Yuanjun himself was surprised that he could read every word in that texts as if he was reading his mother tongue.
This is the language I used in my dreams! So my dream actually happened? Are they really my past life memories?
Not listening to anything Zhong Yanchen was saying, he sank into his own work of translating those texts. He used his personal notepad to make scribbles of everything he found out.
Those texts turned out be well-detailed genealogical records. Lu Yuanjun could read every text well but the pages were all not arranged in order and also some pages are damaged and he had to put a lot of work to decipher everything.
Only one page which seemed to be of different handwriting and seemed to be at least centuries old from the other texts. Half of the page had the ink faded and was hard to read.
’And so the lone wolf rested with the golden tiger at the place where all the elements unite as a pair of gods guarded them. Great treasures....’
That’s all he could read and he closed his notepad rubbing his eyes. He looked outside to see the curtains opened and the sky was bright. Zhong Yanchen was not in the suite.
He switched on his phone as he always made it a habit to switch off his phone while he is working and was surprised to see the date. He has worked for more than a day.
He looked around to see bag filled with his clothes and picked one set up and after freshening up, sat on the couch and ended up falling asleep since he didn’t sleep for more than a day.
While working, he figured out, the Li family Manman is a part of, is actually a true lineage from the Li family from that mysterious empire.
The wolf and the tiger mentioned... Were they the first of the Li? There were some mentions of another Li family who ruled another kingdom who later changed their name to Lu. And the Lu family who ruled... Were they our family’s ancestors?
As usual, he got some dreams and this time there were places he had never been to but still felt familiar.
The top of a mountain where the sun set...
An ancient looking study where there were echoes of the laughter of children and a black panther sleeping by the side like a pet cat...
A Manor on top of a mountain where he would feel peace, filled with the laughter... Similar to how his time with his brothers and sisters-in-law would...
And a cliff with a pavilion overlooking the sea. The setting sun looked golden like fire making even the water look like a pool of fire, the bellowing winds that ruffled the silk curtains beautifully and was surrounded by lush forest on the other side....
He climbed the stairs leading to the top of the pavilion in his dream. There were two people, a man and a woman sitting with their backs facing him and looking at the vast sea, laughing and chatting with each other. The man with his silver hair, not tied and the woman with her golden hair in a bun. The wind chimes hanged, made a sweet rhythmic tune that made him feel elevated. This scene seemed so familiar to him as if he had seen it a hundred times before.
The moment he stepped in the pavilion pushing aside the curtain that tickled his face, he saw both of them turning to look at him.
Both of them... One handsome and one pretty, like they were made for each other... Like the ones who would be the ideal couple, painted to be remembered forever.
"Junjie!"
"Kouki!"
Both said at the same time and pointed at a chair for him to sit. In that place that seemed so ethereal and vivid at the same time, he, the one in modern clothing felt like an outsider. But he could feel the love the ones who were looking at him, had for him. He knew she is the Mingxia he saw in his dreams before and Gao Weiye talked about. But the feeling I have towards her, is not love, is it?
Of course, she lied.
"Third brother! Mingxia!" he said and his heart was peaceful, like he was treading over soft cotton.
Holding the tea she poured for him, he looked at that place that looked so familiar and yet was new. The sound of the waves crashing and the wind chimes gave a serene and warm sensation.
"Kouki... Give what we have left on earth to our descendant," Mingxia said, the red jade earrings she wore swaying by the wind. Her eyes were filled with tears and motherly love. Her eyes were pleading and yet it still had that authoritative gaze that made him nod his head immediately. The bluish glow around her made her look like a moon.
He could see the man... Lu Chenglei... Li Chengnuo... The Lone wolf...? My brother.
It all came to his mind, by itself.
Lu Chenglei held her slender hand adorned by a green jade bracelet . There was a pendent hanging in her waist... Carved with a tiger and surrounded by gold... The golden tiger?
"The third woman in my dreams... Who is she?" he asked since they seem to know him really well, even now. He knew them too but he couldn’t figure out who that third woman is.
" She is the one you want to cherish and protect, Junjie. Ask your heart," Lu Chenglei said with a serene smile. He looked like so handsome in his red robes, glowing like a ball of fire.
"Is she Manman?" he asked but all he got in return was a gentle smile from that man and a hard shove.
