Nightfall

The First Dream

For the past few days, Ning Que had been torn apart between hope and disappointment, causing him to feel slightly unhappy. He then decided not to think about them anymore. Regardless of whether they were happy or unfortunate incidents, they were good reasons for him to drink till he drops. Just right, Sangsang’s old sickness was back that night and her small legs were as cold as frozen branches. Thus, both of them opened a jug of strong alcohol and drank to their hearts’ content.

The little handmaiden drank more than half of wine in the large jar, but yet Ning Que was the first to drop. Sangsang, with much difficulty, moved him to the cushioned area, spread the blanket and covered him. She then crawled under the blanket and as usual, squeezed her little legs in his arms.

As the air covered with the fragrance of the wine, Ning Que had a dream.

In his dream, he felt that he was beside a warm sea. However, this time, he did not attempt to stretch out his arms and tried to fish for the water like what he did in the past. Perhaps it was due to the advice from Lyu Qingchen that reminded him that he was just dreaming. Thus, he stood in the warm sea and calmly stared out into the sea, like a total stranger or a bypasser who would not care much for what was happening out there.

He smiled in his dream as he recalled: “Everything is just an illusion. Nothing’s going to scare me.”

It might be due to the extreme calmness within Ning Que which he never had before, this time, he could vividly remember the look of the sea. That limitless sea was not blue, but green, and the color was extremely dark yet translucent. It looked like a beautifully carved piece of gleaming jade.

Standing in the green sea, he did not bend forward to fish for the slow flowing green water, but instead, he quietly looked at them and wondered where they would flow towards in the next moment, and the shapes they would form.

Suddenly, two white flowers appeared from the green sea. Their petals were as white and pure as snow. No other common colors were seen from the flowers, they were just dull and monotony white.

The seawater slammed against the root of the white flowers. If they did have roots, with the moisture from the green sea, the two white flowers would indeed grow at a rapid rate, where one could see the difference with his naked eyes. The petals fell off one by one, and each of them bloomed into a new white flower the moment they landed on the surface of the sea. With such a fast pace, the white flowers swiftly spread across the sea and soon, the whole sea surface in front of him was covered with white flowers as they extended all the way to the horizon.

Ning Que looked at the magnificent view in front of him. He could not help but feel excited as he raised his leg to step upon the flowers and headed towards the horizon. He could sense the tenderness of the white petals touching his bare feet as they bounced up and down when he walked on them. That soft, gentle and tender feeling was amazing.

…

…

Inside the carriage beside the field, Ning Que lay on his side on top of a cushion. Half of the blanket on his body was already thrown back. His forehead was covered with perspiration as he hugged the pair of small legs in his arms. The skin on the little handmaiden’s legs was much prettier and fairer as compared to the rest of her body, and they looked like two delicate white flowers.

He frowned his eyebrows and curled his lips at times. It was unsure what he was dreaming of, but his legs under the blanket had subconsciously kicked. When his legs touched a certain spot, he felt a sense of comfort and stopped fidgeting as he revealed a look of satisfaction on his face.

…

…

Feeling dazed and distracted, Ning Que had long forgotten that he was in a dream. Though his heart and mind were feeling confused, he had managed to walk calmly on the surface of the sea. Walking on the white flowers floating on the sea, a thought suddenly struck his mind as his body started to float away from the flowers and flew swiftly towards the sky.