particular happened around this time?”
Ling Zhang stood transfixed for a long moment before he replied in a somewhat hoarse voice, “I–I’m not sure if this is the reason – you … you went back to the capital city four months ago, didn’t you? Why did you return?”
Something was not right. There was definitely something behind it.
Yuwen Tong had just told him the year and month they were in, and Yuwen Tong was not supposed to be in this border city at this time. He should be in the capital city!
In the real timeline, he and Yuwen Tong had returned to the capital city from Tanyang by now. They had been in the capital city for only a few days.
But why was Yuwen Tong in borderlands? This did not make any sense.
Yuwen Tong could tell from Ling Zhang’s tone that something was not quite right. He answered earnestly, “Seeing as you know about me returning to the capital city four months ago, you should also know that I was recalled there by His Majesty. He wanted to betroth someone to me and have me cede part of my power. Naturally I did not agree. I had some of my subordinates play a little trick, and then the Wan Kingdom sent some soldiers to the border to harass our garrison. Jiang Ke and Jiang Xi put on an act. Afterward, a dispatch was delivered to the capital city, and he had to let me come back here.”
Ling Zhang had a faintly cold sensation in his limbs. He had heard his father’s sketchy account of this matter, and had asked Yuwen Tong what he would do if he had never met the butler of the Ling family, a question to which Yuwen Tong had given him an answer similar to this one. Yuwen Tong had some time ago made some arrangements in the Wan Kingdom and could extricate himself from the situation without breaking a sweat.
However, it had been in his last life that this thing had happened.
In his last life, the Ling family had been exterminated by now, and he himself had died in a mass grave …
Considering the sequence of the previous events, it seemed that Zhang Chong had just staged a revolt, and news of it would soon spread to the borderlands.
Ling Zhang exhaled deeply and gripped Yuwen Tong’s hand back tightly. “Now you believe my story, I suppose? Let’s go. We’ll be in danger if we don’t get out of here right away! Come on!”
Yuwen Tong, however, perceived that there was something fishy going on as he noticed that Ling Zhang’s tone suddenly became urgent, and the look in his eyes slightly changed. “I don’t know how to get out of this reverie even if I want to.”
“All you have to do is disbelieve everything in this place. This kind of stuff could only deceive those willing to indulge themselves in daydream. It’ll disappear the moment you realize this!” Ling Zhang, holding Yuwen Tong’s hand, said in an almost beseeching tone, “You need to get us out of here right now. My grandfather and the others are definitely in danger as well. They need our help. Maybe Maomao and Cong are waiting for us to rescue them as well.”
Yuwen Tong suddenly felt a throb of pain in his heart. He sensed Ling Zhang’s panic and fear.
Why did this invisible person suddenly get scared after being informed of what year it was? Was it because he guessed what was going to happen next?
He could not bear this. If this was really just a reverie, he should put an end to it. He could not bring himself to see Ling Zhang being so frightened for a single extra moment.
However, after quite a while, the surroundings still remained the same.
Yuwen Tong knitted his brows. He believed Ling Zhang’s words and had convinced himself that everything in this place was not real. Why had nothing happened?
“I’m sorry. I tried.”
Ling Zhang was glued to the spot at Yuwen Tong’s words.
“You said that a reverie is based on someone’s obsession. Maybe it’s no good believing none of this is true. Maybe subconsciously I still want to face whatever it is that’s going to happen.” Yuwen Tong made an attempt to explain it to Ling Zhang from another perspective and to console him. “Since all this is in the past, it’s no use to fear it. Facing up to it would be a much better choice than to run away from it. And what happened in the past could not affect the reality, so you don’t have to concern yourself.”
Ling Zhang smiled a rueful smile. It was not himself but Yuwen Tong that he was worried about. He had no idea why Yuwen Tong’s reverie was so unusual. Clearly Yuwen Tong had never experienced any of this in this life.
“You’re not supposed to experience any of this. You … ”
Why was Yuwen Tong so obsessive about facing up to these things? Had he been wrong to confide his rebirth to Yuwen Tong? Even he himself had made peace with it, but Yuwen Tong had still been bearing it in mind, and it had actually become an obsession with him.
“Try another way. There’s got to be another way out of this.” Ling Zhang refused to give up.
But as luck would have it, things took a turn very soon.
A rider on a fast horse galloped towards Marshal’s Abode.
“Dispatch delivery!”
“Here’s an urgent letter for you, Marshal!”
Yuwen Tong spun around and saw the fast horse abruptly come to a halt a short way off the gateway before the messenger dismounted and hastened towards him.
Ling Zhang subconsciously grasped his arm. “Don’t take that!”
Yuwen Tong paused, but after a while, he still turned on his heel and took the dispatch.
