The inheritance platform remained silent after the Trial of Fate released them.
The four sealed gates stood behind Chao Lun Hui and Shen Yan Ting, their golden light reduced to faint lines within the stone.
The ancient chamber looked exactly as it had before the trials, but Chao Lun Hui could still feel the absence of the vanished village.
A warm courtyard.
Shared meals beneath a repaired lantern.
Shen Yan Ting preparing tea before dawn and refusing every unnecessary instruction with the confidence of a disciple who had never respected authority, including when he was the authority.
Those days had not been real.
The loss was.
Chao Lun Hui did not know whether the hollow feeling belonged to him, to Luo Yanhe’s body or to some place where the distinction between them had begun to fail.
Across the platform, Shen Yan Ting remained quieter than usual.
He had not mentioned the final message, and Chao Lun Hui had no intention of beginning that conversation while the words remained lodged uncomfortably beneath his ribs.
『EVEN FATE ONCE WISHED THE TWO OF YOU COULD SIMPLY LIVE PEACEFULLY 』
Chao Lun Hui still did not know who the two of you truly meant.
The wedding scenario had shown a veiled partner who resembled Luo Yanhe.
The village had placed Chao Lun Hui in Shen Yan Ting’s role.
Every ancient mechanism addressed him as though the answer should have been obvious.
It was not.
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Hm?”
Luo Yanhe glanced towards the sealed Fate gate.
Luo Yanhe : “We survived four qualification trials and received more questions than answers.”
Shen Yan Ting studied the dormant gates.
Shen Yan Ting : “We learnt something.”
Hope rose despite Chao Lun Hui’s better judgement.
Luo Yanhe : “What?”
Shen Yan Ting : “Ancient trials enjoy emotional damage.”
Chao Lun Hui stared at him.
Then he placed one hand over his heart with solemn gratitude.
Luo Yanhe : “Master agreed.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Yes.”
It was a genuine victory.
Small, useless and achieved only after ancient ancestors had attacked them with identity accusations, mysterious children, coordinated stone warriors, an unexplained wedding and peaceful domestic labour, but still a victory.
Chao Lun Hui was preparing to appreciate it properly when a voice exploded through the corridor outside.
Gu Zhen : “LUO YANHE!”
The shout struck the chamber walls hard enough to shake dust from the ancient ceiling.
Chao Lun Hui responded before thinking.
His head turned towards the entrance at the sound of Luo Yanhe’s name, and recognition arrived immediately.
Only afterwards did he notice the problem.
He had not paused to remind himself that the name referred to him.
He had not translated Luo Yanhe into the person everyone believes I am.
His body, attention and irritation had answered together.
Luo Yanhe : “No.”
Shen Yan Ting turned towards the corridor.
Shen Yan Ting : “You recognise that voice?”
Another shout travelled through the ruins, somehow louder than the first.
Gu Zhen : “LUO YANHE!”
Luo Yanhe : “Unfortunately.”
The completed trials had released the qualification boundary and opened the inner corridor to the elders waiting outside.
Apparently, someone had made the severe mistake of informing Gu Zhen that the path was safe.
Footsteps pounded towards them.
A muscular young man charged into the chamber with enough force to suggest that doors were polite recommendations rather than physical barriers.
He was slightly shorter than Luo Yanhe and wore Azure Cloud Sect robes secured with blue ornaments.
Shoulder-length dark hair framed a handsome face currently ruined by panic, and a spear rested across his back.
His light-brown eyes found Luo Yanhe.
Relief transformed his expression so openly that Chao Lun Hui had no time to prepare for it.
Gu Zhen crossed the chamber and seized both of Luo Yanhe’s shoulders.
Gu Zhen : “YOU’RE ALIVE!”
The words struck Chao Lun Hui more sharply than the grip.
Gu Zhen was not greeting a fictional villain.
He was not welcoming an unfamiliar transmigrator who had borrowed another man’s body.
He was relieved that Luo Yanhe was alive.
That relief belonged to a friendship Chao Lun Hui could not remember forming.
Yet his first instinct was not to pull away from a stranger.
It was to complain that Gu Zhen was too loud.
Luo Yanhe : “Hello, Gu Zhen.”
The name came naturally.
Chao Lun Hui knew Gu Zhen from the original novel, but the knowledge felt inadequate beside the living man checking his arms, shoulders and face for injuries with panic instead of medical skill.
The original story had given Gu Zhen scenes, dialogue and victories.
It had not explained what expression he wore when he feared losing Luo Yanhe.
