Chapter 16: The days before departure

When I am at home, time always has a lazy and happy flavor. When my mind is empty and I don’t think about anything, I suddenly can’t feel the passage of time.

Penglai, Kunlun, Master, Ruoxue… I have everything in my heart. In such times, I am just an ordinary son who wants to spend time with my parents.

Because of my promise last time, I told my parents about what I was about to do. I didn’t want to go into too much detail about how dangerous it was, just in case they got worried.

My parents didn’t say anything. I’m a big boy now, and I understand the truth. Whether I can figure it out and whether I can do it if I figure it out is my personal behavior, and it’s something that parents can’t restrict. In these respects, my parents are much more open-minded than the average parent.

It was only the day before I left home that my father said, “If you find Master Jiang, remember to bring him to have a meal with us and stay for a few days. Your mother and I miss him too. That day, we were still waiting for him to eat the fish. When the fish got cold, he was gone…”

Perhaps he was afraid that I would be sad, so he stopped talking. But I was calm and composed, so I wasn’t sad. It’s just that I didn’t know what the end of the road was, but I was already on the road, so how could I be sad?

This is something I didn’t understand before, but now I understand. I’m on the road, so what’s there to be hesitant about?

My father was very happy with my behavior and patted me on the shoulder, saying, “If you can’t find it, don’t be sad. As long as you can live up to your own heart, you can let go of your worries. People’s lives are long, and their fates are not over. Who knows?”

This is the choice of a father. He didn’t stop me, but instead gave me encouragement and comfort. My heart was very warm.

Since I had a one-month appointment with Master Liu, I left home a month and a half in advance. I wanted to go to the Yueyan Miao Village to take a look, even though Ruoxue was no longer there. But there were some of the most important memories of my life there.

Ru Yue was busy preparing for the voyage, so she wasn’t in the village. The person who took me to the village was Ru Yue’s sister, Ru Xue’s sister. Ru Xue’s sister was also very sad, but compared to Ru Yue, I was probably the one who was most devastated at the time.

I stayed in the village for a week, and during that time I also met the girl who was to be trained as a new generation of sorceress. The witch told me that this girl was also a distant relative of Ru Xue and Ru Yue.

She was very young, only five years old, and her innocent face vaguely resembled Ru Xue and Ru Yue’s features.

She didn’t understand the intricacies of the human world, nor did she understand the meaning of protection. She was already unhappy, having to face all kinds of bugs and plants every day.

I don’t know if Ru Xue was like this when she was a child.

On the day I left, I was accompanied by my sixth sister and Tuan Tuan as I walked through the familiar village. My sixth brother-in-law and Fan Fan were behind us, one carrying a baby and the other holding a baby.

In a little over a year, Liu Jie and Liu Jie’s husband already had their own children.

As for Fanfan and Tuan Tuan, they had already gotten married and their child was already three years old.

Time passed quietly, and everyone has found their own happiness and life’s continuation, while Ru Xue and I’s happiness has forever remained in our memories.

Walking on that familiar lawn, the wind blew our hair slightly. Sixth sister, who was used to tugging her hair, said to me, “Chengyi, I think that with your personality, when you come here again, you will inevitably be sad, but I didn’t expect you to be calmer than I thought.”

I sighed and said, “If I were to talk about sadness and tears, I would have left them in that small northern city last year. Now I am going on a long journey, and I just came to say goodbye, otherwise I would regret it.”

“You have matured a lot since you came to see me last year. Just like when I was chatting with you, you said that you were refining your heart in the secular world, and I said that between gaining and losing, the only thing that can make people mature quickly is losing, because behind losing is often pain and suffering, and the state of mind in constant gain and a state of ease will not change much.” Sixth Sister said quietly, then hugged me and said, “Have a safe journey. Life has many encounters. You lost Ruoxue in the old forest, but you might meet her again on the vast rivers and lakes.”

