Chapter 34: Memories

There was always this one scene that would appear in Luo Jian’s mind every time he tried recalling his childhood memories.

Crepuscule, a setting sun, greenery, open fields, lush thickets.

A broad view of the world gave way to a breathtaking site. As the radiant sun kissed the horizon, its rays scattered through the air; streaks of crimson clashed against the pure colors of the wispy clouds, painting the skies an intense shade of red and orange. The crisp evening breeze caressed his cheeks, bringing about a refreshing touch. And within his line of sight stood a tall and thin silhouette. The figure evoked a vague sense of familiarity, but because the other’s back was facing the setting sun, Luo Jian couldn’t discern the other’s shadowed facial features clearly. However, despite being unable to make out the other’s face, he was still able to see the sad gentleness brewing within those deep, dark eyes, as the other let out a tender smile.

Luo Jian just couldn’t remember him. It was that same endless dream. There would always be this person talking to him, but he could never see the other’s face. No matter when or where he fell asleep, he would always have this exact dream.

Soon after, Luo Jian woke up. When he came to, he found himself trapped within a huge coc.o.o.n of rattans. He was surrounded by a cl.u.s.ter of entangled vines, some of which coiled tightly around his entire body. Unable to move a single muscle, Luo Jian struggled to lift his head, only to lay eyes on countless chaotic vines furiously squirming about. The group of vines writhed around nauseatingly, entwining around each other and creating a single grotesque ent.i.ty. It wasn’t long before one of the larger vines seemed to have spotted Luo Jian, and it suddenly shot forward. At the tip of the vine was a carnivorous mouth reeking of blood, and ever so gradually, it approached Luo Jian.

The tree vine soon began to twist like a serpent. Judging from its current posture, it appeared to want to gulp Luo Jian down. Feeling anxious in his heart, Luo Jian gathered all of his strength and struggled, but he couldn’t free his body from those snarling vines. However, he somehow managed to loosen his wrist, and taking advantage of that chance, he instantly reached for the dagger at his waist.

Luo Jian had two knives in his possession. One was naturally his own. Unfortunately, that very knife flew from his grip as a result of the sudden impact he received from the tree vines violently dragging him away. And now, he didn’t know where it landed. The other, however, was the tang dao he had taken from Duan Li, and as of this moment, the knife he had grabbed happened to be Duan Li’s tang dao. Luo Jian did everything he could to force the tang dao out of its scabbard, but it didn’t even budge by a centimeter.

A weapon belonged to its master, and no one, apart from its master, had the power to use it.

d.a.m.n it all! Luo Jian inwardly cursed; his heart sank in his chest. He couldn’t pull the knife from its cover, his body couldn’t even move a single step, and now there was a horrific vine right before his eyes! It couldn’t get any worse than this! The tree vine inched closer and closer to him, and its monstrous mouth grew wider and wider. Just look at the sickening size of that mouth, it could just swallow Luo Jian’s whole body without chewing!

I have to think of a way; otherwise, I’ll really be eaten whole. Luo Jian certainly didn’t want to experience death by being eaten by a tree vine. He had already antic.i.p.ated the worst that could ever happen to him, the most tragic death he could ever experience, but interestingly enough, he’d never considered that he would die inside one of these endless chambers. In fact, he felt that he’d most likely die by his own two hands, a death by suicide.

That’s right, he believed as though he’d end up taking his own life.

But why would he think that? For what reason exactly did he believe he would end up committing suicide? Even he himself didn’t know the reason; it’s just the feeling he had. It was as if this idea abruptly cut into his thoughts one day and settled into the depths of his mind, like a burst of inspiration, slowly taking root, gradually devouring his heart and corrupting his soul, forever etching itself into his being, never to be crushed or removed. And, in truth, Luo Jian loathed himself for this. He detested how outrageously keen he was…especially when it came to his sharp intuition.

“That’s why I definitely won’t be dying in this sort of place, hah!” Luo Jian gritted his teeth. The corners of his mouth curled upwards into a crooked sneer. He stared straight ahead as that vile vine neared him. That huge mouth split wide open, exposing its fierce fangs. It truly was such a baffling sight to see a seemingly ordinary tree vine exhibit characteristics normally found in live creatures; it was just so strange that a vine could have such a big mouth and even grow sharp teeth. This made one quite curious… Just how would the inside of this vine’s stomach look?

