Chapter Ten: The Unspoken Goodbye

  After Grandpa Jing finished speaking, he fell asleep silently in front of everyone. The old man seemed to be completely still, and no one could hear the sound of his breathing. Even when they looked closely, his silver-white beard didn't move at all, as if there was no airflow from his breath to disturb these extremely soft and fluffy silver-white whiskers. Everyone dared not speak or touch this mysterious old man, and instead chose to believe that he had simply fallen asleep.

  Long Bao looked and suddenly wanted to take the old man's pulse, wanting to determine whether the old man was dead or alive.

  He sincerely hopes that this wise, mysterious and unique old man will never die. He wants to talk to the old man again, to explore with him those eternal topics worth studying for a lifetime, such as life and death, fate, the way of heaven, human affairs, etc. In these days, he has thought about these questions a lot, but it seems that he cannot find an answer that convinces himself.

  More than ten minutes later, everyone almost simultaneously had a strange idea that the old man's soul had left his body and his spirit had escaped. After glancing at each other, they quietly retreated.

  Qiu Ya, Jing Er, Shi Wei, Du Ci, and also Long Bao, Kang Ding Zhuang Kang Tie, several people sat around the square table in the living room. Shi Wei chuckled twice and said: "Old Six, I called Hai Tao, he might not arrive until tomorrow noon, it's been a few months since we last saw him, I really miss him."

  "Hmm."

  "Hey, Old Six, actually last time... I was wrong to blame you. I shouldn't have disturbed you at such a critical moment when you were busy with your work. Hmm, this and that, I'm coming to apologize to you, bearing the burden of guilt! " Shi Wei closed his eyes, turned his face sideways, gritted his teeth and said, "Come on! Today, whether you want to scold me or slap me, feel free to do it from either side! If you don't hit me today, I'll still feel uncomfortable!"

  A wisp of blue smoke rose from the tip of Long Bao's fingers, forming a flowing mist in front of his eyes. The features of the person before him gradually became blurred, but then transformed into a cluster of green bamboo swaying gently in the wind, carrying a rain hat and trembling in the cold breeze...

  Suddenly, through this layer of fog, it seems to see the hearts of these people jumping vigorously in front of their own eyes, beating strongly one by one. He looked at his own heart and found that this heart was still fragmented. In this gaze, the fragments were randomly placed on this square table, in front of everyone, like a snail crawling, or a broken worm shrinking miserably. Looking again, there was no adhesion between these fragments, somewhat like dark purple-black blood clots, just like the chicken blood clots that had solidified and were about to be put into the pot...

  Long Bao suddenly had an idea in his mind: When will this chicken blood be put on the stove?

  Qiu Ya looked at Long Bao, her heart couldn't bear it anymore, she trembled as she stood up, moved her feet to walk in front of Long Bao, and said with a sobbing tone: "Bao, just say something, can you?"

  Long Bao didn't look at her or speak, still lowering his head to gaze at the desktop, fantasizing about the scene of stir-frying chicken blood.

  Kangding Zhuang and Kang Tie realized it was inappropriate for them to stay here, so they made an excuse to go out for a stroll.

  As soon as they left, Qiu Ya threw herself into Long Bao's arms and burst out crying.

  Long Bao felt his eyes were a bit blurry and uncomfortable from the smoke, he vaguely saw that everyone present was staring at him, but he clearly felt the strong tremble of Qiuya's body when she hugged him and sobbed violently. He also more clearly felt that Jing'er, who was sitting opposite him, was deeply calling out to him in her heart...

  "You... you... why bother..." Long Bao finally sighed.

  "Yes, I also want to know why we have to?" Shi Wei chimed in, "Isn't it just a curse? What's there to be afraid of? At most, we'll just die once. We're all upright and honest people who've never done anything wrong or had any guilty conscience our whole lives. What's there to fear? Besides, you and I have been sworn brothers for over three years now, and aren't we still living well? If the curse really worked, why haven't I dropped dead on the street yet?"

  Shi Wei rambled on: "Old Six, without you, every day is so dull. I'm just this kind of person, if we can't live happily, then it's better to die! Isn't that right? Can we spend days without you in our lives? Ah, those days would be worse than death!"

  Qiu Ya involuntarily grabbed Long Bao's arm again, holding it tightly, as if hinting to Long Bao that she also had the same thoughts as Shi Wei, and would not leave him just because she was afraid of being implicated by the curse. She had also made up her mind to face this curse together with him.

  Dragon scales tearfully blurred his vision again, and a sorrowful expression floated on his face once more.

  Jing'er used a tissue to wipe away her tears that had fallen from the corners of her eyes, and stood up to refill everyone's teacups with hot water.

