Renegade Immortal (WN)

In a trance, Wang Lin looked a the fire, but he was interrupted by the sound of swallowing saliva. He looked around to see the middle-aged man not far away looking at the dried food in his hand. The middle-aged man constantly licked his lips and revealed a pitiful look.

Looking at the man, Wang Lin smiled. At this moment, he didn’t feel like the middle-aged man was a stranger, he just felt pity.

“Here you go.” Wang Lin took out dried food from his bamboo backpack and passed it to the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man’s eyes widened, and after swallowing his saliva, he rushed over. He grabbed the dried food and devoured it in just two bites.

“Delicious, delicious. This king hasn’t eaten for several days… Eh? Why do I call myself ‘king?’” The middle-aged man frozen for a moment and shook his head. He no longer thought about it and looked pitifully at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin took out a few more pieces of dried food and handed them over. He softly asked, “What’s your name? Why are you here? Where is your family?”

The middle-aged man gave him an unspeakable reason. The more he made contact with this middle-aged man, the stronger the feeling became. It was as if they knew each other before, and now there was a feeling of guilt in his heart.

The middle-aged man took the dried food and was about to eat. He was startled by Wang Lin’s words and then began to cry as he looked at the dried food in his hand.

“I don’t know what my name is… When I woke up, I was in the mountains. I can’t think of anything… Golden light, I remember waking up surrounding by golden light and a lot of people trying to catch up. Hmph, hmph, but they can’t can’t find me.” The middle-aged man cried and his voice became blurry.

Wang Lin’s gaze became even more gentle. Seeing the man devouring his dried food, which he didn’t have much of left, in a few bites again, he shook his head and smiled. He then took out his water pouch and handed it to the madman.

The middle-aged man drank a few big mouthfuls and then let out a hiccup. He looked at the smiling Wang Lin and handed over the chicken leg in had in his hand.

“Here you go, this chicken leg is not tasty anymore.”

Wang Lin smiled and took the chicken leg. He didn’t eat it but wrapped it and placed it inside his backpack.

The rain outside the temple became even heavier, with the thunder rumbling and lightning flashing. The temple’s door continued to swing with the wind and would sometimes hit the wall. Aside from the creaking sounds, there was now also the sound of the door banging on the wall.

The entire world became dark, with only the fire in the temple leaking out. It was a faint light in this dark world.

Wang Lin and the middle-aged man sat next to the fire. Warmth slowly appeared within their wet clothes.

Wang Lin looked at the fire and softly said, “Perhaps it’s good to not know who you are. Sometimes even if you know who you are, you can’t help but think you’re in someone else’s dream… I have been dreaming a lot lately, and that dream is so real, I can’t separate it from reality.”

The middle-aged man drank a mouthful of water and murmured as he shook his head.

“Says who? Try to think of how painful it is not knowing who you are. Hmph, hmph, if it was me, it wouldn’t matter if it was a dream, as long as I’m happy. As long as I’m happy, it’s all good.

Wang Lin’s eyes narrowed. The man’s words touched him.

“As long as I’m happy, then it’s all good… My dream is to pass the imperial examine so that my parents can have a good life and not be looked down upon by our relatives…” Wang Lin silently pondered for a long time and then nodded.

Wang Lin looked up. He put more dried branches into the fire and asked, “What are you? What are your dreams?”

The middle-aged man yawned and seemed sleepy. When he heard Wang Lin, he suddenly became spirited and began speaking excitedly.

“Me, I have many dreams. I want a lot of spirit stones. I want a lot of silver. I want a lot of delicious food…” As he spoke he swallowed.

“What is a spirit stone?” Wang Lin was startled.

“Spirit stone? Eh, I said ‘spirit stone,’ but what is spirit stone?” The middle-aged man was also startled. He scratched his head and looked at Wang Lin.

Wang Lin silently pondered for a bit and then smiled. He didn’t question more and began to talk with the madman.

The two of them seemed to have endless words to say to each other. The madman was originally sleepy, but the more he spoke, the more excited he became. He didn’t know why, but Wang Lin gave him a warming feeling, like a relative.

The wind outside howled and would occasionally blow into the temple, causing the fire to flicker. It would also bring in a chill, but it no longer made the two of them feel cold.

Even the elusive smile from the statue behind them slowly softened. A sense of warmth shrouded the temple and dispersed the coldness here.

It was late into the night, but not only had the rain not stopped, it had become even stronger. The fire before Wang Lin slowly weakened because dried branches weren’t added, so it seemed like it could go out at any moment.

“I’ll tell you a secret. I have never told this secret to anyone else,” the middle-aged man said to Wang Lin mysteriously.

