I had thought that Meng Xi'er and Shang Jingsong's meeting was a coincidence, but after returning to the Yin and Shang period, I realized that without Du Xiaolan and me appearing, Meng Xi'er would not have noticed Shang Jingsong falling into the stream, nor would she have used the handkerchief I gave her to wipe the water stains off his face.
All of this is a matter of cause and effect, a large cycle, this joke is too big.
Just as I was about to rush towards Shang Jingsong, the rolling shutter at the entrance suddenly opened, and Du Xiaolan stopped me, looking towards the door and hurriedly said, "Mingyang, don't get agitated, someone is coming!"
I looked in that direction and saw a woman draped in a veil walking towards us. When she reached the door and saw Shang Jingsong, there was a faint flicker of light in her eyes.
"Meng Xi'er?" I exclaimed in confusion, looking at Shang Jingsong, whose expression was very complex.
As I watched her come in, I felt somewhat at a loss. Strictly speaking, it was me who drove Meng Xier to suicide by jumping off a cliff. If I hadn't appeared, she wouldn't have known or fallen in love with Shang Jingtong.
Facing her, I didn't know what to say.
Meng Xier smiled at me, sat behind a stool, and then said, "You already know a lot of things, don't you?"
I nodded, subconsciously looking at Shang Jingtong, whose gaze was fixed on Meng Xier without blinking.
"Presumably, you already know about the legend surrounding me," Shang Jingtong seemed to be like air to her.
I nodded again, no longer knowing what to say.
Meng Xier smiled and asked, "Do you want to know the true identity of the one who wronged me back then?"
Subconsciously, I asked, "What identity?"
"Xier!" Shang Jingtong hurried over, seemingly not wanting Meng Xier to say another word, and quickly cut her off.
But Meng Xier acted as if she didn't hear and continued, "In this world, people only know about the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, but they don't know that the person I once loved and I were separated by yin and yang, and we never met for thousands of years."
I remained silent. Meng Xier paused for a moment and then continued, "The person who wronged me back then was focused on the path of righteousness, but unable to untie their own emotional ties, they started to play matchmaker for couples, yet their own feelings remained unattended."
Meng Xier's words were quite straightforward. I was surprised to find that Shang Jingtong in front of me was actually the Matchmaker.
I was so shocked that my jaw almost dropped to the ground. I mechanically turned to look at Shang Jingtong, who had a very serious expression. When I looked at Du Xiaolan, she seemed as if she had just seen a ghost, her mouth wide open.
Even a fool could see the situation. Meng Xier didn't want to say another word to Shang Jingtong.
I took a deep breath and really didn't know what to say. This information was too overwhelming. No wonder Shang Jingtong knew all about my fate. This was his job.
"I've made countless people forget about the parting of life and death, but the love in my heart can't be dispelled even after drinking a lot of Meng Po's soup," Meng Xier sneered and continued, "I have been waiting for thousands of years in Naihe, thinking he would look back at me, but even that was in vain. I have thought too much and asked for too much."
"Xier, please stop talking," Shang Jingtong loudly interrupted, cutting off Meng Xier's further remarks.
"I shouldn't talk? Why shouldn't I? I want to let the world know what kind of person you are, the high and mighty Matchmaker, playing with the emotional ties of all living beings!" Meng Xier's voice was very sharp, almost becoming frantic.
As her voice fell, everything in the store suddenly flew into the air.
I was frightened to the core and quickly stepped forward to smooth things over, "Can you two please not get so worked up? Let's talk things over calmly."
"I'm not getting worked up," Meng Xier said, but the things in the air remained floating.
Shang Jingtong remained silent, standing quietly and looking at her.
Du Xiaolan looked around and hurriedly explained, "No matter how aggrieved you are, maybe we shouldn't do these things here. There are so many people outside. If they see this, will we still have any business here?"
"You are concerned about this as well?" Meng Xier suddenly turned her head and looked at Du Xiaolan.
I found her words inexplicable. While Du Xiaolan was a tough lady, I didn't think she was bold enough to this extent.
Du Xiaolan smiled awkwardly and said, "Then you continue, I won't say anything."
The behavior of these two people completely exceeded my imagination. When everything in midair landed on the ground, Meng Xier suddenly disappeared from the chair.
I was extremely shocked, and quickly looked around. When I finally saw Meng Xier clearly, my mouth once again fell open.
She had appeared behind Shang Jingtong, her hand grasping his neck. And the delicate hand from before had somehow turned into a bony claw.
"This..." I was speechless, not knowing what to say in my astonishment.
"Everything about my appearance is all thanks to you. You heartlessly abandoned me years ago, causing me to fall into a cliff, my body devoured by wild animals. Shang Jingtong, I hate you. You claim to be the god of marriage, but have you ever thought about the pain you caused me?" Meng Xier's body trembled, her voice calm but with tears shimmering in her eyes.
Shang Jingtong closed his eyes. "Xier, in the past I devoted myself to the path and eventually became an immortal. When guiding people, I always thought of you."
"Nonsense!" Meng Xier scolded, "If you truly thought of me, why didn't you come to the Bridge of Helplessness to look at me? Even just one glance would have been enough for me."
"Who said I never went to see you?" Shang Jingtong sighed, seeming to talk to himself but also addressing Meng Xier. "These years, I have been to hell countless times. Every time I arrived at the Bridge of Helplessness, I saw you offering the bowl to the souls, telling them that drinking Meng Po's soup would make them forget all their sorrow. In fact, I really wanted to walk over and take that bowl of Meng Po's soup from your hands, but I never had the courage to face you."
"Enough!" Meng Xier tightened her grip on his bony claw, and I was startled, hurriedly raising my hand to stop her, "Wait!"
"What's wrong?" She turned to look at me, her previously pitiful eyes now filled with an intense coldness.
I was so frightened that I recoiled, waving my hand and saying, "Nothing, I just feel that there must be some huge misunderstanding between you. If you continue like this, there's no way to resolve your misunderstanding."
After I finished, I quickly signaled to Du Xiaolan, and she also nodded and said, "Yes, yes, Mingyang is right. You can't just sit down and calmly talk through this misunderstanding?"
Meng Xier disdainfully said, "You think a misunderstanding that has lasted for thousands of years can be resolved in a moment?"
"You may think it can't, but I think it can!" Just as I was about to speak, a low, hoarse voice came from outside.