Chapter 267: Secrets (Two-in-One, 7.3K)

The engine roared to life, sounding like a saw tearing into a massive tree, its rhythm accelerating faster and faster.

Bi Jie patted the car's hood and nodded.

"It's all good. Let's go!"

"Are you sure there's no problem?"

Liu Ye eyed the violently shuddering chassis with deep suspicion.

"They're all antiques. Dangdangli isn't exactly a metropolis; just having a few cars at all is pretty good."

Bi Jie shrugged.

"What powers this thing?" the Old Man asked.

He had seen the cars in Old Sin City—those ran on a mixture of Weird Energy and gasoline.

"I think it's Weird Energy and coal."

Bi Jie wasn't entirely sure himself. He had ridden in cars before, but someone else had always been behind the wheel. This was his first time in the driver's seat.

A moment later, he lowered his voice.

"There are six of us and one car. None of us have a driving permit, so the fewer vehicles we take, the better. Otherwise, dealing with the fallout will be a massive headache."

"Alright."

The group piled into the car.

Bi Jie took the driver's seat, while Master Liu, with his large frame, took the passenger seat. Tiger, Liu Ye, and Yan Jing squeezed into the back, with Fei Yu sitting on Yan Jing's lap.

Truthfully, someone could have just ridden in the trunk, but Fei Yu had insisted on this arrangement.

Ever since she overheard that someone was looking for her yesterday, she had been acting like a completely different person, clinging tightly to Yan Jing.

"Perfect! Let's go!"

Bi Jie twisted the ignition key.

Rumble—

The engine convulsed violently, sounding like an old man finally hacking up a glob of phlegm lodged in his throat, before the car lurched into motion.

"Not bad. I never thought I'd live to see the day I rode in a car driven by you, kid."

The Old Man watched the scenery blur past and stuck his hand out the window.

"Pretty good, right?"

Bi Jie beamed. This was something he had always wanted to do.

He had once read a book from the West Lake Prefecture. It was about a fractured family that eventually rebuilt itself, prospering until they became a prominent local clan.

There was a particular line in it that read:

"If a son truly respects his father, he will undoubtedly drive him at least once."

"It is."

The Old Man smiled, though his laugh wasn't nearly as loud and boisterous as usual.

In the back seat, Yan Jing held the silently brooding Fei Yu in his arms.

Despite holding a soft, fragrant beauty in his embrace, he could distinctly feel the faint, lingering sorrow radiating from her.

Even Tiger, crammed into the middle seat, was uncharacteristically quiet.

Aside from Bi Jie and Liu Ye, everyone in the car was weighed down by their own heavy thoughts.

The car drove on, winding through the pitch-black mountain ridges. It gradually left the peaks that belched fire and black ash behind, as if driving straight out of a gloomy haze.

What followed was an endless expanse of the Wasteland, stretching forward alongside a roaring river.

Bi Jie seemed to sense the oppressive atmosphere. Reaching out, he flicked a switch on the dashboard.

"Looks like this car has a gramophone installed. Let's see."

"Rose—ah—ah ah—Ro—Rose—you—will eventually—wither—"

A woman's voice crackled from the speakers, stuttering so badly it sounded like a needle scraping across torn rags.

"Damn this piece of junk!"

Bi Jie scrambled to turn it off.

Yet, for some inexplicable reason, the gramophone refused to shut down, glitching in place.

Amidst the comical, stuttering melody, Yan Jing suddenly burst into laughter.

"What are you laughing at?"

Fei Yu looked up at Yan Jing and asked softly.

"Your Young Master here is just feeling very happy right now."

Yan Jing smiled, then spoke up.

"Alright, let's chat! Otherwise, if no one talks to Lord Bi while he's driving, what happens if he falls asleep at the wheel?"

"Yes, exactly! Let's talk!"

Bi Jie immediately nodded in eager agreement.

"Here's a question. If this very moment were your last second in this world, and you were about to close your eyes forever, what would you be thinking about?"

