Chapter 38: A swordsman’s past [1]

Chapter 38: Chapter 38: A swordsman’s past [1]

Chen Guanshan straightened himself and cupped his hands, his face still burning with embarrassment.

"This descendant will gladly accept the position."

Chen Yuan nodded in satisfaction. "Good."

He looked toward the ruined city below, then back at Chen Guanshan. "Since you are now the City Lord, there are a few things you need to understand."

Chen Guanshan immediately became serious.

"Please instruct me, Ancestor."

"First, this city has just suffered a demon invasion. The people are exhausted, the formations are damaged, and many of the city’s cultivation families have either been destroyed or severely weakened."

Chen Yuan pointed toward the streets below.

"Your first task is to stabilize the city."

Chen Guanshan nodded.

"Understood."

"Make sure the injured receive treatment. Find homes for those who lost theirs. Ensure that the surviving merchants can reopen their shops, and arrange for the city guards to resume their duties."

Chen Yuan’s gaze moved toward the distant city walls.

"Most importantly, repair the city’s defensive formations before anything else. We don’t know whether the demons left anything behind, and we cannot afford another surprise while the city is still recovering."

"Use the gains we obtained from the four families for this cause. Make sure not to waste a single spiritual stone on the wrong things."

Chen Guanshan’s expression became solemn.

"I understand, Ancestor. I will make sure the formations are restored as quickly as possible."

Chen Yuan nodded.

"Good."

He paused briefly before continuing.

"Second, don’t assume that taking control of the city means everyone here will immediately accept the Chen Family."

Chen Guanshan looked slightly surprised.

"There will be people who fear us, people who distrust us, and people who will think we’re simply taking advantage of what happened."

"Let them think that."

Chen Yuan’s expression remained calm.

"You don’t need to force everyone to like the Chen Family. Just make sure they understand that the Chen Family will keep its promises."

Chen Guanshan slowly nodded.

"Yes, Ancestor."

"Protect the people who survived this disaster. Treat them fairly. If someone causes trouble, deal with them according to the laws of the city."

Chen Yuan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"But don’t become too soft simply because they are afraid of us."

Chen Guanshan understood immediately.

"Yes."

"You’re the City Lord now. That means you have to learn when to be kind and when to be strict."

Chen Yuan smiled faintly.

"Don’t worry. If someone becomes too troublesome for you to handle, you can always come looking for this old man."

Chen Guanshan’s mouth twitched.

"Ancestor, I think I’ll try my best not to bother you."

Chen Yan, who had remained silent beside them, suddenly spoke. "That’s probably for the best."

Chen Guanshan looked at him.

"Why?"

Chen Yan glanced at Chen Yuan.

"Because knowing him, he’ll probably throw you back down there and tell you to deal with it yourself."

Chen Yuan laughed.

"That’s not a bad idea."

Chen Guanshan’s expression stiffened.

"Ancestor..."

Chen Feng stroked his beard, a faint smile appearing on his face.

"Don’t worry. You’ll get used to it."

Chen Guanshan sighed inwardly.

He had only become City Lord for a few breaths, yet he was already beginning to regret accepting the position.

After leaving several more instructions to Chen Guanshan, the three finally disappeared from the sky, and Chen Guanshan suddenly found himself reappearing on the ground next to his group.

He scratched the back of his head, looking toward the distant sky as he trembled at the thought of Chen Yuan possibly exposing more of his childhood secrets to other people.

"Ancestor always has a bad habit of teasing people..."

He sighed and turned back to do his job.

The three figures quietly returned to the Chen Family residence.

There was no disturbance when they arrived. Chen Yuan deliberately kept his spiritual pressure completely concealed, not wanting to alarm the rest of the family about their return.

Chen Guanshan and the twenty clansmen who had accompanied him to Blue Cloud Mist City already knew about the existence of the three Ancestors, but the rest of the Chen Family was still completely unaware of them.

Chen Yuan had no intention of revealing everything immediately.

Instead, he planned to hold a grand family meeting tomorrow and have every single clan member attend, whether they were from the inner clan or the outer clan.

