It took the time of half a cup of tea before Granny Chen calmed down again. Very naturally, she turned to look toward the main hall. There was likewise a reclining chair by the hall entrance, where Chen Ming usually read. Yet where Granny Chen's gaze fell, Chen Ming was holding an ancient book, squinting as he struggled to read it, with a young bookboy attending him at his side. But both of them were like clay statues and wooden carvings, unable to move in the slightest. One was in the middle of turning a page, while the other held a bamboo fan to stoke the brazier. Not only they—even the flame beneath the kettle in that small stove stood frozen.
"M-Master?" Granny Chen seemed to understand something and hastily struggled to rise from the reclining chair. The chair had been made to sway, and ordinarily Granny Chen needed the support of her younger descendants to get up. How could she rise now, panicked as she was?
The man smiled faintly, stepped forward, and carefully helped Granny Chen to her feet. Seeing him personally support her, Granny Chen grew even more frightened and hurriedly tried to bow. The man waved his hand and said with a smile, "No need to be so polite. You may be young in years, but you already look bent with age. If you bow to this old man, I will feel quite ashamed."
Granny Chen felt a tremendous force stopping her, so she simply gave up on bowing and cautiously asked, "Master, did you come to see me... for something?"
"Mm..." The man nodded. "This old man is named Xiao Hua. You may call this old man True Person Xiao. This time, I came to verify something with you!"
At this point, Xiao Hua paused.