Watching Aunt Yunxia and Xia Qiuxi enter the ticket gate, all of us felt reluctant to part.
After all, we had spent quite some time together.
We had hunted monsters in Xiaohan Mountain together, and ventured into the Spiritual Ghost Domain together.
Fighting side-by-side, in battles where life and death were on the line, we had naturally developed feelings for each other.
As for Aunt Yunxia, it goes without saying; she had a friendship spanning over twenty years with my master and uncle.
Although they hadn't seen each other for a long time, their bond remained.
Xia Qiuxi was not one for much conversation, but she was a good person, attentive and considerate.
She also got along very well with me and Old Mo.
Furthermore, she had told us many things about the Daoist lineage and its traditions.
Clutching the unopened slip of paper, I watched them leave.
Only after the two women were gone did my master speak up:
"Alright, let's head back too!"
With that, he and my uncle turned simultaneously and walked towards the exit.
Just as I was about to follow, Old Mo suddenly sidled up to me.
Mysterious and secretive, he nudged me with his shoulder before speaking:
"Brother Qin, take it out!"
He said this in a nasally, mocking tone, a mischievous grin plastered on his face.
I blinked in confusion:
"What? Take what out?"
Old Mo squinted and chuckled strangely:
"Why are you playing dumb? I saw it all just now. Xia Qiuxi slipped something to you.
Hurry up and take it out, let me see what it is!"
Hearing this, I let out a wry smile.
I hadn't expected that moment to be witnessed by this brat.
However, I didn't feel it was anything shameful.
So, I responded with a smile:
"It's nothing, Xia Qiuxi just gave me a piece of paper!"
"What! A love letter!"
Old Mo exclaimed, astonished.
I rolled my eyes.
"Don't spout nonsense. It must be something she needs me to do!"
I retorted.
Though I had gotten along well with Xia Qiuxi, I didn't think it was a love letter.
And since Xia Qiuxi hadn't said I couldn't show it to others,
I took out the slip of paper.
It was just an ordinary piece of writing paper,
very ordinary, folded into a long strip.
"Quick, quick, quick! I bet it's a love letter.
This is how the girls in our class used to pass love letters back in school!"
While I was unfazed, Old Mo was incredibly excited and eager.
Shaking my head, I directly unfolded the paper.
Soon, the content inside was revealed.
However, upon seeing it, I was stunned.
The content left me quite bewildered.
Old Mo, looking at it from beside me, was also filled with confusion.
Because there were no words written on it.
Instead, it was a drawing made with a pencil.
A downward-sloping arrow that resembled a heart…
I stared at it for a good while, not understanding.
An arrow? What did that mean?
"What does this mean?"
I asked suspiciously.
Old Mo snatched it from me and examined it from all sides:
"Is this some kind of code? Let me try it with my Dao qi."
Saying that, Old Mo circulated his True Qi, transforming it into Dao qi and injecting it into the paper.
He wanted to see if there would be any changes within.
But no matter how Old Mo manipulated it, the paper remained unchanged.
It was just an ordinary piece of paper, with a heart-like arrow drawn in pencil.
"I can't figure it out! Here, take it back."
Old Mo said, handing the paper back to me.
I looked at it from all sides, but still couldn't understand.
Just as I was contemplating its meaning,
Old Mo added:
"Damn it, I get it. This must be a secret code from Xia Qiuxi."
"Secret code? What secret code?"
I widened my eyes.
To which Old Mo replied with a strange look:
"Xia Qiuxi is cursing you!"
"Cursing me?"
"Yes, cursing you.
Look at it! It's an arrow, right?
And it's sloping downwards. Don't you understand what that means?"
Old Mo asked rhetorically.
I shook my head:
"I don't understand!"
Old Mo said very seriously:
"I say, Old Qin, you're usually quite smart, but when it comes to guessing a girl's heart, you're clearly no match for me.
Xia Qiuxi is calling you vulgar.
Yes, vulgar."
I looked at him speechlessly:
"Get lost, you're the vulgar one!"
Old Mo waved his hand:
"Believe it or not, otherwise why would it be a downward-sloping arrow?
Did you do something to her? Hurt her?"
"You spew nonsense from a dog's mouth. Get lost!"
I said speechlessly.
Putting the slip of paper into my pocket, I truly couldn't decipher the meaning of this arrow.
But I thought it certainly wouldn't be a curse directed at me.
After all, I felt my interactions with Xia Qiuxi had been quite pleasant.
It wasn't likely she would leave a note to curse me, was it?
Subsequently, Old Mo and I left the station, chatting and laughing.
As for the content of the note, I really couldn't figure it out.
I'd think about it later when we got back, or perhaps send her a message to ask directly.
I thought to myself.
After leaving the station, we returned directly to the shop.
Now, Wanfutang's sign had been replaced with No. 81 on the Path to the Underworld, and I had become the proprietor.
My master had retired behind the scenes.
After returning, I had wanted to ask Xia Qiuxi several times what that arrow meant.
But I never sent her a message.
And in the following month.
It was peaceful, yet filled with a sense of foreboding.
No strange or unfortunate events occurred.
Every day was a normal routine of work.
My master had also basically handed over all the shop's affairs to me.
Customers, both new and old, were all redirected to me.
Any customers who came to see him were all handled by me.
They were all minor, trivial matters.
My master also took his medicine and underwent chemotherapy as prescribed by the doctor, but he also smoked.
Occasionally, he would play chess with my uncle.
Their relationship had indeed improved greatly.
The doctor's advice was very clear: he wanted my master to be happier.
To eat whatever he liked.
In any case, his illness was incurable if he sought treatment.
I could also feel that my master's physical condition was deteriorating.
His entire demeanor was not as spirited as before.
It was as if his time was truly coming to an end…