Chapter Sixty-Four: Meeting Someone

Lu Zhe read through every word and detail of the Tenfold Secret, absorbing all its contents, including the diagrams depicted within. When he finished, he remained frozen in shock for a long time, unable to recover until he finally took a deep breath and forced himself back to awareness.

The technique was utterly bizarre, its recorded methods unlike anything Lu Zhe had ever encountered. It was a far cry from the spells he was accustomed to, leaving him to wonder what sort of extraordinary being had created such a thing.

Old Ye watched Lu Zhe quietly from across the fire, saying nothing.

Lu Zhe closed the scroll, took a deep breath, and attempted to hand it back to Old Ye. But Old Ye gestured for him to keep it, which surprised Lu Zhe. Old Ye explained calmly, “Once you’ve read this scroll, its purpose is fulfilled. The contents can only be seen by one person—the one who opens it. After being read, the text and diagrams erase themselves automatically.”

Lu Zhe was astonished all over again, never having imagined a technique could be so strange.

He exhaled deeply, steadying his mind from the earlier shock, and said coolly, “Why are you showing me such a sinister method?”

Old Ye’s eyes gazed into the flames, occasionally stirring them with a branch. Without looking up, he replied, “Don’t you wish to surpass Shangguan Yijing? I’m simply helping you.”

“No, you’re not helping me—you have your own motives. You’re using me to achieve your goals,” Lu Zhe retorted sharply.

Old Ye was not angered by Lu Zhe’s outburst. His voice remained placid, as calm as still water. “You’re not wrong. I do have a purpose. But my purpose is closely tied to you.” With that, he pointed his index finger at Lu Zhe.

“You don’t lack memories from before the age of eight—your memories are sealed.” Old Ye’s eyes turned cold, his gaze sharp as he looked at Lu Zhe.

Lu Zhe was taken aback; Old Ye was right. He could never recall his life before eight, and every attempt to remember brought splitting headaches. But what of that dream—what did it mean?

Old Ye shook out his robe and fixed Lu Zhe, who was lost in troubled thought, with a steely stare. Suddenly, he said, “You have something you must do.”

Lu Zhe raised his head, puzzled. “What is it?”

“When you become strong enough, you’ll find out,” Old Ye replied with composed assurance.

For reasons he couldn’t explain, Lu Zhe found Old Ye’s words strangely familiar, almost intimate, as if someone had spoken them to him long ago—yet he couldn’t recall when.

Seeing Lu Zhe’s confusion, Old Ye rose and walked over to him, leaned down, and suddenly gave him a resounding slap on the shoulder.

The blow jolted Lu Zhe from his bewilderment. He looked up at Old Ye, who said softly, “Let’s talk about the future when it comes. For now, focus on what’s right before you.”

With those words, Old Ye withdrew his hand and strolled away, hands clasped behind his back. Lu Zhe watched him go, listening as Old Ye recited, “What has come will come again; what has been done will be done again.”

Suddenly, Old Ye sighed, lifted his head to the sky, and his voice grew desolate: “What is destined to come will come; no one can stand in its way.”

He remained there, gazing up at the sky, motionless.

Lu Zhe glanced at Old Ye, who was lost in contemplation, then lowered his head to stare into the fire, falling into deep thought himself.

After a long while, Old Ye—still standing with hands behind his back, eyes on the sky—heard Lu Zhe’s voice from behind. “Master, I’ve made my decision.”

Old Ye turned to look at Lu Zhe, whose face was now free of hesitation and doubt, replaced by a look of unwavering resolve. “What decision?” Old Ye inquired.

“I’ve decided to unravel the mystery of my origins,” Lu Zhe declared, his words firm and resolute.

Old Ye smiled faintly, walked back to Lu Zhe, and patted him on the shoulder. “First, defeat Shangguan Yijing. We’ll speak after that,” he said, laughing softly.

Suddenly, he halted and turned to Lu Zhe. “Did you say you wanted to become an alchemist?”

Lu Zhe nodded.

Old Ye mused for a moment, then said, “Tomorrow, come with me to meet someone.”

“Who?” Lu Zhe asked.

“You’ll see,” Old Ye answered laconically, then headed into the woods.

Lu Zhe watched Old Ye’s figure disappear into the trees, shrugged, and sat back down to finish his fish.

Old Ye quickly made his way to the heart of the forest. After making sure he was alone, he took a milky white, translucent object from his robe. It was rectangular, about the size of a grown man’s palm, and gleamed like jade.

He ran his hand across its surface, and a white light emanated from within. Suddenly, a figure, about as tall as an adult’s middle finger, appeared atop the jade.

The figure wore a white robe and a hood that obscured the face.

Old Ye addressed the apparition calmly. “Come to me tomorrow.”

The figure looked up at Old Ye and asked, “What is it?”

“Come and you’ll know,” Old Ye replied, and before the figure could respond further, he swiped his hand over the jade again, making the image vanish.

He returned the jade to his robe, shook out his sleeves, and made his way back toward where Lu Zhe was.

Time always slips by unnoticed; before you know it, it’s gone. In the blink of an eye, the day had passed. Lu Zhe got up from the ground, stretched, glanced at Old Ye, who was still asleep cross-legged to his right, said nothing, scratched his head, and walked to the nearby stream.

After washing his face, Lu Zhe returned to Old Ye’s side and called softly, “Master.”

Old Ye opened his eyes, glanced at Lu Zhe, and asked, “Are you ready?”

Lu Zhe nodded.

Old Ye stood up from the rock, stretched, and said, “Let’s go.”

Lu Zhe nodded again and followed behind.

They were going to meet the very person Old Ye had mentioned the day before.

For reasons he couldn’t explain, Lu Zhe felt a slight nervousness, as if he were a son-in-law going to meet his future mother-in-law.

He hurried after Old Ye up the mountain, through dense forest, and finally they reached the summit.

Lu Zhe looked around and saw no one. As he was about to ask a question, a cheerful cry rang out—“Yaho!”

Before he could react, he found his face enveloped by something round, fragrant, and soft.

Startled, Lu Zhe instinctively darted to the right, then turned to see what had just smothered him—and was shocked by what he saw.

Standing before him was a woman of extraordinary beauty, her features clear and refined, silver hair falling straight to her waist. She was tall, with a slender waist, her snow-white robe outlining her graceful, slender figure. Her chest was full, her curves pronounced—a woman of unmatched loveliness, who now gazed at Lu Zhe with a mischievous, beaming smile.

“So, Little Ye, this is the boy you spoke of? Not bad!” she laughed.

Smack!

Old Ye rapped her on the head with his bamboo staff. “How many times have I told you? Call me Grandpa Ye. Call me that again and I’ll spank you.”

The woman pouted, rubbing her head, feigning hurt. “Why hit my head? What if you make me stupid?”

“Enough chatter. Where’s your grandfather?” Old Ye asked curtly.

“Over there,” she said, pointing to a massive boulder.

Old Ye waved his hand. “Let’s go.”

Lu Zhe, still blushing at what had just happened, touched his face, lowered his head, and hurried after Old Ye behind the boulder, the smiling woman following close behind.

Behind the boulder was a small cliffside platform, no more than ten meters wide. Beyond it stretched endless, rolling mountains, shrouded in mist like veils. The cool mountain breeze stirred the fog, while the distant calls of birds created an atmosphere like a fairyland. Upon a protruding rock at the edge of the cliff sat a figure robed in white, as pure as snow.