The yellowed drawing paper burned in Song Wanqing's palm, and the ink stain vortex burst forth with a faint, deep blue light, echoing the star map rising in Lu Jinnian's projector. The night wind carried the cherry blossoms across the rooftop, and the edges of the petals even sparkled with tiny specks, like awakened fireflies.
"This light..." It's moving along the star trails." Song Wanqing held her breath and gently stroked the drawing paper with her fingertips. The vortex formed by the ink marks was slowly rotating, like a miniature entrance to a starry river, and those overflowing light spots spread along the unfinished lines of the clock tower in her sketchbook, eventually converging at the projection of the clock tower's hands - precisely the 3:17 that Lu Jinnian mentioned.
Lu Jinnian squatted down and brought the projector close to the ground. The suspended star map then sank and merged with the light flow emitted by the drawing paper, unexpectedly outlining a complete and dynamic star map on the concrete ground. Where the belt of Orion overlapped with the handle of the Big Dipper, a faint light path emerged, pointing straight into the interior of the clock tower.
"Star trail guidance." " Lu Jinnian whispered, his eyes sharp as a blade, "Follow me."
He turned and walked towards the mechanical room in the center of the clock tower, with Song Wanqing following closely behind. The iron door creaked, and a stench of aged metal and rotten wood hit me in the face. The huge gear set was silent in the darkness, and the mechanical heart of the clock tower seemed to have been asleep for a long time. Lu Jinnian turned on the flashlight. The beam swept across the corner and stopped on a copper nameplate engraved with symbols.
"My grandfather's mark." " He reached out and brushed away the dust, revealing a familiar pattern - it was a badge interwoven with stars and notes, exactly the same as the family seal on the title page of his sheet music.
Song Wanqing was suddenly taken aback. She opened the last page of her sketchbook, where there was an old photo left by her mother - a group photo of the Xingheyi Art Society in 198X. At the very edge of the photo, a young woman is painting with her head down. She is wearing a silver bracelet on her wrist. The shape of the pendant is clearly the badge of stars and notes.
My mother... I was once a student of Xinghe Yi." Her voice trembled slightly.
Lu Jinnian turned his head to look at her, his gaze profound: "Is her name...?" "Lin Wan?"
Song Wanqing suddenly raised her head and asked, "How did you know?" "
Lu Jinnian didn't reply. He just turned to the last page of the score. On the yellowed paper, a line of small characters was written with a pen: "Zhi Wan: When the cherry blossoms are blown and the snow falls, and the star trails converge, our children will eventually meet again at the top of the bell tower." "Jin Nian." "
The air seemed to freeze.
Song Wanqing's breathing paused for a moment. She clutched the sketchbook tightly, her knuckles turning pale. Mother never mentioned this past event. Only before she passed away did she leave behind a vague last word: "If you meet the boy in the silver-threaded school uniform, remember to do it for me..." "Say sorry." "
It turned out that was not meaningless rambling.
"Our family has been guarding the 'star core' of Xinghe County for generations." " Lu Jinnian whispered, gently stroking the bronze plate with his fingers. "Legend has it that the fragments of the stars that fell a hundred years ago were sealed underground in the bell tower, resonating with the earth's veins, which gave birth to this never-fading cherry blossom forest." But a fire a hundred years ago destroyed most of the records, leaving only star maps and musical scores as clues.
He pointed at Song Wanqing's drawing paper and said, "And your painting is the only 'key' that can activate the star map - because your mother once used her brush to seal the cracks in the star cores."
Song Wanqing lowered her head to look at the drawing paper. The light of the ink stain vortex was getting brighter and brighter as the star map moved. Suddenly, she understood why she always felt palpitations in April and why every time she drew the bell tower, a faint tingling sensation would occur at her fingertips.
That's the echo of the bloodline.
"Where is the secret passage?" " She asked.
Lu Jinnian pointed to a hidden door in the corner of the mechanical room on the clock tower. The door was concealed by the gear set. Had it not been for the light from the star map projection precisely shining into the gap, it would have been impossible to notice. He turned a few gears, and the hidden door slowly opened. A more ancient atmosphere gushed out from the gap, carrying the smell of dust and stardust.
The two walked into the tunnel one after the other.
On both sides of the tunnel are inlaid luminous minerals, like stars artificially arranged, forming a miniature Milky Way. Song Wanqing walked along the way, sketching with charcoal as she recorded the symbols and star maps along the route. Her drawing book gradually gave off a faint glow, as if absorbing energy from the tunnel.
At the end is a round stone chamber.
In the center of the stone chamber stands a huge stone star chart plate, inlaid with obsidian and silver wire, which is exactly the same as the star trails that appear on the painting paper of Song Wanqing. In the center of the star chart, there are two interwoven family emblems - stars and Notes, and below them is a line of small characters:
"Star Painting Appointment, Blood contract lasts forever." " **
Song Wanqing approached and gently touched the star chart with her fingertips. In an instant, the entire stone chamber lit up, and the silver threads on the star chart began to flow, as if it had come alive. Her charcoal pen was uncontrollably suspended in the air, with the tip moving in the air, automatically drawing a new star map.
This is... "Prophetic star chart." Lu Jinnian's voice was deep. "Grandpa said that when the 'Star Painter' and the 'Star Guardian' meet again, the star map will lead to the location of the star core."
Song Wanqing gazed at the star map emerging in the sky, her pupils slightly dilating. The end of that star map actually pointed to the bracelet her mother was wearing in the photo.
"Mother's bracelet... "Gone." " She murmured, "After she passed away, she vanished."
Lu Jinnian was silent for a moment. Suddenly, he took off a silver chain from his neck. The pendant was a miniature music score box. He opened the lid of the box, and inside lay a silver pendant quietly - it was exactly the bracelet his mother was wearing in the photo.
"Grandpa gave it to me before he passed away." " He said, "He said, 'When she comes, I'll return it to her.'" '"
Song Wanqing took the pendant, and tears finally slid down her face. The moment the pendant touched the drawing paper, the ink stain vortex exploded with a thunderous crash, transforming into a sky full of light spots that merged with the Stone Chamber star map disk.
The entire clock tower began to tremble.
The gears turned slowly and the bell rang before midnight.
Above the cherry blossom grove, the reflection of the first star quietly fell.