Three Seconds Later

I haven't finished carving the word "hui" yet. Before his disappearance, the instructor sent three sticks of incense and a note: "Before turning the page, pause for three seconds." I didn't stop. The hand opened the book on its own. Blue flames emerged, without any warmth, but wiped out the page along with its weight, leaving only a diamond-shaped mark on the table. From then on, I opened a store without a signboard. The only rule: close your eyes for three seconds and open the book. Across the street, a white van looms like a ghost. It doesn't come closer or leave, it just confirms that I'm still walking and that I haven't stopped yet. The rain had just stopped when the first customer opened the door and came in. She closed her eyes, flipped through the book, and her whole body slipped and disappeared like a drop of water seeping into the sand. She came back three seconds later with a ring in her palm. What is lost, she says, does not need to be recovered, it just needs to be acknowledged. But when she turned and left, I saw a very thin crack on the ring - exactly the same as the one on the back of my father's hand. Later, I received seven seals. Put it together and point to the door of the orphanage. In the shadow where the street lights can't shine, Pippi has been waiting for me for twenty years. When I squatted down to catch it, the "charcoal buried in the flesh" in my palm suddenly became cold. There was a soft click from behind - like a lock finally being opened. I turned around and saw Cao Yuan standing there. He stretched out his hand and the mark on his palm disappeared. He said: "You finally... Completed yourself." Close your eyes for three seconds. This time, I am not traveling through time. It's to go home. Do you want to open it?