The excruciating pain of being torn apart deep within Su Ming’s soul was slowly fading, transforming into a bone-deep ache and exhaustion. He lay sprawled on the ground like a fish thrown ashore, without even the strength to lift a finger.

“Master…”

He called out weakly in his heart, but the only response was the ring’s icy coldness and dead silence.

Master had fallen into a deep slumber.

This thought instantly seized his heart with a wave of immense panic.

He turned his head and saw Zhao Rui lying unconscious not far away, limp as a pile of mud.

Can’t stay here!

This thought lashed at his weary nerves like a whip.

“Zhao Rui! Wake up!” Su Ming crawled over using both hands and feet, pushing and shaking him with all his might.

Zhao Rui’s body was soft and limp, showing no reaction.

“Wake up!” Su Ming grew anxious and, not caring about anything else, raised his hand and gave Zhao Rui a resounding slap.

“Smack!”

The crisp sound was particularly piercing in the silent woods.

“Ugh…” Zhao Rui let out a pained groan, his eyelids fluttering a few times before he finally slowly regained consciousness.

His gaze was dazed, staring blankly at the night sky for a long while before finally focusing on Su Ming’s anxious face.

“Su… Su Ming?” His voice was dry and hoarse, “I… what happened to me? My head hurts so much…”

The tide of memories suddenly flooded in.

The dilapidated temple, the twisted beauty lantern, and that indescribable, terrifying black shadow that came rushing at them!

“Ghost! There’s a ghost!” Zhao Rui abruptly sat up, letting out a shrill scream, scrambling backward on his hands and feet, all color draining from his face.

“Shut up!” Su Ming roared in a low voice, carrying an authority he himself hadn’t realized he possessed, “Do you want to attract something else? Get up, we need to leave here right now!”

Zhao Rui was stunned by his shout. Seeing Su Ming’s equally pale but exceptionally determined face, that hysterical fear was forcibly suppressed a bit, leaving only uncontrollable trembling.

Su Ming struggled to stand up, his calves trembling. He grabbed the still-shaking Zhao Rui, dragged him, and stumbled desperately along the path they came from.

He didn’t dare look back, always feeling that in the darkness of that ruined temple, countless eyes were still watching their backs.

The cloth bag on his back swung constantly as he ran, the contents inside colliding with each other. He heard something fall to the ground, but he couldn’t care less.

The two of them scrambled and stumbled, falling who knows how many times, until they completely ran out of the woods and saw the vague outline of the village in the distance. Only then did they both collapse from exhaustion, plopping down into the grass by the roadside, gasping for breath.

The relief of surviving a disaster, mixed with boundless exhaustion, swept over their entire bodies.

Early the next morning, when the first ray of sunlight shone on his face, Su Ming finally woke up.

He and Zhao Rui, covered in mud and dew, looked like two little beggars.

Supporting each other, they limped back to the village.

“Isn’t that the Su family’s third boy and the Village Chief’s kid?”

Widow Li, washing clothes at the village entrance, sharp-eyed, was the first to spot them. Her voice immediately rose, “Oh my heavens, you two, did you fall into some ravine? How did you end up in such a state!”

That shout was like lighting a fuse.

Soon, Mrs. Chen rushed out from home, checking for any injuries. Su Shan followed closely behind, his face ashen, lips tightly pursed, still clutching the newly bought tobacco pipe in his hand, but the deep worry in his eyes couldn’t be hidden.

Eldest Brother Su Feng and his wife Wang Chuntao, Second Brother Su Yang, also gathered around.

Zhao Rui was also taken away by his family who had heard the news. His father’s face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot when he saw his son in that state.

Inside the Su family’s main hall, the atmosphere was oppressive.

Mrs. Chen was still wiping tears, while Su Shan sat silently in the main seat, smoking his pipe one puff after another. Smoke swirled, obscuring his expression.

“Speak! What on earth happened!” Su Shan finally spoke, his voice seeming to rumble from his chest.

Su Ming hung his head, not knowing how to explain.

Say they encountered a ghost, and then an old grandpa residing in a ring saved them?

If he said that, his parents would surely think he’d lost his mind.

“We… we came back from town late, wanted to take a shortcut back, and got lost… in the woods.” Su Ming spoke vaguely, “Then it got dark, it seemed like… we were chased by wild dogs, got scared and ran around, accidentally fell down a small slope…”

This explanation was full of holes, but at the moment, it was the only excuse he could think of.

At this point, Su Ming remembered something and hurriedly began carefully taking things out of that tattered cloth bag. He first took out the crushed and misshapen oil paper package and handed it to his mother and sister-in-law, his face somewhat embarrassed, “Mother, sister-in-law, these are… the date paste cakes I bought for you… wanted to give you something sweet, but now they’re all… And here’s the blue homespun cloth.”

Mrs. Chen took the misshapen pastries. Looking at her son’s guilty expression, her eyes reddened again, but she forced a smile, “Silly child, why buy these… Mother knows you have a good heart. These cakes… still smell fragrant!”

