Edited—

Upon hearing Zhou Jiayu’s question, Jiba stood quietly atop the turtle shell, his expression very calm: “I am merely a three-legged golden crow.”

“What was that on the paper?” The moment Zhou Jiayu thought of the scene he had just witnessed, he became agitated. “Was it really the future?”

“It is the future.” Jiba confirmed this fact. He said, “But Zhou Jiayu, the future can always be changed.”

Zhou Jiayu fell silent.

“It’s just that some people succeed, while others do not. You know the cliff is ahead, but to avoid falling off requires the right method.” Jiba lowered his head, meticulously preening his feathers. His expression was filled with solemnity, as if he were speaking of something extremely sacred.

“Then has Lin Zhushui’s future changed?” Zhou Jiayu asked. “Didn’t you say before that ever since I came, Lin Zhushui’s future had changed?”

Jiba said, “I did indeed say that.”

Just as Zhou Jiayu was about to let out a breath of relief, he saw Jiba add another sentence: “But until that day arrives, no one knows just how much it has changed.”

Zhou Jiayu had nothing to say. He looked at the kraft paper in his hand and fell into silence.

Jiba said, “Although you now know something, I must give you a piece of advice: do not destroy your present life for something that has not yet happened, because the present exists for the sake of the future. Perhaps the continued development of your relationship with Lin Zhushui is the condition for changing the future.”

Zhou Jiayu still didn’t speak. Jiba also didn’t know how to persuade him anymore. He helplessly scratched his beak with his claw and sighed: “That Xu Jinghuo truly has ill intentions. He himself is trapped, yet he won’t let you go.”

Zhou Jiayu thought of the Xu clan’s destruction. Clearly, the method Xu Jinghuo had used to foresee the Xu clan’s disaster was this very page of kraft paper in his hand. And from the state of the kraft paper, it seemed to have been torn from something. If Zhou Jiayu wasn’t mistaken, there were likely more pages like the one he had seen.

“Alright.” Zhou Jiayu finally decided to temporarily set this matter aside. What Jiba said actually made sense—caring too much about this thing would instead cause him to sink into it.

So he locked the kraft paper back into the wooden box and lay down on the bed.

However, even so, those images were branded into Zhou Jiayu’s mind like a searing iron. He couldn’t stop thinking about Lin Zhushui, who seemed about to merge with the flames, tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep.

Normally, Zhou Jiayu rarely suffered from insomnia. Today, however, he barely slept at all throughout the night. He only lightly dozed off when dawn broke, but even in that shallow sleep, his dreams were of matters related to Lin Zhushui.

Having slept poorly that night, the next day two dark circles appeared under Zhou Jiayu’s eyes.

His haggard appearance startled everyone in the house. Shen Yiqiong said just what had Zhou Jiayu been doing last night—he looked like he could drop dead at any moment.

Zhou Jiayu said he had been contemplating life.

Shen Yiqiong asked what about life he was contemplating.

Zhou Jiayu said, “I was contemplating the relationship between your life and the number seventy-three.”

Upon hearing this, Shen Yiqiong left the table in anger, declaring that Zhou Jiayu was openly discriminating against single dogs and should be severely condemned. With this interruption, everyone overlooked the matter of why Zhou Jiayu hadn’t slept.

After eating, Zhou Jiayu secretly called Xu Jinghuo again.

After picking up, Xu Jinghuo directly asked Zhou Jiayu what he had seen.

“Don’t worry about what I saw. I only want to ask you one thing—can the future be changed?” Zhou Jiayu gripped his phone, his tone somewhat agitated.

Xu Jinghuo guessed something from Zhou Jiayu’s tone and let out a sigh: “Of course it can. Otherwise, what did you think I was doing all those things for back then? Zhou Jiayu, in the future I saw, the Xu clan did not foresee the disaster. Including me, everyone was gone—now, at least I remain, along with a few children… and Xiao Zhi in your hands.”

Zhou Jiayu’s heart stirred upon hearing this.

“But I chose the wrong path.” Xu Jinghuo said miserably, “In the end, I failed to change what I most wanted to change.”

Zhou Jiayu swallowed: “Then…”

Before he could finish speaking, Xu Jinghuo interrupted him: “I suggest you not tell Lin Zhushui about this matter. Looking back now, my greatest mistake was telling Elder Xu about this. If I hadn’t spoken, but instead found some other excuse to trick Elder Xu off Mount She, perhaps history would have changed.” He smiled bitterly as he spoke, “Of course, at the time I might have become the Xu clan’s sinner. But so what? It would still be better than… the entire clan being destroyed.”

