Chapter 22: The True Sword of Fleeting Splendor

Liu Fu trembled all over. These words acted like a fuse, causing his composure to crumble instantly, and tears streamed down his face uncontrollably.

He fell to his knees with a thud.

He wept bitterly.

"Young Master, you have finally returned!"

In this moment, Liu Fu wept like a child.

Bai Jingyan helped him up and said, "You are nearly ten thousand years old; to be weeping like this—wouldn't others laugh at you if they saw?"

"No, in the Young Master’s eyes, Ah Fu will always be Ah Fu!" Liu Fu replied.

"You are no longer the Ah Fu of the past. You have your own courtyard in the Star Feather Sect and can allow your grandsons to move freely between the inner and outer gates. You could say you are above ten thousand, second only to one," Bai Jingyan said, watching him quietly.

"However, back then, the Primordial Empire purged everyone associated with the Bai family. Ah Fu, how did you manage to escape?" Bai Jingyan shifted the topic and asked.

Liu Fu straightened his back, and a turtle shell slid from his sleeve, covered in dense, blood-red cracks. "When the Primordial Emperor personally led his troops to annihilate the Roaring Forest Army, General Bai used himself as bait to lure away the pursuers. Old servant took your corpse and jumped into the Nether River. The water was soul-corroding and bone-melting; by rights, my spirit should have been extinguished, but before the General left, he had branded the 'Heaven-Deceiving' secret technique of the Heavenly Eye into my bloodline—" As his withered fingers traced the shell, a phantom emerged from the cracks: in the surging black river, a young guard’s left eye bled, the corpse in his arms transformed into an infant, and then, the infant’s threads of karma were severed, dissipating into starlight.

"Peering into the secrets of heaven carries a price." Liu Fu’s right eye suddenly leaked tears of blood, and the vegetation in the courtyard withered at a visible rate. "For these ten thousand years, the eldest son of every generation of the Liu family had to gouge out their eyes as a sacrifice to maintain this Heaven-Deceiving technique. It was not until three days ago, when the turtle shell revealed the omen of the Blood Phoenix swallowing the sun, that this old servant knew... the time for the Young Master’s return had arrived."

Liu Fu smiled. "The Young Master may not know, but I helped you realize the 'Martial Artists Association' you once envisioned."

Bai Jingyan said, "That association was merely a concept I proposed back then; I never expected you to actually make it a reality."

"And what of the others?" Bai Jingyan asked suddenly. "Could it be that you are the only one who survived?"

Ten thousand years ago, the Bai family had taken in four youths as personal attendants.

"Wang Da retired to the mountains six thousand years ago to live in seclusion with his wife. He is known to later generations as the Medical Saint, and many travel far to seek him out... but as you know, Young Master, the eldest is cunning; no one knows where he went." Liu Fu shook his head and gave a bitter smile.

"That suits his personality." Bai Jingyan chuckled. "Among the four of you, only Wang Da was truly indifferent to fame and fortune. He learned all of my family's medical arts..."

"Yes, Wang Da had immense talent in medicine, unlike us..." Liu Fu sighed.

"You all have your own strengths," Bai Jingyan said, shaking his head. "Continue."

Liu Fu nodded and said, "Qian Ziyan founded the Alchemist Guild four thousand years ago and is now in the Central Province, as that is the Guild's headquarters. He, too, is the Guild Master, above ten thousand and second only to one..."

"Sun Chuanzhong has been obsessed with cultivation for these past thousands of years. Like Wang Da, he wanders the world. Yet, legends of him still persist in the martial arts community; it is said he has become a Great Emperor, with few rivals left on the entire continent..."

Listening to Liu Fu’s account, a look of reminiscence gradually appeared on Bai Jingyan’s face.

"None of you are the people who needed my family’s protection anymore," Bai Jingyan smiled. He looked at Liu Fu and asked, "And you? Given your strength, you shouldn't be staying in a small place like this, should you?"

Hearing this, tears welled up in Liu Fu’s eyes again. "Young Master, you do not know—when you suddenly disappeared ten thousand years ago, the four of us brothers searched for you like madmen. But after two thousand years of searching with no word, Wang Da went into seclusion..."

"Later, Qian Ziyan and Sun Chuanzhong also departed one after another. I searched for another thousand years, and then, by chance, I passed through this empire and found my other half..." Liu Fu scratched his head, his aged face blushing slightly, appearing quite embarrassed.

Is this not Liu Yishui from the Alchemist Guild?

"Master Liu, why are you here?" Yang Chen asked curiously.

"Master Liu has come today to discuss something with you," Yang Shan huffed, sounding annoyed. "Where did you run off to after school? Coming back so late and making Master Liu wait so long—why don't you apologize to him!"

"No, no, that won't do!" Liu Yishui quickly said, "It is my honor to wait for Master Yang; how could I let Master Yang apologize to me? Elder Yang, please, you must not!"

Yang Shan was Yang Chen’s father. Since Liu Yishui called Yang Chen "Master," he had extended the courtesy to Yang Shan, calling him "Elder Yang."

But Yang Shan was a rough man; when had he ever heard such a title? For a moment, he felt extremely awkward.

"Master Liu, don't be like that. What kind of master is Chen'er? If you ask me, he's just a little brat. If he offended you, feel free to give him a thrashing for me!" Yang Shan laughed.

Hearing this, Yang Chen was left between laughter and tears. He truly was his biological father, being quite ruthless when it came to his own son. Yet, this touched Yang Chen. In his previous life, his parents were ordinary people who died early, so he had lived alone for tens of thousands of years, and his impression of his parents had faded. Hearing these words from Yang Shan again, he was deeply moved. The softest part of his heart was stirred.

"Master Liu, I am truly sorry. I was delayed by something on the way tonight and kept you waiting," Yang Chen said, cupping his hands.

Just as Liu Yishui was about to speak...

Bang!

The door to the room was suddenly kicked open. Two figures rushed in in a panic.

"Master Liu, when did you arrive? You should have notified me so I could have sent servants to fetch you!" Li Chenghai rushed in, his face full of anxiety.

"Yes, Master, when did you get here?" Li Ling added.

The father and son, perhaps having heard some commotion, had rushed to Liu Yishui’s side with all speed, speaking with great restraint.

However, Liu Yishui did not give them a pleasant look. He said coldly, "What is with the panic? Can't you see I am discussing matters with Master Yang? Get out!"

The expressions of Li Ling and his father stiffened.

"Must I say it a second time?" Liu Yishui frowned, showing them no face at all.

In this moment, he was no longer the Liu Yishui who bowed and scraped before Yang Chen; he was a third-grade Alchemist from the Alchemist Guild with an extraordinary status. Even while in the Li household, he did not regard Li Ling and his son in the least.

"Yes." Li Ling and Li Chenghai nodded, and they left.