Chapter 31: A chance encounter

It’s no wonder I was so excited. It’s like an exam. You think you’ve done badly and have no hope, but when the teacher hands out the exam papers, you hear a good score.

I saw that house in the midst of the residential buildings. It was so inconspicuous among the residential buildings, but it became the most beautiful scenery in my eyes. As long as the house is still there, I can always find clues, can’t I?

Without saying a word, I quickly walked towards the residential building. Qin Huai couldn’t understand what was going on, so he quickly followed me, asking, “Hey, Chengyi, did you see that beautiful girl just now?”

I didn’t have the mood to bullshit with Qin Huai at the moment, and said, “I saw the place where my master and I used to go. I originally thought it was gone!”

Qin Huai’s expression also became serious, and he said, “Then let’s go quickly.”

Standing in front of the familiar building, I remembered that my master used to knock on the door in a special rhythm, but now, no matter how good my memory is, I have forgotten what this special rhythm should be. I just knocked on the door in a chaotic manner, but no one came to open the door, and people in the surrounding buildings even scolded me.

But I didn’t care about that, I shouted directly at the small building: “Open the door, a few years ago, my master came here to buy something, it was silver, open the door.”

After shouting, I hurriedly knocked on the door again. Qin Huai pulled me and said, “Why don’t you come during the day? I’m afraid the people in the buildings nearby will throw tomatoes and rotten eggs down.”

I stopped knocking on the door in a somewhat depressed state. If it weren’t for the fear of offending the owner, I really wanted to break in. I said to Qin Huai, “Why don’t you go back first? I’ll just wait here. They’ll always come out.”

After that, I squatted at the door of this small building. As long as it was about the master, I really had a hard time calming down.

Qin Huai sighed and squatted down next to me. He took two cigarettes out of his pocket and threw one to me, saying, “Come on, I’m unlucky. How did I meet you? I’ll keep you company.”

I didn’t delay, and in this cool night, Qin Huai and I were both holding a cigarette, squatting at the door of this small building.

I thought we would wait until dawn, or maybe not know when to wait. After all, the father and daughter in this building are so special that it is normal for them not to go out for ten or fifteen days.

But tonight, perhaps I was lucky. Miracles always happen when you least expect them. Qin Huai and I had been crouching downstairs for less than two minutes when we heard a loud creak behind us. The building still had old wooden doors, and the sound was particularly loud.

Qinhuai and I stood up at the same time, then turned around and were both stunned鈥攊t was her? The beautiful woman with the strange smile?

Qinhuai and I were stunned, but she wasn’t paying any attention to us at all. Her eyes were wandering, and she said absentmindedly, “Come in. If you’ve bought something, you’ll know where Master Liu is.”

After that, she left, looking very hurried. What was particularly strange was that she kept nodding as she walked, and she laughed a couple of times.

After the woman turned and left, Qinhuai looked at me speechlessly and said, “It’s a pity that no matter what beautiful woman is involved with you, they are not normal women, including Ruyue. Fuck, she’s covered in bugs and snakes, I don’t know how she passed security on the plane.”

Obviously, Qin Huai also finally realized that this woman was not right. I said helplessly, “Is this also related to me? Also, I’m also curious about how Ru Yue passed security. I’ll ask her next time.”

After that, I walked into the house. The house was still as dim as it was many years ago. The difference was that they finally realized the progress of the times and were willing to use electric lights, but the wattage of these lights was very low, not as good as oil lamps.

The dim light, the dark room, and the cold air in the room made Qin Huai mutter in a low voice as soon as he came in. I couldn’t stand it. I didn’t know what to think, and I thought they were shooting a ghost movie. I went straight upstairs. I still remember that time very clearly. I knew that the old man was in the room at the end of the corridor. I was very happy that he was still alive in the world, but in fact he was only 59 years old, and it was very normal to live in the world.

Maybe he didn’t borrow another life, but maybe he did?

I went up to the second floor, passed through the corridor, and headed straight for the room at the end of the corridor. But as I passed the next room, I distinctly heard a faint moan, as if in pain.

Before I could investigate further, the distracted beauty suddenly rushed out from behind, holding two large quilts, and rushed into the room. I didn’t see clearly what happened.

Qinhuai was so scared that his hair stood on end, and he exclaimed, “People here don’t walk with a sound?”

I remembered that the old man who sold charms had a daughter. Could it be that the moaning was coming from his daughter? But I had undoubtedly spied on someone’s privacy. I went to the innermost room and pushed open the door, which was ajar.

As soon as I entered, I noticed that the furnishings of the room had not changed in all those years. The shelves were still full of all kinds of miscellaneous objects, and the large, somewhat disproportionate desk was still there. The only difference was the old man sitting behind the desk.

Before, he was just thin and old, but now he felt like he had shrunk, becoming hunched over and sitting on a large wooden chair that didn’t match his size.

“Come and sit down. Tell your friend to wait downstairs. I don’t smell the scent of a celebrity on him.” The old man spoke, and his voice was the same as before, hoarse and unpleasant like a windmill.

When he spoke, Qin Huai was startled, and then he realized that the old man was rushing out. He muttered, “He’s not a celebrity, so why is he still in the circle?” But he knew that I cared about this matter, so although he muttered, he still turned and went downstairs.

I walked over and sat in front of the old man. I was about to say something, but the old man spoke first: “I remember you. You came here with Lao Jiang a few years ago. This life is simple, and I remember this person very clearly.”

He still remembered me, which was another unexpected gain. I saved myself the trouble of explaining the whole story, and said, “I’m here to…”

But I didn’t expect that as soon as I opened my mouth, the old man coughed weakly twice, interrupting me, and then panted and asked me, “Do you know the rules? Since this is your first time here, I need to see what you have to offer in exchange.”

This was quite embarrassing for me. I had nothing to offer him except money, and I wasn’t here to do business. I could only say directly, “I’m not here to do business. I’m here to ask you for some information.”

I was afraid that he would interrupt me as soon as he heard my purpose, so I quickly continued, “Since you know my master and are also a descendant of the Shan School, I have come to ask you about Kunlun, or to find out some clues about my master. My master…”

“Hmm?” His expression did not change, just a faint “hmm.”

“My master disappeared five years ago, along with my uncles, Master Huijue, and a few others. I just wanted to…” I didn’t need to say any more, because at this point, my intentions were already clear.

The old man was silent, his expression unchanged. The only change was that he kept tapping the table with his fingers, as if he were tapping on my heart, so my heart was also raised to my throat.

After about a minute, the old man’s expression became a little absent-minded. I suddenly felt that there was a chance, but the words he said made my heart fall to the bottom. He said, “Your master and his friends have disappeared. What use is it for you to ask me? What is this Kunlun? There is information in the library now. Don’t you know how to check it yourself?”

My expression suddenly became despondent. Could it be that he really didn’t know?

The old man continued, “If you want to do business, you can come to me. After all, your master was my old customer, and there aren’t many people who make talismans in the world. If you want to ask about anything else, just go back. I’ve been in this dark house for so many years, what do I know?”

I sat in the chair, reluctant to get up, but the old man no longer paid any attention to me. Instead, he picked up a book of ancient threads on the table and started reading. I noticed that there was a window behind him, just visible downstairs. I thought that if he hadn’t heard the shout and recognized me through the window, I probably wouldn’t have even been allowed upstairs.

I sighed silently in my heart, stood up and said goodbye. The old man grunted in response, as if to say that he understood.

Then, I had no reason to stay, so I turned around and was about to go downstairs. Perhaps I was feeling down, and I didn’t pay attention when I left the house, and I suddenly bumped into someone. This bump really gave me a chance to turn things around.