Chapter 24 Chapter 23

She lived in a place made of wood, which Dylan thought was a shack at best.The shed is surrounded by plains with a radius of several kilometers.This place is remote and desolate, and all you can see are dogs barking and thunder clouds rolling overhead, not to mention what kind of rainstorm will be bred in the blue-gray clouds. Eliza was the oldest soul Jonas knew.Jonas told Dylan that if anyone here could answer her questions, it would be Eliza. Jonas had only to go through another door on that street to bring Dylan to Eliza's place.The place where there were many buildings just now has become a wilderness covered with long yellow sand and rootless grass.Dylan watched as he approached a crumbling door, the rotten planks of which were warped, barely held together by rusty nails.

He pointed Dylan to the old woman's house. "Have you been here before?" Dylan asked.There was light from one of the windows in the house, and the dimness of the surroundings made the warm light look very cozy. "No," Jonas shook his head, "but I don't know who else can help you except her." He made a funny look at Dylan.Dylan knew in his heart that he actually hoped that she would give up under Eliza's persuasion.Looking at the rickety house, she felt a little nervous. "Who is she?" Dylan asked. "How does she know these things?"

"She's been here a long time," Jonas snapped back. Dylan curled his lips in dissatisfaction.He didn't answer his own question at all, but that was all she thought Jonas knew. Jonas walked briskly to the wooden porch that looked like it might collapse at any moment, and tapped on the door.Dylan hesitated at this moment.Although she didn't hesitate to face Jonas, the thought of speaking to another strange soul still made her feel apprehensive and timid.Maybe it was because of Eliza's age, she was a full grown man.Maybe it was because she didn't know Tristan at all.Whatever the reason, Dylan's footsteps were retreating, not advancing.She knew that if it wasn't for Jonas' company, she wouldn't be able to get to where she is now.

She wants to change her mind and tell Jonas not to bother.In this unforgiving foreign land, Tristan seems to have drifted away.Yet a voice deep inside cries, "Come on." Jonas pushed open the door and gestured for her to come in.Dylan had no choice but to go with the flow. The warm and comfortable feeling in the hut somewhat diluted her nervousness.The fire is burning, and the walls are decorated with hand-woven fabrics.It was a one-bedroom cottage, with a bed in the corner at one end and a kitchen under a window in the other wall.In the middle of the room sat an elderly woman, wrapped in a blanket, rocking gently in an old-fashioned wooden rocking chair.Dylan looked around curiously, wondering aimlessly if this cabin was what a safe house in the Badlands looked like before it fell into disrepair.

"Eliza, this is Dylan, she wants to—" Jonas began. "You want to know how to get back, don't you?" She finished the rest of the sentence for Jonas.Her voice sounded light and extremely weak.Dylan was amazed that she could guess the purpose of his trip right away, and he couldn't help turning his head to stare at her dumbfounded, only then did he realize that her eyes were burning and sharp. "Why..." Dylan swallowed the last part of the sentence under Eliza's gaze. "People always come to me if they want to know that. I've seen hundreds of them like you, honey," she said softly.

"Can you tell me how to do it?" Dylan asked, fingers of her left hand folded behind her back. Eliza looked at her carefully for a long time, and finally said: "Sit down." Dylan frowned, she didn't want to sit down.She was restless and depressed.She wanted to keep pacing, so as to release some of the pressure from her throbbing muscles.She wanted to find out what this old woman knew, and then she went straight to the point. Eliza looked at Dylan as if she understood exactly what she was thinking.She pointed to the only chair left in the room again, "Sit down."

Dylan sat down against the edge of the chair, tucking her fingers between her knees so they wouldn't sway slightly and make her fidget.She stared at the old woman, completely oblivious to the fact that Jonas had carefully settled himself at the edge of the table beside her. "Tell me what you know," she begged. "I know nothing," replied the old woman, "but I have heard many things." "Is there any difference?" Eliza smiled at her, but there was a trace of sadness on her face, "The difference lies in the degree of accuracy." The answer paused Dylan's question for a moment, but she resumed immediately, "Then please tell me what you heard."

