Chapter 131 Remembering the Past

Wei Yuan didn't know how long he had been lost in thought.

When the ancient craftsman Yuan closed his eyes, the modern Wei Yuan in Qingqiu Country regained his composure, the simple pottery still resting steadily on the table, reflecting the sunlight streaming in from the window, its delicate patterns unchanged, yet carrying a hint of familiarity.

The long memories were hidden away, blurred like recollections of childhood.

He only remembered some important things, while most events and details had weathered away like eroded rocks, leaving no trace.

The white-haired woman smiled gently, "Do you remember?"

Wei Yuan looked up, seeing the wrinkles on her face, the silvery-white hair, and slowly connected her with the miko (shrine maiden) from his memories, instinctively rising to his feet, pausing, then stopping the motion of greeting from his memories, and slowly replied, "Miko Jiao… Senior."

Nü Jiao nodded in satisfaction.

Wei Yuan sat down again, unsure of how to continue the conversation.

Nü Jiao said with a touch of emotion, "The once-powerful Tu Shan clan, now only you and I remain alive. I never thought that the Kunlun Undying Flower, although it didn't let you live on, prevented your soul from dissipating between heaven and earth."

"After all, even someone like Fang Feng, who could be called a descendant of the gods, would have their soul dissipate after death."

Wei Yuan thought of Jue in his memories.

Back then, she was just a small girl, not even as tall as the table.

Thinking of her now, Wei Yuan felt a bit strange, then thought of something else and said, "How did you recognize me? Even Jue couldn't recognize the connection between me and Yuan…"

Nü Jiao replied frankly, "She only met you three times, and she was too young back then."

"You were the first human she interacted with."

"She is pure of heart and didn't want you to die, so she stole the Undying Flower, but too much time has passed. She probably doesn't remember what that human craftsman looked like, doesn't remember your true spirit. Only her first encounter with death and the joy of receiving a name are still etched in her memory."

"As for me, you were once a member of the Tu Shan clan, and I was the miko of Tu Shan in that era."

Wei Yuan nodded, his expression somewhat distracted and complex.

Nü Jiao smiled slightly, "What's wrong? You seem a bit awkward. Just relying on the aura of this pottery shouldn't affect you so much. But knowing your past experiences, shouldn't you feel proud? After all, it was a magnificent story."

Wei Yuan narrowed his eyes and softly replied, "What do I have to be proud of?"

"It wasn't Yuan who was magnificent, but that era."

"If the era were different, then Yuan would just be a craftsman for life, blocking someone from proposing marriage according to the rules of the time, then attacking the mad beast together with the tribe's residents, and finally recording the words spoken by the tribal leader, dying in his sixties. A very ordinary and dull life."

"The reason you think I should be proud is only because that era was a time when humans and gods coexisted, and the person I once blocked was named Yu, the beast I attacked was once the water god of the Huai River system, and the words I recorded for Yu were passed down to later generations."

"So, what you really mean is that it is Yu's life that deserves to be remembered, not the past of the craftsman Yuan."

"As his wife, you are still the same as you were back then."

Wei Yuan paused, choosing his words carefully, and finally said, "Just as cunning."

Nü Jiao smiled, her lips curving into a sly expression:

"But you are also a part of that era, so naturally there is a part of you in that magnificent story. That's what modern materialism seems to say."

Materialism?

No, this is not divine or demonic at all.

Wei Yuan was silent for a long time, finally just saying:

"In any case, thank you, Senior, for today."

Nü Jiao was not surprised by his address, simply smiled and accepted it, then took out a box and handed it to him, saying, "This contains a secret letter for the Celestial Masters Mansion. The identity of that heretic has been identified. Compared to the Qingqiu Country, which has been isolated from the world for so long, the Celestial Masters Mansion knows more."

"The methods those people cultivate are transformed from a righteous scripture, removing the original true cultivation parts and choosing methods of cultivation focused on quick success, so they seem almost demonic. That scripture is very famous, you should have heard of it."

*The Taiping Jing* (Scripture of Great Peace).

………………

Wei Yuan walked out of Nü Jiao's courtyard.

He was still feeling somewhat distracted and lost in thought. Outside the courtyard, Tiannü Jue was waiting quietly. Wei Yuan looked over and noticed that she looked like an ordinary person who had grown up for more than a decade compared to how she was back then. She didn't look young anymore, but she hadn't changed too much either, and he could still see her original features.

Only her original black hair was longer, and the slight baby fat on her cheeks when she was young had disappeared. Wei Yuan then thought that it didn't seem right to describe it as baby fat, after all, Jue at that time might have already been hundreds of years old.

Perhaps when he grew old and died in this lifetime, she would still look the same as she did now.

The maiden heard the sound and turned her head.

Wei Yuan vaguely saw the little girl squatting in front of the pottery from the past.

Those eyes hadn't changed much.

The Tiannü said, "Yuan, you're out."

Wei Yuan nodded, paused, and suddenly said, "Jue, do you like your name?"

The maiden was surprised, then nodded and replied, "Of course."

"This is the name given to me by a craftsman from the Tu Shan tribe when I was very young. He was my first human friend."

"Although it's been a long time, I can vaguely remember him telling me stories about pottery. He said that pottery should be used for boiling water or cooking, but everyone on Kunlun Mountain doesn't need to eat or drink. I had no choice but to put some flowers I picked in the pottery he gave me."

