Follow the Current

In the days after Lang Tuyet left U Minh Mountain, Hao Nhien remained in the small hamlet at the foot of the mountain.

But the way he spent each day had changed considerably.

He no longer devoted most of his time to sitting in meditation.

Nor did he immediately test a new cultivation method every time he noticed some change in his meridians.

Instead, he began spending more time on ordinary things.

In the mornings, Hao Nhien helped the old man carry water home from the well.

Some days, he joined the old woman in the garden, pulling weeds and repairing the vegetable beds eroded by rain.

When the household needed more firewood, he followed Lanh Hoa into the nearby forest, gathering a few common medicinal herbs along the way—the sort people in the hamlet often used for minor illnesses and injuries.

None of those tasks required high cultivation.

Yet they allowed Hao Nhien to notice many things he had rarely paid attention to before.

Without being able to freely circulate True Qi, he could still control the strength he released through the coordination of muscle, joints, and breathing.

The process was slower than before.

But precisely because it was slower, he could sense the small changes in his body after the heavenly tribulation far more clearly.

Every evening, Hao Nhien still spent some time examining himself.

He would only attempt to circulate a very small amount of True Qi, then observe how the meridians reacted.

He avoided repeating his earlier habit of forcing one attempt after another.

Sometimes the strand of True Qi traveled farther than it had during the previous examination.

On other days, it was blocked at a point it had already passed before.

The inconsistency continued to trouble him.

One afternoon, after entering the forest with Lanh Hoa to gather medicinal plants, Hao Nhien chose to walk back instead of having Lanh Hoa carry both of them on a flying sword.

The path followed the foot of the mountain.

On one side stood rows of low trees.

On the other, a narrow stream flowed through cracks in the rock before descending toward lower ground.

Lanh Hoa walked some distance ahead with a basket of herbs.

Hao Nhien followed slowly, paying attention to the coordination between his breathing and muscles as he walked.

When he reached a shallow section of the stream, he stopped.

There was not much water flowing down from the mountain.

It barely covered half a foot.

Several stones lay scattered across the streambed, forcing the current to split into smaller branches, slip through the gaps, then merge again farther downstream.

Hao Nhien was watching the water when he suddenly sensed a strand of True Qi forming within his dantian.

The strand entered a meridian near the Golden Core.

It traveled smoothly through the first section, then slowed when it reached an area still affected by the remaining Yin energy.

Hao Nhien noticed the current gradually enter a very small meridian branch.

The flow was weak.

But it remained continuous.

It even passed through a section that had repeatedly caused problems during his earlier attempts at cultivation.

A trace of joy rose within him.

And before he realized it, his intent moved with it.

Just a little faster, he thought.

Perhaps if he pushed it slightly, the True Qi could cross the next section and reach a wider meridian that would allow the circulation to continue.

Hao Nhien gently urged the current forward.

The strand immediately changed.

It left the direction it had naturally been moving and entered the route his intent had just chosen.

But the residual Yin energy there still created too much resistance.

The True Qi quickly lost stability.

Then dispersed.

Hao Nhien stood motionless beside the stream.

There was no backlash.

No pain.

The amount of True Qi he had lost was tiny, almost meaningless compared with what he had once spent in battle.

And yet the disappointment was clearer than he expected.

He had repeatedly reminded himself not to be impatient.

He understood that the transformation of his meridians needed time.

Yet the moment he noticed the possibility of the True Qi traveling a little farther, he still could not stop himself from interfering.

Understanding a problem and truly changing a habit were apparently two very different things.

Hao Nhien looked down at the stream.

Then he found a relatively flat rock and sat.

Lanh Hoa noticed that the footsteps behind him had stopped and turned around.

“Clan Chief?”

“You can take the herbs back first.”

“I want to sit here for a while.”

Lanh Hoa studied his expression and guessed that the Clan Chief was probably thinking about his cultivation.

He did not ask further.

