Chapter 196: Chapter 194: I Must Return to That World

Su Tang languished for a long time, her leave of absence extended indefinitely. The hospital directors, worried she was suffering from a mental breakdown, offered several times to take her for an examination.

But Su Tang refused every time, saying only that she needed time to rest.

The directors agreed, telling her to get plenty of rest and to be sure to call them if she needed anything.

Su Tang was a rare talent, and the hospital was willing to accommodate her.

At home, she spent her days reading all sorts of books on metaphysics, trying to find a way back.

Until her phone rang persistently for what felt like the dozenth time.

It was her younger colleague from the same department, Xiao Li, who had a bit of a belief in the metaphysical.

"Tangtang, are you okay? Everyone’s saying you’re not doing well..."

Xiao Li’s voice was filled with concern. "I know you’ve been dealing with some things... that science can’t explain, and that it’s been hard on you. Why don’t you go out for a walk? Clear your head?"

Su Tang’s voice was hoarse and heavily nasal. "Clear my head? It’s useless no matter where I go..."

"Hey, I know a place that’s supposed to be really spiritually potent! You know Fengming Mountain, on the outskirts of the city? There’s a very old Daoist temple at the summit. It’s remote, but they say there’s an old master there who has real abilities, not one of those charlatans out for your money."

"You could go for a hike, work up a sweat, and while you’re there... just in case, you could ask him, right? It’s better than being cooped up at home all by yourself!"

The obsession with returning had become Su Tang’s only pillar of support. She would grasp at any straw, no matter how slim.

Hearing Xiao Li’s words, she said hoarsely, "...Okay. Thank you."

Xiao Li had studied traditional Chinese medicine, and her family had supposedly been spirit mediums. She really did know a lot about metaphysics.

’Maybe she’s telling the truth?’

The next day, Su Tang dragged her seemingly hollowed-out body to Fengming Mountain.

She had no heart for the scenery, mechanically climbing the mountain path on some indescribable impulse.

Somehow, she strayed from the main path and plunged into a dense, untrodden forest behind the mountain.

The woods grew denser and the light dimmed. The surroundings were so silent that only the sound of her own footsteps and breathing remained.

A chill ran down her spine, and she was just about to turn back the way she came.

When she looked up, she saw an old Daoist master sitting beneath a giant, ancient pine tree up ahead. He wore a tattered robe, his hair and beard were completely white, and he was meditating with his eyes closed, as if he had been waiting there for her all along.

’Could this be the spiritually potent old master Xiao Li mentioned?’

The old master slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was unnaturally clear and bright for a man of his age.

He looked at Su Tang and sighed. "A soul from another world, shackled by obsession. Why must you suffer so?"

Su Tang’s heart jolted. She rushed forward and asked frantically, "Master! You know about me? I’m begging you, please tell me how to go back! I have to go back!"

The old master sized her up and spoke slowly. "A rift in time and space is no small matter. By a twist of fate, your soul left your body and fell into another realm. Your physical body remains there, and your connection to this world has not been completely severed. This is the greatest fortune amid your misfortune."

Su Tang’s eyes lit up instantly. "You mean, I can still go back?"

"It is difficult, and yet, it is not."

The old master stroked his beard.

"Your connection to this realm is weakening, while your connection to the other realm is deep. Your closest kin, the one you love with all your heart—they are your anchors.

Perhaps you can try this: use your thoughts as a bridge and an object as a conduit. Fortify your spirit and focus your will. At midnight, when yin and yang converge, clear your mind of all distractions and visualize the people, things, and places of that other realm. This may strengthen your connection and allow you to glimpse a path back."

Seeing Su Tang’s desperate yet confused expression, the old master explained more plainly.

"It means that every night, at the stroke of midnight, you must take the object most important to you from that world and think, with all your heart and soul, of the people you want to see and the place you want to return to. If you persist, you might feel something.

But remember: a sincere heart is key, while a scattered mind will fail. Do not try to force it, but also, do not give up."

It all sounded too esoteric, like some kind of psychological comfort.

Su Tang was skeptical, but this was the only lead she had.

She hurriedly asked what kind of object she needed, but the old master just shook his head and said, "You know best." He said no more, closed his eyes again, and became as still as the pine tree itself.

No matter what else Su Tang said after that, the old master refused to acknowledge her. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Dispirited, Su Tang descended the mountain and returned home.

Looking at the cold, unfamiliar modern apartment, her heart was a blank void.

’The most important object?’

’That world... did I bring anything back from that world?’

She suddenly remembered something!

She frantically searched the pockets of the white coat she had been wearing that day. She hadn’t touched the garment since changing out of it after returning from the Northwest.

Sure enough, in a corner of the pocket, her fingers found a small, withered sprig of camel thorn, still dusted with a bit of yellow soil.

She had picked it absentmindedly in the courtyard in the Northwest while watching Lu Xiao and Cheng’an play. She had fiddled with it in her hand before casually slipping it into her pocket.

This was something from that world.

That night at eleven o’clock, Su Tang sat in the darkness, tightly gripping the withered camel thorn. She cleared her mind of all distractions and screamed over and over in her heart.

’Lu Xiao, Cheng’an, I want to come home.’

She didn’t know if this would work. She even felt like a fool.

The seconds and minutes ticked by. Just as she was about to give up in despair...

Suddenly, the darkness before her wavered like a ripple on water.

Then, she saw a blurry but familiar scene.

It was her and Lu Xiao’s home in the Northwest—the familiar room, the familiar cabinet, and on the windowsill, the wildflowers she had kept in an old jar.

And by the window sat an incredibly haggard, unshaven man. It was Lu Xiao.

He was holding her hand tightly, pressing it to his cheek, his lips moving as if he were whispering something.

"Lu Xiao!"

Su Tang cried out in excitement, instinctively trying to lunge toward him.

But her body wouldn’t move an inch. The scene before her was like looking through a shimmering curtain of water—visible, but utterly untouchable.

Lu Xiao seemed completely unaware, still lost in his own world, watching over the unconscious version of her on the bed.

But in the instant Su Tang cried out his name, it was as if they shared a telepathic connection.

Lu Xiao snapped his head up, his bloodshot eyes scanning the room with shock and uncertainty. His brow furrowed deeply, as if puzzled by the strange feeling from that fleeting moment.

The vision lasted for less than ten seconds before it abruptly vanished.

Su Tang was plunged back into darkness, gasping for air. Her heart hammered in her chest, and tears streamed down her face.

But this time, they were tears of pure ecstasy.

’The master’s method worked!’

’I saw Lu Xiao! I couldn’t touch him, and it was only for a moment, but I really saw him! It wasn’t a dream!’

She clutched the precious sprig of camel thorn, as if grasping the only link that existed between the two worlds.

’I have to get back to that world!’

Meanwhile, in the world of the book, Lu Xiao was still tightly holding his wife’s cold hand.

The sudden, baseless flutter in his heart just now had left him feeling vaguely uneasy, but he couldn’t put his finger on why.

All he could do was tighten his grip on her hand, as if that alone could protect everything.

’It must have been my imagination. Otherwise, how could I have thought I heard Tangtang’s voice?’