Departure (Two Chapters Combined)

The bracelet shimmered with a soft purple luster under the light, its edges sealed perfectly where the energy circuits had been integrated, a faint blue halo circulating across its surface.

Na'er reached out to take the bracelet, her fingertips pausing for a fleeting moment the instant they touched the metallic surface.

The bracelet still held the residual warmth from Chu Yan's palm, pressing snugly and comfortably against her skin.

She lowered her head to look at the purple bracelet resting quietly in her palm, glanced up at Chu Yan, and then slowly fastened it around her left wrist.

The size was perfect, hugging the curve of her wrist neither too loosely nor too tightly, as if it had been measured with precision.

The moment the bracelet touched her skin, a gentle warmth seeped from its inner core, spreading slowly up her wrist like an invisible hand stroking her meridians—a warm, soothing sensation.

Na'er lowered her eyes to watch the purple band on her wrist, remaining silent for a long while before speaking softly, her voice slightly hoarse: "Brother, when did you start making this?"

"I worked on it off and on for over two months." Chu Yan gathered the tools on the desk back into the drawer, his tone casual as he continued, "I melted it down and revised it twice a while back. The energy circuit layout in the first version had flaws that caused it to heat up after prolonged wear, so I switched to a different conductive material to stabilize it."

He paused, tilting his head to check the bracelet on her wrist to confirm the fit before adding, "Just wear it all the time; there's no need to take it off. It's fine for bathing and sleeping. The energy core inside will last for over half a year. Just let me know when it runs out, and I'll replace it for you."

Na'er nodded, saying nothing more.

She simply kept her head bowed, using the fingertips of her other hand to gently trace the smooth surface of the bracelet, circling it over and over.

After a short while, Chu Yan stood up, pushed his chair under the desk, and turned to face her, his tone gentle: "Alright, it's getting late. Go back to sleep; you have school tomorrow."

Na'er climbed down from the chair, stood before him, and looked up at him.

Her purple eyes appeared exceptionally clear under the warm yellow light. The mist that had clouded them earlier had faded, though a faint trace of red remained at the corners of her eyes.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but in the end, she only curved her eyes into a smile and said, "Thank you, Brother."

"Go on."

Na'er turned and walked toward the door, but after two steps, she stopped, looked back at him, and then, as if she had finally made up her mind, she spoke.

"Brother, I will always remember today."

Without waiting for Chu Yan to reply, she hugged her small pillow and hurried out of the room, her silver-white hair ends vanishing in a flash past the doorframe.

Chu Yan stood where he was, watching the door that had closed once more. He remained quiet for a moment, then let out a soft breath, walked back to the desk, and sat down, closing the drawer.

A few fine metal shavings from the assembly of the soul tool remained on the desktop. He swept them into the trash bin with his fingertips and habitually returned his pen and notebook to their original positions.

After finishing these tasks, he sat in the chair for a while, his gaze drifting to the night scene outside the window.

He knew that Na'er's earlier words, "If one day I leave," were not just a casual hypothetical.

Na'er's memories were awakening, or perhaps a portion had already awakened. The fact that she could say such a thing meant she was already preparing herself for something.

He and Na'er shared quite a few memories; over the past few years, he had cared for her like a younger sister. Now that she might be leaving, he felt a lingering sense of reluctance.

However, if she truly needed to handle matters belonging to the soul beast clan, he would not force her to stay.

All he could do now, before he became strong enough, was to leave her with the best possible impression, so that when she made her choices in the future, she might hesitate and remember that there was someone here waiting for her.

Was this... considered manipulation?

A few days later, the local primary school went on break, and Na'er no longer needed to wake up early for classes.

On this day, Chu Yan stood at the courtyard gate, gazing at the tightly shut door of the west wing, watching it in silence for several moments.

Usually, by this time, Na'er would have already pushed the door open and run out, sometimes sitting on the stone bench in the courtyard waiting for him to finish his staff practice, or sometimes... but regardless, there would always be a small figure moving about in that space.

However, today, there was no sign of her.

The door was closed, there were no lights in the room, and the curtains were drawn tight.

Could it be that she had already... Sigh.

Chu Yan stood at the gate for a while, a faint premonition stirring in his heart, then stepped forward and stopped before the door.

He raised his hand and knocked lightly on the wood with his knuckles.

"Na'er?"

There was no response from within.

He knocked twice more and waited a few moments, but there was still no movement.

Chu Yan withdrew his hand, stood in silence for a moment, and then pushed the door.

It was unlocked and swung open at his touch.