Gu Zhen : “They said you entered an ancient inheritance!”
Luo Yanhe carefully removed Gu Zhen’s hands from his shoulders.
Luo Yanhe : “Yes.”
Gu Zhen leaned closer.
Gu Zhen : “They said you almost died!”
Chao Lun Hui considered the stone warriors, the Heart Trial, Shen Yan Ting’s suspicious wedding and the ordinary chicken that had attacked him without provocation.
Luo Yanhe : “Probably.”
Gu Zhen’s relief turned into genuine offence.
Gu Zhen : “And you did not invite me?”
The chamber fell quiet.
Luo Yanhe waited for the question to reveal itself as a joke.
It did not.
Luo Yanhe : “That is the part upsetting you?”
Gu Zhen released him and placed one hand over his chest.
Gu Zhen : “Yes!
Brothers should almost die together!”
Shen Yan Ting slowly closed his eyes.
The four trials had ended, but another appeared to have entered in human form.
Chao Lun Hui watched Gu Zhen’s indignation and felt an uncomfortable warmth beneath the confusion.
Brothers.
Was Gu Zhen Luo Yanhe’s friend?
The answer was clearly yes.
Was he Chao Lun Hui’s friend?
Chao Lun Hui should have said no.
They had no shared modern memories.
Gu Zhen did not know his old face, his old voice or the name nobody in this world had ever spoken.
Still, when Gu Zhen had rushed into the chamber, Chao Lun Hui had not felt as though a stranger had entered.
He could no longer tell whether that familiarity came from the novel, Luo Yanhe’s body or the weeks he had spent answering to Luo Yanhe’s name.
The uncertainty had stopped feeling like a clean line between two lives.
It now resembled ink spreading through water.
Luo Yanhe looked towards Shen Yan Ting and recognised the faint tension between his brows.
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting opened his eyes.
Shen Yan Ting : “What?”
Luo Yanhe bowed his head with complete sincerity.
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple apologises.”
Shen Yan Ting’s gaze shifted towards Gu Zhen, who had already begun examining the ancient pillars with visible excitement and no concern for self-preservation.
Shen Yan Ting : “For what?”
Luo Yanhe sighed.
Luo Yanhe : “For knowing him.”
Gu Zhen turned around immediately.
Gu Zhen : “That is rude.”
Luo Yanhe : “It is accurate.”
Gu Zhen folded his arms.
Gu Zhen : “Still rude.”
Luo Yanhe nodded.
Luo Yanhe : “Still accurate.”
Shen Yan Ting did not interfere.
His silence felt suspiciously supportive, which Luo Yanhe chose to count as his second victory of the day.
Gu Zhen moved towards one of the sealed gates.
Shen Yan Ting : “Do not touch it.”
Gu Zhen stopped with his hand several inches from the stone.
Gu Zhen : “I was only looking.”
Luo Yanhe : “With your fingers.”
Gu Zhen : “They improve the viewing experience.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Step away.”
Gu Zhen obeyed immediately.
His foolishness had not damaged his ability to recognise danger when Shen Yan Ting used that tone.
A short while later, the three of them sat near the edge of the inheritance platform.
Luo Yanhe attempted to explain the trials while carefully omitting the parts most likely to destroy his remaining peace.
He did not mention that the ceremonial partner had shared Luo Yanhe’s visible features.
He also avoided explaining how natural the village courtyard had felt or how readily he had saved Shen Yan Ting’s preferred portion of dinner.
Those details belonged to a question Chao Lun Hui was not yet willing to ask aloud.
Luo Yanhe : “Memory showed several incomplete scenes.
Strength involved twelve stone warriors.
Heart asked questions.
Fate created two scenarios.”
Gu Zhen listened with the concentration of someone trying very hard to appear scholarly.
Gu Zhen : “What kind of scenarios?”
Luo Yanhe : “Unreasonable ones.”
Gu Zhen : “That is not specific.”
Luo Yanhe : “It is sufficient.”
Shen Yan Ting glanced at him.
Chao Lun Hui recognised the phrase as one he had stolen from his master and ignored the look.
Gu Zhen : “Was anyone injured?”
Luo Yanhe : “Only my dignity.”
Gu Zhen : “So nothing important.”
Luo Yanhe looked offended.
Luo Yanhe : “This friendship has become increasingly hostile.”
The word friendship left his mouth without resistance.
Chao Lun Hui noticed it after speaking.
He did not correct himself.
