The Mysterious Mad Old Man

The bizarre scene in the Underground Secret Chamber had lingered in Long Zhanye's mind.

His Adam's apple bobbed. In the end, he could not hold back any longer and asked hesitantly in a low voice, "Elder Xu, have any disciples of our sect... vanished without reason in recent years?"

Elder Xu's brows immediately furrowed, and his gaze turned sharp and certain. "No."

"Though our Body Sect does not have an enormous number of disciples, everyone keeps in close contact, and management is strict. If anyone went missing, it would be noticed within half a day. It would be impossible for someone to disappear without a sound."

He stared at Long Zhanye's pale face and pressed, "Why are you suddenly asking this? Did you discover something amiss?"

Elder Xu had taught Long Zhanye for nearly three years, painstakingly guiding his cultivation and tending to his body. Their relationship had long surpassed that of ordinary master and disciple.

To Long Zhanye, this elder, who seemed stern but truly cared for him, was both a teacher and a trustworthy elder like family.

Seeing him press further, Long Zhanye no longer hesitated and told him everything about that terrifying night.

"Last night... near Short Bridge, I accidentally discovered a hidden underground pit. The entrance was loosely covered with stones, and I carelessly fell in..."

He spoke faster. "At the bottom... there was a wooden door. Behind it was a huge secret chamber! There were lamps inside, and shelves everywhere. On those shelves were... were jars!"

"Inside those jars... soaking in them were... were human organs! Palms, feet, arms, skin... and internal organs! So many... so many!"

He suddenly raised his head, his eyes filled with undisguised terror and confusion. "Elder Xu, what kind of place was that?"

"Why would there be a secret chamber beneath our sect... hiding so many human organs?"

As Elder Xu listened to his account, his expression was grave at first. But when he heard words like "organs" and "secret chamber"—

His grizzled brows suddenly shot up, and a complicated gleam flashed through his cloudy eyes: realization, and even a trace of... reminiscence.

He fell silent for a long time, lost in distant memories.

Only after a while did he let out a long breath and mutter hoarsely:

"So... it was that old thing. He actually... is still alive."

Long Zhanye immediately asked, "Who? Elder Xu, who are you talking about?"

Elder Xu raised his head. "A... mysterious old freak. No, it would be more accurate to say he is an ancient presence within the sect."

"When I was still very young, I once heard my teacher mention him.

"That was before the previous sect master, Sect Master Du Bisi, took charge of the sect... that old man had already been in the sect."

"No one knew exactly how long he had lived or where he came from, and few had ever seen his true face. Back then, stories of the 'Mad Old Man' circulated in private throughout the sect."

He paused, then continued, "They said his temperament was extremely strange. He lived in seclusion year-round and was obsessed with certain... pursuits ordinary people could not understand."

"That secret chamber filled with organs, if I am not mistaken, should have been his doing."

"Later, around thirty years ago, he suddenly disappeared. No one ever saw any trace of him again."

"As time passed, everyone believed he had either died or completely left the sect..."

"Who would have thought? Who would have thought..." Elder Xu shook his head, disbelief written across his face.

"He was actually still alive. And that secret chamber was still there as well."

After hearing Elder Xu's explanation, Long Zhanye's brows furrowed even tighter.

He still did not understand just who this so-called Mad Old Man was.

And what purpose did that secret chamber, which displayed countless human organs, serve?

Seeing that the confusion had not left his face, Elder Xu added, "Though that old fellow has an odd temperament and acts in ways others find difficult to understand, he... truly is not a bad person."

"At least, as far as I know, he has never actually harmed anyone in the sect."

"If you happen to run into him someday, there is no need to panic too much. Just call him 'Grandpa.' As for his name, no one has known it for a long time. Perhaps even he himself has forgotten."

"I only know that he once made considerable contributions to the sect. Later... it seemed that some change was what made him become the way he is now."

After saying that, Elder Xu gently patted Long Zhanye on the shoulder, his tone soothing. "Put your mind at ease. He will not hurt people without cause."

Long Zhanye nodded thoughtfully. Though the heavy stone in his heart had not fully fallen away, Elder Xu's assurance did ease some of his sense of danger.

