The Last Museum Visitor

The moment Shu confirmed it, Wang Jinzhong's body suddenly went limp.

"Good... That's great..." Wang Jinzhong's weathered eyes actually welled up like a child's.

Ninety whole days... He had stayed in this place for ninety whole days...

This might not have been the longest ninety days of Wang Jinzhong's life, but it was definitely the most helpless.

Unable to contact anyone, uncertain about the future, not even knowing who the enemy was...

Finally, after losing his wife... after losing those young volunteers, finally—

He had waited for the aid from the Central Government, the entity he believed in most in his life...

When a fervent Christian truly sees God amidst hardship, when a small squad fighting alone for a long time finally hears "Comrade," even the strongest person will shed tears after such prolonged suffering finds its release.

"You... you..." Wang Jinzhong tremblingly grabbed Shu's hand, sobbing as he rested his forehead on the back of Shu's hand.

He was almost choked with emotion, unable to speak clearly. "You... I knew... you... would definitely come... definitely come..."

An old man in his eighties crying like a helpless child. Shu watched Wang Jinzhong silently, then raised his other hand and also grasped the old man's wrist.

"Mm... We'd definitely come..."

"Ah..." All the pressure accumulated over ninety days finally found its outlet at this moment. The old man could no longer hold back; his cries echoed throughout the night sky.

Shu listened silently to the old man's tearful complaints, feeling the sense of grievance mixed with relief welling up inside him.

"My wife... she's gone... didn't wait for me... She waited for me for over ten years... over ten years... she didn't wait for me..."

"Those university students... not even twenty... gone... all gone... won't come back... can't wait for them anymore... only twenty... still studying in school... they were all still studying..."

"I didn't dare... I had to wait... I didn't dare not wait... I didn't dare..."

The old man's voice wasn't heart-wrenchingly desperate, only filled with boundless grievance.

He didn't blame Shu for coming too late, didn't complain about the injustice of the world...

He just kept repeating—he didn't dare go find them, find his wife, find those students who left.

But... why didn't he dare?

The old man was definitely not someone afraid of death. Even though he kept saying "I didn't dare," Shu didn't sense any fear, only deep regret.

But things being as they were, Shu could only comfort the old man. "It's okay now... It's okay... I'll take you away... okay? I'll take you away from here..."

A young man comforting a crying old man—the scene felt strange no matter how you looked at it.

The old man didn't answer, nor did he nod. Shu could see he was trying hard to suppress his crying.

Soon, Wang Jinzhong controlled his emotions. After roughly wiping the tears from his face with his sleeve, Wang Jinzhong's aged face pulled into a smile, and he shook his head, lowering it.

"Not leaving... I'm not leaving..." The old man took a deep breath, shaking his head. "Not leaving..."

Shu's brow furrowed. "Are you worried you'll burden us?"

Wouldn't old people like this worry about becoming a burden?

Shu waved his hand. One of the Xuanyuan Swords behind him suddenly unsheathed, flew out the door on its own, traced several glowing trails in the sky, then flew back and stopped beside the old man.

"Don't worry, you're not a burden," Shu said definitively.

"No..." The old man looked at Shu's actions, at the unbelievable sword. Despite his surprise, he still shook his head.

The old man pushed Shu's hand away, then tremblingly tucked the notebook into his clothes and started to get up.

"Let's not talk about this for now..." Shu helped the old man stand up and found something resembling a cane, handing it to him.

"You probably haven't been here before..." Tear tracks still stained the old man's weathered face. He looked at Shu and asked. "I haven't seen you..."

"...No, I haven't," Shu had to follow the old man's change of topic. "But there are usually many people here every day... How can Mr. Wang remember everyone?"

"I've been able to remember a lot since I was young... Just didn't get to study much as a child. Only learned to read later during the literacy campaign in the army, then took supplementary exams for a higher school..."

"Is that so? You're very impressive," Shu looked with surprise at the stooped old man, watching him walk into the museum leaning on the cane.

"Is that so... I probably have some talent..." The old man's voice held a touch of melancholy. Shu followed his steps into the museum.

"Actually, it's just remembering some things..." the old man said with a sigh, turning on the lights inside the museum.

"Later, during army reassignment, I chose to be a gatekeeper here... Listened to those tour guides explain things enough times, learned to introduce a few things myself..."

The old man stopped steadily in front of a counter and turned back to look at Shu. "Well... interested in seeing these old things?"

Shu understood... Wang Jinzhong intended to be his guide, taking him on one last tour of this place...

"But... why?" Shu asked, puzzled.

Although he wasn't in a hurry and was interested in seeing the place, there was a survivor now... He should prioritize getting the old man out of here.

"Because... this place will be deserted for a long time after this, won't it?" The old man turned back, placing his hand on the glass display case.

The reflective glass faintly showed the old man's aged face and his melancholic eyes.

"Without human protection... the artifacts in this museum... how many can be preserved until the day you all return?"

Shu didn't answer. He looked silently at the old man, seemingly realizing something from this silence.

"Come on... I'll tell you about them..." After a moment of silence, the old man smiled. He smiled and beckoned Shu over, like an elder calling his junior.

Shu obediently moved closer, cooperatively bending down to maintain the same height as the old man.

The old man extended two fingers and tapped on the glass display case.

"This large square cauldron with four sheep heads, it's called the Four-goat Square Zun... Experts say it's from the Shang or Zhou dynasty... a bronze vessel... But no one actually used it for cooking. This thing was used for sacrifices, a ritual vessel..."