Chapter 7: A child’s imagination.

Chapter 7: Chapter 7: A child’s imagination.

The meeting eventually came to an end.

One by one, the clan members left the main hall with heavy expressions. Nobody dared to speak much afterward. Only the lingering taste of anger and frustration remained in the air over the Chen Family grounds.

The twenty people who had volunteered to go to the southern border had already been selected, and the remaining members of the family had begun discussing the preparations that needed to be made for them.

The last time the family had sent its clan members to the front line, none had returned. Not even their bodies had been recovered. That was how dangerous it was to fight against the demonic forces.

Yue’er remained standing near the back wall, quietly watching the clan members leave. With a small shift of her hands, she hugged the doll tighter against her chest.

She didn’t really understand everything that had happened just now. She was only six years old, after all.

She only knew that twenty people from the family were going somewhere dangerous, and there was a possibility that they might never return home.

Her small eyebrows gradually furrowed at the thought, and she slowly glanced toward her father.

Chen Haoran had remained seated at the highest position. Several elders were still around him, and none of them appeared to have any intention of leaving either.

Their expressions were solemn as they continued discussing the matter. Yue’er hesitated over whether she should go to her father at this time.

Especially after hearing everything that had happened just now, she didn’t dare to interrupt.

She lowered her head and quietly waited.

Suddenly, she remembered something important, and her eyes brightened.

The Third Elder.

Yue’er remembered the old man who had accompanied her through the ancestral grounds earlier today. She remembered the ancient sword, the strange inscription, and, most importantly—

The sword technique...

Her small hand unconsciously tightened around the doll.

The Third Elder told me that the opportunity I received today was extremely precious, even to the clan.

At the time, she hadn’t really understood what he meant. But after hearing the discussion about the southern border, the twenty volunteers, and the danger the clan was facing, Yue’er suddenly felt that perhaps she should tell her father now.

In her mind, in order to lessen the bad news, it needed to be countered by some good news.

Her expression gradually brightened at the thought.

Perhaps Father would be happy when he heard about it.

And if the Third Elder was right, the sword technique she had received might really be something important to the family.

Yue’er took another small breath before finally encouraging herself to step forward.

Her small footsteps were quiet against the polished stone floor of the main hall, but despite the remaining silence hanging over the hall, even those faint sounds seemed unusually clear.

Chen Haoran was still speaking with the elders when he noticed the movement from the corner of his eye. His voice gradually stopped.

He turned his head and looked toward his daughter.

"Yue’er?"

The elders also followed his gaze, and Yue’er visibly twitched as she hurriedly stopped several steps away from them.

Under the intense gazes of the elders, she suddenly felt a little nervous. Her fingers tightened around the doll’s arm, and Chen Haoran noticed her hesitation. His expression eventually softened.

"Come here."

Yue’er nodded and slowly walked toward him. Her small figure passed between the rows of seats until she finally stood before the elevated platform where her father was seated.

Chen Haoran looked at his daughter. His stern expression from earlier had been replaced with something much softer.

"What is it? If you’re looking for your mother, she isn’t in the clan currently. She’s busy attending to important matters in the Capital."

Yue’er looked at him for a moment before glancing toward the elders beside him.

Now, she suddenly felt unsure whether she should say it in front of everyone.

The Fourth Elder, Chen Meilan, noticed her hesitation.

"Yue’er, is there something you wish to tell your father?"

Her voice was gentler than the others, and seemingly grasping the chance, Yue’er hurriedly nodded.

"Yes."

Chen Haoran leaned slightly forward.

"Then tell me. What is it?"

Yue’er swallowed. She looked down at her doll for a moment, as though gathering her courage from the stuffed doll in her arms.

Then she raised her head.

"I met the Third Elder today."

The moment those words were spoken, Chen Haoran’s expression and those of the surrounding elders changed slightly. After all, the Third Elder held a very special meaning and status in their hearts.

"The Third Elder?"

Chen Haoran asked, his thoughts turning inward.

Could it be that he is interested in taking my daughter as his disciple? If that were the case, then it would be good for her.

"Yes."

Yue’er nodded.

"The Third Elder took me to the back of the ancestral grounds today."

The surrounding elders exchanged glances, and Chen Haoran’s eyebrows gradually furrowed.

"The back of the ancestral grounds?"

His voice contained a trace of surprise. After all, the ancestral grounds were not a place where the younger members of the family could casually wander around. Except for the Third Elder, everyone else was forbidden from casually entering the place without his permission.

