145: Chapter 145 Minjiang Estuary

Zhou Waner nodded.

Zhou Waner turned around and walked into the school gate. Her figure gradually receded amidst the light and shadows of the plane tree leaves, disappearing around the corner.

Hu Tian paused on the spot and checked the navigation again. The return trip would take more than two hours. He shifted the car back into gear, merged into the traffic, and drove back the way he came.

No one spoke on the way back; he was the only one in the car. He didn't turn on the radio this time, just driving quietly like this. Streetlights flashed past him one by one, and the night closed in from all sides, enveloping the entire highway in a deep blue.

He turned over the day's events in his mind—the words Master Huizhen had said, the porcelain piece belonging to Waner's grandfather that she had mentioned, and the old monk's final, assured "It will."

He didn't know if he counted as the kind of person who could "let go." He had found quite a few treasures; some had gone to the Museum, some were kept in his System Space, and others had eventually found their way back to where they belonged.

He had never felt those things belonged to him. Once found and properly settled, he would let them go and move on to find the next.

But sometimes he couldn't tell either—whether that letting go was true detachment, or if he just hadn't encountered the thing he truly couldn't let go of yet.

Perhaps, just as the old monk had said, one had to reach that point to know.

The car traveled through the night toward Binhai, where the lights of Yunding Villa were already on, waiting for his return.

Near 9:00 PM, Hu Tian parked the car in the garage, turned off the engine, and sat in his seat for a moment. Listening to the faint ticking of the cooling engine, he then pushed open the car door and walked into the villa.

The lights in the villa turned on automatically by motion sensor. As Hu Tian walked into the entryway, a warm yellow light shone down from above, casting a steady glow over the entire living room.

He placed the car keys on the entryway console table, changed his shoes, walked into the living room, sat down on the sofa, and casually draped his jacket over the armrest.

The house was quiet. From the direction of the sea outside the window, the sound of the wind could occasionally be heard in the distance, like something gently pushing against the glass.

He picked up his phone, and the screen lit up. There were no new messages in the notification bar. He slid to unlock the screen, found his chat with Zhou Waner, and typed a few words.

"Waner, I've arrived."

After sending it, he placed the phone face down on his lap and leaned back into the sofa, looking up at the ceiling. The light shone evenly across the white surface, leaving no shadows at all.

Before long, the phone vibrated.

Zhou Waner replied, "Mhm, thanks for the hard work, heehee."

Looking at the line of text, the corner of Hu Tian's mouth twitched slightly—not a full smile, just a gentle tug—and then he replied, "It wasn't hard."

"...Why are you like this? I'm feeling guilty, so just let me feel guilty for a bit."

Hu Tian looked down at the sentence, and this time the curve of his lips was slightly wider than before. After a moment's thought, he replied, "Go ahead and feel guilty then. Once you're done, go to sleep early."

"..."

"...Alright, goodnight, Brother Tian."

"Goodnight."

He put his phone on the coffee table and sat on the sofa for a while longer. He didn't turn on the TV or the stereo, just leaning back quietly, listening to the sound of the wind pushing against the sea outside.

Having traveled all day, from the moment he set off until now, Master Huizhen, Lingyin Temple, the porcelain piece that Waner said her grandfather had let go of, and the old monk's final words drifted through his mind in fragments. He wasn't deliberately thinking about them; they just surfaced on their own.

He didn't force himself to untangle anything, letting them drift until they eventually settled down.

He sat on the sofa until almost 9:30 PM before getting up and heading to the third floor with his phone.

The water in the bathroom was a bit hot, and steam quickly fogged up the mirror. He stood under the shower with his head lowered as the hot water flowed down the back of his neck, washing away the stiffness from a whole day on the road. His shoulders and back gradually relaxed, and as his feet pressed against the floor tiles, he felt the soles of his feet soften as well.

He didn't wash slowly, but he wasn't particularly fast either; he just thoroughly cleaned everywhere he needed to. Then he turned off the water, grabbed the bath towel hanging nearby to dry his hair and body, and glanced in the mirror. The steam had partially dissipated, and the face in the mirror was still his usual one, nothing special. He hung the towel back up, changed into his pajamas, and pushed open the door to step out.

The bedroom curtains were thick. He walked over and drew them shut, blocking out the sea and the night outside, leaving only the warm glow of the bedside lamp in the room.

He plugged his phone into the charger, placed it on the nightstand, lay down on the bed, and pulled the blanket over his shoulders. The mattress was soft, and his back sank into it slightly, feeling just right.

He closed his eyes.

The last thought drifting through his mind was what Waner had said—that her grandfather had mentioned the name of that item, but she was too young at the time to remember it.

Perhaps someone remembered, or perhaps no one did. Sometimes things were just like that—one word spoken would sink into someone's heart, while another would simply scatter with the wind.

It was worth asking about.

He thought this, and then the thought settled as well. His mind grew quiet—a familiar quiet, not of absolute emptiness, but of everything receding far enough away that no sound could be heard.

The sea wind rose again outside, carrying a hint of the night's dampness. A trace of it seeped through the gap in the curtains, light and subtle, as if nothing had entered, yet also as if it had gently caressed the entire room.

