Chapter 1: The Black Satin Blindfold

The scorching heat of August.

Beep beep beep—!

The sharp, incessant buzzing of cicadas mixed with the honking horns of cars echoed through the crowded streets. The hot sun scorched the gray-brown asphalt, causing heat waves to rise and warp the street in the distance.

Under the few meager patches of tree shade by the roadside, a group of young people gathered together, smoking and waiting for the traffic light to change.lm

Suddenly, one of the young men, puffing out a cloud of smoke, seemed to have noticed something. He let out a soft "Hmm?" and his gaze shifted to a spot at the street corner.

"Aaron, what are you looking at?" one of his friends asked.

Aaron, the young man, stared blankly at the corner for a long moment before speaking, "Do you think... how does a blind person cross the street?"

His friend froze, pausing to think, then slowly answered, "Well, usually blind people have someone guiding them or a guide dog. In more modern cities, traffic lights might have audio signals. If that doesn't work, they might just rely on sound and their cane to move forward, step by step."

Aaron shook his head. "What if there's no one to guide them, no guide dog, no audio signals, and they use their cane to carry peanut oil instead?"

"…Are you trying to be funny?"

His friend rolled his eyes and followed Aaron's gaze. The next moment, he froze in place.

At the far corner of the intersection stood a young man wearing a black t-shirt, his eyes tightly wrapped in several layers of black satin cloth, completely blocking out the light.

In his left hand, he held a cheap shopping bag loaded with vegetables. His right hand gripped a guide cane, slung over his shoulder like a carrying pole, and at the end of the cane, a large barrel of golden peanut oil gleamed brightly in the sunlight!

The sight of him—eyes wrapped in black satin, guide cane slung over his shoulder, vegetables in one hand, and a barrel of peanut oil in the other—was utterly baffling. It immediately attracted a wave of curious onlookers.

"Hey, look at that guy, he's so weird."

"Can he even see the road with all that fabric over his eyes?"

"Didn't you see the guide cane in his hand? He's blind, okay?"

"What year is this? Blind people usually wear sunglasses, who still wraps cloth around their eyes in this heat? Isn't that uncomfortable?"

"Exactly, and have you ever seen a blind person not use their cane to walk? Instead, he's using it to carry things."

"These young people really know how to have fun."

"…"

The summer cicadas' buzzing couldn't drown out the whispers of the pedestrians around them. They eyed the young man with curiosity, quietly debating whether he was truly blind or faking it, while anxiously watching the flashing red light.

At that moment, a clear voice rang out beside the boy.

"Big brother, let me help you cross the street?"

It was a young girl, around twelve or thirteen years old, wearing a school uniform. A few beads of sweat dotted her rosy cheeks, and her large, dark eyes were filled with concern as she gazed at the boy, pure and innocent.

The boy paused for a moment, then turned his head toward the girl. A faint smile appeared on his lips.

"Mm."

He hung the bag of vegetables in his right hand, wiped some sweat off his brow with his left, and gently took the girl's hand in his.

Click—

The green light turned on.

The boy took a step forward, walking with the girl toward the opposite side of the street.

The girl was nervous, glancing left and right, carefully watching the traffic with small, cautious steps.

As for the boy… he walked steadily.

To the onlookers, the scene didn't look like a kind girl helping a blind man cross the street. Instead, it appeared like an older brother guiding a younger sibling across.

The street wasn't very wide, and within seconds, the pair reached the other side. The boy thanked the girl and, without turning back, headed toward a narrow alley.

"He's not blind," Aaron said, his voice firm as he watched the scene unfold. "He can definitely see."

One of the younger guys behind Aaron cupped his chin with one hand, deep in thought. After a moment, as if he had an epiphany, he exclaimed, "I get it! He's cosplaying as the blind monk!"

Smack—!

A sharp slap landed squarely on the back of his head. Aaron cursed under his breath, "Idiot! All you ever think about is games. Who in their right mind would cosplay a blind monk in the middle of the street? Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

After a brief pause, Aaron muttered in a lower voice, "Besides... the blind monk's cloth is red. This guy's cosplay doesn't even match."

"Aaron, you're still making fun of me..."

"Shut up."

"Oh."

As the two bickered, a quiet young man standing off to the side watched the boy's receding figure, his brow furrowing slightly.

"What's up?" Aaron noticed his gaze.

"I know him."

"You know him?"

"Yeah." The young man nodded. "When my cousin was still in elementary school, he heard about a student from their school who had an accident, and his eyes were damaged. They wrapped black satin around his eyes, and apparently, he also had some mental issues..."

"Mental issues?" Aaron paused, then reflected on the situation he just witnessed. "He seemed fine to me."

"That was ten years ago. Maybe he's healed by now. But back then, the incident caused quite a stir. A few days later, that student dropped out, and I heard he went to a special school for the blind."

Just then, another person eagerly jumped in, "By the way, what kind of accident could cause someone to go blind and have mental problems? Did he get cursed or something?"

"Not sure," the young man paused, then added, "But... I heard it was something even crazier than that."

"A hard life," Aaron sighed. "What's his name?"

"His name was... Lin... Lin... Lin Qi Ye?"

