Discharged from hospital

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, Tang Feng heard Aunt Li starting to pack her things. Seeing Tang Feng looking up at her, Aunt Li smiled, "You little rascal, awake?" Tang Feng sat up, somewhat embarrassed, and helped fold clothes. "Auntie, I can do it myself... no need to trouble you." Before he could finish speaking, Aunt Li glared at him, "Get back to bed! You'll have to clean up when you get home. Your old house is filthy." After putting the clothes in her backpack, she gave Tang Feng a sesame seed cake. "The tofu pudding stall downstairs is open; I bought you a bowl." She placed the lunchbox on the small table and pushed it towards Tang Feng. "Go back... and clean up properly. If you've decided to rent it out, just tell us."

After a moment of silence, Tang Feng forced a smile and looked at Aunt Li. "No need... I'm used to being alone, so don't worry." Since leaving Yanyun and returning here, Tang Feng had thought more than once whether he was truly a lone wolf, destined to walk alone from beginning to end, with those who cared for and loved him eventually leaving him in different ways.

Seeing Tang Feng's demeanor, Aunt Li tapped the table and scolded, "What are you pretending to be so profound for at your age? Hurry up and eat, do you hear me? Stop acting all sentimental." Tang Feng knew Aunt Li's temperament well, so he didn't talk back. He just slowly ate with his spoon, listening to Aunt Li's ramblings about family matters. Although he had only been unconscious here for a while, he had stayed in Yanyun for a full ten years. His memories from before were already somewhat blurred. Aunt Li talked about his childhood, gesturing excitedly and looking joyful, but Tang Feng seemed out of place, as if he were looking at something new.

It wasn't until the sun was high in the sky that Uncle Li packed up his stall and came over to help Tang Feng carry his things. The elderly couple walked Tang Feng all the way to the entrance of the residential area. Only then did Uncle Li hand Tang Feng his backpack, and behind Aunt Li's back, he pulled Tang Feng aside. "Your aunt has a bad temper. Just listen to whatever she says... If you're upset, tell Uncle Li. Don't keep it bottled up inside. Whether you jumped out of that window yourself or it was an accident, it's over. Got it?" Tang Feng nodded, wanting to comfort Uncle Li and tell him not to worry, but he didn't know how to say it. He was eloquent and persuasive in Yanyun, but back in front of Uncle Li, he became a taciturn person. Seeing Tang Feng nod, Uncle Li didn't make things difficult for him. He patted Tang Feng on the shoulder and let him go back.

Tang Feng stood at the door, holding his key, hesitant to open it. He knew it wasn't some kind of homesickness, but rather an unwillingness to face the fact that he was back, and that he and Zhou Ziliang were now worlds apart. Slowly, he opened the door, looked at the house—exactly the same as before—froze for two seconds, and then whispered, "Grandma... I'm back."

Tang Feng was met with complete silence. He slowly swept away the dust, only to find the previously missing antidepressants under the sofa, along with countless empty wine bottles. By the time he finished cleaning, it was nearly midnight. Listening to the ticking of the clock, Tang Feng took three incense sticks and approached his grandmother's portrait. "Grandma..." Tang Feng smiled, "You don't need to worry about me not finding a partner. I have someone I love now, but..." He paused, then smiled bitterly, "It's just that we are not meant to be together; we cannot grow old together." Tang Feng bowed, placed the incense sticks in the burner, and sat down beside the altar, staring blankly at the clock on the wall. Now that he was alone, he realized how lonely it truly was.

Tang Feng didn't know how he fell asleep; he was in a daze all night. When he woke up, the sun was already high in the sky. Just then, his phone vibrated. After hesitating for a moment, he answered, "Uncle Li."

All I heard was Aunt Li yelling from across the street, "What have you been doing, calling me over a dozen times! I'm telling you, don't give me that dog-like smirk, you're up to no good again with this suicide attempt!"

"No... I didn't commit suicide," Tang Feng said, somewhat embarrassed by Aunt Li's words, but he still stubbornly mumbled, "When did I say I was going to commit suicide... I just overslept."

Aunt Li's tone softened a bit, "Hurry up and eat! After you finish eating, come downstairs and help your Uncle Li with the stall. You don't have a job, so why aren't you earning any money?" Tang Feng quickly agreed, hung up the phone, and thought about what to wear. Suddenly, he blurted out to someone behind him, "Ziliang, can you check if there's anything else in the closet..." He paused, then awkwardly scratched his head, "I... I'll see if there's anything else." He rummaged through the closet, found a clean set of clothes, changed, and went out. Only when he reached the entrance of the complex did he see Uncle Li waiting for him. Just as he was about to greet him, Uncle Li said, "I called you twice, why didn't you answer?" Tang Feng was startled, then touched his pockets, and smiled awkwardly, "I... I think I forgot my phone at home."

"Forgot your phone at home?" Uncle Li laughed loudly. "You're acting like a completely different person after just one hospital stay. You even left your phone at home. Alright, come with me to set up the stall. Let me tell you... this stall isn't easy to set up..." Tang Feng followed behind Uncle Li, listening to his endless nagging, not absorbing a single word, until Uncle Li stopped. Only then did Tang Feng help him set up the stall.

