CHAPTER 409: 405

The night in the mountain woods was utterly silent.

A full moon hung overhead, casting a bright, cold light that outlined the contours of the hills and made the cement road look like white jade.

A beam of headlights traveled across the land.

The road was far too narrow. Wildly growing plants on both sides encroached on its surface, and small animals appeared from time to time. Brother Nan concentrated intently, hearing only the GRATING RATTLE as grass and branches scraped against the car body, its tires nearly brushing the road’s edge several times.

The air inside the car was slightly stuffy.

The elder of the observatory occasionally moaned from the back seat.

Master Xuanqing bit her lip, needing to care for the elder of the observatory while also helping Brother Nan find her way.

By the time they reached the town, the elder of the observatory seemed a little better. His illness appeared to be intermittent; now that he had recovered slightly, he was also more alert. He immediately grabbed Master Xuanqing’s wrist—

"Pei Xue, listen to me..."

"It’s okay, it’s okay," Master Xuanqing tried to keep her voice steady. "Master, don’t be scared."

"I have something to tell you..."

"I’m listening."

"The Ginkgo... you can give it to Boss Zhang... you decide... The ancient bell can’t be moved... No one can move it... It must always be kept here..." The elder of the observatory’s voice was halting, as if he couldn’t catch his breath.

"I know, I know..." Master Xuanqing also held the elder of the observatory’s hand. "It’s okay."

"..."

The elder of the observatory stared upwards, his gaze unfocused, his expression exceptionally sorrowful. He knew that once he was gone, Changping Lookout would cease to exist. Therefore, he used all his strength to endure the pain in his body and the encroaching drowsiness, refusing to close his eyes.

「An hour later, at the town hospital.」

Thanks to his strong will to live, the elder of the observatory’s condition had stabilized a bit.

Master Xuanqing was speaking with the doctor.

Zhou Li and Brother Nan had already done all they could and were unable to help any further, so they sat on a bench at the end of the corridor, waiting.

The town hospital was rather rudimentary. They were on the ground floor, which was open at both ends, allowing people—and the wind—to pass through freely. The wind funneled in one end and out the other, siphoning away warmth and making the place feel even more desolate.

Coughing.

Children wailing in the night.

Someone in a room shouting for a doctor.

Yet, for some reason, it all seemed very quiet.

Zhou Li turned his head to look at the moonlight outside.

Brother Nan checked her phone, stretched her legs, and rubbed her thighs with both hands—a clear sign of extreme boredom. "It’s already the second; the Mid-Autumn Festival is over."

Zhou Li hummed in response.

This Mid-Autumn Festival really passed without much fanfare.

But that’s compared to last year.

Last year’s Mid-Autumn Festival involved a party during military training.

And previous Mid-Autumn Festivals were much the same, just slipping by in a haze. Zhou Li had always been indifferent to these festivals... No, this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival was overshadowed by the National Day holiday, so it felt particularly unremarkable.

Brother Nan yawned again and continued in a low voice, "I originally thought we’d reach Tengchong yesterday. We could have wandered through a supermarket in a new city, see if we could find some bizarrely flavored mooncakes—like something insect-flavored—then grab a meal. That would have been a decent way to mark the festival. It is a festival, after all, deserves a bit of respect. But then..."

Zhou Li listened and smiled faintly.

Suddenly, a cry of pain came from the room behind them, and the smile that had just appeared on his face vanished.

Brother Nan turned her head to look, sighed, and stopped teasing Zhou Li. "Getting old is rough," she said. "If I ever get that old, am still alive, and still this miserable, I’ll find a quiet place to die and be done with it. It’s too painful to go on like this!"

"Don’t talk like that," Zhou Li chided her.

"Seriously," Brother Nan said, quite earnest now. "Living this long, I’d feel like I’ve overstayed my welcome. I think living into my sixties or seventies is plenty. Once you’ve experienced enough, what’s the point? The quality of life just plummets."

"Let nature take its course."

Brother Nan glanced covertly at Zhou Li, then hesitated. "Of course, if we were still a couple by then, and you lived longer, I’d stick around a bit more for you. Looking at you, you’ll probably be helpless when you’re old."

"Got it."

Zhou Li still had his head turned towards the window. He asked, "So, would you say tonight’s moon is for the fifteenth or the sixteenth?"

"Definitely the fifteenth."

"Oh."

"It’s quite round, isn’t it?"

Brother Nan also looked at the moon. Because of her angle, she wasn’t sitting as close to the edge as Zhou Li, so she had to lean slightly towards Zhou Li to get a better view of the moon hanging high in the sky.