  Long Bao looked at Jing Er's slightly slow movements, and found that the fragments of his heart on the table were picked up by Jing Er one by one and put into each person's teacup in front of them. Moreover, with Jing Er pouring water from the kettle mixed with tea leaves, they swirled up and down in the teacups, occasionally seeping out a few strands of dark, dark blood, swimming strangely in the teacups, like a few disgusting long worms.

  Long Wan did not notice that the cigarette in his hand had already burned to the filter, nor did he smell the acrid smell of burning in the air.

  Jing'er fully understood the shock and pain in Long Bao's heart, she realized that she had a responsibility to comfort him, so she spoke softly: "Long Bao, what everyone says makes sense, you might as well..."

  Perhaps the mysterious emotional nature of human beings is to hurt those they care about most. Long Bao, who could have found a psychological balance point in many contradictions, finally burst out with the anger and resentment, loneliness and pain that had been hidden at the bottom of his heart for so long, triggered by Su Jing'er's signal: "Su Jing'er! These things have nothing to do with you! I'm here to see your grandfather, my business has nothing to do with you!"

  Jing'er's warm and caring words were met with Long Biao's harsh rebuke, her slender body trembling as she lowered her eyes in distress.

  Du Cui had long been displeased with this arrogant guy and was just about to help Jing Er get justice, but was pulled back by Shi Wei.

  Qiu Ya felt Long Bao's muscles were as hard as steel at this moment, her heart ached, and tears gushed out again.

  Shi Wei was also at a loss for words, and the conversation became dull. The girls excused themselves to go wash up, and Long Bao pulled out a book and started reading.

  The distant and nearby roosters began to crow one after another, dawn was breaking.

  Long Bao worked hard to immerse himself in the world he had constructed, not allowing his mind to wander and think about things. Yet, he was secretly counting down the seconds until noon, calculating its arrival. He didn't want to see another old man go because of him; he hoped that the old man's words from last night were just the ramblings of a dying man.

  Long Wan did not rest and waited for noon to arrive.

  It was almost noon, but Qing Er's grandfather still hadn't woken up.

  Long Bao saw that Jing Er's grandfather's complexion was normal, and there wasn't the slightest bit of deathly pallor. This old man should still be in a coma and hadn't passed away yet.

  But instead became even more determined to believe that the old man would definitely leave him today.

  He kept saying in his heart: No death, no life; no life, no death; with life comes death, and with death comes life...

  Jiao Siwei and her bodyguard Louise arrived at Jing'er's house just after one o'clock in the afternoon.

  Jiao Siyu had long known from her father's subordinates about the existence of this mysterious old man, and she also guessed that Long Bao must have a very deep connection with him. She was eager to see this old man who was said to be dying today, and she wanted to see for herself what kind of power this old man had that made Long Bao drop everything and travel thousands of miles to come and visit him.

  When she appeared in front of Long Bao, she saw Qiu Ya and Jing Er again, and a smile couldn't help but rise to her heart: this trip was really worth it.

  Qiu Ya didn't expect that Focal Forest's daughter would be so beautiful and elegant. When she saw the affectionate expression on Focal Si's face in front of Long Bao, a sour taste immediately surged up in her heart: Could it be that Long... has some ambiguous relationship with her?

  "Miss Jiao, don't tell lies in front of a real person. You must be clear who Yang Xiu is. This old man is Yang Xiu's senior fellow apprentice. He personally witnessed that scene between you and your father back then. The reason he wants to invite you here is to say a few words to you before he passes away."

  Jiao Si's eyes sparkled with a faint smile as he replied, "Alright, I have the utmost respect for the elderly. Hurry and take me to see him!"

  "The old man still hasn't woken up until now, and I don't know when he'll wake up either. Vice Chairman Jiao, I...I want to ask you to please wait a bit, no matter what the old man says, you can't argue with him, just be a good listener. The old man's days are numbered, there's no need to let him suffer before he goes."

  Jiao Si nodded slightly.

  ……

  Time passed second by second, and Lao Ye still looked the same. No one dared to touch his body or feel his pulse, but everyone felt that he hadn't died, just fallen asleep.

  Haitao also rushed to Wuxi and greeted Longbiao very calmly, the atmosphere was dull and oppressive.

  Time had quickly arrived at six o'clock in the afternoon, and Long Bao once again brought Jiao Siwei to the bedside of Jing Er's grandfather. He hoped that the old man, who was sleeping soundly, could sense Jiao Siwei's arrival and wake up, but the old man still didn't have any reaction.

