Chapter 286 - 65: The Autumn Wind is the World’s Tombstone

Jiang Ran followed behind, also undergoing a check before officially entering the cemetery grounds.

The two of them walked like that, one in front of the other.

Cheng Mengxue led the way, with Jiang Ran behind her.

As they had expected, the cemetery was devoid of any loiterers. There were only two landscapers trimming trees and, in the distance, a janitor sweeping fallen leaves.

Jiang Ran knew full well...

...that every person he could see, as well as those hidden from view, were all undoubtedly plainclothes police officers.

They had been lying in wait here, ready to arrest Cheng Mengxue and catch her completely by surprise the moment Officer Liu gave the order over the radio.

Cheng Mengxue walked ahead, her eyes fixed on the steps before her.

Her heart had already begun to race uncontrollably. Only by walking ahead, showing Jiang Ran nothing but her back, could she prevent him from noticing that something was amiss.

’Soon...’

’The moment we both set foot on the steps and walk before the Tombstone, that will be the moment of Jiang Ran’s death.’

’It will also be the moment I complete the mission given to me by the Priest, make up for my regrets, and fulfill my wish.’

’Countless days of waiting,’

’Countless days of suffering,’

’Countless days of effort,’

’Finally, in just a few minutes, it will all bear fruit!’

TAP.

TAP.

TAP.

Her canvas shoes tapped on the stone steps as she ascended, one by one, toward the platform with the most commanding view in the entire cemetery... It was like walking a sacred path toward God, bathed in golden light.

Finally.

The last stone step.

She took the final step.

Before her stood an upright Tombstone. It bore the name Cheng Mengxue and was inlaid with a black-and-white photograph of the girl, her smile as bright as a flower.

She stared at it, and stared into the past, recalling the words she had once written in her diary.

’This girl is like me, but she is not me. She is me, but she is not like me.’

This was her 713th day as Cheng Mengxue, and it would also be her last.

’Hurry...’

’Hurry up.’

’Jiang Ran.’

’Hurry up and come up here!’

She turned back, only to find Jiang Ran standing halfway up the steps, looking up at her.

"What’s wrong?"

The girl blinked.

"You’re... you’re not coming up?"

Jiang Ran held his hands out.

"Actually, I’m still very curious. Why would you want to come see your own Tombstone?"

He chuckled lightly.

"Generally, when someone is alive and well, they can’t just calmly accept something as unlucky as a Tombstone, right?"

"Forget a Tombstone—many living celebrities are very particular about having monuments, biographies, or statues made in their honor. They see it as a taboo."

"So, what are your thoughts on it? Can you tell me?"

The girl breathed a sigh of relief and smiled faintly.

"My reasoning isn’t that complicated, really. I just wanted to come and see it."

She turned her head to look at the black-and-white photograph on the Tombstone.

Traces of the morning mist had condensed into droplets on the cold Tombstone, like fallen tears.

"Because, of all the people in this world, most don’t have the chance to leave a mark on history."

"Dynasties rise and fall, ages turn, and even emperors who once ruled over millions are seldom granted more than a couple of lines in the history books."

"And yet, I have a Tombstone ahead of time... A Tombstone that allows everyone to see me and remember me. Isn’t that something meaningful?"

The girl smiled.

"I imagine the number of people in this world who can see their own Tombstone with their own eyes is vanishingly small, and I’m one of them."

"Without this Tombstone, who would have remembered me over the past two years? Who would have thought of me? Who would still... remember the mark I left behind?"

Jiang Ran reached into his pocket.

He took out a glass bottle with an oak stopper and held it up in his left hand.

The girl froze.

She stared at the light refracting through the glass bottle, and it felt as if something had shattered across time and space to strike her in the heart.

"You... you dug it up!"

The girl was flustered.

"Jiang Ran! How could you do that!"

Blinking, she suddenly understood a great many things.

"So... when you asked me that question before, you already knew what was written in the letter..."

SWISH.

Jiang Ran plunged his right hand into his breast pocket and pulled out a card, holding it up for the girl to see.

"Designated Truth."

He said softly:

"According to our agreement that night, the effect of this card could be saved for later. I can ask any single question, and you must be completely honest and tell me the truth."

With a flick of his wrist, Jiang Ran sent the card fluttering like a weightless butterfly in a gentle arc toward the girl.

The girl reached out and caught it, looking at the description on the card.

’That’s right...’

’This is a card from the game Truth or Dare, the counterpart to the Designated Dare card I used before.’

’She had never, ever imagined Jiang Ran would use this card now, here.’

’What question will he ask?’

’Just one more step.’

’Just one more step! Then I could have completed the divine punishment and fulfilled my wish!’

"Now, I’m going to use the effect of this Designated Truth card to ask you one question."

Jiang Ran looked up at the girl standing high above him, her silhouette outlined in gold by the sunlight.

"Do you, or do you not, remember... what was written on the letter inside the glass bottle?"

Leaves drifted down from the branches.

A sparrow pecked the ground a few times, then flapped its wings and flew away.

The autumn wind lifted the hem of the girl’s skirt and the edge of Jiang Ran’s coat, carrying unseen motes of dust into the distance.

"I remember."

The girl said softly.

She understood. This question was undoubtedly a test Jiang Ran had been planning for a long time.

It was precisely because of her "shy" mistake two months ago that she had never managed to clear his suspicion or truly earn his trust.

But now, she wouldn’t be shy.

She had already helped Cheng Mengxue do the one thing her memories indicated she most wanted to do. She had already severed all emotional and sentimental ties.