Wang Lin looked at him and nodded with a smile. He revealed an look of interest.

The middle-aged man stretched out his right hand before Wang Lin.

“Look, look here. What do you see?” The middle-aged man pointed at his right wrist and became even more smug.

However, aside from it being dirty, there was nothing there. Wang Lin looked at it for a while and bitterly shook his head.

“Eh, you can’t see anything? Impossible, wait and let me go wash.” The middle-aged man quickly ran to some water in the temple and watched his right arm. Then he returned to Wang Lin, raised his right hand again, and mysteriously whispered, “You see it now?”

Wang Lin’s expression turned strange and he shook his head again. He indeed didn’t see anything.

The middle-aged man became furious and roared at Wang Lin.

“Take a closer look, widen your eyes and take a look. You… You… How can you not see? You liar, you clearly see it.”

Wang Lin rubbed his forehead and held the middle-aged man’s right hand before his eyes. After looking for a bit, he smiled and nodded, “I see it, I indeed see it.”

“Hehe, I’m good, right? Hmph, I’m going to find this person. He should know me.” The middle-aged man sat on the side and looked at his arm. He slowly went into a daze.

“I need to find him. I faintly have a feeling that he promised to take care of me. He promised to take me to play, but he left… No one is left to care about me. I’m the only one left… I’m going to find him. I have to find him.”

As he muttered, his expression dimmed and he curled up as he looked at his arm. His voice grew weaker until he fell asleep.

Wang Lin let out a sigh and got up to take out a thick cloth. Not caring that the middle-aged man was dirty, Wang Lin placed his cloth over him. This seemed to disturb the middle-aged man, who grabbed the cloth and turned before falling back to sleep. His right arm was facing Wang Lin.

Wang Lin sat next to the fire and watched the gradually weakening flames. He silently pondered in this silent temple with the rain still falling outside.

His heart was no longer confused. Dreams were only dreams, nothing would change. Even if this was just a dream, he was still going to be happy, he was still going to walk forward with determination.

“Let’s just say that dream is my other life! Although that life was wonderful and even magnificent, the sadness and loneliness from that dream makes one’s heart ache…” Wang Lin seemed to gain an understanding of some things.

At this moment, the fire dimmed and completely extinguished. The smoke rose and darkness shrouded the temple once more. Wang Lin leaned against the pillar and was about to sleep while the middle-aged man snored. Just as he was about to close his eyes, his eyes suddenly widened and he turned to look at the middle-aged man.

Now that the temple was dark, there was a faint, golden light coming from the middle-aged man. This light came from his wrist, where there was a faint palmprint!

It was as if an invisible hand had grabbed the madman’s right wrist and left this print.

Looking at the palmprint, a very familiar feeling appeared in Wang Lin’s heart. He was startled for a long time and then looked at his own hand. However, the palmprint was blurry, so it was impossible to make out. Wang Lin was startled for a long time and then shook his head.

The rain fell all night and didn’t stop until dawn. The fragrance of the earth permeated the world and drifted into the temple.

One night, no dream.

Wang Lin opened his eyes and stretched his body. Looking at the sky outside the temple, he stretched his stiff body. He looked at the middle-aged man, who was still snoring. The middle-aged man’s right arm had returned to normal; the golden palmprint could no longer be seen.

Hiding the doubt in the bottom of his heart, Wang Lin packed his clothes and changed into a clean outfit. He then pushed the middle-aged man a few times. Seeing the middle-aged man wake up, he clasped his hands and smiled.

“Our meeting last night can considered fate. My name is Wang Lin. I still have to take the imperial exam, if we can…” As Wang Lin was speaking, he stopped. The madman had his head lowered and looked crestfallen.

After pondering a bit, Wang Lin kept one day of dried food and took out the rest. He placed it before the madman and whispered, “I need to go, you can definitely find that person, definitely.”

Somehow, he felt relucent. He looked at the middle-aged man before letting out a sigh and heading out of the temple. However, before he walked out of the door, he heard the madman cry.

“They all left me. He left and you left. No one cares about me…”

Wang Lin’s footsteps stopped and he looked at the sky outside. After a moment, he turned around and looked at the crying middle-aged man inside the temple. He softly said,

“I… I’m missing a book boy. You’re a bit old, but it should be no problem…”

At this moment, Wang Lin didn’t know that what he had said was like a reincarnation cycle. Back when he first saw the madman, he faintly felt like he had seen him before. It was back in the human trial in the Fallen Land, where he saw another version of himself and the housekeeper-like book boy.

That person held the wine and was constantly worried about the money for the wine.