Chapter 255 - Previous and Present Lives
Eastward of the St. Ancestral Mountains lies a vast, boundless desert with endless dunes of yellow sand.
When the gales blew, the ever-present sands would slowly envelope the entire region in a yellow veil.
The environment here is extremely harsh and demon beasts would appear from time to time, making the region extremely dangerous.
The main world itself was vast and boundless. In his previous life, when Glory City was destroyed, the surviving residents of Glory City escaped to the Heavenly Fate Plateau before they headed east. Pursued by Snow Wind demon beasts, they trekked through the entire St. Ancestral Mountain range and into the Endless Desert.
Along the journey, countless fell.
Nie Li still clearly remembered the events that occurred after they escaped into the Endless Desert. In order to save him, Ye Ziyun died from a demon beast’s attack. Nie Li originally intended to follow her in death, but her dying words begged him to guard her remaining clansmen. However, as they travelled deeper into the Endless Desert, one man fell after another. By the time Nie Li reached the Desert Palace, he was all alone.
As he recalled the past, everything looked as if it had been arranged by fate.
As he stood in the desert, Nie Li’s eyes turned watery as countless scenes flashed through his head. He thought of how he had gotten to know Ye Ziyun the first time and how they had experienced life and death together. It was Ye Ziyun who changed him back then, from a timid and cowardly youth into a firm and strong young man.
Xiao Ning’er, who stood next to him, noticed Nie Li’s expression and curiously asked, “Nie Li, why’re you crying?”
Nie Li wiped the tears on his face as turned to look at Xiao Ning’er and Ye Ziyun, who both stood quietly and looked out into the Endless Desert. He sighed with sorrow, “Ning’er, during a person’s life, there will always be a special event and a special person. Although he or she may only appear in your life for a brief moment, they will become an eternal memory, for as long as you live. You will continue to live for the sake of that memory. This memory is irreplaceable. Someone who has travelled the lands and sailed the seas wouldn’t stop for little things.”
Nie Li muttered as his thoughts drifted off into the distance.
As she observed Nie Li’s absent-minded expression, a trace of pain quivered Xiao Ning’er’s heart, even though she didn’t understand why. However, she vaguely knew what Nie Li was talking about. ‘But Nie Li, did you know? You’ve already become an eternal memory of my life. If we are separated upon entering the Draconic Ruins Realm, then this is the memory that I will live the rest of my life for. My memories of you are irreplaceable.’
Tears flickered in Xiao Ning’er’s eyes. Although her heart ached, she still kept a smile on her face. “Nie Li, why did you bring this up all of a sudden? Didn’t you say that the Desert Palace isn’t far from here? Let’s hurry up!”
Finis.h.i.+ng her words, Xiao Ning’er turned and walked away. Under the sky, in a land full of sand, the lovely image of Xiao Ning’er’s back carried a sense of loneliness.
As he watched Xiao Ning’er’s back, Nie Li couldn’t help sighing internally as he continued moving forward.
He walked up to Ye Ziyun’s side and realised that she was dumbfoundedly staring into the Endless Desert with her brows furrowed tightly. He couldn’t figure out what she was thinking about.
Nie Li looked at her in puzzlement and asked, “Ziyun, what’s going on?”
Xiao Ning’er, who was nearby, also threw a curious glance towards Ye Ziyun.
With her brows furrowed tightly, Ye Ziyun’s expression became unreadable. It looked as though she was trying her best to recall something, but was having a difficult time of it.
Ye Ziyun shook her head and said, “I feel very strange. Why is it that when I stepped into this desert, a vague pain appeared in my heart? There are also strange memories of happiness and pain flas.h.i.+ng through my head. I have no idea what’s happening to me.”
At Ye Ziyun’s words, Nie Li’s mind was thrown into disarray and he felt as though he’d been struck by lightning. This was just too bizarre! Ye Ziyun had obviously lived in Glory City ever since her birth and had never stepped into the Endless Desert before. So why would she have such feelings when she stepped into the Endless Desert?
Nie Li grabbed Ye Ziyun by the shoulders and asked anxiously, “What can you remember?”
Ye Ziyun blankly shook her head and said, “I have no idea whose memories these are and why they’ve appeared in my head. I can’t understand it at all. In some flashes of these memories, it seems like we’re being chased by demon beasts.”
Astonishment showed itself in Nie Li’s eyes. Why would Ye Ziyun have memories of her previous life? Just what is going on? Could it be that Ye Ziyun had also been reborn? No, without the Temporal Demon Spirit Book, how could that be possible?
He sensed that this mystery held an extremely large secret. He looked at Ye Ziyun’s absolutely gorgeous face and asked anxiously, “Can you remember anything else?”
Ye Ziyun furrowed her brows even tighter as she tried her best to recall. She submerged herself in those memories. As she tried to scrutinize them further, a peculiar feeling arose in her body. She watched herself stand under the moonlight as her clothes slowly fell away from her jade sculpture-like body before she walked towards her lover.
