Ning Yuzhao’s eyes dimmed, but he immediately composed himself. “Since you have woken up, should we find a physician to examine you again?”
Lu Shi’an shook his head. “There is no need. You have both worked hard during this time. Now that I am awake, you should go and get some rest.”
Lu Shi’an felt a pang of guilt as he looked at them; both appeared haggard, their eyes bloodshot from a lack of proper rest.
“Very well, Brother Lu. I will go and rest,” Xiao Heng replied.
During Lu Shi’an’s coma, he and Ning Yuzhao had remained in a state of constant vigilance. Now that he was awake, they were indeed in dire need of sleep. Ning Yuzhao lingered for a moment, silently watching his senior brother before retreating to his own room. Although he longed to stay by Lu Shi’an’s side, he knew he looked far too ragged. He did not want his senior brother to see such an imperfect version of himself, so he obeyed and went to rest, intending to present his best self once he had recovered.
Back in his room, Ning Yuzhao did not sleep immediately. He walked to the mirror and studied his reflection. His face was pale, with dark circles etched beneath his eyes. Recalling the man from the mural, he let out a bitter laugh. How could he ever hope to compare to that man? He sat by the window, gazing at the patterns of light filtering through the leaves. As the breeze stirred the trees, his thoughts drifted to his memories with Lu Shi’an, filling his heart with warmth. Before he knew it, exhaustion overtook him, and he leaned against the chair, slowly closing his eyes.
Once the others had left, Lu Shi’an examined the bead that had entered his consciousness. It was blood-red, its surface covered in intricate lines that looked like patterns left behind after it had been used. Appearing in the Nether Secret Realm, and being a bead, it was hard not to suspect this was the Ghost Soul Bead he had been searching for. His fainting spell was clearly linked to it. The bead contained immense spiritual power that his body could not yet fully refine, causing him to lose consciousness. He had absorbed less than one-tenth of its power, yet he already felt the stirrings of a breakthrough.
But why did this bead pull him into a dream? Why choose him? Xiao Heng had been the closest to the bead at the time. And who was the man in the dream? Why would the passionate, vibrant youth end up lying in that cold ice coffin? What were the fragmented memories that had flashed through his mind? Lu Shi’an rubbed his temples; his thoughts were too chaotic. To clarify everything, he needed to identify the man in the coffin.
Remembering that he had stored the man in his internal space before their battles with the beasts, he felt an urge to visit. He vanished and reappeared within the space. Only Lu Shi’an had ever entered this realm; not even Ning Yuzhao had stepped inside. The man in the coffin was the first visitor other than himself. The remnant soul of Daoist Guiyuan, who was not truly human, did not count.
The ice coffin sat in the center of the space. Neglected for too long, a few weeds had grown around it. With a wave of his sleeve, he cleared them away and walked to the coffin’s side. The man inside remained still. Lu Shi’an recalled the smiling face from his dream and compared it to the silent figure, feeling a wave of pity. The internal space was a small world where the seasons could change at the master’s will. With a thought, he shifted the eternal spring into a cold, biting winter.
He decided to move the man to a room near his own quarters. He transformed the space into an ice chamber and, after some preparations, returned to the coffin. He hesitated, then opened it and lifted the man. He was surprisingly light. Lu Shi’an was startled by the contact. While a corpse preserved by a special barrier might not decay, its body should be rigid. Yet, the man’s skin felt no different from a living person’s, save for the profound, icy cold. As he lifted him, he noticed the man was clutching something, previously obscured by his sleeves. With the man in his arms, it was inconvenient to inspect the object, so he left it for later.
He placed the man on a bed made of Millennium Cold Jade, a material originating from the same source as the coffin, which was the reason he had removed him from the box in the first place. He worried that a common bed would not suit the man’s constitution. With the man settled, he recalled Daoist Guiyuan, who was also a figure from a thousand years ago. He went to the cave dwelling he had prepared for the Daoist, whose soul resided in a piece of Divine Wood acquired during his lifetime. Because restoring a soul required powers beyond the Nascent Soul stage, Guiyuan had spent these years sleeping within the wood to nourish his essence.
“Master, wake up! Disciple has a favor to ask!”
“Hm? Shi’an? What brings you here to wake me?” Daoist Guiyuan yawned.
“Master, do you know of the Crimson Feather sword?” Lu Shi’an asked respectfully.
“Crimson Feather? The second-ranked Crimson Feather on the Divine Sword Ranking?” Daoist Guiyuan was instantly wide awake.
“Yes. Do you know who its master is?” Lu Shi’an asked, hoping for an answer.
Instead, the Daoist shook his head. “I do not know who the master of the Crimson Feather is. I only know that the master of the Crimson Feather came from the Upper Immortal Realm, or perhaps somewhere even further away.”
Somewhere even further away? Lu Shi’an pondered. For Daoist Guiyuan to be so guarded, he could only mean the Divine Realm.
“Then Master, from where did you learn these details about the Crimson Feather’s master?” Lu Shi’an probed further.