Lingering Memories

The bustle of Shrek City seemed like an ever-present veil, shrouding their search. Day after day, they walked its ancient streets and passed through its grand halls, trying to catch some familiar trace from between the cracks of its bricks and tiles. Their memories remained frozen ground, with the seeds of the past buried deep beneath, showing no sign of sprouting.

At dusk that day, they wandered aimlessly to the edge of the inner city, where there was a relatively secluded memorial garden. It lacked the commercial restlessness of the outer city; there were only lush ancient trees and timeworn buildings covered in vines, while the air carried the tranquility settled by time.

The golden glow of the setting sun edged everything in gentle warmth. Then, in the middle of an open lawn, Gu Yuena abruptly stopped.

Her gaze was firmly captured by a group of towering stone sculptures standing beneath the sunset, and she could no longer look away.

Tang Wulin followed her line of sight, and his heart inexplicably jolted as well.

They were statues in various poses, arranged in a semicircle as though they were still guarding something and gazing into the distance. Weathered by wind and rain, their edges had grown somewhat blurred, yet the valor and steadfastness radiating from within them had crossed through time and struck them head-on.

Two of those statues, in particular, stirred a tremor deep within their souls.

One depicted a man holding a golden spear. His black hair streamed behind him, his brows and eyes resolute. Though he was made of cold stone, one could almost feel the surging vitality within him and his unstoppable bearing. He stood slightly turned to one side, his gaze falling upon the figure beside him.

At his side stood a statue of a silver-haired, violet-eyed woman. Her figure was graceful, her face breathtakingly beautiful. Elemental radiance seemed to curl around her fingertips. Her expression was cool and noble, and her gaze likewise rested on the man beside her. At the corner of the stone statue's lips seemed to linger the faintest, yet incomparably genuine, tenderness.

That face, that figure, that indistinct aura... how could they be so similar to the two of them?

No, not similar.

They were practically exact replicas of their appearances! They merely possessed a little more of the composure and majesty bestowed by the years and by legend, things they did not yet possess.

"What is this..." Tang Wulin murmured. His feet carried him forward against his will until he stopped before the spear-wielding "himself." He raised his head and looked into those hollow stone eyes that nevertheless seemed to contain a thousand unspoken words. An indescribable mixture of sorrow and pride surged into his heart. Who was he? What was the relationship between this "Tang Wulin," carved here and revered by later generations, and his own self with blank memories?

Gu Yuena slowly approached as well. Her fingertips trembled as they nearly touched the stone statue of the silver-haired woman. A chill seeped into her fingertips, yet it seemed to ignite a spark somewhere deep in her soul.

Fragments, like startled fireflies, suddenly flared to life in her mind—

· It was not that cold, fatal spear thrust at Sea God Lake, but blazing warmth and figures fighting side by side. They stood back to back, surrounded by countless roaring enemies, golden light and silver radiance weaving together into the most dazzling and most unbreakable barrier.

· A voice—was it hers?—said, "No matter what we face, we face it together."

· Another voice—was it his?—answered firmly, "All right. Together."

The feeling was as fleeting as an illusion, yet it carried an incomparably real warmth and strength.

She abruptly withdrew her hand, her breathing slightly hurried. Her violet eyes were filled with confusion and uncertainty. The reflection in Sea God Lake had been full of betrayal and despair, yet the fragments that had flashed through her mind just now held absolute trust and dependence. Which one was the truth? Or perhaps... both were?

"Golden Dragon Moonlit Tang Wulin, Silver Dragon Wulin Gu Yuena..." Tang Wulin softly read the names carved into the statues' bases. The appearance of Gu Yuena's name overlapped with the violet figure in his mind, making him abruptly pause.

"Do we belong here?" Gu Yuena's voice trembled with a trace of confusion. "Or do we belong... to that past frozen in stone?"

She looked around at the seven statues in front—the agile assault-type Soft Bone Rabbit, the Evil Fire Phoenix, the Hell Spirit Cat, the Sausage Martial Soul, the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda... each one corresponded to the familiar names on their pedestals. This was a complete whole, a group in which none could be absent.

Clearly, she and Tang Wulin were not among them. Instead, they belonged to the same era as the six statues in the row behind them, which were visibly much newer.

This realization brought no sense of belonging. Instead, like an invisible net, it brought an even deeper pressure. What past did they carry? Why had they lost their memories? Why were the statues here while they themselves had drifted through ten thousand years?

The sun sank, its final ray fading away, and twilight swiftly enveloped heaven and earth. In the deepening darkness, the statues became silent silhouettes, appearing all the more solemn and lonely.

"Shrek City cannot give us the answers." Gu Yuena turned around and no longer looked at the statues. Her voice had returned to its cool calmness, yet it now held a measure of resolve. "There is only written history here, and glory for others to admire. The real answers may not lie in a human city."

Tang Wulin understood what she meant. He gave the spear-wielding "himself" one final look, as if bidding temporary farewell to a glorious yet burdensome past.

"Star Dou Great Forest." He spoke the name of the place. It was the sacred land of modern soul beasts mentioned by the humans they had encountered in Shrek City, a place deeply connected to Gu Yuena. "What we seek may be there."

Without another word, the two turned in unspoken accord and left the memorial garden, leaving those silent statues behind in the growing dusk.

The city lights flickered on one after another behind them, outlining the contours of prosperity. Meanwhile, they left the city step by step, heading toward that vast, primordial ancient forest filled with the unknown and with possibilities.

Their retreating figures perhaps quietly overlapped with a moment from ten thousand years ago, when someone had once departed.