Chapter 106: The Past that did not Happen
Qingyan knew he was dreaming; it wasn’t the first time.
As soon as he entered the dream, he sensed something was amiss.
It was a cold autumn morning with thick fog. Qingyan found himself in a bustling market where all the surrounding shops were closed, yet there were many pedestrians on the streets.
Someone was shouting, “Hurry up, don’t be late to see it.”
Another person waved towards that voice, saying, “Wait for me, wait for me.”
There was also someone excitedly yelling, “I missed it last year, I must see it this year.”
A woman’s voice nearby remarked, “What’s so interesting about this? It’s creepy.”
The man replied, “It’s the creepiness that’s interesting. Just imagine, a big live person pressed down, neck stretched out, and the executioner spits on his hands, then with a snap, the live head falls to the ground, warm blood splashing everywhere. That kind of sight, so thrilling!”
The woman let out a gagging sound and quickly turned away.
Another person scoffed and continued excitedly running in the opposite direction.
Subconsciously, Qingyan followed behind that person, his heart racing, and his right eyelid twitching irregularly, feeling like it might burst out of his chest.
He walked for about half an incense stick’s worth of time, and the crowd grew denser.
Qingyan was squeezed into the crowd, his feet almost off the ground, involuntarily following the flow of people towards a certain direction.
The closer he got, the more anxious he became.
Qingyan widened his terrified eyes, looking around but his vision was obscured by the thick fog. He could only see excited faces and hear chaotic chatter.
“Clang, clang!”
In the dense fog, suddenly two loud gongs rang out.
The crowded people all looked towards the direction of the sound. Just at that moment, the fog suddenly dispersed completely towards the edges.
At first glance, Qingyan saw a wooden platform in the direction of the gongs, with a burly figure standing there.
He knew this person; it was Zhou Yanliang’s father, Zhou Dashan.
Zhou Dashan had a fierce appearance, although he was old with wrinkles on his face, his muscles were strong, and the fierceness in his eyes was even more intimidating than when he was younger.
At this moment, just as the man had described earlier, Zhou Dashan spat on his hands, wiped them, and then picked up a large, shiny, razor-sharp knife gripped between his powerful thighs.
He swung it a few times in the air, and cheers erupted from the crowd around him. Zhou Dashan smirked proudly, then lowered his head to look at someone kneeling beside him.
The fog still lingered in that area, obscuring the person’s appearance. Qingyan could only see him dressed in a gray robe with tears and holes, but because of his tall and straight stature, his broken and ragged clothes didn’t diminish his dignity.
His long hair was tied behind his head, strands floating around his chest, brushing against his cheeks, then fluttering back with the wind.
Qingyan’s heart pounded like a drum as he strained to see.
As if in response to his anticipation, the fog suddenly retreated violently at that moment. The kneeling person also looked up.
Those calm, lake-like eyes were filled with blood-red color.
Qingyan opened his mouth as if to call his name, but his throat felt choked, unable to make a sound.
Just then, at the end of the platform, the fog continued to dissipate, revealing a person sitting on a high chair in official robes.
With drooping eyelids, he looked indifferently down at the area beneath the high chair, casually picked up a bamboo slip from a tube, and with a snap, threw it on the ground.
Before Qingyan could realize what it was, and as he screamed “no” with all his might, Zhou Dashan’s mountain-like figure had already moved. With a snap, amid exclamations and shouts from the crowd, a head rolled to the ground, and red blood sprayed out.
Qingyan stared blankly at the blood-red eyes of the head, seeing tears of blood rolling down.
Thud, thud, thud.
In the darkness, Qingyan opened his eyes, devoid of sleepiness, with the sound of his heartbeat ringing in his ears.
His clothes behind were damp with cold sweat.
After waking up, he remained motionless, even trying to breathe evenly. Qingyan didn’t want to wake up Qiu Henian, who was sleeping next to him. He knew that these days, even when the other party was asleep, he was always paying attention to him, hardly getting a good night’s rest.
