I collect cultural relics in the human world

Chapter 257: Banquet in the Empty Mountain (End)
After several days of continuous rain, the temperature around suddenly rose. The unpleasant dampness and coldness that had been coming back again and again between winter and spring were dispelled by the golden sunshine, and a breeze blew by, which actually felt like a willow breeze that was not too cold.

Liu Rui stood in front of the window. Outside the window was her favorite view of the year. It should also be the view she was most familiar with. However, it was her first time looking at it from this angle, and everything seemed a little strange. The gloomy gray tones of this independent office building were coated with a thin layer of golden glow under the spring sun, revealing a bit of brightness from its old-fashioned appearance, and it contrasted with the gradually greening trees around it. The alternation of the old and the new, the cycle of all things, this eternal rule made her mood light and heavy at times.

Liu Rui leaned on the windowsill for a while, and saw that it was quiet outside the window, so she simply opened the window, and the spring breeze quietly entered the room with the fragrance of flowers and warmth. After a bird chirped, Liu Rui saw a swallow returning to the nest leaping to the branch and pecking at a peach bud that was about to bloom. It pulled the petals that had not yet bloomed a few times, and perhaps because it was too hard, it lost its balance and stumbled and almost fell off the branch. Liu Rui couldn't help but chuckled. Who knew that the swallow didn't seem to be afraid of people. After hearing the sound, it suddenly turned its head and looked at her.

"What's wrong? When you came here last year, you didn't see me, did you?" After a moment, Liu Rui said softly, "It's a pity that the peach blossoms haven't bloomed yet, otherwise you should also chant a poem about people's faces gone, but the peach blossoms still smile in the spring breeze."

The bird didn't understand what Liu Rui was saying, so it turned its head a few times and flew away without any regrets. Liu Rui lowered her head, and before she could calm down, the door behind her was pushed open, and the cold air in the corridor that had not yet been connected to the outside world rushed in, along with that careless voice.

"Sister Liu, long time no see."

"I told you to call me Director Liu." Liu Rui turned around quickly, her face already showing a businesslike expression, "Don't call me old."

"It's not Sister Liu, what's the matter." Fan Yu muttered, and looked at the graceful figure standing in front of the window seriously. Liu Rui wore a black velvet cheongsam with gold sprinkled on it today. It was low-key, but the sunlight outside the window shone on her, highlighting the gold color, making Liu Rui shine brightly, and her age was completely invisible. Fan Yu thought for a moment and added, "Didn't I call her that before?"

"You also know that was in the past," Liu Rui raised one eyebrow and looked at Fan Yu, "You used to be a handsome guy with a height of 1.9 meters and a muscular body. It was fine for you to call me Sister Liu..."

"I'm still 1.9 meters tall now, so I might be able to make some progress."

Fan Yu interrupted Liu Rui, but was interrupted again by Liu Rui: "But you have white hair now, and you deserve to be called grandpa when you walk outside. If you still call me Sister Liu, then I am too much of a grandma."

"What should we do? Maybe this is the tradition of the Special Protection Office. Someone has to grow old." After Fan Yu finished speaking, the bustling office suddenly became quiet. Liu Rui, who was originally arrogant, felt a lump in her throat and quickly turned her back. Fan Yu pursed his lips and stopped talking.

After a long time, Fan Yu pretended to be nonchalant and took two steps closer. He sat down on the sofa opposite the desk and crossed his legs.

"Okay, okay, Director Liu, you are the boss now, and I will listen to you from now on." After Fan Yu finished speaking, he saw that Liu Rui's shoulders were still shaking a little, so he asked politely, "What have you been busy with recently? You don't look very well?"

"A batch of cultural relics need to be returned to China, and another batch needs to be exhibited overseas. I was so busy that I couldn't sleep all night. It's all your fault."

"Eh?"

"Hey, what? This position is obviously yours, why do you want me to take it over?"

"Yes, yes, yes, the words in the notebook were all copied by me."

"Then you are quite generous. Let me take the top position."