Yan Jing asked.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he distinctly felt Fei Yu tremble against his chest, shivering like a little bird with waterlogged feathers out in the cold.

"That question..."

Liu Ye began to ponder.

"If this were my final second, I think my biggest regret would be never marrying and having children."

"You've never been married, Lord Liu?" Bi Jie turned his head in curiosity, only to get smacked in the back of the head by the Old Man. He immediately snapped his head back forward and focused on the road.

"No."

Liu Ye said.

"I come from an ordinary background. Before I embarked on my official career, with looks like mine, no decent family was willing to marry their daughter off to me. Even if I had hired a matchmaker, I wouldn't have been able to afford the bride price."

He let out a faint sigh.

"I originally planned to secure my career first before thinking about starting a family. But the waters of officialdom are far too deep. Putting aside the scheming it requires, human desire is simply a bottomless pit. The moment you climb to one position, you immediately start coveting the next."

"Looking back now, some things just aren't worth the price."

He gazed out at the passing scenery, his eyes deep and profound.

"If I hadn't come to Bianliu County this time, forget about being promoted—I probably would have been marginalized and cast aside entirely."

As Liu Ye finished, Bi Jie seamlessly took over the conversation.

"If it were me, and this were my last second..."

Bi Jie rolled his eyes thoughtfully and said, "I probably wouldn't be able to let go of Old Liu. Speaking of which, I've always wanted to introduce him to my wife and kids."

"Didn't we meet them when you got married?"

The Old Man shot a glare at Bi Jie.

"How many years ago was that?"

Bi Jie kept his eyes glued to the road ahead as he replied.

"Bi Sheng and Bi Die have both grown up now. You haven't seen them since, have you? Bi Sheng is even taller than you are now."

"Oh? Then you've raised them well."

The Old Man leaned his head back lazily and closed his eyes.

"What about you? What would you think about in your last second?"

Bi Jie asked.

"If it were my final second..."

The Old Man kept his eyes shut tight.

"I'd have an awful lot to think about. Practicing martial arts back in the Third Lake Prefecture, gathering herbs with the Young Master and Xiao Yu in Paima County, playing cards and joking around with that kid Yi Ji and the gang in Old Sin City, killing the high-tiers in those places, our time on the train just recently..."

"So I don't even get a mention?"

Bi Jie's eyes went wide with indignation.

Great. All that earlier sentiment had just gone right down the drain.

The Old Man didn't answer him. Still keeping his eyes closed, the corners of his mouth tilted up slightly.

"Perhaps I never should have challenged the martial arts hall."

The car fell silent.

Everyone could tell that the Old Man hadn't been himself since yesterday afternoon.

In the past, he never would have said something like regretting challenging the martial arts hall.

He had told Bi Jie more than once that he never regretted challenging the hall for his sect—his only regret was that he had lost.

The Old Man kept his eyes closed and let out a heavy sigh.

"If I hadn't, maybe I could have watched Bi Jie and Bi Sheng grow up. And my boy, Liu Meng... Speaking of which, Bi Jie, how has my Liu Meng been doing lately? Is Ah Qiao doing well?"

Screech—

The car swerved sharply.

The steering wheel had jerked in Bi Jie's hands.

This was the very first time the Old Man had asked about his own child since reuniting with Bi Jie.

Bi Jie knew the Old Man hated bringing up the Third Lake Prefecture. When he lost his sect and walked out of that prefecture, he effectively cut ties with everything he had left behind.

Bi Jie took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"They're doing great. Everything's fine. With me around, how could you not be at ease—"

A crisp slap rang out as the Old Man swatted Bi Jie on the back of the head.

"Hey, take it easy! I'm driving here!"

Bi Jie shot him a look.

"Enough. Tell me the truth."

The Old Man smiled without opening his eyes. "Do you really take your old man, Liu Fu, for a coward?"