  Jing'er remembered that her grandfather had told her that if he hadn't woken up by the time of You, it would mean that he was gone and wouldn't come back. She desperately suppressed the panic in her heart, not daring to look at her watch or calculate the time. All she could do was steal a few glances at Longbiao, whose calm expression seemed to give her confidence that Grandfather would definitely wake up.

  Jiao Siwei had been observing the old man at close range for over ten minutes, and she was also puzzled as to why she couldn't determine whether he was dead or alive just by looking. She involuntarily stretched out her hand to touch the old man's forehead, wanting to see if his body was still warm.

  No one noticed Jiao Siwei's reckless behavior, just as her hand had barely touched the old man's forehead, the old man's eyes opened, and Jiao Siwei was so frightened that she cried out and withdrew her hand, retreating several steps in a row.

  Miraculously, Jing Er's grandfather woke up and as soon as he opened his mouth, he said to Jiao Siwei: "You're here."

  Jiao Siwei was shocked and frightened by this sudden change, and nodded slightly in fear.

  Grandpa Jing smiled and said to the people crowded in his room: "This sleep was so refreshing, Jing'er, what time is it now?"

  The old man's voice seemed extremely strange, and it was very different from his usual tone, as if it had come through a long and deep alley, hollow and distant yet with a magical penetrating power. Jing'er, who was overjoyed by the news of her grandfather's awakening and had tears in her eyes, didn't have time to think about her grandfather's change, and hastily replied: "Grandfather, it's time for dinner!"

  "Alright, little Jiao," said Grandfather Jing with a kind smile. "It's great that we can chat before you leave. Do you believe in fate?"

  After calming down, she thought to herself: "Is it necessary to use such tricks to deceive me?" However, she still replied sincerely: "This thing called fate is inexplicable. If you say it exists, then it does; if you say it doesn't, then it doesn't. I'll believe in it a bit."

  Grandfather Jing's head didn't move at all, only his eyes slightly turned around, and he spoke again: "Little Dragon, what about you?"

  Long Bao's eyes watched the old man's lips move, his ears listened to the old man's voice, but he inexplicably felt that this old man was not alive, as if only the old man's physical body was speaking. He suddenly felt a chill all over his body and couldn't help but respond in a sorrowful tone: "If everything people experience in life can be explained by fate, I don't believe in fate; if some things in life are predetermined by fate, then I do believe in fate. Perhaps in the tunnel of life, there is indeed some mysterious force designing some of our experiences, just like some encounters and events that cannot be explained, I believe in this."

  "Grandfather Jing's voice and expression remained unchanged as he picked up where Long Bao had left off, saying: 'Children, this is the mystery of fate.'"

  Long Bao's throat began to choke up, and he asked with some bitterness: "Su Lao, is fate about gain or loss?"

  Grandfather Jìng: "Gains and losses are fate, but fate is not gains and losses; Gains and losses are oneself, and oneself is the only gain or loss; Oneself is fate, but fate is not oneself."

  "What is oneself then?"

  Grandfather Jing didn't answer him immediately, instead he turned his eyeballs to scan everyone, and after a while said: "You have to find the answer yourself, once you've found it, you'll understand everything."

  Long Wan nodded thoughtfully and muttered to himself: "I am the heart."

  "Children," said Old Man Jing, "who can tell me what the heart is?"

  Shi Wei knew that he had studied physiology and hygiene, so he hurriedly stepped forward with his hands to indicate the position of his heart and said to Jing Er's grandfather: "Grandfather Su, the heart is the heart, it is the most important organ in our body, responsible for pumping blood in the circulatory system to maintain life! Hehe!"

  Haitao was almost killed by Shi Wei's fart, and hurriedly corrected: "Grandfather Su, the heart is a person's moral conscience."

  Shi Wei disagreed with Hai Tao's words and immediately accused: "If you say so, then 'a red heart towards the party' would become 'moral conscience towards the party'?"

  Du Ci then also had her answer and said: "The heart is a person's thoughts and consciousness."

  Jing Er's grandfather smiled more obviously, looking at Qiu Ya with kindness: "And you?"

  Qiu Ya thought for a moment and looked at Long Bao again before saying: "The heart is love."

  Jing'er had already thought of several answers in her mind, but she was not satisfied with any of them. She felt that she couldn't find the right words to express her understanding of Grandpa's question. After a while, she said softly: "The heart is the soul, if the soul is not pure, the heart will not be righteous; if the soul is gone, the heart will die."

  Jiao Siwei suddenly felt a bit amused and Grandfather Jing asked her: "Little Jiao, what do you think the heart is?"

  "Man is a rational animal, and the heart is rational. This conclusion has already been drawn by scholars, and I accept this view."