Next, Su Ming took out the small cloth bag containing the tobacco shreds and handed it to his father. The edges of the bag were also smudged with some mud.

“Father, the tobacco shreds I bought for you… the stall owner said it was the best…” His voice grew smaller and smaller.

Su Shan took the small cloth bag. His rough fingers rubbed the bag’s fine texture and the mud stains, remaining silent for quite a while. He untied the string at the bag’s opening, lowered his head, and took a deep sniff. The rich, mellow aroma of tobacco instantly dispelled the last trace of severity between his brows.

He didn’t speak, just knocked the tobacco pipe bowl against the sole of his shoe, then carefully pinched a bit of the golden tobacco shreds, filled the pipe, lit it, and took a deep drag. Amidst the swirling smoke, he vaguely grunted “Hmm,” but the slight upward curve of his lips was seen by everyone.

Finally, Su Ming solemnly picked up the heavy, thickly cloth-wrapped bluestone whetstone and handed it to Second Brother Su Yang.

“Second Brother, this is for you. I saw your firewood knife is old. This… sharpens quickly.”

Su Yang took the heavy stone. It felt cool and solid in his hand. He lifted the thick cloth and saw the bluish-gray, fine-textured stone surface. His eyes immediately lit up. He was a practical person, not one for fancy words. He just kept rubbing the stone’s surface, nodding heavily, “Good stone! Third Brother, good! This is good!” Joy overflowed from his expression.

Su Ming’s heart sank. That two jin of pork belly was probably lost during the escape.

“Eldest Brother, the meat I bought for you is lost. I…”

“It’s fine!” Eldest Brother Su Feng interrupted him with a frown, “It’s good that you’re safe. If things are lost, they’re lost.”

Mrs. Chen looked at the dirty cloth, complaining with her mouth about “wasting money,” but her eyes reddened again.

A storm finally slowly subsided amidst the family’s complex emotions of heartache and relief.

Life seemed to return to its original track.

Su Ming continued reading, practicing calligraphy, meditating, and “body tempering” every day, occasionally helping with household chores.

But only he himself knew that his world had already been turned upside down.

Every day, he would call out dozens, even hundreds of times in his heart.

“Master?”

“Master, are you awake?”

“Master, are you alright?”

The ring showed no reaction.

That ancient ring just sat quietly on his finger, cold to the touch, like an utterly ordinary, lifeless object.

One day, two days…

One week, two weeks…

Time passed bit by bit. Panic and anxiety gradually gave way to an even more terrifying emotion—doubt.

Could it be… that everything that night was just an illusion?

Had he, in extreme fear and exhaustion, imagined an all-powerful master to save himself?

That heart-wrenching pain might have just been from the impact of falling down the slope?

Once this thought arose, it grew wildly in his heart like vines.

He began to scrutinize everything he had experienced.

“Reading isn’t just for exams”—was that his own sudden realization?

“Human relationships and worldly wisdom are the strongest armor”—was that also something he came up with?

Going to buy those gifts, haggling with the shop owner woman—were they all just subconscious actions on his part?

The more he thought about it, the more absurd it seemed. The more he thought, the more panicked he felt.

If Master was fake, then everything he had done during this time was nothing but a joke, right? A clown talking to himself?

He stroked the ring, feeling not hope, but a heavy sense of mockery.

A month passed.

Su Ming was almost in despair.

He no longer called out every day, only occasionally asking out of habit in the quiet of the night, then falling asleep with a heavy sense of loss.

He poured more energy into studying, as if only this could fill the emptiness in his heart, keep him from thinking about that master who might not even exist.

This night, a light drizzle fell outside the window.

Su Ming, under the dim oil lamp, was troubled by the annotation of an obscure character. He had searched through all the books at hand but couldn’t figure it out. A wave of irritation surged in him.

He slammed the book shut with a “thump,” rubbing his temples in frustration.

His gaze involuntarily fell on the ring on his finger again.

Suddenly, a wave of sudden dizziness hit him, making his vision go dark, almost causing him to collapse.

Immediately after, a voice so faint it was almost inaudible, yet utterly familiar, sounded deep in his mind.

“Burp…” A satisfied, drawn-out belch.

Su Ming’s entire body froze instantly.

He even thought he was hallucinating.

Lin Yu: “Holy crap… slept like the dead… This nap, feels like my soul body gained a whole layer of fat. No, image, gotta maintain the image of a lofty master… Where’s my cheap disciple?”

A slightly ethereal but still trying-to-sound-profound voice slowly rang out:

“Disciple… your master… is fine now.”

Su Ming’s body trembled violently.

He abruptly extended his left hand, staring fixedly at the ring.

The cold ring now emitted a faint, almost imperceptible warmth, like a heart that had been still for a long time, beginning a weak beat again.

Not an illusion!

It was real!

Master was real!

Over a month of fear, self-doubt, disappointment, and despair all transformed into a scalding torrent at this moment, washing away all his pretense.

The young man’s eyes immediately reddened.

His voice trembling, choked with tears, he shouted ecstatically in his heart:

“Master! You… you’re finally awake!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep