Courtyard House: Time Traveler Not Yet a Ghost

The UFO's outer shell gleamed coldly under the starlight, like a forgotten metal leaf, silently gliding through space. Inside, the main lights weren't on; only the eerie blue glow of the control panel illuminated two figures. Chen Xueru pressed her face against He Damin's shoulder, her nose brushing against the gray sweater peeking out from his spacesuit collar. The warmth, mingled with the faint scent of disinfectant, made her eyelids heavy.

"Are you still cold?" He Damin's voice came from above, his chest trembling. He freed one hand and tucked the blanket behind her back even tighter.

"It's not cold anymore." Chen Xueru snuggled closer to him, her eyes never leaving the porthole. Outside, the sky was a splattered expanse of dark ink, the stars embedded within it, dazzlingly bright, yet without any shimmer, like frozen rock candy in a supermarket freezer. She remembered looking at the stars on Earth before setting off, always feeling that those points of light were blinking; now she knew it was just a trick played by the atmosphere. In space, the stars were dead, suspended rigidly, exuding a chilling aura that kept everyone at a distance.

"Brother Damin, are we almost at the moon?" she finally couldn't help but ask when she counted the 17th particularly bright star.

He Damin glanced at his watch—an old-fashioned mechanical watch with a miniature navigation system embedded in the dial, the hands bobbing under the fluorescent light. "Almost there, in forty more minutes." He ran his finger across the control panel, bringing up a 3D star map. "Look, we've just passed the Earth-Moon Lagrange point, and we're now falling under the Moon's gravity."

Chen Xueru leaned closer to look at the screen. The green trajectory line, like a small snake, was coiling towards a gray-white sphere. She suddenly remembered a myth she had heard as a child, about Chang'e, the Jade Rabbit, and an ever-lasting cassia tree on the moon. But the pockmarked sphere on the screen didn't look like a place where immortals lived at all.

"Want to try on a spacesuit?" He Damin suddenly asked. He dragged two silver boxes out of the storage compartment. "These are the new models I found in the warehouse yesterday. They say they're radiation-proof and lightweight, much more comfortable than the one I wore last time."

Chen Xueru squatted in front of the box, watching him take things out one by one: a helmet, gloves, boots, and an inner lining that looked like a one-piece swimsuit. "How am I supposed to wear this?" She poked the silvery-white outer fabric, which was smooth and slippery, like it was coated with wax.

"I'll teach you." He Damin picked up the inner lining. "Wear this first, it's close-fitting and can automatically regulate temperature." He helped her put her arms into the sleeves; the fabric felt slightly warm against her skin, like a heat pack. "Then comes the outer protective suit. You see, there's a zipper here, from the ankle all the way to the collar... Yes, like wearing a down jacket."

Once they were both dressed, Chen Xueru turned around in front of the reflector on the cabin wall. The helmet visor was brown, allowing her to see outside, but not inside. "Do I look like an astronaut?" she asked, waving her thickly gloved hand. Her voice, coming through the built-in communicator, was a little muffled.

"Yes, it looks like it," He Damin laughed, "except your helmet is crooked." He reached out to straighten her helmet, his fingertips touching the cool visor. "When we go down, remember to stay close to me and don't jump around. The moon's gravity is weak; a fall won't hurt, but the dust will get in your eyes."

Chen Xueru nodded obediently, but she was a little excited inside. She secretly jumped around on the spot, and it was indeed much lighter than on Earth, like walking on cotton.

Forty minutes passed quickly. First, a blurry grayish-white shadow appeared outside the porthole, then it grew larger and closer until it filled the entire window. The moon was right there in front of us, without an atmosphere to filter it. Its surface was as rough as a rock just dug out of the ground, with one crater after another, some bottomless, and some with fresh meteorite impact marks on their edges.

"This is the moon..." Chen Xueru whispered. There was no poetry, no romance, just a cold, hard rock, even its color was dull and gray, like a steamed bun that had been sitting out for a long time. She suddenly felt a little disappointed; it turned out that myths were all lies.

