So dark.

It's so cold again.

In this extreme abyss, space and time are as thin as cicada's wings, which can be easily destroyed without force.

I couldn't find my direction, I couldn't even condense my thin consciousness. I could only listen to the whispers in my ears, chaotic and broken, like ghostly howls, whispers from the void.

But then, the thick darkness in the center of the field of vision began to become hazy, as if the flannel that shrouded the sky was slowly being lifted and the strong barrier gradually crumbled. In an instant, the light behind it rolled through all the gaps, faster and faster, more and more, until it converged into a wide river, flooding all corners.

Eventually, the glare faded, leaving only two dim starlight.

"......"

For some reason, her eyes were so red.

Although there were no words, I could feel the joy hidden in my heart, and before the blurred vision could clear, she had already let go of her hands clenched in front of her chest, rushed over and hugged me. Maybe it was because she fell too hard when she fainted before, or maybe she was too excited, and the joints she was holding down hurt again.

"Ah sorry, I'm not, that ......"

After hearing my grinning moan, she immediately bounced away in a panic, and her tear-stained smile was covered with deep worry in the blink of an eye.

"Well, what time is it?"

I said, trying to prop myself up with all my might. And the person who was standing next to the bed saw my actions and immediately rushed over and anxiously instructed,

"Ahhh Lie back, lie back! ”

Her hands fluttered anxiously in front of me, but I didn't dare to press them down for fear of hurting like before, so I muttered in an angry voice, and I couldn't help but get up and sit on the edge of the bed.

"Ugh."

Yu sighed and said stupidly,

"It's already the third hour after the sun has set."

I was startled when I heard this, and I didn't care about the anxious shouting beside me,

"No, I have to leave now, I'm running out of time, if I go late, Yao-"

Suddenly, she stretched out her index finger and put it lightly on my lips, looking at me with some meaning in her eyes.

"Let me go for you."

Her voice was small, but with irrefutable firmness.

I knew she was serious, and I was afraid that my concealment from her would have been discovered a long time ago, but I had no choice but to shake my head with a wry smile.

"Nope."

As I spoke, I looked away from my face and looked at the flickering flame of the candlelight. I heard the sound of clothes rubbing against my ears, and I heard her stand up and walk to the door, followed by the sound of the door slamming so hard that even the lamp hanging on the wall was almost shaken off.

"Since you don't want to tell me anything! Then I'll find it myself! And I'm sure I'll find her! You just stay here, and I'll ask Yao all about it when the time comes!" ”

She roared through the door, and even the last few words were a scream of broken sound.

But when the silence came again, there was no sound of her footsteps leaving, only a faint choking, and the vibration of the object falling to the ground against the façade.

"Why, you're all ...... like this"

It was a wail mixed with sorrow, intermittently reaching my ears like a sharp carving knife.

Also, every time she is about to touch happiness, that warmth will be cruelly taken away, first the sanctimonious "father", and then the empty expectation of Jue, even if Wei Fern's attitude towards her is different now, but it is just caught in another bottomless vortex, and this vortex is pushed into her by my own hands.

Perhaps the unspeakable pain that is now entrenched in my heart is the debt I have to pay.

"I'm sorry."

I muttered under my breath, my eyes unfocused,

"It may not be enough."

After waiting a little, I took a deep breath and shouted hoarsely at the door,

"Why, can I trouble you to find the fern elder? I'm still a little ————."

Before I could finish speaking, I heard Yu get up quickly, snorting and saying anxiously,

"Good! You wait for me, I'll be back right away! ”

After that, there was a series of clicking sounds, farther and farther away, until finally dissolving into the long night. I scrambled to my feet and pushed open the deformed wooden door, which was faintly stained on the edge of the threshold.

But my only right is to stop for a few seconds in distraction, and then there will be no time to hesitate on the next road to the Weiming Mansion.

It's not the first time that the Midnight Fern has appeared, but its eerie and mysterious nature bothers me. I don't know if it's an illusion or not, but I can always see a black shadow at the edge of the torch's light, or I can detect the sound of stones turning and grass rubbing at the limit of my hearing. Leaning against the cold wall, vague memories guided me forward one foot deep and one foot shallow.

"That's it."

After a while, I stopped and looked, and sure enough, there was a bright purple color on the eaves of the street.

"Hah! It's okay—"

While I was secretly rejoicing, something sharp came from behind against my waist,

"Your Excellency, we will meet again after a long absence."

Wei Ming's playful tone came from behind his ears. I didn't dare to move any longer, and looked back nervously, but when Wei Ming, dressed in white, appeared at the edge of the horizon, I realized that what he was carrying in his hand was actually a dry branch.

"Hahahaha! Your Excellency is really easy to be deceived! ”

Wei Ming laughed and threw the object in his hand on the side of the road, apparently reading the panic in my heart.

"Ha, ha, haha......"