“This subordinate will remain nearby.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

After Lanh Hoa walked away, Hao Nhien returned his attention to the water flowing through the gaps between the stones.

The stream was narrow.

The current was weak.

Hao Nhien had seen similar scenes countless times in his life.

He had simply never spent much time thinking about them before.

A sense of exhaustion gradually surfaced.

Not physical weakness.

Something accumulated over months of constantly facing situations beyond what he had expected.

He had once believed that if he became stronger, many problems would become easier to solve.

When he was still at Foundation Establishment, he wanted to reach layer nine as quickly as possible.

After entering Golden Core, he had thought he would finally possess more power to protect the people who mattered.

Yet immediately after the heavenly tribulation, one mistake in his calculations had nearly cost him his life.

Anh Nhien still had not been found.

Two fragments of the key to the Firmament were in his possession, but the path toward the final piece remained unclear.

Tieu Lan continued sleeping inside the Cosmic Ark.

Quan Nha had chosen to remain in Heavenly Eye and carry the responsibilities of the God-Lord.

Even his promise to take Tieu Nhan back to Cat Loi—something that should have been simple—remained unfulfilled.

Hao Nhien lowered his head and watched his reflection tremble across the water.

He had never believed every problem could be solved by strength.

Yet whenever trouble appeared, his first reaction was still to become stronger or move faster.

Because he did not want the people beside him to continue paying the price.

What exhausted him was that despite all of that effort, too many things still remained beyond his control.

“What am I still missing?”

He spoke softly.

He could not tell whether he was asking himself or the stream before him.

“Are you blaming the heavens?”

An elderly voice came from behind.

Hao Nhien turned.

The old man who owned the house was walking down the slope.

A woven basket was strapped to his back, containing several bundles of common herbs and some dry branches.

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When he saw Hao Nhien looking at him, the old man smiled.

“I went to gather some medicine.”

“On the way back, I heard you talking to yourself, so I thought I’d ask.”

“If I’m disturbing you, I can go on ahead.”

Hao Nhien shook his head.

“It’s nothing, Uncle.”

“I was only thinking about a few things I haven’t been able to solve.”

The old man lowered the basket and sat beside a rock.

He looked toward the stream.

“Difficult enough that you have to ask heaven?”

Hao Nhien smiled faintly.

“Perhaps not quite that difficult.”

“That’s good.”

“I’ve lived this long and never seen heaven answer anyone complaining to it.”

“But sometimes sitting down and thinking for a while does help.”

Hao Nhien looked at him.

“Have you ever had something you couldn’t figure out no matter how long you thought about it?”

The old man laughed.

“Plenty.”

“Harvests.”

“Children.”

“Money.”

“Some things you figure out in one night.”

“Some things still make no sense after several years.”

“I’m not someone who knows everything.”

He bent down, picked up a dry twig, and dropped it into the water.

The twig drifted several feet before becoming caught against a stone.

Under the pressure of the current, it slowly rotated.

Then it slipped through a narrow gap and continued downstream.

The old man watched it.

“A few years ago, this hamlet wanted to dig a channel to bring water to the fields.”

“Someone thought the shortest route was straight through the rocky ground above.”

“So we spent days breaking stone and digging.”

“Then the rainy season came, and the water flowed somewhere completely different.”

Hao Nhien looked upstream.

“What did you do afterward?”

“Dug it again.”

“The second time, we followed the old watercourse.”

“We checked where the land was low, where the soil was easier to dig, then chose the route.”

“The channel ended up a little longer.”

“But we’ve been using it ever since.”

The old man smiled, sounding slightly helpless at the memory.

“At first, everyone thought going straight would be fastest.”

“But going straight meant breaking too much rock.”

“In the end, it took more work than going around.”

Hao Nhien looked toward the stream.

After a moment, he asked,

“What if the water is strong enough?”

“A great river can break stone.”

“It can even reshape the land.”

The old man nodded.

“That’s true.”

“A flood can carry stones away.”

