1321 Wish Come True
"Now, don't ask why I dragged my body to check out that ruined building. Let's just say my curiosity got the best of me at that time. So, even though I felt like I was gonna die, I still had to see that building to curb my curiosity before dying."
"That's something we can expect from you," said Hyson.
"You'd do the same if you were at my place," retorted Xiang Wai.
"No, sis! If it was me, I'd be running in the opposite direction. The fact that the building seemed to come into your view after you got bitten was enough for me to say goodbye and run for the hills."
"Scaredy cat!" "You know, the people who die horribly are often curious or looking for some adventure that leads to their death. I am a person who is very scared of death. There's no shame in telling you that. So, why wouldn't I run for my life?"
Xiang Wai shook her head, "Let's stop here. Let me continue my story."
"Yes, please! Go on!"
Xiang Wai nodded but before she could speak, a cup was pushed into her hand. She looked up at Shui Xian who smiled, "Drink something to moisten your throat. Take your time. There is no rush."
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtXiang Wai said thank you and drank the milk tea. She was surprised that it was milk tea and looked at Shui Xian who passed it to others too but she was wise enough not to question where it came from. It was obvious that he made it himself. She'd be called a fool again by Hyson if she questioned the obvious. "So, where was I?" asked Xiang Wai.
"You entered the ruined building," answered Justin.
Xiang Wai smiled looking at the milk mustache she had and wiped it with a napkin before continuing, "Yes, so, I entered the building. Now, a very surprising thing happened."
"What?"
"The building was on the verge of falling from the outside but it was neat and clean and as good as new from the inside. There wasn't even a single weed growing inside or a speck of dirt. It was a temple. There was incense placed on the table. There were fruits there. There were copied scriptures too lying on the table. Thinking that, it was my last struggle. I lit the incense and kowtowed piously there."
"Did the holy light shine on you?" asked Raelle.
"Are you also teasing me now?" asked Xiang Wai in surprise.
"I'm just asking."
"Well, no my dear little sister. No holy light came down. Instead, when I looked up, I ended up looking into a pair of deep black eyes. I was so startled that I almost fell. But thankfully, I was already on my knees so I couldn't fall."
Hyson shook his head at her stupid joke.
"Whose eyes were those?" asked Justin.
"A girl," answered Xiang Wai.
"Now, you're just making it up," said Hyson.
"But I am not. I swear it's all true. I did end up face-to-face with a girl. It was a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old. She was dressed like..."
"Like a fairy?" asked Justin.
"No, honey. She was dressed in a red bridal dress I'd say. That's what it looked like to me."
"So, you met a girl in a bridal dress in the middle of nowhere and you did not scream and run?" asked Hyson.
"No."
"Why?"
"Honestly speaking, my senses were quite numb at that time because of the snake bite. The poison was slowing down my brain too. At that time, I did not even question why I was looking at a young bride in the middle of nowhere."
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmThis time even Raelle's attention was caught and she dropped her languid posture to ask, "What did she look like?"
"She was pretty. Had a small face. Beautiful eyebrows. The only unsettling thing about her were her black eyes which seemed out of place and a little lifeless too. So, I said, 'Oh, hi there! You're so beautiful.'"
"Why would you say that?" asked Hyson.
"I told you, my senses were lost. I'll tell you very honestly, at that time, I even thought I was hallucinating because of the poison. After all, it's not all that uncommon either. Some poisons have that effect too."
"How did she respond to you?" asked Raelle.
"She gave me a small smile and said, 'You did not wish to live.'"
"Huh? What does that mean?"
"I didn't understand her meaning too at that time. But after I was able to recall that time, I knew why she said that. When I piously lit that incense and kowtowed, I did not ask to live. My wish was something else."
"What was it?"
"I don't share that with you. Let's not talk about this. Let's talk about our young bride. She looked at my leg which was in a very bad condition and then slowly took a wild berry that I recognized from the fruit basket and offered it to me saying, 'Would you like to eat some?' Feeling a bit hungry, I took it and ate it."
"Didn't your mother teach you to not eat what strangers give you? What if it was poisonous?"
"Considering I was already poisoned, I did not see a reason why I couldn't eat that." Xiang Wai gave a glare to Hyson and went on, "Then she sat down with me and asked where I came from. I told her. Then I asked her what she was doing there and she replied, she was waiting for someone. She asked me what the world outside was like and I shared a lot of things with her. We had a great time chatting. I can still vividly recall her smile whenever she found something interesting. I liked her smile so much that I took off the wooden bead I always wore around my wrist and gave it to her as our meeting gift. She seemed to like that very much. After we chatted for hours, I slowly started dozing off. She touched my face and whispered, 'It was nice to meet you. Have a good night. And I hope you don't have to wait for your next life to make your wish come true.'"