Unfinished Letter

The late autumn rain had begun to fall again, pattering against the glass door of the Shenyuan secret room, blurring the shadows of the sycamore trees outside into a blurry, inky mass. Lu Ye sat at the front desk, holding Master Mo's notes, the Soul-Calming Bell beside him. Qi Chen, outlined within the bell, was staring at the notes, occasionally pointing out details to help Lu Ye recall past events.

"Look here," Qi Chen's voice was tinged with laughter. "Master remembers the first time you investigated a case with me, you sprinkled cinnabar on your clothes and said, 'This will ward off evil spirits.' I laughed at you for a long time."

Lu Ye's face flushed slightly as he recalled the scene of the investigation. At that time, he had just met Qi Chen and knew nothing about the secrets of the underworld. When he saw Qi Chen using cinnabar to draw talismans, he secretly grabbed a handful and sprinkled it on his clothes. Qi Chen saw him and said with a smile, "Xiao Ye, cinnabar is for drawing talismans, not for sprinkling on clothes. You look like a little god of wealth like this."

"I didn't understand it then," Lu Ye retorted softly, "and then it was you who taught me how to use cinnabar and how to identify resentment."

Qi Chen's outline swayed slightly, as if he was laughing: "Yes, my Xiao Ye learns very quickly, much better than I was back then."

Just then, Lu Ye's phone suddenly rang. It was Researcher Zhou. His voice was filled with anxiety: "Xiao Ye, please come to the Municipal Archives! I was sorting through letters from the Republican era and found an unsent letter. It's addressed to Qi Chen, and the sender is... Mr. Mo!"

Lu Ye's heart skipped a beat. He grabbed his soul-calming bell and notebook and ran out. It was raining heavily, and there were few people on the road. Lu Ye, holding an umbrella, hurried toward the archives. The raindrops hitting the umbrella made a crackling sound, as if urging him to hurry.

The door to the archives was ajar, and it was pitch black inside, with only the light in Researcher Zhou's office still on. Lu Ye pushed the door open and just as he walked in, he heard a strange sound—like someone crying softly, coming from deep within the archives.

"Researcher Zhou?" Lu Ye called out, and from inside the office came Researcher Zhou's response: "Xiao Ye, I'm in there! Be careful, the lights in the archives seem to be broken, and something's amiss in there."

Lu Ye pulled out his phone, turned on his flashlight, and slowly walked toward the office. The file racks in the hallway were crooked, and some files had fallen to the ground, soaked by the rain, blurring the writing. As he reached the office door, Lu Ye suddenly spotted a blurry figure hunched over the desk, a letter in hand. The crying had come from that shadow.

"Who's there?" Lu Ye raised his cell phone, and the beam of light illuminated the shadow's face - it was a man in a white shirt, his hair was wet, his face was stained with rain, and the letter in his hand was soaked with tears. The envelope was written with "To Qi Chen" and the sender was "Mo".

"My letter... My letter hasn't been sent yet..." The man's voice was choked with sobs. "I've been looking for Ah Chen for years, but I still can't find him. Now I finally wrote the letter, but I don't know where to send it..."

"Are you Master Mo's friend?" Lu Ye asked softly. Suddenly, the Soul-Calming Bell rang, and Qi Chen's outline became clearer in the bell. "He is an old friend of my Master. They opened a bookstore together back then."

The man slowly turned around, his eyes red, and the letter in his hand fell to the ground: "Do you know Ah Mo? Do you know Qi Chen? Ah Chen, is he... okay?"

"I am Qi Chen's lover," Lu Ye picked up the letter and handed it to the man. "Qi Chen is doing well. He has been looking for Master Mo. Now that Master Mo's obsession has been resolved, he has passed the Tongyou Notes to Qi Chen."

The man's tears fell even harder. He took the letter and slowly opened it. "I've been writing this letter for years. Back then, A'mo and I opened a bookstore together. Then A'mo disappeared, and I've been looking for him ever since. I've been searching for him for decades, and I couldn't find him until I died last year... I couldn't let it go. I wanted to tell A'mo that those who hurt him have been punished. I wanted to tell him that I always considered him a brother..."

Lu Ye's heart ached. He remembered Qi Chen had said that Master Mo had very few friends, and only one, Mr. Lin, grew up with Master Mo. "Are you Mr. Lin?" Lu Ye said softly. "Qi Chen mentioned you to me, saying that you and Master Mo were best friends."