Gu Zhen’s attention shifted towards a small packet beside Luo Yanhe’s sword.
Chao Lun Hui followed his gaze and immediately recognised the danger.
He had brought the snacks from Azure Cloud Sect before leaving for the ruins and forgotten them during several consecutive spiritual disasters.
Gu Zhen reached for the packet.
Luo Yanhe : “Do not.”
Gu Zhen opened it.
Without permission, he selected the largest piece.
Without shame, he ate it directly in front of its owner.
Luo Yanhe stopped speaking.
Gu Zhen continued chewing.
Luo Yanhe : “Those are mine.”
Gu Zhen : “Our snacks.”
Luo Yanhe held out his hand.
Luo Yanhe : “Return them.”
Gu Zhen protected the packet against his chest as though Luo Yanhe were attempting theft.
Gu Zhen : “Friendship means sharing.”
Luo Yanhe watched another piece disappear.
Luo Yanhe : “Friendship also means asking.”
Gu Zhen swallowed and reached for a third.
Gu Zhen : “Too slow.”
Chao Lun Hui turned towards Shen Yan Ting.
The movement was instinctive.
So was the expectation that Shen Yan Ting would judge the matter, although experience should have warned him that justice became unreliable whenever food was involved.
Luo Yanhe : “Master witnessed theft.”
Shen Yan Ting looked at the shrinking packet.
Shen Yan Ting : “I did.”
Luo Yanhe waited.
No judgement followed.
Luo Yanhe : “And?”
Shen Yan Ting’s golden eyes returned to him.
Shen Yan Ting : “You failed to protect it.”
For several breaths, Luo Yanhe could only stare at him.
Gu Zhen laughed at the wrong moment and nearly choked on the stolen snack.
He struck his own chest twice, scattered crumbs over his robes and still refused to surrender the packet.
Luo Yanhe pointed accusingly at Shen Yan Ting.
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting : “What?”
Luo Yanhe : “That was betrayal.”
Shen Yan Ting glanced at the nearly empty packet.
Shen Yan Ting : “It was reality.”
Chao Lun Hui had once eaten convenience-store food alone while reading about these men as fictional characters.
Now one of them was stealing his snacks while the other refused to defend him.
The memory of his modern room surfaced briefly: the pale light of a phone screen, the silence after midnight, the private amusement of reading a ridiculous exchange that could never involve him.
This chamber was cold, dangerous and several centuries behind the invention of proper snack packaging.
It was also louder than that room had ever been.
Chao Lun Hui did not know what to do with that comparison, so Luo Yanhe prepared an argument instead.
A low vibration travelled beneath the platform before he could begin.
The laughter stopped.
Gu Zhen’s hand froze above the final snack.
Luo Yanhe reached for his sword, while Gu Zhen’s other hand moved towards the spear across his back.
Shen Yan Ting rose and stepped ahead of both disciples.
Ancient symbols illuminated beneath their feet.
Luo Yanhe : “Please tell this disciple that the inheritance has not invented a fifth trial.”
Shen Yan Ting watched the spreading light.
Shen Yan Ting : “It has not.”
Luo Yanhe : “How does Master know?”
Shen Yan Ting : “The formation is not judging you.”
The vibration deepened.
Golden lines spread through the stone in precise circles, connecting symbols that had remained dormant throughout all four trials.
The sealed gates did not react.
Instead, the centre of the platform separated along a narrow square outline.
Gu Zhen slowly lowered the last piece of food.
The foolish brightness in his expression receded.
His posture changed with trained efficiency, weight settling evenly while one hand rested near his spear.
He remained Gu Zhen, but the chamber now contained the Inner Core Disciple who had earned his position rather than the thief who had consumed most of Luo Yanhe’s snacks.
Gu Zhen : “Is this normal?”
Luo Yanhe kept one hand on his sword.
Luo Yanhe : “After everything that happened here, this disciple no longer understands the word normal.”
The centre of the platform lowered with deliberate mechanical precision.
Cold air rose through the opening, carrying dust that had remained undisturbed for decades.
Beneath the platform lay a hidden compartment no larger than a storage chest.
One scroll rested inside.
It looked old, plain and disappointingly harmless.
Its wooden ends were unpolished.
The faded paper carried no visible seal, golden inscription or threatening spiritual flame.
Someone might have mistaken it for an abandoned household record.
Luo Yanhe distrusted it immediately.
Luo Yanhe : “Dangerous.”
Gu Zhen studied the scroll.
Gu Zhen : “It has not done anything.”
