Qingfeng

After the middle-aged man left to rest, the steward immediately straightened up and settled into his chair. His expression turned stern, and a powerful, imposing air rose around him. "Someone, come!"

Outside Chongyun City, the merchants who had gone to the primitive tribes to buy hides and spirit medicines emerged from the dense forest and returned in a steady stream, heading for the city gates.

Little One and his companion watched from a distance for a while, then rode the Unicorn away at speed. He didn't enter the city, afraid something might go wrong, since people were inspecting those at the gates.

The Unicorn raced ahead at Extreme Speed. He planned to circle around the area and make for the Shi Clan's Second Ancestral Land.

Shi Lin didn't go with Little One. He planned to enter the city and have a look around.

The mountains were lofty, the terrain treacherous. Going around them added more than a thousand li to the journey. First, cliffs blocked the way; then came stretches of swamp.

But Little One had already crossed three hundred thousand li. He didn't mind taking a thousand-li detour, either. In the end, he entered the Stone Kingdom without trouble and headed for that ruined ancestral land.

Shi Lin also entered the city without incident.

Once inside, he was met by a bustling marketplace. Vendors sold pills, treasures, and precious arts, and the din was deafening.

The streets teemed with people, yet order in the city was excellent. There were no fights, and everyone seemed to get along.

Shi Lin wandered around like that.

At noon, Little One finally reached his destination. The sun blazed overhead, bathing everything in light, but the dilapidated manor looked shrouded in twilight. Many of its buildings were on the verge of collapse. Little One didn't approach right away. From far away, he released the Unicorn and let it race off into the mountains, then cautiously went to investigate with Furball. He had to be careful. The Shi Clan was enormous, and if someone was lying in wait here for him to walk into a trap, he would be in grave danger, with no chance of survival.

For several days in a row, Little Shi Hao made no rash moves. He kept to the surrounding area and uncovered many things.

There were four villages and one town nearby. In the sparsely populated Western Frontier, their presence was quite unusual. Normally, one had to cross mountain after mountain before coming upon a single village.

At first, these villages had been established chiefly to provide for the ruined ancestral land. Eventually, they had grown into the settlements they were now.

This was a place of exile, but ordinary people couldn't enter it. Only those with a distinguished standing in the Shi Clan who had committed grave offenses were banished here.

"Alas, it's growing more and more lifeless. Several of the old monsters have died one after another. What's to become of that poor little thing who's left? What a tragedy." An old man drove an animal-drawn cart away from the ruined manor. He had brought fruit, game, and other food.

There were a few servants in the manor, but it was still desolate, like an abandoned place—bleak and barren.

"Grandpa Hai, you have to bring Big Black next time, so she can keep me company for a while." In the ruined manor, a frail child sat on the stone steps and waved vigorously. He spoke between coughs, his little face deathly pale.

"All right. As soon as Big Black has her litter of tiger cubs, I'll bring them over so they can all keep you company." The old man driving the animal-drawn cart shook his head as he went, murmuring, "What a poor child. No family, no playmates—spending every day in this old manor that's like a cemetery. His childhood is so bleak."

Only after the old man had driven far away did the child finally rise, reluctant to leave. One foot dragged as he leaned against the wall and slowly shuffled back into the manor.

In the woods in the distance, Little One stood staring at everything, almost in tears. He murmured, "Is that the other me? He took my place here, all alone and unhappy, with such a frail body. Even his foot is lame. Did someone hurt him?"

Little One felt the talisman tucked against his chest. It was neither quite gold nor quite stone. He murmured, "I'll get you into the Heaven Mending Pavilion. No matter how far away it is, I'll go with you."

"Young master, the last old ancestor is about to pass away. He doesn't have many days left. Life will be hard for you after that." A servant at the gatehouse spoke, sitting there brazenly. He showed no respect at all, and even sounded a little mocking.

"You're lying! Great-grandpa won't die!" the pale-faced child protested loudly, his big eyes brimming with tears as he coughed nonstop.