Before they knew it, it was lunchtime, and the two began to busy themselves. Suddenly, Tang Feng spotted a black cat with a bell around its neck at a nearby alleyway, and he froze. He had searched for this black cat and the bell for a long time back in Yan Yun, even going to Shang Han, but to no avail. "You brat, hurry up and collect the money!" Tang Feng's thoughts were interrupted by Uncle Li's scolding. After regaining his composure and collecting the customer's money, he looked at the black cat again. The cat was staring at him without moving, as if waiting for him. Uncle Li frowned, seeing Tang Feng's dazed expression. "What are you looking at? Hurry up and help!" Tang Feng turned to look at Uncle Li, then at the cat. "Uncle... can you see that black cat?"

"Of course I can see it, your uncle isn't blind, hurry up!" Uncle Li urged Tang Feng, but Tang Feng seemed not to hear him. He wanted to walk towards the black cat, just like when he fell from the building and wanted to touch that black cat. He hoped he could return to Yanyun, return to Zhou Ziliang's side. Sensing Tang Feng's approach, the black cat turned and fled into a quiet path. Tang Feng quickly chased after it. The bell around the black cat's neck jingled in the empty path. Tang Feng followed it, passing through the quiet stone path and bushes, until he saw a somewhat dilapidated Taoist temple.

Tang Feng frowned as he looked up at the plaque above the Taoist temple, "Jiyou Temple." It was the first time he'd ever heard of such a temple. Looking at the green tiles and white walls covered in moss, he estimated it was over ten years old. Just then, he saw the black cat perched on the windowsill, leisurely licking its paws. "Is this your home?" Tang Feng gently approached, crouching down to stroke the cat's fur. Knowing the cat couldn't speak, he couldn't help but mutter to himself, "You're a house cat... otherwise, how could you be so fat... Did your owner give you the bell around your neck?"

The black cat looked at Tang Feng and meowed twice. Tang Feng sighed, "I've been alone for too long, and I actually feel like a cat can answer me..." He then picked up the black cat. The cat was very docile and didn't struggle in Tang Feng's arms, just lying quietly. Tang Feng sat on the door of the Taoist temple, holding the cat, and took off the bell from the cat's neck. Then he was finally able to examine closely the two spirit masters who were like legends in the mouths of Tang Zhaonan and others back then.

The openwork design, edged with gold thread, is engraved with ghost grass and is draped with a light blue tassel that jingles in the wind, giving it an indescribable feel.

"Don't you think this Yu Lingzi's voice is peculiar?" A voice came from behind Tang Feng, startling him. He stood up, hugging the black cat, and took two steps back. The person slowly emerged from the darkness, dressed in a white Taoist robe, with several copper coins and an eight-character compass hanging from his waist. His hands were behind his back, and his eyebrows and eyes had a gentle look. He seemed to be a middle-aged man in his forties or fifties. Tang Feng looked him up and down, and seeing that he meant no harm, he asked, "Do you know this Yu Lingzi?"

"Of course, this is mine," the man smiled, walking up to Tang Feng. "What? You were frantically searching for me in Yan Yun, and now that I'm standing right in front of you, you don't recognize me?" Tang Feng froze, momentarily speechless. "You...you are...Su Zili?" Tang Feng hadn't expected that the person he'd been searching for so long in Shang Han would be in this Taoist temple. No wonder he'd searched almost the entire Shang Han over the years without success. Su Zili, seeing Tang Feng's reaction, couldn't help but smile. "What? Do you think I'm different from what you imagined?"

Tang Feng shook his head and gave a bitter smile. "No... I just find fate strange... But... I don't need to look for you anymore. I'm back now, and I don't need to know anything anymore. Just consider it a dream." With that, Tang Feng put down the black cat and turned to leave, but Su Zili stopped him. "The depth of fate is just a matter of a single thought. You and Zhou Ziliang have such deep feelings for each other, don't you miss them?"

Tang Feng was hit where it hurt by Su Zili, but he didn't show it. He turned around and looked at Su Zili calmly, asking, "Am I still of use to you?"

Su Zili smiled. "You've been in Yan Yun for too long; you've become a bit too sensitive." Seeing Tang Feng's silence, Su Zili continued, "I meant no harm... Relax. It's true that I used some methods to get you to Yan Yun, but not entirely. Some things can be defied fate, and some things are simply left to destiny. But I must say, going to Yan Yun was the right thing to do."

Tang Feng looked at Su Zili, trying to see through him, but he couldn't figure him out. Su Zili squatted down and picked up the black cat, which nuzzled affectionately against his neck. Su Zili smiled at Tang Feng, "Don't be nervous. This isn't Yan Yun. I have no reason to harm you. Don't you want to know why you came to Yan Yun?"

Tang Feng pondered for a moment and followed. "You... you're not simply sending me to Yanyun... Our meeting today isn't a coincidence, is it?"

Su Zili smiled faintly, turned around and walked into the courtyard, saying as she went, "You're very clever. I wasn't wrong. It was indeed my arrangement that you would see me here today."