Elder Song's Letter

Evening, Wei Hour.

Bell Tower.

Li Gan spread his stance, braced the Striking Pole, his expression grave.

Suddenly, his ears twitched slightly. He heard that the sand in the Hourglass was about to run out.

He drew a deep breath, violently twisted his waist and legs, and with the opening stance of Sword Piercing Fist, drove the Striking Pole forward with unstoppable momentum, smashing it fiercely into the Chen Bell.

A clear, resonant Bell Sound rang out, carrying through the mountains.

Then the second chime sounded.

It continued for five chimes, the Bell Sound lingering without end.

Li Gan only felt the blood, qi, and Internal Force throughout his body boil.

This had been triggered by the peculiar properties contained within the Bell Sound.

He immediately practiced Sword Piercing Fist on the Bell Tower platform. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—the faint whistles spread outward in an unbroken stream.

Suddenly, a voice called out from beneath the Bell Tower.

"Hey, is anyone there?"

Hearing the voice, Li Gan stopped practicing and walked to the edge of the platform to look down. He saw a young man standing below.

"Are you Li Gan?"

the young man asked.

"Yes. What is it?"

Li Gan nodded.

"I'm a disciple from the Chore Hall. A woman claiming to be your family member says she has something important to see you about."

the young man said.

"Family?"

Li Gan froze.

Where had he gotten any family?

No, this body really did have a family. It had even come from a wealthy household.

But his birth mother had died early, his father had always disliked him, and his stepmother had secretly mistreated him. His life had been far from pleasant, so he had run away from home and taken part in the Divine Sword Sect's Entry Level examination.

After Li Gan had been reborn into this body, he felt even less attached to that family.

Over all this time, he had nearly forgotten that this body even had family.

Something was wrong.

He had come to the Divine Sword Sect to become a Menial Disciple and had never contacted that family at all.

Filled with doubt, Li Gan hurriedly followed the young man down the mountain to the Chore Hall.

Inside the Chore Hall, a somewhat bedraggled Girl sat restlessly. When she saw Li Gan, she asked, "Are you Li Gan?"

"Yes. Who are you?"

Li Gan nodded, then asked.

In the former owner's memories, he did not seem to have ever seen this Girl.

"How often is the Hourglass adjusted?"

The Girl suddenly asked an irrelevant question.

Li Gan was momentarily stunned, then immediately understood. This Girl could not have been sent by his family.

Instead, she was connected to Elder Song.

Otherwise, she would not have asked such a question.

She was clearly testing his identity.

His heart stirred. Had something happened to Elder Song?

Otherwise, why would this Girl be so cautious?

"Thirteen days."

Li Gan answered.

This was what Elder Song had taught him.

"Li Gan, this is what Grandpa asked me to give you."

The Girl took out a crumpled letter and handed it to Li Gan.

Grandpa?

Li Gan was even more puzzled.

Was Elder Song not supposed to have no wife, no sons, and no daughters?

Where had a granddaughter suddenly come from?

He took the letter but did not open it. Instead, he asked, "Where is Elder Song?"

"Grandpa... is dead."

A trace of sorrow appeared on the Girl's face, but she quickly regained her composure.

Elder Song was dead?

Li Gan's heart jolted.

Though Elder Song was nearly eighty, he had practiced martial arts for many years and was still quite hale and hearty. How could he have died so suddenly?

Looking at the letter in his hand, he took a deep breath and carefully opened it, revealing its contents.

"Li Gan, this is this old man's biological granddaughter, Song Yingying. How about betrothing her to you as your wife?"

Li Gan was completely dumbfounded.

Song Yingying, the Girl seated opposite him, seemed to have long known the letter's contents. Seeing Li Gan's expression, she could not help lowering her head, her cheeks faintly red.

"Of course, if you are unwilling, that is fine. For the sake of this old man's face, I hope you can look after Yingying a little. This old man will grant you a stroke of fortune: when the Hourglass on the Bell Tower platform runs out, two chimes at Chen Hour are worth ten thousand gold. Go comprehend it yourself."

"Remember well: as a Menial Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect, you must be wary of certain people in the Chore Hall. Until you become an Official Disciple, no one is trustworthy. Try not to leave the Divine Sword Sect. Even if you must leave, be exceedingly careful."

"Alas, if only this old man could have lived a few more years."

After reading the delivered letter, Li Gan fell into thought.

This was Elder Song's handwriting.

He had seen Elder Song write before.

Elder Song had even specifically reminded him that he absolutely had to recognize this handwriting.

This showed that Elder Song had already been preparing for this day back then.

"How did Elder Song die?"

Li Gan looked up at Song Yingying and hurriedly asked.

Yet Song Yingying shook her head, seemingly unwilling to speak.

"Elder Song asked me in the letter to take care of you."

Li Gan did not press further and changed the subject.

"Grandpa already exchanged for an unregistered Menial Disciple identity plaque for me. From now on, I hope Big Brother Li will look after me."

As she spoke, her cheeks reddened slightly.

There were two ways to become a Menial Disciple. One was to take the examination, whose requirements were far lower than those for Official Disciples.

The second was to spend sect contribution points to exchange for an unregistered Menial Disciple identity plaque.

This unregistered identity plaque meant that the Divine Sword Sect's Chore Hall recognized the plaque, not the person.

As long as one registered with the Chore Hall using the unregistered Menial Disciple identity plaque, one could smoothly become a Menial Disciple.

"Song Yingying, since you came looking for me under the guise of being my family, then in public, we should call each other cousins."

Li Gan thought for a moment before speaking.

Since Elder Song had made Song Yingying come to him as Li Gan's family member, it meant there was certainly some risk in the Chore Hall that he did not know about.

What was more, Elder Song had also mentioned in the letter that he should beware of certain people in the Chore Hall.

This inevitably made him wonder whether Elder Song's death had involved certain people from the Chore Hall.

"That was what I had in mind as well."

Song Yingying said with her head lowered.

Grandpa had told her that if Li Gan was willing, she was to present herself in the Chore Hall as Li Gan's fiancée.

Now that Li Gan had suggested they be cousins, she understood what he meant.

At the same time, she secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, this was her first time meeting Li Gan, and she knew nothing about him. If she were to be betrothed to him merely because of Grandpa's words, she did not feel entirely comfortable with it.

However, she was filial and would not defy Grandpa's decision.

She also understood Grandpa's painstaking intentions.

After all, Grandpa had told her that Li Gan possessed great martial talent and had a very high chance of becoming an Official Disciple of the Divine Sword Sect.

As for her, in Grandpa's words, her aptitude was far too mediocre.

Otherwise, Grandpa would have sent her to the Divine Sword Sect long ago.

Exchanging for a Divine Sword Sect Menial Disciple identity was merely a precaution for unexpected need.

"Then I'll call you Cousin from now on."

"Cousin."

Song Yingying nodded and called him that.

Li Gan glanced once more at the letter. After committing every word to memory, he crumpled it into a ball, circulated the Internal Force within his body, and clenched hard. As his Internal Force shook, the paper ball was shattered into powder.

The contents of this letter absolutely could not be leaked.

Otherwise, trouble would arise.

Without this letter, no one but him knew Song Yingying's true identity.