Zhou Jiayu didn’t respond. He felt that the amount of information he was receiving was truly too great. He needed time to process it all before making a decision.

After all, this decision concerned his and Lin Zhushui’s future.

“That’s all.” Xu Jinghuo said, “I can only give you this much information.”

Zhou Jiayu said thank you.

Xu Jinghuo didn’t respond further and directly hung up the phone.

Zhou Jiayu stared at the phone in his hand, slowly covering his face. He felt as if he had been pulled into a quagmire, his body continuously sinking. The more he struggled, the faster he sank.

Perhaps affected by this matter, Zhou Jiayu became somewhat absent-minded. The most obvious sign was that while cooking, he began frequently cutting his own fingers. After a few days, his hands were covered in band-aids. For the first time, he also burned through a pot because his mind had wandered.

The result of this situation was that before Zhou Jiayu could even react, Lin Zhushui was the first to put his foot down, directly declaring that Zhou Jiayu was forbidden from entering the kitchen during this period. Knives and cookware were completely off-limits.

“Sir, I’m fine.” Zhou Jiayu still wanted to struggle.

Lin Zhushui held his hand, his voice terrifyingly cold: “Six cuts in one week, and you’re fine? Do you have to chop off your own fingers before you’ll admit something is wrong?”

Zhou Jiayu had nothing to say.

Lin Zhushui peeled off each of the band-aids on Zhou Jiayu’s hands one by one, applied medicine, and replaced them with new ones.

The group in the house didn’t dare refute anything in front of Lin Zhushui. But the moment they thought about having to eat the noodles and such that they made themselves, they all showed expressions of despair toward life. Even the yellow weasel’s expression wilted a few degrees.

“I’m really fine. Just small injuries.” Zhou Jiayu hung his head, watching Lin Zhushui’s movements, and said softly, “I think these small injuries are truly trivial compared to eating the noodles Shen Yiqiong makes…”

Shen Yiqiong had originally been playing with his phone nearby. Hearing this, he immediately crawled up from the sofa and said angrily, “Guan’er, what do you mean? Are my noodles that terrible?” He instantly rolled up his sleeves, pointed at the kitchen, and said, “I’ve made great progress. If you don’t believe me, I’ll make you a bowl right now for you to taste!”

“There’s no need.” Zhou Jiayu hurriedly tried to stop him, but failed. He watched as Shen Yiqiong charged into the kitchen.

Everyone present who had eaten Shen Yiqiong’s noodles showed rather pained expressions. Zhou Jiayu was also a bit distressed. But he noticed that Shen Yiqiong’s action of rolling up his sleeves looked very familiar, as if he had seen it somewhere before…

Twenty minutes later, Shen Yiqiong came out carrying the noodles. The noodles looked quite normal, topped with vegetables and a golden fried egg—from the fact that Shen Yiqiong hadn’t burned the egg, it could indeed be seen that he had made progress.

“Here, taste!” Shen Yiqiong untied his apron and said loudly, “If it doesn’t taste good, you don’t have to pay!”

No one in the room moved. The most clever Shen Musi had already found an excuse to slip away when Shen Yiqiong entered the kitchen.

Shen Yiqiong looked around at everyone and discovered they were all silently averting their eyes. He grew angry: “Can’t you give me a little trust? Little Jin… Little Jin, you have the most refined taste. You try it!”

Only the recently arrived little golden dragon lacked experience. Hearing Shen Yiqiong say this, he actually said “Alright” with an expressionless face and reached out to pick up the bowl.

“Eat.” Shen Yiqiong handed him the chopsticks.

The little golden dragon took the chopsticks, picked up a mouthful of noodles, and put them in his mouth.

Everyone watched him in silence. Shen Yiqiong’s gaze was full of expectation. Just as he was about to ask how it tasted, they heard the sound of rumbling thunder outside the window. Immediately after, a downpour of rain came crashing down, enveloping the entire courtyard. For it to rain this heavily in spring was quite a feat.

The little golden dragon put down the bowl and said to Shen Yiqiong, “Are you trying to kill me?”

Shen Yiqiong’s eyes filled with hot tears. He covered his face and wept, saying they were too much. Couldn’t they give him some face?

Everyone’s hearts were completely unmoved. After all, giving Shen Yiqiong face was something that came at the cost of one’s life.

Zhou Jiayu showed a helpless expression, once again experiencing just how important he was to this household.