“It can carry the fields away too.”

“But think about it.”

“Does a great river stop bending just because it is strong?”

Hao Nhien paused.

An image of the Thanh Van River appeared in his mind.

He had stood high above it many times, watching it pass through the lands near Thanh Van Town.

The river was vast.

Its current was incomparably stronger than the shallow stream before him.

Yet when it encountered mountains or higher ground, it still followed the terrain.

It curved.

It turned.

Then continued toward the distance.

It possessed the power to destroy.

But it did not always need to use that power.

Hao Nhien looked toward the old man.

“Then how do you know when to go around and when to break through?”

The old man laughed.

“That is a difficult question to ask me.”

“I only know how to farm.”

“How would I understand every current beneath heaven?”

He lifted the basket, brushed some dirt from his clothes, and continued,

“But if I don’t know where the water is going, I follow it for a while and see.”

“If you stand in one place guessing all day, you may still never know how many bends there are downstream.”

Hao Nhien looked at him.

“Follow it?”

“Mm.”

“Maybe after walking a little farther, you’ll find what you were looking for.”

“And if you don’t, at least you’ll know what the road ahead looks like.”

The old man braced a hand against the ground and stood.

He glanced toward Hao Nhien.

“I’m only talking about digging irrigation channels.”

“Whether your problem is similar or not, you’ll have to decide that yourself.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

This time, the heaviness in his chest had eased somewhat.

He rose and stepped forward to take the basket from the old man’s shoulders.

“Let me carry it.”

The old man did not refuse.

He only reminded Hao Nhien not to break the straps, the way he had cracked the carrying pole before.

The two walked together down the dirt road toward the hamlet.

Hao Nhien did not say much more.

But the old man’s words reminded him of a story he had heard long ago.

Tieu Dao One Sword.

A man who had spent five hundred years watching mountains and rivers in search of the understanding he desired.

And in the end, he had carried regret.

Before now, whenever Hao Nhien thought about that story, what impressed him most was the astonishing perseverance required for someone to spend five hundred years pursuing one thing.

But after more than a month of observing the changes within his own meridians without finding an answer, his understanding had begun to change.

Five hundred years of observing mountains and rivers was not easy.

But what if the thing one sought could not be seen from a single place?

Would five hundred years then truly be enough?

Hao Nhien did not know what Tieu Dao One Sword had regretted.

Perhaps he regretted failing to comprehend the sword path he sought.

Or perhaps he regretted missing the things he should have experienced during those centuries.

Hao Nhien did not want to impose his own interpretation upon the choice of someone who had walked before him.

But the story made him reconsider his current situation.

During his time at U Minh Mountain, he had tried to observe his body and find a way to recover.

That was not wrong.

Without this period of stillness, he might never have noticed the subtle changes taking place within his meridians.

But if he remained in one place until an answer appeared—

was he unknowingly limiting what he could discover?

The old man’s words returned.

If you don’t know where the water is going, follow it for a while and see.

Hao Nhien looked toward the rooftops gradually appearing ahead.

Since leaving Thanh Van Town, he had encountered many events that seemed unrelated.

Every meeting had its own cause.

Every crisis had its own circumstances.

Yet many things only revealed their influence on his cultivation path when he looked back later.

Lac Van had taught him more about survival and the choices available to those without strength.

Heavenly Eye had brought him closer to the secrets of the Firmament while changing his relationship with Quan Nha.

And the heavenly tribulation at U Minh Mountain, though it had nearly killed him, was forcing him to reconsider how he understood the circulation of power within his own body.

Perhaps everything had a cause, even when he did not recognize it immediately.

Hao Nhien did not believe some invisible hand was necessarily arranging every step of his path.

But he no longer saw everything he encountered as completely isolated events either.

Sometimes, the way he chose to face a crisis determined whether it became disaster or opportunity.

If so, continuing forward might not interfere with his cultivation at all.