Ling Zhang attempted to snatch the letter from Yuwen Tong’s hand but failed. It seemed that Yuwen Tong was the only one he could touch in this place, that everything else was insubstantial.
“Don’t read it!” cautioned Ling Zhang anxiously.
But presumably because he was no longer in physical contact with Yuwen Tong, the latter did not seem to hear him. He had no choice but to hold Yuwen Tong’s hand and repeat, “Don’t read it!”
This time Yuwen Tong heard his voice, but he remained silent. If this urgent letter was about something that he would be obsessive about for over ten years, how else could he untie his knot and extricate the two of them from this reverie, if not by reading it?
Therefore, he opened the letter.
Ling Zhang, unable to stop him, helplessly watched him unfold the letter.
Yuwen Tong read it very carefully, inwardly frowning. The letter was about Zhang Chong’s rebellion and did not mention anything else. How was Zhang Chong’s insurrection supposed to become a knot in his heart? He was under no obligation to suppress the uprising, and neither was he concerned about the stability of the Zhou family’s dominance. All he wanted was for the borders to stay safe.
So it was not about Zhang Chong. Was it about Tanyang, by any chance?
Yuwen Tong suddenly turned around and walked back into the residence.
Ling Zhang hastened to follow in his wake. “Where are you going?”
“I need to find something.”
Yuwen Tong immediately returned to his study where fished out a casket which contained some fairly old-looking letters. Ling Zhang was baffled as to why Yuwen Tong took out these things.
But after a few moments he came to know that Yuwen You had written these letters to Yuwen Tong’s grandfather a long time ago, that all of them were about Ling Xingzhong returning to Tanyang after resigning from his post.
Ling Zhang was astonished.
“The Ling family … Your surname is Ling.” Yuwen Tong “looked” up at Ling Zhang. “Who’s Ling Xingzhong to you?”
Ling Zhang opened his mouth and, after a long moment, replied, “He’s my grandfather.”
“Zhang Chong staged a revolt. The Ling family were in Tanyang. What happened to them? And where were you at that time?” Yuwen Tong inquired almost immediately.
Ling Zhang lapsed into silence.
Yuwen Tong’s forehead corrugated in a frown. The longer Ling Zhang kept silent, the more convinced Yuwen Tong was that this matter had something to do with the Ling family, with Ling Zhang.
But what was it exactly that he was so obsessive about?
“Did something happen? Was it because I failed to find out about it in time to save you that–”
“No!” said Ling Zhang aloud. “You have nothing to do with it. You–”
“Marshal!” someone suddenly yelled, running inside and interrupting Ling Zhang.
It was Jiang Xi who rushed in, a rather ugly look on his face. “Marshal, something happened. We’ve just got the message.”
“What is it?”
“Previously – about a month or so ago – rumor started circulating in Tanyang about Ling Zhaowen, son of Ling Xingzhong the former Minister of Rites, colluding with bandits in an attempt to murder a county magistrate surnamed Lu for his money. Those bandits killed County Magistrate Lu’s whole family. Ling Zhaowen’s token was found in the Lu family, and then all members of the Ling family were arrested. Afterward, Ling Xingzhong produced a marriage contract he had signed with the old general some years ago, which was about the engagement between you and Ling Xingzhong’s eldest grandson, Ling Zhang. Because of that marriage contract, Zhang Chong did not dare do anything to the Ling family. But Master Zhi found out about it and immediately sent a butler to Tanyang where the latter called off the engagement in the name of the Yuwen family in front of everybody. With the engagement annulled, the Ling family no longer had any relations with the Yuwen family. Zhang Chong, having no misgivings about persecuting them, had all of them arrested and exposed to scorching sun for a long time. It’s said that Ling Xingzhong and his son both died of severe dehydration. His eldest grandson also suffered a terrible fate. I heard that he put up fierce resistance and they broke his legs and tossed him into a mass grave where he was later found to have been stoned to death. That matter caused quite a stir. Due to the marriage contract the Ling family had, everybody in the capital city focused their attention on Tanyang. Some of those scum even sent some men to Tanyang to watch the execution. Some of them even went to see how Ling Zhang was killed and secretly told stories about it after returning to the capital city. Yue Qi was not in the capital city at that time, because he was looking into the matter of the King Hui. When news of it reached his ears, Master Zhi has already sent the butler to Tanyang to break off the engagement. Yue Qi was unsure as to whether or not the marriage contract was true, so he sent a message back and went to Tanyang to check. But Zhang Chong has suddenly staged a revolt, and why he did it was anybody’s guess. Presently, the whole Tanyang is encircled ring upon ring. I’m afraid the investigation would be progressing very slowly.”