"Just wait and see." The servant didn't take him seriously.

Another servant said, "I heard the young master isn't actually Shi Ziling's son. His true identity is that old monster who's about to die's blood relative. He's only standing in for him here."

"Could be. If he really were Shi Ziling's descendant, he'd have had even more disasters to face." The servant sitting brazenly nodded. He never once stood up in the young master's presence, showing not the slightest respect.

In the woods in the distance, Little One watched all this, clenching his fists. It was much as he'd learned over the past few days: in this ruined manor, this cage of a place, some of the servants had long since been bought off by outsiders. They had turned against their own, and after several of the old ancestors died one after another, they had grown increasingly brazen.

Inside the gatehouse, the two servants sat there as though they owned the place, showing not the slightest respect for their supposed young master. They were nonchalant as they said the old ancestor was going to die, practically gloating. "You're not allowed to say that!" The pale-faced child was frail, his big eyes filled with tears. His expression held both sorrow and despair.

He was truly afraid that his only family, Great-grandpa, would pass away. He couldn't bear to lose that bond. And these servants were so hateful. How would he live from then on?

"Young master, living like this, sick and frail, must be a real ordeal. I'd say once you've seen the old master off, you might as well... well, you know." One of the servants in the gatehouse gave a dry laugh, not daring to spell it out. It was too crude.

"Enough, don't say any more. It's only a matter of time. From the look of him, he won't live long anyway. He's surely doomed to an early death." The other servant spoke softly, snickering.

"You're awful! I'll never forgive you!" Tears welled in the child's eyes. Leaning against the wall, he limped farther into the manor.

He was terribly lonely. He walked through the vast estate with no family and no playmates, only cold, dilapidated buildings around him. When the wind blew, old window frames creaked and groaned.

The child kept walking until he reached a fairly spacious courtyard. He pushed open a maplewood door whose paint had long since peeled away and called softly, "Great-grandpa."

On the old bed lay a white-haired elder, his face the color of gold paper and his breath as faint as a thread. His eyes were dull, stripped of the brilliance he'd once possessed when he'd shaken the world.

"Child... If I die, the only one I can't bear to leave behind is you..." The old man struggled to raise his arm and reach for him. His hand trembled, and it took several tries before he touched the child's hand.

"Great-grandpa, you won't die." The child wept.

"Child... don't cry." The old man stroked his pale little face with a rough palm. Tears ran down from his cloudy eyes, and he couldn't bear to part with him.

"Great-grandpa!" The child sobbed, helpless, clutching the old man's hand beside the bed and refusing to let go.

The old man held his small hand in his rough one, looking him over with affection. But his eyes were dim. He opened his mouth as though to say something, yet his chest heaved and he could barely speak.

"Great-grandpa, you can't leave me behind. What am I supposed to do all alone?" The child's eyes were full of sorrow as he shook the old man's arm.

Over the past few years, several elders had passed away one after another, each departure wounding him deeply. Only this last old man remained, the one closest to him. Now he, too, was dying, and fear took hold of the child's heart.

"Child..." The old man opened his mouth, but all the words he had left became those two. He could say no more. His eyes had lost their light, and all he could do was gasp.

Outside the door, Little One's big eyes were red. He slipped into the manor without a sound. After investigating for several days and confirming there were no experts around, he had made his way here.

He pushed the door open and entered, wiping away a tear as he gazed at the old man on the bed. Choking up, he called, "Great-grandpa."

"Ah, you..." The pale-faced child was startled.

The old man on the bed was bewildered. At the very edge of death, he had suddenly seen a child he'd never met before calling him that. He stared at Little One in confusion.

The mighty expert who had once shaken the world had ultimately been unable to resist the passage of time. His final years had been a desolate affair.

"Great-grandpa, I'm the child from back then. I've come to see you!" Little One choked up. Through Willow Deity, he had seen what happened all those years ago. He knew that the old men exiled here had treated his family very well, and that the child beside him was someone they had arranged to take his place.

