To Raise a Soul 15

Yu Zhen’s body relaxed, and every detail before his eyes became clear. As if hazy shackles were thrown off, his five senses sharpened and grew more sensitive.

Yu Zhen lifted the blanket and looked away from Yin Yan’s gaze.

His hand was warm, but when pushing open the car door, they appeared to have no sense of touch. He stepped out and, inch by inch, took in the familiar yet unfamiliar bricks and tiles on the ground. He stepped forward, moving more and more quickly until he almost ran to the place where the bedroom should be. Kneeling on the ground, he began to clean up the ruins.

“Where is it?”

Yin Yan approached, stooped to grasp his hand, and led him away.

By the side of the car, some old wooden boxes were piled up and covered in dust. A peach wood sword sat at the very top.

Yu Zhen looked at the boxes in a daze. After a long moment, he sat on the ground. His lips trembled, and he nearly choked with emotion, but he forced it down. He looked down at the familiar floor under his knees as Yin Yan grasped his fist tightly. Yu Zhen’s shoulders trembled slightly, but he did not cry or speak.

“Your grandfather calculated the chance of you surviving. He stubbornly kept the bricks and tiles of this temple to try to please the mountain gods. Using the lifetime and cultivation of the temple and himself, he was able to ask for and obtain your safety until now.”

“Yu Zhen, don’t let him down.”

“If you are virtuous, his act of saving you will be a great merit. If you are only ordinary, his life’s cultivation will be wasted. If you do evil, he will not be reborn after his death.”

“City B is on the dragon’s vein of this land. Let’s go. Your path is over there.”

The cool voice echoed in Yu Zhen’s head and also resounded in his heart.

Yu Zhen’s clenched fist loosened and he slowly raised his head. Looking at Yin Yan’s calm face with red eyes, he said in a hoarse voice, “I’d like to visit the back mountain again, and the village…”

Yin Yan stooped to help him up and held his head. Patting him gently, Yin Yan said, “I’ll accompany you.”

The temple collapsed completely. Even the basic framework was gone. Yu Zhen tried to find some useful items but was unable to find anything. Yin Yan had already picked up all the useable things, and the useless items were destroyed and buried under the ruins.

Crossing the ruins, Yu Zhen followed the path up the mountain and stopped under the peach tree that had blossomed brilliantly in winter.

“Thank you. I’ll be back to see you.”

The peach branches swayed gently, like an illusion but also as if blown by the wind.

Yu Zhen touched the trunk of the tree. He looked up at the branches but could not find the broken branch. Reluctantly, he smiled, said goodbye in his heart, and turned to Yin Yan.

After going down the mountain, the two men moved the old boxes into the car and took a detour to the village cemetery to visit Grandpa Yu. After seeking Yin Yan’s agreement, Yu Zhen took the check given by Qiu Feiqian, found the village director Old Huang, and handed it to him.

“This is for you. Use this to repair the road to the village. Also, the temple has collapsed. If there is any money left after the road construction, please ask someone to clean up the temple ruins so children won’t play there and get hurt. Here are some flower seeds I kept. They are all easy to care for. When the ruins are cleaned up, sprinkle some there. Think of it as my wish to plant a field of flowers for Grandpa. “

“Yu Zhen, you—”

“I have to go. My friend is waiting for me. Thank you for your care in all these years.”

Yu Zhen interrupted him and thrusted the check into his hand. He gave a forced smile, took a step back, and bowed to the old man. He sincerely said, “Please.”

When the black car left, Old Huang stood at the door of his house. He looked down at the check in his hand then looked in the direction of temple. He had a lot he wanted to say, but in the end all his words became a single, long sigh.

There’s a saying that ‘good people will have good outcomes’…This New Year, Ai.

—

Yu Zhen remained silent until they left Lotus Village. When he finally looked away from the scenery outside the window, he said, “I’ll return the money for the check to you as soon as possible.”

Yin Yan didn’t reply. Focused on driving, he didn’t look at Yu Zhen.

Yu Zhen stopped talking. He looked out of the window again and found his vision really had improved. He saw a sapphire blue sports car parked several hundred meters away at the left side of the intersection. He also saw the man and woman in the car arguing fiercely.

It was parked illegally again.

He looked away and thought absently, is sapphire blue the trending color of this year? I seem to see it a lot recently.

The hospital Qiu Feiqian chose was the one Yin Yan stayed at after the car accident, and the one Yu Zhen visited for his check-up.

As Qiu Feiqian spent a lot of money at one of the top hospitals in H Province, so the physical examination went smoothly, and the results came out quickly. However, because Yin Yan recently had a car accident, he had more tests that delayed their results.

“Psychiatry?” Yu Zhen was puzzled. He looked at Yan Yan beside him and asked, “did you injure your brain in the accident?”

No, the injuries were on his five viscera*. Not related to the brain at all.