That evening, Lin Jue still ended up ordering takeout.

After eating, Zhou Jiayu had originally wanted to return to his room to rest, but Lin Zhushui called out to him.

“Accompany me for a walk.” Lin Zhushui said this.

Zhou Jiayu naturally had no reason to disagree and happily followed behind Lin Zhushui, trotting out the door.

By now, the harsh winter had passed, and it was the height of spring. All things emitted a vibrant, thriving aura. The vegetation along the roadside revealed fresh, crisp shades of green, as if even the air had grown a few degrees fresher.

Lin Zhushui and Zhou Jiayu walked side by side along the small path in the courtyard.

Having been at the Lin family for so long, Zhou Jiayu still hadn’t explored the entire courtyard. Lin Zhushui led him forward, and Zhou Jiayu followed. Before long, they arrived at an unfamiliar scene.

There was living water in the courtyard, but this was the first time Zhou Jiayu had seen its source. It was a beautiful, massive rockery. The rockery was covered with strange rocks, plants, and moss. A spring overflowed from within, flowing into the courtyard through dug channels. Not far from the rockery was a small bridge. In the sky, the bright moon hung clear and bright, sprinkling a shimmering radiance upon the things of the mortal world.

Lin Zhushui’s footsteps stopped beside the rockery. He slightly turned his head, facing Zhou Jiayu: “What are you troubled about?”

Zhou Jiayu said, “I…”

He had only spoken one word when Lin Zhushui extended his thumb and rubbed it heavily across Zhou Jiayu’s lips: “You are not allowed to lie to me.”

Zhou Jiayu was rendered speechless.

“Speak.” Lin Zhushui asked.

Zhou Jiayu fell into silence. He was thinking of Xu Jinghuo’s advice—whether or not he should tell Lin Zhushui about this matter.

Lin Zhushui seemed somewhat dissatisfied with Zhou Jiayu’s silence. He said, “Zhou Jiayu, I do not wish for you to hide things from me.”

Zhou Jiayu bit his lip, not knowing how to begin.

“Could it be related to that courier package you received before?” Before Zhou Jiayu could even open his mouth, Lin Zhushui’s single sentence caused him to freeze.

“It really is.” Instantly catching the change in Zhou Jiayu’s aura, Lin Zhushui said decisively, “Zhou Jiayu?”

Zhou Jiayu was a bit helpless. He thought to himself that he hadn’t even spoken a single sentence, yet Lin Zhushui had already guessed eight or nine out of ten. He said, “Sir…”

Hearing this “Sir,” Lin Zhushui raised an eyebrow: “It’s related to me?”

Zhou Jiayu: “…” He had only called out “Sir.” How could even that be guessed?

“Zhou Jiayu.” Lin Zhushui’s tone carried a hint of helplessness. He said, “I will only ask you one thing. If I discovered something about you but kept it from you under the guise of it being for your own good, how would you feel?”

Zhou Jiayu knew what Lin Zhushui wanted to say. He lowered his gaze, his mood somewhat complicated: “Sir, I’m a bit scared.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhushui directly took Zhou Jiayu’s hand. His warm palm covered Zhou Jiayu’s slightly cool hand: “I’m here.”

These two words—I’m here—smoothed away the unease in Zhou Jiayu’s heart. He looked at Lin Zhushui’s profile, and the emotions he had suppressed for several days erupted. He said, “Sir, Xu Jinghuo told me that the paper he gave me could show the future. I did as he said.”

“What did you see?” Lin Zhushui asked.

“I saw you in fire.” Zhou Jiayu’s expression was dazed as he slowly described the images that had haunted him these past few days. “Flames surrounded you, igniting your body. You disappeared into the fire…”

Upon hearing this, Lin Zhushui said, “Just that?”

Zhou Jiayu said it was just that.

Lin Zhushui said, “Zhou Jiayu, before I met you, perhaps my ending would have been so. But after meeting you, some things have already changed.” He paused for a moment, then said, “Let me tell you something.”

Zhou Jiayu listened carefully. Lin Zhushui spoke: “There are two tribulations in my fate. One at eighteen, the other at thirty…”

His voice was indifferent, slowly narrating, yet it made Zhou Jiayu’s entire body grow cold. Today was the first time he learned that the matter of losing Lin Zhushui was actually so close at hand.

Thirty—that was last year. The incident when Lin Zhushui encountered the jade suddenly cracking in the summer was indeed no accident. But fortunately, Zhou Jiayu had been present at the time. He used his own blood to neutralize the danger and save Lin Zhushui.

