Heaven’s Shadow

Chapter 178: A Trace of Clues

Lu Chen walked up to the large tree and examined it carefully. Then, he suddenly reached out and gently stroked the trunk. The rough bark felt rocky under his palm.

The surroundings were still quiet, but Lu Chen’s eyes grew brighter. His fingers moved more slowly, and after a while, when his fingers passed over a weathered crack, he suddenly stopped.

The cracked bark appeared dark brown at his fingertips. Lu Chen raised his eyebrows, pressed down gently, and continued to explore. Gradually, a narrow fissure began to appear in the dark bark. As he continued, the fissure widened until a palm-sized piece of bark suddenly shifted and fell from the trunk.

With a soft “thud,” the piece of bark landed on the ground.

Lu Chen didn’t examine it closely. Instead, he stared at the smooth wood revealed behind the bark. There, someone had carved a simple but twisted pattern with a sharp blade.

A thick line, a few thinner lines, varying in length and width—at first glance, it seemed like random scribbles, but upon closer inspection, these twisted lines resembled a tree.

A big tree!

A smile gradually appeared on Lu Chen’s lips. He stared intently at the extremely hidden pattern, as if trying to memorize it. After a while, he flipped his right hand, and a black short sword appeared in his grip. With a flash of black light, he sliced the carved wood down.

He then turned around, called out to A-Tu, and quickly walked out of the forest without looking back.

When Lu Chen returned to Feiyan Terrace, he saw a graceful figure standing ahead on the mountain path from a distance. At first, Lu Chen thought it was Su Qingjun, but he soon realized something was amiss. As he walked closer, he saw it was actually Yi Xin.

The black dog, A-Tu, let out a happy bark and ran forward, while Yi Xin smiled and squatted down to embrace A-Tu, giving him a good rub.

A-Tu was also happily jumping around her. After a moment, Lu Chen approached and said with a smile, “What brings you here today?”

Yi Xin patted A-Tu’s head, then stood up and smiled at Lu Chen, “It’s rare for me to have some free time. I haven’t seen you and A-Tu for a while, so I thought I’d come visit.”

Lu Chen asked, “You seem busy lately, though?”

Yi Xin replied, “Yes. Ever since my master came out of seclusion, people have been coming one after another. As his only current disciple, I’m constantly hosting guests, and it’s quite exhausting. Moreover, those who can get close to my master are all important people, so I can’t be careless. It’s been really tiring.”

Lu Chen laughed heartily and said, “Stop complaining. It’s better than when you had no one to take care of, right?”

Yi Xin chuckled.

Lu Chen glanced around. Feiyan Terrace was empty, and the cave residence on the distant mountain wall was closed tight. He then asked Yi Xin, “Did you not see your sister Su here?”

Yi Xin replied, “No, I just arrived recently. Sister Su hasn’t come out, so I didn’t dare to disturb her.”

Lu Chen nodded and said, “That’s fine. Why don’t you come to my place and have a seat?” He led Yi Xin to the wooden house he had recently built.

Inside the wooden house, Yi Xin looked around curiously. Most of the house was made of wood, including the walls, table, chairs, and bed. It hadn’t been painted or treated, so the house looked quite rough but emitted a natural fragrance of wood.

Seeing Yi Xin’s expression, Lu Chen smiled and said, “Never seen a house like this before, huh?”

Yi Xin nodded and said, “Yes, this is the first time I’ve seen such a place. Did you build all this yourself, Brother Lu?”

“Yeah.”

“Impressive,” Yi Xin said sincerely.

Lu Chen chuckled, pulled over a wooden chair for Yi Xin to sit on, and casually said, “It’s just some wood pieces put together haphazardly. Nothing to be amazed about.”

Yi Xin laughed, then suddenly seemed to think of something. Her expression became serious, and a glint of mischief flashed in her eyes. She said to Lu Chen, “Well, there’s another matter I need to inform you about today.”

“Hmm? You’re so formal. Is it something important?” Lu Chen asked curiously.

Yi Xin cleared her throat and said, “From now on, I can’t call you Brother Lu anymore.”

“Ah, why not?” Lu Chen asked.

“Look,” Yi Xin said earnestly, “Since you’ve become a named disciple of Sister Su, you should call her ‘Master,’ right? So, wouldn’t that make me your ‘Senior Aunt’?”

Lu Chen was taken aback, then laughed and scolded, “So, you’re taking advantage of me now?”

Yi Xin huffed and said, “Taking advantage? If you don’t call Sister Su ‘Master,’ then I won’t let you call me ‘Senior Aunt.’”

Lu Chen waved his hand and said, “What are you talking about? Su Qingjun is younger than me by several years; how could I call her ‘Master’? No way.”