While breathing a sigh of relief, I smiled at a loss, and the cold sweat left on my forehead was extremely cold by the night wind, but I didn't forget the purpose of this trip, and hurriedly asked Wei Ming,

"By the way, that-"

But Wei Ming raised his hand to stop me, and the smile on his face disappeared for a moment,

"Your Excellency, it's freezing on a cold night, why don't you go into the house and talk about it?"

At this time, all the initiative was in his hands, and I knew that I had no ability to mention conditions, so I had to nod and follow Wei Ming into the familiar room again.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw a figure sitting at the square table in Wei Ming's house, although I had changed my clothes and my hairstyle was a little messy, but by the faint light on the top, I still recognized that the person was Yao who had been missing for a long time!

"Huh?"

But it seems that there is something wrong.

I squinted and observed that the candles that had once lit everywhere were almost all extinguished, except for the one hanging from the roof of the house that emitted a faint orange light. And Yao's expression also seemed to be a little sluggish, and when we saw each other again, she neither spoke nor reacted too much, just winked at me, and then lowered her head again.

"Ahem."

Wei Ming coughed lightly twice, and when I heard it, I found that he was holding the tea he poured for me last time, and his face was covered with sincere apologies.

"Your Excellency, this unprovoked turmoil is indeed a misunderstanding."

I took the somewhat cool teacup and responded while controlling my emotions,

"Misunderstanding?"

"Exactly."

Wei Ming nodded, and the mouth of the cup that was brought to his mouth was slowly pushed away.

"It's all because the contemptible subordinates are stupid and missent the message, so that you and I have a dislike because of this."

I was a little puzzled, and hurriedly put down the teacup and asked,

"Miscommunication? What does it say to you? ”

After hearing this, Wei Ming sneered a few times,

"I'm ashamed to say that after returning from the forest, Xun told me that Your Excellency had tried to obstruct its actions, and I saw that he was so urgent, and I was momentarily confused and gullible to believe its words."

Suddenly, Wei Ming squinted at me, and the smile covered in shadows looked extremely weird,

"But I don't think Your Excellency would do such a treacherous thing, would you?"

I was furious in my heart when I was stared at by Wei Ming, and hurriedly pretended to be calm and shouted loudly,

"Of course! How, how is that possible?! ”

But Wei Ming didn't seem to hear it, and still stared firmly into my eyes. Just as the defenses in my heart were about to collapse, he tapped his chin in satisfaction and turned away.

"Your Excellency, the contemptible people have always tried to act steadily, so after receiving the news, they immediately ordered their subordinates to 'please' Miss Yao away, but at this time, the misunderstanding has been eliminated, and the contemptible people have a good conversation with her, so please be gracious, after all, there are more important actions in the future, and you need to bother Your Excellency."

Wei Ming placed the teacup in his hand on the table, crossed his hands in front of him, and bowed deeply to me.

And I didn't dare to be presumptuous, and walked down the steps he gave,

"It's okay, it's okay, can I take her away now? Seeing her like this is also frightened, she should want to go back early. ”

I thought that Wei Ming would show a little reluctance, but I didn't expect him to spread out his two pairs and said in surprise,

"Why not?"

So, with some strange feelings, I stepped forward to help Yao who sat up straight, and after a few polite words, I thought about leaving this place quickly.

But as soon as I opened the door, there was a sudden sound of an object overturning in the side room. I was startled and reflexively looked over, but when I turned my head completely, I found that Wei Ming appeared behind me at some point.

"Your Excellency?"

"That-"

"Restless rats."

Before I could ask my words, I was rudely interrupted by Wei Ming, and the light could only illuminate half of his face, and the rest was hidden in the vast darkness, especially the look in his eyes, which was exactly the same as what I had seen in the church at the time.

The terrible memory came back to me, and I finally couldn't help myself, and subconsciously suppressed my fear and asked,

"Wei Ming, when you were in the church, how did you ......?"

"What's going on?"

Wei Ming leaned over suddenly, staring at me with two eyes, as if he was going to gouge my brain out of my skull!

"Uh...... No, no, I may have read it wrong. ”

Without waiting for Wei Ming to react, I quickly pushed Yao out of the room, and rushed towards my original residence without looking back.

The pervasive chill could no longer frighten me, and now my eyes were full of Wei Ming's distorted and terrifying face. And Yao is also a little strange, since I saw her, she has followed me without saying a word, like a soulless shell. Everything around me was weird at a speed I couldn't control, and it seemed like I would step on a monster that had been dormant for a long time with every step. I desperately tried to ignore these inexplicable anomalies, and I just wanted to get back to the house as quickly as possible.

At last, the reassuring cottage appeared in front of me, and I was so overjoyed that I didn't even think of an explanation for her, so I was going to push the door open and rush in. Because at least she's still normal!

But when my hand gripped the cold doorknob, even that comfort faded.

Inside the broken door, the voices of Jar and another person came out.

I froze at the door, shocked by their muffled conversation.

"Tomorrow, what do you want me to do."

Shi Yu spoke first, and the next answer was a hoarse voice that I had never heard before,

"According to the original plan, it will not change—

Kill Wei Ming! ”