The Old Man with the Bamboo Staff

At the end of the path, the view suddenly opened up.

A clearing surrounded by trees, sunlight filtering through the branches and leaves, casting dappled golden light. Three bamboo and wooden houses stand in the center, with dried herbs hanging under the eaves. In front of the houses, a small herb garden is enclosed by a bamboo fence, with plants scattered about, lush and green.

Simple, yet clean and quiet.

The old man in blue, Qingzhu, stopped in front of the fence gate and turned to look at the two soaking wet boys behind him. His gaze lingered on Lu Yuan's face for a moment, then swept over Lin Xiao's right arm in a sling.

"We've arrived." He pushed open the bamboo fence gate.

Lu Yuan stepped into the open space, his Soul Power sensing quietly spreading out. There was no ambush, no abnormal fluctuations. Lin Xiao's nostrils twitched slightly, his amber pupils scanning the surrounding shadows.

Qingzhu led the two towards the middle room. The furnishings inside were simple: a bamboo couch, a wooden table, bamboo chairs, and medicinal herbs piled in the corner.

"Treat the injuries first." Qingzhu took out two sets of coarse cloth clothes from the wicker box. "There's some clean water over there."

Lu Yuan didn't move. He took out the letter wrapped in oiled paper from his inner pocket. The edges were wrinkled from the staining, but the ink in the center and the marks in the corners were still clear.

He offered the Qingzhu with both hands.

"Senior," the voice was steady yet hoarse, "This junior Lu Yuan, has come to seek you out at the request of Teacher Shen Moxin of the Nuoding Academy. This is the token."

Lin Xiao leaned against the door frame, staring at Qingzhu.

Qingzhu took the letter and walked to the window where the light shone, examining it carefully. She ran her fingers along the edges of the mark, sensing the residual Soul Power.

After a moment, he looked up.

"Girl Shen's personal mark, that's right." His tone became more serious, but the scrutiny deepened. "She mentioned you in her letter. She said you have considerable insight into theory and are a rare talent."

The bamboo cane touches the ground.

"But she didn't tell me you'd appear like this." Qingzhu's gaze swept over their disheveled appearance. "She also didn't tell me you'd be accompanied by a young man with such a unique Martial Soul aura, and that the Hundred Refinements Pavilion was following behind you."

The words were very direct.

Lin Xiao frowned, his tongue licking his canine teeth. Lu Yuan's expression remained unchanged.

"It happened suddenly," he said simply. "When Teacher Shen gave me the letter, I was still at the academy. Afterwards, something unexpected happened, and I had to leave Nuoding City. On the way, I met Lin Xiao and was targeted by the Hundred Refinements Pavilion. Falling into the deep valley was an accident, and finding the waterway to escape was also out of necessity."

Omit details, highlight the key points.

Qingzhu listened quietly. Only after Lu Yuan finished speaking did he slowly open his mouth.

"The Hundred Refinements Pavilion..." He shook his head, "Those guys have a keen sense of smell and a long reach. It's not easy for you to have escaped here."

Then the conversation shifted.

"In Girl Shen's letter, she said that you once helped her solve a problem of stagnation in the flow of Soul Power, and your approach was quite unique." Qingzhu's gaze fell on Lu Yuan as if it were a physical object. "She also mentioned that you have some unique insights into Soul Power plants. Tell me, what special plants were in that deep valley you fell into?"

Here's the problem.

Lu Yuan's mind raced. This was a verification.

"Yes." He nodded. "At the bottom of the deep valley, on the rock wall at the source of the stream, grows a strange plant. It is about three feet tall, with a dark purple stem and silver veins. The leaves are narrow and serrated. At the top grows a fruit, the size of a pigeon egg, with a semi-transparent skin. Liquid Soul Power can be seen flowing inside, emitting a pale golden halo."

He paused, then said, "This junior judges that this fruit contains pure, natural Soul Power that can be directly absorbed. It has a remarkable effect on restoring Soul Power and nourishing the Martial Soul Origin. After Lin Xiao was seriously injured, he consumed some of the fruit pulp, which stabilized his condition."

A hint of surprise flashed in Qingzhu's eyes.

