Chapter 5: The Scholar Who Became a Beggar
"They're watching."
The old man's voice was barely louder than a whisper.
Beneath the stone bridge, the afternoon sunlight continued to fall upon the flowing river. Merchants passed along the nearby street, children chased one another between market stalls, and the ordinary sounds of Qinghe City filled the air.
Nothing had changed.
At least, nothing that an ordinary person could perceive.
Ye Wuchen stood before the elderly beggar, his silver eyes calm.
"Who?"
The old man did not answer.
Instead, he tightened his grip around the gray pendant hanging from his neck.
His knuckles turned white.
"Don't look at me," he whispered.
Ye Wuchen raised an eyebrow.
"You were the one who called out to me."
"Please."
The old man's eyes darted toward the sky.
"Just leave."
Lin Qingyue, who had remained silent until now, stepped forward.
"Old sir, are you feeling unwell?"
The beggar ignored her.
His gaze remained fixed on Ye Wuchen.
There was something deeply unsettling about the young man standing before him.
He possessed no detectable cultivation.
No spiritual pressure.
Not even the faint fluctuations that usually accompanied a cultivator's breathing.
He appeared completely ordinary.
Yet those eyes...
The old man had seen them before.
Not in a dream.
Not in a legend.
But somewhere he had spent most of his life trying to forget.
"Young man," he said hoarsely, "where did you come from?"
Ye Wuchen considered the question.
"Somewhere far away."
"How far?"
"Farther than you could imagine."
The old man's expression became increasingly troubled.
He wanted to ask another question.
But the words refused to leave his mouth.
Ye Wuchen looked at the pendant.
"Where did you obtain that?"
The beggar immediately covered it with his hand.
"An old possession."
"How old?"
"I don't remember."
"You're lying."
The statement was delivered without anger.
Without accusation.
Simply as a fact.
The old man's face stiffened.
Lin Qingyue glanced between them.
She could not understand why an ordinary beggar would behave so strangely around Ye Wuchen.
Nor could she understand why Ye Wuchen seemed interested in a worthless gray pendant.
But she had already learned that the black-robed young man rarely asked unnecessary questions.
"Fellow Daoist Ye," she said quietly, "perhaps we should find somewhere more private."
Ye Wuchen glanced toward the surrounding street.
Several pedestrians had begun looking in their direction.
The beggar noticed them as well.
His expression grew even more anxious.
Finally, he lowered his head.
"There's an abandoned tea house beyond the western canal."
He paused.
"If you truly wish to speak, meet me there after sunset."
Lin Qingyue frowned.
"Why after sunset?"
The old man did not answer.
He picked up his wooden bowl and began gathering the scattered copper coins.
His hands trembled.
Ye Wuchen watched him for a moment.
Then he turned away.
"Very well."
The beggar looked up sharply.
"You'll come?"
"Perhaps."
Ye Wuchen began walking.
Lin Qingyue hurried after him.
Behind them, the old man remained kneeling beside the bridge.
He watched the black-robed figure disappear into the crowd.
Only when Ye Wuchen was completely out of sight did he release the breath he had been holding.
He looked down at the pendant.
The mysterious symbol engraved upon its surface was faintly warm.
The old man closed his eyes.
"After all these years..."
His voice trembled.
"Why now?"
A Scholar's Name
"Do you trust him?"
Lin Qingyue asked the question after they had left the northern district.
Ye Wuchen walked beside her through a quiet street lined with willow trees.
"No."
She seemed surprised.
"Then why agree to meet him?"
"Because he knows something."
"He could be trying to deceive you."
"Possibly."
"Or lure you into a trap."
"Also possible."
Lin Qingyue stared at him.
His calmness was becoming increasingly difficult to understand.
"Doesn't that concern you?"
Ye Wuchen looked toward the river.
"Not particularly."
She sighed.
There was little point arguing with someone who answered every warning as though discussing the weather.
After a moment, she spoke again.
"I can ask the Azure River Sect to investigate him."
Ye Wuchen considered the suggestion.
"Do you have access to local records?"
"Some."
"Then find out his name."
Lin Qingyue nodded.
"That should be simple enough."
She retrieved a small communication talisman.
