Chapter 181 The Contract
　　Wei Yuan traveled through the dream.

　　When he finally returned to his own dream, he discovered that Wu Zhiqi had actually unlocked the hidden characters in King of Fighters '97 and was using them to beat all the regular characters, one by one, to see the effects of their ultimate moves and try out different combos. He was having a blast.

　　It wasn't until the next day that Wu Zhiqi had to put down the game and leave the dream.

　　Before Wu Zhiqi left the dream, Wei Yuan divined several more times. Shan Jun was now hiding in Yingtian Prefecture. The first time, Wei Yuan calculated whether there would be a disastrous event in Jiangnan Dao that would endanger ordinary people, and he received a clear sign that everything was safe.

　　This was the same as Wei Yuan's deduction.

　　With Shan Jun's caution, it was impossible for him to do anything that would expose himself when he realized he was being watched. Especially now that Shan Jun had abandoned everything external and embarked on the path of orthodox cultivation, his strength would probably decrease rather than increase at the beginning, putting him in his weakest state.

　　During this period, Shan Jun would be quite cautious.

　　Then, Wei Yuan calculated the safety of the old Daoist priest he knew well, who, despite his Daoist cultivation, was old and currently in Yingtian Prefecture. There was a risk of him being targeted by Shan Jun, but the divination result was safe. The old Daoist priest was not involved in Shan Jun's rampage.

　　Wei Yuan was slightly relieved and woke up from the dream.

　　Next, he had to wait for Zhang Hao to come up with a conclusion from his search.

　　He had already told Zhang Hao about Shan Jun's true spirit aura and appearance through the dream.

　　Zhang Hao was different from him.

　　Wei Yuan had not learned the spell to record the scenes from his memory into jade slips. It was troublesome to leave images for others to see. Unlike Zhang Hao, who was a disciple of the Daoist sect, Zhang Hao could ask his elders with high Daoist cultivation to use supernatural powers similar to telepathy to let those Daoists see Shan Jun's appearance and true spirit.

　　But Wei Yuan could not allow others to do this.

　　On the one hand, he had too many secrets and did not want others to see his true spirit.

　　On the other hand, Wei Yuan himself did not know what others would see when they cast spells to spy on his true spirit, or what they would encounter. He could only confirm that even cultivators with high Daoist cultivation had a high probability of being backlashed when using such supernatural powers.

　　Imagine a true cultivator casting a spell and then spitting blood and falling down.

　　Wei Yuan felt that he wouldn't be able to explain it even if he had several mouths.

　　Zhang Hao and the others did not have such concerns and had enough trust. Perhaps this was one of the benefits of sect inheritance.

　　Wei Yuan thought about the situation in his mind, sorted things out clearly, and then lay on the bed, not wanting to get up at all. He looked at the rising sun outside and began to think aimlessly about a philosophical question.

　　He should have slept enough yesterday.

　　Why didn't he want to move?

　　Sleeping is for rest.

　　…If you have to work in your dreams, what's the point of sleeping?

　　Am I not a 007?

　　After struggling and agonizing, and after the alarm clock rang, Wei Yuan lay flat on the bed, motionless. The water ghost walked through the door to find him and said, "There are people from the action team looking for you outside, um… Boss, why haven't you woken up yet? What time is it…"

　　Half-asleep, Wei Yuan blurted out:

　　"I'm sealed by the quilt."

　　Water Ghost: "…………"

　　Wei Yuan woke up suddenly, coughed, and said calmly:

　　"I mean, I'm thinking about a sealing spell. The action team is here? Where are they?"

　　The water ghost decided to forget what he had just heard and replied, "They're in the museum."

　　Wei Yuan asked the water ghost to be responsible for entertaining the visiting guests. He muttered to himself that the action team's efficiency was so fast. He had only sent the dream message not long ago, and they had already found the identity of the youth that Shan Jun had transformed into? He quickly dressed, summoned clear water to wash up briefly, and walked out.

　　It was indeed a member of the action team.

　　But it was not the special action team from Quanshi, but a member of the logistics department of the action team from Yingtian Prefecture.

　　He was a man in his thirties, wearing a black suit.

　　He introduced himself, showed Wei Yuan his credentials, and then took out a letter, holding it with both hands and handing it to Wei Yuan, saying, "Museum Curator Wei, this is Professor Jiang Hualiang's last possession from Yingtian Prefecture. It's a letter for you. The will says it's for the person who saved him that day."

　　"Professor Jiang is a leading figure in cancer research and has dedicated his life to it. The director sent me to deliver the letter to you."