The room had been tidied up thoroughly; the quilt was folded neatly, the pillow was placed at the head of the bed, and the sheets were pulled taut without a single wrinkle, as if someone had carefully arranged everything before leaving.

The room remained clean and orderly, but Chu Yan noticed at a glance that the small pink doll that usually sat on the nightstand was gone, the children's books on the desk that she had read over and over were missing, and even the small yellow flower pot that had been on the windowsill for three years had vanished.

Chu Yan stood in the center of the room, his gaze sweeping over the empty corners before finally landing on the desktop.

A letter lay there, held down by a small stone to keep it from blowing away, and beside it sat a small pendant.

He walked over, picked up the letter, and unfolded it.

The paper was the same white stationery Na'er used for her homework, the edges cut unevenly. The handwriting was written with great care, the strokes somewhat childish but neat and clear.

"Father, Mother, Brother, Sister Xiao Yan:"

I am leaving.

Thank you so much for taking care of me these past few years, truly, thank you so much. I remember the first day Brother brought me home; Mother served me a big bowl of rice, Father patted my head and said, "Stay here," Sister Xiaoyan held my hand and said, "We'll play together from now on," and Brother stood by, watching me and smiling.

I remember those things, every single one of them.

But I have remembered who I am, and my family has come to collect me, so I must leave. I have been so happy during the days I spent with you all—so happy that sometimes I would forget I had other things I needed to do.

I am reluctant to leave you, but the memories that are gradually returning tell me that I must leave this place; I have so many, many things to do.

Brother, thank you for accompanying me as I grew up. Although it has only been three years, it has been a luxury to me. I will always wear the bracelet you gave me and never take it off. You must cultivate well and become the strongest person as soon as possible, so that no matter who it is in the future, they won't be able to bully you.

By the way, the silver pendant on the table is for you. It is the only valuable thing I have, so please keep it safe.

Don't miss me too much, Brother.

Na'er"

Chu Yan silently read the letter from beginning to end twice, then slowly folded it and placed it into his storage bracelet.

He stood by the table, looking down at the silver pendant.

The pendant was a perfectly round silver gemstone, about the size of a thumbprint, its surface as smooth as a mirror with a few natural facets, and a very thin silver thread passed through it.

Inside the gem, seven-colored light flowed vaguely, as if a small piece of flowing rainbow light had been sealed within, refracting tiny specks of light under the sunlight filtering through the window screen.

Chu Yan reached out and picked up the pendant. It felt slightly cool to the touch and wasn't heavy, but the texture was quite unique.

This girl left quite decisively; she didn't even say goodbye, just ran off after leaving a letter.

He stood there for a while holding the pendant, and after a long moment, he sighed softly, his tone filled with helplessness as he said, "You girl, you left quite quickly, not even saying goodbye to your brother in person."

The room was very quiet; no one answered him.

He looked down at the silver pendant in his palm, then looked up at the empty room, before turning and walking out, closing the door behind him.

"Next time we meet, I'm definitely going to give your bottom a good spanking."

What Chu Yan did not know was that in a small alley about half a mile away from the Chu Clan estate, a little silver-haired girl in a white dress was standing at the corner of the alley, clutching a light blue hair ribbon in her hand, her gaze fixed firmly in the direction of the Chu Clan estate.

Her eyes were red, and a layer of mist that wouldn't dissipate no matter how much she blinked covered her purple eyes. Tears flowed uncontrollably down her cheeks, dripping onto her collar and soaking into a small dark patch.

Standing one step behind her was a tall man.

The man wore a dark gray robe, his face obscured in the shadows of his hood, but the aura he exuded was steady and heavy, like a silent mountain.

"My Lord, it is time to go."

Na'er did not turn back. She looked in the direction of the estate for a long while longer before raising her hand to wipe the tear stains from her face with her sleeve, carefully tucking the hair ribbon into the inner pocket of her clothes.

"Mm."

She responded, took one last look at the courtyard wall of the Chu Clan estate in the distance, then turned and walked into the depths of the alley.

After walking a few steps, she stopped and looked back once more.

She watched for a few more breaths before turning back around, picking up her pace, and walking quickly into the depths of the alley.

Just as Chu Yan was preparing to return to his room, Xu Xiaoyan came running in through the courtyard gate.

She was wearing a goose-yellow short-sleeved shirt today, bustling with energy. As soon as she entered, she looked around, calling out, "Little Sister Na'er! Look what I brought for you..."

