Chapter 15: Rain Stops, Samsara Ends – Part 10
“Of course I remember. Even though she’s the new nurse, I could never forget someone who helped me.”
“Is that so? You still remember?”
Perhaps it was because of the curse remaining within Yu Hui, but she still remembered Ling’s existence.
*Is that so? That’s great, Ling. Besides me and Yi, someone else remembers you.*
*You are not alone in this world anymore.*
*With this, your soul shouldn’t have to walk the path of samsara alone. I hope that through this memory, your connection with Yu Hui can continue into the next life.*
*I hope we can meet again.*
“Senpai?”
“Sorry, I got lost in thought for a moment.”
“It’s alright. You were smiling so happily.”
*Ah, so I was smiling?*
I touched the corners of my mouth and looked down at my reflection in the water.
I was indeed smiling, and it was a smile I couldn’t suppress.
In the end, I said something so carefree in front of Lou Yi, but in reality… I was so reluctant to let Ling leave my side.
“Yes, because you gave me new hope.”
“Me?” “Yes. Thank you for still remembering her.”
Yu Hui might find it a bit baffling, but as long as this memory remains, this connection has a chance to continue.
“Senpai, you always say things that are hard to understand. Are you deliberately trying to give off a mysterious impression? I bet many women fall for that mysterious aura of yours.”
“You’re mistaken about that. The mystery is only because you don’t remember. Everything I’ve experienced happened either after I met you, or along the way to meeting you.”
“Is it memories from a past life again?”
“It’s a little different, but you can think of it as a past life.”
“But you said just now that there’s no way to recover them. What’s going on?”
“Where should I begin… Well, since we’ve brought up Ling, let’s start from here.”
“That teacher… you were in a romantic relationship, right?”
“Romantic relationship—yes and no. Our relationship isn’t something that can be explained in a few words.”
Calling her a lover wouldn’t be wrong, nor would calling her a wife, but it was more than that.
Perhaps it was more like a spiritual partner? We spent a long time together, got used to each other’s existence, and in the end, became each other’s only one.
“I killed her.”
“You wouldn’t joke like that to ease the atmosphere. I’m telling the truth. I killed her not long ago.”
“I… I don’t know what to say anymore.”
*Indeed. That sudden confession of being a criminal.*
*It’s quite remarkable that Yu Hui can still sit here so calmly.*
*If I heard someone next to me suddenly say they killed someone, I’d turn and run to call the police immediately.*
*Actually, forget killing someone. If a stranger suddenly appeared in my bathroom, I’d rush to call the police.*
“It was indeed a bit sudden. I won’t go into the specific details with you, but only one of us could continue to exist: Ling and I.”
“Only one could survive? That’s a setting straight out of a tragic novel.”
“Yes, but it was just a setting. If she had truly wanted to keep living, she could have.”
“And she chose to let you kill her with your own hands?”
“You guessed it?”
“The ending of a tragic novel is often like this. If you kill her with your own hands, Senpai, you’ll never forget her, right?”
“Ah, you’re right. Do all women think the same way?”
“Saying things like that will lead to the women you mentioned being slandered to death.”
“That sounds terrifying indeed.”
*Novel.*
“Continue.”
“When she died, she also left me a curse called eternity. Having killed her, I must live forever, for all eternity. No…”
“This isn’t a story, is it?”
“I told you to just take it as a story.”
“Alright. I understand. Sorry, I won’t ask any more irrelevant questions.”
“In the process of killing Ling, your curse was exhausted.”
“My curse? Did I cast a curse? Or is it a curse I contracted? If it’s my curse, why is it on Senpai?”
“It’s a curse *you* cast on *yourself*. The content of the curse is unknown.”
“I cast a curse on myself…”
“Yes. I don’t know what exactly you cursed, but the concentration of this curse was so deep that it turned you into something less than human. To restore you to normal, I absorbed that curse into myself.”
“So, this curse should have originally belonged to me. Therefore, only through this curse can I recover my past life memories.”
“Yes, you understand correctly.”
“Restore—”
“You don’t need to dwell on it, because the curse no longer exists.”
“But! If this curse is gone, I’ll fall into a deep slumber again!”
“Yes, but the reason you’ll fall into a slumber is because your past life memories are revived through dreams. But your current self cannot connect your dreams to your past life memories, which is why you’ll be trapped in a void of sleeping dreams.”
“Therefore, let’s just clear away your past life memories.”
My voice deepened.
Yu Hui’s expression turned pale. She clutched her chest and stumbled back a few steps, her eyes wide as she looked at me and questioned, “What are you going to do to me?”
“I’m not going to say this is for your own good, but I don’t want to see you fall into eternal slumber. So, let me clear it away.”
“All of your accumulated past life memories.”
“You want me to forget everything?!”
“If you haven’t remembered anything now, how can you forget?”
“But those are all my memories!”
Her previously calm and gentle face ignited with a fierce aura, like an elegant cat suddenly screaming and baring its sharp teeth.
I remained seated, my expressionless face repeating the same sentence.
“I told you, you can just take it as a story.”
I had already made up my mind before deciding to find Yu Hui.
To clear Yu Hui’s past life memories and grant her liberation, just like Ling.
Ling must have wanted to tell me this too: it wasn’t just her who had accompanied me all this time, but also Yu Hui.
Ling is gone, and Yu Hui is tired.
It’s time to give her peace.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before me. It was Yu Hui.
She embraced me tightly.
Her soft body pressed against mine, her curves fitting perfectly.
Then her head tilted towards mine, as if she were going to kiss me.
But it wasn’t a kiss, it wasn’t that gentle.
A tearing sound came from my neck.
I looked at the curve of Yu Hui’s back, and the large scar.
I felt her igniting the air around her, an astonishing silence that made the air roar and tear at my heart.
Then, blood splattered.
It was my blood.
She had bitten my neck.
Blood gushed out like a spring, flowing into the hot spring pool, dyeing it red.
Immediately, Yu Hui let go, wiped her mouth, and took two steps back. There was no regret on her face, only determination.
I didn’t cover the wound; there was no need.
White smoke rose from the wound, and it healed instantly.
It was as if I had never been injured.
Yu Hui didn’t spit out the flesh and blood in her mouth; she swallowed it directly and said with a blood-stained mouth, “Now, do you still say this is a story?”
“Time is running out, Bai Yu Hui.”
“So what?”
“The previous bet was that you would graduate. If I returned the curse bit by bit, you could hold on for so long. But now the curse is gone, and the cursed liquid I gave you before will only last until the end of winter break.”
“So what?”
“There aren’t many days left.”
“So what?”
*Is that so? Indeed. If you weren’t this kind of person, you wouldn’t have obsessively followed me through ten cycles of samsara.*
“I’ll give you a hundred seconds. Run.”
Yu Hui walked directly towards me, brushing past me as I said, “Don’t let me catch you.”
“Above all, don’t let me catch you.”
