Cangmang Asks the Way 1: Guardian of the Lamp

The sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, afternoon. The winter sun outside the inpatient building of Nancheng People's Hospital carried a thin layer of warmth.

Lin Wei stood at the entrance of the building, glancing at her watch every now and then, then looking towards the path leading to the hospital gate. A short while later, an elderly man with gray hair, wearing an old-fashioned Zhongshan suit, standing straight, and walking with a steady gait emerged from the end of the path. That elderly man was none other than Shen Moyuan, a retired professor from the History Department of Nancheng University.

Lin Wei quickly went to meet her.

"Professor Shen, you've arrived," she greeted respectfully.

Just yesterday afternoon, she met with this highly respected professor and learned about a little-known historical document. At his request, she specially arranged this private meeting.

"Mr. Lin, thank you for your help," Shen Moyuan said sincerely.

"You're too kind, Professor Shen. Brother Lifeng was awake just now and is doing alright. I've already informed the nurses' station." Lin Wei led the way while observing Shen Moyuan's expression. Every wrinkle on the old man's face seemed deeper than yesterday, and his taut jawline and tightly pursed lips betrayed his inner turmoil.

The two said no more and walked into the inpatient building one after the other.

Inside the ward, Cang Lifeng leaned against the rocking hospital bed, his left shoulder wrapped in thick gauze. His face was still pale, but his eyes were clearer than a few days ago. Hearing footsteps and faint conversations outside the door, he subconsciously looked towards the doorway.

There was a gentle knock on the door, then it was pushed open.

Lin Wei walked in first and smiled at Cang Lifeng, "Lifeng, Professor Shen is here."

She then stepped aside.

Shen Moyuan stood at the door, his sharp gaze already fixed on Cang Lifeng's face. In that instant, deep within his cloudy eyes, there was not only shock, but also a sense of horror and trepidation at suddenly encountering the soul of an old friend after forty-eight years—the curve of his brow bone, the taut lines of his jaw when he pursed his lips, and especially the calm yet heavy-hearted expression between his brows, which almost overlapped with the face deep in his memory.

Forty-eight years of time seemed to flow backward in that single glance.

Shen Moyuan staggered into the ward, sat down on the chair beside the bed, his eyes still fixed on Cang Lifeng, his voice trembling slightly: "You...you are Cang Lifeng?"

"It's me," Cang Lifeng replied. He wondered to himself: Why is this old man looking at me like that?

Shen Moyuan looked at him for a few more seconds before slowly asking, "Where...where are you from?"

Xiqiao Village, Anshi City.

"Xiqiao..." Shen Moyuan murmured repeatedly, a trace of reminiscence and realization flashing in his eyes—so that's where his teacher finally settled down.

He then asked, "Do you... know the name 'Cangyun Mountain'?"

Cang Lifeng's heart felt as if it had been gripped by an icy hand, and he suddenly clenched his fist. This was his great-grandfather's name, a name that was rarely mentioned in the family's memory.

He stared at the old man and asked, "He's my great-grandfather. How do you know him?"

Shen Moyuan leaned back abruptly in his chair, as if struck by the force of the name itself. He closed his eyes, and two hot tears unexpectedly streamed down his face from the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes. After a long while, he wiped his face with trembling hands and let out a hoarse sigh:

"God, you've finally let me find my teacher's descendant. Forty-eight years... I thought that my teacher's lineage..."

He didn't say anything more, but instead raised his sleeve and wiped the tears from his face.

Cang Lifeng was moved to see the white-haired old man weeping uncontrollably in front of his great-grandfather. He wanted to say a few words of comfort, but didn't know what to say.

Standing to the side, Lin Wei was also shocked by this scene. Recalling the rational and wise Professor Shen she met yesterday and the Professor Shen who had lost control of his emotions today, was this the same person?

"Child, your...your great-grandfather Cangyunshan was my teacher and the one who guided me onto the path of cultural relics research. From 1942 to 1945, I studied under him in Beiping." Shen Moyuan tried hard to control his emotions, but his voice was still excited.

Looking at the old man's hands, covered with age spots and trembling slightly, Cang Lifeng couldn't help but recall the similar sorrow and longing his grandfather, Cang Houde, felt when he occasionally mentioned "your great-grandfather." The title "teacher"... clearly, behind this was more than just a simple teacher-student relationship.

"Professor Shen, please speak slowly. I... I know very little about my great-grandfather." Cang Lifeng's voice held a newfound respect for his elder.

Shen Moyuan took a few deep breaths and continued:

"Knowing little... is to be expected. Sometimes, not knowing is a blessing. Your great-grandfather... he was a true scholar, and also... a person who did extraordinary things in extraordinary times."

"When I saw the photos in the newspaper and the reports about your heroic act of saving lives, I realized that besides looking like your great-grandfather, you also share that same spirit of selflessness and altruism!"

