Chapter 2 – Living in an Endless Dream (Part 2)

The wind chime was jingling melodiously in the breezy afternoon. She slowly pushed her heavy eyelids open. Her head was still hurting, and she could feel a hot burning sensation in her stomach, but she did not seem to be bothered by it. Her gaze was fixed on the intricate wind chime hanging outside of the window. She watched it dancing in the wind and listened attentively to the beautiful sound it made. She knew he was sitting beside her, but she did not say anything. He just sat quietly while watching over her patiently. After an exceptionally long moment, he finally asked gently, "How are you feeling?"

There was a long pause before she finally replied, "My head hurts, and my stomach is burning." Her gaze was still fixed on to the wind chime. He smiled gently, as he continued, "You will feel better soon. If the pain gets worse, I can prescribe you with pain killer, but I do not recommend you to use it. Just try to bear with it for a while."

"Are you a physician?" She finally turned her head around and met his gaze. Looking into those gentle eyes, it made one felt calm and relaxed.

"Yes. My name is Zheng Qing Yao."

"Are you the one who saved me?"

Before Qing Yao could reply, Xiao Yun appeared behind him and answered excitedly, "Yes, Master is the one who rescued you from the battlefield. You were heavily injured and had been in coma for almost a month! I am the one who has been taking care of you daily since you arrived here! My name is Xiao Yun!"

"Xiao Yun, don't interrupt Master's conversation with the lady. Go and wait outside." Mu Yin chastised as she walked in with a tray in her hand. Xiao Yun lowered her head in disappointment and pouted, "I just wanted to talk to the lady…"

Qing Yao let out a low laugh as he patted her head tenderly. "When she feels better later, you can talk to her. Now, go outside and play." Xiao Yun nodded reluctantly and walked out of the room. Mu Yin placed the tray down. There was an incense burner on the tray. Qing Yao took the incense burner and placed it near the bed.

"Mu Yin, bring some clean clothes over for the young lady." He instructed.

Mu Yin nodded and excused herself from the room. Qing Yao turned his attention back to the lady and explained, "This incense can help to ease your pain and let you sleep better."

The young lady did not reply him as she studied him quietly. Qing Yao met her gaze, and he understood immediately what was on her mind.

"Don't worry, you are safe here." He said reassuringly to her.

Her eyes searched his suspiciously, as if she did not believe him. She finally spoke, "She says you rescued me from the battlefield, but I don't remember anything."

"Your memory loss is quite a common side effect as you had been in coma for a month." He paused for a moment to study her reaction. "I understand your confusion, but I promise you that no one will hurt you here, so the most important thing now is for you to get better soon. Anything else can be discussed later."

Her eyes remained cold and difficult to read. Seeing her tense reaction, Qing Yao sighed in resignation and began to explain, "I am a royal physician, and I was assigned to assist the Silver Army on that day." The memory of blood splattering and bodies falling lifelessly on the ground flashed briefly in her mind. She remained composed as she continued to listen to Qing Yao's explanation.

"I am not sure if you still remember… The palace was invaded, and the Scarlet Emperor's army was defeated…" He paused for a moment as he watched closely for any changes in her expression, but her eyes remained icy cold. He took a deep breath, and continued, "The Scarlet Emperor had lost his sanity after suffering an utter defeat. He went to his own inner harem and slaughtered everyone including his concubines, maids and servants. After that, he set the palace on fire, and committed suicide. Everything perished in a mystical fire that burnt for three days and three nights before it extinguished by itself miraculously."

The mention of the event brought a tiny reaction to her, as her eyes widen upon hearing it. Fragment of memories flashed across her mind again. She saw fire everywhere and bodies of dead servants lying on the ground. They were crying and begging desperately for their lives. Those proud and beautiful women, who had never once bowed their heads to anyone, were kneeling on their knees and wailing in fear. One by one, their throats were slit mercilessly by the Scarlet Emperor, and blood splattered everywhere.

There was a sudden sharp stabbing pain in her head, and she immediately shut her eyes.

"Are you alright?" Qing Yao quickly asked in concern.

"I am fine," she replied curtly, and opened her eyes again. Her gaze was cold and empty.

"Then how did you find me?"

Qing Yao realized that she was a very stubborn person. He continued with his explanation. "I went to inspect the scene with the troops after the fire, and I found you lying among the bushes, on a small pathway outside of the palace. You must have managed to escape during the massacre but suffered fatal wounds. Truthfully, I am not sure whether you will make it or not, but fortunately, you have an extraordinarily strong will." He spoke cautiously, as if afraid to agitate her again.

How did I end up there? She thought to herself quietly.

No matter how hard she tried to remember, her memories were like a huge blank canvas, and her head began hurting again. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She heard Qing Yao spoke softly to her, "Don't overexert yourself. It is alright for not remembering. No, it is better to just forget about it. What happened is in the past now."

She opened her eyes and stared straight at him, "Why did you help me?"

Qing Yao looked at her in amusement. "Why shouldn't I?"

