Siheyuan, integrating everything, cultivating the city

Yang Xue was silent for a moment, as if thinking about what Li Xiangqian said. Her eyes softened, and she gently pulled Li Xiangqian to sit down, looking at him quietly. She knew Li Xiangqian, he never had wild thoughts, and there must be some well-thought-out reasons behind all his actions and decisions.

"Move forward," she finally spoke, her voice gentle but firm. "I know you are very sensitive and may feel that the land is indeed a little different, but you must also remember that sometimes people imagine themselves to be difficult to control. Your current doubts may just be the anxiety hidden in your heart. Our lives have not changed much in the past few years. Everyone is safe and stable. Why do you suddenly feel that this land is wrong?"

Li Xiangqian did not answer immediately. Every question that emerged in his mind was like countless intertwined lines, entangled together, making him confused and lost. He knew that Yang Xue was right. There was really no sudden change in life. He might just be too anxious, which made him have such a strong association with those symbols and soil.

However, the intuition deep in his heart made him unable to get rid of the seemingly insignificant signal. Li Xiangqian held Yang Xue's hand tightly and whispered, "Xue, I know you are doing this for my own good, but I really think this matter is not simple. Xu Damao also told me that many things that we cannot understand have happened on this land. I feel more and more clearly that these strange phenomena are not coincidences."

Yang Xue looked at Li Xiangqian, a trace of worry flashed in her eyes, then she sighed deeply and her tone became soft, "I understand your concerns, but what we can do now is probably to calm down, think carefully, and not be scared by things that are unclear. Life is never that simple, but there is no need to let yourself fall into anxiety and fear."

Li Xiangqian felt that his wife's comfort had an indescribable power, and his heart gradually calmed down. However, the fear of the unknown still followed him like a shadow and could not be completely dissipated. He raised his head and looked at the gradually darkening sky outside the window, and kept asking himself in his heart: Is this piece of land really just an unintentional coincidence? What do these symbols represent?

"Xue, if I really go and get to the bottom of it and dig out those secrets hidden deep underground, will you support me?" Li Xiangqian suddenly asked in a low voice.

Yang Xue was silent for a moment, as if she was thinking about this carefully. She took a deep breath and spoke slowly: "Xiang Qian, I know you are a responsible person and you think clearly about everything. No matter what decision you make, I will support you. But I hope you can be cautious and not let yourself get too deeply involved, so as to avoid irreversible consequences in the end."

Li Xiangqian stared at Yang Xue, and an inexplicable feeling of being touched surged in his heart. Her support, although not as grand as words, was enough to make him feel warm and peaceful. In this land shrouded in anxiety, Yang Xue was the only harbor he could rely on. And now, he had to make a choice, to go on or to stop.

Li Xiangqian sat silently in front of the window, the scene in front of him was gradually swallowed by the night, and the surroundings were so quiet that it made people feel a little uneasy. Although Yang Xue's words were still echoing in his ears, the uneasiness in his heart never dissipated. Whenever he closed his eyes, his mind was filled with the mystery buried deep underground, as if some invisible force was twisting his thoughts and making him unable to calm down.

Suddenly, he felt a slight hunger in his stomach, and this feeling seemed to pull him back to reality from his chaotic thoughts. Li Xiangqian rubbed his face, stood up, and walked to the kitchen. He longed for simple warmth in his heart, and wanted to temporarily get rid of the uneasy feeling of oppression. Fish soup is one of Yang Xue's best dishes. I remember when he was a child, he often sat at the dining table in the winter evening, watching the steaming fish soup with white steam, and felt a kind of warmth and satisfaction rising from the bottom of his heart.

The kitchen light was softly shining around. Li Xiangqian walked to the chopping board and looked at the fresh fish on the table. His eyes relaxed a little. He learned from Yang Xue how to handle fish, cutting, descaling, and removing the belly, and then stewing the fish bones and fish meat into a pot of clear soup. The fragrance was strong but not greasy, and it always gave people a sense of peace.

He began to get busy, the blade cutting lightly along the fish's spine, making a subtle "click" sound. His movements were as skillful as ever, but there was a strange silence in this familiar operation. Every time he cut vegetables and cooked, these seemingly ordinary things always gave him a moment of peace, allowing him to temporarily get rid of those complicated thoughts and anxieties. But today, he found that he could no longer completely relax.

"Why did I go dig those things?" He couldn't help asking himself, as if questioning a voice that had long been buried in his heart. Although he knew that his decision had been made and there was no point in regretting it, the anxiety still tortured him all the time.

He put the cut fish into the pot, began to pour in clean water, and carefully controlled the heat to the right temperature. Looking at the steam gradually rising from the pot, Li Xiangqian felt a little comforted, as if this pot of fish soup could temporarily wash away the burden in his heart. He leaned on the kitchen counter, quietly watching the stewing fish soup, but his thoughts could not help but return to the turned land again.

"If I continue digging, will I really find the answer?" Li Xiangqian asked himself this question countless times, and every time he felt an indescribable fear, but this fear did not stop him. On the contrary, it was this fear that made him more eager to uncover the truth.

He lowered his head, tapping his fingers unconsciously on the wooden table. The slight sound seemed to make him more awake. His wife's words still echoed in his ears: "Don't let yourself fall into fear, move forward." Her voice was gentle and firm, but his heart seemed to be pulled by an invisible force, and every step felt heavy.

Suddenly, he heard light footsteps coming from the kitchen door. Li Xiangqian turned his head and saw Yang Xue standing at the door. Her slightly frowned brows showed her concern for Li Xiangqian's expression.

"Is the soup almost ready?" Yang Xue asked softly, with a hint of tiredness in her eyes, but still showing concern.

Li nodded forward, his eyes falling on her, and the suppressed emotions began to surge again. "Almost done." He responded briefly, then walked to the pot and gently stirred the fish inside, and the aroma spread.