At those words, the old man on the bed suddenly opened his eyes. His previously dim gaze blazed with piercing light, and he asked in a trembling voice, "You... really are him?"

He had actually managed to speak. His voice was urgent, and his gaze startlingly bright.

"It's me, Great-grandpa. I've come to see you." Little One held his hand, his voice choked with emotion. The other old men had all passed away, and he hadn't even been there to see them off.

"Your injury..." The old man gasped, asking urgently. But those were all he could manage; he couldn't say another word.

"My injury healed. I made it through," Little One said. He knew what the old man most wanted to hear, so he added softly, "I can now summon a hundred and eight thousand jin of divine strength with one arm." He told him truthfully. Sure enough, the old man's eyes widened in shock. His lips kept moving, and he tugged at one of Little One's arms as if to make sure.

"That's right. That's the strength of just one arm!" Little One's eyes filled with tears as he nodded forcefully.

"Haha..." At this final moment, the old man seemed to rally, as if the light were returning before death. He actually burst into laughter. Turbid tears rolled down his cheeks, and his face shone with delight and relief, as though he had no regrets left.

Little One, however, wept. He knew the old man had used up his last reserves of vitality and spirit. Even Saint Medicine could no longer save him.

This old man and Shi Hao's great-grandfather were brothers. Their blood ties were close, and he had treated Shi Hao well indeed—not like those people in the Imperial Capital, who were so cold and indifferent.

"Great-grandpa..." The child beside him wailed.

The old man's eyes had lost their last glimmer of light. Summoning the last of his strength, he took the child's hand, then looked at Little Shi Hao. He opened his mouth, wanting to place the little hand in Little One's, but he no longer had the strength.

Little One wept and reached out to take the small hand himself, clasping it tightly. Then he placed both their hands in the old man's rough palm and said softly, "Great-grandpa, rest assured. I'll take good care of him!"

The old man's last turbid tear slid down his cheek, and then he went still. A smile remained on his face, mingled with relief and the satisfaction of having set down a heavy burden.

He passed away with joy and a sense of release, his regrets finally laid to rest. His eyes closed.

"Great-grandpa!" The child beside him wailed and threw himself onto the old man, crying with heart-rending anguish as tears poured down in streams.

Little One wept too. In the end, he led the child away and quietly said a few words to him before departing.

Two days later, the old man was buried. The child wept uncontrollably by the grave, and a group of servants couldn't pull him to his feet. Several times, he fainted.

In the end, two loyal old servants carried him away.

Hidden in the woods, Little One wiped away his own tears and choked back silent sobs as he watched from afar. He had no way to show himself or go near.

Only after everyone had left did he come to the grave. He murmured softly and paid his respects in earnest.

"Young master, one of your feet is lame. Walk slowly, and be careful not to fall." Once again, the two servants were in the gatehouse, and they had grown even more brazen, openly mocking him. All the old men were dead. What could one poor little thing do? The people outside had always wanted to kill him, and surely they'd act soon.

"You..." The child was furious. His little face was pale, his big eyes red as he glared at them.

"You two scoundrels have gone too far! He's the young master. How dare you speak to him that way?!" two old servants shouted.

"Old fools, mind your own business. This dilapidated place is a cage. What young master? Calling him that all these years was just a way of flattering him." The two servants in the gatehouse turned hostile.

The two old servants trembled with rage. They took the child by the hand and left angrily.

At dusk, Little One appeared in the child's room and asked softly, "Is there anything you wish for now?"

"I want to see Big Black and her tiger cubs." The child's eyes filled with tears. Big Black was a black tiger raised by Old Man Hai, who usually brought game to the manor. The child had few playmates and was very lonely. Whenever Old Man Hai came to deliver game, only Big Black kept him company for a while.

Little One's heart ached. He was a kind child, too, and had endured a string of hardships himself. He could understand the feelings and pain of the child before him.

"Don't you want to punish the two servants in the gatehouse?" Little One asked.