If the three Ancestors were going to be revealed, then he wanted the entire family to hear it from him rather than allowing rumors to spread throughout the residence.

With that matter settled, the three quietly made their way toward the Ancestral Grounds.

The familiar paths of the Chen Family passed beneath their feet as they walked through the quiet residence. Several clansmen could be seen in the distance carrying out their usual duties, while others were returning from their training despite it being nighttime.

None of them paid much attention to the three figures passing through the Family Grounds, especially since Chen Yuan had deliberately concealed their presence.

Soon, they arrived before the ancestral hall.

The ancient building stood quietly beneath the dark sky, its familiar wooden structure illuminated by the fading light. The three did not stop there.

Chen Yuan merely glanced toward the hall before leading Chen Yan and Chen Feng deeper into the Ancestral Grounds.

Their figures disappeared without making the slightest sound.

When they reappeared, they were already standing before the enormous rock that concealed the entrance to the inheritance cave.

Chen Feng looked at the huge rock for several seconds, his eyes moving over the simple entrance hidden behind it as though his divine sense were surrounding it.

This was actually his first time seeing the place properly.

After being summoned by Chen Yuan, he had been taken directly to Blue Cloud Mist City to deal with the three Demon High Lords, leaving him no opportunity to explore the Chen Family’s Ancestral Grounds, let alone the other areas.

He stroked his beard with some curiosity before looking toward Chen Yuan.

"So this is the place you’ve kept the sword I left behind?"

Chen Yuan smiled.

"Something like that."

Chen Feng looked toward the entrance again, his curiosity growing as he sensed the faint sword intent leaking from within.

"You should improve the defenses around this entrance if you truly intend to make the place inside our family’s sacred ground. It is filled with loopholes and the design is crude."

Chen Yuan’s smile twitched, but he quickly swallowed his breath before nodding. "That’s what I intend to do."

He placed one hand against the enormous rock while continuing, "I plan to learn formations specifically for this purpose. If I can strengthen the defenses here, I should also be able to use what I learn to improve the defenses around the family’s residence."

"Don’t get me wrong. Relying on spiritual techniques for defenses is fine most of the time, but formations can exist without a cultivator’s intervention most of the time, and obviously..."

He paused. "It’s much more cost-effective."

Chen Feng nodded in agreement.

"That would be useful. This place contains things that shouldn’t fall into the hands of outsiders. Especially after hearing your future plan. This place might be the most sacred land in the whole kingdom."

His gaze shifted toward the rock.

"I could also leave some of my sword intent around the family’s residence. It can serve as a natural barrier. Anyone who approaches with malicious intentions should have difficulty getting close."

Chen Yan, who had been listening from the side, raised an eyebrow. "You’re planning to fill the entire residence with your sword intent?"

Chen Feng glanced at him.

"Not the entire residence."

"Then where?"

"Around the important areas."

Chen Yan smiled.

"And how exactly are you planning to do that? Are you going to cleave the surrounding land into pieces and use them as markers?"

Chen Feng’s expression immediately became displeased. "Do you think I’m a brute?"

Chen Yan’s smile widened slightly.

"Considering what I’ve seen from you so far, I wouldn’t rule it out."

Chen Feng snorted.

"Don’t compare me to those demons. Sword intent can be elegant too. They are formless, shapeless, and yet they are one of the most suitable forms of intent that can resonate with spiritual energies."

"How do you think I’ve cultivated this far? I relied entirely upon sword intent to carve my own way upon the path of immortality."

Chen Yuan couldn’t help but chuckle as he watched the two argue, and the enormous rock suddenly began to move under his palm.

With a deep grinding sound, it slowly slid to the side, revealing the dark passage behind it. A faint crimson-golden light immediately spilled out from within. The Flaming Fireflies were still there.

Countless tiny points of light floated quietly through the passage, illuminating the stone walls with a warm glow.

The cave had remained undisturbed since their last visit, and the faint sword intent lingering deeper within could already be felt from the entrance.

Chen Yuan stepped inside first.

Chen Yan followed.