A faint blue light appeared between her fingers as she transmitted a message to the Azure River Sect's residence.
They continued walking.
After several minutes, the talisman glowed.
Lin Qingyue read the response.
Then frowned.
"That's strange."
Ye Wuchen glanced at her.
"What is?"
"The city records contain very little information about him."
"Nothing unusual."
"Perhaps not, but he's apparently been living near that bridge for more than ten years."
She continued reading.
"His name is Mu Cang."
Ye Wuchen repeated it quietly.
"Mu Cang."
The name meant nothing to him.
Lin Qingyue examined the remaining information.
"According to the records, he was once a traveling scholar."
"A scholar?"
"Yes. He apparently sold old books and copied inscriptions for merchants."
She paused.
"Then, at some point, he stopped working."
"Why?"
"It doesn't say."
"Family?"
"None recorded."
"Place of birth?"
"Unknown."
Ye Wuchen nodded.
A man who had spent years studying ancient texts.
A mysterious pendant.
A book containing a symbol connected to the Immortal Tomb.
And an immediate reaction upon seeing his silver eyes.
The connection was unlikely to be accidental.
"Anything else?" he asked.
Lin Qingyue hesitated.
"One thing."
She looked up.
"Several years ago, the city guards questioned him after he was discovered wandering through an abandoned burial ground outside Qinghe City."
Ye Wuchen stopped walking.
"Why?"
"He was searching for something."
"What?"
"The records don't say."
Lin Qingyue lowered the talisman.
"Apparently, he refused to explain."
Ye Wuchen looked toward the western district.
An abandoned burial ground.
Interesting.
He had been awake for less than a day, yet traces of the forgotten past were already beginning to appear.
Perhaps the world had not forgotten everything.
Perhaps it had simply forgotten where to look.
The Unseen Observer
Far beyond Qinghe City, in a place untouched by sunlight, an ancient mechanism continued its operation.
There were no walls.
No floor.
No visible boundaries.
Only darkness.
Suspended within that darkness was a surface resembling black glass.
Three lines of silver characters remained upon it.
[Secondary witness located.]
[Recognition event confirmed.]
[Observation protocol initiated.]
For a long time, nothing happened.
Then another line appeared.
[Witness classification: Unresolved.]
A pause followed.
[Attempting historical verification.]
The surface flickered.
Countless symbols emerged and disappeared.
Some resembled ancient formation characters.
Others belonged to languages that had long since vanished.
The verification continued.
Then stopped.
[Historical reference unavailable.]
[Proceeding with passive observation.]
The darkness returned to silence.
No command to attack was issued.
No ancient army awakened.
No hidden master emerged from seclusion.
The mechanism simply continued watching.
And somewhere within Qinghe City, an elderly scholar who had become a beggar felt the pendant against his chest grow colder.
The Abandoned Tea House
Night descended upon Qinghe City.
Lanterns illuminated the main streets, while the quieter districts gradually emptied.
The western canal flowed beneath a series of old stone bridges.
Beyond the final bridge stood an abandoned tea house.
Its wooden sign had fallen years ago.
Weeds grew between the paving stones.
Several windows were broken, and the courtyard was covered in fallen leaves.
Ye Wuchen arrived shortly after sunset.
Lin Qingyue accompanied him.
She had insisted.
Although she still could not determine Ye Wuchen's cultivation, she felt responsible for his safety.
After all, he seemed completely unfamiliar with the Lower Realm.
Ye Wuchen had not objected.
The tea house was dark.
A faint candle burned within.
Mu Cang sat beside a wooden table.
He had washed his face and changed into a slightly cleaner set of gray robes.
Without the dirt covering his features, he looked less like a beggar.
His posture was also different.
Despite his worn clothing, he sat with the quiet dignity of someone accustomed to books and scholarly discussion.
When Ye Wuchen entered, Mu Cang stood.
"You came."
Ye Wuchen looked around.
"An unusual meeting place."
"It's quiet."
"Not particularly secure."
Mu Cang gave a bitter smile.
"Security is a luxury I abandoned long ago."
Lin Qingyue closed the door behind them.
Mu Cang looked at her.
"Must she remain?"
