Chapter Fifty-Four: Lost

  The gate was wide open, and I was hesitating when suddenly a number of people came out to greet me. From afar, they saw me and someone shouted: "Why is the groom so late? Hurry up, hurry up, it's time to pay respects to heaven and earth and enter the bridal chamber! The bride can't wait any longer, come and help the groom change into his wedding attire!"

  Several young people came out laughing and chatting, and as I glanced over, I recognized all of them. The one who had just spoken wasn't our village chief? And the ones holding the festive attire were none other than Dazhuang, Li Hongqi, and their friends, all beaming with joy, constantly talking and congratulating me on my behalf. Even inside the gate, I caught a glimpse of my second uncle's figure. Everyone I saw was someone I knew well.

  This can't be happening, I told myself. This must be an illusion. I knew it was an illusion, but after taking a deep breath, I didn't know how to react. Anyway, this is impossible, yet I couldn't break free from the grasp of those few people holding me against the pillar. They directly lifted me up and changed my clothes into traditional wedding attire in the blink of an eye. This was really awkward for me to wear.

  There were countless familiar faces in the courtyard, all of my relatives and friends were there, including my classmates and even my university classmates. I even spotted in the corner, the goddess I had a crush on in university sitting there, looking a bit forlorn. Today's bride wasn't her, but my parents sat at the entrance on two armchairs, wearing embroidered clothes, smiling with uncontainable joy. Everyone was so happy.

  The bride was led out, and I was at a loss for what to do. With a shout of "bowing to heaven and earth", I was pressed down by my head to start bowing to heaven and earth, bowing to parents, husband and wife bowing to each other, giving tea to parents... in short, after a series of things were done, I was already somewhat dizzy and didn't know what was going on. In a daze, I was sent into the bridal chamber.

  Looking at the bride wearing a wedding dress, with a phoenix crown and a red veil, who will be under that red veil? Will it be Yang Xiufeng? At that moment, I had an impulse to sneak over and lift the red veil to see who my bride was.

  For a moment, my hand was shaking slightly, and my mouth was dry. I slowly reached the red cover, and as soon as I lifted it, I could see the bride. But why did I hesitate? Staring at the woman on the bed, I became dazed. No, this is all an illusion. If it were Yang Xiufeng, what would happen? Would I roll over with her or leave ruthlessly? I found that I couldn't do either. If it were Yang Xiufeng, could we really grow old together? But after all, this is just an illusion.

  Hallucination? I let out a wry smile and suddenly lifted the red veil, but unexpectedly, what I saw was not Yang Xiufeng. Underneath the red veil was actually my goddess from university, whom I had secretly liked all along. Wasn't she supposed to be sitting outside? Could it be that the one hidden in my heart is still her? Then where's Yang Xiufeng?

  Staring blankly, the bride was as beautiful as a flower, her face blushing red, only closing her eyes and lightly biting her lips. This is my bride, if I pounce on her, can I do whatever I want? It seems to be, or maybe the bride is waiting for me, but what should I do, if I pounce on her, then what about Yang Xiufeng, that girl has already given everything to me.

  I was hesitant and struggling in my heart, I don't know how long it took, the bride looked a bit impatient, opened her eyes to take a sneak peek at me who was lost in thought, then just softly said: "Sleep, it's late."

  As she spoke, she began to take off her red cloak, and inside was actually a red bellyband. Was I somehow particularly fond of this thing? How could I not feel that way? For a moment, I didn't know what to do, staring blankly as the bride started taking off her clothes, her slender body appearing before our eyes. This is something I've always dreamed of... no, I must be dreaming now too, but why does everything seem so real? I could even see the mole in the bride's private place...

  The bride stretched out her hand, gently pulled me up, and stood up, exposing herself to my gaze without any reserve. Then she began to undress me, my heart beating faster, breathing heavier, finally unable to bear it, I reached out and gently cupped the bride's lovely face, then lightly kissed her. As the bride pulled me, we fell onto the bed, all feelings so real, as long as I was willing, I could do anything at this moment. But what about afterwards? Should I stay and continue my wonderful life, or break the dream? But I'm afraid, I'm afraid of getting lost in it, unable to bear breaking the dream even though I know it's just a dream. Staying would only lead to a dead end, but I also can't bear to leave.

  Actually, I didn't know that at this time Li Xiaoman's face was ashen, and I was indulging in a fantasy world, unaware that everything in the fantasy world reflected the possibilities of reality. Although I was standing alone in the cave, everything that happened to me was real, at least my clothes were taken off by myself, then I lay on the ground, kissing the air, making indecent movements, and all of this, Li Xiaoman and three bodyguards saw clearly through the screen, I don't know if I saw this scene, would I be so embarrassed that I would find a seam in the ground to drill into.