Perhaps among things he had never seen before, he would discover exactly what he was missing.

After thinking for some time, Hao Nhien decided not to remain at U Minh Mountain merely waiting for an answer.

He still needed time to recover.

But that time did not necessarily need to be spent inside a room or sitting on one mountainside.

More importantly, there was already a journey he needed to take.

The next morning, he told Lanh Hoa his decision.

“We’re leaving.”

“We’ll go to the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion first and meet Lang Tuyet.”

Lanh Hoa looked at him.

“Clan Chief, have your meridians stabilized?”

“They haven’t recovered much.”

“But they aren’t worsening either.”

“I still need time to verify the changes that are happening.”

“And I don’t need to remain at U Minh Mountain to do that.”

Hao Nhien paused.

“Southern Border was already somewhere we needed to go.”

“I don’t want every plan to stop indefinitely just because I haven’t yet found a way to restore normal True Qi circulation.”

Lanh Hoa nodded.

“This subordinate will prepare.”

Hao Nhien looked at him and smiled faintly.

“There’s no need to prepare too much.”

“For now, there are only the two of us.”

“We’re not going to war.”

Lanh Hoa did not answer.

He still checked his sword and the supplies they would need before departure.

When the time came to say goodbye, the old woman had prepared a package of dried cakes and some pickled vegetables for them.

The old man stood beside the fence, watching Lanh Hoa gather the luggage before turning toward Hao Nhien.

“Leaving?”

“Yes.”

“We still have some matters to handle in the south.”

The old man nodded.

“Then travel carefully.”

“The mountain roads haven’t been as peaceful lately.”

“I heard several merchant groups encountered demonic beasts.”

Hao Nhien remembered the warning.

Then he took out some spirit stones, intending to leave additional payment for the two elders.

The old woman immediately waved him off.

“The man traveling with you already paid enough.”

“You barely used the room.”

“Why pay so much?”

Hao Nhien did not insist.

Instead, he took several carefully prepared common medicinal herbs from his storage ring and placed them inside a small box.

“Then please accept these medicines.”

“Some are for aches and pains.”

“Some for common chills.”

“I wrote the methods of use inside.”

“If you don’t need them, you can trade them for other things in the hamlet.”

The old man looked at the box and smiled.

“We can take medicine.”

“I know you understand herbs.”

“You probably won’t poison two old people like us.”

Hao Nhien laughed and bowed.

“Thank you both for looking after us.”

The old woman looked at him for a moment.

“If you come back again, remember not to crack the bed.”

Hao Nhien froze slightly.

Then he burst out laughing.

“I’ll definitely remember.”

Even Lanh Hoa standing nearby could not stop the corner of his mouth from lifting.

After saying goodbye, the two left the hamlet.

Lanh Hoa summoned his flying sword and carried Hao Nhien into the air.

Soon they left the foot of the mountain behind.

The small rooftops gradually disappeared into the morning mist.

Hao Nhien turned back for one final look at U Minh Mountain.

When he had arrived there, he had just survived the Golden Core tribulation.

He had believed the new realm would allow him to go farther on the cultivation path.

One battle had overturned every expectation.

Several days later, at the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion in Dong Nguyen, Hao Nhien sat beside a tea table in a private room on one of the upper floors.

A light fragrance of tea drifted through the air.

Outside the window, rooftops stretched along crowded streets filled with passing pedestrians.

The lively view could not have been more different from the small hamlet beneath U Minh Mountain.

Lanh Hoa waited in the outer room.

Before long, the door opened.

Lang Tuyet entered.

She still wore an elegantly tailored purple dress, moving with the relaxed composure of someone who had already arranged every matter within the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion.

The moment she saw Hao Nhien, one eyebrow lifted.

“Little Brother Hao Nhien, you finally decided to come down from the mountain?”

“I thought the next time I saw you, I’d have to search for you in some medicinal garden.”

Hao Nhien rose in greeting and smiled.

“I considered it.”