"Yes," Ye Wuchen replied.
The old man hesitated.
Then nodded.
"Very well."
They sat.
For several moments, no one spoke.
The candle flickered.
Outside, the canal flowed quietly through the darkness.
Finally, Ye Wuchen placed the old manuscript on the table.
Fragments of the Forgotten Ages.
Mu Cang stared at it.
His expression became complicated.
"You found it."
"Yes."
"Where?"
"The Scholar's Pavilion."
Mu Cang lowered his eyes.
"I see."
Ye Wuchen opened the book to the illustration of the mysterious symbol.
"Tell me about this."
The old man's gaze settled upon the page.
His fingers trembled slightly.
"It's an old symbol."
"I know."
"Older than the Great Yan Dynasty."
"I know that too."
Mu Cang looked up.
Ye Wuchen's expression remained unchanged.
The old scholar studied him carefully.
Then asked a question.
"How much do you know?"
Ye Wuchen answered simply.
"Not enough."
For some reason, those words seemed to affect Mu Cang more than any threat could have.
He looked toward the candle.
Then slowly removed the pendant from his neck.
He placed it on the table.
Lin Qingyue leaned forward.
The pendant was small and unremarkable.
Its surface was dull gray.
At its center was the familiar circle divided by a vertical line.
Beneath it lay a tiny additional stroke.
The same variation Ye Wuchen had seen beneath the hidden inscription.
"Where did you get it?" Ye Wuchen asked.
Mu Cang remained silent.
Then he answered.
"From a place that no longer exists."
Lin Qingyue frowned.
"A destroyed ruin?"
Mu Cang shook his head.
"Not destroyed."
He paused.
"Forgotten."
Ye Wuchen looked at him.
"Explain."
Mu Cang's fingers tightened around the edge of the table.
"I was once a scholar."
"We know."
"I traveled across the Eastern Desolation, studying old inscriptions and collecting forgotten histories."
His voice became quieter.
"I believed that every civilization deserved to be remembered."
Lin Qingyue listened attentively.
Mu Cang looked toward the pendant.
"One day, I discovered something I couldn't explain."
"What?"
The old man hesitated.
"A record."
"Of what?"
Mu Cang slowly raised his eyes.
"Someone."
The candle flickered.
Ye Wuchen remained still.
Mu Cang continued.
"I couldn't understand the writing. The language was unlike anything I had ever studied."
He swallowed.
"But there was an image."
Lin Qingyue leaned forward.
"An image?"
Mu Cang nodded.
"A young man."
He looked directly into Ye Wuchen's eyes.
"Black robes."
The room became quiet.
"Long black hair."
Ye Wuchen did not move.
"And silver eyes."
Lin Qingyue turned toward him.
Her expression changed.
Mu Cang lowered his head.
"For decades, I believed it was merely a drawing."
He gave a faint, humorless laugh.
"A forgotten deity, perhaps. Or some ancient cultivator whose name had disappeared."
"Then why were you frightened when you saw me?" Ye Wuchen asked.
Mu Cang's smile vanished.
"Because of what was written beneath the image."
Ye Wuchen waited.
The old man's lips parted.
But no words emerged.
He glanced toward the ceiling.
Then toward the windows.
His breathing became uneven.
"I cannot repeat it."
"Why?"
Mu Cang shook his head.
"You wouldn't understand."
Ye Wuchen looked at him calmly.
"Try."
The old scholar remained silent.
Then he whispered:
"Some things are better left forgotten."
The Price of Remembering
Ye Wuchen examined Mu Cang.
The old man was afraid.
That much was obvious.
But it was not the fear of someone confronted by overwhelming cultivation.
Nor was it the nervousness of a liar whose deception had been discovered.
It was something deeper.
A fear shaped by years of experience.
Ye Wuchen had encountered many such people during his long life.
Cultivators who had witnessed forbidden techniques.
Scholars who had uncovered secrets beyond their understanding.
Ordinary mortals who had stumbled into conflicts between powers they could not comprehend.
Most eventually chose silence.
A few continued searching.
Mu Cang appeared to belong to the latter group.
"Why did you become a beggar?" Ye Wuchen asked.