  Grandpa Jing asked Long Bao again: "Little Dragon, what about you?"

  Long Wan wanted to tell the old man that the heart is wisdom, the heart is understanding of the world, the heart is self-awareness, and the heart is guidance for action. However, just as he was about to speak, he suddenly remembered the illusions he had seen about his own heart, and so the words on the tip of his tongue changed: "The self is the heart, the heart is also the self, worldly affairs are like water and people are like water, the human heart is also like water, people have no constant form and are changing, the heart has no fixed shape and is also changing."

  Jing Er's grandfather fixed his gaze on Long Bu's face for a long time without moving.

  "Little Jiao, your father said before he left that he had found his heart. Do you think he really did find it? Your father's life was full of ups and downs, storms and waves, he never had a peaceful day. So why would he say he found his heart just before he left?"

  A father's death cannot be shared under the same sky... Jiao Siyu simultaneously flashed this sentence in her mind, glanced at Long Bao, but saw Long Bao with an extremely sorrowful expression, and her heart couldn't help but skip a beat!

  The old man continued, "Xiao Jiao, in a person's life, many things are a kind of fate. Not only is the relationship between your father and Mr. Qian a kind of fate, but also the relationships between your father and Xiao Long, you and Xiao Long, are all kinds of fate. If you hadn't come today, if you hadn't used your hand to touch me, I would have already left. That we can have this conversation is also fate. You're only 22 years old, you have great talent and can bear heavy responsibilities. Just don't forget what the foundation of human life is. Living in hatred isn't a good thing... When people meet, they should put aside their grudges and smile... Human life isn't for hatred..."

  The old man turned to Jing'er's parents and said: "After I'm gone, don't hold any funeral for me. Just scatter my ashes in Taihu Lake. You can spend the rest of your lives here, but don't follow Jing'er or interfere with her life... As for you, Jing'er, don't learn my things anymore. It's useless even if you do. Give all my belongings to Xiaolong and let him deal with them as he sees fit!"

  The old man gazed at Long Bao: "Wa, the road is long, and you must be tired from walking. You can rest for a while, your grandfather and Qian Ye won't blame you. Come, Little Dragon, bring me a cup of tea."

  The old man has formally handed over his own affairs, the old man may drink this cup of tea and leave forever, this cup of tea is the old man's farewell tea!

  Jing'er brought a cup of tea to Longbiao's hands, and Longbiao held the cup, hoping that time would stop at this moment. This way, he could keep the old man in his current state, and forever see him living like this. But the old man seemed to have seen through his thoughts, and said with endless kindness: "Child, Grandpa has to go. After drinking tea, Grandpa will have no regrets."

  Long Bao could no longer hold back, and with a thud, he knelt on the ground, tears streaming down his face. A few drops even fell into the purple sand tea cup. He choked out: "Grandfather Su, why, why do you all have to leave me one by one?"

  "Grandpa Jìng: "Foolish child, life cannot be immortal."

  "Long Wan: 'Why can't life be eternal?'"

  "Life is the way of heaven, the way of heaven is reincarnation. Naturally, with birth comes death, and with death comes rebirth. Only with the joy of life can there be the happiness of death."

  "In Longwang's words, infinite sorrow was filled: 'Life under reincarnation has no joy, only suffering; death under reincarnation has no happiness, only fear.'"

  "Child, you are mistaken! Who is happy and who is sad, who is afraid under the cycle of life and death? Is it you, me or someone else? Is it reincarnation or the heart?"

  "He doesn't know me, but I know myself; it's not the wheel of reincarnation that is heartless, it's the heart that has feelings. The one who is wrong is not me, it's the wheel of reincarnation."

  "Alas, child, what can't be avoided is best faced head-on. No matter how hard you try to hide, it's still impossible to avoid."

  Long Bao Ding raised his lowered head and looked at Jing Er's grandfather, saying: "Grandfather Su, please tell Grandfather Qi, my maternal grandparents, and my parents that the curse will end with me in this generation. Please forgive my unfilial piety, I will soon follow to serve you."

  After finishing speaking, he stood up and carefully brought the teacup to the old man's lips.

  The crowd, already deeply moved by Longbiao and the old man's conversation, had tears streaming down their faces. Even Jiao Siwei couldn't help but shed a few tears. Jing'er's grandfather slowly sipped the tea that Longbiao had mustered up great courage to bring to his lips, maintaining a comforting smile on his face as he stared unwaveringly at Longbiao and his precious granddaughter Jing'er.

  The old man felt himself leaving, he seemed to want to say something, his lips moved, but ultimately didn't say anything. Long Bao suddenly heard the old man let out a long breath... The old man's body sank!