*From traditional Chinese medicine: heart, liver, kidneys, lungs, spleen

Yin Yan shook his head, glanced at the Yin family who feigned ignorance, and stepped into the doctor’s office.

The doctor chosen by Qiu Feiqian was a psychiatric specialist who asked questions attentively. Yin Yan cooperated throughout the whole process and strategically revealed he had a fuzzy memory at suitable times.

“There’s no big issue. The vague memory should be the stress response from the trauma. You don’t need to focus on recalling your memories. Relax your mind and spirit. Don’t be too tense.”

Qiu Feiqian’s heart finally settled down. She formed a theory about why her son suddenly gave up his obsession with Han Ya—he forgot her.

If it lets my son forget his feelings for Han Ya, this accident is a blessing in disguise! 

“Let’s go! Let’s eat a good meal tonight! We’ll think of it as celebrating Xiao Yan’s full recovery!”

In high spirits, Qiu Feiqian waved at Weng Xiping and instructed him to book a restaurant.

Yu Zhen lagged behind to walk beside Yin Yan. He reached out and pulled at Yin Yan’s sleeve. Lowering his voice, he asked, “What’s the issue with your memory? Don’t you have the original’s memories? “

“A portion of it.” Yin Yan replied. He held Yu Zhen’s hand and pulled him closer. “Watch your step.”

Yu Zhen looked back at the passerby who almost walked into him, then looked up at Yin Yan and smiled in embarrassment. As he prepared to say his thanks, Yin Yan released his hand and took a significant step away, keeping a polite distance between them.

“…”

Yu Zhen swallowed the thank you, looked at his hands, then looked at the distance between them. He rubbed his sleeve to clean the dirt on his sleeves and silently moved further away.

Yu Zhen was aware that his dirt-covered figure was a sorry sight as he had knelt in the ruins that morning. However, Yin Yan’s blatancy bothered him. If his clothes weren’t buried under the ruins, he would have tidied himself up.

A subtle gloom exuded from Yu Zhen. Yin Yan stopped in his tracks and watched Yu Zhen as he rubbed at the stain on his sleeve. Recalling Yu Zhen’s bashful look as he smiled shyly, Yin Yan pressed a hand over his heart. He approached Yu Zhen, took hold of his hand, and led him towards the car where Qiu Feiqian waited.

Yu Zhen was unprepared. He staggered a few steps before falling in line with Yin Yan’s tempo. Blankly, he asked, “What’s the matter?”

“Taking you somewhere.”

When they arrived at the car, Yu Zhen was stuffed into the car. To his family beside the other car, Yin Yan said, “I’m taking Yu Zhen out for a stroll. We’ll be back at the hotel before dinner.”

In spite of Yu Zhen’s confusion and queries, Yin Yan got into the driver’s seat and started up the car, then headed in the direction of the mall he saw in the memories.

The Yin family who were graced with a face full of exhaust fumes: “…”

“Newlyweds. It’s understandable. Completely understandable,” Qiu Feiqian said. She adjusted the strap of her bag absentmindedly. Looking at her husband and butler, she said, “Why don’t we also find a place to visit?”

—

Half an hour later, the two arrived at a luxury shopping mall in H Province. Yu Zhen stood at the entrance elevator of the underground parking lot. With a blank expression, he asked, “Why did you bring me here?”

“To shop.” Yin Yan replied. Yu Zhen stood motionless, Yin Yan took hold of Yu Zhen’s shoulder and stuffed Yu Zhen in when the elevator doors opened. He glanced at the guide of the mall’s levels and pressed the button for the top floor.

Yu Zhen became more confused.

Shopping? Shopping for what? Do you have your own money? Don’t tell me you want to use the Yin family’s money?

With his mind full of questions and confusion, Yu Zhen was led by Yin Yan into a jewelry store. Inside, Yin Yan found the person in charge. After a simple conversation, he took out a rarely used phone and made a call. Next, as if by magic, he produced a carved wooden box from his pocket and handed it to the person in charge.

The staff carefully took the wooden box and left for another room. The two were led to a lounge by other staff and were served tea while they waited.

Yu Zhen was shocked by Yin Yan’s upper-class young master’s style of handling things. After the staff left, he lowered his voice and asked, “Who did you call? And what’s in that box? Where did it come from? What are you planning?”

“I called the owner of this shop and asked him to exchange the items in the box for cash. Don’t worry, it’s my property. I’ve only made use of the Yin Family’s contacts.”

Yin Yan replied with a “graceful immortal” appearance.

So it was to exchange his items.

Yu Zhen relaxed. He nodded to show his understanding. He was about to drink some tea to calm his nerves when he had a realization. He suddenly sat up and asked, “Wait, your property? Your body belonged to someone else. Where could you get your own property?”

Yin Yan looked at him silently. He moved the hand with his ring in front of Yu Zhen and twirled his slender fingers elegantly. A dark green pill appeared in his palm, exuding an attractive fragrance.

Yu Zhen stared and gaped but could not speak.

What’s this? Magic?