"I do, but I don't want to make a big fuss." The child's eyes were red. The two men were cruel, and after the elders had died one after another, they had done many bad things in the manor.

"Chirp!" Furball shrieked. It had seen everything, too, and was furious. It meant to say that they deserved a thorough thrashing.

"Furball, go take care of it," Little One said. He had other things to do. He wanted to find out who had bribed the servants. Though he'd already guessed, he still wanted confirmation—and intended to take action. The other side had gone too far! "Don't cry anymore. Forget everything here. I'll take you to a place called the Heaven Mending Pavilion. No one will ever dare bully you again."

"Awooo..."

In the middle of the night, a vicious beast flew in and landed outside the manor. It was a Horned Man-Bear, three zhang tall, its body a pale gold. A golden horn sprouted from its head, and a pair of wings on its back let it soar through the sky.

This creature could wield runes, but it couldn't form a Primitive Treasure Bone, much like the Unicorn. It had a certain degree of strength, but couldn't be counted among the truly powerful vicious beasts.

A tiny beast sat atop its head, about the size of a fist, plump and round, and gleaming with golden light. As soon as they arrived, it shot off in a flash and vanished without a trace. It was Furball. Even Little One hadn't expected it to go out and tame a vicious beast like this.

Bang!

The golden bear swung one paw forward and smashed the gatehouse to pieces, waking the two men from their sleep. They saw a gaping maw looming over them and went limp with terror, screaming in horror.

The bear dropped its enormous rump onto them. Several sharp cracks rang out, and it was impossible to tell how many bones they broke. Only their upper bodies remained exposed; their lower halves were a bloody, mangled mess.

"Help!"

Their agonized screams carried especially far in the dead of night. The two men were terrified out of their wits, wailing in fear.

The people in the manor were roused. Many rushed over with weapons, but when they arrived, they all stared in shock.

The golden bear was crunching away, gnawing off the two men's legs. Blood ran everywhere, and jagged white bones showed through. The sight was horrifying.

When it saw the others arrive, the bear stood up, slapped its bloodied paws together, then beat its wings and vanished into the night sky.

"Ah! Help us!" the two men screamed miserably.

Everyone knew the two men were done for. They had lost both their legs, and in the harsh Western Frontier, even if they survived, their lives were bound to be wretched.

"Serves you right for never doing an honest thing!"

"Retribution! Heaven has eyes!"

No one felt the least sympathy for them. That showed how awful they'd been in their dealings with others.

"Furball, you really are... something." After seeing what had happened, Little One glanced at the golden Zhu Yan on his shoulder, surprised. He hadn't expected Furball to order the bear to do something like this. It hadn't killed the men, but what it had done was worse than killing them.

Furball waved its little golden paw, as if to say it was nothing. Evil people deserved to be tormented like this.

"Little Brother, I heard Great-grandpa say that the people bribed in the manor are just small fry. The people outside are the real threat. They have terrifying experts among them." Beside him, the pale-faced child spoke.

"Don't be afraid. I have a way to deal with them." Little One clenched his little fists. He guessed it might be the people from Shi Yi's branch—or someone else. His heart burned with grief and indignation, and he decided to make a great commotion here.

"But they're really powerful, and we're still so young," the child beside him said timidly.

"You don't necessarily have to risk your life to fight the most fearsome beasts. Oh, I forgot—I'm used to saying that because I often fight vicious beasts and birds of prey." Little One scratched his head sheepishly, then continued, "I have a way. None of them will get away. No matter how powerful they are, as long as they're in the Western Frontier at this time, disaster will find them, and they'll be punished!"

In Chongyun Town, a slightly plump middle-aged man paced inside a magnificent mansion. His name was Yu Meng. He was clean-shaven, and faintly visible runes flowed through his eyes. He was an expert of the Rain Clan.

This time, he had been ordered by a Clan Elder to inspect the Western Frontier, since the clan had several businesses here, such as rare metal mines and tribute grounds for rare birds and beasts.