Luo Yanhe : “That is how dangerous objects behave before foolish people touch them.”
Gu Zhen : “It might actually be harmless.”
Luo Yanhe : “That is exactly what a harmless-looking object wants foolish people to believe.”
Gu Zhen looked towards Shen Yan Ting.
Gu Zhen : “Senior Uncle Shen, is that logical?”
Shen Yan Ting : “No.”
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting : “He is still not touching it.”
Gu Zhen appeared pleased by the judgement.
Shen Yan Ting : “Neither are you.”
Luo Yanhe’s hand was already moving towards the compartment.
He stopped.
Shen Yan Ting looked directly at it.
Shen Yan Ting : “Your hand is still moving.”
Chao Lun Hui stared at his own fingers.
He had not decided to reach for the scroll.
The motion had begun with the same quiet certainty Luo Yanhe’s body had shown towards the mountain, the jade and the sealed gates.
It did not feel like another person controlling him.
It felt worse in a quieter way.
It felt natural.
Luo Yanhe withdrew his hand.
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple was examining the distance.”
Shen Yan Ting : “With your fingers.”
Gu Zhen : “They improve the viewing experience.”
Luo Yanhe looked at him.
Luo Yanhe : “Do not support me using your own crimes.”
Before either disciple could touch the scroll, the Luo Clan jade at Luo Yanhe’s waist grew warm.
The hidden compartment responded.
A golden thread rose from the jade and connected with the centre of the scroll.
The paper unfurled by itself, floating above the compartment while the ancient platform hummed beneath it.
Luo Yanhe’s bloodline stirred.
Spiritual energy moved through his meridians without conscious direction.
His breathing adjusted to the formation’s rhythm as though his body had stood before this mechanism before, although Chao Lun Hui possessed no memory of such a place.
A brief ache settled beneath his ribs.
Golden characters formed above the open scroll.
『SECOND KEY AWAKENED 』
The chamber’s light strengthened.
『SECOND KEY: TRUTH STONE 』
The Truth Stone.
Chao Lun Hui remembered the small grey stone recognising both Luo Yanhe and Shen Yan Ting.
He remembered the lonely child holding it in the snow and the grief Luo Yanhe’s body had offered without explanation.
The scroll called it a Key.
It did not say what it opened.
The next message emerged.
『WHEEL OF REINCARNATION 』
Cold recognition passed through Luo Yanhe’s body.
Chao Lun Hui’s breath faltered.
He knew the ordinary meaning of reincarnation.
He had encountered it in novels, films and stories from the modern world, where death could become a convenient doorway into another plot.
His own existence had seemed to follow that logic.
He had believed he died or vanished from one world and awakened inside another man’s life.
Yet the words above the scroll did not feel like a familiar fictional concept.
Luo Yanhe’s spiritual foundation reacted as though the Wheel of Reincarnation was not an idea but an authority.
Chao Lun Hui understood none of it.
Beside him, Shen Yan Ting’s gaze sharpened.
Gu Zhen became very still.
The pause was brief.
His hand tightened once around his spear before his attention returned to the scroll with the alertness of a talented cultivator facing an unknown threat.
The final warning appeared.
『FIND THE THIRD KEY BEFORE THE SEEKER DOES 』
The four messages remained suspended above the platform.
No explanation followed.
The scroll did not identify the First Key.
It did not explain why the Truth Stone was the Second, what the Wheel of Reincarnation controlled or where the Third Key could be found.
It also refused to clarify whether the Seeker was a person, an organisation or an ancient title created by someone who disliked useful names.
Luo Yanhe : “Ancient communication remains committed to providing half a sentence and a complete disaster.”
No one answered.
The golden characters vanished in reverse order.
The scroll dropped gently into the hidden compartment, its paper now completely blank.
Silence returned to the chamber.
Chao Lun Hui looked at the empty surface.
Until now, he had tried to separate Luo Yanhe’s mysteries from his own life.
The Luo Clan belonged to Luo Yanhe.
The bloodline belonged to Luo Yanhe.
The Truth Stone recognised Luo Yanhe.
The ruined mountain had waited for Luo Yanhe.
Chao Lun Hui had only agreed to carry the name and protect what remained until he understood the truth.
That division no longer worked.
His hand had reached for the scroll.
His blood had activated it.
His body had recognised the words before his conscious mind understood them.
Whatever hunted the Keys would not pause to ask whether he remembered twenty-three years under another name.
They would see Luo Yanhe.
