Chapter 9

"Hey, it really works?"

Just as Ye Tian silently recited the two words "Shu Cang" in his mind, his eyes suddenly brightened, for the mysterious turtle shell had appeared again in his mind, spinning around.

This made Ye Tian feel a bit excited, as he had always been unsure how to use this thing. Now that he could easily summon it, he believed he would surely be able to unravel the mystery of the turtle shell in the future.

"Hmm, why have the two words 'Kan Yu' faded?"

Ye Tian suppressed his excitement and focused his attention on the turtle shell. Upon closer inspection, he noticed some differences. When he helped Lao Da Miao examine the feng shui at noon, Ye Tian clearly remembered that among the twelve words and six terms—divination, geomancy, fortune-telling, physiognomy, dream interpretation, and auspicious selection—the terms "Kan Yu" and "physiognomy" were both bright.

But now, the term "Kan Yu" was gray, and only the two words "physiognomy" had a faint glow, clearly different from the surrounding words.

"Ye Tian, what's wrong with you? The sugar figure of Sun Wukong that my grand-uncle gave you is really beautiful..."

Seeing that his grand-uncle had given the sugar figure of Sun Wukong to Ye Tian first, Guo Xiaolong had been staring at Ye Tian, hoping to see excitement and joy on his face, which would satisfy his small vanity.

However, after Ye Tian took the sugar figure, he just stood there in a daze, which made Guo Xiaolong feel a bit uncomfortable. He had to remind Ye Tian about the origin of the sugar figure in his hand.

As the saying goes, poor children grow up early. Although the two were about the same age, Ye Tian was well aware of Guo Xiaolong's thoughts. He smiled and said, "Oh, it is beautiful. Xiaolong, how about... giving it to you first?"

Guo Xiaolong shook his head repeatedly, glanced at his grand-uncle, and whispered, "That won't do. Since Grand-uncle gave it to you, you should keep it. Otherwise, I'll be scolded..."

"Alright, thank you, Xiaolong. Your Sun Wukong is almost done..."

Ye Tian didn't hesitate, and after a casual response, he turned his gaze to Guo Xiaolong's grand-uncle, focusing his mind on the two words "physiognomy."

Just as Ye Tian looked at the old man's face, the two words "physiognomy" on the turtle shell suddenly split apart, and the entire turtle shell scattered, forming mysterious symbols that made Ye Tian's eyes dazzle.

However, with his previous experience of reading the old Taoist's face, Ye Tian didn't panic. He felt a slight dizziness in his mind, and after a few seconds, several lines of text appeared in his mind.

"Liao Haode, born in 1933, went to Taiwan in 1949, moved to the United States in 1959...

This time he returned to bury his parents together, but the place to bury his mother cannot be found. He will return to the United States in three days..."

"Really from the United States?"

Looking at these lines of text in his mind, Ye Tian smiled. Although the information was not detailed, it was enough for him to understand Liao Haode's life story.

More importantly, the turtle shell had actually calculated the purpose of Liao Haode's return to visit his family, meaning that this compass-like turtle shell could not only deduce a person's past but also predict their future.

"Can I help him? See if I can figure out where his mother is buried?"

The lines of text in his mind were gradually fading, and Ye Tian suddenly thought of this question. Even if he could figure out the purpose of Liao Haode's return, if he couldn't help him, it would be like taking the sugar figure for nothing.

"Six hundred steps from the village entrance, two... below..."

Just as Ye Tian was mentally asking the turtle shell, the lines of text had completely disappeared. As Ye Tian was about to focus on this question, a line of small text suddenly appeared in his mind.

"What does this mean? Which village entrance? Why is it so vague?" Ye Tian frowned as he watched the words quickly disappear.

In theory, finding a dragon's lair and pinpointing a grave required the person's name and birth date. Just thinking about it, the turtle shell gave such an answer, and Ye Tian couldn't tell if it was real or not.

"Shu Cang, come out for me..."

Ye Tian was not giving up and silently recited the words again. The turtle shell did appear, but all the words on it had turned gray and could no longer be activated, leaving Ye Tian helpless.

"Whatever, children speak without reserve, believe it or not is up to him..."

Ye Tian muttered to himself. Since the turtle shell appeared in his mind, whether it was reading the old Taoist's face or examining the feng shui for Lao Da Miao, there had been no mistakes.

However, Ye Tian couldn't directly tell the old man. If the old man didn't believe him, it would be embarrassing in front of the overseas Chinese. After some thought, Ye Tian secretly pulled on the little fatty.

"Ye Tian, what are you doing? My sugar figure is almost done..." Guo Xiaolong was very unhappy with Ye Tian's behavior, his eyes darting around the crowd, afraid that someone would snatch his Sun Wukong sugar figure.

