Reborn as his Shadow

In the dark and damp forest, underneath the tall trees that covered the sky, Mo Jingxuan was floating in midair, looking down at a man who was kneeling on rotten leaves while clutching a bone.

The man seemed to still be as silent as the last time he had seen him so long ago, but his face was no longer as Mo Jingxuan remembered.
At this moment, the man was as still and somber as if he were dead, lacking any glimpse of emotion that the living hold claim to.

Gazing at him, Mo Jingxuan felt an indescribable sourness in his heart.
At this moment, he wished desperately that his soul could cry…how much he wished that he could sob, even if he was a man, as long as, as long as he could release these regrets from his heart…let him do as he liked.

It has been nearly three years since he has been trapped in this desolate place without reincarnation or dissipation.
But even after such lengths of time, the man still found him.
The last bone that was left was still recognized.

“Xiao…” Mo Jingxuan slowly floated towards the man, the violent emotions in his body causing the state of his soul to fluctuate drastically.

He reached out to touch the man’s sunken cheek and watched as it met with no resistance, penetrating through his skin.
Even so, Mo Jingxuan still caressed the man’s face over and over again, not caring that he was unable to touch him, “Xiao…go back…go back…”

The wind blew through the leaves, rustling them and mixing the sound with Mo Jingxuan’s inner call, feeling as distant as a mirage, a dream that would never be reached.

’

The man, still with his head down, suddenly looked up, staring blankly at the sky as a trace of uncertainty flashed in his eyes, “Is that you, Jingxuan?” The few people gathered not far away looked on with sadness as they watched him call the name, resigned to the madness that had befallen him.

“He’s already dead….” A woman muttered slowly.

“Jingxuan…” The man bowed his head in disappointment when the answer he was wishing for didn’t come, and his face submerged back into the shade.

“Go back…live well…go back…” Mo Jingxuan called out in his heart repeatedly, hoping without hope that his voice would reach just once.

The breeze blew slowly, taking the words Jingxuan whispered to the man, “Go back…live well….”

The man raised his head once more.
This time, he was sure, it was so clear! “Jingxuan, are you there?” His voice was hoarse and cautious, as if any louder would scare away the presence he had finally found.

’

“Go back…go back…live well…” Jingxuan’s words rang once more, this time for everyone to hear.
But in contrast to the delight shown in the man’s eyes, shivers ran down their arms.

The man piously peered into the sky, his indifferent eyes almost appearing wet with tears, “Jingxuan, come back with me, okay? I can fix you, we have better medicine now, and I won’t lock you up anymore! I’ll even lock myself up, you don’t need to worry about me going out of control again…and you can go wherever you want.
Okay? Just so long as, as long as you promise to come back to me…you can go wherever you want.
No, no! You can only stay by my side, you can’t leave! You can’t leave my side, never leave my side! You can’t leave, you can’t leave, I won’t let you leave, do you hear me?!”

The forest was quiet and still, the only movement the rustling of the leaves as if to taunt him, as if everything was just one more hallucination.

Xiao Ying kept talking, his agitation growing while his voice shrank until gradually, there was nothing left.
He looked blankly at the bone clutched in his arms until reality sank back in, “I killed you, I killed you….” As he spoke to himself, the man could no longer keep control and let out a painful roar as he held the bone to his face.
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