  Right after that, Long Bao saw something floating out from the old man's body, hovering above the bed. The thing kept changing its shape in front of his eyes: sometimes it was like a steep mountain, sometimes like clouds drifting across the sky, sometimes like a river flowing rapidly, sometimes like wind blowing over a desolate plain, sometimes like a bustling market, sometimes like a mirage, sometimes like a winding highway through mountains, and sometimes like towering snow-capped peaks.

  Jing Er's grandfather left, and everyone was crying, but Long Pan didn't cry, not even a single tear fell from his eyes. He had no reason to cry anymore. This was an old man he respected deeply who had left him, and what's more, this was another person hurt by the curse.

  Long Bao couldn't feel that there was still a heart beating in his chest, on the contrary, he saw that the fragments of his own heart had already followed the old man away like shattered porcelain, and the lively beating was gone. The chest cavity was inevitably empty, but this feeling could be ignored.

  Without this burden, people can still live, and may even live better than before. After all, the heart is always a cumbersome burden that greatly restricts the use of the body. Without it, people can be completely unscrupulous.

  ……

  The emotions that cannot be expressed in words burst forth in the stifled and suppressed sobbing of the crowd, in the tears, ceaselessly surging and overflowing, and the room is once again filled with that familiar yet indescribable something...

  This thing is like the ubiquitous air in the room, the ubiquitous light, the ubiquitous sound, stirring every object in the room, infecting every living being, and then swiftly and lightly escaping through the gaps of the open doors and windows of this small building, this small courtyard, quietly spreading out into the beautiful countryside by the lake, like a thousand-year-old story.

  Long Bao had no tears, so he didn't use tears to show off his pain and sadness like everyone else. He quietly walked into the small courtyard, looked up at the flowing clouds in the sky, looked at the wind in the sky, looked down at the earth under his feet, and the flowers and grass under his feet. He also walked to the riverbank, looked at the flowing water of the small river, and looked at the living things in the small river.

  He picked up an unknown and featureless pebble by the river, then squatted down by the water's edge to gently clean the dirt off the pebble with water. He carefully scrubbed it again and again, washed it over and over, and then gently placed the pebble back into the shallow water at the riverbank with both hands.

  Dusk has passed, the sky has darkened, which means daytime is over and night has fallen. Through the shallow water surface, you can vaguely see that block of stone sleeping at the bottom of the water, already washed clean... I remember my grandfather said in his will "Child, I haven't died, but have obtained the permanent right to peace", I remember he couldn't understand the meaning of this sentence at that time, but now he knows...

  He said softly to the pebble sleeping at the bottom of the water: "You, you're back again. You return to this peaceful riverbed and let the changing waters flow over your head, but from now on, you will enjoy eternal peace."

  The old man's body in the bedroom had already stiffened, Jing'er carefully washed Grandpa's face, combed his hair and beard, and wrapped the white hairs that had fallen on the pillow in white paper. Then Jing'er brought hot water again, and asked her father and several villagers to help Grandpa clean his body before changing into the longevity clothes he had prepared for himself before he died.

  The small courtyard of Jing'er's family quickly became lively, with relatives and neighbors discussing in hushed tones what kind of grand funeral would be fitting for the elder's noble and mysterious identity. As soon as they heard that the old man had specifically instructed to be cremated rather than buried, they immediately advised against it, saying that he should be buried instead of being cremated.

  Jing's parents couldn't take it anymore and were about to decide on a burial when Jing suddenly spoke up and stopped them. Jing firmly said that Grandfather had previously instructed that after cremation, there was no need to bury the ashes, and they could be scattered in Taihu Lake. He also forbade the setting up of a mourning hall. Jing insisted that he would only carry out Grandfather's last wishes and absolutely would not allow his parents to do anything that went against them. His parents couldn't argue with Jing and had to give up.

  The pot is boiling over!

  Jing'er insisted on fulfilling her grandfather's last wish, and the villagers were convinced that Jing'er's parents were unfilial for not giving her grandfather a grand funeral. Jing'er, this obedient girl, was so unfilial that she didn't even make paper houses, paper cars, paper horses, or paper people for the spirit hall. Despite repeated attempts to persuade her, she refused to listen, and the villagers were indignant and criticized her. Jing'er's parents were at a loss, unable to cope with the situation, and could only shift the responsibility to Jing'er. At this time, Jing'er seemed like an untouchable goddess statue, her face pale with sorrow, yet her will was firmer than ever.

  Many fellow villagers shook their heads and left with extremely contemptuous expressions on their faces.

