Unspeakable secret
"The current Chaolai Pavilion has changed its name many times, but Yunsheng Hall was the name of the Chaolai Pavilion when it was first built. This was a fact verified by my senior brother and his archaeological team five years ago. Also, Luqi Mountain and Shihou Lane refer to the same place. After talking to you on the phone that day, I remembered a lot of things." Zhao Yuwei fell into memories, leaning back on the armchair, looking at the distant sky with empty eyes.
"At that time, I was practicing in the mountains with my master. By chance, I met a girl from a nearby village. I couldn't help but think she wasn't just any village girl. Her skin was fair and tender, clearly someone who rarely experienced the elements. Although she wore simple clothes and had little farm skills, she possessed a wealth of mountain common sense. She often came to visit me and was very interested in my paintings. My master had always known about her but hadn't said anything. But one day, after a chance encounter, his demeanor suddenly changed, and he told me to stay away. The next day, she came to tell me she was leaving but wanted to leave something behind as a reminder, so she asked me to paint this picture. She said she wanted to remember our friendship and that she would visit me again someday."
"I asked her what the words on the painting meant, and she seemed to say it was something she should remember." Zhao Yuwei suddenly sat up and looked at the words on the table, as if waking from a dream. "The meaning of these sentences is very clear. The first sentence, 'Worshiping the Magpie Bridge,' means that the two people got married, but it was not recognized. They secretly decided to spend their lives together and then completed the marriage ceremony at night facing the stars. The second sentence should mean that the husband is now married to someone else and the two have parted ways, but the wife still misses him. The third sentence means that the grace of the Deer Riding Mountain God did not protect you. The fourth sentence means that the wife should have died in this place, but she did not die."
"Teacher, we can guess the literal meaning of these words. What we want to know is what exactly was going on in the minds of the person who wrote them? Judging from what you just said, the girl who wrote them must have been quite young, right? How could she have thought of writing such sentimental words about love, life and death? And I really can't understand why she wrote about Yunsheng Hall and Chaolai Pavilion. How did she know that this place would be called Yunsheng Hall and renamed Chaolai Pavilion ten years later?"
"Don't worry." Zhao Yuwei, now like an old man with clumsy movements, carefully read the paper while holding up his glasses. He explained, "At the time, I didn't pay too much attention to her, nor did I care why she wrote those words. Thinking about the scene now, my memory is fuzzy. If I were to go into detail, I'm afraid it would all be fabricated. This is the only information I can guarantee to be true. Also, I think you should stay away from these things. They might be ghosts. Master always says that secrets of heaven cannot be revealed. Some things cannot be explained clearly, and no one will believe them if they are told to others. Just keep them to yourself."
Ming Yan opened his mouth wide, and he and Hui Zifeng exchanged glances. They hadn't expected Mr. Zhao to bring up such stories about ghosts. But it wasn't surprising. Many people seeking fame and fortune believed in such things. Their trip today had been in vain.
"Is the teacher familiar with that kind of writing?"
"She must have taught me that," he said, picking up his pen and writing down the two ancient characters that had originally appeared on the painting. "She taught me many of these characters. I compiled a dictionary specifically for this. I can't remember many of them now, but these few are particularly memorable. I can't be mistaken about them. This is proof that the girl existed."
"What's the girl's name?"
"I can't remember her name. A few days ago, I revisited the place where I had come from, and I didn't hear anything about her. It was as if she had never existed, and I felt very distressed."
The conversation ended abruptly. After bidding farewell to Mr. Zhao, the assistant escorted them both off. Hui Zifeng pondered Zhao Yuwei's story and had to admit it wasn't the truth he wanted to hear. He began to suspect his persistent insistence might actually be a disease, and a headache began to build.
Ming Yan, oblivious to Hui Zifeng's pain, babbled on, "I thought I'd find some treasure! This is such a nonsensical story, I'm not interested anymore. It's so boring! Old Hui, are you disappointed too? It's just a clichéd love story... It's not really a love story at all... It's just a waste of time, isn't it?"
When he arrived at the door, Ming Yan thanked and said goodbye to the assistant, but the assistant asked him to stay.
"Is there anything else?" Ming Yan listened attentively, his attitude serious and respectful, even too much so, for fear that the other party would not notice.