It was a pity that Luo Jian’s mind wasn’t creative enough to imagine what this vine looked like from the inside. Nevertheless, he was still unwilling to be eaten by this tree vine. He gave up on the idea of trying to draw out the sword that wasn’t his. He closed his eyes, when suddenly, the words of the boss echoed in his mind—

“Your weapons are a part of your body; they may be your internals organs or perhaps one of your limbs, but they’re practically you. You always have to bear this in mind. It isn’t your weapon who’s in control of you, but you who’s in control of your weapon. You must firmly believe that it is you, that you two are one. Even if you discard it, abandon it, give up on it, or change it, it will always be by your side. It is the very flesh that you were born with. It will never leave you, unless it becomes gory mess dripping with blood, an appalling sight that no one could bear to witness.”

The boss was both Luo Jian’s mentor and friend. He was the guide for all newcomers, and he was certainly worthy of such a t.i.tle. Although he himself admitted to Luo Jian that he was merely a rookie who barely managed to escape the small number of chambers he’s experienced, Luo Jian just couldn’t believe him. After all, this slovenly dressed, unruly, drunken uncle, who looked as if he’s never once brushed that scraggly beard of his, had constantly guided him, giving him tons of invaluable information.

“My weapon will never leave my side…is that so?”

As Luo Jian mumbled to himself, he glanced down at Duan Li’s tang dao that was hanging at his waist, when, suddenly, an odd thought popped into his mind. He thought of that ma.s.sive, eye-catching crossbow that 13 would hold in his hand, how it would appear out of nowhere in spite of being hidden just moments before. He just didn’t know where in the world that tight-lipped, ever-so-secretive 13 pulled out a such a large weapon from. Not to mention that little girl, 14, and her majestic whip… When Luo Jian first saw this little girl, she was still wearing her school uniform, and there wasn’t a single trace of that whip on her body. But, as if it were magic, the whip manifested from thin air, causing onlookers to scratch their heads in bafflement as they tried to make sense of when and where it appeared.

The same applied to that Stalker, as well. Although he always donned a sleek black uniform that had quite a lot of pockets on it, every time he drew his blade, it was almost instantaneously; Luo Jian couldn’t see his movements at all. It one witnessed this, they wouldn’t even know where he pulled that tactical a.s.sault knife from.

Just why was this so? Was it truly something unrealistically mystical, like those infamous spatial storage rings one would read about in fantasy novels?

“No, that’s wrong.” Luo Jian raised his head and opened his eyes. The tree vine was only a breath away now. The threatening vine seemed to br.i.m.m.i.n.g with impatience. Its mouth was wide open, and disgusting secretions dripped from its razor-sharp fangs; the putrid stench a.s.saulted Luo Jian’s nostrils. Luo Jian then narrowed his eyes and uttered:

“My knife. It’s always been here.”

It had never left in the first place.

The vine quickly extended his head, striking fast. Its humongous mouth aimed for Luo Jian, and it’s intentions were clear—it planned to take a ruthlessly bite of Luo Jian. Too bad it never did get to enjoy its prey’s delicious blood, because the very instant it was going to bite down, a cold glint of light flashed before the two, like a shooting star whizzing through the skies, swift, breathtaking, and impossible to catch a glimpse of. Not even a split-second had pa.s.sed before the vine let out a screech and collapsed to the ground. Its entire mouth had been split into two, where the upper half was no longer connected to the bottom. Warm blood bubbled out of the creature’s wound; its color was a beautiful shade of crimson, the same bright color as the blood that ran through the bodies of humans.

This tree vine was indeed different from the rest, because the others never bled after being slashed in half. Rather, the more he cut, the fast and longer they would grow back. Luo Jian studied the atrocious vine before his eyes, and he wondered whether he’d cut down a vital part of those vines, possibly its main body? But he no longer dwelled on this thought and instead looked down at the recovered dagger in his hand. It was a carbon copy of the one Xing Yan possessed, the same exact model and size. Was this merely a coincidence? Or…was there perhaps a deeper meaning to this?

As soon as Luo Jian flicked his wrist, the dagger in his hand inexplicably vanished into his palm.

“Boss actually didn’t lie to me. Weapons really are a part of one’s body.”

However, time didn’t allow Luo Jian to continue speculating on this matter any longer. After he cut down that large-mouthed vine, the encompa.s.sing vines began twitching violently, convulsing bizarrely. Once again, Luo Jian seized his knife and stood on guard. But to his surprise, the vines seemed to shrink after their trembling ceased. They gradually began to wither, as it all of the water in its body was being sucked out of it in that very moment. One by one, the vines drooped towards the ground, and soon, they all remained motionless, completely dried up.

Yet, even though the vines had already died, their remains still surrounded the vicinity, densely shrouding the area. Luo Jian stepped on one of the remnants left behind on the ground and pried apart the thick curtain of vines with his hands. Having chanced upon a path, he trudged deeper into this swathing of vines. After climbing for a while, Luo Jian furrowed his brows. He didn’t expect the coc.o.o.n of vines to be this big. Countless vines intertwined with one another; the entire area was crowded with these warped things. Even if they had withered in one area, there were still more lively vines encircling other areas.

