In the parlor lined with bronze artifacts, the spirit-calming incense in the red bronze burner had gone out and was not relit.
Upon a dark-toned ebony tea table, the faint, delicate fragrance of camellia curled into the air. A man and a woman were drinking tea, appearing remarkably calm and leisurely.
Qin Ming stepped into the parlor and recognized them at a glance. The man was named Cui He, appearing in his early thirties, with a placid expression and hair that gave off a faint greenish sheen.
"Good lad! Two years without seeing you, and you look even sharper than before." Cui He stood up and strode over with a warm smile, placing both hands on Qin Ming's shoulders and shaking them firmly in an affectionate show of closeness.
"Fourth Uncle," Qin Ming greeted with a smile.
In the past, he and Cui He had only an ordinary relationship with little contact, but now that the man was smiling at him, he could hardly respond with a cold face.
"Mm, not bad. Your body's vitality is exceptionally strong. You're fine material for the Newborn path." Cui He appraised him, a flash of green light flitting across his eyes.
Qin Ming knew that Cui He practiced the Yimu Evergreen Art, a prestigious secret scripture capable of absorbing vegetation essence to fill the body with vigorous life.
"I suffered a grave illness and barely survived, so where would any vitality come from? Fourth Uncle, on the other hand, has grown even more profound in cultivation. Your body is overflowing with the fresh vitality of vegetation—I imagine you must already have several decades more longevity than ordinary men."
Qin Ming had long since circulated Harmonize with Light and Dust. Even with Cui He's hands resting on his shoulders, the man could not perceive the dense vitality within him.
Cui He draped an arm over his shoulder and said, "You child, always so modest. As a man who came from our Cui clan, you can't lack the drive to forge ahead. No matter what, even if you no longer use that name, you're still my nephew."
Qin Ming smiled and replied, "I would love to make a splash, but I don't have the strength. If I had even half the skill Fourth Uncle possessed in your youth, I would have ventured out to make a name for myself long ago."
"Look at the two of you, flattering each other back and forth." The tea-drinking woman rose. Dressed entirely in black, she was cold and glamorous, yet carried an air of nobility.
"Aunt," Qin Ming said. Though filled with resistance inwardly, he had no choice but to face them with a smile and exchange pleasantries.
The woman in black was named Cui Shuning. In the past, Qin Ming's relationship with her had been distant; even when they crossed paths often, an aloof detachment always lingered between them. Clearly, she had known their true identities and the truth from the very beginning.
"Fourth Uncle and Aunt are usually absorbed in bitter cultivation. How did you find the time to visit such an out-of-the-way place today?" Qin Ming asked.
Cui He said, "We had business that took us past here, so we stopped by to see you. Alas, what happened back then was truly fraught and twisted. Don't take it to heart. Your parents actually miss you very much."
Qin Ming smiled and nodded, taking such words with a grain of salt.
"Why don't you come back with us?" A smile appeared on Cui Shuning's icy, glamorous face, like thawing ice and snow, quite unlike her usual demeanor. "You've suffered out here these past two years. Come with us."
Cui He nodded as well. The greenish sheen in his hair flowed with luster, dense with Yimu essence.
The hairs on Qin Ming's neck stood on end. If he went back, he would definitely never be able to leave again. Perhaps he wouldn't be killed, but he could forget about walking the Newborn path.
Having fully recovered his memories, he knew these "elders" well enough to understand that, in all likelihood, they would keep him confined in some courtyard like a captive beast.
Now capable of minute control over his body, Qin Ming relaxed at will. Shaking his head, he said, "If I go back, it will inevitably stir up a lot of talk."
"Are you still practicing the silk book?" Cui Shuning asked offhandedly.
Qin Ming knew the main event had arrived. They must have grown suspicious, which was why they had dispatched two direct-line clan members.
He gave a soft sigh, his eyes dimming. "My skull was fractured, and I lost my memory for over two years. Because of that, my practice of the silk book method was interrupted, and I never picked it back up."
"Alas, you have suffered." Cui Shuning reached out to touch his head.
Qin Ming felt a wave of revulsion and resisted inwardly, truly loathing the thought of someone pawing at his head. For a brief moment, he was tempted to stop playing along altogether.
In the end, Cui Shuning withdrew her hand and sighed softly. "You've grown up. It's no longer proper to treat you like a child."
In truth, it was mostly because she was fastidious. Born into a millennial clan, accustomed to fine clothes and lavish meals, dignified and noble, she was reluctant to touch the hair of a youth who no longer had any real ties to her. Even if he was quite handsome, she still felt a touch of disdain.