Although Yue’er was the Patriarch’s daughter, she had only been allowed to enter because of the Third Elder.

Chen Guanshan stroked his beard, his expression becoming thoughtful.

"Did the Third Elder bring you there himself?"

"Yes."

Yue’er nodded obediently.

"The Third Elder took me there himself."

Chen Guanshan exchanged a glance with Chen Meilan. Neither immediately spoke.

The ancestral grounds were one of the most important places within the Chen Family. Although the younger generations occasionally passed through the outer sections, the deeper regions had always been forbidden for most to enter.

More importantly, Chen Yuan had spent decades taking care of that place on his own. Even Chen Haoran needed to ask permission before entering.

And if he had personally brought Yue’er somewhere deeper inside, then there was clearly a reason.

Chen Haoran rested one hand against the armrest of his chair.

"Why did the Third Elder bring you there?"

Yue’er hesitated, her fingers wrapping tightly around the doll’s arm. Her eyes unconsciously drifted toward the empty seat belonging to Chen Yuan.

Yue’er lowered her head slightly, and Chen Haoran noticed her hesitation.

"Yue’er?"

His voice softened.

"What is it? Just tell us."

Yue’er remained silent for another moment, and before she could answer, Chen Rong, the Fifth Elder, glanced toward her.

Her expression was somewhat tired after the previous conversation and discussion, and there was still a trace of frustration between her brows.

"Patriarch, perhaps we should continue discussing the arrangements for the twenty people. We only have three days, and there are still many things that need to be prepared."

Her gaze briefly fell upon Yue’er’s immature face.

"The Young Miss is still young. If it’s something unrelated to the matter at hand, there is no need to listen to it now."

Yue’er’s small face immediately became serious, and she looked toward Chen Rong.

"But mine is important too."

Chen Rong paused.

"What did you say?"

Yue’er hugged her doll against her chest and looked toward her father.

"The Third Elder said that what I received today was very important to the clan."

The atmosphere around the platform changed slightly, and Chen Haoran’s eyes narrowed. Chen Guanshan’s hand, which had been resting against his beard, slowly stopped moving.

Even Chen Meilan looked at Yue’er more carefully from the side.

Chen Rong frowned.

"The Third Elder said that?"

"Yes."

Yue’er nodded.

"The Third Elder told me that it was an extremely precious opportunity."

Chen Haoran exchanged a glance with the other elders present. For a moment, none of them spoke.

The words of a six-year-old girl would normally have been easy to dismiss. Yue’er was still too young to understand the complexities of cultivation, let alone matters concerning the family.

But when Chen Yuan’s presence was mentioned, the elders and even Chen Haoran himself changed their expressions almost immediately.

After all, that old man had never said anything lightly.

Chen Guanshan’s expression gradually became more serious. He lowered his hand from his beard and leaned slightly forward, his broad shoulders shifting as his attention focused entirely on Yue’er’s small figure.

"What exactly did you receive?"

His voice was no longer casual.

Yue’er looked at him and hesitated again.

Then her eyes drifted toward Chen Haoran. He gave her a small nod as permission.

"Tell us."

His voice remained gentle.

"You don’t need to be afraid. Whatever the Third Elder showed you, you can tell us."

Yue’er nodded and took a small breath.

"The Third Elder took me to a very deep place inside the ancestral grounds."

Chen Haoran’s brows drew together.

"Deep place?"

Yue’er tilted her head as she tried to remember.

"I don’t know."

She honestly didn’t know.

"The trees became very quiet, and there were many old stones around. The Third Elder said that the place had been there for a very long time."

Yue’er slowly continued, recalling everything that had happened.

"Then, there was a cave."

"A cave?"

The elders exchanged confused glances.

Yue’er nodded.

"The Third Elder found it behind some rocks. There was a hidden entrance, but I didn’t know it was there until it was opened."

Chen Haoran’s expression gradually became more serious.

"A hidden cave within the ancestral grounds..."

He repeated the words quietly, almost as though trying to recall whether such a place had ever appeared in the family records.

He had been the Patriarch for over three decades already, and although he knew that Chen Yuan had spent most of his life inside the ancestral grounds, he had never heard the old man mention a hidden cave.

Chen Meilan also seemed to find the matter strange, since she was the person in charge of keeping records of the family’s top-secret information.

Even she herself had never been aware of a cave there before.