These vines were alive and kicking, twisting around each other right before him. Luo Jian’s eyes soon widened as he caught the shadows of a hazy figure sitting inside the nest of vines. He was just about to jump into action, when he heard a faint voice coming from inside.

“Luo Jian?”

“Ah Lan?” Luo Jian was so startled at hearing that all too familiar voice. He cried out, “Ah Lan?! How did you get here?”

Feng Yu Lan should have been sleeping safely and soundly inside that tree hole. He shouldn’t have been able to come out, unless…

“Have I slept for a long time?” wondered Feng Yu Lan.

“I don’t know how long you were sleeping for. I seem to have dropped my cell phone somewhere, so I couldn’t even check the time. But it should be around midnight; the sky will turn bright soon.” Luo Jian stabbed at those relentless, flailing vines with his knife. Feeling rather anxious, he asked, “Are you alright in there, Ah Lan? Shouldn’t you have been inside that tree hole?”

As if it wasn’t already weird enough; it didn’t help that Feng Yu Lan’s voice was sounding awfully strange right now. He stayed silent for a moment, not breathing a single word, then responded with a question of his own, “Have you brought my grimoire with you?”

It was only then that Luo Jian recalled Feng Yu Lan’s book. He hastily reached for his pocket and felt around. Luo Jian lost many items in the midst of the chaos, and it appeared that his best friend’s magic tome was one of those items that had disappeared. Luo Jian knitted his brows, then sweeping a glance at his dagger, he told the other, “Listen, Ah Lan. A weapon is connected to its owner, so even if you happen to lose it, you can summon it back at your own will. Go ahead, try calling it back.”

“There’s no need. The summoning spell has already ended, and that Stalker has most likely returned to the place he belongs.”

“Ended? It actually stopped? Didn’t you say that you can’t stop it without reciting a specific incantation?”

“When the summoner dies, the spell will end.”

Luo Jian paused as he took a moment to process what he had just heard. It took him a long time to finally register what Feng Yu Lan meant. He fiercely grasped those vines before him with his hands, without caring if it the vines winded around his wrist and slithered up his arm. His face grew ashen, and his tone, deep and dark. He roared, “Feng Yu Lan, you’d better stop f.u.c.king around with me! Don’t you even dare spout that kind of bulls.h.i.t! I, your father, have let you down and regrettably caused you to die once in the first chamber. I know it’s my fault that you have to suffer through this absurd chase for the sake of your ‘survival’; however, I have already vowed in my heart that I will never, ever let you die for a second time!!!”

A thick wall of vines separated the two. And just on the other side, Feng Yu Lan seemed to be chuckling in amus.e.m.e.nt. His tone was truly too strange; something about him was off. It was like he wasn’t the same as before, like he wasn’t the usual Feng Yu Lan. There was no sense of close intimacy, no brotherly love, between him and Luo Jian. He was calm, deathly calm…and his voice was colder than ice, dreadfully frosty and down-right emotionless, “Luo Jian, I really would like to thank you; you have been very good to me, a bit too good.”

Luo Jian frowned and gnashed his teeth, “What the h.e.l.l are you trying to say?”

“Nothing, really. I’m merely expressing my grat.i.tude.”

“Then why is it that I can’t I hear a sliver of that appreciation in your words?”

Feng Yu Lan grew silent. After a moment, he sighed, “Look, Luo Jian, I truly do want to give the real Feng Yu Lan back to you, but I’m afraid I cannot do so.”

Luo Jian simply couldn’t comprehend what the other was trying to get across. He demanded, “Ah Lan, stop beating around the bush, and tell it to me straight. Just what the h.e.l.l are you trying to say?!”

“Feng Yu Lan is dead.” The voice on the other side continued, “He was too weak. His old wounds weren’t healed, and they opened back up. He lost too much blood, and he also forced himself to recite all those high-level incantations that he shouldn’t even be using at his current stage, causing his spirit to weaken considerably. If not all, he was…that Duan Li also hurt him… Perhaps out of excruciating wrath or hatred, he decided to use that summoning spell. But this spell has great side effects. The longer the summoning time, the weaker his body would grow until it’s eventually unable to withstand the overbearing force of the backlash, causing all of his viscera to rupture and resulting in his tragically dying from extreme blood loss.

“When he was speaking to you in the tree hole, he was actually on the verge of death. Perhaps he himself had already realized that his time was almost up, so he sent you away, then silently fell fast asleep inside that tree hole.”

