The May sun shines onto this small farmhouse yard outside Bianliang. A tall elm tree in the yard looks like a giant umbrella, blocking the dazzling light.

Liu Yixuan and Ling'er were quietly listening to the grey old man telling the story that happened before.

"The willow tree in front of the village has existed since I remembered it. I don't know if it was planted by others intentionally or if it was planted by them unintentionally. In short, it is a 'strange tree' here."

"Oh, why is it said to be a 'strange tree'? Is there anything strange happening?" Liu Yixuan asked him anxiously.

"It's not what Xiao Lao Er said, "Many people in the village have had similar adventures as Xiao Lao Er!"

"Adventure? What kind of adventure?"

The old man stroked his white beard, looked up at the distance, and began his memories.

"That was a few years ago. The young old man was as young as the young master. One summer, I took a bath in the river in front of me. The willow tree was lush and its branches drooped above the river. I was playing with a few friends on the water under the willow shade. I vaguely heard someone talking and laughing on the river bank, and some women's voices. We thought that someone's wife came to the river to wash rice and vegetables, so we secretly opened the reeds by the river and looked on the shore, but what made us feel strange was that there were no people on the shore."

"Ah? It's not a ghost, right?" Ling'er was already scared when she heard this, and quickly grabbed Liu Yixuan's arm, "Stop talking, stop talking, I'm so scared, I dare not listen!"

"Don't talk nonsense, there are no ghosts in broad daylight!" Liu Yixuan felt a little cold when he heard her say this, and quickly took Ling'er into his arms and kept warm to each other.

When the old man saw that the two of them were like this, he laughed.

"There is no ghost, and ghosts will come out until night. How can they come out in broad daylight? This matter sounds strange, but something strange is still there!"

"Ah, what else is strange?" Liu Yixuan asked.

"After taking a shower that day, everyone got ashore. I felt that it was nothing to do when I went home. I just sniffed on the bluestone slab under the shade of the willow trees for a while. At this moment, I had a strange dream!" The old man's expression suddenly became serious, and his deep eyes seemed to be about to turn his eyes to the end of time and space.

"Strange dream? What kind of dream is that?" Liu Yixuan also felt that there was a lot of mystery in it and wanted to figure out these mysteries as soon as possible.

"In that dream, I didn't know where I came to. There were mountains and waters, and there were some strange-dressed people coming and going. I didn't know everyone. I thought I was going to the wrong place. I got lost for a moment and asked around about the way back to our village. However, the people there didn't know where our village was. They also said that I had arrived in Shanxi and had to stay thousands of miles away from Bianliang City!"

"Ah? Old man, it turns out that you have had such an experience. I am thousands of miles away from our family now!" Liu Yixuan felt even more strange when he heard the old man's story. Could it be that the old man had a bizarre time travel? He continued to ask, "What about it later?"

"Later, I wandered around Shanxi, looking for some small work to fill my stomach, thinking that I could earn some money in the future so that I could return to Zhongyuan as soon as possible to reunite with my parents. However, one day, the soldier arrested people on the street and arrested me in the military camp, saying that as long as I follow the war, I would have food to eat. But I don't want to fight, why do I have to fight?"

The old man took a sip of water and continued, "I asked them at that time, 'Who are we going to fight with? Are we going to fight against Liao or Xixia?' The soldier said, 'What Liao people are we going to attack Chang'an and drive Li Longji's old man off the throne!' When I heard that, I didn't know who Li Longji was. I heard that they were going to fight in the Central Plains, so I followed the team to the Central Plains. In this way, I ran around and escaped from death. After three years of fighting, I became the commander of the sergeant, but in the end we were defeated and the general was killed, so I had to go into exile everywhere.

Until one day, I came to Bianliang City, I just wanted to return to our village soon, because I hadn't met my parents for three years, so they must be very anxious, but when I hurried to the outside of the city, it was bare and I didn't find our village. I thought I had gone to the wrong place, until I came to the river and saw the willow tree in front of the village, I realized that I had not found the wrong place."

"Then, where are the people in your village? Where have they all gone?" Ling'er asked with a blink of an eye. Obviously, she had also deeply integrated into this story and had forgotten that it was a dream.

"I didn't know where they went. Could it be that they had moved away? I ran thousands of miles full of fatigue, but couldn't find them. I felt so sad. So I started crying under the willow tree. Who knew that I was too tired to go on the road, so I lay there and fell asleep. When I woke up, I saw my father waiting for me with a stick! He scolded me for being a lazy man and didn't do anything in the field. He ran here to sleep and raised his stick to beat me. Then I realized that it turned out that it was a dream. Seeing my father holding a stick to beat me, I ran away immediately!"

The old man recalled his youth and felt Coke, so he squinted his eyes and laughed. Ling'er also found it funny when she heard it, and she also laughed foolishly with the old man.

Liu Yixuan seemed to understand at this time, and he frowned and thoughtful.