"Hey, following your grand-uncle, how many sugar figures can you eat..."

Ye Tian flattered the little fatty subtly and then said, "Xiaolong, your grand-uncle came back this time for something, right?"

"Nothing much, just to see us. Oh, and Grand-uncle gave us a lot of things. Let me tell you, the TV in my house is the only one in the village. Ye Tian, come over to watch TV when you have time. 'The Bund' is really good, and Xu Wenqiang is the coolest..."

Guo Xiaolong didn't understand Ye Tian's question and rambled on, even mimicking Xu Wenqiang's shooting, completely ignoring the Sun Wukong sugar figure that was almost done.

Seeing Guo Xiaolong's enthusiasm, Ye Tian almost wanted to take him home to watch TV right away. He quickly said, "Cough, Xiaolong, I'll definitely come when I have time. By the way, I have to go now. Say goodbye to your grand-uncle for me..."

"Leaving now? Okay, I still have to go around with Grand-uncle and won't be back until later..."

Without anyone to show off to, Guo Xiaolong felt a bit bored, but he decided in his heart that when school started, he would invite his good friends to his house to watch TV.

"Alright, Xiaolong, goodbye..."

Ye Tian waved to Guo Xiaolong and, as he was about to leave, leaned close to his ear and whispered, "Xiaolong, the thing your grand-uncle is looking for is six hundred steps from the village entrance..."

It wasn't that Ye Tian didn't want to explain clearly; he just didn't know where Liao Haode's mother was buried. At least this clue would make him feel he hadn't taken the sugar figure for nothing.

"What is Grand-uncle looking for? Six hundred steps from the village entrance?"

Guo Xiaolong watched as Ye Tian's small body squeezed into the distant crowd, shook his head in confusion, and turned to see his grand-uncle holding the sugar figure in front of him.

"Xiaolong, your classmate left?"

Just by revisiting the sugar figure-making craft, Liao Haode felt his trip to the market was worthwhile. As a child, he, like these kids, had eagerly wanted to buy a sugar figure.

"Ye Tian left, Grand-uncle. He said goodbye to you..."

Guo Xiaolong took the Sun Wukong sugar figure and looked at the old man beside him, asking curiously, "Grand-uncle, did you come back to look for something?"

"Huh? Xiaolong, why do you ask that?"

Liao Haode was taken aback. His parents knew the purpose of his return, but Xiaolong didn't. There was no need to tell a child about such matters.

"My classmate said, Grand-uncle, the thing you're looking for is six hundred steps from the village entrance..." Guo Xiaolong scratched his head and repeated what Ye Tian had said before leaving.

"What? What did your classmate say?"

Liao Haode had just asked casually, but he was stunned by this response, grabbing Guo Xiaolong by the arm.

"Grand-uncle, he... he said the thing you're looking for is six hundred steps from the village entrance, nothing else..."

Seeing his usually kind grand-uncle with a flushed face and wide eyes, Guo Xiaolong was scared and almost cried.

"Six hundred steps from the village entrance, six hundred steps from the village entrance!"

Liao Haode repeated these words in his mind, turned around, and said, "Xiaolong, let's go home..."

At this moment, Liao Haode's heart was like a raging sea. He didn't have time to think about why Ye Tian had said such a thing; his mind was entirely focused on the words "six hundred steps from the village entrance."

Liao Haode's father was an official in the Ministry of Education of the Nationalist government before the liberation, working in Nanjing for a long time. Liao Haode's mother often returned to the countryside to live. After the age of ten, Liao Haode followed his father to school in Nanjing.

In 1949, when the Nationalist army suffered a crushing defeat, due to the urgent situation, Liao Haode's father didn't have time to bring his wife and fled to Taiwan with his son. This departure led to a separation across the strait, a permanent farewell.

After arriving in Taiwan, Liao Haode's father discovered that millions of troops had flooded into this small island, and even many generals lived in the military dependents' villages.

The so-called military dependents' villages were built to accommodate the Nationalist army and their families who had been forced to move from mainland China to Taiwan. The buildings were low and the environment was much worse than on the mainland.

However, Liao Haode's father was a talented man, proficient in several languages. After living in the military dependents' village for ten years, he took his son to the United States and settled there, starting his own company.

It was only two years ago that Liao Haode's father passed away in the United States. On his deathbed, he instructed his son to bring his ashes back to the mainland and bury them with his wife, which led to Liao Haode's return to China.

However, upon returning to his hometown, Liao Haode learned that his mother had died in the early 1950s.

During the sweeping movement that engulfed the entire country, many families with overseas connections, even their ancestral graves, suffered great destruction. As a result, even the elders in the family could no longer specify where Liao Haode's mother was buried.

This outcome made Liao Haode feel disheartened, and he had already prepared to return to the United States. But he unexpectedly received this information.

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