In the least bustling North City District of the four districts outside the Ancestral Court, there was a not-so-wide alley filled with the sll of human life.
Two n who seed to be getting on in years were sitting face to face at a table, eating wontons.
"Old Ji, today these wontons are more tasteless the more I eat them." The old man in faded clothes looked at the wontons in his bowl, stirred them a few tis with his spoon, picked one up, looked it over, and finally said after a while: "Looking at them, they're no different from the wontons of our childhood, maybe even more exquisite, so why do they taste off?"
"In our childhood, we didn't eat much; just having a bowl of wontons was like celebrating New Year's. Now we eat so many good things, naturally these wontons don't have the sa taste as before." Old Ji paused, and then continued.
"That's true, but it's not entirely so. Now wontons have changed to suit young people's tastes, lost the flavor of our childhood." The older man said again.
"Changing flavors is to make them taste better. The variety is much richer now than it was back then. In our ti, just adding salt and MSG was considered good seasoning." Old Ji said.
"You're right, maybe I'm just getting old and not used to young people's tastes." The older man put down his spoon, seemingly losing all interest in eating wontons.
Old Ji, however, picked up a wonton, blew on it gently, and then put it into his mouth, chewing slowly.
After a while, Old Ji swallowed the wonton, savored it for a mont, then said: "They added water chestnuts in the stuffing, making it sweeter and more flavorful. It's really nice, you should try it."
"Forget it, I'm not in the mood." The old man put down his spoon, and looking at Old Ji, he said: "I've worked hard to plant trees for all these years, finally managing to get to this point, and now as the fruits are on the verge of ripening, soone has chopped half of the trunk and even dug out the roots, if it were you, would you still have the mood to eat this bowl of Chaos?"
"I helped with the tree planting as well." Old Ji said calmly.
"Yes, back then we were determined to plant fruit trees in the wilderness, to turn the entire desert into an orchard, but as the years have passed, just as we're getting closer to our youthful dream, now soone wants to chop the trees, and destroy our dream, can you really watch our dream be destroyed?" The old man pressed Old Ji.
"I'm old, almost dead already, what can you expect from a dying man?" Old Ji sighed.
"Find the person who chopped and uprooted the trees, only you can do this." The old man said.
Old Ji pondered for a mont before speaking: "Old Qi, have you considered that perhaps these fruit trees themselves are already sick and damaged?"
"If they're damaged, they can be cured; if they're sick, they can be treated. At least it's a hope. Without them, even a glimr of hope is lost. Do you want to see everything return to the starting point? Do you want to watch the orchard oasis we built with effort get destroyed?" Old Qi said sowhat excitedly.
His voice was loud enough to draw the attention of people around them.
Old Qi quickly toned it down, but his gaze remained fixed on Old Ji, saying: "You were the one who insisted on letting people go back then, now they co to dig graves and roots, this matter is yours to deal with."
"Life and death is a natural law; if old trees don't die, the new seedlings can't reach the sunlight or grow into towering trees." Old Ji sincerely looked at Old Qi and said: "Old friend, we're all old now, and you have a great successor, perhaps you can rest a while, no need to rush to handle things, maybe hand it to the next generation, it might yield unexpected results."
"He's too inexperienced, and how can I impose our dream on him? It's best to complete one's own task themselves." Old Qi stared intently at Old Ji, saying: "I know you're sentintal and can't break your heart to cut down the saplings you've nurtured for so long; I can ignore her, but with the other tree cutter, you have to deal with him, right?"
"Sorry, I'm really too old, I can't handle that much anymore." Old Ji shook his head and said.
Old Qi didn't get the answer he wanted, his gaze remained locked onto Old Ji, eyes unblinking.
"Can you really not care? That was the kingdom we built with our own hands little by little together, can you really bear to let it go?"
Old Ji's calm gaze t Old Qi's, he smiled and said: "Childhood dreams do not necessarily have to co true, leaving them in mory might be a beautiful thing."
"Just like how I loved big houses as a kid, loved beautiful flowers, loved floor-to-ceiling windows, loved watching the sunset glow over the western hills; it felt incredibly beautiful. I didn't own any of those things back then, which was a regret, but now I don't want those kinds of houses anymore."
"Now I feel big houses are too empty; I like smaller ones, with a small yard, growing so vegetables, raising so fish, tending so cats and dogs, raising them plump, happily picking my own grown vegetables, pulling peanuts, pairing them with a pot of tea, enjoying a good al."
"I don't want flowers anymore because they're too bright, I don't like floor-to-ceiling windows and sunset glow anymore because it feels too glaring. When I think back, I feel my childhood vision was wonderful, but to truly own them again, I can't bring myself to like them anymore."
"You are betraying, betraying our dreams, how can you do this? Don't forget, you were the one who brought this dream to
at the start, you were the first to weave the dream, now I've devoted my life's effort to it, you're now telling
you don't like it anymore? You're not interested? You're not keen?" Old Qi's eyes widened, his emotions spiraled out of control.
"Old Qi, I truly can't dream anymore." Old Ji replied with a wry smile.
Old Qi's eyes stayed locked on Old Ji, his excited expression gradually calming, though the persistence in his eyes didn't reduce in the slightest.
"Fine, you can disregard the dream, but what about Qinglian? Do you leave what you owe her just like that? If you don't help now, how will her child take over the Celestial Court Army, how will they run the Ancestral Court later, do you want to toss such a ss to them?"
Old Qi's aggressive words even made Old Ji a little annoyed: "I've repaid everything that needed repaying. Her child took everything from my child, isn't that enough?"
"Is that your child?" Old Qi said coldly.
"Of course it is." Old Ji said.
"I think you've forgotten, you raised her just to take everything from her; you chose her. Now you're telling
she's your child?" Old Qi said disdainfully.
Old Ji remained silent for a long ti, without saying a word, before standing up and turning away, just waving a hand with his back to Old Qi.
"Old Ji, old partner, help
one last ti, I truly need you." Old Qi stood up, looking at Old Ji's departing figure and said.
"I don't need you anymore." Old Ji neither turned back nor paused, leaving resolutely.
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