At midnight, the ship sailed on the black water, leaving a wake full of foam.
The anxious passengers lay quietly in the cabins with the lights turned off, and no one talked.
Hesta was sleeping on her side, looking calm and peaceful.
That night, she dreamed of a firebird flying over the glacier. It spread its flaming wings and swooped down from the high snow-capped mountains to the green lake at the foot of the mountains.
In early summer, plums as big as cherries are clustered on the branches. The fruits on the sunny side gradually turn red. The wind in the mountains blows through them, making the leaves ripple.
There was a misty voice singing in the wind, and the singing was rushing along with the stream, intermittently, as if calling someone's name.
"Enesse..."
"Perhaps the best option is to return now -"
"The Shengming will not return."
"Free...river..."
The firebird in the dream stopped flying. She hung in the air and looked back, trying to find the source of the sound, but the world around her became noisy.
"I think this discrepancy is alarming and suggests that at least one party is behaving in a more predatory manner."
"This is just your inference! What kind of plunder, we simply-"
"Dear...suffering..."
"Would you like to have a drink together?"
"I never drink."
"Enesse..."
"Thorns are an everlasting roadblock. As long as you want to move forward, they will catch fire."
"Enesse..."
"You misunderstood me."
"But it's really interesting... a total, complete misunderstanding."
"Enesse..."
In his sleep, the Firebird finally came to the end of the snow-capped mountains. The lake here was completely frozen, and the ice surface was light blue, like a huge cage.
The wind here is no longer gentle, they come with ice and snow like sharp blades. The firebird flapped its wings with difficulty, and the vision in front of him became mottled and rough - all the scenes seemed to be separated by a layer of frosted glass, making it difficult to see clearly.
But even so, she still found that there seemed to be a woman frozen under the ice.
The man's body was as huge as the mountains, hanging straight in the frozen lake. Her raised cheeks were peaceful and serene, and the long hair behind her was still burning like a flame.
The firebird flew towards her.
The wind and snow in the mountains and forests suddenly solidified, and a slightly sad voice came from a distance.
"When...are you going to wake up?"
Hesta shivered unconsciously and opened her eyes.
All the mountain views disappeared, and she looked warily at the unfamiliar room in front of her: wallpaper with wood texture, completely sealed transparent glass windows, a wooden table with drawers and a large wardrobe, a door leading to the balcony... …
The sun shone in from the window, and it seemed to be afternoon. Hesta looked down at her watch - indeed, it was almost two o'clock.
"You're finally awake." A voice came from across the room.
Hesta's vision was still blurry when she just opened her eyes, but she recognized the person almost at a glance.
"If we divide our feelings into ten levels, with 1 being extremely bad and 10 being extremely good, how good do you feel you are now?"
"Lego...?" Hesta called softly.
Rico pulled up a chair and sat on Hesta's bedside, "Are you okay?"
Hesta smiled silently, looking into Rico's eyes, "...Long time no see."
"No way, didn't we just video chat last week?"
"How can it be... the same?"
The two men held each other's hands tightly.
"By the way...Tulan..." Hesta looked behind Rico - there was nothing there.
In this momentary gap, Hesta finally remembered that Turan's plane was last night, and of course she couldn't get on the ship together.
"She left. The boat left at around six o'clock last night." Rico said with a smile, "She originally wanted to say goodbye to you, but ended up shaking you awake with her front legs, and you fell asleep again with her back legs."
Hesta breathed a sigh of relief, and then she felt a pain, especially in her neck. When she wanted to sit up, her shoulders felt like they had been beaten, and she couldn't find the strength.
"I know...I missed it again," Hesta looked at the ceiling dejectedly, "I always miss it..."
"But she recorded a video for you, and I will show it to you later?"
Hesta was startled, "...Okay."
Rico brought a glass of water and placed it on her bedside along with Hesta's pill box. Hesta counted the pills stiffly and took them all bit by bit.
Rico looked at his friend's movements and asked, "Is your neck sore?"
"Um."
"I'll press it for you."
"Thanks……"
Rico helped Hesta stand up with difficulty. With the force of her thumb, Hesta "hissed" in pain.
"Am I too harsh?"
"No," Hesta frowned, "...just right."
"You have to blame the policeman named Si Lei. She pushed you to drink last night, and you lay like this the whole time." Rico raised his head and dented his neck at a strange angle, "I was there yesterday. Tell me, it’s a blessing for you to wake up today.”
"Don't blame her... Si Lei is very good, she helped me a lot..."
"May I ask you something?" Rico suddenly interrupted Hesta.
"Huh? You ask..."
"The assassin, is that you?"
Hesta fell into silence. After a while, she raised her head, "...why do you ask?"
"I didn't think about you at first, until Roger died," Rico stopped what she was doing, her bright eyes were smiling, "It's you, right?"
Hesta looked away, "I...can't talk about this issue..."
She heard a long breath coming from above her head.
Rico's chin gently hit the top of Hesta's head.
"Thanks for your hard work."
Hesta smiled and shook her head.
The two chatted about other topics, and Rico handed the camera to Hesta. In the picture, Turan was standing on the deck of the bow. Behind her, the sea surface dyed red gold by the sunset was shining with sparkling light. .
"I'm leaving, Jane. Due to some formalities, I still have to go back to District 1 first, and then go to the research institute in District 6 from there. If everything goes well, I will officially start my new life at this time next week. Already working.
"Your trip seems too strange, but with Miss Chiba, Rico, and Officer Si Lei here, there should be no problem.
"But you must remember to take the medicine on time. You must, must take the medicine on time, okay? I know the side effects of the medicine may make you a little uncomfortable, but they are making you gradually get better. I will tell you the rules for reducing the medicine. Get Si Lei and Li Ge, they will help me supervise you. Don't be in a hurry on this kind of thing, take your time, it will be faster.
"Also, no matter what happens, you must take the initiative to talk to them. Don't do it alone. If you encounter that kind of thing-"
The screen began to shake, and Turan frowned, "Don't laugh! What's so funny... put the camera away!"
Rico's voiceover laughed even louder.
"You're such a nag!"
7017k
