Whispers of a Lonely City Beyond the Heavens – Chapter 45

Ch 45: Tears Are Poisonous

“Wei Wei, Grandfather told me to take care of you for a lifetime, and I’ll always remember those words. But he also told you to always listen to me, and you need to remember that too. You promised, didn’t you?”

“I don’t want to, I just don’t!” Wei Wei cried. “Every one of you tells me to be obedient. When Grandfather left me with Grandmother last time, he told me to behave, but why don’t any of you ever think about how I feel? I was all alone there, only able to talk to the little fish and birds every day…”

Wei Wei’s tearful complaints added another wound to Long Yang’s heart, but he couldn’t afford to soften.

“Wei Wei, we all tell you to listen because you’re still young,” Long Yang said gently. “Though you’re clever, you can’t yet think about the long term. I promise you, six months at most. After six months, whether I’ve recovered my memories or not, I’ll come back for you right away. Okay?”

Wei Wei looked up, staring at Long Yang with desperate eyes for a moment. Then, she wiped her tears forcefully and stood up.

“Big Brother, go find your family, go find that sister from your dreams,” she said. “I won’t cling to you anymore.”

Though she had wiped away her tears, her little nose still twitched uncontrollably, and her mouth quivered, clearly holding back more crying.

“Wei Wei, if you need to cry, just cry. Let it all out, cry as long as you want—it’s fine.”

“No,” Wei Wei tilted her head back, “from now on, I’ve grown up. I really should grow up. Big Brother, you won’t see me cry again.”

“Wei Wei is so sensible.” Long Yang fought hard to suppress the pain in his heart. “Come on, I’ll take you to the lake.”

“Big Brother, no need. I know the way here.” Wei Wei turned and walked off.

Long Yang hurried a few steps after her, handing her the two knapsacks left by Zhang Tianxun. “Wei Wei, let Xiao Hei go with you. It can keep you company.”

Wei Wei slung the knapsacks over her back, strapped on her longsword, and stepped into the reed marsh. Long Yang patted Xiao Hei’s head. “Xiao Hei, follow Sister Wei Wei. I’ll come find you later.”

At first, Xiao Hei seemed reluctant. Long Yang gave its backside a light smack. “Go on, you need to listen.” Finally, Xiao Hei chased after Wei Wei.

The paths in the reed marsh twisted and turned. Long Yang watched them disappear around a bend and couldn’t help but follow. He trailed far behind, noticing Wei Wei ignoring Xiao Hei, just walking faster and faster on her own.

After following for over a li, Wei Wei suddenly stopped and, without turning, said, “Big Brother, you’re not familiar with these paths. Don’t follow me anymore. If it gets dark, you won’t find your way out.”

“Wei Wei, take care!” Long Yang halted, waving hard at her back.

Wei Wei and Xiao Hei soon vanished into the reed marsh. Long Yang stood there dazed for a long time before turning back. Only then did he realize the sky had darkened.

He walked a stretch, feeling like he’d gone far, but still hadn’t left the reed marsh. The moon peeked through gaps in the clouds, casting faint light through the misty haze. The narrow trail beneath his feet remained just barely visible.

After a while, he felt exhausted and pulled out his wine gourd. He took a sip every few steps, and soon, he’d drunk about half of it.

The air was filled with the croaking of frogs and chirping of insects. He trudged on under the pale moonlight, walking for quite a while without exiting the marsh. Growing anxious, he started singing: *Beyond the mountains, beyond the towers, there’s a fairy mountain, and deep within that fairy mountain…*

Barely a few lines in, he startled himself with his own voice.

All this time, he’d been holding back tears. The ones that should’ve spilled from his eyes had been forced through his nose, down his throat, and swallowed into his stomach.

Tears are poisonous. He’d held back so many that his nose ached, and his throat felt stabbed by needles. How could he possibly sing?

Long Yang stopped holding back, letting tears blur his vision.

The marsh’s paths twisted with many forks. He wandered a long while, still trapped inside, and panic crept in. After some thought, he took off his shoes, planning to wade through the water.

Suddenly, a figure approached from behind. Long Yang spun around. The figure let out a couple of “woof woof” sounds, wagging its tail as it ran over—it was Xiao Hei.

Long Yang was alarmed. “Did something happen to Wei Wei?”

Xiao Hei made a soft, drawn-out “woo-loo woo-loo” sound, shaking its head and wagging its tail. Though Long Yang still couldn’t understand its “dog language,” he could roughly grasp its meaning—at least its emotions weren’t hard to read.

Relieved that Wei Wei was safe, he eased up a bit.

“Why did you come back to me?” he began scolding Xiao Hei. “Don’t you know Wei Wei will be lonely here by herself? That’s why I left you with her, to keep her company.”

Xiao Hei rested its head against Long Yang’s leg, as if determined to stick to him.

Long Yang grew anxious and pushed Xiao Hei away. “Wei Wei’s already afraid of being alone, and now even you’ve left her. She must be so sad—do you get it? Go back to her right now. Stop clinging to me.”

Xiao Hei met Long Yang’s stern gaze and stepped back, but it didn’t obediently leave.

It let out a string of garbled sounds, complex and varied in tone, almost like human speech, yet Long Yang couldn’t make sense of it no matter how hard he tried.

Between him and Xiao Hei, complex communication was impossible. A wry smile crossed Long Yang’s face.

He could only guess that Wei Wei, in a fit of temper, had driven Xiao Hei away.

He tried shooing Xiao Hei back, but it ran a few steps, then returned.

Long Yang shook his head, exasperated. “Fine. If Wei Wei doesn’t want you, you can stay with me. I can’t leave you behind either. I’m lost now—lead me out.”

He whistled, and Xiao Hei immediately bounded ahead. Long Yang followed, and soon they emerged from the reed marsh. To his surprise, the two horses were still waiting there.

Long Yang wasn’t ready to ride off yet. He grabbed one rein and walked, leading the horse, while the other followed on its own.

He walked slowly, glancing back every three steps.

“Wei Wei’s still a little girl. When she’s upset, she throws tantrums. You should’ve stuck to her shamelessly—she’d have liked you,” Long Yang couldn’t help but grumble at Xiao Hei. It was so clever, he thought—a creature as smart as a human should take responsibility for its actions. “What, are you too proud to take a little grievance?”

Xiao Hei lowered its head, slowing its pace, as if it sensed the reproach in Long Yang’s tone.

“She said she’s grown up and won’t cry anymore, but I know she’s crying right now. She’ll cry when she sees that stern Grandmother. And that Grandmother won’t talk to her much either. She’ll go back to her room and keep crying, soaking her pillow with tears.” Long Yang kept talking to Xiao Hei, though it was mostly muttering to himself.

Xiao Hei responded with a couple of “woo woo” sounds. Long Yang figured it was like a human saying, “Mm, mm, yes,” probably just showing it was listening.

After a few more steps, Long Yang suddenly stopped the horse. “Xiao Hei, how about we go check on her? Let’s stay with that stern Grandmother tonight. At least there’s food, and we can swim in the lake.”

He let go of the reins and strode back quickly. Xiao Hei turned and raced after him.

With Xiao Hei leading, it didn’t take long to cross the vast reed marsh again.