The Grave Marker Was Found

"Surprised? Didn't see that coming, did you?"

"If you've read this far without castrating yourself, congratulations. You're in for a huge stroke of luck."

"Luck, my ass. I've never even won a consolation prize, and now I'm supposed to hit the jackpot? Who are you trying to fool?"

Lin Shisan was going mad with frustration, almost ready to explode, when he saw that teasing remark.

Still, he forced himself to keep reading patiently. He wanted to see what other nonsense the Old Madman could come up with.

His tightly knitted brows gradually relaxed.

As it turned out, the "self-castration" the Old Madman mentioned was fundamentally different from the kind spoken of in legends.

Here, the "palace" being cut away referred to the sea of qi, commonly known as the dantian.

"Palace" was an ancient term for it.

In the simplest terms, "take up a blade and castrate yourself" meant discarding one's existing cultivation and draining every last drop of spiritual energy from the dantian.

"Heh, heh, heh... You really are an old madman..."

Lin Shisan's blood pressure had been soaring, but now the corners of his mouth rose into a faint smile.

Then he burst into laughter.

Take up a blade, castrate yourself, cripple your cultivation, and drain your dantian dry.

Who could have drained it more thoroughly than he had?

His dantian had already withered into a dried-up pond, with no spiritual energy left whatsoever. Why would he need to take a blade to himself?

Sure enough, the end of the explanation specifically mentioned withered dantians like his.

He fit the description perfectly.

"Damn... Old Madman, you've been too good to me."

Lin Shisan was so grateful he almost cried.

Had the Old Madman been there, he would definitely have knocked his forehead against the ground eight or ten times.

The Nine Heavens True Dragon Art was simply the perfect cultivation method, tailor-made for him by the Old Madman.

After his initial delight, Lin Shisan read through the Nine Heavens True Dragon Art again.

He was afraid there might be more misleading wording like the "self-castration" passage he had overlooked.

Lin Shisan stood and walked into the courtyard.

He fastened the courtyard gate's bolt securely.

He did not want anyone disturbing his cultivation.

An interruption would be the least of his problems. If he accidentally exposed the Little Black Cauldron or the Nine Heavens True Dragon Art, he would be completely finished.

Without wasting a moment, he got straight to work.

Back in the practice room, he followed the Old Madman's instructions to the letter and circulated the Nine Heavens True Dragon Art through one greater celestial circuit.

Unfortunately, his dantian showed no response.

It remained utterly depleted, without the slightest luster.

Since he had chosen to believe, he would naturally see it through.

He took an evolved apple from the Little Black Cauldron and quickly crunched it down.

Without resting, Lin Shisan activated the Nine Heavens True Dragon Art again, completing a second greater celestial circuit.

Just as before, nothing changed.

Lin Shisan had never been someone who gave up easily, so he tried a third time, a fourth, a fifth...

By dawn, he had completed ten greater celestial circuits.

Yet his dantian remained the same wretched mess, without a trace of luster.

No one came to open a mystery box that day either.

Lin Shisan's daytime work still consisted of cleaning, wiping tables and chairs, trimming branches, and tending the flowers and plants.

"Brother Ye, let me do it."

At lunchtime, the moment Lin Shisan saw Feng Qingye set down his bowl, he hurried over, quick to seize the opportunity.

He washed the bowl and chopsticks in the sink.

Then he returned to wipe the table clean and made a point of mopping Feng Qingye's office as well.

"Shisan, you've adapted quite well."

Feng Qingye sat to one side drinking tea. "You look much more energetic than when you arrived, and that little body of yours has filled out quite a bit."

With a meaningful gleam in his eyes, Feng Qingye looked at the bewildered Lin Shisan. He all but said outright that it was time to show his appreciation.

"It's all thanks to you taking such good care of me, Brother Ye."

Lin Shisan soon caught on.

"Brother Ye, I just caught a few wild rabbits in the woods to treat myself. If you like, I'll bring some over tonight."

"Heh, heh, heh..."

Feng Qingye smiled faintly.

An unusual gleam flashed in his deep-set eyes.

"Keep them for yourself. I've had bad teeth since I was little. I can't eat wild game."

