Every Lifetime I Fall {COMPLETED but undergoing revisions}

Chapter 78: Fourth Life - A Home in Your Arms

"What is this place?" I said out loud, approaching a small hut made out of wood and straws.

A head popped out from the door. It was Lu Kai. "Na Li, you're back!"

He rushed out to greet me. Placing my hands in front of me, I attempted to stop him from forcefully hugging me again.

"Stop!" He froze on my command. "Stop right there."

"Why?"

"You hug too hard, it really hurts! Please greet people with words!"

"But... It's been more than three hundred years." He sadly frowned with his shoulders slumped down.

"I know, but you wouldn't want me to die from suffocation, do you?"

"Then I'll be gentle," he pleaded with hands together.

"No. Words first."

"All right. All right." He took a deep breath and exhaled. "How are you, Na Li? I've missed you. Do you remember this place? I like it here better than Crimson Snow Valley."

"What is this place?" I asked.

"You and I lived here in the past."

"We did?"

"Yeah... it wasn't the most luxurious home, but at least we were together."

"Why are we here now instead of the snowy place?"

"You did it. You got Yang Zi Huo to remember some things."

"I did?"

I didn't remember doing anything in particular...

"He remembers this place... the feeling of sharing a home with you. The feelings of warmth and family."

"So this is where he and Na Li lived... It's really lovely."

Lu Kai smiled brightly while looking at me. "I'm glad you think so."

Walking past him, I took a peek inside the small home through the door. It was clean and didn't have much. Just enough space for two people to reside.

"Go on inside. I'll make you something to eat."

I wasn't hungry, but went on in anyways. I wanted to see the interior of the small home. The house wasn't too badly built, but it wouldn't be able to sustain much weather. The large windows were barely covered by the straw screens.

Sitting down at the fragile table, I waited for Lu Kai to come back. I had no recollections of this place at all, but I was glad that Master was starting to remember the precious memories he had given away.

"Here. You'll love this." Lu Kai returned with a tray of random assortments. A plate of plain fried green onion pancakes, a small white jug and two wine cups.

"Ah, thank you."

He placed a wine cup in front of me and poured the sweet scented liquid into it. I picked the cup and placed it to my nose, inhaling the fragrance before taking a small sip.

"You made the rice wine," Lu Kai revealed.

"I did?"

This Na Li person... just what kind of person was she?

"Yes. You sold it to many people. We made a pretty good living from that."

Nodding, I continued to sip on the wine. Lu Kai used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of pancake and held it to my mouth. I reluctantly opened my mouth for him to feed me. A look of pure joy appeared on his face when I accepted the oily food.

After chewing, I said, "Tastes good."

"I made it for you all the time back then. It was the only thing I could cook well, but as you can see, I've learned to cook many things now."

He's talking about Master... Is Lu Kai Master's past? And is Master Lu Kai's present? It's confusing...

"I didn't really cook, you know? You would always cook for me. After leaving Crimson Snow Valley, you wanted to pick up new things. But when you left... It was hard for me to move on. Wu Jing Ge was the person who pulled me out from the darkness. I had to keep on living for you."

I could feel the pain in his voice as he spoke about the past. I wondered how a warm person like Lu Kai could have turned into a standoffish and cold person like my Master.

"So are you Master's past?" I asked.

"More like I'm the part of him that is sealed. The part of him that remembers Luo Na Li."

Weird.

"How can it be that I'm here? Is this Master's dream?"

He replied, "I believe it's the powers of Shui Jing Mountain that's allowing you to travel here as you sleep. Yang Zi Huo's powers were born partially because of the crystals here. You must have a special connection to the Star Gem to be entering his mind. That's why I believe you're Luo Na Li. No one else could ever penetrate his will like this."

I muttered out quietly, "Not even Ming Yan?"

Lu Kai furrowed his eyebrows. "Ming Yan?"

"I mean she's the woman that Master is in love with."

He sighed, "Yang Zi Huo really is a fool. Of course, she's the renown beauty of Jianghu..."

I stared at him with judgmental eyes.

"... But you're the one I love." He reassured me his feelings by smiling widely.

"You love Na Li?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Because you've always been there for me. You gave up the only life you knew for me. You acted like you didn't care about people, but I knew you did that because the world has caused you harm from every stage of life. I wanted to be the one to protect you and give you the love that had been taken away from you. And I know it's hard for you to trust and love me, but just know that I really love you and I wish to be with you for the rest of my life. You're my family."

He placed his hand on top of mine. His slender fingers stretched over mine, lightly pressing down. The last words he said. That I was his family. It felt so foreign, but I somehow believed him. Even when I lived with Mother and Father, I was an outsider. I always felt inadequate in Pingfan village. But with Master... with Lu Kai, it was like I could really find a new home.

With a heavy heart, I asked him, "Can Master and I really have a happy ending?"

We are too different.

"As long as he remembers you, he will never let you go again."

"Lu Kai... Do you think Master is falling for me because I'm Na Li or because I'm Rong Xin?"

I want to know. I'm not the same person as Na Li, even if I am her reincarnation. If Master falls in love with me because he wants Na Li then I'd be disappointing him.

Lu Kai intertwined his fingers with mine, looking intently on the details of my hand.

With a closed smile, he said, "I love you because you're you. Whether you're Na Li or Rong Xin, you care for me and your support lifts me high over thousands of mountains, over vasts miles of ocean water. Rong Xin, I love you. If you accept your past as Na Li then we'll be picking back up where we left off. If you only want to continue on as Rong Xin then we'll begin anew."

Slowly leaning in, Lu Kai focused on my lips. Not wanting to deny his affection, I waited for our lips to touch. So close, I could feel the warmth of his body, the closeness of his face barely on my skin. However, when I opened my eyes, Lu Kai was gone and I was staring at the veiled ceiling of the bed inside Shui Jing Mountain.