"Has Miss You Yu shown up?" Yu Meng stood on a stone arch bridge in the garden, gazing at a school of Purple-Scaled Fish in the water as he questioned the steward beside him. While making his rounds, he also wanted to obtain a talisman from an envoy of the Heaven Mending Pavilion and deliver it to an outstanding genius of his clan.

That genius was deeply favored by the Clan Elder, so Yu Meng didn't want anything to go wrong. He hoped to get the talisman as soon as possible and send it back.

The steward answered respectfully, "We've been looking into it, but Miss Xia hasn't returned yet. I'll report to you the moment we hear anything."

"Nothing is going smoothly. The Clan Elder told me to investigate Shi Ziling's whereabouts, yet you haven't found a single clue. And when I want to get a talisman, I can't even find the person!" Yu Meng's face darkened. He turned and walked off the stone bridge, then sat down inside a pavilion.

The steward's face went pale. He hurried after him, bowed, and said, "Please forgive me, sir!"

Not long afterward, the steward returned to a hall and sat in a chair. He rubbed his temples, his imposing air restored, and barked, "Someone, come!"

At once, a group of people hurried inside. They were all experts of formidable strength.

"I've had you look into Shi Ziling's whereabouts all these years, and you haven't uncovered a single clue! Bunch of useless fools!" The steward roared like an enraged lion, a far cry from his obsequious manner earlier. He was fearsomely imposing.

A chill ran through the group. They knew the steward was not only ruthless but also an expert with deep cultivation, someone who was unquestionably a major figure in Chongyun City.

The steward's face darkened. "Also, the old monsters in that ruined manor are all dead. Is that child still alive?"

"Sir, we've already investigated. That child is almost certainly a stand-in. There's no way he could be the Shi Hao from back then," someone answered, plucking up his courage.

"Idiot!" The steward flew into a rage and slammed his palm down. The wooden table shattered instantly, and a wave of force surged across the floor, cracking the Adamantine Rock and sinking it more than a foot. It was clear how terrifying his cultivation was.

"Even if he's a fake, we still have to find a way to kill him. What sort of family is the Rain Clan? Ancient and glorious, with a history longer than the Stone Kingdom's. They care most about their reputation. Leaving that little brat alive is an insult to their dignity!" the steward roared.

Everyone below looked frightened and couldn't help retreating. The gloomy man above them bellowed, making their eardrums ache.

"Rest assured, sir. With the old monsters dead, who can protect him? We'll have news soon." The group hurried to assure him.

"I'm warning you. Don't leave the slightest trace behind. Otherwise, I'll rip out your tendons and strip off your skin. If anything goes wrong, none of you will survive!"

"We'll make the arrangements properly. We can have him bitten by a poisonous insect by chance, or frighten him by having a vicious beast rush down from the mountains, until he slowly 'dies of illness.' We can even hire some thugs. They won't attack him directly, but they can..."

"Enough. Go. I want to see results." The steward waved his hand, dismissing the group.

The ruined manor felt even colder and more desolate. The wind blew through it, and old-fashioned doors and windows creaked and groaned like ghosts wailing in the night.

Several elders had passed away, and no new "criminals" had been exiled here in recent decades. The manor felt eerie and empty, devoid of human life.

At night, even the servants didn't want to go outside or walk around the manor.

"What's your name..." Little One scratched his head. They had the same name.

"Ever since I was little, they've called me Shi Hao," the child murmured, his head lowered and his expression gloomy. The old men had all died, and he felt terribly lonely.

"Then why don't you keep that name? I'll change mine," Little One said. The child had suffered so much in his place. Little One didn't want to take away the name he'd always used, too.

"No need. I'll change mine. This name always stirs up so many memories. I want to put all of this behind me," the child beside him said.

After thinking for a long time, he chose a name for himself: Shi Qingfeng. He hoped that from then on he could be as free as the wind and leave this cage behind.

A few days later, Shi Hao took Shi Qingfeng away from the Second Ancestral Land and went to the place he'd agreed to meet Shi Lin: Chongyun Town.