Chapter 1: The past is like smoke

Before I left for the Yueyan Miao village, I had a thought that was hesitant but impulsive. Should I notify Lin Chen when I reunited with Irene’s soul? I don’t know why I had this impulse, but I did it in the end.

I personally did not have Lin Chen’s contact information, and I could only contact Xiao Chengqian. When I mentioned that I wanted Lin Chen’s contact information, Xiao Chengqian was obviously a little nervous. I could feel that he was afraid that I would stand on Lin Chen’s side.

“Actually, I have no interest in your organization. I am not on your side just because I am in contact with you. If you insist on me giving you a reason to contact Lin Chen, I can only tell you that it is because of Irene.” I said to Xiao Chengqian.

Xiao Chengqian was silent for a while, but still gave me Lin Chen’s contact information.

My conversation with Lin Chen was very simple. After the call was connected, I said to Lin Chen very clearly, “I am Chen Chengyi. The plane will go to Kunming in two days, and it is estimated that it will arrive at the Miao village in Yueyan five days later. At that time, I will reunite the soul fragments for Irene.”

“I know, I’m still in the hospital.” Lin Chen’s reply to me was also very simple.

It was just two sentences, and we had nothing more to say. We both hung up the phone. He was in the hospital, probably because the burns from the last time we fought hadn’t healed yet. But was that a rejection? I didn’t want to think about it. I just held the finger bones wrapped in black cloth and said to Irene in my heart, “I’ve done my best!”

When Hui Gen and I arrived in Kunming, it was Sixth Sister who came to pick us up.

After so many years apart, Sixth Sister was still as charming as ever, with a mature woman’s charm that was even more pronounced in her eyes and eyebrows.

When she saw me and Huigen, she smiled slightly. She was neither overly enthusiastic nor did she make people feel distant. She held me and Huigen properly and said, “I closed the flower shop early today and prepared a few dishes at home. It’s been a long time since we last saw each other. Have you tasted my cooking?

That’s how Sister Liu is. Everything about her is so comfortable. When we arrived at her shop, everything was still the same. Sister Liu gave me a slice of ham and a piece of glutinous rice lotus root for Hui Gen. She explained with a smile, “People are always nostalgic. I really can’t bear to change this shop.”

Nostalgia? That year, I was drifting in life, and when I came to Yunnan alone and at a loss, I stayed at Sister Liu’s place. I can’t forget the warm food and clean bed at that time. If you say nostalgia, that’s a common human characteristic, and it’s not just her.

My wife and I didn’t rush off, and we stayed at Sister Liu’s place for the night. We talked until late at night, and she had her wisdom and calmness in dealing with people. Talking with her always brought me comfort.

I talked about Irene and Lin Chen, and also about the purpose of this trip.

After listening to me, Sister Liu was silent for a long time, and finally she just said, “There is a kind of person, he is like this. When he has it, he doesn’t know how important it is, and it is only after he loses it that he realizes how happy he was. Such a person is selfish. Why? Because when he has it, he takes it for granted, and when he loses it, he finds it unbearable! This is a psychological gap.”

“Are you talking about Lin Chen?” In fact, I believe that Lin Chen has a deep affection. If not, he wouldn’t have risked his life to obtain a finger bone and attract the spirit of Irene to accompany him. I have no intention of commenting on whether his behavior is extreme, but he went to the Yueyan Miao Village to do so, which is always risky. It is unreasonable to risk it for one person without deep affection in your heart.

“Haha, it’s not Lin Chen either.” Sixth Sister pulled back the hair that was falling down her ear. This gesture of charm was just like the old days, except that I sensitively saw Sixth Sister’s crow’s feet. People will eventually grow old.

“Everyone may be more or less like this. This is called a kind of inertia towards happiness. No matter how scared and how treasured it was at the beginning, after a long time, it becomes a habit and you feel that it should be like this. I was thinking that if everyone remembers the initial treasure, there would be more perfect feelings in this world.” Sixth Sister said calmly, she was always so profound, but she never mentioned herself. I knew that Sixth Sister should be a woman with a story, but I really wasn’t interested in knowing more stories. I always felt that I couldn’t bear it when I heard too much and my heart became mixed up.

Perhaps, this is why my master said that my heart is flawed and difficult to perfect.