He smiled wanly as he replied, "You have the right to be suspicious of my motive, but my reason is quite simple. I am a physician, and my responsibility is to save lives, no matter who they are."

Her brow rose upon hearing his explanation. "No matter who…?"

Qing Yao nodded and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Do you know who I am?"

Qing Yao looked at her thoughtfully. "Judging from your clothes when I found you, you should be a maid from the inner harem. Am I wrong?" He smiled at her and waited patiently for a reply. He looked like he was speaking the truth but the gleam in his eyes hinted something else. She realized at that moment that he knew she was more than a lowly maid, but despite not knowing her true identity, he did not seem to think that she was a bad person. He probably suspected her as a part of the inner harem.

"Aren't you afraid that I am a bad person?"

Qing Yao was taken aback by her question. He stared at her for a long moment, and finally replied. "I don't think a bad person will ask me this question."

He paused for a moment and added, "If you are really a bad person, then promise me that you will not hurt innocent people from now on. As long as you can do that, I don't care and don't need to know about your past. No one here will also care about your past, and you can start anewss."

She looked straight into his eyes. There was no ill intention. There was only honesty and sincerity. It was something that she could not fathom at all.

"Actually, you were as good as dead on the day I found you. I did not know if I can save you, but somehow you manage to make it through. Perhaps, it is fate. Since you have survived, so why not take it as the Heaven's will? A chance for a new life and a new start. Think about it slowly. You don't have to reply me now." He stood up and began walking out.

"You are a weird person." she commented.

Qing Yao chuckled, "Rest well."

She watched him walked away in a daze. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and listened to the jingling sound of the wind chime. It was a very peaceful and soothing sound to the ears.

A new life? A new start? He did not know who I am, but he is willing to take the risk. Now that the world believes the Scarlet Emperor is dead. Is this really the Heaven's will for me to start an ordinary life again?

For the next few days, every day, she would sit quietly on her bed and gazed out from the window. Qing Yao would come by to check on her health condition daily. She never spoke a word to him. As for him, he would just sit quietly by her side and accompanied her to look out of the window. Perhaps he was curious too. What could make her looked on everyday so curiously?

After a week, on one sunny afternoon, Qing Yao came to check on her again.

"You are recovering well."

She was looking out of the window as usual. Qing Yao smiled and continued talking to himself.

"You should leave the bed and start walking around. It will be good for your recovery. How about taking a stroll in the garden now? You can see the sky more clearly from the outside."

She did not reply, so Qing Yao stood up to leave the room.

"…Yeah."

He did not expect her to reply and was stupefied. It was her first word ever since their last conversation. She turned around and looked into his eyes. "Can I trouble Mister Zheng to help me up?"

He broke into a gentle smile and took a light robe to drape around her shoulder. He helped her up, but her legs were still very weak, so she almost fell. He steadied her gently and gave her some time to get used to her numb legs. Slowly and steadily, they walked out of the room toward the garden. When they reached outside, she turned to him and said, "I can walk by myself."

He nodded and let her walk on her own. At first, she was unsteady, but slowly, her steps became more and more steady, and she began took wider steps too. She walked for a short distance and stopped. She looked up to the vast blue sky and took a deep breath. Qing Yao slowly walked up to her and stood quietly by her side. After a moment, she turned to look at him.

"I am a humble servant who is extremely fortunate to receive Mister Zheng's help. I will be forever indebted to you. In the future, I will definitely return this gratitude to you. So… please take care of me for now."

He could not hide his smile upon hearing her words. She called herself a humble servant, yet her voice was filled with dignity and pride. It made him grew even more curious of her identity. He had to remind himself that he promised not to ask. No matter what, she had made up her mind.

"From now on, no one will ever know about your past. You are free to stay here as long as you want."

"I will work to earn for my own living. A servant will do what a servant should do." There was no hesitation in her voice.

"I understand, but… you have yet to tell me your name."

"My name..." She seemed lost in her own thought again for a moment. "You can call me whatever you want."

Qing Yao looked at her in surprise and replied, "If you don't feel like using your old name, then give a new name. I cannot call you whatever I want."

She did not reply immediately, but instead turned to look away into a far distant. There were hints of sorrow in her eyes. Suddenly light droplets of water began falling from the sky.

"It is raining. We should head back inside now." Qing Yao quickly said as he led her back into the house. They walked to the corridor to take shelter from the rain.

She stood solemnly and watched the rain slowly fell from the sky.

"All my life, I have been living a life like a dream. A dream that I could never be awakened from."

"That dream has ended now." Qing Yao assured.

"Really? But why even now, I still feel like I am living in a dream. Just that it is another dream now." She held out her hand to try to capture the raindrops, but the droplets of water kept sliding off her hand. "If I try, will I be able to hold onto something that does not belong to me?"

"If you do not try in the first place, then how do you know?"

"Hmm, perhaps…" A faint smile appeared on her beautiful face, as if she had found an answer to a difficult question. "You can call me Meng (Dream) Yu (Rain) from now on."