The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

"Don't move, it's me." Song Han's voice rang out from outside. He then jumped down from the ginkgo tree, walked to the door, and pushed it open to enter the house.

"Sorry, I got so numb from squatting outside that I couldn't help but move. Don't worry, there's no one else here. It's just me," Song Han said to Qi Yuan, then picked up the kettle on the table and poured himself a cup of tea.

"Haven't you heard the saying 'walls have ears'? Luckily it's me, I already knew. If it were anyone else, you'd probably be tied up by now." Song Han took a sip of water and continued, "Put it away, we're not enemies."

Qi Yuan sheathed his sword, and Bi Li and Luo Yifei had no choice but to do the same.

"Qi Yuan, I have no idea how many people you've offended in Southern Han. You've had a great time on this journey, but I've been exhausted," Song Han said to Qi Yuan with a smile.

Luo Yifei stared at Song Han with unusually vigilant eyes.

Song Han clearly sensed his gaze and said to Luo Yifei, "Don't stare at me like that. Okay, okay, since I've heard your secrets, I'll tell you one of my secrets too."

……

At the other end of the tunnel, on Earth in the current timeline.

In the Phoenix Group's current office space, Nie Ri, the captain of the third team, knocked on the open door of Captain Zhang's office and said, "They've arrived."

Then Nie Ri said to the two people at the door, "You can go in."

A man and a woman entered the office. Nie Ri closed the door behind him.

Team Leader Zhang said to the two of them, "Sit down, Xuehan, Nantian."

"I'm afraid we still have to talk about what happened four years ago, what happened to you on the other side of the tunnel."

Their thoughts drifted back to four years ago, to the past they had reached through Qianmo West City.

……

In 2010, the western new district of Qianmo City had not yet been developed, and National Highway 328, which runs east-west through Qianmo City, was already the main road of the city.

However, the national highways were not as congested as they were in 2025. Even in the city center, there were few cars. Most people walked, while some rode Phoenix or Forever brand bicycles that they had bought through connections in Shanghai.

On both sides of the road are two-story brick buildings, with electric lights and telephones on both floors, and wealthy families may even have a black and white television. Further east are five-story tenement buildings, some of which will survive until 2025, standing out conspicuously in the city center.

The western section of the national highway in Qianmo City is flanked by vast fields, and beyond the farmland are scattered villages.

After leaving the forest, Ye Xuehan walked along the national highway without encountering a single person, though she could spot a few farmers in the fields. It wasn't farming season, and the farmers were probably worried about their crops, so they came down to weed and control pests.

Every time he entered this time tunnel, he would see these scenes; this was the world in August 2010. Ye Xuehan knew that after walking a little further, she would reach the intersection of the dirt road leading to Ye Family Village, where an old man would be sitting under a tree enjoying the shade.

Finally, they reached the crossroads, where the old man was asleep under the tree. Ye Xuehan didn't disturb him, but instead walked north along the long dirt road leading to Ye Family Village.

There are actually very few families with the surname Ye left in Yejiacun. The name of the village has withstood the test of time, but the families with the surname Ye have gradually disappeared from the village.

The elders say that this village has a history of two thousand years, but they don't know if it's true or not. The only thing Ye Xuehan knows is that when she was in elementary school, the Wang family at the east end of the village was building a villa and accidentally unearthed a lot of antiques from the Republic of China era. It is said that their ancestors were landlords, but these antiques later belonged to the government and were sent to the city museum.

After some time, Ye Xuehan finally arrived at the village entrance. There was a river at the entrance, and beyond the river lay Ye Family Village. She stopped at the village entrance, partly because her legs were very sore, and partly because she wanted to take one last good look at the narrow stone bridge.

By 2025, the bridge had long since disappeared, replaced by a concrete bridge that cars could cross. The long dirt road was first turned into a gravel road, and then into a concrete road.

Looking at the bridge, Ye Xuehan recalled her grandmother telling her that the bridge was built by her grandfather when he was young. Unfortunately, her grandfather fell into the river from the bridge and hit his head on a rock by the riverbank, where he died.

Ye Xuehan walked to her grandmother's house with its green bricks and tiles, and saw her grandmother holding her, a year and a half old, telling her stories, regardless of whether she understood them or not. At this time, her father had been away from home for half a year, and her two aunts had married and moved to the city, only returning during holidays. At one and a half years old, the two protruding bones on her back were still quite noticeable.

"Girl, who are you looking for?" Grandma saw her.

Ye Xuehan didn't say anything, but tears kept flowing out.

"What's wrong, girl? Why are you crying?"

"grandmother."

"Young lady, you're from the city, right? Are you here to visit relatives?"

“Grandma, those two bones on your granddaughter’s back are actually wings. You must never let anyone know. You must teach her to hide them.”

The old woman was stunned. Without waiting for her grandmother's reply, Ye Xuehan spread her wings and flew into the sky.

After flying around Yejia Village, Ye Xuehan quietly landed in a field and suddenly understood the story of the big white bird that had been circulating in the village.

......

After parting ways with Ye Xuehan in the forest, Nan Tian walked eastward until he finally emerged from the forest, but he was too exhausted to go any further. He hadn't expected that the girl named Ye Xuehan was more than just someone with wings; her stamina was even better than that of a boy. What he saw now were fields of crops.

Nantian knew the nearest village was just ahead, and he had to hurry. There were three buses running east-west through the city, one in the morning, one at noon, and one in the evening. He had to catch the noon bus, or he would have to wait until evening.

He patted his pockets; he had already used up all the 2005 edition one-yuan banknotes his grandfather had collected. He remembered the first time he came here, he waited until the evening bus, then took out a 2025 edition ten-yuan banknote, and was mistaken for a scammer and kicked off the bus.

Nantian sat down to rest for a while, then immediately stood up and headed towards the nearest village. Fortunately, he caught the midday bus.

The bus arrived in the city center, and Nantian got off at the downtown commercial street, then headed south towards Qingnian Road. His mother should still be working at the air conditioner factory at this time.

In 2010, the famous air conditioner factory in Qianmo City was thriving. No one expected that this would be its peak, and that the decline would begin next.

Nan Tian thought he had to see his mother one more time before going to the South China Sea, so he could only go back to 2010.