The question surprised him.
Mu Cang looked down at his clothes.
"Because it is easier to be ignored."
"By whom?"
The old man did not answer.
"By the people who frightened you?"
Mu Cang's expression changed.
He stared at Ye Wuchen.
Then slowly lowered his gaze.
"Perhaps."
Ye Wuchen tapped the book.
"Did you remove the missing page?"
"No."
"Do you know who did?"
Mu Cang shook his head.
"Then why return to the bookstore yesterday?"
The old scholar became silent.
Lin Qingyue frowned.
"Old sir, you asked the shopkeeper whether anyone had shown interest in the book. Why?"
Mu Cang looked toward the window.
For a long moment, he seemed to struggle with himself.
Then he answered.
"Because I was waiting."
Ye Wuchen's eyes narrowed slightly.
"For whom?"
Mu Cang slowly turned toward him.
"For someone who would recognize the symbol."
Lin Qingyue looked at the pendant.
"You left the book there deliberately?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Mu Cang's expression became weary.
"Because I could no longer continue searching alone."
The words hung in the quiet room.
Ye Wuchen studied him.
"How long have you been searching?"
Mu Cang gave a faint smile.
"Most of my life."
"And what have you found?"
The old man's smile disappeared.
"Very little."
He looked at the pendant.
"Enough to know that something is wrong with our history."
Ye Wuchen remained silent.
Mu Cang continued.
"There are ruins older than the dynasties that supposedly built them. Records that mention kingdoms no historian has ever heard of. Ancient inscriptions whose languages have no known origin."
He paused.
"At first, I believed these were ordinary gaps in our understanding."
"And now?"
Mu Cang looked toward the candle.
"Now I believe some things were forgotten for a reason."
Ye Wuchen considered his words.
A mortal scholar had noticed inconsistencies in the historical record.
He had spent decades investigating them.
And eventually, he had encountered something that frightened him enough to abandon his identity.
Yet he had continued searching.
Ye Wuchen found that mildly admirable.
"Why?" he asked.
Mu Cang looked up.
"Why what?"
"Why continue?"
The old man remained silent.
Ye Wuchen continued.
"You've spent your life pursuing something that has brought you nothing but fear."
Mu Cang lowered his gaze.
For a long time, he did not answer.
Then he spoke.
"Because I remember people who no one else remembers."
Lin Qingyue's expression softened.
Mu Cang stared at the candle.
"If I stop searching..."
His voice became quieter.
"...then perhaps there will truly be nothing left of them."
Ye Wuchen said nothing.
The old man's answer was simple.
It contained no grand ambition.
No desire for immortality.
No dream of supreme cultivation.
He merely wanted to remember.
And for some reason, Ye Wuchen found that answer more meaningful than many declarations he had heard from powerful cultivators.
A Question Without an Answer
The candle burned lower.
Outside, the night deepened.
Ye Wuchen looked at the pendant again.
"May I examine it?"
Mu Cang hesitated.
Then slowly pushed it across the table.
Ye Wuchen picked it up.
The material was unusual.
Not particularly valuable by the standards of the Upper Realm.
Yet its internal structure contained traces of an ancient formation.
Most of those traces had deteriorated.
Only a few fragments remained.
He examined the symbol.
The circle.
The vertical line.
The additional stroke.
"System."
[Yes, Host.]
"Analyze the material."
[Analyzing...]
[Material classification: Unknown.]
[Residual formation detected.]
[Structure incomplete.]
Ye Wuchen looked at the pendant.
"Can you identify its age?"
[Insufficient information.]
"Origin?"
[Unknown.]
"Connection to the Immortal Tomb?"
A brief pause followed.
[Symbolic similarity confirmed.]
[Direct structural connection cannot be established.]
Ye Wuchen nodded.
He had expected as much.
The pendant was not an ordinary ornament.
But neither was it enough to explain the larger mystery.
He placed it back on the table.
Mu Cang immediately retrieved it.
"Did you discover anything?" the old man asked.
"A little."
Mu Cang leaned forward.
"What?"
Ye Wuchen looked at him.
"Your pendant is older than it appears."
The old scholar gave a tired smile.
"I suspected that."
