Chapter Thirty: Moonlight is Also Cruel

  The lives of the ancients were really dull, but the people in Yunzhong City seemed to have endless things to do from dawn till dusk. Qi Xian was just curious - if these things were only for personal use, why bother setting up such a large workshop? Er Ye never mentioned anything about the workshop; all his conversations with Qi Xian revolved around the "mother" in the painting and the new words that occasionally popped out of Qi Xian's mouth. That day, when Qi Xian mentioned showerheads, Er Ye was taken aback by his own inability to come up with a solution, uttering the word "郁闷" (depressed) which startled Qi Xian. It seemed that Er Ye was quite in tune with the times - it must have been the influence of the mother in the painting.

  Actually, Qi Xi wasn't an easy person to trust, and the man in front of her might really have some connection with herself, but relying solely on a painting and some superficial words was naturally not enough to prove it. She had long been used to calling Liu Lao Ye "father", and the position of father in her heart couldn't be replaced so easily. However, in this unfamiliar environment, she didn't understand what kind of person Cang Yun was - someone who was willing to live in such an isolated place, doing strange things. She had no bottom line, but calling him "Er Ye" (second father) still gave her a sense of security. At least when Cang Yun responded, he seemed somewhat hesitant, but it could be seen that he was very happy that Qi Xi called him "father", even if there was an extra "er" in front of it.

  The world sees Yun Zhong Cheng as a mysterious place, and who knows if one day when they really see the scene here, they will vomit blood. This place was just a large factory in the suburbs of the previous life, but in this era, even a small thing here may be enough to make the world marvel. Cang Yun is like the foreman of this big factory, and those workers are all very taciturn, but when they see Er Die, they all show a respectful attitude. Since Qi Mei came here, the reverence for Er Die, the big foreman, seems to have extended to her as well. The craftsmanship in the workshop is all passed down by word of mouth, and Qi Mei wanted to secretly learn a few things, thinking that if she went back, she would be a master too. Those masters naturally explained the process to this young lady without reservation, but unfortunately, Qi Mei has always been ignorant of scientific knowledge, so she eventually gave up.

  This is Qi Xian's first time in Er Ye's room, wow, is this a room? It's like an emperor's bedroom, with gleaming white marble tiles, white jade dragon pillars, and most surprisingly, the ceiling isn't traditional glazed tiles, but instead, it's a fully transparent glass skylight. At this moment, the starry sky above seems to be suspended right above her head, she has never felt so close to the sky before, it's a small shock, and her heart is also filled with a small surge of emotion, as if she suddenly owns the entire starry sky.

  "Ning'er said, 'Every person in the world has a star of their own. When they die, they become stars in the sky, watching over and protecting the people they love.' Now, your mother must be up there watching us!" Er Die leaned against a chair that looked quite modern, with the twinkling stars reflected in his eyes. This man had always had sparkling eyes like stars. This was the first time Qi Qi heard her mother's name from Er Die's mouth - Ning'er? It seemed that Lao Die also called her mother by this name. The person in the painting really was her own mother, wasn't she? But how could they prove who was her real father? In fact, hadn't she already made up her mind about it? Lao Die didn't look like himself at all; there was no shadow of herself on him. Yet every time Er Die gazed out at the distant sky in a daze, that feeling was strangely familiar - as if she had seen another version of herself. Qi Qi suddenly thought of those days when she sat on the city wall's arrow tower, lost in thought."

  She picked up an apple and started gnawing on it: "Second uncle, eating apples is too tiring, let's make a juicer." Perhaps the second uncle was still immersed in his infinite memories of his mother, and for a while, he didn't respond to her, only lightly nodding his head. The atmosphere was a bit awkward for a moment. "Second uncle, stop staring, let's play two rounds!"

  This was their only entertainment every night, Go? No, Chess? Don't understand, Military Flag? Can't tell the size, as for playing chess, Qī Xiě only knew two kinds, Five-in-a-Row and Checkers. Previously, when he asked Teacher Fu to make a glass ball, it was naturally for playing Checkers. When Qī Xiě told Er Dì that often playing Checkers is beneficial for broadening one's mind, Er Dì would pull Qī Xiě over to play chess whenever he had the chance. Originally, he thought that as someone who has been playing since childhood and is a master, he must be the champion general, but unexpectedly, after losing several rounds, Er Dì seemed to have found his way, and stubbornly defeated Qī Xiě until he was left with nothing.

  "Second Uncle, someone as capable as you, why are you only living in such a small place and setting up this broken array outside?" In Qi Mei's eyes, Second Uncle knew everything that could make him famous throughout the land. She brought it up also with her own selfish motives, wanting to find an excuse for her own departure, and if possible, take Second Uncle along, so the two uncles could accompany each other. She actually understood that whether it was Old Uncle or Second Uncle, they looked lonelier than anyone else, sometimes feeling as if their souls had been sucked out of them, the power of the painting's charm was really great.

  "It's because Second Master is afraid, that's why he needs to use such an array to hide himself. The outside world has nothing to do with me, even if one day I become famous throughout the land, what does it matter?"

  "Joking aside, someone like Second Master might even be able to do something as outrageous as that in a few days. Is there anything else you're afraid of?"

  "What is aK? Hehe, I'm afraid of people, afraid that those I love will get hurt, and those I hate won't be able to forgive them."

  At that moment, even the gentle moonlight seemed cruel. What kind of past did Er Ye and Niangqin have behind them? No matter what had happened before, Qi Xian always believed that people should look forward: "Father, don't be afraid, Qi Xian is here." Cang Yun's originally dull eyes suddenly lit up, perhaps only because of that one word "father", and the expression was only for a brief moment. In Qi Xian's eyes, Er Ye was a person who liked to hide himself, liked to wear loose silk robes, looking like someone who could give up anything, but how could such a person be carefree?

  The next day, when Qi Xian woke up, her eyes lit up in front of her. The transparent glass cup was filled with apple juice! Er Ye was indeed a genius, and he had actually made a juicer. Living here, Qi Xian felt like she had returned to her previous life. She had everything from toothbrushes to face wash, and all she could think about was whether her mother had asked Er Ye to invent sanitary napkins, which would be a blessing for millions of women.

  Qī xiè's sanitary napkin tycoon plan hadn't had time to think much, suddenly only felt the door outside came a chaotic footsteps, she poked her head out: "What happened to Uncle Sima?"

  "Miss, don't worry, they're just some small thieves. The master is worried that something might happen, so he asked me to come and protect you."

  Little thief? Second Master said that the city is surrounded by the Wuxiang Formation, how can ordinary little thieves get in, could it be Xiao Shitou and his gang? I asked Second Master if he saw anyone else, but he just threw out a sentence: What does other people's life and death have to do with me? However, Sima Uncle secretly told Qi Mei that although Yunzhong City is not convenient to accommodate her companions, the master has already sent someone to send them to the nearest town.

  Those guys will probably come looking for them when they can't find them, and I'm sure they don't believe that Liu Qiuxi, who is as strong as Xiaoyao, would die in the desert. That Zhu Chengxun kid really has a lot of nerve, what kind of identity does he have? With just a wave of his hand, he can always find people to break through the Wuyin formation, and with another wave of his hand, it's an army. The few little bandits that Sima Shu said couldn't be the vanguard of thousands of troops, right? Second Uncle has already been very kind to himself, how could he bear to see the people of Yunzhong City suffer?

  Hurry up and just casually stuffed the things under the pillow into his arms, rushed out, everyone don't be impulsive, my second uncle may not understand what AK means, but who knows if there are new lethal weapons, calm down, calm down, impulsiveness is the devil!