Mortal Dawn and Dusk, My Eternal Life - Chapter 15

The sweet, metallic taste of blood, mixed with the scent of dust, filled the little boy’s mouth and nose. He could feel himself tightly protected by a warm and soft embrace. The enormous impact seemed to have been mostly absorbed by this embrace. Around him, he heard the terrified screams of the crowd and chaotic footsteps, as well as the short, faint gasps of the woman holding him.

The little boy subconsciously swallowed the blood in his mouth. A sweet, rusty taste instantly spread across his taste buds. He thought it was his own blood from internal injuries after the collision, unaware that what he had unknowingly swallowed was Su Mingyue’s blood, a blood so precious and imbued with infinite mysteries.

The consciousness of modern Su Mingyue was now clearly experiencing all of this. When she saw her past self, suffering severe injuries and bleeding profusely to save this unknown little boy, her heart clenched painfully. Although much time had passed and the memories were somewhat blurred, she could confirm that she, in her long life, had indeed once been innocent and pure, and had yearned for warmth and acceptance. She remembered that something like this had indeed happened. In a bustling capital city, she had once fearlessly saved a child this way. However, the specific details had been swallowed by the endless river of time.

“Are… are you alright?”

A somewhat weak and anxious voice sounded above the little boy’s head. It was her “Tang Dynasty self.” She slowly released her hold on the little boy, struggling to sit up.

The little boy (or rather, Su Mingyue through the little boy’s perspective) saw that her back and arms, which had originally been a bloody mess from the collision, were now healing at an incredible speed! The turned-over flesh seemed to come alive, rapidly shrinking and smoothing out. In an instant, apart from the gaping tears in her clothes and the stark bloodstains, her skin was as flawless as before, without a single scar.

“Tang Dynasty Su Mingyue” evidently hadn’t noticed the bloodstains on the little boy’s mouth and face; all her attention was focused on the little boy himself. She looked at the blood staining the little boy’s body and the glaring red at the corner of his mouth, her eyes filled with worry and self-reproach.

“Are you alright?… Are you uncomfortable anywhere?…” she murmured, her voice tinged with an imperceptible tremor. She thought the blood on the little boy was also from the impact.

“I… I’m fine,” the little boy seemed to be startled by the bizarre scene before him, but he instinctively shook his head, his voice a little timid.

“Are you really alright? Let me see!” “Tang Dynasty Su Mingyue” anxiously extended her hand, wanting to check the little boy’s body. Her fingers were cold, trembling slightly.

However, just then, the surrounding crowd, who had initially scattered in fear, stopped their distant retreat. Upon realizing that the “demon” hadn’t pursued them or done anything more terrifying, some bolder individuals halted their steps, pointing and murmuring.

“Did you see it? Her… her injuries… healed themselves!”

“Oh my God! It really is a demon! I saw it with my own eyes! So much blood!”

“Quick, go call the authorities! Let the government capture the demon!”

“Stay away from her! Be careful, she might eat you!”

These malicious and fearful whispers clearly reached “Tang Dynasty Su Mingyue’s” ears. Her originally somewhat flustered expression due to worry for the little boy instantly dimmed, replaced by a profound weariness and… accustomed numbness.

She sighed softly. The sigh was as light as a feather, yet as heavy as a stone, pressing down on modern Su Mingyue’s heart.

Yes, she remembered. Such scenes, such gazes, such discussions—she had experienced them countless times in her long life. Every act of kindness, every inadvertent exposure of her “abnormality,” often led to such an outcome.

“Tang Dynasty Su Mingyue” slowly stood up, her gaze calmly sweeping over the distant, fear-stricken crowd of onlookers. In her eyes, there was no anger, no resentment, only a detached indifference and aloofness that came from seeing through the ways of the world.

She extended a slender finger and lightly tapped it in the air. The people who had been pointing and murmuring earlier seemed to have been suddenly paused, instantly frozen in place, their expressions also fixed, as if they had turned into lifeless statues.

Next, she performed an even more baffling action. She closed her eyes, formed a strange hand seal in front of her chest, and softly chanted a short, ancient incantation. As the incantation began, an invisible ripple of power spread rapidly from her, like ripples on water.

The people who had been frozen, their eyes began to glaze over. The fear and horror on their faces gradually faded, replaced by a blankness.

After completing all this, “Tang Dynasty Su Mingyue” slowly opened her eyes, an imperceptible weariness flashing within them. She walked to the frozen crowd, extended her hand, and lightly touched each person’s forehead. As she touched them, the expressions on their faces returned to normal, though their eyes remained somewhat dazed. Then, she snapped her fingers.

The frozen people, as if suddenly awakened from a dream, looked around blankly, then at each other, their faces showing confusion.

“Huh? How did I get here?”

“Just now… what happened?”

“It seems… it seems a carriage bolted? Was anyone hurt?”

They seemed to have completely forgotten the perilous scene that had just occurred, and also forgotten the existence of the “demon.”

Modern Su Mingyue watched “Tang Dynasty Su Mingyue’s” smooth, flowing actions, understanding. This was the “Dust-Wiping Spell,” a small magic that could erase specific memories of mortals. She herself had used it countless times. However, each time she performed this spell, it consumed a significant amount of her mental energy.

After “Tang Dynasty Su Mingyue” erased everyone’s memories, she walked back to the little boy who was still stunned. She crouched down, extended her hand, and gently stroked the little boy’s head, her eyes filled with pity and apology.

“Don’t be afraid. It was just a nightmare,” her voice was as gentle as a spring breeze brushing over a lake. “It will pass quickly, just consider it… consider it a dream.” She thought the little boy was also scared by the recent chaos, which was why he was so dazed. She didn’t know that within this little boy’s body, a soul from the future, deeply connected to her, was residing. She was even less aware that during that chaos, this little boy had unknowingly swallowed her blood, which contained the mysteries of immortality.

Modern Su Mingyue clearly remembered that her Tang Dynasty self had indeed done similar things. Each time her identity was exposed, she would choose this method to quell the situation, then quietly leave for another unfamiliar place. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, nor did she want to be chased and studied like an anomaly. She just wanted to… live like an ordinary person.

However, she had forgotten, or rather, she had completely failed to notice, that the little boy she had saved, the little boy she thought had “just had a nightmare,” had, quite by accident, formed such a profound “bloodline” connection with her.

Su Mingyue’s heart was filled with complex and indefinable emotions.