Mr. Lin nodded, tears falling onto the letter paper, blurring the ink. “After I died, my soul has been trapped in the archives because my letter hasn’t been sent yet, and my obsession hasn’t been resolved… I want to give this letter to Qi Chen and ask him to tell A’mo that I didn’t let him down.”

At this moment, the lights in the archives suddenly flickered, and all the files flew up and surrounded Mr. Lin! "Your letter can't be sent!" A cold voice came from the pile of files, "Amo is dead, Qi Chen can't be found, and your obsession will never be solved!"

Mr. Lin's body trembled violently and his eyes turned red: "Impossible! A'mo is not dead, Qi Chen must still be here!" He grabbed the scissors on the table and rushed towards the pile of files!

"Mr. Lin, don't be impulsive!" Lu Ye pulled out the Soul-Calming Bell and shook it vigorously. A blue light emanated from it, and the files stopped in mid-air. Qi Chen's voice was firm within the bell: "Mr. Lin, I'm here! I'm Qi Chen, Master Mo's apprentice! I received your letter, and I'll tell Master that you didn't betray his trust!"

Mr. Lin stopped moving. He looked at the Soul-Calming Bell and his tears fell even harder: "Ah Chen...it's really you...I finally found you..."

The cold voice screamed and slowly dissipated into the air. Mr. Lin's body slowly became transparent. He handed the letter to Lu Ye: "This letter is in your hands. Please give it to Ah Chen for me. Please tell Ah Mo that I will wait for him to reunite with me down there."

Lu Ye took the letter and was about to speak when Mr. Lin's figure completely disappeared, leaving behind only a faint scent of ink, exactly the same as the scent left by Master Mo. The archives returned to peace. Only the letter remained in Lu Ye's hand. Although the handwriting on the envelope was soaked with tears, it was still clear.

Lu Ye sat down in his office chair and opened the letter. It read: "Amo, I'm glad to see you. I've been looking for you since you disappeared, and I recently discovered that the people who harmed you were Zhang Wanlin's men. They've been apprehended and have received the punishment they deserve. Don't worry, I'll be watching over your bookstore until you return. Also, I met your apprentice Qi Chen once. He's very talented and as kind as you are. You must be proud of him. I'm old and can't walk anymore. When I get down, I'll have a drink with you and talk about the days when we opened the bookstore."

"Qi Chen," Lu Ye touched the Soul-Calming Bell. Qi Chen's silhouette in the bell was staring at the letter, his eyes filled with tears. "We have received Mr. Lin's letter, and Master will know about it too."

Qi Chen's voice was choked with sobs, and it was clearer than before: "I remember... Mr. Lin. When I was a child, he often came to the bookstore, brought me candy, and taught me how to write calligraphy... I always thought he was gone, but I didn't expect that he was still looking for a master..."

Lu Ye placed the letter on the Soul-Calming Bell, and it suddenly emitted a pale blue light, slowly transforming into a beam of light that penetrated the bell. The bell began to shake violently, and Qi Chen's outline became clearer and clearer. He could even see the expression on his face and hear his heartbeat—although it was faint, it was real.

"I remembered..." Qi Chen's voice was filled with excitement. "I remembered how Mr. Lin taught me calligraphy. I remembered that the candy he brought me was orange flavored. I remembered that he said that when I grow up, I will help the master run the bookstore with me..."

Lu Ye's tears fell on the bell. He reached out his hand and gently touched the outline of the bell with his fingertips. Although he still couldn't touch it, he could feel a hint of warmth, as if Qi Chen's hand was covering his fingertips. "Qi Chen, we will realize their wishes in the future and open a bookstore to help people find their memories and help wronged souls resolve their obsessions."

Qi Chen nodded gently, his voice gentle: "Okay, when I regain all my memories, we will open a bookstore and let the story of Master and Mr. Lin be passed down."

The rain stopped, and moonlight streamed into the archives through the windows, illuminating the soul-calming bell in Lu Ye's hand. He knew that Qi Chen's "memory" had been partially restored, and they were one step closer to reunion. As he left the archives, Lu Ye glanced back. The office lights were slowly dimming, as if Mr. Lin was bidding them farewell.

It was already late at night when Lu Ye returned to the Shenyuan secret room. He sat at the front desk, placing his letters and notes in a display case, next to the soul-calming bell. Qi Chen, silhouetted within the bell, sat quietly, occasionally chatting with Lu Ye and reminiscing about the past. Lu Ye suddenly felt that all the waiting and effort had been worth it—as long as Qi Chen could return to him intact, he would be willing to do anything, no matter how difficult it was.