Lin Zhushui had never spoken of this matter, probably afraid they would worry.

Zhou Jiayu listened with distress and asked Lin Zhushui that if such a situation arose in the future, he must tell him first.

Lin Zhushui agreed but also told Zhou Jiayu not to hide things from him either.

After this conversation, Zhou Jiayu felt that the knot in his heart had loosened considerably. There were some things he couldn’t handle, but Lin Zhushui might have a way. If Lin Zhushui truly fell into danger one day, he would save him even if it cost him his own life.

In the following days, Zhou Jiayu finally recovered his condition. He no longer cut his fingers while chopping vegetables.

As for the Meng family, Lin Zhushui also obtained some news. It was said that after the Meng couple passed away, they were buried separately. The husband entered the Meng family ancestral grave, while the wife was not allowed in.

“The specific location of the Meng family ancestral grave is hard to find, but this woman’s grave should be easy to visit.” Lin Jue said, “Shall we go take a look and see if we can find any clues?”

“Sure.” Lin Zhushui agreed to Lin Jue’s proposal.

So the group set out again, flying to the northeast.

The Meng family’s ancestral home was in the northeast. Although the Meng family’s third son had broken with his clan, he hadn’t left that land. After getting off the plane, everyone went directly to the place where the third son’s wife was said to be buried. It was a rather remote cemetery. From the outside, it looked quite old. There was no gravekeeper at the entrance, and all kinds of weeds grew everywhere. It looked utterly desolate.

Their car stopped outside the cemetery, and they entered on foot.

Zhou Jiayu noticed that many tombstones in this cemetery actually had no names. Or rather, they were so old that the names on the tombstones had faded.

“Isn’t there anyone managing this place?” Zhou Jiayu found it a bit strange. “Aren’t cemeteries quite profitable? Why would no one be in charge?”

“Cemeteries only make money in big cities. In these poor, remote areas, people can find a place to bury their dead anywhere, so there’s no money to be made.” Lin Jue explained, “The feng shui here is quite ordinary, and they still charge fees. There weren’t many people buried here to begin with. In recent years, since cremation began being promoted, it’s become even more desolate…”

“So where exactly is it?” Shen Yiqiong scratched his head. “Although this place isn’t big, there are quite a few tombstones. Are we really going to search one by one?”

“Search we must.” Lin Jue sighed. “The information definitely isn’t that precise. I only know she’s buried here; I don’t know the exact location.”

Helpless, everyone had no choice but to search within the cemetery.

Although this cemetery had become desolate in recent years, there were still several hundred tombstones. Searching like this wasn’t very efficient. But fortunately, their luck was good. Soon, Zhou Jiayu discovered that one tombstone had something different about it. The biggest difference between this tombstone and the others was that its surroundings were very clean. It looked like someone frequently came to pay respects, and when doing so, cleared away all the weeds around it.

“Found it!” When he saw the three characters Zhang Jingya carved on the tombstone, Zhou Jiayu confirmed he hadn’t searched wrong. He called out to the people around him, “It’s here.”

Everyone gathered in Zhou Jiayu’s direction.

“It is indeed this name.” After inspecting the tombstone, Lin Jue said, “Looks like someone comes here often to pay respects.” She bent down and ran her finger across the tombstone, confirming that there was very little dust. It looked like it was frequently cleaned.

“Could it be the child from the photo?” Zhou Jiayu asked.

Lin Jue rubbed her chin: “Otherwise, let’s wait a few days. It’s almost Qingming; that person will definitely come to sweep the grave…”

Although waiting for the rabbit to walk into the trap was a foolish method, at the moment it seemed to be the only thing they could do.

Everyone stayed at a hotel near the cemetery and began secretly observing it.

As Qingming approached, this desolate cemetery grew slightly livelier than usual. Many families drove over with offerings to sweep graves. But Zhou Jiayu and the others had their full attention on Zhang Jingya’s grave. Soon, their waiting yielded results.

Zhou Jiayu had originally thought the person coming to sweep the grave would be the cloaked man. Who knew that what appeared was instead a white-haired old lady. The old lady carried a basket and hobbled to the front of the tombstone. She began taking things out of her basket to clean the tombstone. Her movements were already very practiced.

“Let’s go.” After crouching for several days, they had finally gotten a result. Lin Jue slightly raised her chin.

The few of them walked toward the old lady.

“Elderly lady.” Lin Jue walked to the old lady’s side and called out gently, “What are you to Zhang Jingya?”