Hu Tian's breathing slowed down, and then slowed further. The bedside lamp was still on, but he didn't turn it off, drifting off to sleep just like that.

The next day, 6:00 AM.

The sky was not yet fully bright, and the streetlights outside the villa were still lit, showing blurry halos of light in the morning mist.

Standing in the garage, Hu Tian checked his pre-prepared diving gear one by one: oxygen tanks, wetsuit, mask, fins, underwater flashlight, underwater camera, locator, and a few backup items. Once everything was organized, he waved his hand, and the items vanished before his eyes, all stored away in the System Space.

The space was already piled with quite a few things, including supplies left over from his previous treasure hunts.

Changing into a light tracksuit, he went to the kitchen and cooked a bowl of noodles, cracking in the remaining two eggs from the fridge and adding some chopped green onions. After quickly finishing breakfast, he put the bowl in the dishwasher, grabbed his keys, and walked out of the villa.

The air outside was damp and cool, carrying the salty tang of the sea breeze. Dewdrops still clung to a few low shrubs in the roadside flowerbeds. Hu Tian pulled open the car door, sat in the driver's seat, started the engine, backed the car out of the garage, and drove along the neighborhood road all the way to the main gate.

The security guard was still dozing in his booth. Hearing the sound of the car, he looked up, nodded upon recognizing Hu Tian, and pressed the button for the barrier gate.

The car drove out of the neighborhood and turned onto the main road. There weren't many cars on the street yet, the road was clear, and traffic lights flashed yellow at the intersections. Hu Tian stepped on the gas, driving smoothly all the way to the Binhai High-Speed Railway Station.

After parking, he took a backpack from the trunk containing some daily essentials—a change of clothes, toiletries, and a charger. He then locked the car doors and walked into the station lobby.

The lobby was already quite crowded with people carrying suitcases, wearing backpacks, and a few who looked like students in school uniforms standing before the ticket gates with their heads down, looking at their phones.

Hu Tian glanced at the large screen and found the train he had booked: Train G1507, from Binhai to Fuzhou, departing at 7:15 AM.

With half an hour left, he walked over to a seat in the waiting hall, sat down, pulled out his phone, and opened the mobile map.

On the interface.

The location of the Min River Estuary was about three kilometers from the shore.

Hu Tian zoomed in on the map and carefully examined the terrain around the coordinates. The seabed topography was not complex, with few reefs, and the current was not too swift. For diving in this season, the conditions were decent.

He put his phone away, looked up at the big screen, and saw it was 7:10 AM. The ticket gate had already opened. He stood up, followed the crowd, scanned his ticket, and walked onto the platform.

The train was already parked there, its nose shining a silvery white in the morning light. A flight attendant stood by the door. Hu Tian walked over, scanned his QR code, boarded the train, and found his seat—a window seat in second class.

There weren't many people in the carriage. A middle-aged man sat opposite him, looking down at a newspaper, while a young girl in the aisle nearby was organizing her suitcase. Hu Tian sat down, placed his backpack at his feet, leaned against the back of the seat, and closed his eyes.

At 7:15 AM, the train started right on time. The carriage vibrated slightly, then glided forward smoothly. The platform outside began to recede, and soon, the entire Binhai urban area also gradually faded away, leaving only stretches of emerald green hillsides and the occasional passing village in his field of vision.

After driving for over two hours, the scenery outside changed from the hills of Zhejiang Province to the mountains of Fujian Province. The mountains became taller and steeper, with tunnels appearing one after another. The train constantly switched between darkness and light. Hu Tian remained leaned against the back of his seat, not asleep, just resting with his eyes closed.

At 9:30 AM, the train arrived at Fuzhou Station. A prompt sounded over the broadcast. Hu Tian opened his eyes, picked up his backpack, and followed the crowd off the train.

The lobby of Fuzhou Station was larger than Binhai's, and there were more people. Hu Tian walked out of the station and stood on the plaza. He pulled out his phone and opened the map. The Min River Estuary was still some distance from here; he needed to take the subway to Mawei District first, and then transfer to get to the riverside.

He followed the navigation into the subway station, swiped his card to enter the platform, and waited for a few minutes. When the subway arrived, he boarded and found a corner to stand in, watching the tunnel walls flash past outside the window and listening to the noisy chatter in the carriage.

The subway stopped at Mawei Station. Hu Tian got off and walked out of the station. Outside was a wide road with many taxis and ride-hailing cars parked by the curb. He hailed a car and gave the name of a dock. The driver nodded, started the car, and drove toward the riverside.

The car drove for about twenty minutes, crossing several streets and passing an old factory area before finally stopping in front of a small dock.

The dock wasn't very large, with a few fishing boats and small yachts moored there. A few simple sheds were set up on the dock, piled with fishing nets and some fishing gear. The air was a mix of the salty smell of seawater and the scent of diesel.

Hu Tian paid the fare, got out of the car, walked to the edge of the dock, and glanced at the boats moored there. Then, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.

The phone rang twice before the call went through, and a man's voice came from the other end, "Hello?"

"I've arrived,"

Hu Tian said, "at the dock you mentioned."