The Old Man in the Dream, the Wordless Heavenly Book

Back in his room.

Zhou Ming could not help but ponder what Yin Zhong had meant by everything he had said earlier.

But no matter how he thought it over, he could not find anything wrong with those words.

Still, Yin Zhong had made sense.

Better to rely on yourself than on your father or mother.

Though Zhou Ming had no intention of fighting for supremacy, nor did he wish to rule this vast world.

He still had his own needs, things he wanted to accomplish.

Yet he had no people at his disposal, so he could only rely on his adoptive father, Pei Ju.

But that meant Pei Ju would always know whatever he did.

Just like before, when he had sent Jian Yu to seek out the Northern Darkness Divine Art, only for Jian Yu to hand it over to Pei Ju first.

Or now, when he had sent Uncle Qiang to gather intelligence regarding the Jianghu Monthly Report.

The result had been Pei Ju summoning him to the study and giving him a scolding.

In the end, Pei Ju had even painted him a rosy picture.

Although there was a strong chance that rosy picture would come true in the future.

Zhou Ming had now truly experienced the drawbacks of relying on others.

"Building a power of my own... that could work..."

Zhou Ming thought.

After all that, he naturally had no mood to work on a second part of the novel. As night deepened, he went to sleep under the care of the maidservants.

"Where... am I?"

Zhou Ming looked around in confusion.

Thick fog blanketed heaven and earth. Other than himself, there was nothing.

"Where the hell did this send me?"

As his astonishment rose, a road paved with wooden planks suddenly appeared beneath his feet. At its end stood a pavilion.

"That is... Qianjin Pavilion?"

Zhou Ming walked forward and saw that it truly was the Qianjin Pavilion he knew.

A lake lay before the pavilion.

A white-haired old man sat within it, holding a fishing rod as though he were angling.

Zhou Ming approached, just as the water splashed. The old man lifted his rod and directly reeled in a fish with a small head and huge body, fat beyond belief.

Without even raising his head, the old man said, "So the master of this place has arrived. This old man wandered here and saw that the fish in your lake were exceptionally plump, a rare sight indeed. I could not resist casting a few lines. You do not mind, do you?"

"Since you like them, Senior, I naturally do not mind."

Zhou Ming said, "But there is one mistake in what you said. The fish in this lake are not raised by me. They are born and nurtured by nature itself. I merely often fish here."

"Ah?"

The old man said in surprise, "I saw you come here every morning to scatter fish food, so I thought you were raising fish here!"

Zhou Ming clenched his fists. "Senior, you are mistaken! I come here every morning to fish. It is simply difficult to catch fish here, so I scatter a little extra fish food. It is to lure the fish over, not because I mean to raise them!"

The moment he finished speaking, the water splashed again. The old man lifted his rod and caught another huge, fat fish.

Its tail swayed left and right, as though it were slapping Zhou Ming across the face.

"As the saying goes, a gentleman judges actions, not intentions. Whatever your intentions may have been, every fish in this lake has grown fat because of you. Since this old man has caught your fish, I will not take advantage of you for nothing."

As he spoke, the old man took a jade tablet from his robes and handed it to Zhou Ming. "I shall give you this heavenly book."

Zhou Ming accepted the jade tablet and saw that it was the size of an ordinary book, formed from a single piece, its two sides smooth and unmarked.

"Senior, there is not a single word on this book. How am I supposed to read it?"

The old man smiled. "Since it is a heavenly book, naturally you must use heavenly eyes to read it!"

"Ah? Heavenly eyes? But I do not have any."

"No, you do!"

"Where are they?"

Zhou Ming opened his eyes, only to discover that he had somehow awakened from the dream.

His right hand felt heavy, as though something were pressing on it.

He grabbed it and saw a jade tablet, the size of an ordinary book, formed from a single piece and smooth on both sides.

"The heavenly book..."

Zhou Ming sat up at once, his face filled with shock.

Xia Feng was awakened by his movement and asked, "Young Master, what is wrong?"

"Nothing. Go back to sleep."

Zhou Ming rolled out of bed. "I am going out for a walk."

He threw on an outer robe, left the bedroom, and walked all the way to Qianjin Pavilion. He picked up the fishing rod kept there and cast it into the lake.

A long while passed.

Nothing happened.

"I knew the fish here were hard to catch. How could anyone possibly hook two of them in such a short time?!"

Zhou Ming put down the fishing rod and cursed under his breath.

Of course, after an experience like tonight's, no one would truly be in the mood to fish.

Zhou Ming was merely using it to calm the surging turmoil in his heart.

The effect was obvious.

At the very least, he had regained his composure now.

Holding the jade tablet, Zhou Ming fell into deep thought.

A book delivered in a dream?

And a heavenly book at that?

If someone else had encountered something so mysterious, they would likely have believed they had met an immortal.

But Zhou Ming knew that within this residence was someone no less extraordinary than an immortal.

The Undying God-Demon, Yin Zhong!

Could the old man in the dream have been him?

And besides...

Zhou Ming looked at the heavenly book. "I have heavenly eyes? Where are they?"

The next morning, Zhou Ming listlessly ate breakfast, yawning from time to time.

Seeing this, Chun Hua quietly rebuked, "Xia Feng, you are supposed to serve Young Master. Do not just focus on enjoying yourself. Look how exhausted you have made him."

Xia Feng's cheeks reddened. "Big Sister, I did not... Young Master got up in the middle of the night yesterday and did not return until several hours later. Who knows what he went off to do?"

"Hm?"

Upon hearing that, Chun Hua immediately turned an appraising gaze on the other two.

Just then, Uncle Qiang hurried into the dining hall. "Young Master, Master has asked you to come over."

"What is it this time?" Zhou Ming asked.

"Second Master Yin received a message by carrier pigeon and is preparing to return to the Ancient Shu State."

"What?"

Zhou Ming was startled, instantly wide awake.

Last night, he had spent several hours studying the heavenly book without figuring out anything.

He had also considered where the heavenly book had come from. Naturally, Yin Zhong was the most suspicious.

Unexpectedly, Yin Zhong was leaving the very next day.

Well, that settled it. There was no need to suspect anything anymore. It had definitely been him!

Imperial Sword Manor had no issues early or late, so why did something suddenly come up right after he obtained this heavenly book?

It was probably just an excuse.

Yin Zhong himself was leaving.

That was what it meant to give oneself away.

Zhou Ming set down his breakfast, straightened his clothes, and said, "I will be right there."

When he hurried to the entrance, Yin Zhong was already ready to depart, while Pei Ju stood beside him to see him off.

"Second Uncle!"

Zhou Ming hurried forward. "Second Uncle, why are you leaving so suddenly, in such a rush?"

Yin Zhong said, "The matter arose too urgently. I have no choice.

Nephew, cultivate the technique I gave you diligently. Do not grow lazy. This technique will benefit you without end!"

Zhou Ming's gaze shifted slightly.

Was Yin Zhong referring to the Sword Qi Finger, or to that heavenly book?

It was probably a double meaning.

Without knowing the truth, one would only think he meant the Sword Qi Finger.

But Zhou Ming had the advantage of knowing the plot and had long known that Yin Zhong was no simple man. He had already suspected him the moment he obtained the heavenly book.

That was why he could understand the other meaning hidden in those words.

"This nephew will certainly cultivate diligently and will not fail Second Uncle's expectations!"

"Good, good, good."

Yin Zhong nodded repeatedly, then cupped his hands toward Pei Ju. "Brother Pei, farewell!"