Of course, the change in his eyes wasn't the main focus for Wang Guan. The key was that after Wang Guan lowered the mirror and looked around, the world instantly felt radically different from before.

At that moment, Wang Guan sensed as if his former world had been somehow isolated, undergoing a subtle and miraculous shift. Exactly what the change was, he couldn't articulate right away; it was difficult to capture with specific adjectives.

However, if one were to say that what Wang Guan saw before was flat, now, wherever his gaze landed seemed to transform into a three-dimensional image.

Yet, this situation only lasted for a dozen seconds before Wang Guan felt his vision dim, and the familiar burning ache and numbness in his eyeballs returned, causing tears to stream down again in a rush.

Wang Guan quickly shut his eyes, and only after several minutes did he feel his vision slowly returning to normal.

Wiping his tears dry and looking into the mirror again, Wang Guan saw that his moist pupils had reverted to pale yellow, and the marvelous sensation of seeing the world in three dimensions had vanished.

Focusing his mind, Wang Guan felt even more distinctly that the gossamer thread of gold coiled between his brows seemed to have weakened somewhat.

Having researched this far, Wang Guan had reached a preliminary conclusion.

His special ability stemmed from that gossamer thread of gold in his brow, and this thread seemed capable of strengthening itself by drawing in a certain kind of energy, or qi, from antiques.

It was precisely through several instances of absorbing the qi from antiques that Wang Guan had been able to detect the existence of the golden thread.

Most importantly, Wang Guan had also discovered that after absorbing the qi from antiques several times, the gossamer thread in his brow began to exhibit a degree of controllability. Unlike before, when it would appear and disappear for no discernible reason.

Now, he could control the special ability with sheer thought. Wang Guan felt this was his greatest gain, as anything uncontrolled inherently carries unknown risks.

Now that he had proven the strange ability was not beyond his command, Wang Guan felt considerably more at ease.

To confirm his thoughts, Wang Guan concentrated his attention again, and sure enough, the gossamer thread of gold moved from his brow into his eyes according to his will. A three-dimensional image immediately presented itself before him.

However, Wang Guan also noticed that the scope of this three-dimensional vision was limited to about half a meter in front of him, forming a fan-shaped area. Outside this zone, the special ability was useless.

Time flew quickly, and after another dozen seconds, feeling his eyes grow soft and weary, Wang Guan hastily retracted the gossamer thread, avoiding the potential state of dizziness.

Next, in an effort to familiarize himself with and adapt to the special ability as quickly as possible, Wang Guan worked on it for a long time until, utterly exhausted, he drifted off to sleep in a daze.

Yet, before falling into deep sleep, he noticed the gossamer thread in his brow had become faint, almost invisible, seemingly reaching a critical point. Wang Guan knew then that using the special ability required temperance; it couldn't be done too frequently.

Otherwise, if the golden thread vanished, he would have nowhere left to turn.

“The qi from the antiques seems to be the food for the gossamer thread. I need to find an opportunity to replenish its energy,” he thought, carrying this notion into his dreams.

“Beep beep, beep beep…” Wang Guan was awakened the next morning by the melodious sound of his phone alarm. Recalling his purpose, he quickly got up, washed, grabbed his travel bag, and hurried out.

He settled for a simple breakfast at the steamed bun shop downstairs, then took a public bus for over half an hour, arriving at the train station ahead of schedule.

Since it wasn't a holiday, the station wasn't crowded; at a glance, the waiting hall appeared empty, giving it a somewhat desolate feel. This was a stark contrast to the scorching heat and surging crowds during the Spring Festival travel rush.

After waiting for more than twenty minutes in the hall, the train actually arrived right on time, giving Wang Guan a pleasant surprise. He hurried to get his ticket and board. Soon after, the train whistled and pulled away.

The journey was incredibly dull. Wang Guan stared blankly out the window as the scenery outside rushed past. After three hours, the train finally stopped at Wang Guan's disembarking station.

However, this was not Wang Guan's final destination. He still needed to transfer at the bus station and take a small passenger coach. After driving for over an hour on the road, he finally arrived at his hometown.

Wang Guan's hometown was a county town—neither too big nor too small—with moderate economic strength. No train passed through, so transportation was naturally not very convenient. Fortunately, this unremarkable, neither too close nor too far place actually possessed several historical sites.

For some inexplicable reason, these few scenic spots had been included in the ranks of national scenic areas. Regrettably, due to transportation limitations, such excellent resources were going to waste. The county town had failed to develop properly.

Of course, issues concerning this superstructure were not for Wang Guan to worry about. After getting off the bus at the county station and seeing the familiar surroundings, a genuine smile immediately blossomed on his somewhat weary face.

Outside the station were parked many taxis, tricycles, and other vehicles soliciting passengers. Wang Guan ignored them upon exiting, simply gripping his travel bag and walking quickly down the familiar roads.

Every time he returned home, Wang Guan felt something different. The overall layout of the county town hadn't changed, but the shops lining the streets were somewhat different from his last visit.

Some shops remained the same, while others had closed down, giving Wang Guan a slight feeling of unfamiliarity amidst the familiarity.

Not many people lived in the county town, so it wasn't crowded like Cidu. After walking for a few minutes, Wang Guan soon spotted the entrance to his home. He opened the door, went up the stairs, and almost immediately saw his mother's silhouette in the living room.

"Mom, I'm back," Wang Guan called out.

"...Why are you back so suddenly? You didn't even give a heads-up," his mother seemed slightly surprised as she slowly looked up, her words carrying a hint of complaint, yet her face displayed a gentle smile.

There were no hugs, no tears, yet Wang Guan felt a deep sense of warmth. This plain, unadorned feeling—this was the essence of home.

"I wanted to give you a surprise," Wang Guan glanced around and said with a smile. "Dad's out again."

"Yes, early this morning, he went into the mountains with a few friends to dig for medicinal herbs," his mother replied, walking over, picking up his travel bag, and heading toward his room.

Wang Guan's father had started working at a very young age, so he retired a few years earlier than his peers. By then, his children were grown and had started working. Without the burden of supporting them, Old Man Wang was happy to live freely.

However, after working for most of his life, Old Man Wang found it hard to settle down into leisure after retiring. Influenced by someone—he wasn't sure who—he developed an interest in geomancy, Chinese metaphysics (Di Li Kan Yu), and medicinal herbs.

Over the years, Old Man Wang had dug up quite a few herbs from the mountains and brewed them into medicinal wine, which seemed quite popular. At least, when Wang Guan was home, he had seen people come to the door asking for the medicinal wine several times.

Old Man Wang never refused anyone who came, nor did he charge money. The family understood that this was his source of enjoyment and didn't interfere.

Besides, with the development of the cities, poisonous snakes and fierce beasts in the mountains had long since vanished, so there was no danger. Going up the mountain to dig for herbs was good exercise, serving two purposes at once.

........................... New book, please collect, recommend, and support. Thank you.