“What are you talking about?” Luo Jian felt his fingers trembling, his heart pounded furiously in his chest. What the other was saying was difficult to comprehend. For a long time, the other’s words echoed through his mind, but he couldn’t hear them, he just couldn’t understand. Luo Jian could only shake his head in denial and counter with, “If Feng Yu Lan is dead, then who the h.e.l.l are you?”

“Me? I’m Feng Yu Lan.”

“Oh yeah? And I’m telling you to stop f.u.c.king around! Did you not just say that Feng Yu Lan is dead?!”

“Hah…” The other smiled wryly before letting out a grim chuckle. “I am without a doubt Feng Yu Lan. I am…another him.”

“What kind of bulls.h.i.t are you spouting out now! The f.u.c.k do you mean by ‘another him’? Let me just remind you, this father right here has known Feng Yu Lan for more than twenty years, and I sure as h.e.l.l haven’t see another one of that fool!” It was as if the cap to his emotions suddenly busted open, fueling him with sheer anger. Enraged, Luo Jian wildly clawed at the vines, tearing them apart and shoving them aside, in order to see the figure hidden behind them.

“To be more precise, I am his grimoire.”

At this very instant, Luo Jian was stunned speechless, utterly shocked and horrified by this remark.

A heavy silence filled the air. After a while, he suddenly heard the other heave a sigh of regret, then add, “Feng Yu Lan is dead, but he also isn’t dead at the same time. I won’t let him die so easily. Which is why…you must always believe in your own weapon, Luo Jian. It will do its utmost to protect you, just as I am trying my best to protect him.

“You…” Luo Jian opened his mouth, only to close it back. He didn’t know how to react, what to do or what to even say.

“I truly am another Feng Yu Lan. Another…who will solely dedicate his heart and soul to his one and only Feng Yu Lan. You may also refer to me as Shadow.” The other’s voice suddenly became ethereal, so soft and vague, so faint that it seemed as though it would dissipate in the very next second. “Next time, I will exchange my presence with the real Feng Yu Lan. He will become me, and I will become him. But right now, he is too weak, so I will be letting him rest in my own body as I cultivate him carefully. Perhaps in the next chamber, you’ll be lucky enough to see him again.”

Shadow’s words never failed to astonish Luo Jian. “You can put him inside your body? No…I mean, aren’t you a book?”

A slight smile unexpectedly spread across Shadow’s lips, and he replied, “Weapons can enter your body, and you can also become the weapons themselves. I can also turn into a person, but truthfully speaking, maintaining a human form drains too much of my force, so I tend to stay as a book most of the time, as you already saw.”

“So…what of Feng Yu Lan now? Have you already taken him back?”

“No, I’ve still yet to find him, but I can sense his presence. He has fallen into a state of suspended animation. He just can’t directly recall his weapon as well as you can… These vines are quite troublesome; would you mind removing them and getting me out of here?”

Upon hearing his request, Luo Jian immediately began working harder to tear down the wall of vines. After toiling away for half a day, he finally managed to get rid of all the vines in his way. He then peeked inside, only to suck in a cool breath at the startling sight before him.

“Ah Lan…”

It was indeed Feng Yu Lan. The other’s appearance was identical to Feng Yu Lan’s, the clothes on his body were the same as Feng Yu Lan’s, and even the other’s voice and mannerism came close enough to Feng Yu Lan’s. Luo Jian scrutinized the other for ages, but he couldn’t even spot a single discrepancy.

“I’ve already said that I am another Feng Yu Lan. I am the side hidden within his heart, a manifestation of his innermost feelings, his alter ego. One can even say that I’m the darkest, filthiest, most despicable and most wretched side of him. Previously, when I still had yet to transform into a book, it was quite difficult for me to leave the depths of his heart. Or rather…I suppose, I simply didn’t want to escape.”

Shadow c.o.c.ked his head to one side. The other’s habits and appearance were practically identical to that of Feng Yu Lan’s. Luo Jian had no choice but to accept the truth of what the other said. He knelt down right next to Shadow. Unable to suppress his turbulent emotions, he couldn’t help but reach out and touch him. Shadow didn’t resist and he rubbed his cheek against Luo Jian’s hand, fondly snuggling into the comfort of Luo Jian’s palm. A warm smile hung on his sweet face, so gentle and tender, yet ever so deceptive.

Agonizing sorrow suddenly took ahold of Luo Jian’s heart. He dolefully gazed at Shadow; his voice cracked as he softly whispered, “Ah Lan, just how could this have happened to you?”

“It’s all thanks to Duan Li.” Shadow uttered. “It was he…who awakened ‘us’.”