Chapter 39.1

The Mantis Stalking The Cicada (7)

It was June, and the sun was blazing.

The food vendors in the market were all lazing around as business was slow, so they had little energy and were just fanning themselves with bushels to keep the heat away.

However, there was a stall selling cold food at the corner of the street. Two words were written on a crooked wooden sign: Ice Drink.

The stall was filled with customers who came to escape the summer heat, among which a man and a woman were the most conspicuous.

The man was dressed in white, with plumes as earrings. He ate cold dango without saying a word, while the woman was dressed in a yellow robe, with her sleeves generously pulled up and revealed her fair arm.

[TL/N: dango should be easier to understand, yes?]

The atmosphere between the two is strange, and everyone could see that they were a couple. However, what’s odd was their lack of communication.

A lot of gossiping guests often look over to them and want to know something about them.

The woman put down the porcelain spoon and let out a long sigh. “What’s wrong with you? I feel like you’ve been out of sorts lately.”

“Nothing’s wrong. It’ll be over soon.” The man was still eating. He pursed his lips into a smile. There was nothing out of place with his movement, but it still didn’t feel right.

The woman also seemed to be a bit unhappy. She picked up the paper umbrella on the side and got up to leave. “I’ll go buy some other things. Wait for me here.”

After finishing the last cold dango, the man grabbed her wrist accurately. His fingertips rubbed her wrist delicately as he pulled her back.

“It’ll be over soon,” he murmured the words and pulled her into his arms, gently stroking the ends of her hair as he drew his thin sword from the side.

The sword was covered in cracks and reflected the man’s smile into a crooked one; it looked eerie.

The woman seemed to realize what was going on and began to struggle, but it was no use.

The guests around them all screamed and left the place. Some were ready to report to the police, some looked at them with both fear and curiosity, but none of them came forward to stop him.

The man’s eyes opened, revealing an unfocused, chaotic and dark as a swamp gaze.

His right hand moved from the end of her hair to her trembling eyes and slowly covered her terrified eyes.

“It’ll be quick. You won’t feel the pain.”

He stopped abruptly when the cold blade reached the side of her neck, then smiled somewhat helplessly. “I had forgotten that you don’t like me killing people with this.”

He threw the sword aside and drew out the dagger he had brought with him.

The tip of the blade traveled slowly down her thigh, almost intimately and comfortingly. Its coolness caused her to shudder for a moment. In the end, the tip of the blade stopped at her heart.

The woman sucked in her breath and took his hand, afraid he would strike the next moment. “Why? Talk to me. I think I can still salvage the situation!”

“I don’t like this pain, and I know you don’t either.” The man patted her forehead soothingly and coaxed, “But it’ll be over soon. Why do you always pick someone else? I will free us together.”

The woman couldn’t help but widen her eyes when she heard this, as if she understood something. “Wait, communication is important between people. How would I know if you didn’t say it before. Give me a chance-”

There was no chance – the tip of the knife dug deep into her heart. In that moment, she even felt the contrast between the coldness of the blade and the burning heat of her heart.

Screams rang all around her. Some people fled, and others covered their eyes. The cacophony filled her eardrums.

The man placed the dagger in her hand and without hesitation held her hand and stabbed himself. He pushed the dagger slowly into his heart.

He leaned down and rested his forehead against hers and intertwined their fingers. “I seem to understand why Butterfly Lovers end the way it did.”

[TL/N: Butterfly Lovers is one of the Chinese classics that tells a love story between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai. Asian version of Romeo and Juliet basically.]

A smile rose on his lips – one that looked like a Buddhist who had seen through karma and was able to attain enlightenment.

……

Li Ruo Shui sat up violently. Her face was covered in cold sweat, and the silk jacket on her body had long been soaked. The night breeze carried coolness with it.

She could still feel the chill on her chest, and she immediately touched there. Li Ruo Shui only let out a long sigh of relief when she felt a steady heartbeat.

“Fuck!”

It was a dream. No. It’s a nightmare. Could it be a premonitory dream?

“System! Is this a hint? Come out and answer me! Help me!”

Li Ruo Shui, whose heart was pounding violently, had begun to rattled nonstop and spouted swear words.

[Host, please sleep well, and don’t scare yourself. Trust yourself and don’t worry too much]. After saying this, the system once again went offline, as if it had never appeared.

The one who was killed wasn’t you, of course you said not to worry too much!

Li Ruo Shui took a deep breath before forcing herself to calm down and began to think back on the fragments of the dream.

What did he mean by always choosing someone else? I keep the mission in mind at all times. It’s impossible for me to choose another. Moreover, he didn’t even understand the essence of Butterfly Lovers!

Li Ruo Shui thought about yesterday again, and she now had some regrets for not following him immediately.

Her dream felt like a bad ending no matter how she see it.

Unable to figure out the reason and experiencing such a strange and scary dream rendered Li Ruo Shui restless for the whole night. She was in a trance when she woke up the next day.

Li Ruo Shui didn’t dare to laze in bed and immediately began to wash up.