85 New World 04
◎It was also at this time that he and Zhu Heng met for the last time◎
The void on the other side.
Zhu Heng didn't know how long he had been here. Sometimes it felt like only a few hours had passed, and sometimes it felt like he had spent tens of millions of years here.
The dead tree in front of him was covered with bark with words carved by him. The breeze blew gently, and the bark of the tree swayed in the wind, rubbing against each other and making a rustling sound.
Zhu Heng stood under the tree for a while, roughly counting the amount of bark, and prepared to do a systematic review based on the content categories and chronological order of occurrence recorded on the bark.
But when he sorted out the branch that was covered with bark records of Tang Dynasty civilization, he found that there seemed to be a piece missing.
Zhu Heng was a little skeptical and went back to count again.
When he counted to the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, a look of surprise gradually appeared on Zhu Heng's face. This time he could confirm that there was indeed a piece of bark missing that recorded Li Bai.
How could this happen?
In this empty space, there was no other living creature except him.
Moreover, he does not need to eat or sleep here. Since he came to this place, he has been guarding under the tree, never leaving. In order not to be eroded by the black fog, he is like a perpetual motion machine, recording human civilization every minute and every second. It is impossible for anyone to take away the bark in front of him.
The vague black fog was very afraid of these records with solid evidence, and did not dare to act rashly.
Zhu Heng's eyelashes trembled slightly.
Could it be that a wormhole appeared nearby, causing the bark to fall through the hole into another time and space?
Thinking of this, a burst of joy flashed in his eyes.
He immediately took off all the bark from the tree, used a knife to find a gap in the densely packed words, added the word "zhu", and then hung it back up.
Zhu Heng was constantly observing the changes in the barks, and he was surprised to find that their number was decreasing, which convinced him that there were indeed wormholes here.
No matter where the wormhole leads to, he only hopes that the lives living on the other side can also be aware of the existence of the wormhole, so that the consciousness of both sides can communicate and open the entrance of the wormhole.
But the development of things soon disappointed Zhu Heng.
The bark was getting less and less, but he still didn't get any response. The little spark of hope that Zhu Heng had finally ignited was extinguished again.
Unexpectedly, not only did we not find the exact location of the wormhole, but we also lost at least an entire branch of bark.
It's a huge loss.
Zhu Heng took the bark off the tree again, but this time he didn't hang it back.
He peeled off new bark, filled in the gaps where the trees had lost their bark, and then compiled them into volumes and stacked them neatly under the tree.
-
Ever since he found the bark with words on it under the apricot tree, He Lielie often went there alone to try his luck again.
Unexpectedly, new bark actually fell off, and He Lielie picked it all up. Gradually, he collected enough bark to be as thick as a dictionary.
However, she went there secretly every time and didn't dare let Helandao know. After all, these were the tools she used to cheat when playing games with Helandao.
There was only one time when he was almost discovered by Helan Dao.
It was mid-afternoon, the spring sunshine was bright and scorching, and the ground was covered with spots of sunlight.
He Lielie returned to the hotel with some newly collected tree barks. Normally, Helan Dao would take a rest at this time, but that day, as soon as He Lielie entered the door, she ran into him sitting at the front desk, supporting his forehead with one hand, facing the direction of the door.
She almost screamed and quickly put the bark behind her.
The room was silent, and the man at the front desk didn't move.
He Lielie blinked, mustered up the courage to look up, and took a closer look. It turned out that Helan Dao was taking a nap with his eyes closed, and was not disturbed by her strange behavior.
She breathed a sigh of relief, tiptoed, stepped on the sunlight on the ground, and walked quietly to the bedroom.
Helan Dao still had his eyes closed, motionless.
He Lielie was secretly delighted that she was not discovered!
She was about to speed up her pace when a lazy voice came from behind her: "Stop."
He Lielie's hair stood on end. She took a deep breath and turned around.
Helan Dao woke up at some point. He sat up straight, picked up the white porcelain cup beside him, and slowly stroked the handle with his slender fingers. He glanced at her lazily: "What have you been doing sneaking around?"
"No, I didn't do anything." He Lielie said guiltily.
"Nothing?" He Landao took a sip of water and raised his chin behind her. "What are you holding in your hand?"
"I picked up the bark." He Lielie covered the side with the words and showed him the bark.
"Why do you feel guilty about picking up tree bark?" Helan Dao took only one look and then looked away. He used his other hand to support his cheek and stared at the apricot tree outside the window in a daze.
He Lielie asked tentatively, "Why isn't Dad resting in the house today?"
"I can't sleep." Helan Dao said.
He Lielie nervously followed his gaze and carefully asked, "Why are you looking at the apricot blossoms?" She had just been picking up bark under the tree. She didn't think they would see her...
"Because it looks good." Helan replied.
He Lielie: “…”
She stood there, wanting to leave but not daring to.
"If you have nothing to do, go back to the house." Helan Dao waved his hand and did not embarrass her anymore.
He Lielie fled upstairs as if she had been pardoned.
As soon as the child left, Helan Dao continued to stare in the direction of the apricot tree.
The existence of this tree always reminds him of the location of the wood hole, and its blooming every spring constantly reminds him when the wood hole will close.
It was also at this time that he met Zhu Heng for the last time.
Later, when he was awake, he regretted every moment why he had not said a word at the time.