After mulling it over, Lin Shisan decided to bite the bullet.

When work ended, he jogged all the way down the mountain.

At a little shop at the foot of the mountain, he bought two braised pig's trotters, a jug of liquor, and two jin of beef braised in soy sauce.

They were all things Feng Qingye liked to eat.

Outer Sect Disciples, especially Servant Disciples like Lin Shisan who merely carried the title of Outer Sect Disciple, could not completely dispense with food.

Several small eateries opened at night at the foot of the mountain, and business was quite good.

The results were outstanding. The next day, Lin Shisan finished work a full hour early.

Feng Qingye's attitude grew considerably gentler too.

On his fifth sunrise at the Tibetan Scripture Pavilion, Lin Shisan welcomed his first Immortal Lord seeking to open a mystery box.

It was a little old man.

His vitality was failing and his mind was restless. He looked like an elder with one foot in the grave.

He had probably spent his entire life's savings on that single token.

The instant the mystery box opened, a flash of golden light made his eyes roll back.

In the end, there was nothing in the box.

The light he had seen was merely a halo cast by the sunlight.

On humanitarian grounds, Lin Shisan did not throw the little old man into the Back Mountain to feed the Demon Beasts. Instead, he found somewhere to bury him.

Two more days passed, and Lin Shisan was almost ready to lose heart.

After completing a greater celestial circuit that morning, he suddenly saw a tiny speck of light drift up inside his dantian.

"A little dragon?"

Lin Shisan nearly burst into tears.

He sank his spiritual sense into his dantian and saw clearly that there was no speck of light at all.

Just like that little old man, he had been seeing illusions. He had imagined everything.

Lin Shisan shook his head with a bitter smile, though he was not terribly disappointed.

After all, he had weathered life's ups and downs and had long since braced himself for this.

He had already waited more than a decade. What were a few more days?

Since the Old Madman had said it would work, it ought to work.

Though hope was slim, at least he still had something to look forward to.

That morning, he cleaned as usual, trimmed the trees and flowers, and wiped the tables and chairs spotless.

After work, he bought Feng Qingye more pig's trotters, liquor, and beef. Just as he was about to leave, Feng Qingye called him back.

"Shisan, wait."

"...This..."

This time, Lin Shisan truly burst into tears.

What Feng Qingye took out from inside his desk was none other than his father's memorial tablet, the one he had yearned for day and night.

Han Yansong had indeed kept his word. He had actually found his father's memorial tablet.

He had even sent it over without a word.

"Father..."

Seeing the grave marker and memorial tablet was like seeing his father again, seeing that face with its eternally radiant smile.

Tears of longing slid silently down his cheeks, as though the hope in his heart were slowly slipping away.

"You're a big boy now, and you're still blubbering?"

Feng Qingye teased him from the side.

He was still gnawing on a pig's trotter.

"That drunkard insisted on inviting me over for drinks last night. When I headed back, he pressed this into my hands."

"He said this was very important to you and insisted that I hand it to you personally. We couldn't let your devotion to your father go unrewarded."

"Thank you. Thank you, Brother Ye. Please thank Boss Han for me too."

Lin Shisan was so excited that his words tumbled out incoherently.

He wiped away his tears, and a spring breeze seemed to sweep through his heart.

There was truly nothing to fault Han Yansong for in this. Even someone who was no kindhearted soul could do something so kind.

His gratitude went without saying.

"He also told me to ask what you wanted."

Feng Qingye walked over and patted Lin Shisan's shoulder.

"That drunkard didn't say it outright, but I could tell he feels quite guilty toward you. He really does care about you."

"He also said whether you stay is entirely up to you, and told me not to force you."

"As your older brother, let me speak from the heart. Our work may be risky, but it really is a good job."

"What place is free of danger? What work carries no risk? Isn't cultivating toward immortality the greatest wish of people like us?"

"Since you have this opportunity, why give it up? Who can say what tomorrow or fortune will bring? Your chance might be just around the corner."

"There's no hurry to answer. Go back tonight and give it some thought. Take a bath, get a good night's sleep, and tell me your decision tomorrow morning."