The children saw him, but did not know him

Yi Shuyuan and A Fei spent nearly half a day before the graves, clearing away every weed around them.

The grief had struck with tremendous force, but now it gradually eased. These powerful emotions came from his body, yet even in such sorrow, no matter how desperately Yi Shuyuan searched the memories surfacing in his mind, he could not remember his parents' faces.

"Senior, the dead cannot return to life. Please don't let grief overwhelm you."

After clearing the weeds and sitting down before the graves, A Fei finally could not resist offering those words, cautiously and gently.

Yi Shuyuan touched his scraped forehead and let out a long sigh, staring blankly at the gravestones.

Did I take over the body of the son of the parents buried here? Or did that simple-minded boy's soul fly to another world and live another life as Yi Shuyuan?

Yi Shuyuan felt like Zhuangzi dreaming he was a butterfly.

"Let's go. To my home."

By now, Yi Shuyuan knew the way. Everything he saw carried a faint sense of familiarity. He no longer needed to find Yuanjiang County's town first, nor did he need A Fei to guide him. He stood and took the lead, and A Fei naturally followed at once.

"Senior, shall I carry you on my back?"

"No. I want to walk myself."

Yi Shuyuan glanced back at the hill behind him, then followed the mountain path, both familiar and strange, step by step toward the village below. Looking into the distance, he could already see a village beside the river at the foot of the mountain, with faint wisps of cooking smoke rising above it.

Among several haystacks at the village entrance, a group of children had split into two sides and were laughing and playing, waging a fierce snowball fight. Their childish cries of "Hyah!" and "Take this!" seemed intended to conjure the spirit of two armies facing off.

"Someone's coming!"

"Hey, you're still throwing?"

One of the children shouted, and the others began stopping, but some failed to hold their fire, and snowballs immediately flew everywhere again.

Only when Yi Shuyuan and A Fei, having followed the mountain path all the way down, drew close did the children truly stop. They all turned curious eyes on the newcomers. Visitors, in weather this cold?

Caught between hope and apprehension, Yi Shuyuan unconsciously tidied his hair to uncover his face. Using his fingers as a comb, he straightened the somewhat tangled long hair hanging down his back as best he could, even fussing with his troublesome beard. When he reached the village entrance, all the children were staring at the two of them, so he stopped.

"Is this West River Village?"

Although the familiarity in his memories had already told Yi Shuyuan the answer, he asked anyway.

One of the older children looked to either side, then answered.

"Yes. Who are you? What have you come here for?"

Some children also peered curiously at Yi Shuyuan's forehead, whispering to their companions.

"What happened to his head?"

A tangle of emotions welled up in Yi Shuyuan's heart. His lips trembled slightly, but he could not bring himself to say, "I've come home."

"Does Yi Hanlin live here?"

The children looked at one another, and the same child answered again.

"I know everyone in the village. There's no one called Yi Hanlin. There's nobody by that name in Uncle Yi's family either, is there?"

The child spoke the first part loudly, then turned to his companions for confirmation. Several children nodded repeatedly, but Yi Shuyuan had heard those words too. Suddenly remembering the inscription on the gravestone, he tried another question.

"Then what about Yi Baokang?"

"Oh, Uncle Yi! I know him. I'll take you there!"

With a child's innocent simplicity, he led Yi Shuyuan and A Fei into the village, while the other children skipped along after them.

Yi Shuyuan's gaze wandered constantly through the village. Courtyard walls and fences, spaces between low houses and haystacks-much was familiar, but even more was strange. Whenever an adult passed by or opened a courtyard gate and came outside, they would ask upon seeing them.

"Who are those two? Where are they going?"

At such moments, someone among the children would always race to answer first.

"They're visitors, going to Uncle Yi's house!" "They've come to visit family!"

Yi Shuyuan did not know what to say at such times, either. He merely cupped his hands in greeting to some of the villagers now and then. Seeing that the two men were polite and friendly, the villagers simply watched them, though a few older people frowned, apparently finding one of them vaguely familiar.

