An Mingji handed the bouquet of blooming, beautiful white lilies to the bodyguard beside him, who took it and placed the flowers upright in front of the tombstone.
Staring at the woman on the tombstone, An Mingji's handsome and elegant face bore a sorrowful expression, and his hoarse voice echoed.
"Sister Jin, your vengeance has been fulfilled."
"The revenge is done... Can you rest in peace now?"
That voice pierced through past and present, continuously echoing in Gu Jin's ears.
In the darkness, a restless sleeping person on the bed suddenly opened their eyes.
Still hearing An Mingji's voice lingering, it greatly startled Gu Jin, who swiftly sat up to examine the surroundings.
Still in Qingshan Village, she was not dead, and had not yet endured those painful torments and betrayals.
Gu Jin's breath was unsteady, breathing rapidly and unevenly.
She glanced out the window; the half-moon hung high in the sky, its light spilling onto her through the window.
Wiping the cold sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand, she recalled the scenes from her dream, her mood fluctuating uncomfortably.
Perhaps it wasn't a dream, as those were real events from a past life, scenes she had witnessed as a spiritual body.
Remembering all that An Mingji had done, Gu Jin uncontrollably reached for her right index finger, where An Mingji had personally put on the An Family heirloom jade ring in that past life.
To give her a rightful reason to sever ties with the Zhen Family and the Liu Family.
But now, her right index finger was bare, empty.
As Gu Jin placed her left hand on her right index finger, her whole body shuddered, the darkness fell before her eyes, and a dizzying sensation struck her.
Gu Jin didn't have time to react before she found herself in an unfamiliar space, sitting on the ground with a somewhat bewildered expression.
The bright light, in particular, stung her eyes.
The sound of a babbling brook rang in her ears, while the towering trees and mountains before her were so unfamiliar, it left Gu Jin feeling alarmed.
She was clearly sitting on her bed in a room at night, so why had she suddenly appeared in this bizarre place?
How could she explain this, and why had it suddenly turned bright in the blink of an eye?
Gu Jin's fingertips trembled slightly, her lips tightly pressed together, and she cautiously surveyed the surroundings.
The distant towering mountains and deep forests appeared no smaller than Qingluan Mountain, and the waterfall cascading down from the mountains formed a stream right in front of her.
Looking to the right, there were two bamboo huts and a pavilion.
Examining this strange environment, once the wait revealed no danger, Gu Jin slowly got up from the ground.
She began recalling all her actions before appearing here.
Something struck her, and she quickly lowered her gaze to her right index finger.
Noticing the lines on her finger, she promptly lifted her hand to her eyes.
Her right index finger unexpectedly had a dark pattern, which, when observed closely, was a phoenix design, small yet conspicuously clear.
Gazing at the phoenix pattern on her index finger, Gu Jin inexplicably felt that everything happening now was connected to it.
She once more reached out to touch the pattern on her finger, her mind filled with a strong desire to leave.
There was a flicker before her eyes, and the dizzying sensation struck again.
Just like before, Gu Jin found herself inexplicably back in her room.
By the moonlight's glow, she saw An Mingji still asleep beside her, a child clutching the blanket tightly, as if afraid someone might take it away.
Gu Jin tugged her blanket over to cover An Mingji, who hugged it and contentedly went back to sleep.
Seeing him sleep so soundly, Gu Jin found herself unable to return to slumber.
The previous dream and everything that had happened earlier were utterly astonishing to her.
She extended her hand again, tentatively placing it on the phoenix pattern on her index finger, with the thought of returning to that unfamiliar place.
The dizzying sensation came over her, and she once more appeared in that strange place from before.