Shu Guan turned to the second page of the note.
"...The old man, his wife, and his son were all lost at the hands of the Baiyi people. I fled south with the villagers all the way to the junction of E-Tan and E-Tan states. I was met by the defeat of the Celestial Army. At the time of crisis, fortunately, an immortal came riding a dragon. Use your magical power to disperse the rebel army and save us in this quiet place..."
Shu Guan was stunned.
It's one thing for someone to exaggerate, but it's another thing to make up stories out of nothing.
Moreover, this note is the private account of the old scholar after he came to Taoyuan Love Song. There is no motive or need to lie.
So...are there really gods in this world?
Shu Guanhuo suddenly stood up from the railing, panting slightly. If it weren't for the dark pockmark on his face, you should be able to find that his face turned quite pale at this moment.
Could it be that what he traveled to was not a normal world, but a world of myth and fantasy?
After a long time, Shu Guan suppressed his surging heart just now and continued to read the notes left by the old scholar.
What is recorded on the back of this page is how the immortal rescued the old scholar and other villagers to Taoyuan Village. The old scholar's narrative is gorgeous and magnificent, and Shu Guan even feels like he is reading an old-school fairy novel.
The general meaning is that the immortal waved his hand and found a huge white cloud, which surrounded hundreds of villagers. With the strong wind howling, he came to this quiet and beautiful valley in a moment.
The immortal told them to live a good life in this valley to avoid troubled times. If the world becomes peaceful in the future, he will naturally come and take everyone out of the mountain.
After the explanation was completed, the immortal rode on the dragon and left.
The old scholar and other villagers settled in this isolated valley.
The last few pages of the notebook record their life in the valley.
But these records are not many, because the old scholar died within a few years.
He was already in his sixties at the time, and the body of a scholar is already weak. In addition, he experienced the tragic death of his wife and children, fled all the way, was frightened, and was tortured both physically and mentally. Naturally, he could not live long.
What the old scholar thought about before he died was that after the immortals came back and took them out, he could participate in the scientific examination of the Great China.
Between the lines, there is full of this expectation, as well as the regret that he lost the entire box of books on the way to escape, otherwise he could safely review the classics in this carefree place, waiting for the autumn of the imperial court. .
It's a pity that the immortal never came back until his death.
In fact, more than two hundred years after the old scholar's death, the immortal never appeared again.
... Shu Guan slowly closed the thin notebook.
At this moment, there was some confusion and horror in his eyes.
Although Shuguan's appearance in this life was very ugly, even disgusting, between the dense pockmarks, there was a pair of beautiful eyes, with clear black and white pupils, smart and clear. When those emotions arise in his eyes, they are like the moon's waxing and waning changes, possessing a heart-stirring charm.
If the contents recorded in this notebook are true, then the place I traveled to was definitely not China at the end of the 18th century, or even the Earth!
...But knowing this, it seems to have little meaning to my current life.
Shu Guan smiled bitterly.
He has always hoped to see these texts about the earliest origins of Taoyuan Village since he was a child, in order to find out how the earliest villagers of Taoyuan Village came to this valley that is absolutely inaccessible to ordinary people, and perhaps find a way to leave here. .
Now he has really found it.
Just waiting for the mysterious immortal to come back.
But that immortal has not appeared for almost three hundred years. Who knows if he still remembers this valley and the people in it.
Immortal!
According to Shu Guan's previous experience from various novels and online articles, these immortals may be in retreat for hundreds or thousands of years at a time, or they may refine elixirs and realize Taoism. Who knows when he will remember that there is still something in this valley. There were many mortals waiting for him.
Maybe the immortal will really come back, but it's more likely that Shuguan will have turned into a pile of loess by then and spent his life as a time traveler in Taoyuan Village.
Shu Guan sat back on the railing and stared at the sky above the courtyard in a daze for a while.
He didn't think anything of it.
I didn’t think about the Great China.
I didn't think about the Baiyi people or the armored ships.
I didn't think about immortals and dragons.
Just pure daze.
Soon after, he sighed, put the notes in his hand back into the wooden box, and then put the wooden box back into the original side room.
When he came out of the room, he found that the old cripple had woken up from his nap.
"Little Mazi, what's wrong?"
The old lame man glanced at Shu Guan, and then asked in confusion.
Although because of Mazi's cover, it was difficult for others to see Shu Guan's inner emotions from his face.
But the old cripple was no one else. From childhood to adulthood, Shu Guan's emotional changes could not be hidden from the old cripple.
Shu Guan didn't even know whether it was because the old cripple was too familiar with him, or because of other reasons, such as his innate ability to see into people's hearts.
Shu Guan did not answer the old cripple's question. He was indeed in a very low mood now, but he could not explain it clearly. Even the old cripple who had raised him since childhood could not truly understand his mood at this time.
No one in the world will understand.
Then an emerald green cigarette rod was handed to him.
Ever since Shu Guan was caught secretly smoking when he was four years old, the old cripple never let him touch the cigarette pole again.
Today he took the initiative to hand it to Shu Guan.
Shu Guan raised his head and glanced at the old cripple.
The old cripple had a dull and somewhat dull smile on his face that remained unchanged all year round.
The old cripple is a taciturn person. Even with Shu Guan, who is the closest to him, he can't say more than a few words a day. All the kindness he has towards Shu Guan can be found in every moment of every day.
Shu Guan took the dry tobacco pole, placed it a little unfamiliarly, sat on the railing, and smoked a pot of dry tobacco silently.
"It's time to get to work."
After the Shu Guan was finished, the old cripple touched his head and said something in the same dry tone as before.
Shu Guan jumped down from the railing and followed the old cripple without saying a word.
On this day, three days before Shuguan's fourteenth birthday, he threw away all illusions and expectations and prepared to live a good life in Taoyuan Village.
It’s just that the days to come will be as dull as water, but we should try our best to live a better life.
And in this life, he still has one very important thing to accomplish.
This matter is to provide for the old lame man until his death.
If I were to go through this life journey, it would be dull and boring, like a desolate wilderness.
Then the old cripple is the only flower in the wilderness.
