Beginning with the Ubume Bird

Chapter 45: Chapter 3 Thus Have I Heard, Yan Fu Walks

Editor: Larbre Studio

The next day, after getting off the plane, Li Yan headed straight for the site of the now-demolished Kowloon Walled City.

This was something a person engulfed in mysteries like his own would definitely do.

Kowloon Walled City Park, Longjin Righteous School.

In front of the long corridor, styled like a garden in the south of the Yangtze River, there were engraved red characters on stone:

It’s like a dragon, divining that in another year the carp will transform, dragons will rise, completely washing away the barbaric smoke and egg rain

Knowing this ford, I wish from this origin to search the streams, trace back evenly to divide the Soviet Sea and Korean tide

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about?”

Hearing the old man say this, Li Yan kept a calm face, “I know that the City was demolished before the handover, and a lot of things inside are no longer remembered. But Mr. Hou, are you sure you don’t want to think about it more carefully?”

The old man shook his head.

“Young man, I think you’re telling a story; I lived in the City for over a decade. It’s true the City had committees and security teams, but as for Taishuai and Liansheng, they sound like something out of a movie.”

A hint of wistfulness appeared in the old man’s eyes.

“It was just a slum, nothing special.”

Li Yan sat in silence for a full minute.

“I’ve disturbed you.”

He got up and walked out, the first thing he did was to pick up his phone and search for the names of all the past Chinese Police Commissioners during the colonial era of Hong Kong.

There was no Li Yaoguang…

Gloom in Li Yan’s heart grew heavier.

…

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“Gong Ruxin? Of course, I know her.”

The man across from him in a crisply tailored suit nodded. If Li Yan remembered correctly, this office building was under a company owned by Judy. And Gong Ruxin was the name of Judy’s deceased foster mother.

Li Yan’s heart surged with elation; he coughed and said:

“Her daughter…”

As soon as Li Yan began to speak, he was met with a strange look from the man.

“I’m sorry, sir, but until Mrs. Gong passed away, she didn’t have a daughter…”

…

Hong Kong, Kowloon City Park, Jingxi Word Paper Pavilion.

The orange sunlight filtered through the shade of the trees, scattering on the path paved with small cobblestones, clean and tidy. The park was adorned with various Lingnan-style potted plants, presenting a picturesque scene.

Who would know that once fifty thousand people lived cramped here?

As evening approached, the number of visitors in the park dwindled.

Li Yan held a bottle of beer, his eyes reddened, humming casually.

“Snow Maiden and her seven dwarf friends, Seven diligent people in Snow Maiden and the Seven Friends…”

“Sir, is this your first time coming here for fun?”

A sweet-smiling strange girl with a visor cap walked past Li Yan.

“No,” Li Yan subconsciously shook his head, “Oh, no, yes.”

Li Yan corrected himself.

The girl did not mind; she picked out a balloon with a Snow White pattern from the colorful batch she held in her hand and handed it to Li Yan.

“Thank you.”

The man nodded, and the girl walked away with a smile.

Li Yan, holding a beer in one hand and the balloon in the other, looked somewhat comical.

He staggered to his feet and walked on, humming in a hoarse voice:

“Seven men had seven thick sticks, facing Snow Maiden singing un un un, one hole stuffed with seven thick sticks, un till old Snow Maiden rots. Heh heh heh…”

Li Yan laughed with blurry eyes.

“Fuck!”

He violently threw the beer can in his hand, which crashed into the trash can with a loud bang.

“Why the hell are you so mad? You’ve just recovered from a serious illness.”

Li Yan turned his head.

Mo.

All around, silence pervaded, even the scorching red sunset seemed to freeze in time.

“It’s all fake?”

“Think about it, it should be obvious that people can’t travel through time. Have you ever heard of the grandmother paradox?”

Li Yan squinted his eyes tightly, silent for a long time.

“But it’s not all fake.”

The fat man’s face bore a greasy smile as he continued,

“There are no two identical leaves in this world, but you can grab a handful of similar ones any time. If everything were a dream, how could your sickness have healed? Of course, maybe you’re still living in a dream.”

The fat man gave Li Yan a disgusting final jab.

“Parallel worlds?”

Li Yan pondered.

“Right, but not entirely.”

“What do you mean?”

“Parallel worlds are correct, but the gaps and changes between worlds are probably much greater than you imagine.”

“Continue.”

Li Yan said with interest, relieved to think of Judy as a person from another world. If she had to cross over thirty years and the hot-bodied mature woman turned into a saggy-breasted auntie, Li Yan really wouldn’t know how to face her.

“Mankind has always tried to explore the universe, but in fact, we know very little about the very earth beneath our feet and can hardly see the so-called reality and the infinite possibilities of the future…”

The fat man breathed on his sleeve, wiped clean the flower bed beside him, then sat down.

“A scientific giant who just died proposed the theory of parallel spaces, believing that in another timeline, he would be full of energy, loving sports and running.”

“Actually, he could have done much more… like spiritually transplanting himself to a distant, affluent planet to hook up with alien girls, or riding a broomstick and kicking a football through the sky…”

“Harry Potter?”

“Nothing of the sort, just possibilities.”

The fat man smacked his lips.

“I don’t quite understand.”

Li Yan furrowed his brows.

“We Chinese say, ‘The master speaks not of strange powers and chaos.’ Suppose, just suppose, the witches burned in medieval times truly possessed extraordinary powers that were simply eradicated. Then, if some medieval prince went mad and declared that the witches weren’t evil and used their power to start a magical revolution as momentous as the Industrial Revolution, your life now would be completely turned upside down. That’s the concept of possibility.”

“I think I’m starting to understand, and that story you mentioned isn’t bad either.”

Li Yan forced a smile.

“Or take for instance…” the fat man, pointing to the ground.

“From this moment on, the revival of qi begins, and the so-called qigong techniques that were popular during the qigong craze suddenly become real overnight, various cultivation sects emerge, and the rules of the world change accordingly. Then, parallel worlds become not so parallel.”

“If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d definitely think you’re bullshitting me.”

“Does my theory have any major flaws?”

“Not at all, but your wild ideas sound very familiar to me…”

At the end, Li Yan let out a cold laugh.

Unfazed, the fat man stated, “I’m talking about possibilities, and the human imagination is as boundless as possibilities.”

“So, the background of the Yan Fu incident is intricately connected to the world as you know it, yet completely different.”

Mo brought his ten fingers together: “Yan Fu, formally known as Nanyan Futi, is the legendary World Tree that nurtures worlds. Each fruit on the tree is a brand-new world. And we humans are like the ladybugs that roam between the fruits, sipping their juice.”

“That is… Yan Fu roaming.”