Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

One hundred and forty-eight years old.

An Ning didn’t interrupt the Feng Shui Master again. Within the low courtyard walls, accompanied by the faint, mournful whistle of the wind, the Feng Shui Master told his story.

”In my life, I’ve known glory and disgrace. I’ve fought battles and carried a guilty conscience.”

”In the arrogance of my youth, I relied on my abilities and did something I would regret for the rest of my life.”

The Feng Shui Master let out a long sigh, his gaze drifting into the distance.

”Because I lost my composure while drunk and leaked vital information, all the villagers here were slaughtered in a single night. It was all my fault.”

”Everyone who knew has slowly passed away, leaving only me to watch over this place. I suppose you could call it my atonement.”

Though the Feng Shui Master didn’t elaborate, he was using his own experience to warn An Ning.

”An Ning, you don’t need to question your past, you only need to know where you’re going. You’re doing well. You’ve always been doing well. Just keep moving forward with determination, and everything will turn out fine.”

The Feng Shui Master rose to his feet, and An Ning quietly followed.

”Take all the books in this room.”

”And this... remember to dig it up. It’s my payment to you for accepting a disciple on my behalf.”

The Feng Shui Master handed An Ning a painted scroll. She accepted it, a silent understanding passing between them.

”Come back tomorrow between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. After you’ve collected my things, I’ll need you to cremate my body and bury my ashes at this location.”

The Feng Shui Master pointed to a piece of paper on the table. A detailed location was written on it.

One thousand meters west to the Twin Dragon’s Den, facing south, two meters and three inches deep.

An Ning stared at the location and instructions on the paper. She looked up at the Feng Shui Master in disbelief.

”You’re going to use your own ashes to create a Feng Shui Formation?”

”I knew I couldn’t hide it from you.”

The Feng Shui Master said nonchalantly, ”I owe the people who lived here. I can only repay the people of the future.”

An Ning met the Feng Shui Master’s pleading gaze and, after a moment, slowly nodded.

”I will do as you ask.”

”Thank you.”

It seemed they had said all there was to say. As the Feng Shui Master saw An Ning out, she paused at the door and asked with her back still to him, ”You still haven’t told me your name.”

”Liu Shou’an.”

”Shou’an?”

An Ning turned around. Her searching gaze prompted Mr. Liu to nod affirmatively. ”This old man is unworthy, but I was once the hereditary Feng Shui Master who has protected the An family for generations.”

As soon as Mr. Liu said this, a sudden smile touched An Ning’s lips, and she performed a deep, formal bow toward him.

”This junior has been presumptuous, Mr. Liu.”

”We are friends despite our age. There’s no need for such formalities.”

Mr. Liu accepted her bow but then helped her up as an equal, gesturing toward the road outside.

”The road is wide and the sky is vast. Go on now.”

An Ning left.

She wanted to stay, but she knew Mr. Liu had things he must do, and that he needed to be alone.

She couldn’t bear to disturb him.

When An Ning returned to the An family home, her expression was unchanged. She was just a bit quieter than usual, but no one paid it much mind.

That night, An Ning went back to her room to rest very early.

Just past midnight, she sat up, got dressed, and slipped out of the An family home.

In less than an hour, An Ning arrived outside Mr. Liu’s door. She didn’t go in, but simply waited in silence.

Inside the house, Mr. Liu, who was meditating on the heated brick bed, seemed to glance toward the window through his closed eyes, a smile touching the corners of his lips.

’The heavens sent an otherworldly person, allowing me to escape the Five Afflictions and Three Deficiencies in my final years. I am content. Truly content.’

Mr. Liu didn’t call out to An Ning. He simply settled deeper, his eyes remaining closed.

At the door, An Ning’s spiritual power gradually enveloped the entire small courtyard.

She saw it all with her spiritual power—the way his eyes seemed to open, the smile—and she even perceived a silent ”thank you,” which confirmed that Mr. Liu knew she had come.

The early morning hours passed, and then the door to the small courtyard opened.

Mr. Liu emerged from the house, dressed in a long robe embroidered with an unfamiliar pattern. He walked to the gate and said to An Ning, ”Care to join me for a walk?”

”It would be my honor.”

An Ning followed Mr. Liu. They moved so quickly that anyone who saw them in the dead of night would have surely thought they’d seen ghosts—flying, footless ones at that.

The pair arrived on the mountain with incredible speed, reaching the exact spot Mr. Liu had chosen for his own burial.

An Ning took a few steps back, leaving Mr. Liu to stand alone.

Mr. Liu held a Compass in his left hand and a cloth bag in his right.

He moved rhythmically, taking deliberate steps. Whenever he located a precise spot, he would personally bury a Magic Artifact from the bag.

Gradually, An Ning saw an invisible net forming in the air before her.

The net was not truly there, yet at the same time, it was.

Though unseen, it tangibly altered the area’s energy field—or, one might say, its magnetic field.

A specific magnetic field can have a huge impact on people. The story of Mencius’s mother moving three times was also about changing the environment; in a way, a magnetic field is the environment.

And Mr. Liu was using his own life force to change the magnetic field of this land, empowering the descendants of the entire village.

Although An Ning was not a disciple of any particular school, her spiritual power made her acutely and accurately sensitive to all mysterious forces.

With every step Mr. Liu took, a little more of his life force drained away.

He had said his time was almost up, but it was more accurate to say that he was *making* his time be up.

This hour was one of his own choosing, not one decreed by the heavens.

For a fleeting moment, An Ning wanted to stop him.

But she held back.

’The entire interstellar civilization spent hundreds of years preparing to ensure the continuation of the seed. If someone tried to stop me, I wouldn’t be grateful; I’d be furious.’

It was the same for Mr. Liu. This hour, this moment, this location—he had meticulously calculated it all.

’I can’t ruin this for him. This is his lifelong wish, the culmination of his life’s purpose.’

Time trickled by. After Mr. Liu buried the last Magic Artifact from the bag, his once-black hair had faded to a ghostly white.

The man who had appeared to be in his forties was now covered in wrinkles, his original features unrecognizable.

When Mr. Liu turned to look at An Ning, his eyes were filled with contentment, with the peace of how things ought to be, with release from all worldly cares, with a freedom from all attachments.

”Let’s go back. We still have time for a pot of tea.”

An Ning moved forward to support his arm, saying playfully, ”In that case, it has to be the best tea you have, the stuff you’ve been saving. I won’t drink anything less.”

”Hahahaha! Fine, fine. You little rascal, I wonder how long you’ve had your eyes on that tea.”

”A very, very long time.”

”Hahahahaha!”

One old and one young, they walked down the mountain and returned to the little courtyard, to the stone table.

An Ning boiled the water, retrieved the tea Mr. Liu had treasured for so long, and steeped it. She then carried a cup out into the courtyard.

”This tea smells wonderful. If I had known, I would have—”

Holding the cup, An Ning’s voice grew soft. ”If I had known, we would have drunk it sooner.”

”You were in such a hurry... couldn’t you have waited for me for just a little while?”

An Ning set the cup on the table, pushing it toward Mr. Liu, who sat opposite her. But there was no longer any response.

She sat there for who knows how long before finally picking up her own cup. She took a small sip. The tea’s fragrance was rich, and its flavor filled her mouth.

”Strange... it tastes a little bitter.”

A single tear escaped the corner of her eye and fell into the cup, creating a small ripple.