　　He added, "Of course, we didn't read the contents of the letter."

　　"This is a matter of ethics."

　　Wei Yuan thought of the medical professor who had been used by his students for human experiments in the Wu Xuan incident. His expression was slightly melancholy. Although he knew that the old man's condition was already extremely bad, he still felt regret after receiving the news and said, "Did Professor Jiang pass away?"

　　The member of the action team nodded and replied, "He passed away yesterday."

　　"This letter should be Professor Jiang's gratitude to you."

　　"He was a respected old scientist. His passing is a loss for all mankind."

　　The man stood up, smiled, and said:

　　"I have other tasks, so I won't disturb you here."

　　Wei Yuan sent the man out, looked at the unopened letter in his hand, and did not open it immediately. It was already past ten o'clock, and he was a little hungry. He didn't even feel like cooking, so he scanned a shared bicycle and first found a breakfast stall run by a family.

　　This kind of store was their own storefront, not a mobile stall.

　　So it was still open at this time.

　　Wei Yuan ordered a bowl of tofu pudding, two tea eggs, and then took three steamers of xiaolongbao (small steamed buns).

　　The owner clicked his tongue in amazement and said, "Young man, you have a big appetite."

　　Wei Yuan smiled and explained, "I'm starving. I haven't eaten anything for a long time."

　　"Then you have to eat more."

　　Wei Yuan mixed a bowl of dipping sauce with chili oil and vinegar. He dipped half of the xiaolongbao in it and ate the other half in its original flavor. He alternated between the two methods to ensure the freshness of the taste and to ensure that every bite was as enjoyable as possible. Finally, he ordered a big meat bun and took a bite.

　　Then, he poured the remaining dipping sauce from this opening into the bun and ate it.

　　When the owner was collecting the money, he looked at Wei Yuan and said, "You have a big belly."

　　Wei Yuan replied with a smile:

　　"I haven't eaten for too long before, so I'm stuffed this time. I'll skip lunch."

　　The owner understood.

　　Wei Yuan paid the money and found the second store, saying:

　　"Please give me a bowl of noodles. By the way, add another three liang (150 grams) of noodles."

　　Facing the owner's questioning gaze, Wei Yuan said calmly:

　　"I haven't eaten a few meals before, so I'm very hungry."

　　………………

　　Wei Yuan circled around with skill and purpose before he was full. The martial arts cultivator's desire for food would only be weakened when he reached the next level. At this time, he received a message from Zhang Hao, saying that Zhang Hao had already met with his teachers and would immediately begin searching for Shan Jun's traces after confirming his true spirit.

　　In addition, the scroll left by Zhang Daoling when he sealed Shan Jun had been opened.

　　It was taken to Quanzhou by the Longhu Mountain cultivators and should be delivered to the museum soon.

　　After Zhang Hao finished explaining, he hung up the phone in a hurry.

　　Wei Yuan put away his phone and rode his bike slowly home. When he passed the flower shop, he saw Jue in the flower shop. The girl was wearing a blue suspender skirt, a light-colored shirt, and a pair of transparent high-heeled sandals. Her long hair was not tied up as usual, but fell naturally. She was reading a book.

　　Seeming to notice Wei Yuan, Jue raised her eyes, smiled, and nodded, her appearance clear and peaceful, as always.

　　Wei Yuan thought for a while and hesitated, "Jue, you yesterday…"

　　"Hmm?"

　　The girl tilted her head slightly, her eyes clear and peaceful, with a hint of doubt in her eyes.

　　"Yesterday?"

　　Wei Yuan paused and said, "It's nothing. The painting you drew yesterday was really good. Lei was very happy with it and said he would show it to Zhang Daoyou."

　　The girl suddenly understood, smiled and nodded, "If he likes it, I can draw another one for him."

　　Wei Yuan exchanged a few words with the Celestial Maiden and bid farewell.

　　He felt a sense of relief in his heart.

　　It seemed that she not only passed out after one drink, but also didn't remember anything after getting drunk.

　　It was good not to remember.

　　It saved him from feeling awkward when they met.

　　Wei Yuan pushed open the door of the museum. In the flower shop, the girl with a clear and quiet appearance retracted her gaze and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, revealing her neck and ears. Her originally fair ear tips were slightly flushed.

　　………………

　　After eating and drinking to his fill, Wei Yuan sat lazily behind the table in the museum and used a knife to open the envelope.

　　He noticed the dried blood on it, thought for a while, unfolded the letter, which was on red-lined stationery. The words were upright, but the handwriting was slightly trembling. Wei Yuan read it out—

　　"Greetings."

