The ancient return was exposed by his sister's live stream.

Because in the next paragraph... the handwriting was different. It wasn't any handwriting she'd ever seen before. Slower. Heavier. Every stroke was pressed down heavily.

"A letter has arrived from the sect."

"Let me leave. Return to the sect."

"There's no need to remain at the Guanghan Tide Supervisory Office any longer."

"I... should be happy."

"I am indeed happy."

"But while I was packing my things... I sat in this chair. I sat there for a long time."

"Outside the window lies the land of Kyushu. I have gazed upon Kyushu for three thousand years."

"When I left, I left my diary in the cabinet. I cleaned out the paintings in the living room. I closed all the doors and windows. The energy of the barrier can last for a long time."

"No one will come here anymore, right?"

"goodbye."

Two words.

The diary is finished.

The room remained quiet for a long time.

[At this point, I hope readers will remember our domain name 12199.99]

Yang Wanqing's shoulders were trembling. Her face was buried in her knees. She didn't make a sound, but her shoulders were shaking.

Chen Siyao closed the diary. Her fingers lingered on the cover for a moment.

The chat in the live stream finally started moving.

Very slowly. One by one, they appear.

"Three thousand years."

"one person."

"She has been guarding the moon for three thousand years."

"I've lived for twenty-eight years. I find going to work boring every day. She's been guarding it alone for three thousand years."

"It turns out that Chang'e flying to the moon wasn't a myth. It was an order. It was a dispatch. It was a commitment to a post that has lasted for three thousand years."

"She wanted to go back, but the sect wouldn't let her. So she continued to guard the place."

"The spiritual energy is gone. The work has lost its meaning. She still conducts inspections every six hours."

"This isn't some fairy. This is... a working person."

"The working class of three thousand years".

"Stop talking."

"I really!"

"Chang'e..."

The live chat stopped again.

It's not that it's frozen. It's that nobody's typing anymore.

Chen Siyao gently put the diary back into the cabinet.

Original location. Original position. Original angle.

She stood up.

Yang Wanqing raised her head. Her face was covered in tears. Her eyes were as red as a rabbit's.

"Yao Yao".

"Um."

"Did Chang'e... return to her sect later?"

Chen Siyao shook her head. "It's not written in the diary."

Yang Wanqing sniffed. "What happened to her afterwards?"

"have no idea."

"She must be doing very well."

Chen Siyao did not answer.

She walked out of the room.

The two girls continued walking around the palace. Most of the other rooms were empty, except for one that looked like a bedroom.

There was a room that looked like a kitchen... The stove was made of stone, and there were traces of smoke on it. The smell of cooking fires from three thousand years ago.

Yang Wanqing discovered several faint scratches on the corner of the wall in the bedroom. The scratches were very shallow, as if made with a fingernail.

She squatted down and counted.

One. Two. Three.

I counted until the thirty-seventh one, then I couldn't count anymore. They overlapped and became blurred.

She didn't say what it was, but both she and Chen Siyao understood.

year.

Or, some way of counting.

Having explored all the areas they could, the two girls walked back to the main hall from the side hall. Chen Siyao replied to messages on her phone as they walked. They crossed the floating stone bridge connecting the palaces.

Chen Siyao paused on the bridge.

Because she saw Chen Hao.

He was on the other side of the bridge.

They weren't browsing. They weren't looking at instruments. They weren't researching anything.

He just stood there.

The stone bridge's railings—this bridge rarely had railings... He leaned against the railing, facing outwards from the barrier.

The blue star hung directly in front of him.

This man who destroyed Pluto. This being who terrified the entire world. Now, he stands in the palace left behind by the ancient Chang'e, gazing at the blue planet.

The figure was quiet from behind.

Chen Siyao did not go over.

She stood at one end of the bridge, holding a crystal photo in her hand, but not aiming it at Chen Hao.

She just watched.

My brother never asked a single question about the story of Chang'e, about the Guanghan Tide Watchhouse, about Yutu-1, or about that diary.

Since he came in, he hasn't visited anything. He hasn't studied anything.

He already knew.

Everyone knows.

Chen Siyao stood at one end of the bridge. The light from the blue star fell on the stone bridge, casting long shadows of the two people. She looked at her brother's back, a thought swirling in her mind.

How much does my brother really know about this world?

On the other side of the bridge, Chen Hao stood motionless. Blue Star hung above him. The palace was deserted. The traces left by the defenders of three thousand years ago still lingered on every wall and in every stone slab.

Chen Siyao did not speak.

The wind chimes don't ring unless there's wind.

Chen Siyao stood at one end of the floating stone bridge, looking at her brother's silhouette with his back to her, and spoke.

"elder brother."

Chen Hao turned around.

"What's wrong, Yao Yao?"

"Director Han just sent me a message." Chen Siyao held up her phone, "asking if we could send researchers from the Special Affairs Bureau to Guanghan Sichao Monitoring Station... saying that the data here could be very helpful in investigating the truth behind the mysterious resurgence."

Chen Hao didn't hesitate, nor did he ask any pointless questions like whether he could get in or how he found this place.

"Sure," he said. "I'll make a key to enter the barrier; they can just use the key to come in."

It's settled then.

Manned spacecraft have been commonplace for decades, and lunar travel is routine. Not to mention that with the significant improvement in human physical capabilities after the mysterious resurgence, this distance is no obstacle for anyone.

Chen Siyao responded and lowered her head to reply to Han Songyue's message.

After sending the message, she looked up again and casually asked another question.

"Brother, have you been here before?"

"no."

Chen Hao shook his head. He looked again at the blue planet beyond the bridge, which floated quietly against the dark background, its surface reflecting the light through flowing clouds. "I've never been here before. But I know this place."

Chen Siyao nodded and didn't ask any further questions. It was no secret that her brother knew far more about the world than most people did.

Yang Wanqing suddenly appeared from the side and tugged at Chen Siyao's sleeve.

"Come on, come on, Master isn't interested in shopping, let's go explore by ourselves." She waved her hand toward Chen Hao, "Master, we'll go look around somewhere else first, you can stand here for a while."

Chen Hao didn't stop him and turned back to look at Blue Star.

Two girls walked down the stone bridge.

Yang Wanqing put his arm around Chen Siyao's shoulder, hanging half of his body on her, and pointed to a series of unnamed spires on his right.

Yang Wanqing grabbed Chen Siyao's arm. "Come on! Yao Yao! Let's continue our adventure! We were so busy reading the diary that we haven't had a chance to look at many parts carefully yet!"

Chen Siyao was pulled forward by her, and couldn't help but smile. "Weren't you just crying?"

"That was just being moved! Once you're moved, you won't cry anymore!" Yang Wanqing declared confidently. "Now it's time to be curious! I think I just saw a tower over there, it was really tall, let's go see what's inside!"

The barrier of the Guanghan Tide Bureau has its own time system, and the light source composed of spirit stones will slowly adjust its brightness according to the angle of the external sun.

As night fell, the white light in the palace gradually dimmed, and the entire building sank into a soft, dim light with a faint blue glow.

Chen Siyao took many photos.