Plot Inertia

Plot Inertia

He followed the maid through the upper corridors of the Pill Tower.

The atmosphere here was unlike the bustle downstairs, so quiet he could hear his own heartbeat.

The air no longer carried the mixed scents of medicine, but a crisp, pure fragrance that soothed the heart.

The maid led Han Feng to the entrance of an elegant, secluded room, then respectfully withdrew.

The door stood open.

Han Feng steadied himself and pushed it open.

The room was simply furnished, with only a wooden table, several bamboo chairs, and an incense burner burning in the corner.

A graceful, beautiful woman in a white dress sat by the window, holding a cup of hot tea.

She was stunningly beautiful, and time had left no trace on her face. Her phoenix eyes held the weathered wisdom and dignity of one who had seen through the world.

Hearing the door open, she raised her head and looked at Han Feng.

The usual chill in her eyes immediately softened with an elder's affection for a junior, though the heaviness in them could not be concealed.

"Little Feng, you've come out of seclusion."

Her voice was gentle, carrying a faint, almost imperceptible sigh.

"Aunt Xuan."

Han Feng bowed to her, then asked directly, his voice trembling slightly with tension.

"Where is my teacher? Why haven't I received any message from him during my year of seclusion?"

Xuan Yi's hand holding the teacup trembled.

She fell silent for a while, seemingly considering how to begin.

In the end, she set down her teacup, looked Han Feng straight in the eye, and spoke slowly.

"Little Feng, you need to prepare yourself. Yao Chen... has been missing for over half a year."

The instant Xuan Yi finished speaking, the smile on Han Feng's face froze.

His entire body stiffened, and his mind went blank.

The restrained aura around him instantly spiraled out of control, and several fine cracks silently appeared across the teacup on the table.

Missing?

How could he... be missing?

A chill rose from the depths of his heart and spread through his body.

How could this happen...

Han Feng's mind flashed back to a rainy night several years ago.

Old Man Mu Gu of the Soul Hall had come to him, using honeyed words to drive a wedge between him and his teacher while promising immense benefits.

He remembered how he had feigned cooperation at the time, then immediately told his teacher about it. Master and disciple had joined forces to set a trap, and he had severely wounded that old dog with Twin-Sleeve Green Snakes. If not for the Soul Hall's bizarre secret art, Mu Gu would have died long ago.

He had thought he had already cut off the fuse that would shatter their master-disciple bond.

He had thought that as long as he grew strong enough and remained at his teacher's side, he could change that damned fate.

But what had happened?

The moment he entered seclusion to refine the Heavenly Flame, his teacher was ambushed.

This damned Plot Inertia...

Han Feng silently clenched his fists inside his sleeves, his nails digging deeply into his palms.

Rage and helplessness tangled wildly in his heart.

Yet just as his emotions surged to their peak, a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

No...

If the inertia of the plot was truly this powerful, did that mean... his teacher would not come to harm?

He was merely... destined to appear beside that child of fate.

Xiao Yan...

At the thought of that name, Han Feng's pupils, which had constricted in shock, gradually calmed again.

He suddenly realized that he seemed to have fallen into a misunderstanding before.

If the plot could not be reversed, why did he have to defy it?

Wouldn't it be better to go with the flow and use its force against itself?

Since his teacher was fated to suffer this calamity and meet that bargain-bin junior brother, why should he run around like a headless fly, desperately fighting the Soul Hall all over the world?

Once the plot began, once that little fellow from Wu Tan City became a Dou Practitioner, he could simply make a trip there and "package" his teacher and junior brother together for the return journey. Wouldn't that save him a great deal of trouble?

At that thought, the helplessness that had nearly swallowed Han Feng whole vanished in an instant.

The most urgent matter was Falling Star Pavilion!

With his teacher missing and the pavilion leaderless, who knew how many shady characters were already eyeing this fat piece of meat.

"Little Feng? Little Feng!"

Xuan Yi's worried call pulled Han Feng out of his thoughts. Seeing the ever-changing expression on his face, her concern deepened.

"Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Aunt Xuan."

Han Feng took a deep breath. When he looked up again, his face had already regained its calm, as if his earlier loss of composure had never happened. Yet deep in his eyes was an edge so cold it was frightening.

"Aunt Xuan, what exactly happened? The Soul Hall did this, didn't they?" he asked in a low voice.

Xuan Yi nodded, her expression grave.

"Almost certainly. Over half a year ago, Yao Chen went out to search for ingredients to refine an eighth-grade pill for you. Since then, there has been no word of him. Our Pill Tower mobilized every intelligence network we had, but at the place where he was last seen, we found only traces of the Soul Hall. However, they covered their tracks thoroughly and left behind no clues that could be followed."

She paused, then added, "Venerable Feng came once as well. He nearly turned the entire Central Plains upside down, yet found nothing. The Soul Hall... seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth."

Han Feng was not surprised in the slightest.

Not finding them was normal.

"Aunt Xuan, I understand."

When Han Feng spoke again, his voice was already calm.

"Thank you for telling me. I must return to Falling Star Pavilion immediately."

"Don't worry," he said gently, seeing the worry in Xuan Yi's eyes. "I believe my teacher is blessed and will be all right. But with him absent, Falling Star Pavilion needs someone to return and hold the fort, lest some petty scoundrels exploit the opportunity."

"That is only right." Xuan Yi nodded in agreement. "Your master is missing, and Falling Star Pavilion is now beset by troubles. It would be good for you to return and take charge."

After thinking for a moment, she took a purple-gold token from her storage ring and handed it to him.

"This is my Elder Token. With it, you can mobilize the intelligence networks of all the Pill Tower branches throughout the Central Plains. If there is any news of the Soul Hall, you will be informed immediately. And besides..."

She looked at Han Feng and said solemnly, "If the worst comes to pass, the Pill Tower will not stand by and do nothing."

This was a weighty promise from one of the Pill Tower's giants.

"Thank you, Aunt Xuan."

Han Feng did not refuse. He accepted the token openly.

He gave Xuan Yi a deep bow, then turned and strode out of the secluded room.

He needed to leave at once.

Falling Star Pavilion, I'm back.

Teacher, wait for me.