"It doesn't look good on the surface," He Damin said with a smile, "but there might be something good hidden inside." He pointed to the control panel, where a red energy reading was flashing on the screen. "Look, the detector keeps beeping; there's an energy reaction down there, and it's not something that happened naturally."

Chen Xueru leaned closer to the screen; the wavy lines were jumping wildly, like an electrocardiogram. "You mean... the moon is empty?"

"Possibly." He Damin steered the flying saucer downwards. "Let's find a flat spot to land."

The UFO slowly descended along the edge of a massive crater, a slight vibration emanating from the landing gear as it touched down. Chen Xueru felt a sudden lightness, as if she were about to float away. He Damin unbuckled her seatbelt first and then reached out to unlock her helmet. "Ready?"

"Hmm!" Chen Xueru took a deep breath, her palms slightly sweaty.

The hatch slowly opened, revealing the gray world outside. There was no wind, no sound, even the light seemed frozen. He Damin jumped down first, splashing up a cloud of fine sand as he landed. He turned back and reached out his hand to Chen Xueru: "Come down, don't be afraid."

Chen Xueru grabbed his hand and carefully jumped down. The moment her feet touched the ground, she felt lightheaded. She couldn't help but push off, and she flew more than a meter into the air, startling her with a cry of "Ah!" He Damin quickly reached out to steady her, smiling helplessly, "I told you not to jump like that."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." Chen Xueru steadied herself and looked down at her footprints. The lunar dust was fine and soft, like stepping into flour. Her footprints were several centimeters deep, with slightly curled edges. She squatted down and poked the dust with her finger; it was icy cold, like snow just taken out of the refrigerator.

"Let's go, the energy source is over there." He Damin led her along the edge of the crater. Their spacesuits had built-in gravity regulation, so walking wasn't difficult, but every step felt light and airy, like being in a dream. Chen Xueru couldn't help but jump again, this time higher, and could see the undulating crater stretching out like waves all the way to the horizon.

"Brother Damin, look!" she pointed to a huge crater in the distance, "The middle of that mountain looks black!"

He Damin looked in the direction she pointed, his brows furrowing slightly. The crater was larger than the surrounding ones, its base a deep, dark black, as if splattered with ink. "The energy source is there," he said, quickening his pace.

After walking for about twenty minutes, they reached the bottom of the crater. The dust here was indeed black, softer than the grayish-white dust they had just encountered, and had a metallic sheen. Chen Xueru picked up a small pebble, rubbed it between her fingers, and it crumbled into shiny black powder.

"What kind of soil is this?" she asked curiously.

He Damin didn't speak. He squatted down and used his gloves to brush away the surface black soil. Underneath, a black rock was revealed, its surface smooth and gleaming with a cold, hard light. He tapped it with his finger, and it made a dull "thud," sounding unlike a solid stone.

"It's empty." He stood up, pulled Chen Xueru back a few steps, and said, "Stand back a bit."

Before Chen Xueru could react, she saw He Damin reach out and press his hand on the black rock. A faint white light emanated from his palm, and the rock began to vibrate slightly, making a "crackling" sound. A crack spread from his palm, growing wider and deeper, until finally, with a loud "boom," it opened up a hole more than two meters high.

The cave entrance was pitch black and bottomless, but a faint blue light shone through.

"This...this is a door?" Chen Xueru's eyes widened.

"You'll see when you go inside," He Damin said, taking her hand. "Follow me, don't let go."

As the two entered the cave, a wave of cold air, a mixture of metallic and dusty smells, hit them. Inside was a wide passageway with walls made of some kind of black metal, smooth as a mirror and gleaming with a bluish light. Chen Xueru couldn't help but reach out and touch the wall; it was icy cold, like touching a block of ice.

"This must be man-made," she whispered. "Look at this wall, how smooth it is."

He Damin nodded, his divine sense already probing far ahead. The passage was long, extending downwards, and at its end seemed to lie a vast space. "Watch your step," he warned. Although the passage floor was flat, there were occasional raised metallic patterns.