Yi Xin laughed heartily and said, “You can say that behind her back, but if Sister Su actually shows up later, let’s see if you dare to deny it.”

Lu Chen, with a serious expression, said, “A man of integrity, if I say I won’t call her that, then I won’t. Your threats are useless.”

Yi Xin covered her mouth and giggled, looking quite pleased.

Seeing her expression, Lu Chen felt his mood lighten a bit as well. He smiled and said, “You mentioned you’ve been busy. How come you’re free today?”

“Oh, my master went out to meet an old friend today, so I finally have some free time.” Yi Xin stretched lazily, then without any hesitation, lay down on the rough bed with a contented smile and said, “It’s much more comfortable here. Brother Lu, you don’t know how tired I am of smiling all day at San Zhang Peak’s cave residence. Everyone, whether they know me or not, expects me to greet them with a smile. It’s ten times more tiring than cultivation.”

Lu Chen laughed and said, “You’re not appreciating the blessings you have. But seeing so many people every day can indeed be exhausting. If you don’t have anything else to do, feel free to come here to relax. When I’m not around, chatting with your sister Su is also a good idea.”

Yi Xin shrugged and said, “Chatting with you is fine and doesn’t bother you, but Sister Su is a widely admired genius and is always busy with her cultivation. I wouldn’t dare to disturb her.”

Lu Chen thought for a moment and said, “Actually, it’s not quite like that. Your sister Su also likes having someone to chat with sometimes. It wouldn’t hurt for you to get closer to her.”

Yi Xin looked at Lu Chen in surprise and said, “Oh, you seem to know quite a bit about Sister Su now.”

Lu Chen smiled and said, “Just average. By the way, with so many real masters and prominent figures on this mountain, who is your master going to visit?”

Yi Xin said, “My master didn’t tell me. He just said goodbye and left. He usually tells me where he’s going.”

Noticing this unusual difference, Yi Xin looked a bit disheartened. Lu Chen found it somewhat amusing that her mood could shift so easily. He made some jokes to lighten the atmosphere, and soon Yi Xin was smiling again.

After chatting for a while, and noticing it was getting late, Yi Xin got up to leave. Lu Chen walked her to the edge of the mountain path and watched her walk away. But after a short while, Yi Xin suddenly turned back and said to Lu Chen, “Brother Lu, there’s something I need to tell you.”

Seeing her serious expression, Lu Chen was somewhat surprised and asked, “What’s wrong?”

Yi Xin said, “Before my master left, someone came to visit him… It was Senior Brother He Yi.”

Lu Chen’s expression darkened slightly. “He Yi, He Gang’s older brother?”

“Yes.”

Lu Chen understood why Yi Xin looked so unsettled. The incident with He Gang was like a nightmare for her, something she preferred not to recall. And since He Yi was He Gang’s older brother, and He Gang had been expelled from Kunlun Mountain because of that incident, it was clear that there was a significant conflict between He Yi and Yi Xin.

As the only disciple of Dong Fang Tao, it was evident that Dong Fang Tao and He Yi were not on good terms.

The situation seemed strange.

Lu Chen thought for a moment and asked, “Did you hear what they talked about that day?”

Yi Xin thought for a moment and said, “I was mostly on the side listening. They spoke mostly about polite and formal things, nothing important. Later, when they were almost done, I went to clean up the tea set and left for a while. When I came back, they seemed to have talked a bit more, but I didn’t hear those details.”

Lu Chen frowned and fell silent.

Yi Xin appeared worried and said softly, “Brother Lu, what do you think… Could they have discussed something that might influence my master? I hope Senior Brother He Yi didn’t sway him in any way.”

Lu Chen glanced at the girl and sighed inwardly. Yi Xin’s good fortune largely stemmed from Dong Fang Tao’s appreciation, and Dong Fang Tao had unexpectedly broken through a significant life-and-death barrier to achieve Yuan Ying level.

If Dong Fang Tao were to be influenced by He Yi and develop a negative view of Yi Xin, it would be disastrous for her. It was no wonder she was so anxious.

After pondering for a moment, Lu Chen said, “Yi Xin, don’t worry too much. From my perspective, it probably won’t be as bad as you think.” After a pause, he continued, “If you’re still worried, I can try to find out more about He Yi’s recent activities for you.”

“Hmm.” Yi Xin nodded, and a faint smile appeared on her face. Although she knew that He Yi’s skills were far superior to Lu Chen’s, she instinctively trusted Lu Chen’s offer to help.

She thought to herself that he would certainly follow through with what he said.

With this thought, Yi Xin’s mood improved considerably.