Bai Rong walked to the stream again.
He had been wandering in his dreams for days—the village, the stone steps, the smoke from the chimneys, and the dwindling number of gazes. And then he arrived here.
Bai Yu was there too, squatting by the water playing in the water. She heard footsteps, looked up, and saw Bai Rong. Her eyes lit up for a moment, but she didn't run over like she used to.
She glanced at him, then lowered her head, tapping the water's surface with her toes, as if hesitating whether to call out to him again.
Bai Rong stood a few steps away, watching her for a long time. It was only a few steps away, but he had repeated this distance many times in his dream before he finally walked over to her.
He walked up to her, squatted down, and took a wild fruit from his pocket and handed it to her.
"Want some or not?"
Bai Yu looked at the fruit, then at Bai Rong, and after a while, she reached out and took it, taking a bite. Then she looked up at him, the corners of her mouth slowly curving upwards, as if she had confirmed something.
"Brother, can we go see the bugs over there again today?"
Bai Rong opened her mouth and said, "Yes."
Bai Yu stood up, patted the dirt off her pants, stuffed the remaining wild fruit in her hand into her mouth, and mumbled, "Let's hurry up and go, it's been so long since I've been there..." Before she could finish speaking, she had already run towards the woods by the stream.
Bai Rong squatted down, watching her back, and suddenly realized he was smiling.
The wind has stopped.
Bai Rong opened his eyes, and sunlight filtered through the gaps in the treetops, falling on his face.
Bai Yu's voice came from the side, tinged with obvious urgency. "Brother Bai Rong! You're finally awake! You scared me to death! I called you for so long and you wouldn't wake up! If you hadn't woken up, I was going to go back to find the priest!"
Bai Rong sat up and saw Bai Yu squatting in front of him, her brows furrowed and her eyes red, as if she were really frightened. Bai Rong was stunned for a moment before realizing where he was and what he was doing.
"I'm fine," Bai Rong said. "I was just dreaming about things from the past."
Bai Yu opened her mouth as if to ask something, but seeing Bai Rong's expression, she swallowed her words. She stood up and picked up the lamp from the ground. "Then... let's keep going."
Shi Yan stood to the side, not saying a word from beginning to end. He saw Bai Yu's reaction, and he also saw Bai Rong's eyes slowly clear up after she sat up.
He didn't ask anything, he just picked up the bundle leaning against the stone wall and followed.
The three continued walking along the narrow path deeper into the canyon.
Bai Rong walked at the front. His steps were heavier than before, but he didn't hesitate. He didn't look down at the mountain-shaped markings on his arm anymore; he just walked, as if he finally didn't need to confirm anything anymore.
Bai Yu followed behind him, watching his back—that back was different from before, as if something that had been pressing down for a long time had been released without his notice.
Bai Yu knew what Bai Rong was dreaming about. She still remembered things from her childhood—she remembered the days when she would chase after him calling "brother," and how Bai Rong would pretend not to hear and walk away without looking back.
She also remembers squatting by the stream, unsure if her brother would come back, and just waiting. She couldn't bear to forget those memories, and never mentioned them to anyone.
Seeing Bai Rong walking steadily ahead of her now, no longer hesitant, she was happy for her brother. But at the same time, a thin layer of guilt lingered in her heart, like ripples left by the wind on the water's surface.
She knew that her birth had led her brother down a roundabout path, and although he had never blamed her to her face, she always remembered it.
She didn't say anything, but quickened her pace to catch up with her brother and walk beside him.
The further you go, the heavier the air becomes. It's not stuffy, but it feels like something is pressing down on you from above, making each step more strenuous than the last.
The dark Shitou at the bottom of the lamp in Bai Yu's hand began to glow, like a wick being slowly lit.
The crevice was behind the black rock, and the entrance was so narrow that one could only squeeze in sideways. Bai Yu stood at the entrance, raised the lamp and shone it inside, but she couldn't see the bottom. It was as if the light was being absorbed by something, only illuminating a few steps in front of her.
She glanced back at the two people behind her.
Shi Yan looked at her without speaking, but his gaze was steady. He had already summoned the Void Resonance Bell and was holding it firmly in his hand.
Bai Rong stood a few steps away, the dark mountain-like patterns on her arms undulating slightly, as if something was slowly flowing beneath.
" Little Baiyu."
Bai Yu stopped and looked back at him.
"Once you're inside, if you really can't hold on, don't force yourself. Your golden thread is connected to my mark; I can feel it."
Bai Yu glanced down at the gold thread on her wrist, then looked up at Bai Rong.
Shi Yan added from the side, "When you hear the bell, it means we're here."
Bai Yu glanced at Bai Rong, then at Shi Yan, nodded, and then turned and squeezed into the crevice.
After she took a few steps inside, the light from outside was cut off. It was pitch black all around, with only the dark Shitou at the bottom of the lamp in her hand emitting a faint glow, barely illuminating the path beneath her feet.
The air became heavy, as if something was pressing down from all directions, and each step required more effort than the last.
Bai Yu supported herself against the stone wall as she walked forward, her footsteps muffled in the narrow passage.
After walking about thirty steps, the light from the entrance behind her could no longer be seen at all. Bai Yu stopped, took a breath, and found that her breathing was much heavier than before.
Then the pressure came.
It wasn't a gradual increase, but rather like something suddenly sinking down in the dark, pressing down on her shoulders, back, and knees, making her body sag an inch.
She gritted her teeth and stood up straight, the lamp in her hand swaying slightly, causing the light from the dark Shitou to flicker.
Shi Yan stood outside the entrance, unable to see what was inside, but he could feel the air changing. The wind surging out of the entrance grew heavier and denser, as if something inside was squeezing the air and pushing it outwards.
He gripped the Void Resonance Bell even tighter.
The mountain-like patterns on Bai Rong's arm were more pronounced than before. He could feel Bai Yu within them—
It was as if there was a golden thread connecting him and her, and he could sense how much Bai Yu was holding on, even through the stone wall.
"She's holding on," Bai Rong said. "She hasn't reached her limit yet."
Shi Yan didn't answer, but he took Bai Rong's words to heart.
Inside, Bai Yu leaned against the stone wall, panting. The pressure hadn't reached its peak yet, but it was already rising.
The gold thread on her left wrist glowed faintly in the shadows, as if it had been ignited by something, and it trailed a short distance down her wrist towards her forearm.
She clenched her left fist tightly, her fingers curling and then relaxing, but the gold thread didn't fade.
She looked up at the dark passage ahead, then straightened up and took another step forward.
Shi Yan, standing outside the entrance, heard the sound of that footstep landing—a dull, forceful sound, as if he were stepping not on Shitou, but on mud.
The mountain-shaped markings on Bai Rong's arm jumped in sync with Bai Yu's step.