"I'd like to remind you that much of what Mr. Zhao just told me was rationalized later and is completely different from the original version. After speaking with you on the phone, he hasn't been sleeping well and has been in a trance. He's written many fragments of memories in a notebook, which I suspect are all dreams, thus becoming the past events you heard today. Also, that poem actually comes from a novel I read a long time ago, but I can't remember which book it was. You can look for it."
Ming Yan turned his head and looked at Hui Zifeng.
"I understand, thank you." Hui Zifeng responded mechanically.
"You don't seem to care at all." Ming Yan quickly caught up with Hui Zifeng.
"I can't believe what he said." Hui Zifeng said.
Ming Yan looked at Hui Zifeng and felt that he already had his answer. She asked, "Are you referring to Assistant Song's words, or Teacher Zhao Yuwei?"
"Teacher Zhao Yuwei." Hui Zifeng didn't even bother to add a single word. "He said he would never make a mistake, but he made three mistakes in those two lines."
"You figured it out?" Ming Yan couldn't help but admire him. She had read those ancient characters so many times but still couldn't remember a single word, but Hui Zifeng could actually tell the mistakes. Hui Zifeng took out the photos he had taken before and explained the mistakes to her in detail. Ming Yan nodded in agreement. She couldn't remember what Mr. Zhao's handwriting looked like, but of course she chose to believe Hui Zifeng. But she still had a question, "Do you choose to doubt everything he said just because of this? People's memories are bound to be biased. Besides, there is no need for Teacher Zhao to make up a story to deceive us, right? It doesn't make any sense, and what happened between him and that girl when they were young doesn't help much. He didn't say who that girl was. She had no name or surname."
"He spoke with such uncertainty. I felt, as his assistant said, that this was a story he had unconsciously fabricated. Did you see Amisulpride on his desk? It's a medication for mental disorders. I couldn't believe what he said was true," Hui Zifeng said. He looked as if he had other ideas in mind.
"Even if it's true, it's useless." Ming Yan sighed. "Do you think those lines of poetry were just something the little girl wrote to show off her literary talent? They're not very well written! It's just that there's something fishy about those place names."
Hui Zifeng still has to continue searching for the answer to what is going on.
"By the way, what disease did Shuixi have? Is it serious?" Hui Zifeng asked calmly, mostly out of politeness.
Which good friend did this?
Ming Yan complained in her heart, but she still answered politely. Because she had some understanding of how these two people got along. The parties involved didn't think there was anything wrong, so why should she, an outsider, meddle in their affairs?
"I don't know what's wrong with him, but a few days ago he suddenly couldn't get out of bed. He looked very weak. He refused to go to the hospital and refused to have a doctor come to his house. I'm really worried that if something happens to him in my shop, I'll be held responsible. It's really unlucky. Why don't you go and try to persuade him?"
Hui Zifeng pondered and finally said, "Okay, I'll go see him." On the way, he made several phone calls, turned down the school work he was supposed to do, and asked for leave from his boss.
Ming Yan was a little curious, "Why are you delivering food? You don't look like someone who doesn't have enough money to spend!"
“Looking for inspiration.”
That made sense. Ming Yan was driving, while Hui Zifeng sat in the back seat, propping her head up with one hand, looking out the window. Did she look like this young master's driver? Ming Yan was displeased, but he tolerated it.
Passing an intersection, there was a traffic jam ahead, as if something had happened. The car was silent. Ming Yan remained silent, watching the people coming and going on the street.
On the left side of the street stood a row of European-style marble buildings, most of them young people snapping photos with their phones. Suddenly, the girl, wearing clothes Ming Yan recognized, appeared in his field of vision. More and more people were drawn to her. Some simply watched, puzzled by the girl's ragged clothes, walking barefoot on such a busy street. She didn't look like someone who had been homeless for a long time, nor did she look like someone who had been bullied. A few were even more rude, pointing their phones at the girl's face and filming her. Gradually, they became more aggressive, moving the camera downwards to capture her breasts, exposed waist, and legs.