"Was there anything outside the entrance?"

Yue’er thought for a moment before shaking her head.

"No. It was hidden very well. If the Third Elder hadn’t shown me, I would never have found it."

Chen Guanshan’s fingers slowly returned to his beard.

"Then what was inside, little girl?"

Yue’er’s eyes immediately brightened.

"It was very cool!"

Her innocent voice immediately softened the heavy atmosphere that had filled the hall.

She seemed to have forgotten her previous hesitation as she carefully narrated with a serious face.

"There were many stone walls inside, and they looked very old. There were strange marks carved all over them."

She moved one small hand away from the doll and gestured through the air as she spoke, trying to explain something that her six-year-old vocabulary could barely describe.

"The walls were very tall, and the cave was much bigger than I thought it would be from the outside. It wasn’t dark either."

Yue’er continued describing the place.

"There was a long path inside. The Third Elder walked in front of me, and I followed behind him. It became quieter and quieter the further we went inside."

Chen Guanshan’s expression became thoughtful.

"And then?"

Yue’er looked toward him.

"And then we reached a very large room!"

She paused, apparently trying to remember how large it had been.

"It was so big that I couldn’t see the other side clearly."

The elders listened carefully.

"There were stone pillars standing around the cave, and there were many stone platforms, rows after rows, starting from the front and going all the way to the back."

"And on the first stone platform, there was a sword."

The atmosphere changed again.

Chen Haoran’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"A sword?"

Yue’er nodded and spread her arms as far apart as she could, though the gesture failed to convey the scale of what she had seen.

"A really, really big sword. And it was bigger than Father."

Chen Haoran was momentarily speechless.

Chen Guanshan’s brows rose.

"Bigger than the Patriarch?"

Yue’er nodded seriously.

"Big!"

A faint smile almost appeared on Chen Meilan’s face at the earnestness of the little girl, but the expression disappeared when Yue’er continued.

"It was black."

She paused, then shook her head.

"It was white?"

The little girl struggled to find the right description.

"And it looked like metal, but it didn’t shine like normal metal. It was dark, and there were lines on it."

"The blade was very wide."

She slowly moved her hands through the air.

"It wasn’t like Father’s sword, and it was much thicker."

Yue’er continued before anyone could ask another question.

"The Third Elder said the sword belonged to Ancestor Chen Feng."

And then, the atmosphere instantly became strange.

Not because they believed the sword belonged to some ancient ancestor of their family.

It was quite the opposite.

Every elder present knew that the stories about Chen Feng had only appeared recently. It had been Chen Yuan who had introduced the name to the younger members of the family.

It was only a week ago.

There had never been any Chen Feng in the family’s recorded history. No ancestral tablets carried his name, and no genealogy mentioned him anywhere.

None of the elders had ever heard their predecessors speak of such a person. They had assumed Chen Yuan had invented the character himself.

Perhaps the old man had simply wanted to give the younger generation something to believe in.

But now Yue’er was describing a hidden cave that Chen Yuan had personally taken her into, and inside the cave, there was a sword that supposedly belonged to that nonexistent ancestor.

Chen Haoran’s eyes became sharp as his fingers wrapped around the armrest tightly.

"Did the Third Elder tell you anything else about Ancestor Chen Feng?"

Yue’er nodded.

"He told me some things."

"The Third Elder said... Ancestor Chen Feng was very powerful."

Chen Guanshan’s eyes twitched slightly.

Chen Meilan’s expression froze, while Chen Rong could not help but let out a faint breath through her nose. The corners of her lips almost curved upward in amusement before she quickly suppressed it.

That answer was hardly surprising.

After all, Chen Yuan had been telling the younger members of the family stories about Chen Feng for the past week.

The supposed ancestor was described as a figure who had once possessed unimaginable cultivation, mastered profound techniques, and accomplished extraordinary things before eventually disappearing without leaving behind any trace.

Yue’er noticed the elders changing expressions, and her small face became slightly more serious and mysterious.

"There was something written on the platform."

"Written?" Chen Haoran asked.

"Yes."

Yue’er nodded again.

"There were many words, but they were strange."

She paused, her small brows drawing together as she searched through her memories.

"They didn’t look like the words Father taught me."

Yue’er lowered her eyes toward the doll in her arms, her tiny fingers unconsciously rubbing against its worn fabric.

"Then I looked at the inscription carefully. And when I stared at the strange lines for a little longer..."

