Paper Lanterns

Ye Xinglan didn't know when she let go of his hand.

Her hand went numb.

From the moment Yun Jingheng was brought back to Shrek, she held his right hand tightly, never letting go.

She couldn't remember how long she held on.

Two hours? Three hours? Or longer?

Right now, she's watching Yun Ming and Ya Li's argument, or rather, a one-sided argument.

Ya Li kept holding Yun Jingheng, preventing Yun Ming and the others from getting close.

She said: They came to kill their own son.

Her voice was trembling, but not in a way that suggested fear.

"Calm down."

Yun Ming's voice was very low, so low that it was almost squeezed out of his throat.

He stood at the door of Yun Jingheng's room, still wearing his outer robe, which he hadn't had time to change out of, with bits of grass and dried mud clinging to the hem.

He had dark circles under his eyes.

"I am very calm."

Ya Li said.

She sat on the edge of the bed, holding Yun Jingheng's upper body in her arms, one hand pressed against his chest, the spot where there was no longer a wound, but which she insisted was still bleeding.

Her fingers were white, the kind of white that comes from exerting extreme force, as if she were trying to press his heartbeat back into his chest.

"Let me see him."

Yun Ming took a step forward.

"Don't come any closer."

Ya Li's voice wasn't loud, but those three words were like three nails driven into the floor of the room.

Yun Ming stopped in his tracks.

Ye Xinglan stood at the foot of the bed, watching all of this.

Her hand was still outstretched, in a "holding something" posture. When Ya Li" took" Yun Jingheng from her arms, her hand was left hanging in mid-air.

The warmth of Yun Jingheng's hand still lingered on my fingertips; it was cool.

She did not pull her hand back.

She didn't know where to put her hands.

"Ya Li."

Yun Ming's voice lowered further, as if he were coaxing a frightened child, "He is our son, I will not hurt him."

"You are Yun Ming, you are Yun Ming of Shrek Academy."

Ya Li's voice suddenly became very calm.

That calm was more frightening than any screaming or crying.

"You're the one who values Shrek more than your own life. You're the one who would give up everything for the academy."

She raised her head and looked at Yun Ming.

Her eyes were very red.

No one is allowed to touch him.

Ye Xinglan stood at the foot of the bed, watching Ya Li hold Yun Jingheng in her arms, as if she were holding a paper lantern that could be blown away by the wind at any moment.

She was familiar with that posture; when she was a child and had a high fever, her mother held her like that, as if as long as she held her tightly enough, death couldn't take her away.

Yun Ming did not go any further.

He stood in the doorway, the straw clippings on his robe casting tiny shadows in the candlelight.

Ye Xinglan suddenly noticed that there was mud on his shoes, very deep mud.

Why would the Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy fall into a trap?

Unless he's already too busy to watch where he's going.

"Ya Li," Yun Ming called out again.

He simply called her name to confirm that she was still there, to confirm that she hadn't been consumed by fear.

Ya Li's shoulders trembled slightly.

She lowered her head, her forehead resting against Yun Jingheng's hair, her very red eyes closed briefly, then opened again.

He is not just your son.

Yun Ming's voice was flat when he said this, but the last syllable broke off, like something struggling beneath the ice, "Let me see him, just let me see him."

Ya Li did not answer.

Her hand was still pressed against Yun Jingheng's chest, but Ye Xinglan noticed that her fingers had loosened slightly.

Just some.

The fingernails no longer dug into the palms, but lay flat on the clothes, as if the fear had finally subsided.

Yun Ming took the second step.

This step is lighter than the first.

He walked to the bedside and knelt down next to Ya Li.

He didn't touch Yun Jingheng, nor did he touch Ya Li; he simply squatted there, looking Ya Li in the eye.

The candlelight cast his shadow on the wall, large and heavy, like a roof about to collapse.

"He's still breathing," Yun Ming said.

The voice was very soft, as if confirming something, or perhaps offering some comfort.

"His chest is moving, can you feel it?"

Ya Li looked down.

Yun Jingheng's chest was rising and falling, very shallowly and slowly, but it was definitely moving.