Chao Lun Hui could no longer tell whether that frightened him because he was being mistaken for another man or because the name no longer felt entirely separate.
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting was still watching the blank scroll.
Shen Yan Ting : “Hm?”
Luo Yanhe : “What is a Seeker?”
Shen Yan Ting did not pretend certainty.
Shen Yan Ting : “I do not know.”
That answer worried Chao Lun Hui more than silence would have.
Shen Yan Ting often knew enough to choose silence.
This time, his caution contained no hidden explanation.
Gu Zhen leaned towards the compartment, then displayed rare wisdom by keeping his hands behind his back.
Gu Zhen : “Perhaps the Seeker is someone seeking the Keys.”
Luo Yanhe turned towards him.
Luo Yanhe : “That is the definition of seeking.”
Gu Zhen nodded confidently.
Gu Zhen : “Then my theory is strong.”
Luo Yanhe stared.
Luo Yanhe : “Your theory is a dictionary.”
Gu Zhen folded his arms.
Gu Zhen : “Still correct.”
For one unpleasant moment, Chao Lun Hui understood exactly how Shen Yan Ting must feel while speaking with him.
He rejected the sympathy immediately.
Shen Yan Ting knelt beside the compartment.
Rather than touching the paper directly, he lifted it with a thin layer of spiritual energy.
The blank scroll rotated slowly above his palm.
A faint dark thread clung to one edge.
It was nearly invisible, woven into the ancient paper with enough patience to escape ordinary examination.
The foreign energy felt cold and restrained.
It did not resemble the warm bloodline response of the Luo Clan or the clear golden pressure of the inheritance.
Gu Zhen’s hand settled fully around the shaft of his spear.
Gu Zhen : “That was not there before.”
Shen Yan Ting examined the thread.
Shen Yan Ting : “It was concealed.”
Luo Yanhe : “Does it belong to the Luo Clan?”
Shen Yan Ting : “No.”
The foreign energy withdrew under examination but did not attack.
It carried no voice, location or recognisable identity.
It behaved like a mark placed by someone prepared to wait for years.
Shen Yan Ting lowered the scroll into a protective seal.
Shen Yan Ting : “Someone may have been waiting for the Second Key to awaken.”
He presented it as an assessment rather than certainty, but his hand remained close to his sword.
Luo Yanhe looked towards the chamber entrance.
Luo Yanhe : “Master believes they sensed it?”
Shen Yan Ting : “Yes.”
The answer arrived without hesitation.
The Luo ruins had concealed themselves for generations, but the newly awakened warning had connected to something beyond the mountain.
Whether the foreign energy belonged to the Seeker or another observer remained unknown.
Either possibility made the chamber unsafe.
Shen Yan Ting : “We return to Azure Cloud Sect immediately.”
His tone ended every argument before it began.
Gu Zhen adjusted the spear across his back.
The man who had stolen Luo Yanhe’s snacks disappeared beneath the readiness of a trained spear cultivator.
Gu Zhen : “Should we inform the elders outside?”
Shen Yan Ting : “Only that the ruins activated again.
The complete message will be reported to the Sect Master.”
Gu Zhen nodded.
Luo Yanhe glanced towards the blank scroll secured within Shen Yan Ting’s seal.
Luo Yanhe : “What about the Truth Stone?”
Shen Yan Ting : “It remains protected.”
Luo Yanhe : “And the Third Key?”
Shen Yan Ting : “Unknown.”
Gu Zhen looked towards the newly opened corridor.
Gu Zhen : “Then whoever the Seeker is, we must reach the Third Key first.”
Luo Yanhe turned towards him.
Luo Yanhe : “That was surprisingly intelligent.”
Gu Zhen looked proud.
Gu Zhen : “Fourth brain cell.”
Chao Lun Hui closed his eyes.
Gu Zhen’s fourth brain cell had arrived at the worst possible moment.
When he opened them again, Shen Yan Ting and Gu Zhen were both preparing to leave.
One was his master.
The other had called himself his brother.
Those relationships had belonged to Luo Yanhe before Chao Lun Hui ever opened his eyes in this world.
Yet when Chao Lun Hui followed them towards the corridor, he did not feel as though he were walking behind two strangers from someone else’s story.
That realisation followed him out of the inheritance chamber without offering a name for what he was becoming.
The chapter has now been updated to the latest revised version.
I truly appreciate everyone who waited and continued supporting this story while I worked on improving it.
I hope this updated version gives you a smoother and more enjoyable reading experience.
Thank you for staying with me.
Happy reading!