"Such a coincidence?"
"Yes."
It truly was a coincidence.
If they hadn't taken the wrong path that night, the elder of the observatory at Changping Lookout, the last Guardian, likely wouldn't have survived the night.
In that case, it's uncertain whether he would have entrusted this secret to a young disciple at the last mont. It's also unknown if Master Xuanqing would have agreed to continue the millennia-old legacy. Perhaps even the elder of the observatory found the burden too sorrowful, and he might have taken it to his grave with tears?
Fate...
Zhou Li cast aside these thoughts and continued to ask, "What if the Taoist temple is gone, and the bell too?"
"It's unlikely."
As they sped up, Yin Le said, "With ancient techniques, destroying the Changping Bell is impossible, though modern tis might offer a way. Since the bell is the center of the celestial phenona, we should first find the inheritor of Changping Lookout. If we can't, then, as a last resort, we'll look for the bell."
"I see."
The bell is the last safeguard, after all.
「...」
As the sky gradually darkened, the moonlight turned blood red. It cast its gloom over the rustic tiles of the Taoist temple. The Ginkgo tree's branches, densely foliated, created an eerie and desolate silhouette.
The elder of the observatory lay in bed, his lips pale, receiving an IV drip.
Master Xuanqing stayed by his side, while Boss Zhang, almost fifty, sat at the doorway smoking. The waning moon cast a bloody frost all over the ground.
Compared to half a year ago, the elder's health had deteriorated further. He was already plagued with illness, and last month he was diagnosed with stomach cancer. The doctors told them that surgery would make little difference.
He had been staying in a hospital in the county just the other day. However, upon hearing of the celestial phenona, he insisted on returning no matter what. Master Xuanqing couldn't dissuade him, so she had to bring him back, troubling Boss Zhang to make the trip as well.
Boss Zhang was connected to them because of the Ginkgo tree in their yard.
Previously, Boss Zhang desperately wanted to buy the Ginkgo tree, but the elder refused to sell. Boss Zhang personally ca to persuade him, making several trips and offering many gifts, yet the stubborn old man wouldn't budge. When Boss Zhang saw that many ancient trees were being protected and could no longer be bought or sold, he grew both anxious and angry. Sotis, when discussing it with friends, he would curse furiously.
But the two occupants of the lonely old observatory, one old and one young, were pitiful. Half the gifts Boss Zhang brought were to appease them into letting go of the tree, while the other half were genuinely intended as presents.
The elder was often sick, and Boss Zhang had helped transport him to the hospital several tis, running around like a younger family mber.
He never got the Ginkgo tree, but it did bring more trouble. If he had known earlier, he definitely wouldn't have co to buy this Ginkgo tree. But now that he knew, acting oblivious and letting the old Taoist die in sickness or agony at night was sothing he couldn't do. Moreover, he had started to believe in the Daoist ways...
"Sigh..."
The evening breeze dispersed the smoke he exhaled.
Boss Zhang flicked his cigarette butt away; the ember glowed as red as the ground.
This was indeed a strange affair...
Those experts talked about the Earth's magnetic field, which he didn't understand. The intermittent words the elder had been muttering—he couldn't understand those either, only finding them odd.
The Taoist temple was the center of the celestial phenona. Starting that day, many people had found their way there. These included spectators, local TV reporters, photography enthusiasts, even UFO searchers, and so devotees who had previously co to burn incense. However, the temple, following the elder's wishes, had closed its doors to everyone, not letting anyone in.
Were they waiting for so people?
He had occasionally heard the elder ntion that the temple had been passed down for a thousand years. It had experienced ups and downs, but each generation actually served as Guardians, having waited for a thousand years already.
These past few days, the elder's expression of excited nervousness, mixed with a sense of relief, had not escaped Boss Zhang's notice.
What thing was worth waiting so long for? What people could wait so long? Boss Zhang was quite skeptical. Well, he had been absolutely skeptical before, but now he was sowhat swayed.