One tick after another, like an old clock that's about to stop, still trying its best to keep ticking.

Ya Li's fingers finally loosened completely.

Her hand slid down from Yun Jingheng's chest and landed on the bed sheet, her fingertips still trembling slightly.

Yun Ming reached out, not to snatch Yun Jingheng, but to grasp Ya Li's hand.

Ya Li did not break free.

Her tears finally fell silently, streaming down her cheeks and landing drop by drop on Yun Jingheng's hair.

He'll be alright...

Ye Xinglan quietly left the room and looked at Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, Xu Xiaoyan who were waiting outside.

"How is Jing Heng...?"

Ye Xinglan opened her mouth, but she didn't know what to say.

He's inside.

Ye Xinglan only said these three words in the end, her voice as dry as a withered branch in winter. "His parents are with him."

Tang Wulin stood in the corridor, still wearing the blood-stained coat.

His Golden Dragon King Bloodline allowed him to recover faster than others, but his complexion was still not very good.

Where is Gu Yue?

Ye Xinglan suddenly asked.

Tang Wulin's expression changed slightly.

"... in her own room."

He said, "She won't let anyone in."

"Is she badly injured?"

"Have no idea."

Ye Xinglan remained silent for a while.

"When Jing Heng launched his indiscriminate attack--"

She paused, not wanting to recall that scene, but she had to ask, "Was it Gu Yue who stopped them?"

Tang Wulin nodded.

"She used all the power of the elements."

He paused for a moment. "I've never seen her use her Soul Power like that before."

Ye Xinglan did not ask any further questions.

"Don't just stand there, everyone."

Ye Xinglan turned around, Zhuo Shi was walking towards her carrying something.

"Elder Zhuo..."

"Grandmaster." ×3

Zhuo Shi nodded, looking at their exhausted faces.

Zhuo Shi was carrying a food box.

It wasn't one of those exquisite, carved food boxes; it was the most ordinary kind from the Inner Court canteen—woven bamboo, with the lid crookedly on and the edges slightly frayed.

His coat was still damp with night dew, as if he had rushed over from somewhere.

"You haven't eaten yet, have you?"

His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet corridor, every word carried a rough warmth, like crackling firewood burning in winter.

No one answered.

Ye Xinglan looked at the food box and realized that her stomach was empty.

But she wasn't hungry.

Or rather, she didn't feel hungry.

Zhuo Shi didn't wait for their reply. He walked over on his own, placed the food box on the bench, and opened the lid.

Steam rose from the pot, carrying the fragrant aroma of rice porridge, along with several side dishes: pickled cucumbers, salted eggs, and a plate of stir-fried greens until crispy.

They are all the most ordinary foods, but on nights like this, their very existence is a declaration that dawn will break, life must go on, and food must be eaten.

"Have some, everyone."

Tang Wulin walked over, picked up a bowl of porridge. The porridge was very hot, so hot that his fingertips turned red, but he didn't let go. He just held it there, stood by the window, and drank it sip by sip without making a sound.

Xie Xie followed and picked up the second bowl.

He handed the porridge to Xu Xiaoyan, Xu Xiaoyan took it, her head down, tears still clinging to her eyelashes, and drank it in small sips.

Ye Xinglan was the last one.

She walked over, picked up a bowl, and the steam from the porridge hit her face, blurring her vision.

She didn't drink it; she just held it and stood there.

Zhuo Shi looked at her without saying a word.

He sat down on a bench in the corridor, his bamboo food box pushed aside. His posture was casual, like an ordinary old man sitting on the steps in front of his own house.

"Pavilion Master and Ya Li inside?"

Questions about Zhuo Shi.

Ye Xinglan nodded.

Zhuo Shi opened his mouth, "After you finish eating, go back and get some rest."

After sitting for a while, he stood up, walked to the food box, picked up a bowl of porridge, and then a small dish of side dishes. He covered them with another plate, stacked the bowl and dish together, and held them steadily in his palm.

"You guys eat yours."

He said, carrying the bowl of porridge, he walked towards the other end.