Then she saw Chu Yan standing alone in the center of the courtyard, failing to see that familiar little figure, and her voice came to an abrupt halt.

"Brother Yan? Where is Na'er?"

Chu Yan looked at her, his tone slightly softer than usual as he said, "She left."

"Left?" Xu Xiaoyan was stunned. She hid the item in her hand behind her back, trotted over, looked up at him, and pressed, "Where did she go? When is she coming back?"

"Perhaps... she isn't coming back."

Following that, Chu Yan handed her the letter.

Xu Xiaoyan took it and read it, her expression changing as well. She stared down at the crookedly written letter for a long time, her fingers pinching the edge of the paper until her knuckles turned slightly white. She didn't speak for a long time before finally saying in a muffled voice, "Then will she... come back to see us?"

"She said she has many things she needs to do."

"That doesn't mean she couldn't spare the time to say goodbye to us." A hint of grievance colored Xu Xiaoyan's voice. She lowered her head, and after a while, she looked up again and said:

"Did she really just leave like that?"

"Mm, but it's alright. Once we become stronger in the future, we will see her again."

A few days later, Chu Yan had slowly grown accustomed to the days when that silver-haired figure was no longer flitting about the courtyard.

Every morning, he practiced his staff techniques as usual, cultivated his soul power, and practiced the control techniques for his Yan Divine Weapon. Occasionally, Xu Xiaoyan would come over to visit, and the two would sit by the stone table in the courtyard, chatting idly.

That afternoon, as Chu Yan was in his room flipping through his grandfather's Soul Guidance Array Notes, a steady sound of footsteps came from outside the courtyard gate, followed immediately by a knock.

"Young Master, the Master asks you to come to the main hall; a guest has arrived."

Chu Yan set down his notebook, responded with a nod, and quickly straightened his clothes before heading out.

Passing through the courtyard and the long corridor, he arrived at the entrance of the main hall and immediately spotted the figure sitting in the guest chair.

It was a woman who looked to be under thirty, dressed in a simple and elegant moon-white long dress, draped with a light cyan gauze shawl. Her deep red hair was loosely pinned back with a wooden hairpin, with a few stray strands falling beside her ears.

She was sipping tea slowly, her posture casual and composed. She did not intentionally release any aura, yet just by sitting there, the atmosphere of the entire hall grew noticeably quieter.

Chu Yan's master, Leng Yaozhu.

Three years had passed, yet her appearance remained almost unchanged from when he first met her. Time had left no marks on her face; she still possessed those deep brown eyes and that composure ingrained in her very bones, though her gaze held a layer of softness that hadn't been there three years ago.

Chu Yuntian sat in the main seat, keeping her company. Seeing Chu Yan walk in, he beckoned him over and said, "Yan'er, Tower Master Leng is here. She said she happened to be passing through East Sea City and stopped by to see how you were doing."

Chu Yan stepped forward, stood in the center of the hall, bowed to Leng Yaozhu, and said respectfully, "Greetings, Teacher."

Hearing this, Leng Yaozhu set down her teacup, looked him over, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly. "You've grown quite a bit; you're becoming a young man now."

After saying this, she studied him for a few more moments, her gaze lingering briefly on his aura. A look of satisfaction flashed in her eyes as she said, "Level 29. Your foundation is solid. Rising eighteen levels in three years while staying steady and not showing any signs of rushing for quick success—very good."

Upon hearing this, Chu Yan neither feigned humility nor showed pride, simply saying calmly, "It is thanks to your guidance, Teacher."

Leng Yaozhu was amused by his words and let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. "I haven't taught you much; it is you who have been willing to put in the effort."

As she spoke, she set her cup down, stood up, smoothed her skirt, and looked at Chu Yan. "I came here this time not just to check on your cultivation progress, but also to tell you something in person."

She paused, her tone becoming more serious. "It is time to complete your formal apprenticeship ceremony. You have a gap in your schedule the month before you enter the intermediate academy; come to Shrek City then, and we will take care of what needs to be done."

Chu Yan nodded slightly and replied, "I understand, Teacher."

Watching his unhurried demeanor, Leng Yaozhu smiled helplessly. She then took a palm-sized, silver-white metal plate from her sleeve and tossed it over. Chu Yan caught it, feeling its slight weight. The surface of the metal plate was engraved with the words "Heavenly Spirit Pagoda Special Access Pass," with a string of fine serial numbers at the bottom.

"Use this to enter the Heavenly Spirit Pagoda in Shrek City. You won't need to report in advance and can go directly to the upper levels. Just notify me when you arrive."