Eliza moved her body on the seat and straightened her shawl. "I once heard," she bit the last two words hard, "it is possible to go back to the wilderness." "How to wear it back?" Dylan whispered. "You now know the operating rules of this place, you just need to find the door." "So where is that door?" Dylan blurted out before Eliza could finish. Seeing her impatient look, the old woman felt a little amused, and the corner of her mouth twitched, "Any door is fine." "What?" Dylan's voice suddenly became sharp and anxious, "What do you mean?"

"You can get there from any door. It's not the door, it's you." "It's impossible." Dylan shook his head in disbelief. "If any door could lead to the destination, everyone would give it a try." "No, they won't," retorted Eliza mildly. "Of course they will!" Dylan exploded.She was angry and felt that she was wasting her time now. "No," Eliza repeated her point of view, "You're right, most souls will give it a try. But every time they try to open the door, the door is locked." "This place is what it is," Dylan whispered. "It's like a prison. It won't let you out. I understand," she saw Eliza shaking her head, but continued, "Most people don't want to leave. But let them go if they want to."

"You're wrong." Eliza said, "It's not that this place doesn't let them go, but these souls have bound themselves." "How? Why?" Dylan, still fidgeting on the edge of her chair, suddenly became interested. "They don't really want to leave. No, that's not right. They want to leave, but they're more afraid of death. Deep in their hearts, they know that crossing the wasteland again is likely to kill them. When they think about it, they just Being able to stay here honestly. Because they know that if they are patient enough, if they wait, they will see their loved ones again. They just don’t dare to risk failure, because that may be their own death.”

