Siheyuan: Starting from the Old Society

After saying that, the visitor no longer paid attention to Sha Zhu, turned around and walked out the door, closing the gate with a bang.

Sha Zhu was locked in the yard and suddenly panicked. He tried to push the gate, but found that it didn't move at all. It was obviously locked from the outside.

"Hey! Let me out! Who are you?" Sha Zhu banged on the gate and shouted loudly, but the only response he got was endless silence.

Sha Zhu leaned against the door in despair, then began to look around the yard in front of him.

The yard is neither big nor small. There is a tall locust tree planted in the yard. There is a stone table and several stone benches under the shade of the tree. Apart from that, there is only a wing room that looks a bit old.

Sha Zhu walked to the wing room and gently pushed open the door. A musty smell hit his nose, making him cough a few times.

He walked into the room, holding his nose. In the dim light, he saw that there was only a bed, a table and a chair in the room. The furniture was very simple and covered with dust. It was obvious that no one had lived there for a long time.

Sha Zhu walked to the bed and sat down. He felt sore all over and his head was dizzy.

"What on earth is going on?" Sha Zhu held his head, puzzled.

At this moment, he suddenly felt something warm in his pocket. He reached out and touched it, and found it was a warm jade pendant.

He had been wearing this jade pendant since he came here. He had no idea what the jade pendant was used for, but he just regarded it as a thought and kept it close to him.

At this moment, the jade pendant actually emitted a faint warmth, as if guiding him in something.

Sha Zhu took the jade pendant in his hand as if possessed by a ghost and examined it carefully.

The jade pendant is round in shape, emerald green all over, and feels soft to the touch. It is carved with a lifelike five-clawed golden dragon, with its head held high and claws open, as if it is about to fly in the clouds.

Just when Sha Zhu was watching intently, the jade pendant suddenly glowed brightly, and a dazzling white light enveloped Sha Zhu...

When Sha Zhu opened his eyes again, he found himself in a strange space!

Sha Zhu followed the person out of the courtyard in a daze.

"Hey, sir, where are you taking me? I haven't had dinner yet!" Sha Zhu rubbed his stomach and trotted behind the person who came. He was wondering in his heart, it has been almost half an hour, why haven't we arrived yet?

The man stopped and turned to look at Sha Zhu, with a playful smile on his face, "Are you hungry?"

"That's right. My stomach is starting to feel like an empty city plan." Sha Zhu said with a bitter face.

"What do you want to eat?" the visitor asked.

"This..." Sha Zhu was stunned for a moment, then his eyes rolled, "I want to eat Tan's food, how is it? Is it up to standard?"

The person who came didn't say anything, just glanced at him calmly, then turned around and continued walking forward.

Seeing this, Sha Zhu curled his lips and muttered quietly: "Forget it, I don't want to go!"

They walked for a while and came to a quiet alley. On both sides of the alley were high blue brick walls covered with creepers, which looked particularly deep and dark in the night.

Sha Zhu felt a little uneasy and couldn't help asking, "Sir, where are you taking me? Why is this place so creepy?"

The visitor ignored him, walked straight to a vermilion door, and knocked gently on it.

"Boom boom boom!"

Three dull knocks on the door echoed in the quiet alley, sounding particularly clear.

Sha Zhu couldn't help but shudder. This place looked weird no matter how he looked at it. Could it be... a black shop?

He was just daydreaming when he heard a creaky sound and the vermilion door slowly opened.

An old man wearing a green gown and a melon-shaped hat appeared at the door. He had a thin face, a gray goatee, and deep eyes, as if he could see through everything.

"You are here." The old man bowed slightly and said to the visitor.

The man nodded slightly, then turned sideways and said to Sha Zhu, "Go in."

Sha Zhu hesitated for a moment and asked, "Where... is this?"

"You'll know when you go in." The visitor said calmly.

Sha Zhu had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow the person into the gate.

After passing through a deep corridor, the view suddenly opens up to a spacious urnyard with rockery, flowing water, exotic flowers and plants, which is very elegantly decorated.

Sha Zhu was dazzled by the sight. This place was too grand, wasn't it? It was even more luxurious than all the courtyard houses he had seen combined!

"What are you standing there for? Come here quickly." The man stood in the middle of the courtyard and waved to Sha Zhu.

Sha Zhu came back to his senses, and hurried over, asking in a flattering manner, "Sir, what on earth do you want me to do?"

The visitor did not answer his question, but pointed to a stone table in the center of the courtyard and said, "Sit down."