In the glow of the evening sunset, Lin Qi Ye pushed open the door.

Almost immediately, the smell of cooked dishes from inside the house wafted up to his nose. He sniffed the air, swallowed, and walked in, carrying his bags.

Creek—!

The old wooden door let out a sharp squeak, masking the sizzling sounds coming from the kitchen. A middle-aged woman pushed open the kitchen door, and upon seeing Lin Qi Ye carrying a load of groceries, she gasped and hurried over to him.

"Xiao Qi, why did you bring so many things again?" The woman wiped her hands on her apron as she quickly took the bags from him, chattering away. "A whole bucket of peanut oil? Are you wasting government subsidies again?"

"Aunt, the subsidies for disabled people are meant for living expenses, so I'm putting them to good use," Lin Qi Ye smiled and replied.

"Nonsense! That money is supposed to be saved for your college fund. You can't just spend it like this!" The woman lightly scolded him, her voice softening as she gently wiped the oil barrel with her hand. "This is a branded oil... it must've cost a lot, right?"

Before Lin Qi Ye could say anything, the woman suddenly paused and seemed to realize something.

"Wait a minute… how did you bring all this back?"

"Oh, I ran into a few kind-hearted people on the way, and they helped me carry it back," Lin Qi Ye said calmly.

"Ah, that's good... seems like there are still good people in the world. Did you remember to thank them?"

"I did," Lin Qi Ye changed the subject. "Aunt, where's Ah Jin?"

"He's on the balcony, doing his homework... Oh, by the way, the doctor from the mental hospital came for the routine checkup today. He's resting in the room. You should go see him. I'll be in the kitchen, call you both when the food's ready."

Lin Qi Ye's steps faltered for a moment, and he responded with a soft "oh" before turning toward the bedroom.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Li from Sunshine Mental Hospital. My surname is Li."

Upon seeing Lin Qi Ye step through the door, the young man sitting on the small stool in the bedroom stood up and greeted him gently. His face was framed by a large pair of black-rimmed glasses, giving him a scholarly appearance.

Lin Qi Ye raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. "Wasn't Dr. Han always the one who came?"

"Dr. Han was promoted to vice-director of the hospital last year." Dr. Li smiled, and a hint of envy flickered in his eyes.

Lin Qi Ye nodded slightly. "I see."

Well, it made sense. Dr. Han had been around for a long time, his medical skills exceptional. It wasn't surprising he'd been promoted, and it was only natural for a new, younger doctor to come in for his regular check-ups.

Seeing Lin Qi Ye sit down, Dr. Li cleared his throat and pulled a stack of medical files from his bag.

"Sorry, as I'm new here, I don't know much about your situation yet. Let me get a brief understanding first," he said apologetically.

Lin Qi Ye nodded in understanding.

"Your name is... Lin Qi Ye?" Dr. Li asked, glancing at the file.

"Yes."

"You're seventeen this year."

"Correct."

"Your birthday?"

"October 5th."

"Mm… The file says you went blind ten years ago and were sent to our hospital due to some issues?"

"That's right."

Dr. Li pondered for a moment. "Did you ever change your name?"

"...No, why do you ask?" Lin Qi Ye raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.

Dr. Li scratched his head awkwardly. "Ah... I must've misunderstood."

He pointed at the age on the medical file and then at the "ten years ago" note, saying, "You went blind ten years ago, and you were exactly seven at that time, with the name 'Lin Qi Ye,' so I thought maybe you changed your name after becoming blind."

Lin Qi Ye stayed silent for a while before shaking his head. "No... I've never changed my name. My parents gave me the name Lin Qi Ye before I was even born."

"That's... quite... umm..." Dr. Li trailed off mid-sentence, realizing he was being impolite. He quickly closed his mouth.

"Quite a coincidence," Lin Qi Ye said lightly. "It really is a coincidence."

Dr. Li felt a bit embarrassed but quickly changed the subject. "Well... The file doesn't mention much about the incident that caused your blindness and mental instability. If you're comfortable sharing, could you tell me more about it?"

Before Lin Qi Ye could speak, Dr. Li quickly added, "I'm not trying to pry. The more I understand my patients, the better I can help them. Of course, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't press."

Lin Qi Ye sat there quietly. Beneath the black satin that covered his eyes, it seemed like his gaze was locked onto Dr. Li.

After a long pause, he spoke slowly.

"There's nothing I can't say... But you might not believe me. You might even send me back to the mental hospital."

"No, no, no, don't worry," Dr. Li replied, half-jokingly. "Let's not frame this as doctor-patient talk. It's just a friendly chat. I won't take it that far. Even if you tell me that the Great Taoist Master pulled you into an alchemy furnace, I'd believe you."

Lin Qi Ye was silent for a moment before nodding slightly.

"When I was young, I loved astronomy."

"Mm, then what happened?"

"That night, I was lying on the roof of our old house, watching the moon."

"What did you see? The Moon Rabbit?" Dr. Li smiled.

Lin Qi Ye shook his head. His next words froze Dr. Li's smile in place.

"No. I saw an angel." Lin Qi Ye spoke earnestly, even gesturing with his hands as he described. "A Seraphim with six white wings, surrounded by golden light."