"Child, you are a hero now, a public figure. That's good, but you need to be more careful. Your great-grandfather back then..." He hesitated, then shook his head. "Let's not talk about the past. Focus on recovering. Seeing how outstanding your teacher's descendant is, I... I really..."

He choked up again and quickly turned his head away.

"Professor Shen," Cang Lifeng's doubts deepened. He keenly sensed the unspoken meaning and hidden worry in the old man's words, "Besides confirming my identity, did you... have other concerns about coming here today?"

Shen Moyuan turned around, remained silent for a moment, and then said:

"I study history, especially the history of the relocation and loss of cultural relics during the War of Resistance against Japan. Based on the limited information available, there are a few details about this bank robbery that make this old man feel... something is not quite right."

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice: "The robbers are well-trained and have a clear objective, but their interest in cash doesn't seem to match their 'investment.' More importantly, based on my understanding of the security systems of some special financial institutions from the old days, the area they're trying to break into... is very sensitive. This reminds me of some dusty archives."

He paused, observing Cang Lifeng's reaction, before slowly continuing, "Of course, this is just my speculation based on my professional background, and perhaps it's unfounded. But I still want to ask you, from your perspective as someone who experienced it firsthand, besides fighting with the robbers at the bank that day, did you notice any unusual details?"

In Cang Lifeng's mind, the dark gold copper coin with strange engravings on its edges suddenly flashed like a faint light in the darkness. He wanted to tell this secret to the kind-looking old man in front of him, but he remembered Sister Liu Qing's instructions and swallowed the words back.

He shook his head and said, "The situation was too chaotic at the time. I was only thinking about how to save people. I didn't notice anything unusual. I'm sorry to disappoint Elder Shen."

Shen Moyuan gave him a deep look, his gaze seemingly able to see through appearances and detect the fleeting hesitation in Cang Lifeng's eyes. He wasn't disappointed by Cang Lifeng's distrust; instead, he felt a sense of relief.

"I'm not disappointed. You've done a good job." Shen Moyuan's tone was filled with the loving kindness of an elder.

Afterwards, Shen Moyuan inquired in detail about the Cang family's situation. He was deeply moved when he heard about the Cang family's ups and downs in Xiqiao Village.

As he left, he pulled a plain white business card from his pocket, with only a handwritten phone number on it, and handed it to Cang Lifeng: "This is my contact information. In the future... if you have any questions about your studies, work, or family history, feel free to contact me. Although I am old, I still have some influence in the academic circles of Nancheng."

He then took out a thick red envelope and gently placed it on the bedside table: "This is a small token of my appreciation. I bought you some nutritional supplements to help you recover. You lost so much blood, you need to take good care of yourself. Don't refuse, this is a small token of my appreciation from your elders."

"Professor Shen, this won't do!" Cang Lifeng quickly declined.

But Shen Moyuan had already quickly gotten up and walked towards the door.

Cang Lifeng then looked at Lin Wei and pleaded, "Reporter Lin, please stop them for me, I can't accept this."

Lin Wei shook her head and smiled, "Please accept Elder Shen's kind offer. You can thank him later."

She looked at Shen Moyuan and said, "Mr. Shen, let me see you off."

"No need," Shen Moyuan smiled at Lin Wei and said, "Our hero Cang Lifeng is the one who needs your more attention."

Hearing this, Lin Wei blushed slightly and stared blankly as Shen Moyuan disappeared through the door.

Silence returned to the ward.

Cang Lifeng leaned against the headboard, his gaze falling on the business card with only a phone number in his hand and the thick red envelope, feeling a warmth in his heart.

"Reporter Lin," he suddenly spoke, "what kind of person is Professor Shen usually?"

Lin Wei walked back to the bedside, picked up the half-peeled apple, and pondered, "A highly respected scholar, rigorous in his scholarship, and unassuming in his personal life. Yesterday, I went to see him to conduct research on historical background, and he was very cooperative, clear-headed, and knowledgeable. But today..." She paused, recalling the old man's uncontrollable tears, "Today, when he saw you, his reaction... was completely like that of a different person. That kind of emotion couldn't be faked."

Cang Lifeng nodded. His great-grandfather, Cang Yunshan… just who was he? What had he experienced in Beiping back then? What was this “extraordinary event” that Shen Moyuan spoke of? And what about that copper coin…?

He felt a dull ache in the wound on his left shoulder, as if reminding him of the life-or-death situation he had just experienced. Shen Moyuan's arrival seemed to foreshadow another storm, originating from the depths of history, quietly approaching.

The sky outside the window had darkened a bit more without me even noticing. In the southern part of the city, winter dusk always arrives quickly.

Less than half an hour after Shen Moyuan left the hospital, he arrived at the "Quiet Room" Analysis Center of the Nancheng National Security Bureau.

