UCS Chapter 98.1

When Huang Shan was twenty-four, he found a dirty Feiyu on the street.

 

At that time, Feiyu had just finished his seclusion, his memories not yet fully recovered, so his mind was blank, knowing nothing, wandering the streets.

 

When Huang Shan found him, he was in a small alley, surrounded by a group of thugs.

 

Although Huang Shan was thin and weak, he had never lacked exercise. These small gangs of street thugs were no match for him, so he drove them away and took Feiyu home.

 

Feiyu lived with Huang Shan for a year, during which they developed deep feelings, their souls and bodies united. Huang Shan even took him to meet his parents.

 

But a year later, Feiyu suddenly disappeared, leaving behind a large egg on their bed.

 

“Egg? What kind of egg? How big?”

 

Yin Ling curiously asked.

 

Huang Shan thought for a moment, gestured with his hand to about half a meter in height, “It was shaped like an enlarged egg, pure white all over, with silver patterns, about half a meter long.”

 

When he touched it, Huang Shan could feel a warm connection of bloodline.

 

He could even feel the life beneath the shell, feeling as if the shell was pulsing.

 

Therefore, he bought an incubator to help hatch the egg.

 

The little life inside called to him. Every time Huang Shan finished work, he would touch the eggshell, feeling the little life inside press against him, like a small animal seeking affection.

 

At first, the egg was just a large-looking egg, but gradually, it began to move on its own.

 

The shell was incredibly hard. It would roll out of the incubator by itself, rolling to Huang Shan’s bed, so Huang Shan had to sleep with it, just like a bird incubating an egg.

 

Five years later, the shell cracked, and a baby was born—Huang Yiyi.

 

Spring came and winter returned, five more years passed. Yiyi was five years old, and Huang Shan had searched for his lover for ten years.

 

He never expected that when he met his lover again, the lover had completely forgotten their past. When he called out their old nickname, he was mistaken for a harasser.

 

Ying Bujie explained that those with Kunpeng bloodline who were awakening went through two stages: “Kun period” and “Peng period.”

 

During the Kun period, they would seclude themselves and sleep, receiving memories from their bloodline inheritance. In the Peng period, they would awaken and experience the world. When this cycle repeated nine times, they would fully awaken their bloodline memories and could fully utilize their bloodline power.

 

However, during this process, every time a Kunpeng bloodline holder ended a seclusion, they would forget their previous Peng period memories. These memories would slowly recover over about a year.

 

During the Kunpeng awakening period, one must not reveal the memories of the Kunpeng bloodline inheritor. They must slowly recall them themselves, so they could better master their bloodline power. Thus, Huang Shan had always restrained himself, not revealing their past experiences.

 

But just now, Feiyu seemed to remember their past and even asked if Yiyi was his child. Unexpectedly, instead of recovering his memories, he fainted, leaving Huang Shan so frightened that his hands were still trembling.

 

They had just arrived, at a loss about Feiyu’s condition, until Ying Bujie came and said Feiyu had a problem, then took the unconscious Feiyu to an empty meeting room for examination.

 

Just as they were talking, Ying Bujie walked out of the room, and everyone looked at him.

 

Ying Bujie said directly, “There is a seal inside him, blocking his memories.”

 

“What seal? Daoist Ying, can you remove it?”

 

Huang Shan asked urgently.

 

Ying Bujie shook his head, “I don’t remember.”

 

Yin Ling scratched his head in frustration, making his bandage stick up, “Feiyu’s memories are sealed? When did this happen? He didn’t feel anything himself. Could it have been during his only time outside seclusion?”

 

Feiyu’s situation was special, so he usually secluded himself at headquarters. The only exception was when he went on a mission and entered the Kun period early, forcing him to seclude himself in the mountains.

 

The Spirit Management Office almost thought he had died when he didn’t return for a long time.

 

It must have been then, after seclusion, he walked into the alley and was rescued by Huang Shan.

 

Whether this seal was unique to Kunpeng bloodline or something else, no one could determine. The only one who might know, Ying Bujie, had incomplete spiritual energy and incomplete memories, so he was also helpless.

 

After Feiyu returned to the Spirit Management Office, he slowly recalled all memories except those related to Huang Shan, causing the entire office, and even Feiyu himself, to not realize a piece of his memory was missing.

 

Ying Bujie added, “After Feiyu wakes up, he might not remember what happened before he fainted due to the seal.”

 

Huang Shan opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but finally just nodded with a tight smile.

 

After a while, Feiyu finally woke up, rubbing his throbbing forehead, then walked out of the room.

 

As he stepped out, he immediately saw Huang Shan in the empty corridor.