Zhou Li hummed again.

The two of them fell silent for a while.

Until Brother Nan asked, "Are you tired?"

"A little. You?"

"Me? I often play games straight through till dawn." Brother Nan yawned, her eyes a little moist. "You can lean on my shoulder and rest for a bit."

"I can still manage."

"Suit yourself."

Not long after, Master Xuanqing came out.

Brother Nan immediately stood up. "How is the elder of the observatory doing?"

Master Xuanqing shook her head. "He’s old. When he was young, conditions were terrible—it was all hardship and exhaustion. He accumulated a lifetime of illnesses; he has problems everywhere. He was sent to the hospital just like this last month."

"That’s too dangerous. Your place is so remote." Brother Nan frowned. "It must be hard for an ambulance to get in, right? Even if you tell people the location, they might not be able to find it."

"Fortunately, last month a businessman drove him. He’s someone who has wanted to buy the ginkgo from our temple for a long time," Master Xuanqing said. "He just happened to visit that day to try and persuade us."

"You might not be so lucky next time."

"There’s nothing to be done. I’ve advised him many times to leave the temple, but he refuses." Master Xuanqing vented her frustrations. "Every time he’s taken to the hospital and the doctor says he needs to be admitted, he refuses. He insists on going back.

"He’s incredibly stubborn. More than a decade ago, some government officials wanted to take the ancient bell. He was a bit healthier then, but still in his sixties or seventies. He stubbornly stood guard in the courtyard with a sword for half a month. No one can persuade him."

"How is the elder of the observatory now?"

"He’s stable now."

That’s good. Brother Nan recalled how the elder of the observatory had practically been giving his last words in the car. Even though they were strangers, it had startled her.

"Mm."

"Is there some secret to that ancient bell?" Zhou Li suddenly asked.

"It looks like it’s just the bell, without even a striker." Brother Nan was also curious. "Do you ring it every day?"

"No, that bell can’t be rung."

"Can’t be rung?"

"Yes, it might be an issue with the material. No matter how you strike it, even with metal, it won’t make a sound." Master Xuanqing paused. "I’m not sure myself. I only heard from Master that this bell is very important. It could be an antique, I guess."

I thought there might be some story behind it. Zhou Li glanced at her.

"Could be..."

"Not making a sound? That’s quite remarkable," Brother Nan said, her interest piqued.

"It might be like that meteorite from beyond the heavens you see in TV shows," Master Xuanqing said, rubbing her head. She looked tired but continued to chat with them. "I asked Master about its origin, but he was evasive. He said he’d tell me if I agreed to succeed him."

"Sounds like vibranium," Brother Nan blinked.

"Maybe..."

Master Xuanqing fell silent for a moment, then looked down and said, "We’ve really troubled you today, and disturbed your rest."

"Not at all," Brother Nan said.

"Master and I probably won’t head back until tomorrow. Why don’t you two go back and get some rest first?"

"Alright. We’re just waiting around here anyway and can’t help much. Besides, this guy next to me is really tired," Brother Nan said bluntly. "Let’s add each other on WeChat. If you’re discharged tomorrow, message me, and I’ll come pick you up."

"We can get back on our own. You two should get some more sleep."

"No worries. Why do young people need so much sleep anyway?" said the self-proclaimed champion of lazing in bed. "No need for excessive sleep in life; there’s an eternity to sleep after death."

"We can call a car from here..."

"Should I scan your code, or will you scan mine?"

"I’ll scan yours..."

"Do you have enough money?" Brother Nan asked again.

"No need..."

Master Xuanqing felt a bit overwhelmed by Brother Nan’s straightforwardness and generosity.

So, the two of them returned to the temple.

Under the moonlight, Zhou Li once again examined the ancient bell closely. He even touched it, just as Huai Xu had done. He’d thought that being chosen by the heavens might grant him some unique insight or ability, but reality proved that novels were, after all, just novels.

Apart from the coldness of the metal, he felt nothing.

The ancient bell simply stood there, with no other visible mechanisms. It had endured wind and rain for so many years yet still hadn’t ’run out of power’—the technology behind it was truly commendable.

Before returning to his room, Zhou Li glanced at the room next door.

After such a big commotion, it was surprising that the Old Monster, given his personality, hadn’t come out to join in the fuss. He probably found the temple’s conditions too poor and the internet too slow, so he must have gone home to sleep not long after they arrived. Zhou Li had no idea when he’d left. The thought that he had spent the first half of the night wary of an Old Monster in the next room—who wasn’t even there—made his teeth itch with frustration.