However, I quietly took this sentence about laziness to heart, reminding myself to cherish it at all times.

The Miao village of Yueyan is still hidden in the mountains. The road to get there hasn’t changed in ten years. That year, I was traveling with Fanfan and Huigener. Huigener was walking ahead of me, obviously more energetic than me.

I laughed to myself, “At 32, I’m not that old, am I?”

On the last road to the Yueyan Miao Village, I saw the beautiful scenery again. Every time I see it, it is shocking. This time is no exception, but the difference is that on the original plain and the hillside next to the plain, there are many more stilt houses. Is that the new village of the Heiyan Miao Village?

For a moment, I felt as if I were reliving the past.

“Brother, how long do you think the people in these two villages will stay in the mountains?” Hui Gen, a trendy teenager wearing sunglasses, asked me as he looked at the village across the way.

“They will gradually go out. I heard your sister Ruoyue say that the younger generation is slowly being sent out, but they or the older generation will always stay in this village. You know that it is difficult to change a person’s habits, let alone the habits of a village that have been passed down from generation to generation.” I explained to Huigen.

“Habits are sometimes a kind of bondage, but they are the most difficult to detect. If a person can transcend his own habits, his heart may be free at that moment, and that is also a state of mind.” Hui Gen’er suddenly said to me.

I turned my head and looked at Hui Gen, who was dressed like a street punk, and listening to him say such profound things, I always felt that there was a kind of coffee to go with the buns, which was very out of tune, but I still rubbed Hui Gen’s head and said to him, “You kid is profound enough.”

Hui Gen’er was dissatisfied that I was so big and I was still touching his head, twisting and turning under my hand, and then said his great wish: “What’s profound or not profound? I don’t want to be a profound person, I want to be a handsome guy.”

“Well, then you’ll never be able to surpass me in your lifetime,” I said with a smile.

“Come on, brother, you’re old. You’re not as handsome as me.” Hui Gen’er snorted in disdain.

“You don’t understand that the charm of a man is the more mature and mellow he is. I’m too lazy to explain it to you!”

“A man who argues with a child about who is the most handsome is mature? Brother, wake up.” Hui Gen’er made a helpless look.

Well… I found myself speechless. I couldn’t even win an argument with this kid. So I just pinched Hui Gen’er’s cheek without thinking…

In this way, Hui Gen and I laughed and joked all the way to the foot of the mountain, but we didn’t expect that someone was already waiting for us at the foot of the mountain. It was Lin Chen and a few of his men.

Lin Chen didn’t look very good. Although he was wearing clothes, he could see that he was wrapped in bandages. But he was as arrogant as ever. When he saw me, he took off his sunglasses and said to me, “Chen Chengyi, you called me, but I got here half a day before you! My wound hurts a lot. In this hot weather, if anything happens, are you responsible?”

I looked at Lin Chen calmly and thought that the more you know about this person, the more difficult it is to hate him. To some extent, this person actually has a very childish side, but it is just very well hidden.

“It’s about Irene. Don’t you think you should have arrived earlier?” This was my response.

Lin Chen put on his sunglasses, and I couldn’t see his expression. After a long time, he said, “I don’t care. Anyway, if there are any consequences to my illness, next time we fight, you have to give me a move.”

In fact, even a proud person like him may not be able to bear the thought of me giving him an advantage, but he always wants to express his opposition to me.

Why do we have to be in opposition? Do we have to be in opposition to each other for the rest of our lives? I shook my head helplessly.

We bypassed the Heiyan Miao village and went directly to the Yueyan Miao village. Although I can say that my grudges with the Heiyan Miao village have been settled, I still feel that they won’t necessarily be very happy to see me. After all, I was one of the people who attacked their village. Even if they have started a new life, this is their choice, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they will forget something.

Therefore, it is good to let them live next to the Yueyan Miao village under supervision.

Only time can settle everything, and as the two villages get along with each other for a long time, everything will truly start over.

When I entered the village, I didn’t go to see Ru Xue first. I always felt that I wasn’t mentally prepared to see her in the village where we had once been in love. What we had left was a movie and occasional meetings as friends. After we separated, we never saw each other in the village again.

And Lin Chen is of course not welcome here… Fortunately, everything has my explanation.

After dealing with some trivial matters, I decided to reunite with Irene after 11 p.m. tonight!