"Your description is spot on," he said slowly. "That thing is called ' Origin Spirit Fruit ' in ancient pharmacopoeia fragments; it's extremely rare. You recognized its characteristics at a glance—that's no small feat."

Then the conversation shifted.

"However, as far as I know, that deep valley is surrounded by sheer cliffs on three sides, and the only gentle slope exit should be guarded by the Hundred Refinements Pavilion. How did you escape? And how did you find that ' Nether Waterway '?"

This is the core issue.

Lu Yuan and Lin Xiao exchanged a glance. Lin Xiao pursed his lips.

"The valley floor isn't a dead end," Lu Yuan said. "We explored downstream along the stream and discovered a waterfall. Behind the waterfall, there's a shallow cave in the rock wall, containing old artificial traces and a small amount of dark red powder residue, possibly some kind of cultivation medium. We speculate that someone attempted to cultivate or utilize that Soul Power plant in the valley floor long ago. The deep pool below the waterfall connects to the entrance of an underground river. Since Soul Beast can survive in the valley floor, there must be a passage in and out, and the underground river is likely one of them. So we risked jumping down and going downstream."

Omitting the details, we present the logical chain.

Qingzhu fell silent.

He leaned on his bamboo cane and slowly paced around the room. Sunlight moved across the window, and insects chirped softly.

"Observe, deduce, decide." Qingzhu stopped and looked at Lu Yuan. "Girl Shen wasn't wrong about you. You're a frighteningly meticulous young man."

It was impossible to tell whether the tone was one of approval or something else.

"But brains alone aren't enough." Qingzhu turned her gaze to Lin Xiao. "Your companion must have contributed a lot to this fight and escape, right? Is this where you got your injuries?"

Lin Xiao raised his chin. "Just lending each other a hand."

"What level of people did the Hundred Refinements Pavilion send to chase you?"

"A Soul Ancestor, leading several Soul Grandmaster," Lu Yuan answered readily.

Qingzhu raised an eyebrow slightly. "Soul Ancestor... You managed to escape from the Soul Ancestor and even make your way here?" He shook his head. "It's not that I don't believe it, but it's really a bit..."

"We used a bit of a trick," Lu Yuan replied, "Using the terrain, creating chaos, and a bit of luck. A direct confrontation would have been futile."

They didn't reveal their hand.

Qingzhu stared at him for several seconds, then suddenly smiled. This smile was less gentle and more ambiguous.

"In her Girl Shen said that you have considerable insight into theory and can even draw inferences from one instance to another." He repeated this sentence, tapping the ground lightly with his bamboo cane.

Lu Yuan's heart tightened.

"I happen to have a 'minor problem' here, which has been troubling me for quite some time." Qingzhu's gaze fell on Lu Yuan with a tangible intensity, like that of an examiner posing a question. "If you can solve it, you will have passed my test. This place can serve as a temporary refuge for you, and even... I can sit down and listen to you tell me about your 'unorthodox' ideas."

He paused.

"If not..." He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

Lin Xiao frowned, his right arm slightly tense. He looked at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan's face remained expressionless. He was still exhausted, his wounds ached, and his Soul Power had only recovered a small portion. But his eyes were calm as he met Qingzhu's gaze.

"Please enlighten me, senior," he said calmly.

Qingzhu nodded, walked to the window, and looked out at the mountains and forests.

"Now that you've emerged from the ' Nether Waterway,' you should have noticed that, apart from the ' Blood-Eyed Bat ' you disturbed, there was almost no living creature in that waterway," he said slowly. "There were no fish or shrimp, no aquatic insects, and even moss and algae were scarce. The rock walls were bare, and the water was icy cold, yet it contained a very faint, almost imperceptible aura of deathly chill."

He turned around.

"Logically, with flowing water and caves, even underground rivers, there should be some shade-loving creatures inhabiting them. But that waterway is abnormally clean." He lightly tapped the ground with his Qingzhu staff. "I have lived in seclusion here for decades, exploring it many times, but I still cannot understand the reason. I only know that the source of that 'cold, deathly aura' seems to be deeper within the waterway, blocked by complex rock layers and the lairs of Soul Beast, making it difficult to penetrate."