  Qiu Ya, Du Ci and Shi Wei were busy with Kang Ding Zhuang, while Long Bao sat on a small stool silently smoking, seemingly oblivious to everything around him, as if he was just a younger generation who came to see off Jing Er's grandfather, and everything in front of him had nothing to do with him.

  Jiao Si Yu returned to Shanghai that night. The next day at noon, Kang Tie called from the crematorium to inquire about the cremation schedule and reported back to Long Bao that it would take three more days. Shi Wei was furious when he heard this and cursed, "This is the crematorium asking for bribes! Dammit, I'll go fix it!" He and Hai Tao immediately rushed to the crematorium, found a small head and gave him 500 yuan in red envelopes, and the schedule was quickly arranged for the next day at 11 am.

  Long Wan did not accompany everyone to escort the old man's body to the crematorium, he would rather sit on that stone bridge and watch the flowing water in the small river flow towards Taihu Lake, he would rather watch the clouds in the sky changing shapes tirelessly.

  When Jing'er was carrying the old man's ashes back from the crematorium, Longbiao was writing on the stone bridge with his fingers. No one knew what he was writing, not even Kangdingzhuang who had been protecting him at a distance. Only Longbiao himself knew that he had written four words all afternoon, and he kept repeating them over and over again.

  It's actually very simple, just "see you in the next life", but when Long Bao writes these four characters in reverse order, upside down and backwards, they have an especially unique meaning.

  ……

  Another day's dawn has arrived in the timely appearance of rooster crowing and bird chirping. It is a fine day, with no wind or fog, not a cloud in the sky from head to toe, all the way to the end of the sky, as blue as the sea. Without the refraction of clouds, the sunlight is no longer colorful, but instead crystal clear and transparent. The distant mountains also lack the misty charm, although it's still impossible to distinguish the trees, flowers, and grass on the mountain, but it can be determined that the mountain range covered with trees must have gotten rid of the haze that had been floating around for days.

  Today, everyone will sit together on the boat and scatter Grandpa Jing's ashes into the vast and majestic Taihu Lake. It's a good weather, I believe it's the most suitable for scattering the ancestors' ashes. This kind of weather is also the day when the fish in the lake like to eat the most, they will swallow everything that they suspect as floating organisms. If the white ashes float on the water surface, they must have looked like food to the fish, a floating creature.

  Jing's parents, Jing, Haitao, Shiwei, Duci, Qiuya, Longbo, Kangdingzhuang, Kangtie and several fellow villagers boarded the boat together. It is said that the old captain of the boat had once received kindness from Jing's grandfather, so he did not ask for rent and was willing to take everyone to any place in Taihu Lake to scatter the old man's ashes. The urn was wrapped in black satin, Jing held it tightly in her arms, sitting motionless in the cabin, only shedding tears.

  This waterway is very familiar to Long Bao, he has walked with the old man and his grandfather before. He remembers that he also sat on a boat at that time, and he even swam in the lake. He, his grandfather, the old man, and Jing'er wrote a poem together.

  Long Bo stood at the bow of the boat, his face and chest filled with the lake wind that came rushing towards him. The wind was still the same wind, the water was still the same water, but Long Bo remembered that it was a bitterly cold winter three nines ago, and now it was a sweltering August. The scenery in front of him was thriving, but when he thought about it, only eight months had passed, yet three old men who were by his side were nowhere to be seen. Was it true that as the scenery changed, the people beside him would also change?

  Long Bao couldn't help but think of such a sentence in his mind:

  I am using the present to look at the past, I am using the present to wait for the future;

  The present is haunted by the tears of what has been lost, and the future is imprisoned by the inevitability of what is to come.

  In the past, I only knew how to use the future to ignite the present. Now that I am in the present, I have come to understand how to use the past to quietly await my future arrival.

  No need to gaze at the summoning, for life is forever lost in the wilderness of death. The cursed heart can only hold tears in a smile, and silence is all that's left in the hidden future.

  If heaven allows a deal, I'd trade now and future for an eternal past.

  The heavens are indifferent, now I know that those gods have grown accustomed to receiving the devout worship of mortals, but I will not go to ignorant worship, on the contrary, I will bid farewell to my past and present.

  ……

  Jing'er thought this was the best place for her grandfather to rest, so she asked the old sailor to stop the boat. She carried the ashes box out of the cabin, tears streaming down her face. She placed her grandfather's ashes on the deck, lit three bundles of incense, poured three cups of clear tea, arranged the fruit and vegetable offerings, then knelt with her parents in front of the ashes box to read the memorial text. Afterwards, they started burning paper money in an iron bucket.

  Jing'er walked to the side of the boat, trembling as she untied the black cloth, opened the urn, and suppressed her heart-wrenching pain. She gently scooped up the grayish-white ashes and slowly scattered them into Taihu Lake!

