But this time, because of the earlier uproar, Shi Yi had gone to the Heaven Mending Pavilion ahead of schedule. He had already entered the Sacred Academy and was making his way along that path through Chaos.
Rumor had it that Shi Yi wanted to learn the Heaven-Mending Art believed to exist within the Sacred Academy, letting the Supreme Bone develop anew inside his body, further attuning it to him and producing supreme blood that truly belonged to him. That way, even if he had to surrender the Supreme Bone and the supreme precious blood belonging to Shi Hao, he could later use his own newly formed supreme blood to regenerate a Supreme Bone that was truly his.
"From the looks of it, Shi Yi really is ready to give up the Supreme Bone." Many people discussed these rumors after hearing them.
"Even if he returns the Supreme Bone, as long as he obtains the Heaven-Mending Art, he can borrow a hen to lay his own eggs and get supreme blood of his own. There's even a chance he'll obtain his own Supreme Bone someday. Add in all those years spent comprehending the Supreme Bone's Precious Technique, and he hardly loses anything when you tally it up."
"I heard that the slap Wu Gensheng gave him earlier triggered a rejection reaction in the Supreme Bone. Shi Yi was worried it would remain a hidden danger, so he'd already decided to give it up. Returning it is more like steering his boat with the current. He's already reaped all the benefits, so he loses nothing."
These reports had come from the Martial King Manor. Apparently, Fourth Grandfather's faction had taken offense at Shi Yi's earlier innocent-sounding remarks washing his hands of the matter. Some members of Fifth Grandfather's faction were also displeased with his remarks, resulting in these negative comments.
But Shi Yi had already stepped onto the Sacred Academy's stairway. The road through Chaos held trial upon trial, and it was now open to Shi Yi alone.
Chen Yao planned to visit the Heaven Mending Pavilion too, but with the opening of the Kunpeng Nest to consider, he decided against venturing deep into the Sacred Academy. He would simply visit the Heaven Mending Pavilion to revive its Sacrificial Spirit and leave Qingfeng there to cultivate.
The Stone Village trio played in far too high a league for Qingfeng to jump into their ranks. The Heaven Mending Pavilion was the best choice.
Before they left, however, Shi Yunfeng sought out Aman and spoke with him privately.
"Little Aman, you're not so young anymore, yet you still don't have a formal name or even a surname. That really won't do. Don't let your origins bind you. Think about giving yourself a proper name." Shi Yunfeng spoke earnestly. Over the past year and more, the clever Aman, who got along so well with the children, had become dearly loved by the villagers. His bond with Shi Hao was as close as that of sister and brother, and the village chief had seen it all.
"When Little Hao slept at my house after the banquet earlier, he kept mumbling that he wished you really were his older sister. I know he's always wanted to find his birth parents and grandfather, to have more family who can stay beside him. You're different from us. Little Hao is a genius, and none of the village children can keep pace with him. The day will come when they part ways, and then he'll be all alone. Only you and Little Yao can truly play alongside him and keep walking with him."
"Little Yao has plenty of ideas of his own, so he may not be able to stay with Little Hao forever either. But Little Hao has always treasured you both. I hope you can become someone Little Hao holds dear, someone who can still find him from time to time when he's traveled too far to come home, and bring Little Yao along for a reunion so he won't be so lonely."
"Stone Village is too small. It can't hold Little Hao."
Aman comforted him. "Don't be sad, Grandpa Chief. No matter how far Little Hao goes, he'll come back often. This is his home. Besides, we've planted sacred medicine in the village now. Everyone will live long lives. You won't fail to live long enough to see Little Hao again."
Shi Yunfeng smiled and shook his head. "I know all that, but Little Hao really wants family beside him. These old bones of mine would only drag him down if I followed him out. That would be overstepping terribly. What I wanted to ask is, would you be willing to become Little Hao's older sister? I still have some ancestral bone implements for admitting people into the clan. If you agree, I can preside over it and adopt you on behalf of Little Hao's parents, placing you under their names. Then Little Hao will have family who can travel with him. What do you think?"
"Ah... well..." Aman grew embarrassed instead. "I was only Little Hao's playmate back then. This..."
"Haha, Little Yao told me that all these years at the Martial King Manor in the Stone Kingdom, you've held your anger inside, wanting to seek justice for Little Hao. The elders of his branch treated you well, as though you were their own. So many years have passed. Even if it wasn't so at the start, you sincerely think of Little Hao as your little brother now, don't you?" Shi Yunfeng looked kindly at the young girl and gently patted his head.