After a brief pause, he continued, "Those two youngsters who boarded the train at Cotton City yesterday—one look and I knew they were disciples taught by my junior brother."

"Their stances, every single move—it was exactly like my junior brother's. They just lacked a bit of ferocity and fluidity. They aren't quite as talented as he is."

"I had nothing better to do, so I chatted with them for a bit."

Hearing this, the rest of the group finally understood why the Old Man had been so dispirited since yesterday afternoon.

"You... you asked them?"

The veins on Bi Jie's hands bulged as he gripped the steering wheel tightly.

"I did."

The Old Man nodded. "I asked them which martial arts hall they were from, who won the challenge, how the hall was doing now, and how many apprentices they had... Heh."

"It's wonderful... really wonderful..."

He murmured, his face bathed in the light of the newly risen sun.

"As long as the hall was opened back then, as long as I didn't ruin things for them..."

"Tell me the truth. How are Liu Meng and Ah Qiao?"

After a few seconds of silence, Bi Jie spoke in a heavy voice.

"They really are doing well. After you left, Xu Chengyi had to keep up appearances. It let him fish for a good reputation while leaving himself a way out. He announced to the public that you were no longer part of the martial arts hall, but secretly, he slipped Sister Qiao and A Meng some money. Then he tipped off some reporters to expose his secret charity before stepping in to suppress the news himself."

"He's always been good at playing those kinds of games."

"...Yeah... yeah..."

Bi Jie's lips trembled, but he couldn't force any words out for a long while. Finally, seeing that the Old Man's expression remained calm, he spoke in a low voice.

"It's just that... Sister Qiao remarried."

"Xu Chengyi told her that if she didn't want A Meng to bear the stigma of being your son, she needed to find someone else to marry."

"She had to pretend you were dead so A Meng would have a chance to learn martial arts in the future. Sister Qiao refused at first, but you know how it is in the Third Lake Prefecture—it's hard enough for a woman to survive alone, let alone while raising a child by herself..."

"I tried giving her money, but she wouldn't take it."

"If he couldn't practice martial arts, what chance did A Meng have to make something of himself?"

Bi Jie's voice trembled slightly, carrying a hint of a choked sob.

"Old Liu, you can't blame Sister Qiao. I've visited her so many times. It's been over a decade, and she still remembers..."

"I know."

The Old Man's voice was as dry as dead bark, sounding like an ancient crow perched atop a withered branch.

"Next. Tiger, your turn."

"Me? Oh."

The dazed Tiger finally snapped back to reality.

Following the Old Man's heavy confession, his voice tightened.

"If-if it were my last second, I'd probably want to go back to Old Sin City and work a few shifts at the Sun-Swallowing Tower... or maybe crash at the Old Man's place for a few days..."

"The meals Mr. Yi Ji cooked for us back then... they were really delicious, hehehe."

His voice dropped lower, infected by the somber mood of the car.

"Honestly, you all know I'm not a guy with grand ambitions. So... I actually felt pretty good back when we were in Rotten Vegetable Village..."

As he spoke, he let out a chuckle and scratched his head.

"But fighting those Third Tier guys in Old Sin City later on was pretty exhilarating, too. I still remember what Mr. Yi Ji told me. He said, 'Mr. Tiger, the road ahead is rough and endless. If you haven't made up your mind, you'd better not get on this train.'"

"I didn't quite understand what he meant back then, but I do now."

He smiled sheepishly.

"Everyone is just so strong. I want to go out there and get stronger too. I don't want to hold you all back."

"In my dream, the people from that place told me a lot. Things should go smoothly this time, so please don't worry too much."

"I'm done."

With Tiger finished, there were only two people left in the car who hadn't spoken.

"Xiao Yu, you're up," the Old Man prompted.

"Me..."

Leaning against Yan Jing's chest, Fei Yu blinked her phoenix-like eyes and whispered, "If it were my last second, I'd want to eat a bowl of noodles."