Soon, the children brought the two men to a courtyard in the village. A man who looked around fifty, wearing a padded coat and a cloth headwrap, was coming out with a bundle of hemp rope over his shoulder. One of the children immediately called to him.

"Uncle Yi, someone's come to visit family for the New Year!"

"Huh?"

The weather-beaten man instinctively looked toward the voice, then froze at once. His eyes widened steadily as he stood rooted to the spot, excited yet doubtful. Even as he hesitated, his body began trembling slightly. Was he dreaming?

Excitement mingled with affection rose within Yi Shuyuan as well. He could say he had recognized the man before him at a glance, yet he also scarcely recognized him at all.

A Fei stood quietly behind Yi Shuyuan, not daring to break the silence. He even raised a hand to signal for quiet, telling the curious children not to make a fuss either.

Drawing a breath, Yi Shuyuan was the first to break the silence.

"Hanlin."

At the sound of his voice, the gray-haired old man carrying the hemp rope could no longer hold back his tears.

"Brother! It really is you! It really is you! It's been more than twenty years. Where have you been? How-how have you not changed at all?"

Yi Baokang dropped the rope and rushed excitedly up to Yi Shuyuan, looking him up and down through streaming tears. Yi Shuyuan had a thousand things to say, yet did not know where to begin.

Another shock lingered in Yi Shuyuan's heart. Had he been away from home for more than twenty years?

A Fei watched in astonishment from the side. One man looked old and worn, with graying hair; the other had a head of black hair and a full, smooth forehead. Yet the former was the younger brother, and the latter the elder?

Hearing the commotion, the others in the courtyard came outside, looking at the scene in utter surprise.

"Father, what's wrong? Who are they?" "Husband, what are you shouting about out here?"

A young man who bore some resemblance to Yi Baokang and a woman showing traces of age came out. At the courtyard gate stood a younger woman holding a child's hand.

At that moment, it truly felt as though an entire lifetime had passed.

"What nonsense are you talking? Your eldest uncle has come home! Come, child, call him Great-Uncle! Brother, hurry inside!"

Yi Baokang put on an angry face through his smile and pulled Yi Shuyuan forward.

"Eldest Uncle?"

The young man's eyes widened. Naturally, everyone else looked equally incredulous. The little child did not dare address him at all, merely shrinking behind his mother and peering out curiously.

Neighbors from several nearby homes also came over at the noise. Amid a chorus of discussion, Yi Shuyuan and A Fei were finally ushered into the courtyard.

Inside the Yi Household courtyard, the two brothers sat together, with the rest of the household standing nearby. Some of the children from earlier had not left, and several neighbors and people who had followed them from the start were there as well.

Throughout, Yi Baokang did most of the talking, while Yi Shuyuan said little. He excitedly recounted the past and poured out his feelings.

More than twenty years had passed. Even the villagers had almost forgotten that the Yi Household once had a simple-minded eldest son.

Little Hanlin, who had always trailed after Yi Shuyuan before his mind became impaired, had been renamed Yi Baokang by their father before his death.

In fact, Yi Baokang's name had already been changed for several years before Yi Shuyuan disappeared. But by then, the Yi Shuyuan of this world had long since become simple-minded, his thoughts muddled and confused. The younger brother etched most deeply in his memory was still "Hanlin."

Yi Baokang was delighted that his elder brother was no longer simple-minded, and astonished that he showed no signs of aging at all. Mostly, however, he poured out the hardships and longing of all those years. When he spoke of their mother's final moments, Yi Shuyuan's tears spilled uncontrollably once more. It felt as though his body's memories were tugging at his soul, until his entire being was drawn into them.

Not only the Yi Household brothers—even the people listening could not help wiping away tears.

A Fei secretly wiped his eyes with his sleeve many times as well, unable to stop thinking of his own parents. No wonder Senior told me to go home earlier, he thought. Faced with this scene, it was hard not to have his own feelings stirred.

At the same time, A Fei's conception of Yi Shuyuan's martial prowess reached even greater heights. So someone truly could cultivate martial arts to such a supreme realm, truly Reverse the Acquired and Return to the Innate, keeping age from their face to some degree.

And this day happened to be the Shangyuan Festival!