"That used to be your obsession. You practiced it for over ten years, starting from childhood. With your talent, if you had kept going, you might have succeeded," Cui He sighed.
If not for his still-modest realm, Qin Ming would have loved to grab them by the collar and ask how that obsession had been planted in the first place.
Fortunately, he had actually succeeded in mastering the art recorded in the silk book!
Putting on a dejected front, Qin Ming said, "Fourth Uncle, Aunt, could you return the silk book to me? That's the only thing my grandfather left me."
Cui He nodded. "Right now, the old ancestor has taken the silk book to study. Once he completes his secluded cultivation, I will bring it to you personally."
Qin Ming did not believe a single word of his latter promise; they clearly had no intention of returning it.
He realized that until his strength reached a certain level, or until he had a powerful backer, it would be difficult to reclaim the silk book.
Cui Shuning remarked, "I heard Meng Xinghai personally designated you as the number one of this city. It seems you've walked the Newborn path with steady, swift strides. Truly astonishing talent."
Qin Ming replied, "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I became somewhat of a favored connection by accident. It's all thanks to Uncle Meng's generosity. My actual strength is rather hollow."
Cui He laughed. "I heard you tangled with that Li clan brat and planted two kicks right on Li Qingxiao! Excellent! As expected of a boy raised in our Cui clan—that's how it should be!"
Qin Ming judged that this was Cui He's only genuine laugh. Seeing someone from the Li clan suffer a setback was something the Cui clan took immense satisfaction in.
Cui Shuning smiled as well. "Indeed, well kicked. The Li clan has barely eight hundred years of history, yet they already dream of a snake swallowing an elephant, overreaching to step into the ranks of millennial clans. Utterly presumptuous."
Then her expression turned solemn. "Your talent is extraordinary, and you could go far on this path. Why not go serve as Chonghe's jade-armored guard?"
Cui Shuning stared intently at his face, as if determined not to miss the slightest shift in expression.
*You people certainly don't lack nerve!* Qin Ming thought.
He shook his head. "My strength is negligible. I'm hardly qualified to be any jade-armored guard."
Cui He spoke up as well. "We're all our own people. You and Chonghe should be close as brothers. Now that you've stopped practicing the art in the silk book and truly stepped onto the Newborn path, you have the Cui clan behind you. We can provide you with all kinds of resources to help you rise swiftly. Your realm will advance in no time, and then you can go support Chonghe."
He too fixed his gaze on Qin Ming's face, green light shimmering in his eyes.
Qin Ming shook his head, refusing once more.
He had sworn that after all his bitter cultivation, he would never become someone else's follower, let alone a guard for Cui Chonghe!
Qin Ming looked at the two of them. What were they really trying to achieve?
He suddenly realized: the Cui clan harbored doubts about whether he had mastered the art in the silk book.
Cui He spoke abruptly. "Qin Ming, if you don't return home, you're not keeping a low enough profile here. Even all the way out in Qinghe City, we know you've become the 'number one' of a whole city."
Qin Ming was taken aback. The shift in demeanor was remarkably abrupt. The smile vanished in an instant, replaced by stiff, abrasive words.
He noticed both of them watching him intently.
Qin Ming frowned. First came the display of familial affection, followed by abrupt inquiries about the silk book, then the suggestion to become Cui Chonghe's guard, and now a cold, stern attitude reproaching him for drawing too much attention.
He understood now. It was entirely deliberate. Through different attitudes and varying emotions, they were studying his reactions and probing his inner thoughts. At the end of the day, for reasons unknown, the Cui clan had grown uneasy about him.
Pondering further, Qin Ming figured their only real worry was that he might have mastered the art from the silk book.
"I've already changed my name and settled in a remote place. I'm no longer the Cui Chonghe of before. Is that still not enough?" he asked earnestly.
Cui Shuning nodded. "Indeed, it's not low-profile enough."
Looking stern, Cui He asked, "Are you planning to enter some ancient orthodoxy, or enroll in a special higher academy? Why not come back to the Cui clan with us?"
Qin Ming had been placating them patiently, tolerating them for quite some time.
Now, his own smile faded, and he no longer felt like saying anything.
If the Cui clan pushed this far, they were crossing the line. He was Qin Ming now, having long severed ties with the past. What more did they want?
Clearly, certain people in the Cui clan were growing increasingly uneasy. They wanted to cut off his future and prevent him from entering an ancient orthodoxy or a special higher academy.
