CHAPTER 863: CHAPTER 865 A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE

He thought his life studying abroad would be like that as well. Although he would face setbacks, he believed he would have an extremely lively time, but he had not expected that endless solitude awaited him.

People online say that listening to Xu Wei’s songs is very healing, more effective than drinking several bowls of soul chicken soup. Xiao Yifei also deeply agrees; nowadays, he appreciates another song by Xu Wei, "Orchid in the Empty Valley," more. "Even with a hundred lifetimes and a thousand tribulations of beauty, it is hard to extinguish the eternal sorrow of the heart, standing on the peak outside the mountains, the twilight quietly illuminates.

Sleepless starry nights, like an illusion of a fleeting glimpse of the vast world, when the song ends, bittersweet emotions mix, between the sunset and the sky beyond the sky, the plum blossoms stand independently in the spring chill, your supreme serenity in the mundane world, the silent light quietly illuminates the world, moving like the wind as you ride away swiftly, who listens to the timeless echo in the empty valley, a pure heart sprouts flowers everywhere in the world, every time you reach the peak, the path turns again, just with pure faith, find ease in the universe, as if awakened from a dream, the homeward journey is before your eyes.

Traveling the ends of the earth in silence and still among the mountains and waters, listening to the evening breeze brushing the willow and the lingering flute, crushing straw sandals in the misty rain, living freely, with firm wisdom and courage reaching the eternal extremes."

This song and "Blue Lotus" express completely different meanings. A few years ago, Xu Wei sang "Nothing can stop my yearning for freedom." A few years later, he sang "Traveling the ends of the earth in silence and still among the mountains and waters." It entirely feels like a wanderer returning home, beginning a peaceful life, which is somewhat similar to Lin Mu’s mindset in recent years.

The lyrics of the song are full of the styled flavor of classical poetry, with a hint of Zen, giving a transcendent sense outside the worldly concerns.

There is the serene, indifferent peace of Wang Wei, the Poet Buddha, "No one at the mountain stream door, flowers bloom alone and fall," "When reaching the end of the water, sit and watch the clouds rise."

Probably after turning twenty-five, Xiao Yifei suddenly saw everything in a detached light. He didn’t realize this change himself until a friend once heard "Orchid in the Empty Valley" on his headphones and looked at him in astonishment: "Xiao Yifei, how come you’ve started listening to this kind of song, are you thinking you’re already fifty, and that ’traveling the ends of the earth in silence and still among the mountains and waters.’ Thinking of leading a bland life so early?"

Xiao Yifei was taken aback, suddenly realizing that his mentality had changed significantly without him even being aware of it.

Listening to Xu Wei’s "Orchid in the Empty Valley" along the way, he did not find it boring, and soon he arrived at his hometown.

The car slowly drove into the main city area, then headed west to the place where he used to live. After his grandfather passed away, he initially planned to sell the house his grandfather lived in all his life, but later a neighbor uncle advised: "Maybe it’s better not to sell this house. If you come back, you’ll have a place to stay. After all, this is where your grandfather lived his whole life."

"If you don’t mind, I can help you take care of this house. Anyway, I’m quite free every day now; cleaning up and airing it out once every one or two weeks doesn’t take much effort. Moreover, if the house were suddenly sold to someone else, I’d actually feel quite strange, seeing your grandfather coming in and out of here for more than half a lifetime," the uncle mentioned his grandfather with sadness.

He understood that his grandfather’s departure was not only a huge blow to him but also to others. Even after his grandfather’s departure, many still remembered him; his grandfather would be happy knowing this.

Xiao Yifei parked the car by the street, then walked towards the house that was both unfamiliar and familiar. When he reached the door, because he did not have the key, he could only stand outside and look at it.

At this moment, a voice called out: "Xiao Yifei, is that you?"

Xiao Yifei looked towards the direction of the voice and found it was his former neighbor, the uncle who had volunteered to look after his house.

"Uncle Ran, you’re home!" Xiao Yifei’s voice was full of surprise.

"Xiao Yifei, it’s really you! I thought you wouldn’t come back anymore! I was just watching TV in the house, looked out the window, and saw someone standing outside your house. I didn’t recognize you at first; it’s been two years since you left, and I really missed you."

"Come to my house to sit for a while, have some water, and then we’ll go look at your house," Uncle Ran said, inviting Xiao Yifei towards his house.

Xiao Yifei no longer declined, went into the house, sat for a while, and then said, "Uncle Ran, I’d still like to check my house first, is that okay?"

Uncle Ran replied, "Of course, let’s go, I’ll get the key."

Then the two of them went to the house that hadn’t been lived in for two years.

Inside the house, everything was just as it was when Xiao Yifei left; nothing had changed, just as if he had only been gone for a few hours. The house was very clean, with no dust on the tables. Generally, houses not lived in for long periods have a musty smell, but this house didn’t have any, showing how well Uncle Ran had cared for it.

"Uncle Ran, thank you so much; you managed the house so well during the two years I was away," said Xiao Yifei with gratitude.

"Don’t mention it, it was no trouble at all. I only tidied up the house yesterday because I remembered today was your grandfather’s death anniversary! I’ll leave now, and we’ll have lunch together at noon since it’s rare for you to come back," Uncle Ran said as he walked out.

He knew that at this moment, Xiao Yifei surely wanted some quiet time alone the most.

Xiao Yifei walked into the room where his grandparents lived. The furnishings were just as he remembered. Actually, there wasn’t much in this room, just a double bed, a writing desk, and a bookshelf. Originally, the bookshelf was full of books, and Xiao Yifei later donated them to the local library because there were simply too many to take with him.

He sat at the writing desk, imagining his grandfather used to sit here, often reading until late at night. In fact, when his grandmother was around, grandfather wouldn’t read very late. Each time grandmother felt sleepy, she’d turn off the light herself, so grandfather had no choice but to sleep, unable to continue reading.

After grandmother passed away, sometimes when Xiao Yifei woke up in the middle of the night, he would find that the light in his grandfather’s room was still on. He initially thought it was just a coincidence until he noticed it happening on several consecutive nights, prompting him to go to his grandfather’s bedroom and see him engrossed in a book.

"Grandfather, why aren’t you sleeping? It’s already three in the morning," wrote Xiao Yifei with a glance at his wristwatch.

"It’s nothing, when you get old, you sleep less. I can’t fall asleep anyway, so I might as well read," grandfather looked up at Xiao Yifei for a glance and then continued reading.

"Grandfather, stop reading. Tell me some stories from your past, I can’t fall back asleep anyway," said Xiao Yifei as he sat down on the grandfather’s bed, pulling up the quilt. The quilt had a faint herbal scent.

"Stories from the past, hmm, what stories. I’m old, can’t remember clearly," grandfather slowly said.

"Then tell me about you and grandmother, or why you chose to become a Chinese Medicine practitioner?" said Xiao Yifei.

"I won’t talk about your grandmother, I don’t know where to start," grandfather replied.