Dylan recognized the warning in the words—stay here, wait.But what Eliza didn't know was that no matter how long she waited, she couldn't get Tristan's company. "So how do you get the door open?" Eliza spread her hands, as if the case was obvious. "You would rather let your soul go back to ashes?" Dylan thought seriously, is he really going to do this?Yes.From what she said, it should be effortless to open the door and go out.But what if she returns to the wilderness again?How could she find Tristan?She thought it impossible for Eliza to know either.Had any other soul longed to be reunited with her ferryman as much as she did?Dylan didn't care whether he stayed here with Tristan or returned to the real world, even if they lived together in the Badlands.Although she couldn't help but shudder at the thought of those demons and the thought of facing them again, she still wanted to go back.She just wanted to... she just wanted to be with Tristan. Eliza interrupted Dylan's thoughts with a sigh. "There are always young souls wanting to go back," she murmured. "It never stops." "So have you been bothered?" Dylan asked, momentarily distraught. Eliza shook her head, with deep sadness in her eyes, "No, girl, I'm old, and I know it won't be long before my husband can come to accompany me." "Where is he now? Here?" Dylan said, before he felt that he was being rude to ask. "No," Eliza whispered almost inaudibly, "he didn't cross the moor." "I'm sorry." Dylan buried his head in his knees with guilt and muttered in a low voice. Eliza's face was tense, and tears were on the verge of welling up in her eyes.However, she seemed to be suppressing her sadness again, straightened her back, and sniffed vigorously. "I guess you want to know what happens when you travel back in time?" she said. Dylan shrugged. She hadn't thought that far.For her, going back to her old life was no different than staying here.But it would look weird if she didn't show that she was interested.She wasn't sure if she wanted to tell Eliza what she really thought, and it was one thing to tell Jonas, quite another to tell her. "I heard..." Eliza tried again to make Dylan understand the risk she was taking. "If you manage to get back to your body, you can slip back in." "Is it still there?" Dylan looked horrified, temporarily forgetting that there was no resurrection in his plan, "They must have taken my body away. My mother must have buried me. Oh, God, I don't want to go in a coffin. What if she's cremated me already?" She was almost screaming in horror and disgust at the last word. "Dylan, time has stopped for you. Your body is still in place." Dylan nodded in agreement. The escape plan was slowly forming in her mind, and she seemed to see herself paddling across the lake and choosing her way in the valley.She also thought of the crimson ground and the sky as red as a flame, but none of these terrifying images could shake her rock-solid determination.She was going to try, she knew she would open the door anyway, and if she took a chance, she would find Tristan.This decision made her very happy, and a faint smile appeared on her face.She looked up and saw Eliza looking at herself. "There must be something going on here," the old woman said slowly. "You didn't tell me the whole story." She looked at Dylan's face, which made her very uncomfortable, as if she had seen through her heart.Dylan had a strange expression, hesitating whether to turn around and leave. "You're not going back," Eliza said thoughtfully. "You're not going all the way back to the world. What's your purpose, Dylan?" Does it make sense to lie to her?Dylan bit his lip for a moment, then decided to tell her the truth.She had made up her mind that no matter what Eliza said, it would not change.Perhaps the old woman could help herself. "I want to find my ferryman," she said softly. After confessing his thoughts, Dylan held his breath, waiting for Eliza's reaction.There was no expression on the old woman's face, only her slightly puckered lips showed her mood after knowing Dylan's intentions. "That's even more difficult," she said after a difficult minute. Dylan's heart was beating wildly, "But it's not impossible, is it?" "Perhaps not impossible." "What should I do?" "You have to find him." Dylan blinked a few times, confused.This is not difficult, is it?He is now ferrying another soul.She could wait in the safe house and he would come to her eventually. Then she fell into a memory of the hazy silhouettes she had seen looming across the red wasteland.I thought of the group of demons who followed them step by step, and those balls of light.Those spheres of light illuminate the way, guide the souls forward, and keep them safe. Was this what Tristan was to her now, a ball of light? If so, how could she recognize him from the last ferryman?A small voice came from the subconscious - "You will recognize it".But the sound came only once, and it was very faint.Because the remaining waking part of her brain scoffed at the sound, this wasn't some silly romantic love scene, it was real.If Tristan was really in those spheres, if she couldn't see him, hear him, she would never be able to find him. "How do I find him?" she asked. "I've seen them before, and there are other Ferrymen in the Waste. They're not human, but—" "Light," Eliza spoke for her.Dylan nodded. That was the best description, "But," she continued, "he's still your ferryman. Even if he's guided other souls, even if he's guided a thousand souls. If you meet him If so, you should still be able to spot him, just like before." Dylan's eyes were full of unconcealed joy, so there was still a chance...it was possible.She heard Jonas coughing softly behind her, and turned to smile at him.At the beginning, I only went to him out of intuition. How long would it take to find these answers by myself?How many years had it taken Eliza to fully understand how this place worked? "How do you know all this stuff?" Dylan asked her, the smile still on his face. The