Chen Feng was the last to enter, giving the enormous rock one final glance before stepping into the passage.

The three walked deeper into the cave.

Their footsteps echoed faintly against the stone walls as the passage gradually descended. The strange murals that were carved on the walls, their ancient images, were illuminated by the drifting Flaming Fireflies.

Chen Feng occasionally turned his gaze toward them as they walked, his interest gradually growing.

The carvings looked far too deliberate to be ordinary decorations, and some of the figures depicted within them even carried faint traces of spiritual energy.

After observing them for a while, he finally asked, "What are the origins of these carvings, if I may ask?"

Chen Yuan glanced toward the murals.

"Oh, those?"

"Yes."

Chen Yuan looked at them for a few seconds before casually answering, "I carved them myself when I was younger."

Chen Feng’s footsteps slowed slightly.

"You... carved them?"

"Yes."

Chen Yuan nodded as though there were nothing strange about it. "I thought they looked... Majestic. I also figured they would make this place look more solemn, so I carved a few along the walls."

Chen Feng’s face slowly went stiff, and he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

Eventually, they arrived at the deepest part of the cave. The passage opened into the vast underground cavern, and the three stopped as they reached the ancient stone platform at its center.

And embedded within it was the ancient sword. The slender sword remained exactly as Chen Yuan and Chen Yan remembered it.

Chen Yuan stood with his hands behind his back and silently looked toward it.

The Flaming Fireflies moved slowly around them, some passing close to the three figures before floating higher toward the ceiling, while others circled around the stone platform as if they were naturally drawn toward the sword’s lingering intent.

Chen Feng stood several steps away from the platform, and from the moment they arrived here, his eyes had not left the sword.

Chen Yuan noticed this and smiled faintly before finally breaking the silence.

He did not look toward Chen Feng when he spoke. His gaze remained fixed upon the ancient sword, while the crimson-golden Flaming Fireflies continued to drift lazily through the cavern, their gentle light passing over the stone platform and the three figures standing before it.

"Born from words, yet given flesh.

"Born from a dream, yet given a world.

"If the dreamer wakes, does the dream cease to be?

"If the words are forgotten, does the story disappear?

"If a false name is spoken for a hundred years, does it remain false after a hundred years of being remembered?

"And if the unreal can laugh, can weep, can love, can bleed...

"Then perhaps the question was never whether it was real."

Chen Yuan finally lowered his gaze toward the sword.

"Perhaps..."

His voice became softer.

"The question is whether something must be born in the real world to become real."

The last words lingered quietly within the cave, and Chen Feng on the side stood motionless.

He did not understand why Chen Yuan was reciting such a strange poem, but for some reason, every word seemed to settle somewhere deep within his mind.

The Flaming Fireflies continued to float around them.

One drifted past Chen Feng’s shoulder before slowly disappearing into the darkness behind him, while another landed upon the ancient sword for a brief instant.

Chen Yuan finally turned his gaze toward Chen Feng. "How about you take a look at the sword?"

Chen Feng cast him a glance, his expression carrying a trace of confusion.

He looked back toward the ancient sword and remained where he was for a few breaths, as though trying to understand what Chen Yuan was expecting him to find.

Eventually, his curiosity won over. Chen Feng slowly approached the stone platform.

The closer he got, the clearer the sword intent around the ancient sword became. It was not particularly violent, nor did it deliberately suppress him. Instead, it carried a familiar sharpness that made his steps gradually slow, his pace... hesitating.

When he finally reached the platform, Chen Feng lowered his gaze toward the hilt.

His hand moved almost naturally, and his fingers wrapped around it. The moment he grasped the sword, Chen Feng’s body trembled.

A sensation he had almost forgotten suddenly returned to him. The sensations were the weight of the sword in his palm, the coldness of the hilt against his skin, and the familiar balance of the blade.

Even the faint vibration running through the weapon seemed exactly the same as he remembered. Chen Feng stared at his hand. For someone who had supposedly been created only recently, the feeling was far too familiar.

It was the sensation of holding his own sword. Chen Yuan watched his reaction from behind.

"The day you left the family, you left this sword behind as a memorial."