Sha Zhu sat down as he was told, and saw the stone table filled with sumptuous dishes, including the Tan family dishes he had been craving for, as well as various delicacies he had never seen before. The aroma was so fragrant that it made him salivate.

"Eat." The visitor said lightly.

Sha Zhu didn't hesitate to pick up the chopsticks and started to eat voraciously, exclaiming as he ate, "Delicious! So delicious! I've never eaten anything so delicious in my life!"

The visitor looked at Sha Zhu's eating manner and a barely perceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

After Sha Zhu had eaten and drunk his fill, the man finally spoke.

"He Yuzhu, do you know why I brought you here?"

"No...I don't know." Sha Zhu was stunned for a moment and shook his head. He really couldn't figure out how an ordinary cook like him could be related to this mysterious person in front of him.

The man stood up, walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, and said in a deep voice: "Because, you are the chosen one."

"Heaven... the chosen one?" Sha Zhu's eyes widened, his face full of disbelief, "You... are you kidding me?"

The man turned around, looked at Sha Zhu with burning eyes, and said word by word: "I'm not kidding, you, He Yuzhu, are the one I'm looking for, the one who can save the world!"

Sha Zhu only felt a buzzing sound in his head, as if something had exploded. He opened his mouth wide, unable to speak for a long time...

Sha Zhu stood there in a daze, his mind in a mess. He didn't know who this man who suddenly appeared and claimed to know everything about him was, and he didn't know where he was going to take him. He just felt that his life, which was originally as calm as a stagnant pool of water, was now like a huge rock thrown into it, stirring up a thousand waves.

"Brother, don't go! Who knows who he is and what he wants to do!" Qin Huairu came to her senses and quickly grabbed Sha Zhu's arm, her face full of anxiety. In this day and age, who knows if there is a human or a ghost outside. If Sha Zhu really followed her, what would she do if something happened?

Sha Zhu looked at Qin Huairu's anxious expression, feeling mixed emotions. He didn't want to go with a stranger, but the man's sharp eyes and the words "Go to a place you should go" were like a spell that lingered in his mind.

"Huai Ru, don't worry. I want to see what he can do to me!" Sha Zhu gritted his teeth, shook off Qin Huai Ru's hand, turned around and strode to catch up with the man who had already walked to the gate of the courtyard.

"Silly Zhu!" Qin Huairu wanted to chase him again, but was pulled back by Jia Zhangshi, "Come back here! You slut, are you afraid that others don't know that you and Silly Zhu are having an affair?!"

Qin Huairu's face turned red after being scolded, and tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't dare to refute. She could only watch Sha Zhu follow the man and disappear into the night.

"Hey, who are you? Where are you taking me?" Sha Zhu asked breathlessly as he trotted behind the man.

The man didn't look back, but just said coldly: "You'll know when you get there."

They walked one after another through several dim alleys and finally came to a dilapidated temple.

"Here?" Sha Zhu looked at the dilapidated temple in front of him, and became even more confused. "Why did you bring me here?"

The man did not answer, but walked straight to the temple gate and pushed the rotten wooden door open. With a creaking sound and a puff of dust, the temple door slowly opened, and a cold breath blew in.

Sha Zhu couldn't help but shiver and hesitated whether to go in.

"What? Are you scared?" The man looked back at him with a sarcastic smile on his face.

"Who's afraid?!" Sha Zhu retorted with his neck stiff, "Isn't it just a dilapidated temple? What's there to be afraid of!" After saying that, he plucked up his courage and followed the man into the temple.

The temple was even darker and damper than outside, and the air was filled with a rotten smell that made people nauseous. With the weak moonlight, Sha Zhu vaguely saw that there was a huge statue enshrined in the temple. The face of the statue was blurred, but it exuded a strange smell that made people shudder.

"What do you want to do? I tell you, I'm not someone you can easily mess with!" Sha Zhu suppressed his inner fear and said in a timid tone.

"He Yuzhu, aren't you curious about who I am?" The man turned around and faced Shazhu. The moonlight shone on his face, reflecting an angular face. His deep eyes flickered with complex light.

As Sha Zhu looked at this familiar face, a flash of lightning suddenly flashed through his mind, and an incredible thought came to his mind: "You...you are..."

"Yes, it's me." The man's lips curled up into a meaningful smile, "Long time no see, my...brother."

Sha Zhu was confused by this sudden change. Before he could react, he was grabbed by the arm and dragged out of the courtyard.

"Hey, hey, hey, who are you and why are you holding me?!" Sha Zhu staggered after him, still yelling.

The person who came said nothing, as if he didn't hear his call, but just pulled his arm harder and harder, locking Sha Zhu tightly like an iron clamp.