  "Bastard, idiot, what is he doing?" Li Xiaoman cursed, her face looking incredibly ugly, even a bit embarrassed to look at, really couldn't understand what I was doing in the cave.

  I'm doing what, even a fool would know, Li Xiaoman certainly wouldn't be unaware, but she doesn't know what I saw. She's just deeply afraid of the cave in her heart, and even knows that it must be an illusion, and I'm now in this environment. However, Li Xiaoman can't think of a good solution either. From being haunted by evil spirits to being buried alive until now, everything I've done isn't what I imagined, but rather something I had to do. At first, it was okay, I managed to break free, and Li Xiaoman also let out a sigh of relief. But now, she really can't bear to look at me anymore. Even if I appear to be a man, after all, I'm still a woman. These things are just too embarrassing.

  Li Xiaoman wasn't worried about me, her gaze swept over the three bodyguards. If it was a physical thing, they could still be of some help, after all, they had some skills. But if it was an illusion, going down would be useless, and Li Xiaoman herself was the only one who could go down to take a look at the situation.

  The bodyguard named Xiang Hai suddenly asked in a low voice, "Miss, it seems that Liu Hai is lost inside. Do you want to think of a way to rescue him?"

  Xiang Hai Xiong was grateful that I had taken his place, but at this moment he felt a little unbearable. However, she couldn't make the decision, although she wanted to help me, Li Xiao Man didn't have that intention. She just looked at the screen where I had already started moving and couldn't help but sneer: "Since you're already lost, it's useless to save you, you'll die in the illusion sooner or later, don't bother with him——"

  After a moment of contemplation, Li Xiaoman took a deep breath: "Get a bundle of ropes and tie them around my waist. I'll go down myself to take a look. If anything goes wrong, pull me out. If I get trapped in the illusion, give me an injection of sedative. If I don't wake up, then that's just how it is."

  As she spoke, the bodyguards had already brought over a rope and tied it around Li Xiaoman's waist. She was led inside, but what would be waiting for her? Even though Li Xiaoman had always been strong-willed, facing the unknown fear still made her heart beat rapidly. However, her footsteps did not stop, and she finally entered the cave.

  No matter what Li Xiaoman saw, I wouldn't know, but at this moment, I was really a bit lost, because I couldn't think of it, just as I told the bride: "I like you very much, but I know there's another woman waiting for me, so I won't stay, sorry."

  After saying this, I was about to get up and leave, no matter what, I had to break free from the illusion. However, at this moment, the bride suddenly giggled and hugged me: "You're indeed not an ungrateful person, Xiaofeng, if you don't come out now, our men will be gone."

  The words fell, but someone pushed the door and walked in. It was not Yang Xiufeng with a sullen face, who else could it be? I was stunned for a moment. Yang Xiufeng came over to pull me, and together with the bride, they pulled me onto the bed. Do I still have any reason to leave? Isn't the blessing of many people what every man wants?

  I'm really lost, whether I admit it or not, deep down inside me is still yearning for that. The illusion reflects the things in my heart, and I'm almost powerless to shake it off. But just then, Yang Xiufeng's words suddenly awakened me: "Little Hai Ge, I won't let you leave me, no matter what happens, I'll wait for you."

  This sentence is very ordinary, but suddenly in my mind flashed Yang Xiufeng at the village head waving goodbye to me, that lonely shadow, no - this is an illusion, in reality Yang Xiufeng is still waiting for me. No matter how good the illusion is, if I don't go back, Yang Xiufeng's figure will always be standing alone at the village entrance. I shook my head and my face was a little reluctant, but I suddenly broke free from the two women's embrace: "Sorry, I still can't stay, because you are not real, if I stayed, Little Feng would really keep waiting forever."

  I put on my clothes recklessly and left, pretending not to hear the two women's desperate attempts to persuade me to stay. I felt a slight regret in my heart that I didn't do anything with the bride after all, missing this opportunity, which would never come again, even if it was just an illusion.

  From the moment I stepped out, everything changed, all collapsed, and only the unchanging sky remained. Under the Henan sky, in the endless wilderness, whether it was an ancient house or a chaotic tomb, nothing felt at ease, except for dozens of evil spirits staring at me, each with green light flickering in their eyes, as if they wanted to swallow me whole.

  Is this another illusion? I shook my head, pretending not to see it, and didn't pay attention to it at all. I just took big strides forward, thinking that as long as I couldn't think of a way to leave the illusion, I wouldn't stop moving. However, at this moment, the evil spirits had already begun to close in on me. One of them suddenly pounced towards me. I didn't think much and simply closed my eyes. Then, I felt like my chest was hit by a huge hammer, and I flew backward immediately.