??

  If it were found in a garbage dump, I wouldnt be surprised. It looks like an ancient bronze mirror, slightly smaller than a plate for serving dishes, but about the thickness of a silver coin. One side is engraved with characters, and the other has a relief pattern of a dragon with outstretched wings.

  "Yinglong!" This is the first time Ive seen this legendary dragon pattern, in ancient Chinese mythology, Yinglong is the only winged dragon on the vast land of China. The material looks like bronze but not quite, because it doesnt have a copper green color, instead it retains a faint yellow hue, with an inexplicable royal aura within.

  The front is those characters, totaling sixteen.

  "Hei Long handed me the copper plate and said: Take it, well meet again in three days. By then Ill need you to tell me what youve seen."

  This time, when the palm of my hand touched it, I felt a chill. I stared at it, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldnt stir up even half a ripple in my heart. I shook my head and said, "Im afraid its not going to work out as hoped."

  "Why?" he asked.

  "Because I had no feeling." When I was very young, my master discovered this gift of mine. In my eyes, all things can communicate with each other, even a wild grass, and I can imagine the content of our conversation. My master said that this is called "heaven and man united", he said that in addition to the founder of our sect, Ling Zhengyang, only I could do it, but its said that the founder took 40 years to achieve it, while I was born with it.

  So I gave this copper plate to Heilong as well.

  He looked at me with a slightly suspicious gaze and said, "Then why can you see the photo?"

  "Maybe I havent slept for several days and got dizzy."

  "Not because I havent seen the scene youre talking about, Ive been studying this bronze plate for ten days already. On the third day after I brought it back, I also saw a similar scene to what you described. However, I didnt see as much as you did, I only saw that there were many people there and someone standing on the altar, but couldnt make out their appearance at all. Youre the second person here who has achieved this, and the only one who can clearly see him wearing a mask. I was right about you, its indeed fate!"

  "I asked: I want to leave, can you let me go?"

  He smiled, revealing those pearly white teeth and said: "Leave? Of course, as long as you can decipher the meaning of these characters."

  "It cant be cracked." I said honestly.

  "Hei Long said to me in a tone that brooked no refusal: You cant leave."

  So I stayed there for three years, and every few days Heilong would come to find me, take me into that room, and have me look at the copper plate. The questions were always the same, and my answers were always the same.

  Its strange to say, but since I saw that scene through the photo that time, I havent seen it again, not even in photos. It and I are completely unable to communicate, like cold stones.

  Three years later, I had the opportunity for the first time, Heilong agreed that I could go back to sweep the tomb, and my master had been away from me for three whole years. Kuangfeng was accompanying me on the way back, with a special car picking us up along the way, and I couldnt even have a little contact with the outside world, the whole process was under their control, and when I saw Xiaoyi, it was still Kuangfeng who spoke for me.

  But that was just one side of it, a fleeting glimpse, and then they parted ways...

  "I dont want to go back." I said to the raging wind while staring at the ceiling in the hotel.

  He watched with relish the couple embracing on TV and shouted without blinking: "How great it is outside, who would want to go back?"

  "Is there a way?"

  "No way, unless the boss agrees. I can tell you, dont even think about trying to escape on your own, the consequences are severe. Forget it, dont think about those useless things. In China, who can escape the eyes of 0137?"

  "0137? This was the first time I heard Crazy Wind mention this number."

  Unexpectedly, the little brat spread his hands and said: "I didnt say anything."

  Just smelled the hometown air and immediately had to leave again, a sleepless night...

  The sky is about to brighten up, looking at the crazy wind sleeping soundly beside me, I feel that I can no longer go back with him, I have to escape. The agreement was for three years, and three years are over, I should also leave.

  This is a three-story hotel, the windows are adjacent to a piece of grass, and there is a platform between each floor, where air conditioner outdoor units were placed at that time. Gently pull out the bed sheet tied to the window, slide down along the sheet to the second floor, and then repeat the process to get to the first floor.

  The station was still closed at dawn, I crouched in the corner of the gate, drowsy and dozing off, when someone shouted: "Hey, where are you going?"

  "Hongcun!" I reflexively responded, getting up and opening my eyes to take a look. The person looked incredibly familiar, if it wasnt Heilong, who could it be?

  His tone was so overbearing: "The return ticket can only be bought from me, I wont sell it and no one else will sell it to you."

  "Either take me back alive, or carry my corpse away."

  "Want to get tough?" He laughed, his laughter was so disdainful.

  I drew out my own treasured sword and placed it against my neck, and with just a light touch of the blade, the skin was already cut open...

  Hei Long grasped my hand with one hand and sighed, "Go back, Ill come find you again when necessary, Cha Wenbin!"

  This was the first time he called me by name, I nodded heavily and turned around to walk into the station...