His voice was quiet.

"Is that not the case?"

Chen Feng did not answer.

His fingers remained wrapped around the hilt as his eyes slowly travelled along the blade. The ancient sword reflected the faint crimson-golden light of the Flaming Fireflies, and for some reason, that simple sight made his chest feel strangely heavy.

After standing there for a long while, Chen Feng finally let out a slow breath. He released the hilt and carefully placed the sword back into the stone platform.

The blade settled into its original position with a faint metallic sound. Chen Feng kept his hand on the hilt for another second before withdrawing it.

"What are you trying to say, Chen Yuan?"

Chen Yuan smiled faintly.

"Were my words unclear?"

Chen Feng looked at him, and neither man spoke.

The Flaming Fireflies continued drifting around the cavern, their gentle light passing between them. The ancient sword stood silently behind Chen Feng, its faint sword intent spreading through the air.

Chen Feng lowered his gaze.

His shoulders relaxed slightly, and when he finally spoke again, his voice had lost the confidence he usually carried.

"Sigh..."

He rubbed his brow and remained silent for several breaths.

"Chen Yuan..."

His fingers slowly curled into a fist at his side.

"I am not real."

Chen Yuan’s expression did not change, and Chen Feng continued before he could respond. "You don’t have to convince me otherwise."

He gave a faint, tired smile, though there was no humor in it.

"I’ve already made peace with it."

He looked down at his own palm, the same hand that had just held the sword.

"I know what I am. I know how I came into this world. I know that my memories were given to me before I even opened my eyes."

"Perhaps I can feel them as though they truly happened. Perhaps I can remember every person I loved, every battle I fought, and every place I have visited."

"But that doesn’t change how I was born."

Chen Feng looked toward the ancient sword again as a bitter smile appeared over his face.

"Those memories can be real to me without making me real."

"So don’t waste your time trying to give me an answer that you think I want to hear."

He turned toward Chen Yuan.

"I have already accepted what I am."

Chen Yan remained silent beside them, watching Chen Feng carefully. Chen Yuan, however, simply stood there with the same calm expression.

He did not argue. Instead, his gaze moved toward the ancient sword before returning to Chen Feng. "Who did you leave your sword to before you left?"

Chen Feng was taken aback by the question.

His brows slowly drew together as he tried to recall the answer, but the moment he searched through his memories, something surfaced on its own.

A tree. It was an enormous old tree that stood beneath a clear sky, its branches spreading wide enough to cover the ground beneath it in shade. The grass around its roots moved gently in the breeze, and beneath that tree stood a woman.

She was beautiful.

Her long hair flowed gently behind her, and the sunlight slipping through the leaves fell across her face in scattered patches.

There was something strangely familiar about the scene, something so natural that Chen Feng found himself staring at her without even realizing that the memory had already begun playing inside his mind.

He could remember everything about her...

The way she looked at him, the faint smile on her lips, and the sound of her voice. Most importantly, he remembered what he had felt whenever he stood beside her.

It was... warm.

Chen Feng’s lips moved unconsciously as a crimson Firefly flew in front of his face. "...Ru...yan."

The name escaped his mouth so quietly that even he almost failed to hear it. His eyes suddenly widened, and the memory vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Chen Feng remained standing beside the stone platform, his expression frozen as he stared blankly at the ancient sword. His breathing had become slightly heavier, and his fingers slowly tightened at his sides.

His heart suddenly felt heavy.

Chen Yuan watched him without saying anything. Chen Feng lowered his head, trying to force the memory back into the depths of his mind, but the more he tried to suppress it, the clearer it became.

His throat tightened.

"I..."

His voice came out hoarse. Chen Feng swallowed and tried again.

"I gave the sword..."

He stopped, and his eyes slowly lifted toward Chen Yuan, confusion and disbelief appearing in them. "...to her."

Chen Yuan’s expression remained calm.

"Her name?"

Chen Feng’s lips trembled slightly.

"Bai.."

He hesitated. Then, as though the name had been buried deep within him for countless years, it finally surfaced.

"Bai Ruyan."