"Look, look!" Ming Yan exclaimed excitedly, thinking Hui Zifeng hadn't noticed. Turning back, she saw his gaze fixed on the girl. She felt Hui Zifeng's cold attitude again, and a wave of dissatisfaction welled up in her. Even if it wasn't because she couldn't stand it, Ming Yan decided to intervene today just to embarrass Hui Zifeng.
Ming Yan, brimming with rage, exited the car and slammed the door. Hui Zifeng, feeling the force from inside, was bewildered. Even before the thud of the door slamming had faded from her ears, she heard a sudden exclamation from the crowd not far behind her. Turning, Ming Yan saw a group gathered around someone who appeared to be lying on the ground, their phone constantly scrolling through comments.
"What happened?" Ming Yan didn't have time to go over and grabbed the two girls who had just passed by that place to ask.
"The obscene man was live-streaming to a girl and got his nose kicked."
"It's what he deserves."
"What? I guess that girl will have to pay compensation in the end."
The two girls linked arms, discussing the matter, and hurried away. Ming Yan ran over quickly, and the girl was about to flee the scene. The man lay on the ground, covering his nose and rolling around, shouting, "Murder, murder!"
Ming Yan grabbed the girl's arm, drawing everyone's attention. They were probably wondering why this beautiful girl, suddenly appearing in designer clothes, would become an accomplice to the evildoer. Was she the male anchor's girlfriend? They didn't seem to be a good match at all.
The girl turned back calmly, staring at Ming Yan with a pair of fierce eyes.
"Don't be nervous. I just want to ask where you bought this dress?" The girl's skirt was clearly the one Shuixi had taken, designed and sewn by her, one of a kind. Why was she wearing it? Was she related to Shuixi? And why was she out on the street like this? Did Shuixi know?
"I'm sorry, I don't know. Someone else gave it to me."
The girl's eyes softened a little and she tried to break free from his arms, but Ming Yan let her go.
"Wait!" Ming Yan tried to persuade him, "Maybe I know your friend, his name is Shuixi. Do you want to come with me to find him?"
The girl's eyes told Ming Yan that she was not familiar with the name Shuixi, but she still thanked him politely, bowed slightly, and ran away. Even though her foot was injured, she did not stop for more than a few seconds and disappeared around the corner in a blink of an eye.
Ming Yan returned to the car, and the traffic jam at the intersection gradually cleared. She and Hui Zifeng, letting go of past grudges, discussed the incident. Hui Zifeng said, "Everyone in the world has a hard life. There's no way to save everyone. Everyone has their own destiny."
With a sudden brake, Hui Zifeng almost hit the front seat. This was Ming Yan's response to his words.
Arriving at the entrance of the "Shan You Fu Su" restaurant, he had just parked his car when a man in a yellow uniform ran out of his room, howling like a ghost. He got on his motorcycle and sped past Ming Yan's car like a gust of wind. Confused, Ming Yan stood by his car and called the man, who happened to call him first.
"Master, what's wrong with you? Did you see a ghost?" Ming Yan was not in a good mood.
"It's like a ghost!" the person on the other end of the line yelled at the top of his lungs. Ming Yan could hear the dual voices coming from both the person and the phone. "I'm not taking this order from you! I'd rather die than take it..."
With a "bang", Ming Yan looked up and saw that the motorcycle with its headlights on had crashed into a big tree next to it, and the people on the motorcycle overturned.
"Hey, Master, wait a minute, I'll call an ambulance for you." Ming Yan sighed and explained to Hui Zifeng, "This is the person I hired to take care of Shuixi. It's really troublesome."
After dealing with the car accident, Ming Yan and Hui Zifeng pushed open the door of the shop. The light was dim and the hall was too empty. Their first sight fell on the stairs. As soon as his eyes touched that spot, Ming Yan screamed in surprise. Hui Zifeng looked over a few times and told Ming Yan nonchalantly, "It's okay, that's Shui Xi, not a ghost."
Clearly a water ghost! A snake demon! Shuixi was nearly 1.9 meters tall and very thin. He usually looked better, with the air of a graceful, carefree youth. Now, he had been ill for several days, his skin growing paler, his eye sockets sunken, his hair clinging to his face, his eyes lifeless like the abyss. He was dressed in white, and his exposed hands and feet were so distinctly bony that at first glance they could easily be mistaken for mere bones.
"Are you crazy?" Ming Yan cursed.
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