Chapter 69.3: Walking the Shade

Tan Wenbin beamed at the response—it meant Runsheng wasn’t going anywhere either, while he had pulled it off!

“This kind of thing—you can’t learn it later in life?”

“Some people are born with it. Some only pick it up later by chance after going through certain events. But yes, it can be learned.”

“So you deliberately didn’t teach her?”

“Yeah. What’s the point of learning this? Being able to see these things isn’t necessarily a good thing. In peaceful times, this line of work won’t thrive.

To be honest, I just wanted her to live a happy life, find something she enjoys, marry a good man, have a child, and live like an ordinary person.”

That was what Great-grandpa had wished for him too.

“I think she’s done quite well learning it on her own.”

“Just think of it as a way to stay fit. A girl with some skills is less likely to be bullied.”

At that moment, Tan Wenbin said, “Brother Xiaoyuan, my head feels so dizzy. It hurts.”

The old man said, “Silly kid, go get some sleep. You’ve been walking the shade too long. It’ll wear a person down. If you lose control and drift into the street, you’ll end up a wandering spirit.”

Tan Wenbin asked nervously, “Uh… how do I end it?”

“Each family has its own incantation.” The old man looked at Li Zhuiyuan. “You didn’t teach him?”

Li Zhuiyuan replied, “Close your eyes. Imagine yourself underwater, rising to the surface.”

The old man: “…”

Tan Wenbin obediently closed his eyes and started imagining. He even rose onto his toes and moved his hands up and down gently.

After a while, Tan Wenbin opened his eyes, wincing in pain. “I can’t wake up, Xiaoyuan. My head hurts even more—ah…”

Li Zhuiyuan had no idea what to do and turned to the old man. “Old man, got any tricks?”

“I…” The old man stood, walked up to Tan Wenbin, muttered a string of unintelligible words, then slapped him square on the forehead.

Tan Wenbin flew backward, smashed through a wall, and landed in the inner room.

Inside the coffin, Tan Wenbin jolted awake. His head throbbed, and he was still utterly exhausted, but he forced himself out of the coffin, lifted the curtain, and returned to the outer room.

But the doorboard was still propped up, and no one else was in sight. That’s when he realized. He rubbed his forehead, crawled back into the coffin, closed his eyes, and promptly began to snore.

“All right, he’s back. If the kid had never learned anything before this, he’s surprisingly gifted. Has he been through stuff before?”

“He has.”

“Oh, then that’s it—too many encounters.”

“Walking the shade for too long tires you out?”

“Of course not for you. You’re built like a rock.”

“What do you mean, built like a rock?”

“You were probably already standing outside the inner room earlier, listening to us talk. And I never sensed your presence the entire time.”

“Be more specific.”

“You really don’t know?”

“Do I look like I’m faking?”

“No, you just seem... astonishing. You really don’t know how you got this way?”

“Must be from going through too much.”

The old man shook his head. “Nope. That kind of experience only opens the gate to walking the shade. But you—you’ve clearly undergone tempering.”

Li Zhuiyuan thought of Ah Li.

If it was about tempering, it was probably when he entered Ah Li’s “vision” to look at scenery.

Every time he emerged from the sights, he would feel dazed and sick for a while. But after doing it enough times, the side effects got smaller and smaller.

They waited a long time, but no second black shadow came knocking.

Li Zhuiyuan asked, “Business not great?”

The old man chuckled. “I run a coffin shop. Wouldn’t exactly be good news if business was booming.”

“You want another kind of business? One that won’t cost your lifespan.”

“What else can I even offer besides my lifespan?”

“I’ll pay Yinmeng in real life. You teach me how to walk the shade.”

The old man leaned back. He’d already sensed something was off earlier, but never expected a kid to actually say this kind of thing.

“Are you suspecting the Liu family’s identity?”

“No. I’m confirming it. Because only the Dragon King Temple could birth something this bizarre.”

“So... this deal. You in?”

“I’m in. But I can’t take your money.”

“No. I have to pay. Free things always cost more in the end.”

“You misunderstand. It’s just that I can only teach the basics, and I’d feel bad taking your money for that.”

“The basics are exactly what I need.”

“All right then. I can teach you all twelve of my clan’s methods for walking the shade. But this takes a long time to learn. How long are you staying?”

“I’m leaving tomorrow afternoon.”

“These techniques are full of details and taboos. Without someone guiding you in person, it’s hard to really get started.

Why not stay a bit longer? A month maybe—that way I can at least ensure you’ll master one.”

“It’s fine. Just teach.”

“Then I’ll list the twelve techniques. You can pick one and we’ll focus on that tonight?”

“No need. Start from the first.”

“Oh… all right.”

At first, even knowing the kid was from the Liu family, the old man still thought he was just a mad dreamer—ambition larger than the sky.

But as he kept teaching, he realized he was the frog in the well.

For every technique, he would first explain it, then demonstrate, then point out the key tips.

The boy would sit in a chair, ponder for a moment, and then perform it. The first time was clumsy, the second time fluent, and by the third, it was polished and perfect.

Second technique, third technique… all the same.

Midway, the old man even started to suspect the boy had learned the Liu clan’s methods long ago and was just here pretending to verify. But he quickly dismissed that thought.

Because the last three techniques, he himself hadn’t even learned yet. All he could do was recite the ancestral incantations and cautionary notes passed down the generations. He couldn’t demonstrate.

But the boy remained the same—sat in the chair, thought for a bit, and then analyzed it: based on the consistent structure of the earlier nine techniques, shouldn’t this part go like this? Wouldn’t that lead to that? What’s the pivot point here?

Then, he performed it.

And after that, he even reversed the roles and taught the old man, guiding him through the process.

Just like that, the student and teacher had switched places.

Never in his wildest dreams had the old man imagined someone would one day teach him his own clan’s ancestral techniques. It was absurd. But it was happening. He couldn’t deny it.

What hit even harder was that the boy, after mastering it, could break it down, explain it more clearly, help him understand it better—and yet, even with that clarity, he still couldn’t perform it himself.

When the boy had finished learning all twelve, the sky outside was still dark. Dawn was still a long way off.

The old man slumped against the wall, deeply disheartened. He looked at the boy, who remained full of energy, and muttered in awe:

“No wonder you’re of the Liu family.”

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