  The strong lake wind blew over, blowing onto Jing'er's hands, and blowing towards the scattered ashes of Jing'er. Suddenly, a thick white fog rose up, spreading across the sky and blocking out the sun. The fog obscured everyone's eyes, and also triggered even more intense wailing. Jing'er scattered the ashes while shouting in a hoarse voice: "Grandfather... Grandfather..."

  Jing'er gazed infinitely sorrowfully as Grandfather's ashes disappeared into the vast waters of Taihu Lake. She then took out the can of Longjing tea she had bought for the elderly man from her bag and scattered it into Taihu Lake, just like scattering ashes. With a mournful wail, she cried: "Grandfather... this is your favorite tea... take it with you... take it away... go drink it with De Grandfather, Qian Grandfather, and Grandma together..."

  Long Bo stood still like a withered tree, watching Jing'er, watching everyone, and watching the bone ash flying in the sky like snowflakes. He watched the tea leaves floating on the lake surface, undulating with the waves, and his heart responded to everyone's crying:

  Su Lao, return to come, you have thoroughly returned all your shells, your soul has merged into the embrace of heaven and earth, your heart has also reached a perfect realm, goodbye Su Lao, return to come, goodbye, goodbye...

  The funeral ended like this, Long Bao gave Jing'er's grandfather incense again and then bid farewell to everyone with the reason of group affairs, and calmly refused the kindness of Jing'er's parents who continued to persuade him to stay.

  Qiu Ya had already sought help from Shi Wei, asking Shi Wei to ask Long Bao what arrangements he would make for her. Seeing that Long Bao was about to leave, she burst into tears.

  Shi Wei's eyes rolled, and he walked up to Long Bao and said: "Old Six, it's already noon now. If you rush to Shanghai and then take a plane, it will definitely be gone by then. Why don't you just go early tomorrow morning instead? We brothers and sisters can also have a good chat!"

  "Sorry, Shi Wei, it's already been two days and I must go back to deal with things. It's still possible to make it if we leave now."

  Shi Wei smiled and said, "Old Six, it's not urgent today, your group has so many talents, are you still worried that no one will help you deal with it? Listen to my third brother once, let's have a good chat tonight, and I'll send you to Shanghai early tomorrow morning, how about it?"

  Long Bao smiled slightly and said: "Let's talk about it later, now I have to go."

  "Alright, well, Old Six, a real man should dare to take responsibility for his actions and speak the truth. Tell me honestly, no, swear on your conscience, are you going to put aside the curse from now on and interact with us normally, without playing any more tricks?"

  Long Wan looked around the empty cave and nodded slightly.

  Shi Wei excitedly grinned from ear to ear and said, "Come on, Old Six, let's go outside and have a quiet chat." He didn't care whether Long Bao was willing or not, and dragged him out the door. In a low voice, he asked, "Old Six, tell me the truth, which one of these two girls do you like, Qiu Ya or Jing Er?"

  Long Bao slightly furrowed his brow and then relaxed again, saying lightly: "Shi Wei, you pulled me out just to ask this?"

  "Are you still unaware that both of them love you to death? I'm telling you, they were hugging each other and crying their hearts out over you just the day before yesterday! Can't you make up your mind now?"

  Before Long Bao could respond, he continued: "I think you like Jing'er a bit more, but you also told Qiuya that you want to marry her. Qiuya even tried to kill herself for your sake several times. If it weren't for me and Zang watching over her closely, she might have succeeded!"

  Long Bao still had no reaction, Shi Wei was getting anxious and said: "Now Qiu Ya wants to go to Guangdong with you, I came to ask if you agree or not? Hurry up and tell me who you want to be with! As your brother, I will definitely help you. If you don't want Qiu Ya, I'll help you settle things with Jing Er. (He paused) However, even if you disagree, you have to agree. If you treat her like last time, I think no one can stop her from seeking death!"

  Long Bao lowered his head to look at the land under his feet, this land was light black in color, very smooth and flat, I'm sure that when he was a child Jing Er must have rolled around on it many times, hmm, this land must also have been walked over by Qiu Ya many times...

  "Ah! Two such beautiful and lovely girls for you to choose from, you must make a decision! You can't possibly want both of them, can you? Playing with fire is a dangerous game, you should be content with what you have, or else they'll both leave you and you'll end up in a mess! Fine, suit yourself, ***. I've done my part to help you, it's up to you now!"

  Now, Autumn Ya is like a lamb standing on the edge of a cliff, and what's keeping her from falling into the abyss of death is her hope for that love.

  "You tell Qiu Ya, I've been really busy lately, ask her to come to Chang'an in half a month."