"Team Leader Chen, there's a visitor in the target ward." The report came through the listening earpiece from the field team member "Mountain Eagle." "Retired professor Shen Moyuan from Nancheng University, accompanied by reporter Lin Wei, entered and stayed for about twenty-five minutes. The conversation has been recorded simultaneously, the signal is clear, and it is being decoded."

Chen Mo sat in front of the circular monitoring console, his gaze fixed on the noise-reduced video feed from the ward that had just been transmitted back. The high-definition camera captured Shen Moyuan's initial shock and loss of composure, Cang Lifeng's slight stiffness when he mentioned the name "Cangyun Mountain," and the solemn lip movements of the old man as he spoke in a low voice at the end.

"Shen Moyuan..." Chen Mo murmured the name, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the control panel—a habit he had when deep in thought. "Is the background clean?"

"His public resume is very clean." Su Mingyue didn't look up, her fingers flying across the keyboard. Public data on education, academics, and social relationships scrolled across multiple screens. "Professor of the History Department at Nancheng University, specializing in the history of anti-Japanese war artifacts, with numerous publications and high prestige. Simple social relationships, no complicated overseas background, and lives a secluded life after retirement."

"Too clean." Zhao Haichuan stood behind Chen Mo with his arms crossed, his brows furrowed. "Why would a retired professor take the initiative to contact a wounded person from an armed robbery? It doesn't seem like a coincidence."

"Investigate classified files." Chen Mo decisively ordered, "Use 'Shen Moyuan,' 'Cangyun Mountain,' 'Beiping in 1945,' and the highest level of access."

Su Mingyue's expression turned serious, and she quickly accessed the internal confidential database. Ten minutes later, she abruptly stopped, looked up, and said excitedly:

"Captain Chen, we've found it—a top-secret file marked 'Permanently Sealed, Access Only for Special Purposes,' codenamed 'Green Pine.'"

She projected the key information onto the main screen. It was a scanned copy of a yellowed document, the bright red "Top Secret" stamp on the cover seemingly still seeping the blood of history. The title was: "Report on the Work of Comrade Codenamed 'Green Pine' in Ping and the Subsequent Interruption of Contact (1939-1949)".

Chen Mo quickly skimmed the summary. When the real name and photo of "Qingsong" in the file, as well as the name and relationship description of "Cangyunshan," a key contact during his undercover work, came into view, his pupils suddenly contracted.

"Shen Moyuan is 'Qingsong'." He said in a deep voice, which was particularly clear in the quiet analysis room. "According to the archives, from 1942 to 1945, he was ordered to infiltrate the cultural relics appraisal institution controlled by the Japanese puppet regime in Beiping. His public identity was the closed-door disciple of the chief appraisal expert, Cang Yunshan."

He pulled up a reproduced photograph from the file—two men in old-fashioned long gowns standing in front of the hanging flower gate of a courtyard house. The younger one had a handsome face and clear, firm eyes; it was the young Shen Moyuan. The older one was slender, with calm brows and a gentle smile on his lips; his features…

Cang Liuqing had been standing quietly in the shadows, but now she stepped in front of the screen and stared intently at the face of the older man in the photo.

"Is this my great-grandfather?" Her voice was soft, but trembled slightly.

"Yes." Chen Mo looked at her, his gaze complicated. "Your great-grandfather, Cang Yunshan, was a cultural relic appraisal expert who served the Japanese puppet regime."

The room was deathly silent. Only the faint hum of the equipment could be heard. This suddenly revealed family secret, like a silent thunderbolt, shattered all of Cang Liuqing's understanding.

"The files show," Su Mingyue continued, her voice tinged with suppressed excitement, "around August 15, 1945, when Japan announced its surrender, 'Qingsong' lost contact with the organization after carrying out an emergency mission. His mission target was suspected to involve a batch of extremely important items secretly sealed by the Japanese army. Around the same time, Cangyunshan also went missing. The organization searched for him multiple times without success, and later, due to changes in the situation, the leads were lost. 'Qingsong' himself reported to the organization in 1951, but because his experiences during the period of lost contact could not be fully verified, and given the mystery surrounding his teacher Cangyunshan's whereabouts, after review, he was not reinstated for intelligence work and instead entered the field of academic research, where he has been under protective surveillance ever since."

A key piece of the puzzle fits together with a bang.

"His initiative to contact Cang Lifeng was definitely not just about nostalgia." Chen Mo suddenly stood up, grabbed his coat, and said, "He recognized the grandson of an old friend, and from the publicly available details of the bank robbery, he sensed a dangerous atmosphere that was extremely similar to the mission back then. He knows something, but the discipline of that time and the unsolved mysteries prevent him from speaking openly. He is using his own way to warn people, and also... searching for answers."

"Arrange a meeting immediately," he said to Cang Liuqing. "You are the great-granddaughter of Cangyun Mountain, and this identity is crucial right now. We must know exactly how much of the historical truth about that copper coin and Box No. 23 Shen Moyuan has, and what his basis is for judging the current crisis's connection to history."