[Warning: You are approaching Luo Sheng's unfulfilled wish.]

"A bowl of noodles?"

Bi Jie asked with a laugh, "Who cooked these noodles to make them so unforgettable for Miss Fei Yu?"

"We made them together. The three of us," the Old Man said softly.

"Back when the Young Master and I first found this girl, we spent half the day looking for her family. By the time it got dark and we still hadn't found anyone, the little brat suddenly complained that she was hungry."

The corners of the Old Man's lips curled up slightly.

"She said she was hungry, but it was already nightfall."

Guided by the Old Man's words, the memory Eldest Young Master Luo cherished most surfaced in Yan Jing's mind.

"Hungry, hungry."

Fei Yu blinked her large eyes, tugging on the Old Man's sleeve as she cried out.

Strangely enough, Fei Yu had spent the entire afternoon clinging to Eldest Young Master Luo's side, but the moment she got hungry, she instantly ran to the Old Man.

"Hungry?"

The Old Man's eyes widened. She hadn't been hungry earlier, but now that it was so late, where were they supposed to find an open restaurant?

"Hungry! I'm hungry!"

Fei Yu whined in a childish voice.

Eldest Young Master Luo burst into laughter and turned to the Old Man.

"Master Liu, do we have any food left in the house?"

"How could we, Young Master?"

The Old Man replied helplessly.

"We rented this courtyard from someone else, and the two of us eat out every single day."

"Hungry! Hungry!"

Fei Yu tugged at the Old Man's cuff, staring intently at his pockets.

"You're hungry... This..."

The Old Man finally let out a long sigh.

"Let me see what I can find."

After rummaging through the cabinets and boxes, the Old Man finally managed to dig up a bag of flour that had been sitting there for God knows how long, along with a few wilted green onions he had yanked from the corner of the wall.

"This is it."

Staring at the flour on the table, the Old Man and Eldest Young Master Luo exchanged blank looks.

"Do you know how to cook?"

The Old Man looked at Eldest Young Master Luo.

"Cooking! According to the books I've read, that's supposed to be the butler's job!"

Eldest Young Master Luo laughed.

"What kind of books have you been reading?"

The Old Man blinked.

"That's not important!"

Eldest Young Master Luo clapped his hands together. "Back home, I saw my mother kneading dough before. I think you're supposed to add water."

"I remember that too!"

The Old Man recalled asking his wife about cooking noodles once. She had shoved him aside, scolding him that a grown man had no business sticking his nose in the kitchen.

But it had to be simple enough, right? If there's too much water, add flour; if there's too much flour, add water!

And so, several minutes later, the two of them stared blankly at the indescribable white blob plastered across the table.

Suddenly, a childish giggle drifted up from below. They looked down to see Fei Yu clapping her hands repeatedly, her eyes crinkled into happy little crescents as she laughed:

"Haha, big white—big white bird! White, white birdy!"

Confused, the two men looked at each other, only to realize they were both covered head to toe in white flour. Disheveled and completely pathetic, they truly did look like a pair of giant white birds. They couldn't help but laugh at themselves.

"This is probably good enough."

Eldest Young Master Luo dusted off his hands.

"She's just a kid. Food is food."

"The Young Master makes a valid point!"

Soon enough, the "noodles" were pulled from the pot.

Judging strictly by shape, it was hard to call them noodles.

They were more like a clump of white, ribbon-like objects, completely uneven in length, width, and thickness, all forcibly mangled together.

Yet all three of them were immensely satisfied.

Eldest Young Master Luo personally sprinkled green onions over each bowl. Then, Fei Yu stood on her tiptoes, pulled a handful of shelled sunflower seeds from her pocket—who knew where she had gotten them—and carefully scattered them on top.

And so, a martial arts fanatic who knew nothing but fighting, a pampered young master whose hands had never touched kitchen water, and a little brat of about eight or nine who could barely string a sentence together cooked the very first bowls of noodles in their lives.

