Chương 15: Old Man Gao

Ren wasn't sure what to feel. To be more exact, a part of him felt a flutter of excitement as soon as he took a step into this monument of history. Having grown up with libraries as the only places he could access books, those unassuming little bundles of knowledge and wonder, of course, he couldn't help but feel a quiet awe each time he discovered one. He still remembered his first dive into their fascinating world.

It wasn't something grand, just a two-storied, square building with narrow windows and dusty stairs. And yet, in his eyes back then, it had felt like walking into a palace sculpted from pure white marble. He didn't remember the cracks in the walls or the chipped paint, if there had been any at all. What he remembered was the mysterious whispers of all those dusty books, teasing him for being ignorant and gently calling him forward, guiding him toward a light he would love to embrace.

Maybe that boy just needed time to see what lay beyond their calls, its quiet sorrow of having been left behind by the world. But time was a fickle thing, especially for an orphan, and Ren felt it in his bones every time he visited. I didn't even have time to find books suited for my age, and mostly read those cryptic, adult books just to have a chance to read a few more passages that my little self couldn't make sense of. Simple times… good times even.

My only worry was what I'm gonna eat today and if I can sneak outside to play with the neighborhood's kids. He let out a deep sigh, lifting his head. Hundreds, thousands, perhaps even ten thousand shelves rose skyward in a perfect circle, forming a towering library that seemed to stretch on forever. The only separation between levels was made by thin, transparent layers of rune barriers, and at the very center, a massive staircase spiraled upward— like a passage to the very heavens. Ren could feel it.

Thousands of books filled the air with a silent chorus, as if calling out to him all at once. They desired to feel his fingers caress their hardcovers, to have their pages flutter with the intense focus of a word-hungry bookworm. His touch. Another part of him squirmed with another kind of excitement, the quiet, aching sort— like walking again through the streets of your childhood, now with grown-up eyes. This place was his safe haven.

Safe from the dangers of the outside world, from the endless sparring matches, from the hell-like training. He didn't need to beat other elders' kids or disciples just because they didn't want to accept him. He didn't need to be on tenterhooks, moving with grace and acting elegant. No— in this place, there was only him and the books.

They didn't judge him for his poor manners while he thumbed through them, nor did they berate him for being lazy when he fell asleep on the table, exhausted in every cell of his being—"Senior brother?" Ren jolted, stirring awake as the real world came rushing back in. He turned to see Wenhai shaking his sleeve, and only then realized he stood frozen a few steps ahead of the gate.

"Sorry, kids, it's been a long time since I came around," he chuckled, scratching his head.

"Let's head upwards. You can check out the other sections on your own when you have time." He took wide steps toward the stairs.

"Senior brother…" Wenhai paused for a brief moment before following him, his voice sullen.

"This is the second time you called us this. We are fifteen, and Liuxue is even sixteen, stop calling us kids."

"Surprisingly, I agree with you. Didn't see that coming, pup." Ruolan clicked her tongue. Even Liuxue hummed in affirmation. Wenhai climbed the stairs two or three steps at a time, quickly catching up to Ren.

"My brother had a child at my age, how can we be still mere kids if we can have our family at our age?" A subtle smile tugged at his lips, as though he'd just made a flawless point. Yet all it took to crumble it was a simple, big brother-style knock on the head.

"Your brother is a womanizer," Ren muttered, chuckling.

"He even found a reason to symbolize his endless lust.

'I do… ahem," he paused, mimicking a stern, deadly serious tone: "' I do this for the future of the family, we need strong-willed, brave and charismatic descendants for us to prosper' was it?" Ren knocked on his head again.

"Don't even think about idolizing him in that aspect. How many wives did he have the last time I visited? Thirty? Forty? I'd bet good money he can't even name half of them." Wenhai held his head with both hands, pouting while Ruolan smirked.

"No wonder he had bull-roots. Hey, pup, don't forget to introduce me to him. Got a few herbs that might catch his eye."

"Of course, I'm already planning to invite him as soon— ah!"

"What?! Why did I get hit, too?" Ren stopped abruptly, his evil hands thumping both troublemakers' heads with extra force, hopefully enough to knock some sense into them.

"First, don't shout. We're in a library." He pointed at a few unkind glances, then put his finger to his lips. Fortunately, today wasn't that crowded, and seeing him, they didn't create a problem.

"Second, this is for you, Weed Witch; you won't give him anything. Don't even try. Copy?" He glared at them.