"Where you found it may be more important than the pendant itself."
Mu Cang's expression changed.
He looked away.
Ye Wuchen noticed.
But he did not press further.
Some answers could not be obtained through interrogation.
And he had no interest in forcing an ordinary mortal to reveal something he was clearly terrified of discussing.
Instead, he asked a different question.
"Mu Cang."
The old man looked up.
"Yes?"
"Have you ever heard of the Human Court?"
Mu Cang frowned.
"The Human Court?"
"Yes."
The scholar thought for a moment.
Then shook his head.
"No."
"Nine Heavens Sword Palace?"
"Never."
"Ancient Dragon Court?"
Mu Cang's expression became thoughtful.
"I've heard legends of ancient dragon civilizations, but nothing by that exact name."
Ye Wuchen nodded.
The answers were unsurprising.
A Lower Realm scholar would not necessarily know the names of Upper Realm powers.
But Mu Cang's next words caught his attention.
"Although..."
Ye Wuchen looked at him.
"Although what?"
The old man hesitated.
"There was a phrase I encountered once."
"What phrase?"
Mu Cang stared at the candle.
"It appeared in an inscription from a ruin near the northern wastelands."
He paused.
"I couldn't translate most of it."
"But?"
"One section had been copied into a more recent language."
Ye Wuchen waited.
Mu Cang slowly spoke.
"The age before the heavens were named."
The room became silent.
Ye Wuchen's silver eyes remained calm.
But within his mind, something stirred.
The phrase was unfamiliar in its present form.
Yet the idea behind it...
He had encountered something similar before.
Long ago.
Very long ago.
Before his slumber.
Before the Immortal Tomb.
Before many of the cultivation systems now considered ancient had even been established.
Mu Cang noticed his silence.
"Does that mean something to you?"
Ye Wuchen looked at him.
"Perhaps."
The old man leaned forward.
"What does it mean?"
Ye Wuchen did not answer immediately.
Then he said:
"I don't know."
Mu Cang looked disappointed.
But Ye Wuchen continued.
"Not yet."
The First Warning
A faint sound came from outside.
Lin Qingyue turned toward the window.
"Did you hear that?"
Mu Cang's expression changed immediately.
"What sound?"
"Something moved in the courtyard."
The old scholar stood abruptly.
His chair scraped against the wooden floor.
"No."
He looked toward the door.
"No, no..."
Ye Wuchen remained seated.
"Calm down."
Mu Cang ignored him.
He hurried toward the window.
Then stopped.
Outside, the courtyard was empty.
The fallen leaves lay motionless.
The moon illuminated the abandoned paving stones.
Nothing appeared unusual.
Yet Mu Cang's face had turned pale.
"They found us."
Lin Qingyue drew a small talisman from her sleeve.
"Who?"
Mu Cang shook his head.
"We have to leave."
Ye Wuchen looked toward the courtyard.
He could detect no cultivator nearby.
No concealed spiritual fluctuations.
No killing intent.
Nothing that suggested an ordinary ambush.
But he noticed something else.
The surrounding spiritual energy had become strangely still.
Not frozen.
Not suppressed.
Simply... quiet.
As though the environment itself had momentarily ceased responding to external influences.
Ye Wuchen narrowed his eyes.
That was unusual.
"System."
[Yes, Host.]
"Environmental analysis."
[Analyzing...]
[No hostile spiritual signatures detected.]
[No active formations detected.]
[Minor law fluctuation identified.]
Ye Wuchen's interest deepened.
"Source?"
[Unknown.]
The candle suddenly went out.
Darkness filled the room.
Lin Qingyue immediately activated her talisman.
A pale blue light illuminated the tea house.
Mu Cang stood motionless.
His pendant had begun to glow.
Not brightly.
Only enough to reveal the mysterious symbol engraved upon its surface.
The circle.
The vertical line.
The additional stroke.
Ye Wuchen looked at it.
The symbol flickered once.
Then twice.
And vanished.
The surrounding spiritual energy returned to normal.
Outside, the wind began moving through the courtyard again.
The disturbance had lasted less than a breath.
Lin Qingyue looked around.
"What was that?"
