Chapter 894: Chapter 646: Director Nalan
Falling into the post-gate world, Yang Xiao’s thoughts became blurred, his mind swarming with countless fragmented and broken images: the female ghost in the drama robe, Fu Qingzhu, Tong Han, Mo Daidai, Brother Sui, Beibei, Director Nalan, Zhuge Zhijie...
Only later did he realize that Director Nalan and the already deceased Zhuge Zhijie were standing side by side, both faces displaying the same rigid and distant smiles, unnaturally pale, gently waving at Yang Xiao as if beckoning him to come over.
Looking further behind them, the ground was undulating with white banners fluttering, which turned out to be rows of graves.
For some reason, Yang Xiao suddenly was able to see the names on the graves clearly: Nalan Shuo, Zhuge Zhijie, Beibei, Da Xiong, Yu Shu, Tong Han, Fu Qingzhu, Li Qingxuan... In an instant, Yang Xiao’s eyes reddened with tears; every name was familiar to him, all of them were his friends.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of music playing, the fog shrouding the graves gradually dissipated, and a funeral procession burst out from the depths of the mist. Odd-looking figures were carrying a big red coffin, ramming forward chaotically, while countless paper money fell from the sky like heavy snow.
Yang Xiao watched helplessly as the funeral procession charged towards Nalan Shuo, who was back to the procession, still oblivious to everything. Yang Xiao’s throat was hoarse from shouting, but to no avail; he could do nothing but watch as the big red coffin violently collided with Nalan Shuo.
In the midst of Yang Xiao’s despair, Nalan Shuo’s body instantly shattered, blood, flesh, and bones smearing the ground, his head rolling chaotically for meters across the floor.
"Director!!" Yang Xiao fell apart emotionally. The next second, he suddenly sat up from the bed, eyes opening to a slightly cramped room.
His forehead was dripping with cold sweat, and Yang Xiao looked around in shock. His vision slowly blurred, and the next second, tears streamed down his face.
"You’re awake." A few meters away from Yang Xiao, at a table, Nalan Shuo was sitting on a backless plastic chair, holding a cigarette in his hand.
Smelling the faint scent of tobacco in the air, Yang Xiao’s lips trembled a few times, but ultimately he said nothing, fearing that everything was a hallucination, and that speaking up would wake him from this dream again.
"Thank you, Little Yang." Nalan Shuo gave Yang Xiao a grateful smile, "Thank you."
It really is the Director... Yang Xiao threw off the covers and leaped down from the bed, but in the next second, his legs weakened, and he fell clumsily to the floor, landing on his knees directly in front of Nalan Shuo with a "thud."
"What are you doing?" This scene also startled Nalan Shuo, who immediately stood up to help Yang Xiao, "Little Yang, you are too polite!"
But at this moment, for Yang Xiao, nothing else mattered; he held tight to Nalan Shuo’s legs, feeling the warmth that belonged solely to a living person. Once he had calmed down a bit, he was helped up by Nalan Shuo, but his gaze never left Nalan’s face, eagerly asking, "Director, how... how did you come back?"
Nalan Shuo helped Yang Xiao to sit on the bed, then sat back down in the chair, facing him, "Fang Zhou and Lou Huixiang are both dead. I went back to find you all. On the way, I encountered a messenger on horseback; I snatched his horse."
"Upon rushing back to Earl Mansion, I went to look for you all in the small courtyard, but none of you were there. I saw the mark you left on the door and knew you were still alive." Nalan Shuo took a long breath and continued with a tone of relief, "I was lucky. When I rushed to Sleeping Gold Pavilion, that door was already close to fading away."
"Are you the only one who survived?" Nalan Shuo looked at Yang Xiao and asked softly.
"Jiang Qingluan too, she also survived. I originally wanted to go back and find you, but she tricked me, led me to that door, and kicked me through it from behind." Although Nalan Shuo didn’t say much and had luckily survived, Yang Xiao always felt guilty, feeling he should have waited and left with Director Nalan.
But Yang Xiao couldn’t complain about Jiang Qingluan; after all, she was doing what she thought was best for him. Based on the situation at that time, the odds of Nalan Shuo surviving were almost nonexistent.
Nalan Shuo smiled and gave Yang Xiao a reassuring look, "Jiang Qingluan is a good kid. Our Patrol Defense Office and the Yi Sect can have a dialogue, you should consider it."
"Consider what?" Yang Xiao’s mind was a bit chaotic, and he didn’t grasp the meaning immediately.
Nalan Shuo slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, extinguished the cigarette butt in the ashtray, and looking up at Yang Xiao, said, "Of course, your own matters. You’re not getting any younger, and it’s not easy to find someone suitable. There are very few who can earn the respect of Xiang Fengchen among the younger generation."
"Don’t tease me, Director. I am out of her league." Yang Xiao shook his head. He had enough troubles of his own and was not in the mood to think about these matters.
Jiang Qingluan was one of the few who Yang Xiao himself found difficult to handle. Like Tong Han, she was meticulous and decisive in her actions.
Back by the well, when he had hit Chang Chuchu on the back of the head with a rock, this woman had just hesitated for a moment, then quickly stepped forward to help, using so much force to break Chang Chuchu’s leg, allowing them to throw the girl down the well together.
Thinking back to this, Yang Xiao couldn’t help but sigh. In an 11-person mission, besides Fang Zhou, all were veterans, yet in the end, only three survived.
Frankly, Yang Xiao didn’t think it was too few; considering the difficulty of the mission, a total annihilation would have been the norm.
Moreover, the three survivors might still have to pay a price.
"Director, the Life Burning Incense that was burned in the nightmare..." Yang Xiao spoke only half the sentence, the meaning clear enough.