old woman did not return her kind gesture.She sighed, "I'm telling you... you have to remember this... Dylan... I don't know, I really don't know. You're taking a big risk." Although she was determined to pour cold water on Dylan, her doubts did not dampen Dylan's sudden optimism, "How long do you think you can survive in the wasteland?" she asked Dylan, "Even if you find him, Your ferryman, how long do you think you can fight the demons in the wasteland?" "We can stay in the safe house," Dylan said, "they can't come in." "Are you sure? You're here to change the game, Dylan. How do you know those safe houses are still there, still protecting you?" Dylan frowned. Eliza's words made her panic. "Well, let's get out of the wasteland." She said firmly, but her voice was not so confident. Eliza smiled contemptuously, but her expression was sympathetic, "Then where are you going?" "Can he come with me?" Dylan muttered timidly, her heart, which had been beating wildly just now, suddenly stopped, the heartbeat was chaotic, and she seemed to be just as nervous as she was waiting for an answer. "where to?" "Here, there, anywhere. It doesn't matter." "He doesn't belong here." "I don't belong here either," Dylan retorted.She tried to ignore Eliza's kindness when he smiled at her. "He's not yours either. He's not human, Dylan. He doesn't feel like we do, and he doesn't bleed." "He did bleed," Dylan said quietly.She wanted to tell Eliza that she could feel his love for her.But she knew the old woman wouldn't believe her, and she didn't want to speak up in Tristan's defense when she wasn't sure how much she trusted them. "What?" For the first time, there was confusion in Eliza's eyes. "He literally bled," Dylan repeated, "and when... when the demons grabbed him, when they dragged him down, they hurt him. But he came back to me He's got bruises and scratches all over him." "I've never heard of such a thing," said Eliza slowly. She looked up at Jonas, who was hovering behind Dylan, and he shook his head too. "I've seen it with my own eyes," Dylan told her.She leaned forward and stared at Eliza, "Can he travel with me? If he can't, then we'll go back and travel back." The sophisticated soul rocked back and forth in his chair as he pondered.Finally she shook her head, and Dylan felt a layer of frost in her heart. "I don't know," she said. "Maybe. That's the best answer I can give you. It's a risk." She looked Dylan carefully. "Is it really worth it? " Tristan sat motionless in the rickety chair in the safehouse, watching the sleeping woman.Even though she's an adult -- she just celebrated her thirty-sixth birthday last month -- she still looks remarkably young curled up in her cramped single bed.Her long brown hair fell over her shoulders, and her short bangs brushed her eyebrows. He could see the movement of her eyeballs under her pale lids, clearly dreaming.But his mind has long been occupied by the haze, and he really has no time to think about what she saw in the dream.He was slightly relieved that her eyes were now closed.When they opened, when they looked at him, they were exactly the color that shouldn't be there - emerald green.He couldn't help but look back again. Sighing, he got up from his chair, stretched, and walked over to the window.It was pitch black outside, but that didn't bother him, and he soon spotted the dark, whirling shadows around the hut, sniffing, savoring, and waiting.They have returned to him in vain, and even the smell of this soul has not been smelled much yet.Not only today, but also yesterday and the day before yesterday.In fact, it was the easiest assignment he'd had in a long time.If Dylan was still around, he wondered, wouldn't she prefer the decaying and desolate cities and the wide avenues?Tristan smiled coldly.Those abandoned buildings made the woman in front of her eyes stretch her neck every three seconds to look around. Dylan might not be disturbed by these high-rise buildings. He always thought of her in this way, as "this woman," and he didn't want to think of her name.Even though she was gentle and pleasant, she was to him a task, not a person.Her cheerful personality filled the air with warmth and kept the sky ablaze with blue light.She was also submissive, believing his lies without question.They arrived at the safehouse every night with plenty of time, which was good, because Tristan's mind wasn't there at all. A blank, the only thing he can do now is to make his mind blank. He has to be indifferent, insensitive, and probably has feelings of guilt for the woman if he can concentrate.She seemed very kind, well-mannered and shy. How unfair fate was to her—she was brutally killed by a thief while she was sleeping.She deserved his sympathy and pity, but at this moment he was looking depressed and self-pitying, and he really had no extra sympathy to share with her. At this moment, there was a sudden noise behind Tristan, and he hurriedly turned his head to look around, but he soon realized that it was a false alarm.It turned out to be her low-pitched cough as she rolled over on the mattress.Tristan watched her carefully for a while with some worry, but fortunately she didn't wake up.He felt that he couldn't really talk to her. Just staring at the night sky is still not enough to divert attention.Tristan tapped his fingers on the window sill for a moment, then turned around and sat back in the vigil position in the hard wooden chair.He deduced that there might only be an hour or two left before sunrise, and he hoped the woman would sleep like this until dawn. There is still a long time to pass, he has been sitting here for six hours, trying not to remind himself of her.He gave a wry smile—another record, and the next six hours were easy.He closed his eyes, sifting through memories until he found what he was looking for.The eyes of the sleeping person next to him are still blue, but their face has changed. Tristan tried his best to slide himself into dreamland, the smile on his face deepened.