When a young man leaves home, he returns home when he is old. His inner state is really not worthy of being understood by outsiders.

The veteran stood at the entrance of the village for a long time, his eyes filled with sadness.

If he were half his age, he could still be spontaneous, shouting the names of his old friends and relatives, and stride towards his home.

It's a pity that I am already an old man, and my hometown has long since changed. The people I feared calling out to me have long been separated forever; the home I am heading towards has become desolate and decaying.

He could only look at the village and every tree and plant shrouded in the mist with eyes filled with hesitation, inquiry, and hope.

It's mostly still the same as it was decades ago.

It's just that the Xi family's garden is bigger and the Dong family's jujube trees are taller.

I could still see the men passing by carrying farm tools, chatting and laughing, the women gathering in the corner to talk about family feuds, and a few children emerging from the mist and playing in the alley, leaving behind a series of laughter.

His eyes wandered, and suddenly stopped on an old man at the entrance of the village.

"Ah Huang?"

The veteran's voice was filled with disbelief.

"Is it you? Ah Huang!"

But the old man seemed to be a little hard of hearing. The veteran called him many times, but there was no response.

Only when he got to the front of him, face to face, did the old man's cloudy eyes regain some clarity, and finally noticed the person in front of him.

"Dalang?"

The old man's muffled voice sounded like he was talking in his sleep.

"Dalang of the Yan family."

The veteran nodded repeatedly. For a moment, the two old men held hands and looked at each other with tears in their eyes. They probably didn't expect that the other one was still alive.

The two talked about an old relationship.

The veteran hesitated for a while, then asked the question that made him extremely anxious.

"Are my family members... still there?"

After hearing this, the old man hesitated to speak and pointed to the depths of the village in silence.

There, where the fog is thin, the pines and cypresses are lush and green.

…………

In a lush pine forest.

The veteran stood silently in front of a row of tombstones.

for a long time.

He pointed to two of the stone tablets and said:

"This is my father and my mother."

"When I left home, they were in their prime. I always said that I was already old and the two of them must have been dead for many years. The only regret was that I could not fulfill my filial piety at the bedside and see each other for the last time before my death.

But deep down in my heart, I have never thought that when I return home, will there be two people who are even more decrepit than me waiting for me? They usually love to accumulate virtue and do good deeds, so it may not be impossible for them to grow up.

Live a hundred years."

After saying that, he shook his head and laughed, as if laughing at his own "greed". He walked a few steps, pointed to the other two tombstones and said:

"This is Brother She and his wife."

"When I left home to join the army, my brother-in-law was still a young boy. He always liked to chase the girls from the Yang family all day long. Unexpectedly, we actually became a couple. I always liked to tease him about this, but it seems

Looking at them, I remembered my relationship with...forget it, why are you talking about this? I always thought that if I could go home, the only relative who would recognize me would probably be this younger brother. I didn't think so..."

The words turned into a sigh in vain.

He then moved on to the next tombstone.

"This is my nephew I have never met."

"During the Jingyuan Rebellion, I followed the army north to Jingnan. At that time, the news between me and my family had not been cut off. My younger brother asked someone to send me good news, saying that my Yan family had a successor, and my sister-in-law gave birth to a nephew. I

At that time, I bought a rattle specially, thinking that after this battle, I would go home and give the drum to my nephew as a first-year gift. Who knew that this would be a life-long journey."

He stared at the tombstone. It was covered with moss, and the writing was much blurred by years of wind and rain. It looked even more dilapidated than the previous ones.

"I originally thought that since I was already old and my nephew had grown up, I wouldn't be able to give this drum away. Keeping it with me would be nothing more than a thought. I didn't expect..."

He sighed deeply, took out the rattle from his arms and placed it in front of the tomb.

"It's still useful."

Then, he moved to the last tombstone.

The cypress tree planted on this tomb is the newest, but it seems to be more than ten years old.

Due to lack of care, the tomb was covered with thatch and the stone tablet was entangled and covered with ivy.

The veteran peeled off some kudzu vines and laughed when he saw the name hidden behind it.

"So this is my tomb."

He nodded.

"Yes, there has been no contact with me for decades, and wars have broken out all over the world. Most people in my hometown think that I have died on a certain battlefield. This is good, so as to save my family from worrying about me."

He turned his head and made an expression that he couldn't tell whether he was laughing or crying.

"I lost my temper for a moment and made the Taoist priest laugh."

Li Changan shook his head.

"Human nature."

That's all, the veteran led Li Changan to the building next door.

That was his former home, but now it is just an abandoned farmhouse.

At this time, the veteran was no longer as talkative as when he arrived, appearing dazed and silent.

Push open the courtyard door.

The garden was naturally overgrown with weeds, and the wormwood that reached the waist was so densely packed together that there was almost no space for a foothold.

The two had no choice but to wade through the grass and try to go to the side room to rest.

However, the veteran just pushed the door gently.

The whole door panel fell in with a "click", sending up smoke and dust all over the sky. It even shocked the birds that were building nests in the house. They flapped their wings and crashed all over the house. Somehow, the roof tiles were scattered, "crash".

It fell and shattered all over the ground, leaving a big hole in which the silhouette of a bird shot into the sky.

The veteran had no choice but to retreat in disgrace and smiled apologetically at Li Changan:

"Unexpectedly, the house is so abandoned. I really neglect the Taoist priest."

"It doesn't matter."

The Taoist priest rolled up his sleeves.

“Where can’t people from outside the country have a place?”,

After saying that, the two started working together to clear a space in the yard.

The old soldier was a man who couldn't rest. He moved the pressure stone at the wellhead, dug out the cooking utensils from the room, went out again, borrowed some rice from the employer's house, asked for some vegetables from the west's house, buried the pot and made rice.

stand up.

Li Changan didn't help, and just let the donkey graze in the yard. He leaned against the door and looked at the people in the village.

The fog still hasn't dissipated, lingering in every corner of the village.

To be honest, when the Taoist priests walked all the way from Yuzhou, they saw either the frightened Wubao or the dilapidated and deserted villages. It is rare to see such a "lively" village in front of you.

only.

The men carrying farm tools walked back and forth several times, but never returned home or went to the fields; the women gathered together to chat for a long time, but the words were always vague and even the intonation was unclear; those

The children ran out of the mist over and over again, playing, laughing, and got into the mist again, always spinning in circles...

Li Changan was fascinated by what he saw.

"Taoist Master."

The veteran brought out soup and rice.

"It's time to eat."

He placed the meal on a large stone pier in the courtyard.

The top of this stone pier is flat and the size is similar to a table. There are several small stone piles scattered around it. It can be guessed that every summer evening, when the stars are shining brightly, the family will sit here to play and enjoy the cool air.

The veteran was obviously also thinking about people after seeing things. He was immersed in the past time. After a long time, he licked the red corners of his eyes.

"Taoist Master, please don't despise me."

He hurriedly scooped up soup and rice.
To be continued...