"Go back"
His voice echoed in his ears like it was spoken underwater and Yuanjun felt his ears close with pressure.
He fell down and down and he felt like he was floating in space but was sinking at a greater speed at the same time. He looked to his back and there he saw the blue planet 🌏 hanging beautifully, like he had seen in various science documentaries.
What the..... Did I go to space in my dreams?
He felt a cold feeling in his face and with a gasp he sat up to see a white cloth, wetted with cold water over his face and he picked it up.
Zhong Yanchen with a worried face was standing by his side, "Bro, you okay? You were flailing your arms like you were drowning," he asked.
"So you decided to waterboard me?" Yuanjun frowned. "I’m hungry. Go get me some food," he ordered him around and Yanchen obliged. He knew Yuanjun has figured something out and he wanted to get the results of his labour for thirty hours.
Since it was lunchtime, he decided to give a call to Li Xueman and dialed her number he stored in his phone earlier. He wondered if she had his number stored in his phone.
She picked up just with a single ring and her smooth voice that felt like honey to him was heard from the other side.
"Hello"
Yuanjun’s lips curved up hearing her voice so close to his ears and he forgot to answer her. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞
"Hello"
She repeated and by now he had regained his composure and he just decided to see how she’d react.
" Lu Yuanjun?" she asked, her voice held a little doubts.
" Yuanjun, is that you? Answer me, please?" she said and waited for his reply. He could imagine her biting her nails out of embarrassment thinking she might have identified the wrong person.
"Alright, I’ll end the call," she said and he could see her pout even though it was a voice call and couldn’t help but chuckle and she immediately recognised his voice.
"Why did you..." she spoke in a pouty voice and complained about his behaviour and he leaned on the couch holding the phone in his ears.
He liked it! Her voice... Talking casually like this... Everything.
"Manman," he said and she stopped her complaining.
"What?"
"Manman"
"Whaaat?"
"Li Xueman"
"..."
"Li Xueman, you there?"
"Hmm"
"Are you blushing?" his lips curved up playfully.
"No!" the refusal came back immediately and strongly and he knew for sure she is lying.
"Did you know?" his slender fingers trailed down on the back of his phone. He wanted to hug her.
"What?"
"This is the first time I’m calling a woman other than my mother"
He was not lying. He usually texts and he usually doesn’t attend calls from his female students and colleagues. His sister-in-laws rarely call him and even if they did, he would only speak for mere seconds before ending the call.
" Really? I’ve called a lot of men"
There was some sort of pride in her voice.
"Hmm? So, can I get another kiss for being a good boy?" he bit his lips and the other side almost went dead.
"Manman..."
"Manman..."
"Man.."
"YES!"
" Had lunch?"
"Yes, you? "
"I haven’t yet"
" Go eat soon. Its getting late," she seemed so caring.
"Okay, as you wish, my queen!"
"Ah, you! Where did you learn to flirt this much? Seems like you are well experienced... Speaking of experience, did you actually quit your job?" she asked.
"Yes"
"So what are you going to do?" there was a little worry in her voice. "You are not in some kind of trouble, right? You will tell me if there are problems, right.?" she really was worried. He could feel it in his heart. She is not acting but those are her genuine feelings.
"I’m fine... I just need some time to think through certain things..." he said rubbing his temples,closing his eyes.
Will I seem crazy to her if I say I got memories of the past life? Should I try telling her? That pavillion on the cliff...
He sat up straight remembering something.
"Manman, that land your family owned along the shoreline.... Is it still owned by you?" he asked and there was silence on the other side for sometime and he realised he might have come off as having some hidden agenda. He is not telling what he has in mind about his future or even why he quit his job and asking informations about her family’s property.
Li Xueman leaned on her chair and her lips curled up involuntarily. That piece of land... The only one left from their long line of inheritance. There is a big trouble going on in the Gao family for that land now and her mother said she is being abused by her husband because he wants that land to develop a resort in that land. Her mother has been pleading to her for the past month to give her that land which her father had given to Xueman in his will.
Why is Lu Yuanjun asking about it now? Is he having other intentions too? That land is the one her father refused to sell and asked her to protect even with their life. She didn’t understand the value of that land before but now, she has no intention of losing the land ever. She will protect that land with her everything. Something more valuable than any treasure is there.
