Luo Yang held the bag containing the phone box, his footsteps coming to a halt.
Yan Zhi was still sucking on that lollipop, the stick shifting from one corner of her mouth to the other.
Those three old men had suppressed their auras so completely that an ordinary person would never have noticed anything amiss. However, elderly people often carried an unstable aura of decay; the fact that the auras of these three were so perfectly smooth made them seem all the more suspicious.
Luo Yang shifted the bag from his right hand to his left. The great web woven from his mental power contracted into a fine net with a radius of only ten meters. At this level of concentration, he could immediately detect even the slightest change.
Mental power was tangible, though invisible to the naked eye. To remain hidden, he seeped his mental power out bit by bit, first toward the glass door of the milk tea shop across the way, then curving along the glass to circle the fountain. Finally, he expanded the range, enveloping both Qiu Shubai and the three elders.
It was like dissolving a drop of water into a pool, ensuring the drop could still hear what was happening on the other side without letting anyone feel the surface move.
The first thing to drift back was the sound of the wind, followed by footsteps, and finally, voices.
“Eldest Miss.”
The voice was deep—so deep it didn't sound like it came from someone of advanced age, making it difficult for Luo Yang to gauge the speaker's years.
Luo Yang mentally assigned a number to each of the three. The one speaking was the man standing to Qiu Shubai’s front-left.
“I know that you do not wish to live under the family’s control forever.”
The elder paused.
“The three of us bear you no ill will; we are merely following orders. However, we still hope you will reconsider moving out of that manor. It would be best for you, and for us.”
Qiu Shubai let out a cold snort.
“Of course I know that.”
Her voice sounded a notch colder than when she spoke to him.
“You’re nothing more than a few human cameras. With your skills, would it matter where I lived? You’d still be watching.”
“Insisting that I stay in that house...” she paused. “Is there some sort of secret hidden there?”
The elder’s side went silent for a beat, clearly not expecting her to be so blunt.
Luo Yang could “see” the muscles in the elder’s face twitch. It was subtle—just a vein near his brow bone jumping—but he otherwise maintained his composure perfectly.
“Eldest Miss,” the elder’s tone became even more respectful, “it is merely a house. I truly do not understand what secret there could be.”
“Stop playing dumb.”
Qiu Shubai’s tone flattened, making it even more chilling than before.
“Every time I return to that manor, the flow of the blood energy in my body undergoes a subtle change. It’s very, very small, but it exists.”
She stopped for a moment.
“Anyone else probably wouldn't notice it.”
The wind brushed past Luo Yang’s ears, carrying the moisture from the fountain and the scent of grease from a distant grilled sausage stand.
Yan Zhi was still licking her lollipop. She didn't understand the gravity of the situation, but she could likely hear what was being said.
Her five senses were far beyond those of an ordinary person.
“...Since you have already discovered it.”
The elder’s voice finally rang out, tinged with a weariness that Luo Yang couldn't quite place.
“There is no reason for us old-timers to keep it from you any longer.”
“Your intuition is correct. There is indeed something hidden in that manor—something very special that affects a Punisher’s blood energy and mental power.”
“As for what specific function it serves, even we are not entirely sure. We only know that it was sent there by your mother.”
“What is it?”
Qiu Shubai pressed him quickly, a rare moment of losing her composure.
“It is that black sword left behind by your father.”
...
After a brief silence, a very soft “ah” reached Luo Yang’s consciousness from the other end of his mental power.
It was short, a mere flash of a sound, but it was squeezed from the depths of her throat, cracking slightly at the end.
For a split second, Luo Yang suddenly didn't want to listen anymore.
But he didn't withdraw his mental power. He knew he had to hear the rest.
The elder continued, his voice steady, but the content of his words felt like a dull needle carving into a wound.
“Not just the three of us, but the entire Qiu family—including your mother—does not know the exact function of this sword.”
“We only know that wherever it goes, it autonomously unfolds an invisible domain. Any Punisher who steps into that domain will find the flow of their blood energy and mental power affected.”