"The two of you can leave. You are not welcome here." Meng Xinghai strode into the parlor, his expression dark.
Cui Shuning smiled. "Brother Meng, we are discussing family matters with a child of our own house. It has little to do with you."
Cui He spoke as well. "Brother Meng, our bond with this child runs deep. This is our domestic affair. We came here intending to take him back and focus on nurturing him."
Meng Xinghai's face sank. "We all know each other inside and out, so spare me those words. Leave right now, or don't blame me for being discourteous."
Cui Shuning chuckled. "Brother Meng, don't be angry. Can't we be reasonable? He truly is a child raised by our family. No matter where this is judged, reason stands on our side."
"You've already abandoned him. If you aren't afraid of losing face and having people call you cold and ungrateful, by all means, bring up all those past matters for the world to hear. Furthermore, don't say he has nothing to do with me—he is my prospective son-in-law."
Meng Xinghai's words not only stunned the two from the Cui clan, but also left Qin Ming slightly dazed.
"You don't even have a daughter. How could he be your son-in-law?" Cui Shuning laughed.
Meng Xinghai replied, "If I don't have a daughter, can't I have one? Besides, if time runs short, what's stopping me from adopting one?"
Cui Shuning's expression cooled slightly. "Brother Meng, do you value a child raised by my family this highly?"
"If you still won't leave, I'll have to invite you to get out!" Meng Xinghai turned hostile. He had heard the entire exchange in the parlor and had already tolerated them long enough.
"Brother Meng, you're going too far!"
"Meng Xinghai, I advise you not to be so overbearing."
With a booming crash, every ancient bronze vessel in the parlor began to gleam, and the spirit-calming incense inside the red bronze burner spontaneously ignited.
"Refusing respect when it's offered, are you?" Meng Xinghai's voice was frigid.
A copious surge of white mist billowed from the burning incense in the red bronze burner, sweeping forward at terrifying speed to engulf the two of them.
Naturally, they would not submit without a fight. Cui He's entire body flared with greenish-blue radiance; his hair and eyes turned shimmering green as fearsome power erupted! Between Cui Shuning's brows, conscious spiritual light expanded, coalescing into a spiritual blade that slashed forward.
Yet every bronze artifact in the parlor turned translucent and crystalline, sending forth ripples that seemed to freeze the space in an instant. Both Cui He and Cui Shuning found themselves utterly immobilized, suppressed until they gasped for breath, their faces turning pale.
"Is this... the Domain of the Gods?"
"Divine wisdom has materialized into a domain!"
The two spoke in succession, realizing his strength surpassed theirs by a vast margin. They simply were not on the same level.
The white mist drifting from the red bronze burner coiled like ropes, binding them in ring after ring of white vapor. The pair was hoisted into the air and hurled out of the parlor, landing in an undignified heap in the courtyard.
"Get out!" Meng Xinghai barked.
Without a word, the two scrambled to their feet and departed in haste.
Meng Xinghai smacked his forehead. "Damn it. Those two deliberately provoked me just to test my attitude toward you, using it to gauge your current potential."
He initially thought of giving chase, but stopped himself. "Forget it. If you wish to enter the ancestral court of a great sect or an eminent higher academy, you would have had to show your capabilities anyway. A talent like an awl in a sack cannot remain hidden for long."
It took Qin Ming a long time to calm his emotions. The arrival of those two had severed the very last lingering attachment to his past.
"Uncle Meng, do I need to conceal my identity? And retreat into... the pitch-black mountains?"
Meng Xinghai said, "Where is your head going? No need to worry. Certain individuals in the Cui clan are far from capable of blotting out the sky in the night mist world. Perform well, and strive to become a core disciple of a top-tier powerhouse as soon as possible."
Qin Ming breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I can rest easy. Uncle Meng, aside from the duel with Qi Daoming from Light-Chasing City, I suspect certain people from the Cui clan will also enter the fray to test the waters and verify a few things. How about we plan this together? If Cui He tries to interfere and send someone into the arena, make him put up the Yimu Evergreen Art as the wager."
Meng Xinghai looked at him with an odd expression. Just moments ago, the lad seemed thoroughly dejected, as if ready to wander off into the wild, desolate mountains of the night mist world—yet all along, he had been eyeing someone else's secret scripture.
"After all, I lived in the Cui clan for more than ten years," Qin Ming said calmly. "I know Fourth Uncle Cui He's style."
Chapter 128