"You're welcome. I like to go out and do field work."

Fan Yu was still talking nonsense, and Liu Rui finally smiled. She turned around, her eyes fell on the white hair that was so inconsistent with Fan Yu's appearance, and she thought of Deng Yizhi.

She used to think that Boss Qin had a plan that was impeccable, but when the dust settled, she discovered that Deng Yizhi was an unparalleled talent.

In the final battle, everyone was just trying to win, but he was the only one who knew for sure that they would win, and had even taken his own death into account. His last words were very detailed, and he even arranged the whereabouts of the Special Security Department's group of people in a proper and detailed manner - Liu Rui only knew all this when she saw the last words left by Deng Yizhi. The scary thing is that Deng Yizhi also took this into account. Because of Yanyan's existence, he hid everything that he could not say in the fragments of the Yaobian Tianmoku lamp. Because he knew that when he died, Liu Rui would want to use the infinity in the Mobius strip to resurrect him - although this was impossible to succeed, it would allow his last words to be made public.

Liu Rui stroked the goose bumps on her arms and said casually, "It's almost Qingming Festival."

"Yes, Uncle Qin and the others have arrived."

"Then let's go."

Fan Yu nodded, and the two of them disappeared in an instant, and reappeared in the long-lost mine. A glass of light wine, a few lights, a few close friends, and silence.

After standing still for a moment, Fan Yu suddenly asked, "Xiao He, did you see anything?"

He Si hesitated for a while before saying, "It seems there is someone inside the jade disk."

"You're not mistaken. I only saw it after I became a jade guide," Fan Yu smiled. "There is only one jade guide in a generation. When I saw men, women, old and young swarming out of the exquisite jade color, I knew that my brother was dead."

No one answered, Fan Yu continued: "The smoke in the cave is getting thicker and thicker, and it's getting harder to breathe. The group of people are afraid of Director Deng and dare not come in, so they lit a fire outside the cave, trying to force us into a dead end. Unfortunately, they don't know that it is this smoke that triggers the memory hidden in the jade. The reason why this jade mine has the effect of protecting the master is because our ancestors are all here."

"They... once guarded the jade mine here with their lives."

"you saw it?"

"Hmm." He Si thought for a moment, closed her eyes, and held Qin Jian's hand, while Qin Jian's hand touched the jade disc. The jade was like a mirror, and everything she saw was reflected in front of everyone through the jade disc.

Wisps of white smoke drifted from far away. In the mist, He Si saw that the cave was crowded with people. Sometimes it was Fan Yu and Deng Yizhi, and sometimes it was villagers dressed in ethnic minority clothes. They all looked anxious, but they were not afraid. There was fire outside the cave, and people inside were ready to fight. She saw a man raising his sickle and his lips silently opening and closing - the baby stayed, and the rest of you rushed out with me and died with those damn bandits.

"It turned out to be like this. You all retreated to the cave, and they all resorted to fire attacks." After Deng Yizhi left, Liu Rui had not found a suitable opportunity to understand everything that happened that day. Until now, she finally understood the cause and effect. "After a thousand years, the greedy firelight once again activated the magnetic field of that day. Your ancestor walked out of the jade disk and repeated everything he did a thousand years ago, fighting with the group of cultural relic dealers. And you survived. It was also at that time that you gained a metabolic capacity different from that of ordinary people." "Director Deng's hair turned white overnight that time," Fan Yu thought for a while and added, "He is an outsider. If it weren't for the jade disk given to him by his brother, he might have been injured by mistake."

"The jade disk that can protect its master?" Jun Jiuzi's hoarse voice sounded, and Fan Yu nodded: "So, he always felt that he owed me a life."

"That's good. He has always regarded your brother as a comrade-in-arms. Now, he has finally got what he wanted."

Just as Liu Rui finished speaking, there were suddenly a few sporadic footsteps in the cave. They were very light and no one moved. Only Xiaojiu flapped his wings a few times and went out to greet them excitedly.

