Crying and Laughing Alone

"..."

Only a few men remained with Qi Hongxin. As he watched those who had received their orders walk away, his heart suddenly jolted. Strangely, his pallid face flushed red, dizziness washed over him in waves, and images flashed through his mind.

He realized something. Straightening his hat and robes, he walked back to the ox cart step by step and climbed in with a guard's help.

Rain was still pouring outside. The moment he sat down inside the cart, he let out a heavy breath, and his vision went black.

White light filled his sight. Within it stood figure after figure. Some beckoned, some glared, and some wept and laughed to themselves. A chill seized his body and mind.

"So cold," Qi Hongxin murmured.

"Quickly, quickly!" An ox cart came toward the river embankment, its driver urging it on with his whip.

They had to keep detouring around stretches washed out by the flood. They had been on the road for some time, yet still had not reached their destination, though it was not far.

In the cart, Madam Zhou held a basket containing ginseng wine and a meal. Most of the heat had escaped, leaving the food merely warm.

She felt restless and wanted badly to urge the driver to go faster.

But she knew that traveling to the embankment in this rain was already a risk. Even if she pressed him, the driver would not dare make the ox go any faster.

But why am I so uneasy?

Dragon Palace · A little earlier

Boom! Boom, boom, boom!

The beaded curtains shook and chimed. From a distance, the great hall's roof of sky-blue glazed tiles could be seen above pillars, walls, and screens painted with five-colored clouds. Sunlight fell across them, filling the hall with a misty