White Bone Evolution Guide

Chapter 109 Shadow Puppetry, Wooden Puppet

Guardian Home Welfare Home.

An old three-story building, a rusty iron gate, and an unrepaired mud courtyard.

There were tin shacks on both sides, with tables and chairs inside, and some unfinished handicrafts such as necklaces and bracelets on them.

A dozen or so children, led by two elderly people with gray hair, were busy making these handicrafts.

squeak

The iron gate was pushed open, and a Mercedes-Benz stopped at the entrance. The old Taoist priest walked in first.

"Third Grandpa, Third Grandpa is back."

The children looked at the old Taoist priest with surprise and delight, and put down what they were doing to gather around him.

"Look what Grandpa brought back for you: candy, jelly, and delicious spicy snacks."

The old Taoist priest chuckled as he held the two children in his arms.

Wow, so much food!

"Third Grandpa is so kind."

"Did Third Grandfather make a fortune?"

The two elderly people stood quietly not far away, with smiles on their faces.

"Old Guo, help Brother Bai with these." Gu Xiaojiao carried two boxes, completely covering his body.

Gu Bai was unloading items from the pickup truck's cargo bed.

"Master, where should I put these things?" Guo Jin asked, taking the items.

"Just put it in the shed," the old Taoist priest said hurriedly, his eyes moist as he looked at the two elderly people: "Elder sister, second brother, these three are benefactors; these are the things they donated."

The two elderly people rushed forward, their voices choked with emotion: "Thank you so much, you three kind people. We're so grateful. We'll take care of it..."

"Don't be so polite, elders. You rest, we'll take care of it."

Gu Xiaojiao put the things down in the factory: "Brother Bai, you can rest too. Lao Guo and I will carry them."

"Brother Bai, you talk to the master, leave this work to us," Guo Jin said.

"Thank you, three older brothers." The children were very polite and bowed in gratitude.

Gu Bai looked at the nearest little boy, smiled, and patted his head: "Are you doing some crafts?"

"Yes, Grandma said that after we finish doing all this, we'll have money to treat Grandpa's illness." The little boy looked up at him.

The old Taoist priest wiped away his tears, looked at the thin old man, and a hint of guilt flashed in his eyes.

"Please sit down, come inside and have some water."

The elderly woman, referred to as the eldest sister, quickly invited Gu Bai into the inner room.

Gu Bai handed over the work to them and followed them into the house. The house was covered with photos, some of which had yellowed and others had a red line drawn on them.

"Are these all photos of the children?" Gu Bai asked.

"Yes, we take photos of the children every year and post them here so that kind-hearted people can see them."

If a distinguished person takes a liking to a child, they can take them away.

The old woman wiped away her tears and said, "Those marked with red lines are the ones who were taken away."

Gu Bai looked at the yellowed photos: "These photos are quite old. They didn't come back?"

"Some children come back to visit, but it's not easy for anyone," the old woman sighed.

There are just some...

Gu Bai sighed softly, his gaze suddenly falling on a yellowed group photo. There was a child in the photo who bore a striking resemblance to Zhang Qingguan.

"Dean, do you remember him?" Gu Bai asked, pointing at the child.

The old woman looked up, shook her head, and said, "I have some recollection, but I can't quite remember. This photo is about ten years old."

"Judging by the time, it's been about ten years." Gu Bai thought of Zhang Qingguan's age and his still-childish appearance in the photo; it had indeed been about ten years.

"Why did you ask him such a question, sir? Do you perhaps know him?" the old woman asked.

"We're friends, you could say." Gu Bai pondered for a moment. "He never mentioned it to me, but he did stay at the orphanage. Does the director have any information about him?"

"I have all the children's files. It's normal that I haven't mentioned it. Many of the children who have left don't want to talk about this place."

The old woman was not disappointed; she was used to this kind of thing.

Too many people are unwilling to talk about their days in the welfare home, and just want to forget this unbearable period.

Especially for those who are adopted, their adoptive parents don't want their children to remember this place.

"May I take a look?" Gu Bai said, "He is not an ungrateful person. Perhaps he has forgotten about this place. If he knew, he would definitely come back to visit."

"Zhenglin took them all. I'll have him go look for them." The old woman called out, "Zhenglin, come in here for a moment."

A thin old woman walked in: "Sister, is there anything I can help you with?"

"This esteemed person knows this child and would like to see his information," the old woman said.

"What's the point of looking back on the past?" the old man sighed deeply. "It's better that we don't know about this place; it saves us from any extra burden."

"I'm just taking a look," Gu Bai said frankly. "I have no ill intentions; it's just fate that brought us here."

"Then... come with me."

The old man thought for a moment, then led him out to the next room.

"Second Grandfather, Big Brother."

A little girl ran over and grabbed Gu Bai's clothes tightly: "Don't go in."

"Why?" Gu Bai looked at her in confusion.

The little girl whispered, "It's bad luck."

"I'll go in; please wait outside," the old man said.

"I don't believe in these things, it's okay," Gu Bai said gently. "Go eat some snacks, sweetie."

No profit?

The presence of a White Bone Demon would be even more ominous.

The little girl still clung to his clothes, unwilling to let go.

"Er Ya, don't upset the important person," the old man said hurriedly.

Er Ya was a little flustered, so she let go of his hand and looked at Gu Bai timidly.

Gu Bai smiled and patted her head, then took a piece of candy out of his pocket: "Be good, go play."

The door opened, and a musty, dusty smell wafted out.

The old man fanned away the dust: "It's been a long time since I've been inside. Please wait outside, sir, so as not to get your clothes dirty."

"It's nothing." Gu Bai followed them inside and found a pair of rotten pieces of wood and a mess of threads.

These silk threads were originally very strong, but they have long since turned yellow and crumble at the slightest touch due to the corrosive effects of time.

There were some cardboard boxes inside, containing the children's records.

"Many people used to come back looking for information, but fewer have come in recent years, so we haven't opened the door since. The person you're looking for is named Zhang Jing," the old man said.

"Second Grandfather has such a good memory, he actually still remembers him?" Gu Bai said.

"I remember, he was the best kid, he studied with me for a while," the old man said.

"You studied it for a while? What did you study?" Gu Bai asked curiously.

The old man pointed to the rotten wood and silk threads: "The crafts that used to be used by people going from street to street are no longer valued by anyone. Shadow puppetry, puppet shows, I wonder if any distinguished person has ever heard of them."

"Second Grandfather also knows such skills?" Gu Bai asked in surprise.

"These are all outdated items." The old man smiled. "It's this box. Could you help me take the top box down? I'm getting old, and I can't keep up anymore."

"Okay, I'll find it. You can rest." Gu Bai carried the boxes down from the top.

"He was very good at it back then, and he even went out to perform with me, especially 'The Legend of Yue Fei.' He said he wanted to become a figure like Yue Fei."

The old man muttered to himself, his face full of reminiscence: "Oh right, there was another little guy who was also doing well in his studies, no worse than him, but he was just a bit too strong-willed."

Gu Bai asked, "There's one more? What's its name?"

"His name is Zhang Qing, and he likes the novel 'Xue Rengui's Expedition to the East'."