It was not until the two shadows appeared that Qin Jian said, "Didn't they say something happened over there?"

"It's a small matter. It will come soon." Guan Zihe's voice was cold and short, but everyone felt relieved when they heard it.

Liu Rui turned around and looked at the two people who looked tired, and asked with some concern: "The Duke looks like he has dark circles under his eyes. Has it been resolved?"

Argyle himself did not feel tired, and he still had the energy to hold Guan Zihe's hand first, and then slowly said: "The youngsters are too noisy, Doctor Guan will have to lend me a few days."

"It all depends on the doctor's consent, but remember to pay the secondment fee in full."

After Liu Rui finished her businesslike teasing, the solemn atmosphere became a little more relaxed. Guan Zihe's snow-white cheeks flushed slightly, and he lowered his eyes and changed the subject: "What about you guys, what are your plans next?"

Fan Yu was the first to answer: "I want to stay a little longer. Anyway, I've taken a long vacation, so I'll just wander around the area first."

"I will continue what I was doing before," Little Stone continued, "Brother Jing's matter has been completely resolved. I have nothing to worry about anymore. I want to travel around the world."

"That's right. I said I was traveling before, but I was actually helping Uncle Qin find the whereabouts of the mirror. Now I should be free." Fan Yu pointed at Liu Rui and asked, "Where's Director Liu? You look like you haven't finished your office work yet, right?"

"How dare you say that," Liu Rui glanced at him sideways and pretended to be angry, "Since you are a hands-off boss, I can only go back and carry the burden forward."

After saying that, she glanced at Jun Jiuzi again and said, "Professor Jun, Boss Qin and Little He Si must be alone. I just have to go back. How about I take you with me?"

Liu Rui thought Jun Jiuzi would agree immediately, but she hesitated, shook her head and said, "No, I want to stay a little longer too."

"Eh?" Liu Rui was stunned at first, then she saw the usually generous Jun Jiuzi lower her head for no reason, and then she looked at Fan Yu beside her whose ears were red, and she understood, and she suppressed her upward smile and walked out with Xiao Shitou's arm, not forgetting to add a sentence before leaving, "Deng Yizhi should be completely relieved now."

"It seems like it's time for us to leave too." The Duke of Argyle held Guan Zihe's hand, and just like when they came, the two black shadows disappeared silently again.

"Uncle Qin, you guys..."

"Of course we have to go too." Without waiting for Fan Yu to finish, Qin Jian flipped his hand, and after a flash of silver light, he and He Si arrived at the Mirror Corridor.

"Invite me to tea?" He Si smiled and asked with her head tilted back.

"Drink," Qin Jian waved his hand, paused and added, "Do you remember the peach blossom wine that day?"

"Ah... a lacquered plate from the Han Dynasty," He Si held up her head and recalled. The scene of picking flowers and making wine that day was only half a year ago, but now it felt like a lifetime ago.

"Now, the peach blossoms should really bloom."

"In that case, isn't it just right to drink wine in front of flowers?"

"Yes, just in time, we're here." Qin Jian said as he stretched out his hand, and He Si covered his hand. The two walked out of the stream and arrived at the peach forest on the back mountain of Jingxuan.

He Si looked down and saw that there seemed to be a drop of dew on the tip of her shoe, which might be stream water. Then she looked at the shore and saw a bamboo table, two bamboo chairs, and a small pink wine cup that was suitable for the occasion. It was obvious that they had been prepared long ago.

She walked to the table and sprinkled some of the clear wine on the fields. When the wind was filled with the intoxicating aroma of wine, she poured a glass for each of them. She sat down, looked at the clouds in the stream, took a sip, and it was unexpectedly sweet.

"A'si's wine is really good."

"If you like, drink more. In a few days, the mountains will be covered with flowers and we can make new wine again."

"Yes, in this case, I won't go home until I'm drunk."

"We agreed that I won't come back until I'm drunk."

The two of them drank together as the mountain flowers bloomed, one cup after another. This is the ending of the story. Goodbye.