Mu Cang slowly sank into his chair.
His face was ashen.
Ye Wuchen examined the pendant.
Then the courtyard.
Then the extinguished candle.
No enemy had appeared.
No attack had been launched.
Yet something had clearly happened.
He looked at Mu Cang.
"You said they were watching."
The old man did not respond.
"Was that them?"
Mu Cang's hands trembled.
Finally, he nodded.
"Yes."
Ye Wuchen considered the answer.
"What do they want?"
The old scholar raised his head.
His expression was filled with exhaustion.
"I don't know."
Ye Wuchen studied him.
Mu Cang continued.
"I spent my entire life searching for someone I believed never existed."
His gaze settled upon Ye Wuchen's silver eyes.
"And now..."
His voice trembled.
"Now that I've found you..."
He swallowed.
"...I wish I hadn't."
Ye Wuchen remained silent.
Then he stood.
Lin Qingyue looked toward him.
"Fellow Daoist Ye?"
He walked toward the door.
Mu Cang stared at him.
"Where are you going?"
Ye Wuchen stopped.
"Outside."
"Why?"
"To look."
The old man's expression changed.
"You can't!"
Ye Wuchen glanced back.
"Why not?"
Mu Cang struggled to answer.
"Because if they notice you—"
"They already have."
The old man fell silent.
Ye Wuchen opened the door.
The night air entered the tea house.
Above Qinghe City, countless stars shimmered across the unfamiliar sky.
He looked upward.
Somewhere beyond those stars, an unknown mechanism was observing events connected to his awakening.
Perhaps it was responsible for the missing historical records.
Perhaps it was connected to the Immortal Tomb.
Perhaps it was something else entirely.
He did not know.
And for the moment, he had no intention of making assumptions.
But he had learned one important thing.
The world had not simply forgotten the past.
Someone, or something, appeared interested in keeping certain parts of it forgotten.
Ye Wuchen stepped into the courtyard.
His black robes moved gently in the night breeze.
Then he spoke.
Not loudly.
Not threateningly.
Simply as though addressing someone standing nearby.
"If you wish to observe..."
He paused.
His silver eyes reflected the stars.
"...then observe properly."
Nothing happened.
No thunder descended.
No heavenly laws trembled.
The night remained peaceful.
Ye Wuchen waited a moment.
Then turned back toward the tea house.
"How disappointing."
Beyond the Reach of Memory
Far beyond the Lower Realm, the ancient black surface flickered.
The observation mechanism had completed another cycle.
New information appeared.
[Target response detected.]
[Direct communication attempt: Unconfirmed.]
[Observation status: Active.]
A pause followed.
Then another line emerged.
[Target classification: Unknown.]
The surface flickered again.
[Attempting classification using archived reference.]
Countless symbols moved across the darkness.
For a moment, an ancient designation appeared.
Its characters were incomplete.
Only a fragment remained visible.
[—BEFORE THE FIRST—]
Then the text vanished.
[Archive reference corrupted.]
[Classification failed.]
The mechanism remained silent.
After several moments, a final message appeared.
[Escalation deferred.]
And the darkness swallowed the light.
Back in Qinghe City, Ye Wuchen returned to the tea house.
Mu Cang was still sitting beside the table.
Lin Qingyue stood near the window.
Neither spoke.
Ye Wuchen looked toward the old scholar.
"Tomorrow."
Mu Cang raised his head.
"What?"
"Take me to the place where you found the pendant."
The old man's expression changed.
"I can't."
Ye Wuchen looked at him calmly.
"Why?"
Mu Cang lowered his gaze.
For a long time, he remained silent.
Then he whispered:
"Because the last time I went there..."
His fingers tightened around the pendant.
"...I wasn't alone."
Ye Wuchen waited.
Mu Cang slowly looked up.
"And when I returned..."
His voice became barely audible.
"...no one remembered the people who went with me."
The candle remained extinguished.
Outside, the river continued flowing beneath the bridges of Qinghe City.
Ye Wuchen regarded the old scholar for a moment.
Then he asked a single question.
"Do you remember them?"
Mu Cang's eyes trembled.
"Yes."
"Then that's enough to begin."
End of Chapter 5