She doubted for a moment. She is in this vulnerable position where she cannot trust anyone.
"It’s in my name now," she answered truthfully. She didn’t want to know why he was asking about it but she knew if he wanted to know, he’d get information about it somehow.
And it is him so it is fine.
"Manman, will you believe me if I say something crazy?" he asked.
"What?" she seemed to have composed herself.
" Your Li family is a direct descendant of a noble family from a prosperous Empire from some three millenniums ago," his hand caressed the notepad 📒 he had in his pocket.
"And my Lu family might have been the ruling family."
Lu Xueman stood up from her chair in surprise.
Did he remember who he is?
"Really?" she chuckled softly, "Then were the Zhong and the Huang family there too?" she asked in a tone that was casual and not serious.
"I haven’t researched that far," he replied. He really thought she was joking.
" If I can prove my hypothesis I might become a famous historian, you know? My name will be in every news, every newspaper headlines and I will be trending name in the country. Then there will be book deals, movie deals and interviews with me. Since yours truly is so handsome, they might make a movie about me and ask me to act as myself! " he bragged.
" Alright, alright! Enough daydreaming and have your lunch soon. I have a lot of work to do, " she ended the call. There was a trace of disappointment in her face.
Lu Yuanjun on the other case, exited the hotel and drive his car to the seashore to the Li property.
That property was protected by the Li family with fervour through generations and during the last big war in their country where the aristocrats got affected the most, the entire Li family died protecting that piece of land saving only one of their sons,leaving that land to be protected by him. And from then on, the Li family had only one son each generation and they had become rich like they once were but all was lost by Li Xueman’s father because he married a bad woman who didn’t know how to build her family.
He sneaked in through a hole in the fence and walked towards the West end of the property where there are cliffs and a long shoreline with a mointain by the side. If he remembered correctly, there was a particular cliff that is slightly separated from the mountains but had a rope bridge connection to it and there was an old temple over that cliff. He had visited there with the Li family in the past.
As expected, the cliff was there and for some reason, the image from his dream, merged with the cliff in front of him although both of them looked slightly different.
Did time erode the cliff and it got separated from the mountain? Are those two images the same?
He walked through the rope bridge. The bridge was old and was unreliable and yet he pushed through. As he got near the cliff, he saw a small hole and through which the golden rays of the setting sun shone through.
Ruled by his heart, he found a way to climb down the separated cliff and at the middle of that, there seemed to be a tunnel that was opened just for him.
What he didn’t know was his friend who came back buying lunch for him, saw him leaving suddenly and he is currently following him closely too.
Lu Yuanjun crawled in through the tunnel and it lead to a spacious room. There were many small tunnels that brought in the rays of the setting sun and the room he was in glowed.
Yes, it glowed since it was lined with gold. Solid gold throughout. Either it was solid gold or neatly polished jade or precious gems and top quality porcelain and silk.
There was a study with a short table in gold and some chairs and a couch. The silk in those cushions were embroidered with gold threads and he was amazed to see everything in excellent quality as if they all were made just weeks ago and not even a single speck of dust on them.
However the architecture and the designs of the furnishings... They are not of this era or any era of the past recorded history. But he recognised it as from the dreams he has.
There was a vanity with a mirror with some chests and he went and opened it to see it all filled with jewellery.
There he saw a pair of red jade earrings and he remembered Mingxia wearing them. She had said that this was passed on by their mothers to them for many generations.
Wasn’t she wearing that in my dream? So why is it here?
Yuanjun felt his palms getting colder with sweat as he walked further inside of what seemed to be the bedchamber. Even the parting screen was made of solid gold and many precious stones and jades.
He knew any one jewellery or decorative vase from here will make anyone settle for life as a billionaire. Everything was of the highest quality and not to mention they all must be thousands of years old. In the antiques market, any one of them would easily fetch billions.
He took a deep breath and pushed aside the curtain of what seemed to be the bed to see a coffin. A big one amde with stone and had golden transcribing along the sides.
"Here lays the Wolf and the Tiger who got together after beating the gods and those who even beat reincarnation to be never born again"
The transcription read and Yuanjun fell on his knees as he couldn’t hold his strength.
Here it is... Here they are...
I found it...
I found the Treasure of the Li family...!
I found the grave of my brother from my previous incarnation.
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