He asked that "small question".

"In your opinion, what could be causing this 'environmental anomaly'? You don't need to give a definitive answer, just explain your reasoning."

The question has been raised.

It's not about deciphering Soul Skill, identifying medicinal herbs, or even constructing a Soul Power model. It's an open-ended question about "environmental anomalies." It tests the breadth of one's knowledge, the rigor of logical reasoning, and the ability to connect different phenomena through analogy.

Lu Yuan fell silent.

His gaze fell, landing on the muddy toes of his shoes, his index finger unconsciously tapping lightly on the side of his trousers. The cold, lifeless waterway, the eerily barren environment, the chilling atmosphere...

Lin Xiao held his breath. Qingzhu didn't urge him either.

A few breaths later, Lu Yuan raised his eyes.

"Senior," he began, his voice taking on an analytical tone, "I tentatively conclude that there are several possibilities."

"Firstly, there is energy field interference. Deep within the waterway, there may exist some kind of energy source or field that continuously emits a cold and deathly aura. Its properties are unique, inhibiting or even poisoning the Soul Power operation or physiological functions of most life forms, making it impossible for organisms to survive for long periods. It is similar to some naturally formed 'dead zones'."

"Secondly, the material cycle is disrupted. The waterway may lack key substances that maintain the basic ecological chain, or it may contain trace amounts of deadly 'foreign substances' that disrupt the most basic material and energy cycle. For example, certain rare minerals may dissolve in the water, or there may be ancient, persistently toxic derivatives of Soul Power."

"Thirdly," Lu Yuan paused, a thoughtful glint in his eyes, "It might be related to the ' Blood-Eyed Bat 'Soul Beast itself. Their colony-like habitation here might not be solely due to using the waterways as nests. Their social habits, secretions, and even hunting methods may have unintentionally altered or 'purified' the environment of that area over a long period, making it unsuitable for other creatures to coexist. This is a biologically driven environmental selection."

With each point Qingzhu made, the astonishment in her eyes deepened. When she finished the third point, the old man's calm was broken, replaced by an expression that was a mixture of surprise and deep thought.

Lu Yuan didn't provide an answer, but rather three clear and well-reasoned lines of reasoning. The third one, in particular, considered the ecology of the Soul Beast population, offering a rather novel perspective.

Qingzhu remained silent for an even longer time.

He paced back and forth, the rhythm of his bamboo cane tapping the ground slightly erratic. The sunlight outside the window shifted again, and a small emerald bird hopped onto the fence in the herb garden, tilted its head to look around, and flew away.

"... Your thinking is broad and your logic is clear." After a long pause, Qingzhu stopped, let out a long breath, and looked at Lu Yuan with a much more complicated expression. "Girl Shen is right, you are indeed... a little different."

He waved his hand.

"Change your clothes first, and treat your injuries. As for the specifics, I'll need to think about it some more." He turned and walked towards the door, but stopped at the entrance, glancing back at Lu Yuan. "You can stay here for now. The room on the left is empty; tidy it up yourself. There's some food and water stored in the small shed behind the stone house."

After saying that, he leaned on his bamboo cane and slowly walked back to the main house in the middle, closing the door behind him.

The test has come to an end, but the outcome is still unclear.

Lu Yuan stood there, looking at the closed bamboo door, and slowly loosened his fist, which had been clenched unconsciously. His palms were damp with cold sweat.

Lin Xiao walked over, nudged him with his shoulder, and lowered his voice. "Hey, what you were saying earlier... is it reliable?"

"I don't know," Lu Yuan said honestly, "It's just a guess."

"Did the old man believe it?"

"He probably believed part of it." Lu Yuan glanced at the empty room on the left. "At least, he let us stay."

I'll stay for now.

In this secluded forest clearing deep within the Soul Beast Mountain Range, under the eaves of the mysterious and enigmatic Senior Qingzhu.

A chance to catch their breath has arrived, but a new fog of Mist has also begun to roll in. Was Qingzhu's "small question" about the waterways really just a simple test?

Lu Yuan didn't know. All he knew was that he needed to recover his strength and clear his mind as soon as possible.

The road ahead is still unclear.