He dared not even close his eyes. Every time he did, the scenes he had just seen in his dream would replay before his eyes.
It was the scene of Qiu Henian being beheaded.
…
At that time, the original owner met Yang Huai at the county market. The two hit it off at first sight.
The original owner wasn’t naive; after meeting Yang Huai privately several times, he didn’t let the other party succeed completely. When he was pushed to the limit, he requested help to free himself from his current marriage.
The blacksmith had spent a lot of silver to marry him, and he thought the other party would not easily let him go, so he wanted Yang Huai to double the money.
But Yang Huai had already killed several people by then, not caring about human life. He said that since he wanted to do it, he had to eliminate future troubles and find a way to kill him.
The original owner knew that the blacksmith was not stupid, and the other party seemed to suspect that he was having an affair with Yang Huai, so he reluctantly agreed.
At that time, there were frequent wars in the north, and the wolves were active on the border.
Yang Huai had someone in the county office, so he forged documents and requisitioned the blacksmith’s shop to make weapons.
After receiving the documents, Qiu Henian did not suspect anything. He began to make spears and armor according to the requirements on the document.
On the day the first batch of spears was completed, a group of bailiffs rushed in, accusing him of making weapons without authorization.
This was a capital offense.
On the day of the execution, the original owner did not go. At that time, he finally let Yang Huai succeed as promised.
Since then, there was no need to avoid anyone. The original owner moved into Yang’s residence. Yang Huai was not someone who stayed committed, and the original owner didn’t mind that either.
Instead, he ran to Yang’s shop every day, learning bookkeeping and the ins and outs of buying and selling goods. Whenever Yang Huai returned home, he would cry and complain about the original owner’s misbehavior outside. But as soon as people left and tears were wiped away, he would go out to learn more about business.
The original owner never really fancied Yang Huai. He was just a springboard to jump out of the past. After two years, the original owner surprisingly gained some status in the Yang household. Yang Huai handed over part of the business to him, and he managed it competently.
However, Yang Huai was not foolish. While he entrusted the business to him and shared a bed, he tightly controlled the money. He only treated him as an ordinary manager in the house, ensuring that large sums of money never fell into his hands.
The original owner realized this couldn’t go on. He would forever be making wedding dresses for others. That’s when he started to secretly stash away a portion of a business deal.
He did it cleverly, ensuring no one would easily notice.
He waited for a while, and with another windfall, he could leave the Yang household and fly away.
But by an unfortunate mistake, Yang Huai discovered the hidden account while checking the books. When he realized the original owner had been using him, he flew into a rage. He knocked him unconscious and dumped him outside.
This was the true reason why the original owner met such a tragic end.
There was one thing that Qingyan now found unsettling. When he first arrived in this world, he didn’t know Qiu Henian very well. Most of his impressions of him came from the original owner.
But as they spent more time together, he realized Qiu Henian wasn’t the kind of person who would unquestioningly sacrifice himself for the sake of appearances or family honor.
According to the senior brother of the old physician, Qiu Henian’s poison was slowly dissipating. Even without intentional detoxification, over the years, the toxicity would diminish or even disappear, albeit slowly.
So, when he walked to the execution ground, was it possible he had already recovered some memories?
Qingyan couldn’t know for sure, and Qiu Henian himself didn’t know either, because those events had never actually happened.
Perhaps this mystery would never be solved.
However, that wasn’t the focus. Since the first day Qingyan arrived in this world, he knew that Yang Huai was the nemesis of him and Qiu Henian.
Qingyan tried his best to avoid contact with him and even reminded Qiu Henian to be cautious of official documents from the county or the court, especially those related to weapons.
Though Qiu Henian didn’t understand the reason behind his words, he still agreed as usual.
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
Qingyan was deep in thought when hurried footsteps suddenly ran into the shop entrance, heavy and urgent.
For some reason, Qingyan’s mind went blank. The word “here” flashed through his mind instantly, a sense of despair as if a sharp sword had finally fallen, and his hand holding the ledger trembling slightly.