However, the curiosity he had forcibly suppressed suddenly flared up.

Since Elder Xu said the old man bore no ill intent, and Long Zhanye's body was currently unable to cultivate while he also had to recuperate in the sect, leaving him idle all day... why not find something for himself to do?

Over the following days, Long Zhanye dragged his sick body through nearly obsessive stakeouts and investigation.

He avoided others, especially keeping it from Elder Xu, and used his familiarity with the sect's terrain to patrol around Short Bridge.

His patience was astonishing. He endured his physical weakness and the chill of night, observing in silence.

Hard work paid off. After nearly a week of sleepless surveillance, he finally spotted a pattern.

About every seven days, in the dead of night, the Mad Old Man would return from the outskirts of the sect by an extremely concealed route and head straight into that underground secret chamber.

And the Mad Old Man was not always alone. Twice, a young man dressed in a dark cloak with an upright figure had followed beside him.

The young man moved deftly and concealed his aura extremely well. The two entered the pit together and did not emerge until much later.

What were they doing inside? Did those organs... have something to do with this young man?

One night.

Long Zhanye once again came to the wooden door of the secret chamber. He pressed his eye tightly to the crack and held his breath as he peered inside.

Under the lamplight, he could vaguely make out two shifting figures, seemingly busy among the shelves.

From time to time came faint clinks of containers striking one another, along with the Mad Old Man's indistinct muttering.

Time crawled by. The cold of the latter half of the night and his accumulated exhaustion finally struck together.

A powerful wave of drowsiness surged over him like a tide. Long Zhanye's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and his consciousness gradually blurred...

Just like that, with his back against the icy wooden door, he fell into a deep sleep.

Who knew how much time had passed before Long Zhanye jolted awake.

To his horror, he discovered that he was no longer outside the door. He was in the middle of that terrifying secret chamber, surrounded by countless organs!

He was tightly bound to a hard wooden chair with coarse hemp rope, unable to move.

"Hehe... it has been decades since a newcomer came here. Little brat, which crack in the rocks did you crawl out of?"

A hoarse, dry voice rang out nearby.

Long Zhanye turned his head in alarm and saw the figure known as the Mad Old Man standing hunched at the edge of the dim light not far away.

He forcefully suppressed the panic in his heart and replied stiffly, "Isn't that obvious? I'm from the Body Sect, so naturally I'm a little brat from the Body Sect!"

"Body Sect... hahaha, hahaha!" The Mad Old Man seemed amused by the answer and burst into abrupt laughter.

His laughter echoed through the empty secret chamber, sounding especially eerie. "That's right, that's right! This old man is muddleheaded. When you get old, your brain stops working properly..."

As he rambled on in self-mockery, he slowly turned around and walked toward a workbench to one side.

Long Zhanye watched helplessly as he picked up a small dagger and began sharpening it against a whetstone, stroke by slow, focused stroke.

"Hey! Mad Old Man! What are you doing?! Let me go!" Long Zhanye struggled.

Without turning around, the Mad Old Man merely said leisurely, "Do not be afraid, do not be afraid..."

"This old man only needs a little of your blood. Once I have taken it, I will let you go. Don't worry, I won't take your life."

His tone was utterly calm, as though he were discussing the most ordinary little matter.

"Taking blood? This madman actually had such a hobby?" Long Zhanye hurriedly shouted, "Mad Old Man! Don't do anything reckless!"

"I am a genius disciple of the Body Sect! If you dare touch me, the sect master will never let you off!"

The instant the words "sect master" burst from Long Zhanye's mouth, the Mad Old Man's sharpening motion abruptly froze. His entire hunched silhouette seemed to stiffen for a moment.

In that brief pause, it was as though countless fragments of the past churned through his murky mind.

But soon, he returned to that muddled appearance, even carrying a crazed, reckless air. "Sect master? Hehe..."

"They all think I'm mad, despise me, avoid me... so naturally I have to do what a madman should do!"

He muttered to himself, finally stopped sharpening the blade, and gripped the small dagger. Then he turned and walked, step by step, toward Long Zhanye, who was bound to the chair...