Even if we suppose, just for argunt's sake, that what the elder said was true, and even if the celestial phenona were real and truly a sign of sothing, it still involved a promise of a thousand years... A thousand years. Could Changping Lookout stay the course? And could those people destined to et ensure that generation after generation rembered?
It was getting cold. Boss Zhang walked back inside.
Master Xuanqing was responding to the elder's questions—questions that had been repeated many tis over the past few days:
"No one has co, Master."
"Did the bell ring?" the elder of the observatory asked again.
"It did not ring. Last ti... last ti must have been so kind of coincidence," Master Xuanqing said.
How could that be...
"Anyway, Master, you should go back to the hospital. No matter what you're waiting for, go back to the hospital and wait. If soone cos, I'll bring them to see you."
"No..."
"Who would co?" Master Xuanqing was getting anxious. "The news said it's caused by the Earth's magnetic field, just like the aurora borealis. I also heard from people nearby that it might be so experint by the military. Whatever it is, it definitely has nothing to do with the people you are waiting for!"
"This matter is too mysterious," Boss Zhang also shook his head, his voice low. "I shouldn't say this, but indeed... it's highly unlikely."
The elder of the observatory closed his eyes and did not speak.
Had he not thought this way himself? But how many years had Changping Lookout existed? Through how many years and generations had it persevered? So many ancestors... They had been waiting for an extrely distant day, for a group of strangers. These were people whom they might never et even if they exhausted their lifetis, people whose arrival was uncertain, whose heritage might have been lost in the river of ti. Yet, they still waited like this. They still waited, generation after generation, without interruption, until it was passed on to him. Thus, he bore the weight of millennia of arduous vigilance, the gaze of all his ancestors transcending ti and space, the accumulated weight of centuries. How could he easily give up?
Compared to them, he was still fortunate. At least he had lived to see this day. At least the bell that rang half a year ago gave him confidence, allowing him to sustain this broken body until now. He had also finally reached this day. Whether or not anyone ca, it was sowhat of a conclusion. The millennia-long vigil, concluded here. These things, they would not understand.
The elder of the observatory closed his eyes tightly, sighed in his heart, a slight moisture welling in his eyes. He didn't know how much longer he could endure.
At that mont—
The Ancient Bell in the courtyard chid spontaneously.
"DONG!"
The quaint, thick sound of the bell traveled far, startling countless birds in the mountains and resonating back and forth in the night sky.
The sound of the bell dwindled. The room fell silent enough to hear a pin drop.
Boss Zhang and Master Xuanqing both turned their heads, looking toward the bell in the yard with incredulous eyes. The elder of the observatory also abruptly opened his cloudy eyes, his body trembling with excitent.
"DONG!"
The bell rang again.
Master Xuanqing quickly ran out to check, almost tripping over the threshold.
Boss Zhang turned to look at the elder of the observatory on the sickbed. The elder stretched out his hand, shakily pointing outside, hope shining in his aged eyes, his voice trembling as he asked, "But... did it ring?"
"It rang!" Boss Zhang replied, his heart feeling as if it, too, had been struck by an unseen force like the Ancient Bell, unable to calm for a long ti. "It rang twice."
Twice...
Soon, Master Xuanqing ran back inside, her eyes wide, her heart pounding loudly. "No one is out there! It rang by itself!"
The elder of the observatory strained to look at her.
"Open the door."
"Oh, oh..."
Master Xuanqing hurriedly ran out again.
The daylight visitors had all dispersed, leaving only the night wind to sweep through the mountains. Master Xuanqing stood at the door for a while, her thoughts a complex whirl. After a mont, she heard footsteps ascending the winding stone steps.
The ancient agreent was still in effect; soone from afar had co.
A clear voice resonated through the tranquil night, traveling from the main gate all the way into the house:
"From the Northeast, a descendant of the Yin Family has co to visit."
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