Eldest Young Master Luo was the first to pick up his bowl, slurping down a massive mouthful.

The other two immediately shot him looks filled with anticipation.

"Young Master, how is it?"

"Yung Mastuh, how ish it?"

Eldest Young Master Luo closed his eyes, savoring the taste before praising it endlessly.

"Not bad! Not bad at all! It's a genuine delicacy of the mortal realm!!!"

Hearing this, the old man and the little girl both beamed with delight, their eyes shining as they grabbed their bowls and began loudly slurping down the noodles.

In no time at all, they had polished off every last bite.

After finishing their meal, the trio sat in the mud-walled courtyard, enjoying the cool night breeze and gazing up at the moon.

"There are too many mosquitoes!"

Eldest Young Master Luo swatted at the bugs with a woven fan he had scrounged up. Suddenly, he looked at Fei Yu in surprise.

"Eh? Little one, why aren't there any mosquitoes around you?"

"No, no 'squitoes!"

Fei Yu babbled, parroting his words back like a broken record.

"I didn't expect a little thing like you to be so useful! Come, come here. Sit right next to your Young Master."

Young Master Luo said, pulling Fei Yu over to act as his personal human mosquito repellent.

"The mosquitoes really are awful!"

The Old Man opened his hand. Dozens of flattened mosquito corpses rested silently in his palm.

"Don't worry, Master Liu! Once my painting career takes off, I'll buy a massive manor built on high ground! There won't be a single bug in sight!"

Eldest Young Master Luo cheerfully painted a grand, empty promise.

"Young Master, I'm afraid your art skills still need quite a few years of polishing." Perhaps because he was in such high spirits that night, the Old Man made a rare, playful jab at Eldest Young Master Luo.

"It's fine! My family has deep pockets! If I can't hack it as a painter, I'll just go sell my family's secret medicinal paste! You've seen it yourself, haven't you, old man? It cures whatever ails you the moment it's applied!"

Eldest Young Master Luo waved his woven fan, gesturing expansively like a general commanding troops.

"When the time comes, we'll eat the finest foods and drink the spiciest liquors!"

"Eat fine... drink spicy!"

Fei Yu also raised her hands high in the air, cheering.

"I don't want to eat the finest foods and drink the spiciest liquors anymore."

Fei Yu's eyelashes fluttered slightly as she spoke in a soft voice. "Young Master, I just want to eat the noodles you cooked."

With that, she raised her head and continued quietly, "Young Master, once we get to Paima County this time, I'll need to leave with the person who's looking for me for a while. I'll come back and find you guys later... That person reached the Sixth Tier years ago. He's a genuine monster. I can handle this myself; you don't need to get involved. If he can't find me, things will only get much worse."

As she finished speaking, the car jerked violently once more.

It was the first time Bi Jie and Liu Ye had heard of this, and both men were momentarily stunned.

Sixth Tier, a monster.

How was that even possible?

"Alright, it's your Young Master's turn to speak."

Yan Jing smiled faintly as he spoke.

"If it were the final second of my life, I'd probably think—"

"I'd probably think it was a good thing that it was my final second."

The group looked at Yan Jing in confusion, but he offered no explanation. Instead, he smiled and said, "No matter what happens on this journey, I just hope everyone makes it out okay."

As his words fell, three voices rang out simultaneously.

"Don't worry, Young Master. I'll make sure everyone's matters are handled properly. Xiao Yu, Tiger, you two don't need to worry either." The Old Man suddenly opened his eyes, his gaze flashing sharply.

"Don't worry, Young Master Luo. I'll do everything I can to keep the Old Man and Miss Fei Yu safe. It won't be a problem, just leave it to me," Tiger declared, clenching his fists.

"Don't worry, Young Master. I'll handle things on my end. Master Liu, you just focus on your martial arts challenge. Mr. Tiger, you just focus on finding your way home. I won't let anything happen to you guys." Fei Yu also blinked through her sorrow, opening her eyes.

