The Secret Treasure of the Spirit

Chapter 56: A Beautiful Morning Early in the morning, the sky was still gray and hazy, and there weren’t many people on the streets. Sun Luyun dragged Hu Xuanhai out of bed, insisting they go to the town market together to buy supplies for the journey. Hu Xuanhai, still half-asleep, bumped his head against the door and grumbled that he didn’t want to go out. Xia Feixue, who had been woken up by their voices in the next room, came out. Upon learning that Sun Luyun wanted to go prepare supplies, she said, “Fat Hai, you go back to sleep. Luyun and I will go together.” Huo Xuanhai, overjoyed at this, shuffled toward the bed in the room: “That’s great! Miss Xia, you’re such a kind person. I won’t stand on ceremony. Just remember to buy plenty of canned meat—we can’t go on a treasure hunt without meat.” He flopped onto the bed and immediately began snoring loudly. Sun Luyun sighed. “How dare you ask a girl to do this for you? You’ve brought shame upon all the men of Baisha Town.” Xia Feixue giggled: “It’s fine. Anyway, him going with you is no different from me going with you. Are you worried you won’t be able to carry the stuff?” Sun Luyun said, “I’m worried your wounds haven’t fully healed, and you won’t be able to walk fast enough—you’ll slow me down.” Xia Feixue ran ahead: “Is that so? I’ll see if you can catch up to me.” Sun Luyun chuckled and set off in pursuit with long strides. Sun Luyun and Xia Feixue arrived on the street. The fresh, invigorating air lifted their spirits. They looked curiously at the rows of houses lining the street. After asking some early morning exercisers where the vegetable market was, they set off together toward it. Although he was in a foreign place, Sun Luyun felt an overwhelming sense of familiarity. He couldn’t help but remark, “Actually, what I love most is strolling through the market early in the morning. It feels so wonderful.” Xia Feixue, of course, had never been to a market this early in the morning, but she often went shopping with her mother. “That feeling really is unbeatable. It reminds me of Mom. She’d hold my hand, and I’d walk happily by her side, excitedly looking at everything on the street—especially when we got to the toy store, where the toys would instantly captivate me.” Xia Feixue smiled gently. “Mom was so kind—she let me pick out whatever I wanted at the toy store. Back then, going shopping with Mom felt just like celebrating a holiday. Whenever I heard Mom mention the night before that we were going shopping, I’d have trouble falling asleep, and I’d wake up early the next morning, just like I did today, waiting for Mom to come wake me up.” Sun Luyun recalled the two siblings playfully tugging at a bracelet, and asked, “How could your mother have left you two?” Xia Feixue said, “It’s all my dad’s fault. If he hadn’t always made Mom so angry, she wouldn’t have left us. She said she’d rather be alone and have some peace than stay at home and put up with it.” Actually, Mom and Dad used to get along really well. It was just that some of Dad’s behavior was too much for Mom to bear. She kept telling him not to do those things, but he wouldn’t listen. And Dad didn’t want Mom to pursue her own interests—he wanted her to give them up. They couldn’t see eye to eye, so they started arguing. At first, it was just a few times a month, but it gradually turned into fighting every other day.” Xia Feixue lowered her head, her voice growing softer and softer. Sun Luyun felt he shouldn’t press her further, afraid of hurting her feelings, so he changed the subject. Glancing into the distance, he saw the market right ahead: “Feixue, let me take you to see the morning market. The reason I used to love strolling through the morning market is that there’s something reassuring about it. Let’s hurry up and go.” " Xia Feixue nodded, and the two of them walked toward the market together. As they neared the market, a mixture of smells drifted out—the scent of vegetables mingled with the fishy odor of seafood. Xia Feixue found the smell strange: “Why does the market have such a strange smell?” Sun Luyun pointed toward the market: “The market is a microcosm of society. Look at the vendors selling vegetables, fruits, chickens, ducks, fish, and meat—each one wakes up early to make a living, preparing for the day’s business. I like coming here in the morning not just to shop, but because I can feel the effort they put into making a living. That spirit of hard work inspires me.” Sun Luyun urged Xia Feixue to take a closer look at the vendors. Busy setting up their stalls for the day, they chatted cheerfully with one another. Sometimes two men would sit together smoking, crouching down to survey their stalls with satisfied smiles. Xia Feixue was soon moved by the scene before her: “I think I’m starting to feel what you described. It’s a really nice feeling—it puts my mind at ease.” Sun Luyun chuckled: “Exactly. That’s the feeling.” There was a breakfast shop up ahead selling soy milk, fried dough sticks, steamed buns, mantou, and pancakes. Sun Luyun led Xia Feixue to the shop and bought two bowls of soy milk, some fried dough sticks, steamed buns, and pancakes. The fragrant aroma of the soy milk captivated Xia Feixue. She took a deep breath of the scent: “It smells so good! Why is it different from the soy milk I usually drink? It’s even more fragrant and tempting. Why is that?” Sun Luyun took a sip of soy milk and bit into a fried dough stick. “That’s because at the breakfast stalls in the market, you can only taste the true flavor of soy milk here.” After they had eaten their fill, the two went to a few shops in Qianpu Li to stock up on everything they would need for the journey. This time, Sun Luyun also bought a few pounds of glutinous rice, went to a pharmacy to purchase some