After reaching a preliminary "understanding," the three returned silently to the Fan Residence.
With a gloomy face, Fan Xian retrieved "Overlord True Energy" from a hidden compartment in his room. After gently stroking it, he reluctantly tossed it to Zhou Cheng:
"Now, release her."
Zhou Cheng raised a hand and caught the booklet, its cover dark, its corners slightly curled, and its appearance showing some age.
The title "Overlord True Energy" was written in large characters on the cover. He opened it and casually flipped through several pages.
The pages bore signs of years of handling, with dense annotations filling their upper and lower margins. Clearly, this was the genuine manual, studied often.
He closed the booklet and nodded:
"Your maid is in her own room. She's merely tied up, not injured."
With that, he adjusted his mask and withdrew from the room. A single leap carried him onto the roof, and he vanished into the night.
Fan Xian clenched his fists tightly. Only after a long while did he let them fall open in defeat, looking at Wu Zhu and letting out a quiet sigh.
At dusk the following day, Fan Xian had just returned to his room when a knock sounded outside.
Before he could answer, Zhou Cheng, wearing his ghost mask, pushed the door open again.
"You again!"
Fan Xian squeezed the words through his teeth, his eyes practically spitting fire.
That bastard! How dare he go back on his word!
Wu Zhu appeared without a sound and shielded him, his "gaze" beneath the black cloth fixed on Zhou Cheng.
Zhou Cheng did not even look at Fan Xian. He merely lifted his chin toward Wu Zhu:
"I'm not here for you this time. I'm here for him."
"For Uncle Wu Zhu?" Fan Xian froze.
"I need him to help me train. In return, before I leave Danzhou, I can answer one question for you. You can take your time over the coming days to decide what you most want to know."
Fan Xian was taken aback. He felt the man was speaking truthfully, and sensed no malice from him.
His thoughts raced as he considered whether to agree.
He turned to Wu Zhu. "Uncle, what do you think?"
"My duty is to protect you." Wu Zhu's voice was calm and flat. "If you agree, and he's willing to take a beating, I can beat him."
Fan Xian drew a deep breath. He felt they stood to lose nothing, and would even have a chance to probe the Ghost-Faced Man's background, so he made the decision on Wu Zhu's behalf:
"...Fine. We agree."
From then on, Zhou Cheng took up temporary residence in Danzhou.
While switching to cultivating "Overlord True Energy," he also sought out Wu Zhu every few days to spar outside the city.
With a Grandmaster's experience giving him a commanding view from above, his progress in switching cultivation methods was astonishingly swift.
During their first few bouts, Wu Zhu completely overwhelmed him, but later, he could already trade blows evenly.
Fan Xian did not miss a single sparring session. Those astonishing scenes stirred his yearning for higher realms of martial arts, while the powerful sense of urgency in his heart drove him to train ever harder.
Two months passed in a flash.
That day, Zhou Cheng decided to return to Great Eastern Mountain.
Only a little over a month remained before Emperor Qing's temple rites. The emperor's party would soon depart from the Capital, and Zhou Cheng needed to return ahead of them to make preparations.
On the night before his departure, Fan Xian finally asked the question Zhou Cheng had promised to answer:
"Since you knew 'Overlord True Energy' was in my hands, you must know something about my mother, Ye Qingmei. I want to know how, exactly, she died back then."
Zhou Cheng raised his brows slightly.
He had assumed Fan Xian's greatest concern at this point would be who in the Capital wanted him dead. He had not expected this question instead.
He could not help glancing at Wu Zhu.
Wu Zhu was probably the one who most wanted the answer to this question. Fan Xian was largely asking on his behalf.
As for precisely how Ye Qingmei had died, there were actually two versions of the answer.
After briefly arranging his words, he said:
"Back then, Ye Qingmei was plotted against by the person closest to her. On the night she gave birth, she was surrounded and killed.
She left behind only one child-you, Fan Xian-who was later brought to Danzhou by Wu Zhu and raised here."
"The person closest to her?"
Fan Xian, who was still bracing himself, froze. "...That's it? Who was this 'person closest to her'?"
Zhou Cheng glanced at him. "That's another question."
The silent Wu Zhu suddenly stepped forward, a rare note of agitation entering his voice:
"No! What you said is wrong! I was the person closest to my mistress! I would never betray her."
Zhou Cheng helplessly glanced at Wu Zhu's "eyes," covered by the black cloth.
These days, even robots could lose their memories and think of themselves as human. Really...
He said no more than necessary:
"I've given you the answer you wanted. Farewell."
His figure flickered, and he disappeared into the night.