　　"I haven't been able to thank you for saving my life before, and for preventing Zhou Zichang from making even bigger mistakes. I feel bad about it, so I'm leaving this letter to express my gratitude. There's also something I want to confess. I kept a bottle of Zichang's research results."

　　"However, I didn't use it for unethical research. I just tried to experience this drug and left some data for future generations."

　　"As a teacher, as a person, Zhou Zichang's behavior is undoubtedly wrong, but putting everything aside, I can also understand that no doctor can resist the results and temptation of making humans immortal. I'm the same, but he took the wrong path."

　　"People have limited lifespans. We will encounter all kinds of difficult and complicated diseases, and all kinds of problems and difficulties. Perhaps one person's life, or even a generation, cannot completely overcome these difficulties, but as long as we confirm that it's worth it, we still have to devote our lives to opening up the road."

　　"In this way, future generations can go further on our basis, and even directly solve the problem."

　　"Then they will encounter new difficulties, and they will also devote their lives to the progress of future generations."

　　"It seems meaningless, and may even be ridiculed, but looking back over the past hundred years, five hundred years, haven't we been walking forward step by step in the midst of ridicule, solving problems one by one? In the past, even emperors died of typhoid fever, and the plague that ravaged an era was also controlled and eliminated in various ways."

　　"In the past, wasn't this also incredible? We have overcome difficulties that were once considered impossible. Treating diseases and saving people, constantly solving difficult and complicated diseases, this wish of those who studied medicine a thousand years ago, two thousand years ago, is still being taken over by people now."

　　"Actually, I think, there is such a great wish, passed down from generation to generation."

　　"Unchanged for thousands of years, isn't that immortality?"

　　Wei Yuan looked at the four words "Unchanged for thousands of years, isn't that immortality?" and suddenly thought of two thousand years ago, thought of the young Daoist priest with dimples when he smiled, thought of what he said about treating diseases and saving people. Wei Yuan was silent for a while, opened the second page of the letter, and saw a few lines of writing on it that had become strong and forceful—

　　"I know, you may not be an ordinary person. You can live for a very long time, right."

　　"A long life."

　　"I wonder if you can make an agreement with an ordinary old man like me?"

　　Just yesterday, in a lonely room, the terminally ill old man coughed and wrote the following words while trembling—

　　"A thousand years."

　　"After a thousand years, if you still remember this letter, can I trouble you to take a look at that era? See if the people of that era have overcome the ten major diseases of today, see if people don't have to be troubled by hunger and disease?"

　　"See if the dream that has spread for thousands of years is still alive."

　　"At that time, if you burn this letter to me, will I also be able to know?"

　　"Consider it a small contract between me, a person whose life is about to end, and you, an immortal person…"

　　The old man used his last strength to carefully fold the letter.

　　Wei Yuan read the last few sentences and was quiet for a long time.

　　This was a contract and agreement spanning a thousand years.

　　Even if he had already fallen on the sickbed.

　　He still had the pride to look forward to a thousand years in the afterlife.

　　It was magnificent and romantic.

　　Wei Yuan carefully put the letter on the table, took out a pen, wrote his name on it, then cut his finger, pressed his fingerprint on it, and infused the Crouching Tiger with spiritual energy into this most ordinary but extremely heavy piece of white paper. He folded the letter and then placed it in the museum's collection.

　　It was placed together with the earliest pottery, the Jade Dragon Pendant of the First Emperor, and the Taiping Nine-Section Staff.

　　Wei Yuan suddenly had a feeling that what was stored in his small museum was not objects, but people.

　　It was the belief that man could conquer nature, that the world was one family, that the common people sought survival, and that doctors had great aspirations.

　　He closed the glass cabinet door.

　　So here, there was not only the memory buried in the past, but also the agreement for the future.

　　The sunlight fell into this originally ordinary museum. The lights were not turned on because of the color of the old wood. The museum had a kind of dim yellow color that seemed to flow with the years. Wei Yuan stood in this heavy time and quietly looked at the letter, suddenly thinking.

　　Could it be that the future self would occasionally discover this thing left by himself?

　　Or would it still be himself at that time?

　　The museum curator, wearing a black Chinese buttoned jacket and a top with fine cloud patterns, with a peaceful expression, looked at his collection for a while, turned around and left, sat in front of the old wooden table, reading a book while waiting for the information to be passed back.

　　Museum collection—

　　Letter paper.

　　The great wish of doctors, immortal for thousands of years.

　　Code name, 004.

　　The contract has been completed.

　　ps: Today's first update… four thousand words~