“And so—”
He didn't finish the sentence.
Qiu Shubai finished it for him.
“And so my mother sent it to me, making me the guinea pig, is that it?”
Her voice sounded incredibly calm.
It was as calm as the still water in the pool—the surface was motionless, and no one could tell what lay beneath.
The elder was silent for a long time before Luo Yang heard him utter a soft, “Yes.”
A single word tore away the last shred of maternal dignity from that Matriarch.
Luo Yang stood in place for a long while.
Yan Zhi sensed that he wasn't moving. She tucked the sugarless stick into her pocket and didn't rush him.
The wind blew again, lifting his bangs for a moment before letting them fall back.
He remembered some things.
Nothing very important, just fragments.
Like when he was in his early teens, attending middle school in the capital. Even though Yan Ya held a high position and was incredibly busy, she never forgot to ensure that he could have a warm, home-cooked meal from his mother when he returned from school.
Like the day his ability awakened. Luo Changhe had taken leave and flown straight from his office building, not even having time to change. One sleeve of his jacket had been burned through by a burst of blood energy. Yet, the first thing Luo Changhe asked him was if he was scared.
He had said he wasn't.
Luo Changhe laughed and pulled an art supply store gift certificate he had bought long ago from his pocket, stuffing it into Luo Yang’s hand.
Back then, he was still taking commissions online, and his family had never made him give up that hobby.
He looked up at the night sky. Very few stars were visible in Yuanxing City; the city lights were too bright, drowning them out.
He suddenly understood why Yan Ya had appeared in Yuanxing City so unexpectedly.
She had heard what happened in Yuanxing City while she was in the capital. She heard he was injured and couldn't suppress the worry in her heart, so she came.
Without a word of warning, she had waited for him at his home.
His father likely knew as well.
It was a mother’s instinctive reaction to her son, a matter so simple there was no room for debate.
He lowered his hand, and Yan Zhi happened to be looking up at him.
“What’s wrong?”
She asked softly, as if afraid of disturbing him.
Luo Yang slowly withdrew his mental power.
There was no need to listen anymore.
It wasn't that he was afraid of being discovered; he just felt that the girl didn't need one more person watching her from afar.
He glanced at Yan Zhi and softened his voice.
“A-Zhi, stay here.”
“Hmm?”
“Don’t follow me.”
He stepped out from the shadows.
The lights of the commercial street expanded outward from the edges. His shadow stretched long before shortening as he walked past a small cart selling candied haws. The vendor looked up at him and offered a brief sales pitch, but seeing no interest, he lowered his head back to his phone.
By the fountain, the three old men immediately noticed someone walking toward them.
The elder closest to him frowned.
For a Dao Manifestation level powerhouse to sense a living being approaching and evaluate their identity and threat level took less than half a second.
Another elder’s gaze shifted from Qiu Shubai’s face to the approaching Luo Yang.
In that instant, Luo Yang felt something sweep across the space between his eyebrows. It was light and clean, like someone drawing a line on his forehead with the tip of a cold fingernail.
He didn't stop.
Qiu Shubai noticed it too.
She opened her eyes a beat slower than usual. The lights flickered across her face, her eyelashes slightly damp.
It was only a tiny bit, the kind that couldn't be seen without a careful look.
The moment she saw Luo Yang, something stirred in her throat. The gaze she cast toward him was filled with surprise and helplessness, yet she couldn't say a word.
Luo Yang came to a stop half a step behind and to her side.
He didn't look at the three old men. He reached out to take the paper bag—which had gone empty at some point—from Qiu Shubai’s hand and naturally tucked a stray lock of hair that had slipped down her shoulder back behind her ear.
His movements were so natural that she didn't even have time to react.
Then he tilted his head and offered a smile to the elder standing closest to them.
“Old man,” his voice carried the leisurely tone common to anyone on the commercial street, “you’re blocking the way.”
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