 

Feiyu’s face reddened slightly, and he awkwardly asked, “Why am I here?”

 

Thus, he didn’t see the process in Huang Shan’s eyes from cautious anticipation to disappointment.

 

Huang Shan forced a smile, “You felt unwell earlier and fainted, so I brought you here. Do you still feel uncomfortable anywhere?”

 

Feiyu felt his body strangely, frowning, “No, I don’t feel uncomfortable, but I did lose my memory.”

 

“As long as you’re not uncomfortable.”

 

Feiyu looked at Huang Shan’s smile, his heart ached.

 

For some reason, he felt like he had forgotten something important.

 

Something… very important.

 

***

 

Gao Shi returned home and saw the old Daoist Kongmiao actually doing something serious for once.

 

The guy had been eating fried chicken, chips, and drinking cola for the past two days, his face visibly rounder, but today he was seen wearing his Daoist robe for the first time in a while, holding a compass, stepping on a Bagua array, his face serious, muttering incantations.

 

Gao Shi glanced, thinking he might be doing something important, didn’t interfere, and instead called Ying Bujie to eat fruit.

 

Ying Bujie peeled an orange, tasted it, his eyes lit up, and handed two segments to Gao Shi’s mouth. Gao Shi naturally opened his mouth and bit.

 

“So sweet.”

 

Ying Bujie didn’t put any more in his own mouth, but watched Gao Shi finish, then handed two more segments to Gao Shi’s mouth.

 

Gao Shi kept his hands busy, neatly slicing celery into small pieces and stir-frying them with eggs, while sending the already marinated pork elbow into the oven.

 

After feeding, Ying Bujie picked up the knife, looked at the fresh tomatoes in the basin, and after a blur of movement, each tomato was evenly divided into eight pieces, obediently lying in the basin.

 

He handed the basin to Gao Shi. The two worked together, one cutting, one stir-frying, though neither spoke, their coordination was perfect.

 

Gao Shi picked up the basin, looking at the lettuce slices, each one the same thickness and length, as if machine-cut. He smiled and asked, “Daoist, did you practice sword or knife techniques before?”

 

Ying Bujie blinked, thought for a moment and said, “It seems… I have some impression… someone taught me.”

 

He answered honestly, “I can’t remember clearly.”

 

Gao Shi felt somewhat regretful that he couldn’t participate in Ying Bujie’s past. Now he could only wait for that unknown opportunity to restore Ying Bujie’s soul, so he could confess his feelings.

 

Just then, urgent footsteps came from the living room, loud enough to hear even in the kitchen with the exhaust fan running.

 

Gao Shi wiped the kitchen knife and looked back, seeing Daoist Kongmiao striding over in two quick steps.

 

“Old man, be careful, watch your old back.”

 

“What’s so urgent? At your age…”

 

“I’ve calculated a clue to Xiao Ying’s soul!”

 

“What?!”

 

Gao Shi nearly dropped the knife.

 

Kongmiao was satisfied, lecturing Gao Shi like an elder.

 

“Getting all worked up over such a small thing. At your age, you still haven’t learned to stay calm.”

 

Gao Shi stopped cooking, “Old man, stop keeping me in suspense. Tell me, where’s the clue?”

 

Daoist Kongmiao said, “It shows it’s in City A. No more details than that.”

 

City A…

 

Gao Shi was stunned.

 

Lele was going to City A this time.

 

***

 

After winter break started, Gao Gusheng didn’t go home immediately. Instead, after greeting Gao Shi, he went to participate in volunteer activities. The location for this volunteer work was City A.

 

A while ago, City A had a series of disappearances, mobilizing a large police force—civilian police, criminal police, armed police, anomaly police, spirit police… every type of police imaginable.

 

The police conducted investigations in City A, following leads, arresting several groups of human traffickers, and directly raiding their headquarters in City A, finally cleaning up the city.

 

Lu Xingzhi from the criminal police brigade had been on external assignment for nearly three months, and Da Xiong from Gao Shi’s team was also away, not having returned since summer.

 

Detailed information about the mission couldn’t be disclosed before completion, but it was known that most of the police force had been transferred, though where exactly was unclear.

 

In any case, after two and a half months of investigation, City A was so clean that not only were there no human traffickers, even petty thieves didn’t dare show their faces, fearing they’d be overwhelmed by the massive police presence.

 

That’s why Gao Shi felt comfortable letting Gao Gusheng go to City A.

 

…

 

“Sister Yun, what’s the plan this time?”