"Liuxue, help! We need to band together and help my brother," Wenhai turned to her as a seemingly desperate attempt. She glanced at him briefly.

"No."

"Hey, I thought you were on my side, aren't we a team?" Ren shot a grateful look at Liuxue. At least I've got one normal disciple… smelling like death, but still— Before this thought even finished, Liuxue continued with her deadpan expression.

"He needs to be neutered, not encouraged." Fuck me! … They soon arrived at the sixth section, a glaring crimson barrier barring their entry. Ren brought out his token, and it soon dissolved into light particles.

"Welcome to Section Six," he said, showing them three floors' worth of books.

"You can find almost anything here. Heaven-grade foundational techniques, peak combat techniques, ancient alchemy recipes, and even historical records. It's truly an all-you-can-eat buffet." Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Unlike their previous lackluster reaction, their eyes now gleamed with genuine excitement. Wenhai raised both fists in excitement.

"Heaven-grade techniques? And this much? Our family has only three!"

"Eight hundred sixty-five of them, to be exact," Ren couldn't help but smile with genuine pride.

"See? I didn't exaggerate by saying an infinite wealth of knowledge. Now, Wenhai, you can find dual-natured techniques in the C segment, labeled D-N shelves. And Ruolan… hmm, it should be M segment, and for label…" he rubbed his chin.

"Nonphysical-absorption, N-O shelves. Check them out yourselves. Remember, this path is—"Yours and yours only, we know, senior brother." Wenhai smiled cheekily.

"Don't worry, I'll definitely pick out the nastiest, most badass technique in this place." Ren shook his head while chuckling, then pushed them slightly forward. But Ruolan stopped after a few steps, suspicion flaring in her gaze.

"I have a question, if you don't mind, senior brother," she said, swirling her straw with her tongue. The weird thing? The straw still looked fresh even though she was chewing on it constantly.

"You're aware of every tiniest detail of spiritual roots that you can distinguish my Evergreen Miasma Roots from Verdant Mist Roots, even though I tried to hide, and to be honest, even the elder, a master of root research, who tested us, didn't realize it. You also know how to distinguish a death-tinged root, something that should be extremely rare in this part of the continent. What… are you exactly? Why do you know so much?" Ren froze mid-turn, his posture stiffening. Right, why do I know so much?

He couldn't help but ask himself. Of course, he wasn't talking about the memories. His soul brother was a walking library. That wasn't the surprise. But… himself? Did I start absorbing and integrating his memories because I thought I needed to know more? To teach them? But when…

"Of course, he knows so much, he's the freaking Eldest Brother, Ruolan!" Wenhai chimed in, probably because Ren remained silent.

"You think he is the only 'Eldest' I met?" Ruolan rolled her eyes and glared at him.

"Don't forget that Jadeleaf Sanctum supplies herbs to a lot of sects, and I met their core disciples, eldest disciples, and even some Thronebonded princes. Let's talk about Azure Sky Sect's eldest sister. Is she strong? Heck yes, her strength is suffocating. But her knowledge? No different than a newborn calf. She doesn't know anything other than fighting, maybe dipped a little in commanding. But he? Do you really think distinguishing roots is easy?

Or are you underestimating a position only the oldest elders take?"

"The elder said my roots seemed to have a sinister air, but he couldn't pinpoint what exactly it was." Liuxue nodded her head mechanically.

"He also said there's someone in the sect who can understand it with just one look… but it's nearly impossible for him to spare that time."

"It must be our dearest senior brother," Ruolan said, taking a deep breath and turning to Ren again.

"If it were just knowing about spiritual roots, I would say you had a special interest in them and get over with it, but no. You know which techniques we need down to the section and even the label. It shouldn't be possible considering your age. You're just nine years older than us. Unless… the Supreme Judgment Sect lied to the entire world and you are actually an old monster wearing a young man's skin, right?" With every word, her gaze shimmered intensely with… curiosity.

An endless hunger to know more, and even daring to play with fire, despite his obvious questions about the memory part, Ren let out a small laugh as he shook his head. She even guessed a part of the truth, though reincarnation isn't so easy to catch on. Sorry, brat, you are unlucky to meet with an enigma like me.

"And I even thought Wenhai was the daring one. Seems like I was wrong," he said, turning around fully. He reached to pat her head gently, and though she glared fiercely, she didn't resist.

"But you've also got it wrong. You'll understand your mistake if you ever meet with an old monster." Like the ancestor. I still can't understand what his motives are or what he truly thinks.

