On the bluestone slabs outside the mountain gate, several young monks were huddled together, whispering to each other.
Lin Xiao was wearing wrinkled gray pajama pants, his toes peeking out from the front of his slippers, still covered in snow. His T-shirt clung to his body in the mountain wind, revealing glimpses of his abs. He walked with an air of nonchalance, his eyes darting around, even nodding to a dumbfounded young mage beside him.
Good morning.
The mage's lips moved, but no sound came out.
The monks nearby finally couldn't hold back any longer. A tall, thin man nudged his companion in the waist and whispered, "What's wrong with this guy? Dressed like that to go up the mountain, doesn't he know the rules?"
"Look at his pants, aren't they pajamas?"
"Slippers! Wearing slippers is one thing, but his slippers even have holes that expose his big toe."
"Stop talking, he's looking over here..."
Lin Xiao did indeed look over. He grinned at the few mages who were whispering among themselves, a completely open and honest smile.
Have you all had breakfast yet?
The monks all fell silent, their gazes shifting elsewhere. The tall, thin monk's face flushed red, while the other young female monk simply turned away, pretending to look at the bamboo forest.
What are you doing?
At this moment, Wang walked out of the mountain gate. He glanced at the few monks, his tone was not heavy, but every word carried weight.
"The rules the monks taught you are to stand at the mountain gate and point at the guests?"
The tall, thin man shrank back. "Mr. Wang, his clothes... are not in accordance with propriety..."
"What's wrong with his clothes?" Wang turned to look at Lin Xiao, his gaze sweeping from the pajama bottoms to the slippers, then back again, a very slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. "What he wears is his business. Keep your mouths shut."
The monks lowered their heads and remained silent.
Wang stopped in front of Lin Xiao. The two stood a step apart, and the mountain wind blew between them, making Lin Xiao's T-shirt billow. Wang stared at him for several seconds, his expression as if he had just swallowed an unshelled walnut.
Why are you dressed like that?
"It's a long story," Lin Xiao said, shrugging. "Simply put, someone drew a circle around me and dragged me from my bedroom. I was planning to finish my work, put on a suit and tie, wear a big gold chain and a small gold watch, and bring two boxes of the finest pastries, but now this is how it is."
Wang paused for a moment, then his lips twitched and he uttered a sound.
"... weird."
"Thank you, I'll take it as praise."
Wang said nothing more and turned to walk inside. Lin Xiao followed behind, his slippers making a clattering sound on the stone path. Ned jogged over from the other side of the mountain gate, trying to catch up, but after taking only two steps, a voice behind him froze him in place.
Ned.
Mordo stood on the steps of the front hall, his dark gray monk's robe billowing in the wind, clutching the small medicine bottle in his hand. Ned mechanically turned his head, his lips twitching several times as he forced a smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Master, Master..."
"How many pieces did you put in the porridge?"
"Just... just three..."
Why is the antidiarrheal medicine kept in the outhouse?
"I was worried you'd get diarrhea, so I just left it there..."
Mordo stared at him for three seconds.
"You deserve punishment: Calming Mantra twenty times. You are not allowed to eat dinner until you finish copying it."
Ned's shoulders slumped, as if his bones had been removed. "Yes..." He glanced at Lin Xiao, his eyes filled with " Uncle Lin, save me." Lin Xiao's lips curled into a smile, and he had already followed Wang several steps away without looking back. Ned gritted his teeth and followed Mordo dejectedly towards the side hall.
The king led Lin Xiao through the front hall, around a long corridor, and through a bamboo forest. Deep in the bamboo forest was a very narrow moon gate with several characters carved on the lintel that Lin Xiao could not recognize. The king stopped in front of the gate and stepped aside.
"Master, we knew you were coming and were waiting for you inside."
Lin Xiao was somewhat surprised. How did she know? But he nodded nonetheless and started to walk inside. After taking two steps, he stopped and glanced back at Wang.
Mr. Wang.
"Um?"
"That Ned kid, he went too far. Tell Mordo not to hold it against him. He didn't mean any harm, he was just starving."
Wang glanced at him, didn't reply, and turned to leave.
Lin Xiao pushed open the moon gate, and the space inside was much larger than he had imagined. It was a stone hall with a very high dome, and light streamed down from the skylight at the top, casting irregular patches of light on the ground. The entire hall was so empty that only the sounds of footsteps and breathing could be heard, and there was a very faint sandalwood scent in the air, mixed with a coolness that seeped up from the ground.
He stopped and looked around. At the far end of the stone hall was a huge relief wall, covered with dense runes and lines, some emitting a very dim light, others completely dark. At the base of the wall was a row of prayer cushions, and on a low table next to them was a cold oil lamp.
"You've come."
A voice suddenly came from behind.
Lin Xiao subconsciously turned around. The Ancient One was standing inside the moon gate, wearing a dark monk's robe, her hands hanging naturally at her sides. Compared to her in the dream, the real the Ancient One was thinner and smaller, but her eyes were exactly the same as in the dream—calm, clear, as if they contained the entire universe, or as if they contained nothing at all.
Lin Xiao was speechless for a moment, his mind went blank, and his memory returned to the scene of his first meeting with the Ancient One Yimeng.
The Ancient One wasn't in a hurry; she simply smiled slightly.
