I collect cultural relics in the human world

Chapter 255: A Gentleman is Like Jade (Part )

So he ran faster and faster along the familiar road under his feet. When he stopped panting, the outline of the ancestral hall behind the big tree had already become vaguely visible, but for some reason, the big tree was still not far away, and there was only a phantom, as if it would never reach it.

Fan Yu felt a little out of breath, so he bent down and supported his knees to take a few deep breaths. When he looked up again, his eyes suddenly went dark, and he subconsciously took a few steps back, only to find that the tree canopy was like a canopy, blocking the already thin light above his head. The big tree that was far away in the sky just now was now right in front of him, and even closer was a pair of feet swaying in the wind, wearing rubber-soled shoes covered with yellow soil, falling in mid-air.

Fan Yu could not help but take a few steps back and finally saw the owner of the pair of feet. His head was stuck in a strong straw rope, which was tied into a strong knot on the thick tree trunk, so his whole body was connected to the tree in a strange posture. When a gust of wind blew, he swayed like a wind chime, lonely and free.

Fan Yu remembered that the dream was correct, the man was indeed dead. He had climbed onto a creaking chair, put his head into the knot, and then kicked his legs and ended his life in tears - because he had killed everyone in this town.

The hatred that had been accumulating for many years surged up again. This feeling was too real. Fan Yu suddenly felt that this was not a dream. So where was this?
He looked at the man's closed eyes and suddenly thought that he seemed to be dead too.

This thought made his fast-moving brain pause for a beat. Taking advantage of the moment he was stunned, the man hanging on the tree suddenly opened his eyes and stared at him blankly. Fan Yu was not afraid, but tried harder to look into those eyes. The facial features of the man on the tree gradually blurred, and another man's face emerged in his mind - a dark complexion, strong features, and a hedgehog-like crew cut, very similar to him. He looked at him from a distance with a tense expression, as if he was in a hurry to say something to him again.

Fan Yu felt a lump in his throat. He knew what this person wanted to say to him - run.

"No need to run," Fan Yu shook his head, "No need to run anymore."

"Run!"

"You really don't have to run. Look at me, I'm here to see you." In order to emphasize his words, Fan Yu even turned around to show the person in front of him that what he said was true.

A trace of doubt appeared on that face, and then it returned to its previous persistence, shouting at the top of its lungs: "Run."

Fan Yu lowered his voice, like a child who had done something wrong, and said softly: "Brother, don't run away, I will die too."

The person on the other side stopped shouting and looked at him in confusion. After a long pause, he asked, "Why?"

Fan Yu spread his hands and smiled, which was uglier than crying: "Don't be sad, I'm grown up now. I can't always run away when something happens. You said that a man must have a strong shoulder. I am the same as you. I have people I need to protect."

The sadness on that face disappeared, and there was even a hint of a smile on his lips, but his eyes were slightly red, and his whole body retreated to the west along with the skylight.

"Brother, where are you going?" Fan Yu didn't know what had happened. He had just met his relatives and was about to say goodbye again. Everything was unexpected. He hurriedly stretched out his hand to grab it, but only grabbed a fallen leaf.

He clenched his palms and watched the figure walking away. He was still talking, his mouth moving like a slow motion, nailing his words into Fan Yu's ears word by word.

"The jade mine, the one behind the Gobi Desert."

"I won't go. I want to go with you this time!" Fan Yu ran forward in vain. The man shook his head lovingly, and then his face shattered without warning, like a stone shattering the moon in a well. After the water surface returned to calm, a little boy appeared in front of Fan Yu. He was thin, barefoot, and his clothes were wrinkled, but his eyes were bright, hiding an unknown cowardice.

The boy looked back at Fan Yu and ran towards the west of the town without hesitation, which was the direction of the abandoned jade mine. Fan Yu suddenly felt something bleeding deep in his consciousness - this scene was too familiar, he could recite every detail by heart, that night he ran to the jade mine under the protection of his brother, that was his wound that had not healed for years, and that boy was him.

After hesitating for a moment, Fan Yu raised his foot and chased after him.

Just as he remembered, Fan Yu circled along the four walls and stopped at a low stone pestle. He moved a wooden board on the southeast corner and crawled in. At first, he had to bend his waist and pass through a narrow alley, and then the cave became wider. He thought he should have forgotten it, but every fork and turn, every rise and fall, seemed to be melted into his bones and blood. In the dark silence, he didn't need to stop to recall until the last hole in the wall.

The jade disk was still there, a vast expanse of exquisite green. Dimly, he heard the voices of his ancestors chanting again, along with a burst of sonorous drum beats, hammering at his heart.

The green that had been hanging around his neck and hidden close to his heart suddenly emitted a fluorescent light. Fan Yu reached out and held it tightly. He looked around, and faces of people emerged from the jade disk. Men, women, old and young, gradually became clearer, all with happy smiles. They were eager to talk to Fan Yu, and noisy voices were crowded in the hole in the wall.

Isn’t this the naughty kid from Old Fan’s family?
Brother Yu, why are you back?
Is this still the same little kid from before?
You've grown so big?

It has changed, Fan Yu thought to himself. When he was a child and took refuge here, a group of faces appeared in the jade disk that he did not recognize. Although he did not recognize them, they were his ancestors who protected him. But now, they have all been replaced by faces that he is familiar with. They are his villagers and neighbors, his family, and the people who died that night.

Fan Yu felt his eyes getting a little sore. He touched the face that looked very similar to him. A chill flowed down his cheek. It turned out that you have been here all the time.

Fan Yu thought about it and nodded. Yes, I have grown up, I am back, and I will not leave.

How can that be! Let's go! Everyone was talking at once, and the same words echoed in the cave. At the same time, the same white smoke as last time began to flow in from the cave entrance.

But this time, the white smoke was not choking, and a figure walked in among the shadows.

"Why are you here?" The moment he said this, Fan Yu remembered that Deng Yizhi was also here that night.

"I'll take you out." The figure finally walked out of the smoke completely. He looked at Fan Yu with determination in his eyes.

"No, who are you?" Fan Yu blinked in confusion. The person in front of him was Deng Yizhi, but he was not the Deng Yizhi of that time. In his dream, everyone else looked the same as they did back then, except the person in front of him, who had grown up just like him.

"Have you really forgotten everything?"

Deng Yizhi didn't say much, he just stood at the end of the smoke and looked at Fan Yu, while Fan Yu stood there blankly for a long time, and then simply sat down cross-legged.