Tuan Tuan and Fan Fan also gave me a hug and wished me a safe journey. At the same time, Tuan Tuan also told me, “Maybe you will really meet her again. People who believe in fairy tales are happier than those who don’t. Chengyi, you have to be happy.”

Girls are always like this. No matter what, they will stubbornly refuse to accept tragedy and persistently sink into perfection. Because of their gentle and weak nature, their hearts desire a peaceful life more than men do. They also want me to meet Ru Xue, and I will take this as a blessing.

And blessings are always beautiful.

After leaving the Yueyan Miao village, I went to find Huigen and helped him with all the arrangements. Then I took Huigen directly back to Beijing, to Chengqing’s home.

The next day, Hui Gen and I went to the cemetery to see Lao Hui and Hong Zi, and we also met Xiao Bei.

April is always a fine month in the world, and this day was no exception. The sun shone warmly, warming not only our faces, but also the photos of Laohui and Hongzi on the tombstones.

Standing in front of the tombstone, we quietly offered them a few cups of wine, and we also drank a few cups ourselves. I said to Xiaobei, “Are you going to learn a skill?”

Xiao Bei asked me with a smile, “Which craft is it to learn to sing and dance?”

“The most authentic heritage of the Shan family, don’t reject me, and don’t reject an old man who just wants to pass on his craft.” I said to Xiaobei.

Xiao Bei was silent for a moment, and then asked me directly, “Is it the one from Tianjin? He is quite famous, and his personality is even weirder. If it is him, I find it hard to believe.”

“It’s not a problem if you don’t believe it, as long as you don’t say it’s hard to accept. It’s him, but don’t think of him as too weird. He’s just a father who loves his daughter too much. That’s all.” I explained to Xiaobei.

“Do I have no room to refuse?” Xiao Bei looked at me and said.

“What are you worried about?” I asked him.

“I’m afraid I won’t learn well,” Xiaobei said very directly.

“If it were me, I might not be able to learn well, but if it were you, there would be no problem. I’m waiting for you to return from your studies, otherwise my supply of talismans will be a bit tight. I don’t know the other famous instrument makers very well.” I said half-jokingly.

“If you say that, I will be happy and learn very seriously.” When he said this, Xiaobei patted my shoulder, took another sip of wine, and looked at the tombstones of Lao Hui and Hongzi.

A bird flew by, chirping, and the sun was still warm. The smiles of Lao Hui and Hongzi seemed to be happy in this quiet moment.

It was happy, without regrets. Dying like a shooting star is the way back that many passionate men long for.

Tianjin.

At Master Liu’s home, every day is simple.

I can sleep until I wake up naturally, and then I can lazily cook for Master Liu and Xiaobei, who are already teaching and learning in the study. Just like the days in the bamboo forest cottage, I was also the one who cooked, right?

They will be busy all day, and I will be wandering around all day. Hui Gen will come by occasionally. On those days, the four of us will have a drink and chat about everything under the sun. Of course, Hui Gen drinks a beverage.

Liu Zhenmeng would also come home, but the frequency was so low that it could be ignored. Master Liu would mark a day on the calendar every day, and it was a countdown to the day. Most of the time, the symbol drawn was a cross, and occasionally a circle. I knew that was the day Liu Zhenmeng would come back.

Many times, we couldn’t help but want to tell the truth, but Master Liu was stubbornly against it. He said, “Let her be happy for one day, that’s one day.”

She would bring men back, laugh shamelessly, and go shopping like crazy. I don’t want to speculate on what these days are like for her.

I just wonder if she knows that her life is already in the countdown, whether she would choose to quietly stay with her father or become even more hysterical. There is no answer to this question.

Time still passes quietly, and soon it will be the beginning of summer…

That evening, Master Liu asked us to drink with him. As if by some kind of telepathy, Liu Zhenmeng came home very early that day. At this moment, Master Liu suddenly put down his wine cup and said, “It’s almost time.”