“But I couldn’t even grow a few experimental plants properly.”

“If I really opened a medicinal garden, I’d probably lose all my capital within a year.”

Lang Tuyet laughed and sat across from him.

“At least you know how to judge your own abilities.”

“So?”

“Did those herbs survive?”

“They’re still alive.”

“But they aren’t growing well.”

“I decided to stop changing the conditions so often.”

“I’ll let them adapt for a while.”

“Then I suppose you learned something.”

Lang Tuyet poured tea and passed a cup toward him.

Then she studied him more carefully.

Her gaze remained on his face for a moment.

“You seem different.”

Hao Nhien lifted his cup.

“Different how?”

“Hard to say.”

“When I saw you at U Minh Mountain, I always had the feeling you were trying to solve everything as quickly as possible.”

“I don’t feel that as strongly now.”

Hao Nhien considered it.

“Perhaps I finally realized some things won’t move faster just because I’m impatient.”

Lang Tuyet nodded.

“That’s good.”

“Especially when the road ahead of us is not short.”

She set down her cup.

Then she took an opened letter from her storage ring and placed it on the table.

“News came from Southern Border.”

“The auction there has confirmed several items that will appear soon.”

“One of them is the Bow Tree we’ve been investigating.”

Hao Nhien’s eyes changed immediately.

“Reliable?”

“It came through the Heavenly Spirit Merchant Association’s own channels.”

“Not an outside rumor.”

Lang Tuyet handed him a written itinerary.

Hao Nhien looked through it.

“After Southern Border, we find a way across the Sea Region.”

“Correct.”

Lang Tuyet looked at him.

“If we want to reach the New World and investigate the Earth Spirit, we need far more preparation than an ordinary journey.”

“The Sea Region is not somewhere you can casually cross just because you have a flying sword.”

“I’ve already had people investigate several routes and possible forms of transport.”

“But for now, we still need to reach Southern Border before deciding what comes next.”

Hao Nhien nodded.

“Then we follow that plan.”

Lang Tuyet studied him with some doubt.

“You’re not worried your meridians will affect the journey?”

“I am.”

“But I’ve thought about it carefully.”

“Remaining at U Minh Mountain may not help me recover any faster.”

“The road to Southern Border is long enough for me to continue observing and testing.”

“As long as I don’t force my cultivation or deliberately seek unnecessary fights, I believe I can still travel.”

Hao Nhien set the itinerary down.

“I also want to find medicinal records and materials concerning meridians after Golden Core formation.”

“Does the Heavenly Treasure Pavilion have anything like that?”

“Some.”

“Not much.”

“Detailed records of that kind are usually kept in the merchant association’s internal system.”

“They aren’t things casually placed on shelves for sale.”

Lang Tuyet looked at him.

The corner of her mouth curved slightly.

“Fortunately for you, the person in charge here has a little authority.”

Hao Nhien laughed.

“How much?”

“Not for sale.”

His eyebrow rose.

“Not for sale?”

“You’re going to lend them to me?”

“Consider it an investment.”

Lang Tuyet answered naturally.

“You need them now.”

“And I believe one day you will possess something valuable enough to trade in return.”

“The Heavenly Spirit Merchant Association is no stranger to long-term investments.”

Hao Nhien looked at her for a moment.

Then he nodded.

“Fine.”

“I’ll accept the investment.”

Lang Tuyet seemed slightly surprised.

“That easily?”

“I expected you to insist on paying spirit stones.”

“I still have spirit stones.”

“But if Manager Lang calls it an investment, then when the opportunity comes, I’ll return it with something more appropriate.”

Lang Tuyet smiled and rose.

“You really have changed.”

“In the past, you would have argued for at least a little longer.”

Hao Nhien lifted his tea.

“Perhaps I’m learning that not everything needs to be settled immediately.”

Lang Tuyet looked at him, amusement flickering in her eyes.

“I hope you remember that once we actually enter Southern Border.”