herbs, and had the pharmacist grind them up. Xia Feixue was puzzled: “We’re not going to cook, so why are we buying glutinous rice?” Sun Luyun explained, “I need to prepare Yellow Water and White Water. We’ve almost used up all our supplies of them on Yunpai Mountain, and the Yin Corpse Ghost Graveyard is bound to be even more dangerous. We must be fully prepared.” After leaving the herbal shop, Sun Luyun checked their supplies. Seeing that they had bought nearly everything they needed, the two set off back together. Xia Feixue moved closer to Sun Luyun, their shoulders almost touching. “It really is lovely to stroll through the market in the early morning. From now on, whenever we arrive somewhere, let’s go to the market together whenever we get the chance, okay?” Sun Luyun readily agreed: “Of course. I’ve wanted to come to the market for a while now, but for various reasons, I never got the chance. Today, I’m finally able to come. Actually, I have a wish for the future: when I’m old, I want to wake up early every day, do a set of exercises under a big tree where the air is fresh, then come to the market to browse, watch the people there, buy some vegetables and breakfast, and then stroll back home at a leisurely pace.” Sun Luyun felt a little embarrassed. “You’re not going to make fun of me for being so unambitious, are you? Just thinking about these everyday, ordinary things?” Xia Feixue laughed. “Not at all. That kind of leisurely life is so wonderful—it’s something you can’t plan for, but I love that feeling too. Why don’t we wake up early every day from now on, go to the market together, and then stroll back home at a leisurely pace?” Sun Luyun said, “Great! Then I won’t have to call ‘Fat Da Hai’ anymore. That fatso is impossible to wake up every day—I have to kick him out of bed just to get him to wake up.” Xia Feixue chuckled, “Didn’t you understand what I said? Are you going to follow Fat Da Hai around every day?” Sun Luyun asked, “What did you say? What do you mean by that?” Xia Feixue offered no explanation and strode ahead. “People,” she said, “have both a clever side and a foolish side.” Sun Luyun was completely baffled and hurried after her. “What on earth did you mean, Feixue?” The morning light shone on her back, and her cascading hair fluttered gently in the breeze; he thought her silhouette was so beautiful. It was just past seven in the morning. The six of them had packed their things. Xia Feilong suggested they grab a proper meal at a nearby restaurant before setting off. Xia Feixue tossed a few steamed buns and a bottle of soy milk to the four of them: “If we eat now, we’ll fall even further behind Ma Miaofeng. Here are some buns and soy milk for you—you can eat them in the car.” The four took the buns and soy milk to the car. Xia Feilong praised her, “Lu Yun, how did you think of everything so thoroughly? Not only have you prepared everything we’ll need for the road, but you’ve even bought us breakfast. Just as my clumsy little sister said, being with you makes us feel so at ease.” Sun Luyun replied modestly, “I just couldn’t sleep early, so I figured I might as well get up and get things ready.” Xia Feixue said, “Dumb big brother, if we were as clueless as you about everything, the treasures would’ve been snatched up by others long ago. There wouldn’t be any left for us.” Xia Feixue retorted, “That’s not necessarily true. Haven’t you found plenty of treasures over the years? Have you forgotten our treasure-hunting adventure in Guangdong last year? Even though there were no zombies or ghosts back then, you still went in without a hint of fear—all by yourself—and brought the treasures out.” Xia Feixue chuckled, “Don’t even try to deny it. If it weren’t for Zhang Shan and Li Shui back then, how could you have dared to go in?” His words made Zhang Shan and Li Shui burst out laughing as well. Xia Feilong snorted, started the car, and stepped on the gas, sending the vehicle cruising down the early morning road. Sun Luyun rolled down the window, breathing in the fresh air to his heart’s content, letting the cool, pleasant breeze caress his face. Beside him, An Haizhen was devouring a steamed bun and sipping soy milk, exclaiming, “Old Sun, these meat buns are absolutely delicious—so, so good!” Sun Luyun turned his head and said, “You look like a starving ghost reincarnated. Slow down a bit.” Hu Xuanhai, however, ate even faster, swallowing a bun in one gulp and exclaiming, “If you eat good food too slowly, someone else will snatch it away.” Xia Feilong tossed him one of the buns he hadn’t eaten: “Fat Hai, here, take this bun. I can’t finish it anyway.” Hu Xuanhai took the bun and devoured it in a few bites, leaving Sun Luyun to shake his head and sigh. Just then, his gaze fell once more on Xia Feixue. She was leaning against the car window, gazing at the scenery outside, her hair blowing in the morning breeze—she looked absolutely beautiful. Sun Luyun couldn’t take his eyes off her. Xia Feixue, however, gave a faint smile. In the rearview mirror, she was also staring intently at him, a subtle smile playing at the corners of her mouth. Two days later, the six of them arrived in Huangshi, Hubei. The car was traveling along a mountain road. The road was bumpy and uneven, forcing the car to move slowly, but the resulting jolting still made the passengers feel uncomfortable. Sun Luyun gripped the seat tightly, feeling the contents of his stomach churning violently. He stuck his head out the window, hoping to breathe in some fresh air to ease his discomfort. Just then, the car came to a halt. No matter how hard Xia Feilong tried, he couldn’t get it started. He cursed under his breath and got out of the car. Sun Luyun caught his breath and looked ahead. In the distance, another van was parked, and two figures caught his attention.