"You aren't answering my question?"

"Because there's no need." Ren pulled her head, shaking slightly as if to rattle her hyperactive brain.

"Because you won't believe any answer until you dig through all my so-called secrets. So, little miss, don't ask questions when you know the answers won't satisfy you. Now, what do you say?" She nodded begrudgingly, pushing his hand at the same time.

"Fine, fine, you can go. Pfft, you're no fun, senior brother." She clicked her tongue and dragged anxious Wenhai to start their search. Ren couldn't help but snicker. Finding such a rough gem, I think I can finally understand what Master felt. This is gonna be interesting. But before that, there's something more important. He glanced at the last hurdle in the form of an iceberg.

"Let's go up, we can't find what you need here." Liuxue calmly followed behind him, but her lips started to twitch when they passed through the seventh section and went directly toward the eighth section.

"S-Senior brother?" she asked. Ren remained silent, just picking up the pace. Because someone was standing right in front of the black rune barrier. A frail, tall old man clad in pure white robes.

"Master Gao," he said, clasping his hands as soon as he reached in front of the elder. A flicker of conflict passed through his eyes before he bowed his head.

"Young Ren," Master Gao said as his ice blue eyes settled on Ren, his stern gaze as if piercing through his skull. There was a heaviness to them.

"Seems like you brought a guest with you. This old man wonders who this fine lady is. Did you finally take a step back and accept a direct disciple?"

"No," Ren answered. Although he agreed to teach them, he never considered taking any of them as a direct disciple. This was just a way of repaying, not less, not more.

"We can say I'm temporarily teaching them to get them ready." He didn't say for what, but the flickering glimmer in the old man's eyes told him he already knew the answer.

"Then why are you here?" Master Gao uttered, glancing again at Liuxue.

"She can make do with the sixth section, and if you really want her to be ahead of her peers, then section seven should more than suffice." Ren pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He knew they wouldn't like the idea. But that's the gist of it. Let's see how much prestige I still have. A glance at Liuxue showed she remained calm, yet her lowered head told him all he needed to know.

"She has death-tinged roots," Ren began, his voice heavy.

"Also a viper kind. Extremely useful if we help her tame it, learn to control it, and unleash that death upon her enemies. That's why I'm planning to give her the Frostveil Requiem Method. There might be no better candidate than her in this batch, and no better match for that dust-collecting technique for years."

"Surely she is, if she is truly unaffected by death," Master Gao said, scowling at the mention of Frostveil Requiem Method.

"She might be useful, I can agree with that, but she also might be an unnecessary trouble for the sect. Death isn't a principle to underestimate or joke about, young Ren. We can't entrust such a dangerous technique to a new recruit, especially if she isn't your direct disciple."

"She will take the oath." Ren shook his head.

"And I'll personally watch her until she gains enough control over it. I won't let her pose a danger. You know that changes things." Master Gao nodded at those words, his eyes deep in thought. That was a good sign. Maybe it will be easy to—"Have you recovered your power?" He stumbled over the question. Of course… of course it all comes back to this. I should've seen it coming. Ren couldn't help but feel disappointment spreading through his being.

He didn't expect even this old man, who was like a half-master to his soul brother, to care about this. Just like the ones who cut his resources short. Power… the reality of this world. Gritting his teeth, he opened his mouth, but Master Gao's hand clasped on his shoulder, his gaze already softened.

"Make sure you don't stop making time for yourself," he said, a fatherly smile spreading across his wrinkle-covered face.

"Your power is the only foundation you can always rely on. Also, take this." He slipped a spatial ring into his hand before Ren had the chance to refuse.

"O-old man?" Ren couldn't stop the tremble in his voice, staring at the ring in his hand.

"I heard those old farts dared to cut your resources. Don't refuse, since you have disciples to think about now. Your old set of clothes is in it, too. I hadn't thrown them, thinking they might come in handy. Looks like I was right, hehe." Master Gao patted his shoulder twice, winked an eye, then stepped aside for him to enter Section Eight. Ren felt like a lump stuck in his throat, words refusing to form.

He just stared at this old man who had one foot in the tomb, only now noticing Master Gao had more wrinkles compared to his memories. In the end, only one word escaped his mouth.

"Why?"

"If even I don't support you, who will?" The old man just shrugged, reaching out to mess with his hair— just like he always did whenever that troublemaker boy came crashing into the library after causing a mess, hiding behind his frail but mountain-like back.

"Welcome back to your home, child."