The old lady was clearly startled upon hearing Lin Jue’s voice. She then turned her head and looked at them vigilantly: “Who are you?”

“It’s like this. We are friends of Zhang Jingya’s son…” Lin Jue made up a story. “He encountered some very terrible things. He’s gone missing. We’re very worried about him and afraid something happened to him. Right now we’re looking for him everywhere.”

Upon hearing this, the old lady furrowed her brow: “You are really Xiaotian’s friends?”

Xiaotian? This was clearly the cloaked man’s name. Lin Jue said, “Of course. We even met with him in S City last month. It’s just that later an accident happened, and we got separated from him. We want to confirm that he’s safe.”

The old lady was still somewhat suspicious, but at least she wasn’t as vigilant as before. She let out a sigh and said she also didn’t know where Xiaotian had gone. They hadn’t been in contact for almost ten-odd days now.

“Is that so.” Lin Jue said, “Then that’s truly terrible…” A look of worry appeared on her face, exactly like someone who was worried about the Xiaotian the old lady spoke of.

Watching this, Zhou Jiayu had to admit that the people of the Lin family were truly all masters of acting. Even Lin Zhushui, who normally disliked showing expression, had a faint look of concern on his face.

The old lady grew somewhat anxious upon hearing this and asked them what exactly had happened.

“Sorry, it’s not very convenient to say.” Lin Jue smiled bitterly. “Elderly lady, in that case, we’ll take our leave first. If you have any clues, please be sure to notify us. We’re afraid that if we go too late, it will be too late…”

Hearing this, the old lady hurriedly said, “What exactly happened? I am Xiaotian’s aunt. If something happens to him, I won’t be able to live either.”

Lin Jue said, “It’s like this…”

Then Lin Jue made up a story in which Xiaotian became their companion, lost his whereabouts in order to save them, and because they had been unable to contact Xiaotian, they had come here hoping to find some clues to get in touch with him.

The more the old lady listened, the more nervous she became. Finally, she grabbed Lin Jue’s hand and asked if it was serious, if Xiaotian would be in danger.

Lin Jue comforted her: “Elderly lady, nothing major will happen. Xiaotian is very capable.” When she said this, tears flickered in her eye sockets—a look that said Xiaotian might sacrifice himself at any moment, but they just wouldn’t say it.

Frightening an old lady was truly a last resort, but Lin Jue’s words clearly had an effect. The old lady fell into anxiety, saying she also didn’t know where Xiaotian had gone. However, now was Qingming Festival. If Xiaotian was fine, he would definitely return to sweep his mother’s grave.

The moment these words came out, everyone felt a loosening in their hearts.

“That’s wonderful.” Lin Jue said, “Elderly lady, we came by car. If you don’t mind, let us take you back. This mountain road is hard to walk.”

The old lady appeared somewhat hesitant, but under Lin Jue’s comfort, she finally agreed.

So the group sent the old lady home.

The environment where the old lady lived wasn’t very good. There was no elevator, no security guard. The few of them helped her tremblingly up to the sixth floor. They only prepared to leave after seeing her open the door and go inside.

“Would you like to come in and sit for a while?” By now, the old lady had confirmed that they didn’t seem to be bad people. After hesitating for a moment, she still warmly extended the invitation.

“We won’t trouble you.” Lin Jue refused.

“What trouble is there or isn’t there.” The old lady said, “Clearly you all sent me back from so far away…” She said, “Come in and sit. It’s been a long time since I’ve had anyone to chat with.”

Her words made it somewhat difficult to refuse. In the end, they still entered the old lady’s residence and sat on the sofa inside with the broken springs.

“Xiaotian has always been alone. I was still worried about whether he would be bullied.” The old lady chattered as she poured tea, “Seeing that he has you all, I feel relieved.”

Hearing these words, Zhou Jiayu’s mood was inexplicably somewhat complicated. Clearly, they had found the right target. The old lady before their eyes was a very special existence to the cloaked man.

“Right, I have something I want to ask you all.” The old lady suddenly spoke.

Everyone mentally prepared themselves, feeling that the old lady might ask something rather heavy. Who knew that she would softly say, “Has Xiaotian… found a partner yet?”

Lin Jue: “…” Same world, same parents.

__

Author’s Note:

Zhou Jiayu, holding Lin Zhushui’s hand, said: Look at you, so old and still not dating.

Cloaked man: ………………

Zhou Jiayu: Your elder is worried to death.

Cloaked man: Shut up!!