Yue’er’s voice gradually quieted as she tried to describe it.

"Everything disappeared, and I saw..."

She looked up.

"A vast open sky."

Chen Haoran frowned.

"A sky?"

Even the elders became more serious this time as Yue’er nodded.

"A very big sky."

Her eyes widened as the memory returned to her.

"It wasn’t like the sky outside. There were no trees, no mountains, and almost... nothing."

Her small hands slowly rose from the doll and pointed toward the empty space above her.

"It was just very, very high..."

Yue’er tried to find the words.

"And there were clouds. They were moving really fast until..."

She paused as her expression turned into excitement.

"The clouds suddenly broke apart."

She was trying to describe something that had left an impression far beyond what her six-year-old mind could properly understand.

"And I saw the sword."

Chen Haoran’s eyes narrowed.

"What kind of sword?"

Yue’er turned to look at her father.

"The same sword on the platform. But it was much bigger."

The elders remained silent, and Yue’er spread both arms apart again, trying to demonstrate the size.

"It was hanging from the sky. Upside down, with the sword above the clouds and the tip pointing down."

She swallowed, and her voice became quieter.

"I couldn’t see where it ended."

The excitement in her voice made it obvious that she was no longer struggling to remember.

The scene had remained deeply imprinted within her young mind, almost as though she had only witnessed it moments ago.

"There was a person standing on top of the sword."

The elders remained silent.

Yue’er continued without waiting for anyone to interrupt her.

"I couldn’t see his face clearly. He was very far away, and everything around him was covered by the clouds. I could only see his shape."

She paused briefly, her eyes widening as the memory unfolded before her.

"Then he moved."

Her hands suddenly separated from the doll as she instinctively raised one toward the ceiling, trying to imitate what she had seen.

"It fell from the sky!"

Her small face became filled with wonder.

"The clouds were pushed away when it came down. Everything became very loud, but I couldn’t hear anything else. I could only see the sword."

She swallowed.

"And then the person said something."

The hall remained completely silent.

Yue’er looked around at everyone before continuing.

"He said the name of the technique."

Her voice dropped into a whisper as she tried to reproduce the strange words she had heard.

"Heaven-Severing Swordfall."

She stopped for half a breath.

Then she drew her hand sharply through the air.

"Then..."

Her little body instinctively leaned forward.

"Everything disappeared."

She blinked several times.

"And I opened my eyes."

The elders exchanged glances.

Chen Rong was the first to recover slightly. A trace of disbelief appeared in her expression.

"A six-year-old child..."

She murmured almost inaudibly, but stopped herself there.

Chen Haoran looked toward the other elders. None of them appeared to be convinced.

It wasn’t that they thought Yue’er was lying.

They simply couldn’t understand how a six-year-old child could possibly witness such a thing, let alone remember a sword technique from an unknown inheritance.

Chen Guanshan’s brows remained tightly furrowed.

The description alone was too vague.

A sword falling from the heavens? A figure standing above the clouds?

And a technique with a name that sounded grand enough to belong to some legendary swordmaster?

He didn’t buy it, not even in the slightest.

For several breaths, nobody spoke.

Then Chen Rong suddenly let out a quiet laugh.

She covered her mouth with one hand, though the amusement in her eyes was difficult to hide.

"Perhaps the Third Elder really has been telling the children too many stories lately."

Her words were not mocking Yue’er. Rather, there was a faint helplessness in her tone, as though she simply couldn’t take the matter seriously.

"A sword falling from the heavens and splitting the clouds..."

She shook her head lightly.

"That sounds like something from one of his old legends."

Chen Guanshan also relaxed slightly. Although he hadn’t laughed, the tension in his expression disappeared somewhat.

"Indeed."

He stroked his beard and glanced toward Yue’er.

"Little Yue’er probably remembered the story differently after seeing the inscription. A child’s imagination is certainly filled with creativity."

Yue’er puffed her cheeks immediately at the remarks. Her small arms tightened around the doll as she stared at the elders with a dissatisfied expression.

"I am not making it up."

Her voice carried the stubbornness that only a six-year-old child could possess.

Chen Meilan smiled.

"Alright, alright. Then you didn’t remember it wrong."

The words were clearly meant to pacify her, but Yue’er became even more dissatisfied.

Her cheeks remained puffed as she stared at Chen Meilan for several seconds.

The little girl clearly didn’t like being treated as though she had simply misunderstood what she had seen.