It took I don't know how long, but I finally managed to walk out of the woods and onto a highway.
It looked like a national road, but I had no idea where it led.
Just as I was about to call Fatty, I discovered my phone was off. I then remembered that my phone didn't have much battery when I came out at night.
Now what? I had to walk back in the middle of the night?
It was a problem to figure out which way to go.
Taking a deep breath, I looked up at the sky, trying to use the stars to find my direction. After a long time, I couldn't even figure out which one was the North Star.
Helpless, I could only walk along the road, thinking that if I encountered a passing car, I could flag one down and get a ride back.
After walking for less than ten minutes, I saw a car parked by the side of the road not far away. My heart leaped, and I quickened my pace.
To my surprise, when I reached the car and saw the person inside, I was stunned.
It was Feng Shu sitting in the car!
She wasn't surprised to see me. Instead, she rolled down the window and said, "Get in."
I got in, pulling the door open, my face full of confusion. "How did you get here?"
"I'm here to wait for you, of course."
"Wait for me?" I was taken aback. "You knew I would come here?"
She smiled without saying more and asked, "You got the Guanyin statue, right?"
I nodded, my mind a swirl of questions. How did this woman know I would be here?
Moreover, I didn't even know where this place was, yet she was waiting for me here.
Did she have fortune-telling abilities? Did she know I would get lost tonight and would end up here?
This was too unbelievable.
"I saw you weren't carrying the Guanyin statue during the day, so I knew you must have hidden it near the farmstead," Feng Shu said. "It seems that was indeed the case."
"So you figured I would definitely come here tonight to get the Guanyin statue?" I asked.
She nodded while driving.
"Then how did you know I would take this road?"
"I followed your car to the small road. I was waiting for you over there, but your friend seemed to have encountered some trouble, so they drove off first. I didn't see you in the car..."
She turned and smiled at me. "There are only two roads around here: one is the dirt road leading to the farmstead, and the other is the national road. Since you didn't come out from the dirt road, you must be on the national road."
Hearing this, I finally understood.
"Are we going to see Sister Ying now?" I asked.
Feng Shu nodded. "Yes, the young lady is waiting for you."
Upon hearing this answer, I felt an inexplicable nervousness.
This time, I would finally be able to have a good talk with Sister Ying. I started organizing what I was going to say in my mind, but the more I thought about it, the more I felt that nothing was appropriate.
While I was lost in thought, the car quickly arrived at a pier.
Getting out of the car, I saw a fishing boat docked by the pier not far away.
As Feng Shu led me over, Yang Hanxue was squatting by the side, smoking. He smiled and greeted me when he saw me. "Brother Xiang, the young lady is waiting for you on the boat. You can go up."
Seeing that neither of them seemed inclined to board the boat, I breathed a sigh of relief and climbed onto the fishing boat.
This fishing boat wasn't large. As soon as I boarded, I saw a figure on the deck. She was slender, wearing a black dress with a trench coat draped over it, her arms crossed, gazing out at the dark sea.
I stood behind her, watching her hair flutter in the sea breeze, and was momentarily lost in thought.
This woman before me, should I call her Sister Ying or Zheng Shuxuan?
She seemed to have heard my movement and slowly turned around, a faint smile on her face. "You're here."
I nodded blankly, looking at that familiar face, my heart filled with mixed emotions.
Did she remember what happened between us before?
Did she remember those days in Guangling?
"Xiao Fei..." she called me.
Hearing that familiar address, I was startled and blurted out, "Sister Ying! You still remember me?"
She smiled but didn't answer my question. I saw a hint of unfamiliarity in her eyes.
It seemed she no longer remembered me...
Just as I felt a pang of disappointment, she said, "You know about my situation, don't you?"
Snapping back to attention, I nodded.
She pursed her lips and said, "Actually, this is quite incredible. Even I sometimes can't accept it..."
She paused and continued, "Immortality... For many people, this might be something they dream of, but for some reason, I feel like it's a curse..."
She began to slowly narrate everything about herself, or rather, everything about Zheng Shuxuan.
She said that after she "revived," Feng Shu told her everything about herself. At that time, she was very confused and bewildered.
At first, she didn't believe it, but looking at the familiar yet strange surroundings, she found her memories to be very chaotic. Some things she remembered, while others she couldn't recall at all.
And in her memories, antiques appeared most frequently, all sorts of antiques. It seemed that only by finding those antiques would she remember something.
She was a stranger to this world, and also a stranger to the people around her, but she had to accept this fact.
It took a long time for her to adapt to all of this.
I could understand her feelings very well. Imagine waking up to find everything around you so strange and not remembering who you are – that would be a terrifying feeling.
"A while ago, when I came to Guangbei, Brother Yang mentioned you to me, and that's when I learned about you..." she said, looking at me.
The Brother Yang she mentioned must be Yang Hanxue.
Sister Ying was indeed no longer the Sister Ying of before. The Sister Ying of the past was experienced and every word and action revealed an unquestionable aura.
But the Sister Ying I felt at this moment was more like a gentle girl next door.
Her demeanor and tone of voice were so gentle.
"Sister... Miss Zheng... Do you really not remember me at all?" I asked.
She said, "Although I don't remember, I know you must be someone I trust very much. Feng Shu told me that we met before when we were in Bianhai."
I nodded.
"And you've always been helping me," she said with a smile. "Even if I don't remember the past you, I remember the current you... In other words, we can get to know each other again."
She walked up to me and looked at me. Our eyes met, and my heart was filled with complex emotions.
"Hello, Xiang Fei, my name is Zheng Shuxuan. It's a pleasure to meet you," she said with a smile, extending her hand.
Looking at her smile, for some reason, the knots in my heart gradually loosened.
She was right. Although she didn't remember the previous me, at least the current me was standing in front of her.
I reached out my hand and grinned. "Hello, Zheng Shuxuan, my name is Xiang Fei."