Fan Xian reached out to stop him, but caught only empty air. Furious, he slammed a palm onto the table:
"Damn it! If there's one thing I hate most in life, it's cryptic bastards who only tell you half the story! If my martial skills weren't so poor, I'd..."
After a stream of curses, he turned to Wu Zhu, forcing a smile onto his face:
"Uncle, do you think that fellow was lying to us? When I was just born, the person closest to Mother should have been my father... How could my dad possibly have harmed her?"
The moment those words left his mouth, Fan Xian's smile froze.
He remembered that "father" he had never met-Fan Jian, who had left him in Danzhou for over a decade without showing the slightest concern.
If what the Ghost-Faced Man said was true... If Fan Jian really had betrayed Ye Qingmei, then abandoned his own son...
Huh?!
That actually seemed to make sense.
Fan Xian stood rooted to the spot, his heart filled with bewilderment.
After leaving the Fan Residence, Zhou Cheng bought a small boat that very night and began his return journey to Great Eastern Mountain.
His sparring with Wu Zhu over this period had improved his control of true qi severalfold, and his boat traveled far faster than before.
The journey passed without incident. Upon returning to the Divine Temple, he immediately summoned Chen Quan and his brother to ask about recent developments.
Once he confirmed that all was well, he resumed his quiet seclusion and waited for Emperor Qing's party to arrive.
Just after the New Year festivities, Emperor Qing arrived at Great Eastern Mountain under the protection of the newly appointed commander of the imperial guards, Yan Xiaoyi, and his fellow guards, to perform the temple rites.
After the ceremony, Emperor Qing secretly summoned Chen Quan and his brother to his temporary palace.
Although he had already received reports through secret letters, he still wanted to hear the two men recount Zhou Cheng's movements in person.
Learning that Zhou Cheng had indeed spent the past six months and more doing nothing but training, without concerning himself with outside affairs, Emperor Qing fell silent for a moment before muttering, "Mud that won't stick to a wall."
Afterward, he summoned Zhou Cheng alone.
By now, Zhou Cheng's command of true qi had reached a realm of minute precision. He deliberately kept his aura at around the sixth rank in everyday circumstances. Unless he fought, even Emperor Qing would struggle to discern his true strength.
As soon as he entered the hall, Emperor Qing smiled and patted his shoulder, looking every inch the loving father:
"Chengcheng, you handled this assignment well. Tell me, what reward would you like?"
Zhou Cheng considered for a moment, then said earnestly:
"Imperial Father, you know me well. Your son is utterly devoted to martial arts, and I truly feel that Great Eastern Mountain is a blessed place for cultivation. My progress here has been most smooth. I beg you to allow me to remain here and continue training."
The smile faded from Emperor Qing's face. He pointed at Zhou Cheng, angered by his lack of ambition:
"You are my son, Prince Cheng, not some wandering martial artist. I told you long ago that in this world, you cannot simply do whatever you wish. Rather, whatever you ought to do, you must do."
He turned, gazed out the window, and sighed, his voice slow and measured:
"Over all these years, how many opportunities have I given you? Yet you treasure none of them, intent only on becoming a martial artist.
Since that is so, I will not force you. I have decided to grant you an opportunity. Upon our return to the Capital, I will arrange your marriage, choosing a suitable daughter of the Ye Family to become your princess consort.
The Ye Family has Grandmaster Ye Liuyun presiding over it. Since you love martial arts, exchange your knowledge with them and cultivate a good relationship."
The Ye Family?
At those words, something stirred in Zhou Cheng's heart.
In the original drama, Emperor Qing had betrothed Ye Linger of the Ye Family to the Second Prince.
His purposes had been, first, to win over the Ye Family, and second, to strengthen the Second Prince's faction as a counterweight to the Eastern Palace.
Now that this arrangement had fallen to him, the intention was probably much the same.
This was not merely an attempt to bind the Ye Family to his boat. It was also meant to make the Crown Prince and the Second Prince wary of him, forcing him onto the board to contend with others.
Zhou Cheng would not claim to have completely fathomed Emperor Qing's thoughts, but he reckoned his guess was close to the mark.
For him, this was not a bad thing.
He had already broken through to Grandmaster. He was no longer a pawn to be moved at another's whim, but a player moving pieces in secret.
Since Emperor Qing wanted to begin a game, he might as well take his place at the board.
And so, he let some struggle and reluctance show on his face before finally lowering his head to accept the decree and thank the emperor:
"...Your son obeys."
After the temple rites, Zhou Cheng accompanied the imperial party back to the Capital.
For nearly a month, he had scarcely had a chance to train.
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