"Episode of the old man's description, he seemed to have experienced a bizarre time travel, and returned to the Tang Dynasty, and rebelled with An Lushan. This is too similar to his experience at this time. The old man just had a dream. Could it be that I was also dreaming at this time?"

Liu Yixuan pinched his thigh hard, and the pain remained the same.

In fact, dreaming is not terrible. What is terrible is that you know it is a dream but you can't wake up no matter how hard you know it is a dream.

"Brother Xuan, what's wrong with you?" Ling'er saw Liu Yixuan's face abnormality and asked him quickly.

"I heard the story of this old man, which is very similar to my current situation. Didn't I tell you? I am not from you, Da Song. I came here through time. But now after listening to the old man, I think I am dreaming too. However, everything here is so real that I can't understand!"

"Oh, you have had similar experiences. Where did you come from, young master?" The old man seemed to have found a soulmate after hearing Liu Yixuan's words, because he usually talked about these things to the people in the village, and no one wanted to believe him.

"Old man, I came from Beijing, which is now Yanshan County!"

"Oh, Yanshan, then how did you come here? Are you asleep?"

"I don't know this either. I just remember that I peeked at a painting and came to your Song Dynasty in a daze!"

"A painting? What kind of painting?" the old man asked.

"Well...a landscape painting is about the scenery in our Bian River area. Do you know that old man?"

"When it comes to Hua'er, I really know that someone is from your city. Did you come to our village a few years ago?" The old man seemed to have thought of something again.

"Oh, is that? Who is that person? When did you come?"

"I don't remember the name of the official. I only know that his surname is Zhang and his family is our family. It seems to be seven or eight years ago. Around the Qingming Festival that year, it had just rained lightly. This Zhang Daguan came to our village and asked me about the willow tree. He also said that he wanted to draw a painting, to draw all of us on his paintings, and to draw the willow tree. I just thought it was a joke. But after a year, he really drew a painting and asked the old man to see it. This official is really a weird person. We can't understand the paintings for us!" He laughed again.

When Liu Yixuan heard this, he understood that the official must be the court painter Zhang Zeduan, and the painting was undoubtedly "Along the River During the Qingming Festival". Why did Zhang Zeduan run to the suburbs more than ten miles away to paint? Why did he draw that strange and ugly willow tree? Did the page in his painting have been incomplete from the beginning? Liu Yixuan's mind was full of questions. His grandfather spent all his life unable to solve the mystery in the painting. When he came to the Northern Song Dynasty, he had to figure out the secret in the painting.

Liu Yixuan and Ling'er bid farewell to the old man and rode their horses to slowly leave the remote village. Along the way, the two of them no longer had the laughter and joy of coming, only their own thoughts.

Liu Yixuan was thinking about clarifying the mystery in the painting so that he could return to Beijing early. After all, he had been away from home for several months and had no idea what his parents were doing. How could he not be anxious?

Ling'er seemed to be even more sure that his brother Xuan was not from Da Song. What should he do if he went back one day? She could no longer live without him.

The two walked quietly until the sun sets, covering the entire suburbs with a warm orange.

"Ling'er, I...I remember you told me that "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" seemed to be given to by your father, which county prince, right?" Liu Yixuan suddenly wanted to see the original painting, but he didn't know what it looked like in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Ling'er was worried when she heard his words. She wanted to help Brother Xuan to resolve his thoughts, but she didn't want him to leave her, so she pouted and was unwilling to speak.

"Well, since you don't want to say it, I won't ask."

"No..." Ling'er immediately spoke, afraid that he would misunderstand her, "But, I'm afraid..."

"What are you afraid of?"

"No... nothing." Ling'er still didn't tell him his worries, but just lowered his head silently. Liu Yixuan certainly knew Ling'er's thoughts, but his situation really made it difficult for him to make a decision. Now he just wants to understand his confused time and space travel as soon as possible.

"That painting was indeed awarded to the Prince of Junzhou by his father. If Brother Xuan really wants to see that painting, he can visit the Prince's Mansion." Ling'er still told him, hoping that Liu Yixuan could get rid of the doubts in his heart earlier.

"Oh, it turns out that we are in Junzhou, so let's go to Junzhou. Anyway, I'm tired of staying in the capital!" Liu Yixuan suddenly thought of going to Junzhou because he knew that Junzhou was the "porcelain capital" of the Song Dynasty. For a student who graduated from archaeology, he was still full of curiosity about such places.

"Go to Junzhou? But my uncle and aunt definitely didn't agree!" Ling'er also wanted to go out for fun, but she was afraid that Liu Yixuan's parents would not agree, and she was afraid that she would cause trouble again.

"What are you afraid of if you don't agree? They won't let us come out and ride a horse. We won't come out as usual? Besides, we are not children anymore, so we should go out and try it out!"

"But…"

"There is nothing but. Let's go back today and make preparations and sneak out of the city tomorrow. In my impression, Junzhou should not be far away from Feng, and we will come back in a few days! Don't you want to go out and have fun? How boring is it to stay in this capital?"
Chapter completed!