That person was…Nie Li?
Nie Li’s hands lightly caressed her body, causing a numbing sensation to flow through her. Then, he picked her up and carried her. Under the moonlight, Nie Li’s face was painted with an unwavering determination that caused her heart to beat rapidly. She was deeply in love with him. With this mutual love, they each desired to knead the other into their own bodies.
A bizarre feeling pa.s.sed through her body and she couldn’t resist a soft moan. But suddenly, Ye Ziyun recalled that it was all just an imaginary scene and her face instantly flushed a bright cherry red.
Nie Li anxiously watched Ye Ziyun, but when he saw her red cheeks, beautiful face, and red lips, the only thing he could think of was that he felt like biting them. Ye Ziyun was still submerged in her thoughts. Out of concern that something might happen to Ye Ziyun, Nie Li moved closer to Ye Ziyun to see if he could find out what was going on with her through her clear, charming eyes.
Ye Ziyun was deeply sunk in those memories, and the charming scenes caused her heart to jump wildly. Upon opening her eyes, she suddenly saw Nie Li’s face before her, startling her so much that she slapped him.
*Pa!*
“You indecent rogue! I’m never talking to you ever again!” Ye Ziyun hastily struggled free from Nie Li’s arms, turned around, and stalked away. Her head hung so low that it almost touched her chest.
Slapped by Ye Ziyun, Nie Li was stunned. He didn’t do anything at all! If there was anything that could have been described as “indecent”, it would’ve been that night when Ye Ziyun had stripped off her clothes as she stood in his tent!
Hearing the crisp voice, Du Ze, Lu Piao, and the others all turned and looked at Nie Li in puzzlement.
“Nie Li, what did you do to G.o.ddess Ziyun?” Lu Piao looked at Nie Li with an odd expression as he continued, “Although G.o.ddess Ziyun is already your fiancée, you shouldn’t be in such a hurry!”
“I…” Nie Li was despondent. He obviously hadn’t done anything and still didn’t know exactly what was wrong with Ye Ziyun.
Ye Ziyun lowered her head. Her mind was already cleared, but her face was still red, her chest heaved up, and down and her heart jumped wildly. She knew that she had just slapped Nie Li for no reason, but she still wasn’t willing to apologise to him. Why did those scenes appear in her mind? Why did she have such a peculiar feeling when those scenes appeared? There was no way that she would engage in such acts with Nie Li!
But, could those be the true desires of her heart? As she re-imagined the scene where she took her clothes off in front of Nie Li, Ye Ziyun became even more embarra.s.sed and no longer had the courage to look anyone in the eye.
As he looked towards Ye Ziyun’s back, an idea flashed through Nie Li’s heart. Could Ye Ziyun have recalled those events from their previous life? Although he was still curious as to why such memories would’ve appeared, he was still secretly happy. If Ye Ziyun could regain the memories of her previous life, then she would definitely understand his undying feelings for her.
Xiao Ning’er gave Nie Li a confused look before turning towards Ye Ziyun. She still hadn’t understood what’d just happened. Why did Nie Li suddenly become so emotionally stirred? Why did Ye Ziyun’s face suddenly flush red and slapped him? Furthermore, Nie Li and Ye Ziyun had been talking about deep things like memories!
Xiao Ning’er looked at him and curiously asked, “Nie Li, what’s wrong with Ye Ziyun?”
Nie Li gave a deep look at Ye Ziyun’s back, then his gaze drifted into the distance. Finally, he turned back to Xiao Ning’er and smiled, “Ning’er, do you believe in previous and present lives?”
At Nie Li’s words, Xiao Ning’er was slightly stunned, but she nodded her head seriously as she said, “Yes, I do!”
Xiao Ning’er’s reply throughly surprised Nie Li.
Xiao Ning’er continued, “For a while now, I’ve already had a kind of doubt. Occasionally when sitting by a tree or a window, I’d have this peculiar feeling that I’ve already experienced this before, that it’d already happened numerous times. It felt like everything was cycling endlessly in a loop.”
“Before I met you, I was entangled in an endless nightmare, dreaming about my family forcing me into an arranged marriage. I dreamed that I was about to marry Shen Fei of the Sacred Family. After that, I ran away and entered a dark forest. From there on, I was constantly submerged in darkness and suffering!”
“I kept dreaming that I was a soul, drifting about in the endless dark forest, suffering endless torment and pain…”
“Until one day, a youth pulled me out from that endless nightmare. From that moment onwards, my world of darkness lit up. I made a firm decision that I would use my entire life to protect his grace!”
At Xiao Ning’er’s words, Nie Li was submerged in deep shock. In the previous life, Xiao Ning’er had entered the Black Devil Forest and never came back!
“Do you still dream of those things now?” Nie Li asked Xiao Ning’er.
Xiao Ning’er shook her head and said, “After that dream, everything went fuzzy and I have no idea what happened later. It seems like there was something else, but the memory isn’t very clear…”