  "Lao Liu, you're not trying to stall for time, are you?"

  "I wouldn't cheat on her even if I were cheating on you."

  "Why don't you go tell her yourself, why do you need me to pass on the message?"

  "Go and talk nicely with her."

  Shi Wei turned around and made a victory gesture towards Qiu Ya, who immediately had a happy glow on her face.

  Long Bao walked up to Jing Er and said: "Give me your grandfather's things"

  Jing'er had already guessed what Long Bao and Shi Wei were talking about, she said in a low voice: "You come with me to get it." After that, she walked towards Grandpa's study, Long Bao hesitated for a moment before following her.

  Jing'er stood in front of the desk with tears in her eyes, opened the drawer, took out Grandfather's nearly two-foot-long manuscript and placed it on a red wooden box. "This is Grandfather's manuscript over the years," she said, "the box contains the secret books and records passed down from Grandfather's school, as well as some magical instruments." After finishing speaking, Jing'er's tears flowed uncontrollably.

  Long Bao nodded, fixing his gaze on the wall of the study. He didn't look at Jing'er but knew she was watching him. He quietly took a deep breath and said, "Is that all? Then I'll take it away. This is your grandfather's entrustment, don't blame me."

  "Me... I don't blame you."

  Long Bao clenched his teeth tightly and finally spoke up, "I had something that I asked you to keep for me before. Now I need it, can you return it to me?"

  Jing'er's worst fear had come true, and she trembled all over as she asked: "You mean... that little knife?"

  Long Wan nodded slightly.

  "Can't... can't you just... leave it?"

  Long Wan shook his head.

  Jing'er's body stiffened, and it was a long time before she walked towards her bedroom. After an even longer while, she walked back to this study and handed a simple cloth package to Longbiao.

  When Long Bao handed over the bundle, he just saw Jing'er's snow-white fingers trembling constantly. This was a pair of hands that could comfort his soul and soothe his wounded heart. These hands were so gentle, yet so enchanting to him. He didn't know how many times he had dreamed of these hands, which always seemed to hold endless love.

  Long Bao stuffed the cloth package into his pants pocket and turned around to leave.

  Jing'er stared at him intently, her low and melancholic voice no longer clear: "Have you been okay these days?"

  Long Baoqiang smiled politely: "Thank you, I'm fine."

  Jing'er exerted great effort to control the urge to rush over and hug him, using her hands to prop herself up against the desk with difficulty: "Wait... I still have something to say to you!"

  Long Bao stopped in his tracks and turned around to look at Jing Er.

  Jing'er handed him another package: "This was given to Mom by Ms. Jiao Siwei before she left, with $2,000 in it. Please return it to her and tell her that we appreciate her kind intentions."

  Long Bao thought for a moment and then took it over, putting it in his pocket as usual. "Alright, I'll help you pass it on," he said. "Anything else?"

  Jing'er lowered her head and shook it slightly.

  "Cough cough, well, I'm off, take good care of yourself."

  Suddenly, Jing'er was overcome with grief: "Brother...! Are you really going to take Autumn Leaf away?"

  The dragon's footsteps paused for a moment, but he immediately continued walking forward.

  "Jing'er's weak muttering: 'I don't blame you, I don't blame you, I don't blame you...'"

  The taxi had been waiting for a long time, and Grandpa Jing's things were also moved onto the car.

  Qiu Ya was sad yet happy, as Long Bao was about to leave, she tightly hugged him and burst into tears "Bao, you must take care of yourself, pay attention to your rest and sleep, eat well, dress warmly and sleep well, be careful with safety, don't overwork yourself, I will come to take care of you on time in half a month..."

  Long Bao smiled and patted the back of Qiu Ya, who had really lost a lot of weight, with bones showing on her back, completely losing her former plumpness. Long Bao involuntarily raised his head to look at the window of Jing Er's boudoir in the small building, where he saw Jing Er, who had used the excuse of being unwell and not come to see him off, watching him from behind the curtains.

  Long Biao gently pushed away Qiu Ya in his arms, waved to everyone, bent down and got into the car. Kang Ding Zhuang Kang Tie immediately followed suit, Long Biao said to the driver: "Drive."

  The car slowly started moving and soon gained some speed. When the car passed over that stone bridge, Long Bao turned his head back to look at them from inside the car.

  Shi Weihai and Taohai were still standing in their original place, staring at them. Qiu Ya chased after the soldier for a distance before squatting down by the side of the road to cry... But Jing'er's boudoir was too far away, and they could no longer see Jing'er's figure.

  Long Bao silently said in his heart: Goodbye, everything is goodbye!