 

Yun Zhiyi pulled out her memo, “This time we’ll first go to the village to visit elderly people living alone, for three days; help the street committee promote basic health knowledge, for half a day; and then…”

 

Yun Zhiyi listed five or six items, making everyone’s scalp tingle. Sun Jun smiled bitterly, “There are so many?”

 

Yun Zhiyi spread her hands, “You should be grateful. So many students want to grab this volunteer opportunity but can’t. This volunteer activity can fulfill two semesters’ worth of volunteer work—you won’t have to worry about activity hours for a whole year.”

 

Speaking of activity hours, Gao Gusheng couldn’t help but think of the street cleaning volunteer service ruined by Li Mochen, and immediately stuck pins in a Li Mochen voodoo doll in his mind.

 

This volunteer activity was a school-level event, so students from different majors came to City A, forming a team of about a dozen people, with Yun Zhiyi as team leader.

 

They sat on the train, divided into three groups.

 

Since boarding, Zhou Jing looked unwell, listlessly leaning against his seat, pale-faced, holding a vomit bag.

 

He asked weakly, “Yun Zhiyi, can’t our school change the transportation?”

 

Yun Zhiyi snorted lightly and gave Zhou Jing some cooling oil, “The school reimbursing travel expenses is already good—you want to change transportation?”

 

Gao Gusheng was full of energy. He rarely went out, and this was his first time on a train, so he was excited, looking around constantly since boarding.

 

He raised his head and saw a female student sitting alone, not with the main group.

 

He tapped Yun Zhiyi and asked, “Why isn’t that girl sitting with everyone? Isn’t there an empty seat over there?”

 

Yun Zhiyi glanced over, looking troubled, “That’s Qi Qiao from the Literature Department. She had a fight with her girlfriend and is sulking alone.”

 

If they were fighting about something else, she could mediate, but for young couples’ quarrels, it was best to let them resolve it themselves.

 

This young couple had one person sitting on one side of the aisle, the other on the opposite side, both facing the window, looking like they’d never speak again, both looking sulky.

 

Best not to get involved in young couples’ fights. Gao Gusheng touched his nose and was about to look away when he saw an old lady sitting next to Qi Qiao cheerfully take out some oranges, peel one for herself, and distribute some to the people at the same table.

 

Qi Qiao received an orange and politely thanked her. Indeed, smelling the fresh scent of oranges on a train filled with mixed odors was quite pleasant.

 

The old lady looked kind and benevolent, apparently traveling alone by train. She wore common floral coarse cloth clothing, looking like someone from a village going to the city to visit relatives.

 

Gao Gusheng had sharp ears. He overheard that the lady was indeed going from the village to the city, and the reason was quite dramatic.

 

A girl in their village had parents who favored sons over daughters. At sixteen, they wanted to sell her to a fifty-year-old crippled bachelor at the village entrance to raise money for her brother’s bride price.

 

The girl had backbone—she escaped the village through her own efforts and established herself. Unexpectedly, when her parents heard their daughter was doing well, they brought the whole family to the big city to harass her, demanding she give money to buy her brother a house.

 

The old lady was going this time to support the girl. She had high status in the village, and the girl’s parents would have to give her some respect when she spoke.

 

Who doesn’t love gossip? Qi Qiao even forgot she was angry and listened with great interest.

 

Afterward, the old lady started chatting with Qi Qiao. The two were like friends despite the age gap, hitting it off immediately.

 

Seeing the young girl was in a bad mood earlier, the old lady asked if she had fought with her boyfriend. Qi Qiao said it wasn’t a boyfriend, but a girlfriend.

 

She thought the elderly lady might not accept it due to her age, but the old lady’s expression remained unchanged as she said gently, “A girl is also your partner. What can’t young couples talk through?”

 

She persuaded Qi Qiao to make up with her girlfriend, offering words of guidance.

 

Actually, the old lady and Qi Qiao weren’t speaking very loudly, but Gao Gusheng’s hearing was so good that the sound drilled straight into his ears. He glanced at Yun Zhiyi and the others—they hadn’t heard the conversation between the old lady and Qi Qiao. He sighed inwardly.

 

The old lady and Qi Qiao chatted very well. Under the old lady’s comfort, the young couple made up.

 

The man sitting across from Qi Qiao kindly gave up his seat to Qi Qiao’s girlfriend, letting the young couple sit face to face, sharing oranges half and half.

 

The train arrived at the station—only two stops remained before City A.

 

Zhou Jing kept looking out the window, almost wishing he could jump off directly.

 

Gao Gusheng noticed the old lady also stood up, seemingly about to get off. She had many bags and packages. Seeing this, Qi Qiao kindly stood up to help drag the large bundle from under the seat and escort the old lady to the train exit.

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