Hearing each other's declarations, everyone stared at one another in stunned silence.

Yan Jing's gaze was dark and profound.

[You have unlocked Luo Sheng's unfulfilled wish: return to that former courtyard in Paima County and cook a bowl of noodles for Fei Yu and the Old Man.]

Unlocking Luo Sheng's unfulfilled wish was something Yan Jing hadn't anticipated at all.

And the fact that Luo Sheng's dying wish was simply a bowl of noodles was completely beyond Yan Jing's expectations.

As for the reason behind it, he hadn't quite figured that out yet.

The small car drove past sprawling, dense jungles.

The chirping of birds rang out like a joyous farewell song, seeing the group off.

That was the Sparrow Forest of Sparrow City. It was home to the largest population of birds in the entire Minhu region.

But not the best ones.

Right now, the best bird was resting in the arms of a man clad in snow-white robes, looking out at the Domain before them.

Before the group's eyes, a massive Domain was slowly, continuously rotating.

Paima County!

A Domain that spun endlessly without stopping.

The people and buildings upon it spun along with it.

The saying went: "cannot catch up even by whipping the horse."

That was precisely the origin of this Domain's name.

The car rolled to a steady stop in the Wasteland. The group piled out, preparing to enter the Domain on foot.

Under Yan Jing's silent prompting, Bi Jie and Liu Ye took Tiger down a different, smaller path.

Meanwhile, he, the Old Man, and Fei Yu opted for a route all three of them were incredibly familiar with.

Passing through a mix of familiar and unfamiliar shops and stalls, the three arrived outside a courtyard.

Dried straw poked out from the familiar mud walls. The tiny yard didn't even have a lock on the gate, and the weeds inside had grown astonishingly tall, reaching well past the Old Man's waist.

"Has no one lived here at all?"

Yan Jing smiled.

The memories in his mind fully awakened at the sight of the courtyard, filling him with an overwhelming wave of emotion.

"Paima County has always had a sparse population," the Old Man said quietly.

"Kids who live in this place too long never grow tall."

This wasn't just the place where they had first met Xiao Yu; it was also his hometown.

His actual home was in a village not far from this county.

But ever since he had been driven out back then, he had never returned.

Later, it was right here that his master had found him and taken him back to the Third Lake Prefecture.

Arriving here, a bit of life finally returned to Xiao Yu's face. The group cleared out all the weeds in the yard until the place faintly resembled how it had looked all those years ago.

"We'll stay here for a few nights. There's no rush to leave. We still have some time before the martial arts challenge begins."

Yan Jing smiled.

"Master Liu, Xiao Yu, you must be exhausted after riding in the car all day. Let's tidy up the house first, buy a few quilts, and take a nap."

"Once we wake up, we can all cook noodles together."

Hearing this, the Old Man and Fei Yu both nodded.

As the sun set, the orange-red twilight bathed the courtyard in a soft, dim glow.

Night fell.

The moon had just slipped out from behind the clouds, casting a hazy light over the sky.

A slender silhouette slipped out through the crack in the door of one of the dilapidated wing rooms.

She glanced at the other two tightly shut doors, took a deep breath, and with flickering eyes, prepared to leave.

But suddenly, she noticed a small table set up in the yard. She hadn't seen anyone place it there. Right in the center of the table sat a steaming bowl of pure white noodles.

Suspended in the broth of the porcelain bowl, the noodles were tangled into a single unappetizing clump. They looked as though they had been sitting there for quite some time, giving off the last faint wisps of steam beneath the dim moonlight.

...

The silhouette hurried past the table, but right as she reached the gate, she couldn't help but stop. She turned back, sat down beside the table, and began scarfing down the food in massive bites.

Suddenly, tears began to stream uncontrollably, dripping patter-patter into her noodles.

"Xiao Yu, you just couldn't bring yourself to leave your Young Master's noodles behind, could you?"