"Otherworldly being, how are you and your companions?"
Lin Xiao snapped out of his daze, took a deep breath, and slowly smiled.
"I'm doing quite well. You look good too, Master."
The Ancient One sighed softly.
"It's good. But the Good Days are coming to an end."
Lin Xiao's smile froze. He didn't reply immediately, but instead looked quietly at the Ancient One. The Ancient One's tone was very calm when she spoke, as if she were talking about someone else. But Lin Xiao knew she wasn't talking about someone else, but about herself. Lin Xiao had seen her ending in the movie, and he knew that the living the Ancient One in front of him understood her fate better than anyone else.
He didn't respond to the " Good Days " topic, but instead tilted his head slightly, his voice becoming half an octave softer than before.
"It all depends on human effort. There are no fixed answers."
The Ancient One turned her head to look at him. Her eyes lingered on his face for a moment, as if she were trying to identify something, or perhaps confirm something. She didn't speak, but the curve of her lips was slightly wider than before.
Lin Xiao decided to break the oppressive atmosphere. He took a step forward, tilted his head to look at her, and his smile was even more irritating than before.
"So, I can call you godmother now? You didn't reject me in the dream, saying we'd talk about it next time we met, and here we are, aren't we?"
The Ancient One frowned slightly, her brows furrowing so lightly they barely moved, but Lin Xiao noticed. The instant he saw her frown, he took something out of his System Space, held it out in his palm, and handed it to her.
A broken bracelet that had been glued back together. It was made of dark metal and its surface was covered with fine cracks, with one gap almost running through the entire bracelet. Deep within the cracks, one could vaguely see extremely fine runes flowing, like embers about to go out.
"Godmother, this is my gift to you. I just accidentally broke it."
The Ancient One looked down at the bracelet. Her gaze lingered on it for two seconds before she looked up at Lin Xiao. Lin Xiao's expression was extremely open, as if he had really only given her an old bracelet and had no other intentions.
The Ancient One took the bracelet and turned it over. Her fingertips gently traced the cracks on the bracelet, then she looked up at Lin Xiao.
"As far as I know, this is no ordinary object; it's Ten Rings. There should be ten of them. After Wenwu's death, the Ten Rings mysteriously disappeared."
Lin Xiao remained unfazed and chuckled, "I just found one by chance, and it's the only one. It's useless to me, but it'll be perfect for my godmother to make a bracelet."
The Ancient One didn't reply. She weighed the bracelet in her palm and looked at Lin Xiao again. There was no pressure in her eyes, just a calm gaze. But Lin Xiao felt that calmness was more oppressive than any pressure.
"There's no need to hold back," The Ancient One's voice was neither loud nor soft. "I know you want to fix it."
Lin Xiao didn't beat around the bush anymore and simply nodded.
"Yes. I want to fix it. And I want to use it."
The Ancient One looked at him for a while, then gently placed the bracelet back into his hand.
"If you want to use the Ten Rings, you need to figure out what it is first."
"I know, this is a divine artifact. Wenwu used it for evil deeds, and I eventually shattered it."
"That's the side you saw." The Ancient One shifted his gaze from his face to the direction of the relief wall at the back of the hall, as if he could see through the bricks and stones to the sealed thing behind it. "Some things, when you hold them in your hands, also hold you. The Ten Rings recognize their master, recognizing the person who can see themselves within them. Wenwu saw power. What do you see?"
Lin Xiao looked down at the broken bracelet in his palm. The faint runes deep within the cracks were still flowing, as if waiting for his answer.
"I don't know yet. I'll tell you when I've thought it through."
The Ancient One didn't press the matter. She turned around and walked to the other side of the hall. After a few steps, she glanced at him sideways.
"The king is waiting for you outside. Let him take you to choose a meditation room. Stay there tonight."
Lin Xiao opened his mouth, then suddenly spoke.
"Godmother."
The Ancient One paused, her lips twitching slightly, but this time she didn't refute.
" Ned, you kid, talk to Mordo for me and ask him not to punish me too harshly."
The Ancient One continued walking forward.
" Mordo swayed by circumstances."
She walked to the wall, picked up a pot of tea from the shelf, poured a cup and placed it on the low table next to her, then turned and walked towards the rear of the hall.
Lin Xiao stood still and put the bracelet back into his System Space. He picked up the cup of tea and took a sip, his gaze sweeping over the relief wall. There were several newly formed fine cracks on the wall. There was no light in the cracks, but he felt that the location of those cracks was exactly the same as the direction of the cracks on the bracelet in his palm.
He stood there for a while, holding his teacup, then walked towards the door.
Outside the moon gate, Wang was indeed waiting for him. In his hand was a neatly folded monk's robe, grayish-white, a size smaller than the one he was wearing.
"Change into this. This outfit is outrageous."
Lin Xiao took it, unfolded it, and compared the length; it just reached his knees. He looked down at his own slippers, which were still covered in snow and mud.
Do you have any shoes?
Wang turned and walked away, but stopped after taking two steps and added a sentence without turning his head back.
"I had your pants taken to be washed. They won't be dry by tomorrow morning, so you can just wear your monk's robe. Your legs are more presentable than in pajamas."
Lin Xiao looked down at his legs, then at Wang's retreating figure, draped his monk's robe over his shoulder, and followed him.