"You think you were only playmates back then, and that your grief for him came from childhood innocence. You're afraid that if you'd been a little older, you wouldn't have done what you did, and that you've only kept at it because you didn't want to betray his family's affection for you. Isn't that right? Don't think that way. However much you doubt yourself, what you did is what you did. After all these years, your feelings must be real. Look at me. Would you dare say Little Hao doesn't treat me as his own grandfather? You're no different."
"..." Aman froze. After a long while, he bit his lip and smiled. "Thank you, Grandpa Yunfeng."
"Good! As long as you agree. Give yourself a good name, and I'll arrange a banquet to celebrate. From now on, you're family to us Stone Villagers too. Hahaha." Shi Yunfeng laughed, gently stroking Aman's head, deeply gratified.
Stone Village bustled for the entire day that followed. When the villagers learned that the chief had persuaded Aman to accept adoption on the parents' behalf and become Shi Hao's older sister, the village immediately filled with festive cheer. Shi Linhu and Fei Jiao even grabbed the Ancestral Artifact and the suanni's Treasure Bone and charged into the Great Wilderness, hunting several tough Fierce Beasts to bring back for the banquet.
Of course, to prevent any mishaps, Chen Yao still took some people and followed them, and they ended up hunting another batch.
The banquet lasted deep into the night, past midnight, before the noisy village finally settled down a little.
Shi Hao slept soundly with a milk jar in his arms, mumbling about his older sister.
Shi Yunfeng solemnly added the formal name Aman had chosen for himself to the village's genealogy of its latest generations. He placed it alongside Shi Hao, who was recorded as his adopted grandson, beneath the newly added names of Shi Ziling and his wife, and the Great Demon God, Shi Zhongtian.
Shi Hao had asked for those names to be added after learning that Aman would be adopted on his parents' behalf. He cared deeply about those relatives whose faces had already grown hazy in his memory, and wanted them to become people of Stone Village too.
Aman gently stroked the Beast-Skin Genealogy, carefully crafted and treated by the village to prevent decay. On it was the formal name he had chosen.
[Elder sister-Shi Xiaoman]
"Family." Shi Xiaoman smiled faintly, then slipped out again, gently picked up the sleep-talking Shi Hao, and laid him on the bed.
"How is it? Are you happy?" Chen Yao poked his head through the doorway.
"Thank you." Xiao Man had a fair idea that Chen Yao had taken the lead in steering the village chief toward this.
"You're welcome. So, how does it feel to really have a little brother?"
"Over this past year and more, I've actually gotten a little used to it. It's felt like I really had a little brother already." Aman's steps were almost floating. Eyes closed, he skipped lightly out of the bedroom, moving faster and faster. He leaped beside the pond, and a pair of Azure Phoenix Wings unfurled. Wind rose from the ground, and he shot into the sky.
"Little Yao, aren't you going to bed yet? We have to get up early tomorrow to visit the Heaven Mending Pavilion." The village chief walked over.
"You're getting on in years, so you should sleep first. Don't wear yourself out staying up. I need to watch Xiao Man, in case she gets so giddy she forgets the time." Chen Yao adjusted his form of address slightly and smiled.
"Young people certainly are full of energy. When are you going to give Little Hao a nephew?"
"What are you thinking, Chief? Little Hao will keep your arms full for a few more years yet. He hasn't even been weaned." Chen Yao rolled his eyes.
"Hahahaha, don't let Little Hao hear you say that." Shi Yunfeng was delighted. He had recently eaten sacred medicine and had his body specially treated with Twin Hands. Much of his white hair had turned black, and he was brimming with vitality. Restored to the Cave Heaven Realm, he laughed endlessly, his voice full and strong.
The village gradually quieted. Watching Aman circle exuberantly through the sky, buoyed by the trace of tipsiness he had deliberately kept, Chen Yao once again sincerely lamented that Aman had been born into the wrong body. When he let loose and grew lively, he was cast from exactly the same mold as Shi Hao.
"Wu Gensheng. Where is my home? Who created me?" Chen Yao strolled to the pond and sat down, his thoughts turning to other matters.
He had long since realized that his memories seemed to have been artificially fabricated. With Twin Hands, he could detect the incongruities.
He remembered only reading and learning things on Earth, but had no memories of his own everyday life.
Someone had poured memories of Earth into his soul. He himself was still a newly born soul.
No past, no origins.
"The Dao gives birth to a single breath of Qi from nothingness, but how can there be water without a source? Who was it that created me?"
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