On New Year's Eve, when the old door of the house was gently pushed open, Father appeared alone. He still carried a trace of the outside world with him, as if he had rushed from a distant place. Due to confidentiality, regulations only allowed one person to return home for a short three-day visit, so this journey home seemed particularly hurried, as if time itself was racing against him.
As soon as Father entered the house, he took out packages of various sizes from behind him, filled with all sorts of daily necessities. The rice bag was bulging, seemingly enough to hold several months' worth of food for the family; the flour bucket was heavy, exuding the fresh aroma of flour; the oil in the oil jug was clear and transparent, as if telling the story of life's flavors; and the piece of cured meat lay quietly to the side, its reddish-brown color gleaming with an enticing sheen, as if showing the family Father's longing for home.
After the New Year's Eve dinner, the family sat around the warm fireplace, enjoying a rare moment of reunion. Looking at everyone's contented expressions, the father's eyes flashed with satisfaction, and he slowly began to speak: "Baolong, there's something I need to tell you. There's an old wooden box in the house; it's witnessed all the little things we've done over the years. Open that box, and inside are our hard-earned wages—two thousand yuan! That was our family's hope. There are also national grain coupons, a full five hundred jin (250 kg). These coupons were like our lifeline, helping us overcome any difficulties. Besides that, there are several hundred stamps from the Cultural Revolution era; they carry the memories of that special time and are part of our family history."
At this point, Father got up again and took a wooden box from the cabinet, placing it on the table. He gently stroked the box, a complex emotion in his eyes. "There's half a book in here," Father sighed. "I've been reading it for a year, but I still haven't figured it out. But I always felt this book was extraordinary; it seemed to contain some Taoist secret for strengthening the body. It's just a pity that only half of it is left. As for the other half, I still don't know where it is. It's as if it disappeared into the river of time, never to be found again." As Father spoke, a trace of loss flickered in his eyes, but even more so, a longing for the past and an expectation for the future.
Li Baolong asked his father if the book was left by their ancestors. His father said no, he found it ten years ago when he went to explore the Loulan ruins. He said he was resting under a dead tree when he found a collapsed grave pit with a dilapidated wooden coffin inside. The bones had been eaten by wild wolves, leaving only a Taoist hairpin and a pile of rags. He found the book in the pile of rags, but it was missing half. No one paid any attention to the tattered book, but his father picked it up and took it home.
At this point, the father frowned slightly, a cryptic look flashing in his eyes. He then gave the seemingly ordinary yet mysterious book a profound and meaningful look. He slowly reached out and carefully opened the book, as if opening a door to an unknown world. As the pages turned, an ancient and mysterious aura wafted out. Then, he took out a delicate, shimmering silver hairpin from the book. The hairpin reflected a dazzling light in the sunlight, seemingly concealing endless secrets.
He gently stroked the hairpin, sighed, and said, "Child, you are still young. I didn't want to tell you these things so early, afraid you wouldn't be able to handle it. Now that I've left home, I don't know when I'll be able to return, so all the family matters have fallen on your shoulders. The people of the Li family have always had a stronger sense of perception than ordinary people. Your grandfather told me this himself back then."
His gaze turned serious as he continued, "I have a feeling that something big might happen during this time. That vague premonition makes me uneasy. That's why I've decided to reveal some of the family's assets to you, as a way of giving you an explanation. I hope you can take good care of these things and use them wisely so that you can shoulder the responsibilities of the Li family in the future." After saying this, he handed the hairpin to his son, his eyes filled with expectation and entrustment.
The father slowly said, "I have been reading this strange book for ten years, but I only know a little about it. The hairpin is like a small silver sword, with a round hilt and a square exterior, containing a mystery. The Taoist runes and the three mysterious words 'Yunjizi' engraved on the hairpin always seem to have some kind of magic, making me want to use my mind to communicate with it, but no matter how I try, I always get nowhere."
Then he continued, "This seemingly ordinary half-book actually tells its origin in detail on its first page. It turns out it was created during the reign of Emperor Wuzong of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Houzhao, and was specially prepared by a high-ranking eunuch in the palace for the emperor's health and well-being. Zhu Houzhao was the tenth emperor of the Ming Dynasty, and his reign title was Zhengde. Tragically, he is often criticized by later generations as a debauched, tyrannical, and eccentric figure. According to ancient historical records, he indulged in various forms of entertainment, neglecting state affairs and completely disregarding the rise and fall of the nation. He even undertook massive construction projects in the palace, building an extremely luxurious..." In his Leopard House, he kept numerous musicians and beautiful women, indulging in a life of debauchery. He also frequently traveled outside the palace in plain clothes, running rampant among the common people, forcibly abducting any beautiful women he saw and bringing them back to the palace for his own pleasure. Day after day, year after year, until his death, this book, carrying many secrets, was gradually forgotten and ignored. Until the turbulent years of the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, an old eunuch responsible for guarding the palace warehouse, taking advantage of Yuan Shikai's attempt to restore the monarchy and the chaos in the palace, secretly escaped. Among his belongings was this mysterious book.
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