Luo Yanhe had a problem.
Actually, that was inaccurate.
Luo Yanhe had many problems.
The current one simply happened to be larger than usual.
Someone had left the symbol of the extinct Luo Clan on his window.
This was concerning because extinct clans were generally expected to remain extinct.
That was the entire point of extinction.
Yet here he was, standing in his room at midnight, staring at the symbol carved neatly into the wooden frame.
Luo Yanhe : “Wonderful.”
He sighed.
Luo Yanhe : “I have been here for less than a month.”
The symbol remained silent.
Luo Yanhe : “I am already being haunted by ancient family problems.”
Unfortunately, the mark refused to explain itself.
Rude.
Extremely rude.
It consisted of two crossing lines enclosed by a broken circle, simple enough to overlook unless one knew what it represented.
Luo Yanhe recognised it from the original novel, though the book had mentioned the Luo Clan only in fragments.
An ancient cultivation family.
A vanished bloodline.
A name usually followed by words such as forbidden, destroyed or unfortunate.
The novel had never explained why.
Luo Yanhe touched the mark.
The wood beneath his fingers felt faintly warm, but no hidden message appeared.
Luo Yanhe : “You could at least provide directions.”
The symbol continued its campaign of unhelpfulness.
Naturally, Luo Yanhe decided to investigate.
Ignoring mysterious clues had never worked for anyone in a novel.
A character would dismiss an ominous symbol, decide it was probably nothing and go back to sleep.
Three chapters later, everyone would be dead.
Luo Yanhe preferred avoiding that outcome.
So he entered the forbidden library.
Again.
The elder guarding the entrance was absent, which was fortunate.
The last time Luo Yanhe had entered a restricted archive, he had awakened the Truth Stone and caused several senior cultivators to reconsider their career choices.
The elders still discussed that incident.
Mostly in horrified tones.
A junior guard near the outer corridor recognised Luo Yanhe and immediately glanced towards the alarm formation.
Luo Yanhe offered him a polite nod and continued walking before the young man could decide whether politeness made the situation better or significantly worse.
The library was silent.
Rows of ancient records extended into the darkness, divided by dynasty, sect and bloodline.
Luo Yanhe walked carefully.
Then less carefully.
Then he found the section marked Lost Clans and completely forgot to be careful.
Luo Yanhe : “Luo Clan.”
He removed one scroll, then another.
The first contained a list of trade agreements, but every reference to the Luo Clan ended halfway through a sentence.
The second recorded a territorial dispute and skipped directly from the thirty-seventh year to the forty-second.
The catalogue marked four related documents between them.
None remained on the shelves.
Luo Yanhe checked the reference numbers.
Seven hundred and twelve.
Seven hundred and thirteen.
Seven hundred and eighteen.
The missing numbers were not random.
He searched faster..
Nothing useful.
No complete family history.
No surviving names beyond minor officials.
No explanation of the clan’s disappearance.
Even records written by other sects had been damaged precisely where the Luo Clan should have appeared.
Natural loss left stains, missing pages and contradictions.
This looked organised.
Someone had not merely destroyed the clan.
Someone had returned afterwards and removed the evidence that it had ever mattered.
Luo Yanhe’s grip tightened around the scroll.
The Luo Clan belonged to the original Luo Yanhe.
Chao Lun Hui had never met these people and had no right to treat their suffering as his own.
That did not stop the anger rising in his chest.
Shen Yan Ting : “Luo Yanhe.”
Luo Yanhe nearly dropped three scrolls.
He turned slowly.
Shen Yan Ting stood behind him.
Of course he did.
At this point, Luo Yanhe suspected his master possessed a secret cultivation technique called The Art of Appearing at the Worst Possible Moment.
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Disciple.”
A brief silence passed between them.
Luo Yanhe : “How long has Master been standing there?”
Shen Yan Ting : “Long enough.”
Luo Yanhe sighed.
That was never a good answer.
Shen Yan Ting looked at the scrolls surrounding him, then at Luo Yanhe, then back at the scrolls.
Shen Yan Ting : “You entered the forbidden library.”
Luo Yanhe : “Yes.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Without permission.”
Luo Yanhe : “Yes.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Again.”
Luo Yanhe chose silence.
Shen Yan Ting : “Again.”
Luo Yanhe coughed.
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple feels that Master is focusing on unnecessary details.”
Shen Yan Ting : “The crime is the detail.”
Luo Yanhe : “No.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Yes.”
Luo Yanhe : “No.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Yes.”
Luo Yanhe stared at him, then pointed accusingly.
Luo Yanhe : “Master copied my argument style.”
Shen Yan Ting remained silent for a moment.
Shen Yan Ting : “Effective arguments should be reused.”
Luo Yanhe froze.
That was his line.
His own argument had been taken, sharpened and returned to him without mercy.
The betrayal was impressive.
The injustice was immeasurable.
The emotional damage would require several minutes to recover from.
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting : “What?”
Luo Yanhe : “You are becoming dangerous.”
Shen Yan Ting : “I was always dangerous.”
Luo Yanhe : “Not like this.”
Shen Yan Ting raised an eyebrow.