Wei Yuan naturally replied, "It doesn't matter, pottery is meant to be used."

"Using it to hold flowers and using it to boil water are both uses, there is no difference."

"As long as you like it."

When he passed away back then, his last regret was not asking the little girl if she liked the name he gave her. Now it seemed that the choice he made back then was not wrong, and a small knot and regret in Wei Yuan's heart were smoothed out.

Looking at Jue, who looked like she was only twenty years old, Wei Yuan sighed in his heart, just like Yuan back then.

"Worthy of being the Tiannü of Kunlun Mountain."

……………………

After obtaining the information from Qingqiu Country's interrogation of the heretics, Wei Yuan had no reason to stay in Qingqiu Country. After bidding farewell to Nü Jiao, he spent some time finding the black cat that had been missing for several days and didn't know what it was doing, and embarked on his journey home.

Inside the museum.

Wei Yuan hung up the phone. Zhang Hao said he would arrive soon. Then, using a soft cotton cloth dampened with water, he wiped the wooden cabinet, and finally placed the pottery with ancient patterns in this corner. Ancient legend has it that Shennong made pottery, which was passed down through generations, and pottery still exists today.

Wei Yuan covered the pottery with a glass box.

A painted beast-eared pottery pot from the era when humans and gods coexisted.

It has incomplete vermilion glaze.

It has the nine-tailed fox pattern of the Tu Shan clan, simple and complete, with soft curves.

Made by Yuan, used by Yu, and treasured by Nü Jiao.

[Reading Benefits] Pay attention to the public account [Book Friends Base Camp] Every day you read books to draw cash/coins!

Returned to Yuan.

Museum collection - 001.

Wei Yuan wrote the number on a piece of paper with a marker and casually stuck it on.

During their absence, Hu Ming, the Qingqiu fox, had not been idle. He bought back all of his old friend's books from back then, feeling that he couldn't let all this hard work go to waste, and planned to open an old bookstore.

He searched for many places in the entire Quan City, and finally decided to open it in this old district. Coincidentally, there was a two-story building on this old street, so he simply bought it.

He had been renovating it recently.

Wei Yuan looked at the simple pottery, and vivid images flashed through his mind, but he couldn't connect them anymore, so he simply stopped thinking about it. In the end, that ancient experience only left him with the skills of making pottery and jade. At most, he could use these skills to make fakes. Other than that, life remained the same.

As he was thinking, he heard the sound of a car outside. It should be Zhang Hao who had arrived.

Wei Yuan stepped out. The bookstore next door also opened its door. Wei Yuan subconsciously turned his head to look, wanting to say hello, but saw that it was not Hu Ming who came out, but three young women who looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old. One was heroic and bright-eyed, one had a soft and gentle face, and the last one to come out was wearing jeans.

Her upper body was a light-colored embroidered jacket, her skin was fair and delicate, and she was holding a thick book.

Wei Yuan's face froze slightly.

"Senior Wei."

Hu Mei was excited at first, then bowed obediently. Su Yan'er was already smiling gently.

The Su family of the Qingqiu fox clan, the Hu family of the Qingqiu fox clan.

And one more, a nine-tailed fox with a black bird-patterned bronze dagger.

Su Yu'er bowed, politely and respectfully saying, "The Old Ancestor said that we were involved by that wild fox spirit because we rarely come into contact with the outside world. She didn't allow it before because there was no one trustworthy. Now she says that we can temporarily stay on this street. In the future, please take care of us."

She added, "Of course, we have already completed the transfer procedures."

"We will go to a nearby university to study."

Wei Yuan rubbed his eyebrows, seeing Hu Ming busy putting out the books. The bookworm Mai Wang was quietly crawling over, red embroidered shoes were dancing in the house, the black iron scissors were clicking and clicking, the war souls of the Qi Family Army were pruning the branches of the soul-nourishing wood that Wei Qing had brought back, the water ghost was secretly drinking cola, and the five-hundred-year-old black cat was lying on the roof, sunbathing and purring.

Life was peaceful and ordinary, well, at least it looked ordinary.

The flower shop across the street opened.

Zhang Hao was getting out of the car, greeting him, "Curator Wei, you're back from your trip."

Su Yu'er next to him said politely, "Uncle Wei, you have guests, we won't bother you."

Zhang Hao glanced at Su Yu'er and asked curiously, "I didn't expect your niece to be so old, Curator Wei."

Wei Yuan was silent for a moment, then explained, "I'm just a little older in terms of seniority."

"Come on in and sit down."

"Okay."

Wei Yuan opened the door. Zhang Hao and Shen Jifeng followed behind him, entering this small museum. When the door opened, the bell behind the door rang lightly. Wei Yuan poured them two cups of tea, sat on the sofa, and let out a breath.

………………

My name is Wei Yuan.

An ordinary museum curator.

There is a potted plant and a cat in the house.

Across the street from my house is a flower shop opened by an old friend, and next door is a newly opened used bookstore and reading room.

The owner of the bookstore is surnamed Hu, and he is fostering three high school students from his hometown.

Living a normal and stable life in the old district.

ps: Second update today…

Thanks to ah lala i for the generous reward, thank you~