But every time he imagined that if all this could happen again, he imagined the scene at that time, but he didn't know what to say.
Helan Dao looked at the brilliant apricot blossoms and suddenly smiled silently.
He took out a cigarette from the drawer, held it between his index and middle fingers, leaned on the edge of the table, and lit it. Light blue smoke rose up, blurring his face.
-
He Lielie returned to the bedroom, locked the door carefully, shook out all the tree barks she had picked up, and spread them out one by one.
Some of the contents recorded on it were things she had heard of before, and some she could not understand. She bound them all together and took them out to read when she had free time.
Among them, except for the one with Li Bai's name written on it at the beginning, the rest have the word "Zhu" in various gaps.
He Lielie remembered that she had picked up tree bark like this for the entire spring that year.
The last one I collected fell along with the last apricot blossom on the apricot tree branch.
After that, no new bark fell.
Helandao still forced her to play games every day. The name of the game was "History of the Universe". There were three versions of the game: beginner version, advanced version and ultimate version, but Helandao only allowed her to play the beginner version.
However, according to He Landao, the difference between the three versions lies only in the content. In terms of difficulty, the three versions are the same.
The beginner's edition covered far more knowledge than the bark she'd picked up. He Lielie quickly finished reading everything on the bark, but only a third of it could be used in the beginner's edition of "A History of the Universe." Soon, the bark was of no use to her.
So He Lielie sealed the bark in a box and stuffed it under her bed. Over time, she gradually forgot about its existence.
But as long as the dusty memories have not disappeared, they will come back one day.
The bark was unsealed again ten years later.
In the blink of an eye, He Lielie has grown from a seven-year-old elementary school student into a graceful young lady, and is now old enough to go to college.
She is like a little sun, always bringing positive energy to those around her. Many people like her, but she has a secret that she cannot tell.
-
He Lielie has always been a celebrity in school. Not only does she always rank first in every subject, but she also has excellent physical fitness.
I heard that when she first entered high school, she single-handedly beat up a group of vicious senior bullies and severely injured them. She was hospitalized and bedridden for three months.
The school asked He Lielie to call her parents over, saying that they would pay a large sum of medical compensation, and the other parents also asked He Lielie to apologize to their child in person.
After receiving the notice from the school, a young man in a black windbreaker came to He Lielie's house. He had a handsome face and looked like the male protagonist who walked out of a movie scene. As soon as he entered the school, he caused a huge sensation.
Students from all classes, both male and female, gathered in the corridor to watch secretly. They heard that this man was He Lielie's brother, who had depended on each other since childhood. He used to make a living by running a small hotel in a backward scenic area with inconvenient transportation.
The classmates all looked at him with sympathy. With such high medical expenses this time, He Lielie's family would probably go bankrupt.
But no one expected that Brother He Lielie would take out his card and transfer hundreds of thousands of yuan to the five families present at one time without saying a word.
He Lielie's brother didn't even blink, and smiled emotionlessly: "I'll pay for the medical expenses, but forget about asking Lielie to apologize, there's no need for that."
He patted He Lielie on the shoulder and motioned her to leave.
It can be said that apart from paying the compensation, nothing He Lielie's brother did from beginning to end made people feel comfortable.
One parent at the scene was so angry that she jumped up and scolded him: "If you indulge her like this, and anything happens to our child, I tell you, you will never live in peace for the rest of your lives!"
Helan Dao stopped at the door. He turned his head to look over and said "Oh" without any concern. "Our Lielie never resorts to violence. What if she kills someone..."
He smiled and said, "That's what you kids deserve."
After saying this, Helan Dao took He Lielie and walked out of the office door without looking back.
He Lielie's heart was bursting with joy, she felt so happy!
She followed Helan Dao like a dog, and asked him attentively, "Dad...Brother, do you need me to massage your back?"
He Landao's expression changed immediately, and he glared at her: "I'll settle the score with you when I get back."
"Okay, brother." He Lielie immediately drooped his brow and answered in a timid tone.
This is He Lielie’s secret. Her father, who is not related to her by blood, seems, as if, and probably is an immortal being.
So in He Lielie's first year of college, when her class monitor proposed that they go on a group vacation to the snow-capped mountains near He Lielie's home during the Qingming Festival and planned to rent her hotel, He Lielie immediately expressed strong opposition.
Just kidding, her house is full of photos of her and her father from childhood to adulthood, and they will be exposed as soon as I go there.
And because Helan Dao had such a secret, the small hotel stopped operating eight hundred years ago and is now only used for their own residence.
Seeing this, the squad leader immediately said, "Oh, that's fine. Actually, we mainly want to go to the snow-capped mountains to see the scenic area. It's okay to stay in another hotel. Is that okay with you?"
The students nodded to show their understanding.
He Lielie immediately softened her heart. There was no other hotel nearby except her own home.
She waved her hand and compromised: "Forget it, just come to my house."
-
Qingming Festival came in a blink of an eye. He Lielie returned home before her classmates and quickly packed up all the photos of her and He Landao and hid them under the bed.
After hiding it, she pulled her hand away and accidentally knocked over a box, causing the lid to fall open and the bark inside to scatter all over the floor.
Then the dusty memories bubbled up to the surface and poured into He Lielie's mind.
The bark is surprisingly intact.
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