  Im Xiao Yi, last night at my uncles house was lively. On the second day of the first month, two coffins were placed in the courtyard, women crying and wailing loudly. I remember that there have never been so many people at their house before. According to reason, it is not supposed to be a funeral during the first month, but this commotion was too big, no one could bear losing two lives in a row. Even the police came, the crowd of people surrounded the place, making it impossible to get through.

  What does the death of my uncle and aunt have to do with me? But those women are unbearable, their men died and they need someone to take the blame, so I naturally became the target. As soon as I entered the door, I was grabbed by the women, they tore my suit, and also tore my woolen sweater, my arms and neck were covered in blood-red scratch marks, if there werent many people around at the time, Im afraid I would have been torn to pieces by those so-called aunts.

  Its pointless to reason with women, especially when theyre in a crazy state. Its the same here, I couldnt reason with her either. I fled the scene with Fatso and hid at home for the whole day. My mom kept nagging, saying things like "youre asking for trouble", "youre courting disaster", "you never learn". Luckily, when my dad came back in the evening, he didnt blow up, just had a dark face.

  At dinner time, the atmosphere was very depressing. I knew he had gone out to investigate in the afternoon and this matter would definitely be blamed on my family. The rural hooligans wouldnt talk about evidence or law with you. They could curse at you, pour big feces in front of your house door, scatter paper money from the bridge head all the way to your courtyard. In short, they would do whatever it takes to disgust you. When encountering such things, one can only consider themselves unlucky.

  "Want a couple of drinks tonight?" I tried to break the silence at the dinner table, holding the wine bottle and pouring some for my dad.

  With a "clink", the wine bottle was taken by him and flew far away...

  "Good grief, whats going on here? Cant we just get through this day?! Its only the second day of the new year!" My mother was already crying on her side. Anyone would be unbearable if they were in our shoes - a peaceful Spring Festival turned into such a mess! I heard rumors from outside that they want me to fork out 100,000 yuan: 50,000 for each family and this whole thing will be settled. If not, we wont have any good days ahead of us.

  "Are you looking for money?" I asked the old man tentatively again.

  "How dare you! Youve turned the sky upside down!" My father slammed his palm heavily on the table: "Its a wonder they dared to open their mouths, wanting money but not giving any, and instead offering two bullets as a reward!"

  "Hey, Little Yi, I like your dads temper." Fatso is the kind of person who likes to watch the excitement and doesnt mind adding fuel to the fire.

  Just then, there was a knock at the door, "Dong Dong Dong".

  My mothers eyes still had tears on them, and she hastily put down her bowl and chopsticks, worriedly saying: "It hasnt come again, has it?"

  "Damn it!" My old man turned around and entered the small hut, carrying a shotgun into the yard. Before opening the door, he had already fired a shot into the sky. "Bang", startled the sparrows on the tree to fly away in all directions.

  "Uncle, its me..." The door outside, Cha Wenbin, facing the dark muzzle of the gun, raised his hands and shouted.

  Hes back, Cha Wenbin, after disappearing for three whole years...

  I had a lot of questions for him, but I didnt know where to start. He spoke first: "Xiaobai, is she... okay?"

  "Went to America and lost contact."

  Cha Wenbin fell silent for a moment before slowly speaking: "She must be very disappointed in me..."

  Looking at his somewhat despondent eyes, I didnt ask further. I didnt want to know what had happened back then, but I understood that it must have been a scene he was unwilling to mention again.

  "What about you?"

  "This isnt the first time Ive come back for Chinese New Year, and yet I ran into this kind of trouble." I told Cha Wenbin everything that had happened since I got back, from burning incense. He listened very carefully, and I saw his eyebrows furrow at several points in the story.

  "Whats your idea?"

  "This matter is probably not your fault." Cha Wenbin asked Pangzi, "Have you fulfilled the promise to invite that drink?"

  "Impossible! Im not just talking nonsense!"

  "You can cheat people, but you cant cheat ghosts!" Cha Wenbin said: "What you encountered on Qingxiang Road that night was a ghost!"

  "I said: Then why cant I see?"

  Zha Wenbin shut me up with just one sentence: "Can you see your own occipital lobe?"

  "You mean hes been behind my back all along?" The moment I recalled that scene, my scalp suddenly tightened.

  And then followed you back home, and also had a drink with the fat kid. This person after passing away is supposed to be protecting his descendants, your uncle was a good man when he was alive, but that doesnt mean hes still like that after he died. People are two-faced, its just that when theyre alive their kindness suppresses their evilness, which is why his whole life was a tragedy, and after death his evil thoughts were stirred up, so overnight he became unrecognizable, this kind of situation is very rare.

  "What did my uncle do?" I was a bit incredulous: "Hes usually bullied by those sons and daughters to the point where he doesnt even dare fart, how could he be so vicious after death?"

  "A rabbit will bite when its anxious, let alone a ghost!" Zhang Wenbin continued: "I think he probably drank Meng Pos soup and didnt enter the underworld, but instead jumped off Naihe Bridge. Dont believe me? Go ask around, your uncle must not have had someone to help him cross the heavenly bridge when he died."