59: Chapter 59 Chen Jie "Holding a Stone"

The afternoon in the Old neighborhood was baked soft and languid; the locust tree leaves hung droopily from the branches, and even the cicadas' chirping carried a sense of listless laziness. Chen Jie squatted in the shadow of Brother Li's bicycle stall, holding a dark green jade stone in his hand. The patterns on the stone's surface shimmered with fine, fragmented light in the sun, as if a handful of broken glass had been scattered across it.

"Your posture is just like the Stone Guardian on Grandma Zhang's altar table." Zhao Kai ambled over, carrying a bag of newly purchased popsicles, the plastic bag making a harsh rustling sound. "Are you using that piece of junk rock as a token of authority? Brother Li said the circuit was fixed but it keeps tripping, so he asked you to take a look with this stone—does he actually believe this thing can act as a multimeter? I think you'd be better off taking it straight to the Neighborhood Committee; you might just get crowned the 'Number One Shaman of the Neighborhood'."

Chen Jie didn't answer; he just moved the jade stone closer to the electrical distribution box. The surface of the stone suddenly became as hot as a branding iron. The spiritual power at his fingertips surged along his Bloodline toward his palm, and the thin calluses on the web of his hand tingled with a familiar numbness. The wires inside the distribution box suddenly projected a phantom image onto the stone's surface; the red and blue wire cores were tangled together in the green light like a ball of water-logged yarn—one of the red wires had a tiny tear in its insulation, from which invisible electric sparks were crackling.

"Right here." He reached out and pointed into the distribution box. His fingertips were still half an inch away from the wire when a tiny blue flower of sparks burst from the tear shown in the phantom image on the stone. "The insulation is aged; just replace that section of wire."

"Yo, you actually guessed right?" Zhao Kai leaned in, chewing on his popsicle, ice water dripping onto Chen Jie's work pants. "Does this stone of yours have GPS? Lend it to me another day to help Wang Lei find that braising spice secret recipe that's been missing for half a year—it might be hidden at the bottom of some beer bottle."

Brother Li's hand, holding a screwdriver, paused. "How did you spot that? I measured it three times with a multimeter and couldn't find the leakage point." He glanced at the jade stone; the green light on its surface was snaking into the crack like a path-finding little snake. "Can this stone really act as an X-ray? If so, nobody will need to spend money on hospital scans anymore; we can just invite Great Master Chen to hold up his stone and take a look."

Chen Jie tucked the jade stone back into his backpack. The temperature of the stone's surface slowly faded, leaving only a lingering warmth against his waist. "Just a coincidence." He reached into the toolbox for electrical tape. "When I fixed Grandma Zhang's radio last time, I saw this same phantom image—it seems to be able to reveal the flaws in old objects. Unlike some people, who have no real skills other than eating popsicles and finding fault."

Zhao Kai tossed his popsicle stick onto the ground. "Hey, are you resorting to personal attacks? I'm offering constructive advice. For instance, next time you hold up the stone, could you use a gong? Bang it three times before you speak; it would look more professional." He squatted down to peer at the distribution box. "Seriously, if your stone can see through things, go check the freezer at Wang Leis Braised Food Stall first—I've always suspected he's hiding private stock and not letting me eat it."

Chen Jie didn't speak. His gaze was fixed tightly on the few exposed wire cores in the distribution box, as if he could see some hidden secret through them. Just a moment ago, when the light from the jade stone shone on these wire cores, he had seen a strange phantom image. Apart from the obvious tear, there was a faint circle of gray, just like a layer of uncleaned soot.

Chen Jie couldn't help but think of the "Time Ash" that Old Zhou had mentioned. Perhaps this was what was called "Time Ash"; it hid the traces of an object's journey from brand new to old, just like the marks time leaves on these objects.

His thoughts gradually drifted away, recalling the stream at Suiyu Slope and those water droplets that had flowed backward when illuminated by the jade stone. So, this stone wasn't trying to change anything; it was simply exposing the things that had been hidden, revealing them under the light without reservation, allowing people to see their true appearance.

"Jie-zi, pass me the wire strippers." Brother Li's voice suddenly rang out, pulling Chen Jie back from his reverie. He snapped back to reality and saw that the new wire had already been threaded through the distribution box, shimmering with a bright silver light in the sun.

"You know, if this stone had appeared a few decades earlier, the electricians in our Old neighborhood would probably all be out of a job," Brother Li said with a laugh.

Zhao Kai immediately chimed in: "That's not necessarily true; maybe this stone could bring new business opportunities to electricians."

"Business opportunities? What kind of business opportunities?" Brother Li asked curiously.

"Let Chen Jie open a 'Stone Fortune-Telling Shop,' specializing in telling the fortunes of those old objects. If he guesses right, he charges one braised pig trotter; if he guesses wrong, he compensates with that rusty wrench of his—anyway, those are the two things he treasures most." Zhao Kai teased.

Chen Jie carefully handed over the pliers, afraid that he might accidentally touch Brother Li's resin-stained hands. Just as his fingertips were about to brush against the back of Brother Li's hand, he recoiled sharply, as if there were something terrifying on those hands.

A rich, meaty aroma drifted over from the distant Wang Leis Braised Food Stall. The scent was like an invisible hand, gently tugging at Chen Jie's nose. He couldn't help but take a deep breath; the fragrance, mixed with the bitter scent of wild chrysanthemums, entwined in the wind into a smell that made one feel incredibly grounded.

Chen Jie subconsciously touched the jade stone in his backpack. Its surface was smooth as silk, but the patterns on it had gradually dimmed, like a sleeping star map. He felt a sense of loss; the patterns on this jade stone had originally been so clear, but now they were becoming increasingly blurred, as if it, too, were gradually losing its vitality.

When it was time to pack up the stall, Zhao Kai suddenly pointed at the western sky and shouted: "Look at those clouds! Don't they look like the patterns on your stone?" Hearing this, Chen Jie looked up at the sky. He saw the sunset clouds spreading out slowly with the wind, blue-gray and orange-red interwoven to form a unique pattern. That pattern did indeed bear some resemblance to the circuit board on the surface of the jade stone.

However, Chen Jie only gave it a cursory glance and replied: "They don't." With that, he shouldered his toolbox and turned to walk in the direction of home. His canvas backpack swayed gently behind him, as if it were trying to tell him something.

"Clouds will disperse, but the stone won't," Chen Jie muttered to himself as he walked. "Besides, clouds won't help you find the braised chicken feet that Wang Lei has hidden."

Zhao Kai jumped up and down, shouting from behind: "Hey, wait up! Can you really find them? Let's go try it right now!"

The evening breeze lifted the corner of Chen Jie's shirt, carrying a hint of chill. He looked down at his palms; the thin calluses on the web of his hand were pale in the twilight, still retaining the lingering warmth of the jade stone. It turned out that so-called "seeing" was nothing more than being willing to put in the effort to look—as for Zhao Kai's braised chicken feet, he could go rummage through Wang Lei's freezer himself.