Yan Jing's gentle voice drifted over from the corner. Fei Yu's face immediately scrunched up like a wrinkled tangerine, and she hastily buried her head back into the bowl.

Yan Jing chuckled.

"You said you wanted to eat noodles. How could you just leave without keeping your promise?"

"...Where is Master Liu?"

Fei Yu's muffled voice drifted up from the bowl, accompanied by the sound of her aggressively slurping noodles.

"The old man finished his noodles and already left."

Yan Jing smiled.

"That's why I say our family is so interesting. Normally, everyone comes to ask your Young Master about every little thing. But the moment it comes to something crucial, you all suddenly grow a spine and go off with your own plans."

Hearing that the Old Man had left, the hand Fei Yu used to grip her chopsticks trembled slightly.

"...Who exactly are you?"

"Who am I? I'm Luo Sheng, of course."

Yan Jing chuckled.

"...No, you aren't."

A faint sob could be heard in Fei Yu's voice.

"Why wouldn't I be?" Yan Jing asked with a smile.

"The noodles the Young Master cooked were way worse than this."

Fei Yu raised her head and suddenly began wailing loudly.

She knew it then—her foolish Young Master was definitely gone.

Yan Jing smiled helplessly.

So that was it.

He had already tried his absolute hardest to make them taste terrible.

To fulfill the wish, he had to make noodles. But cooking noodles meant exposing a flaw. The Old Man was just a mortal with mortal eyes, so he wasn't a major issue, but the real crux of the problem was Fei Yu.

"Maybe your Young Master's cooking skills just improved? Even Master Liu praised them."

"So what about you, Xiao Yu? Who are you?"

"And why is that person trying to catch you?"

His voice remained as gentle as ever.

Fei Yu looked up with tear-filled eyes. This was the second time Yan Jing had seen her cry.

The previous time was during his fight with Lin Changgui, when the Fei Yu he had drawn trampled all over Lin Changgui's crops.

"Is the Young Master doing okay?" she asked softly.

"He asked me to take care of you,"

Yan Jing replied softly.

"He said he couldn't stop worrying about his Xiao Yu. Right up until the very end, he only ever saw you as an ordinary maid."

Before he even finished speaking, Fei Yu broke down into uncontrollable sobs once more.

She had long suspected that the man before her wasn't her Young Master, which was why she had brought up wanting to eat his noodles.

She genuinely wanted to eat them, but she also wanted to test him.

But right at the very end, she changed her mind.

She wanted to preserve just a tiny shred of hope for herself at the very end.

Whether the Young Master was here or not, it felt like nothing had changed. He was still treating her just as kindly as always, still acting just as good to her. She wanted to just pretend that her Young Master was still here.

That had been her original plan, but she just couldn't hold it in.

"Did... did the Young Master really say that?"

"He did."

Yan Jing nodded.

"What do you want to know?"

"I want to know who you are,"

Yan Jing said.

"There's a village near Paima County. You've most likely heard of it."

Fei Yu said softly.

She spoke a name Yan Jing had heard countless times.

"Huang Family Village."

Yan Jing's eyes narrowed sharply.

The words Bi Jie had once spoken buzzed in his ears, booming like rolling thunder:

"The incident happened about seven years ago."

"Huang Family Village was a Domain located next to a place called Paima County, right alongside the great river."

"There were exactly forty-nine households in the village, and every household was strictly limited to three people—"

"A long time ago, Huang Family Village wasn't called that."

Fei Yu said softly, "Hundreds of years ago, Huang Family Village was actually Huangjia Village."

"The village imprisoned a phoenix bird, worshipping it as a deity for generations. Its feathers could be used as armor, and the sons and daughters of the village were all strong and robust, as if blessed by the divine. Its blood could be mixed into the well, and those who drank the well water day and night would extend their lifespans and possess extraordinary talent. In order to protect this secret, the village strictly allowed only forty-nine households for generations, with three people per household. No outsiders were allowed in, and no insiders were allowed out."