Shen Yan Ting : “Explain.”
Luo Yanhe : “You have learnt sarcasm.”
Shen Yan Ting said nothing.
Luo Yanhe : “That is how it begins.”
Shen Yan Ting continued to watch him.
Luo Yanhe : “Next, Master will start making jokes.”
Shen Yan Ting : “I do not make jokes.”
Luo Yanhe : “Exactly.”
Shen Yan Ting : “That is normal.”
Luo Yanhe : “No.”
He pointed more firmly.
Luo Yanhe : “That is what makes it terrifying.”
To Luo Yanhe’s disappointment, Shen Yan Ting refused to look guilty.
Instead, he picked up one of the open scrolls.
His attention settled upon the damaged catalogue marks, and the faint amusement left his face.
Shen Yan Ting : “The Luo Clan.”
Luo Yanhe noticed the change at once.
Luo Yanhe : “Master knows something?”
Shen Yan Ting : “No.”
The answer came quickly.
Luo Yanhe narrowed his eyes, but Shen Yan Ting did not resemble someone guarding a complete secret.
His gaze moved across the missing entries twice, as if checking whether the gaps formed a pattern he should recognise.
He looked genuinely uncertain.
That was worse.
Luo Yanhe : “The records have been altered.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Yes.”
Luo Yanhe indicated the catalogue.
Luo Yanhe : “The dates skip only when the Luo Clan appears.
Related documents are missing, but the surrounding records remain untouched.”
Shen Yan Ting opened another scroll.
A section had been cut cleanly from the centre without damaging the binding.
Shen Yan Ting : “Deliberate removal.”
Luo Yanhe : “Someone erased an entire clan from history.”
Shen Yan Ting : “They attempted to.”
Luo Yanhe looked at him.
The Truth Stone had recognised them both.
Shen Yan Ting’s body had protected him before thought.
Now they stood before evidence of a history connected to Luo Yanhe’s name, and neither of them understood why it felt familiar.
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Hm?”
Luo Yanhe : “If I disappear mysteriously one day…”
Shen Yan Ting : “You will not.”
Luo Yanhe blinked.
Luo Yanhe : “I had not finished.”
Shen Yan Ting : “You will not.”
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting : “What?”
Luo Yanhe : “Please stop interrupting dramatic speeches.”
Shen Yan Ting : “They waste time.”
Luo Yanhe : “They build atmosphere.”
Shen Yan Ting : “No.”
Luo Yanhe : “Yes.”
Shen Yan Ting : “No.”
Luo Yanhe : “Master.”
Shen Yan Ting : “What?”
Luo Yanhe : “Do you enjoy ruining my moments?”
Shen Yan Ting considered the question.
Shen Yan Ting : “Sometimes.”
Luo Yanhe stared at him.
The honesty was shameless.
Before he could prepare a suitable response, Shen Yan Ting gathered the open scrolls and returned them to the shelf.
Shen Yan Ting : “You are leaving.”
Luo Yanhe : “This disciple has only begun investigating.”
Shen Yan Ting : “You entered without permission.”
Luo Yanhe : “Master has returned to unnecessary details.”
Shen Yan Ting : “The crime remains the detail.”
Luo Yanhe : “Using the same argument twice is excessive.”
Shen Yan Ting : “Effective arguments should be reused.”
Luo Yanhe decided he regretted teaching his master anything.
Shen Yan Ting escorted him from the library personally.
A terrible abuse of authority, in Luo Yanhe’s opinion.
Later that night, Luo Yanhe returned to his room and discovered that the library had not finished causing trouble.
A thin fragment of parchment had become caught inside the fold of his sleeve.
It must have slipped from one of the damaged scrolls while Shen Yan Ting was removing him from the archive with unnecessary efficiency.
The parchment was old enough to crumble beneath careless fingers.
Most of the writing had faded, leaving only one complete sentence.
Luo Yanhe held it beneath the lamp.
Luo Yanhe : “When the forgotten name is called again, what was taken from history will return.”
The humour drained from the room.
The sentence said nothing about what had been taken, who had removed it or what returning might mean.
Yet the wording settled heavily inside him.
The forgotten name.
Was that the Luo Clan?
Luo Yanhe?
Or someone else buried within the missing records?
Movement flickered beyond the window.
Luo Yanhe reached for his sword and crossed the room in a single step.
He pushed the window open, but the figure had already reached the courtyard wall.
Luo Yanhe : “Stop!”
The shadow vanished over the roofline, moving far too quickly for an ordinary cultivator.
Luo Yanhe searched the courtyard.
No spiritual trace remained.
Only another Luo Clan symbol had been carved into the wood beneath his window.
The same broken circle.
The same crossing lines.
This time, a narrow mark extended north.
A direction.
Someone wanted him to follow.
Perhaps they wanted him to investigate.
Perhaps they wanted him to remember something Chao Lun Hui had never lived.
Luo Yanhe studied the symbol until the lamp behind him began to dim.
Someone out there knew Luo Yanhe.
Or believed they did.
At present, Chao Lun Hui was no longer certain which possibility frightened him more.
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!