The sky was clad in a cloak of darkness, while the early rays of the rising Sun peeked through the darkness. The unstoppable hue cut through the surrounding darkness like a golden blade cutting through a leaf.
Atop a small hill on Qing Mao Mountain, a lone young man clad in dark robes slowly walked down the steps.
The morning fog sent a faint chill through the bones as mortals roused themselves and began working. The clamor of the village slowly awakened with the coming morning.
"Ah, Yi Yun. I was just about to come looking for you." A middle-aged man with a greying beard said with a kind and gentle smile. He had a fond gaze as he looked at the smaller figure before him. He seemed to look older than his actual age.
Yi Yun's eyes widened as he hesitated slightly before bowing toward the Gu Yue Clan Head- Gu Yue Bo.
"Lord Clan Head, I apologize for making you wait for such a long time," he said sincerely.
"It's not an issue. You are here now," the Clan Head chuckled lightly as he smiled gently.
Yi Yun straightened up as he hesitated again. He seemed extremely nervous and slightly afraid, as if he had done something wrong. His lips parted as he swallowed nervously, but no sound came out.
All this was clear as day to the discerning and experienced eyes of the Clan Head. Not just him; even a run-of-the-mill random Rank 2 with a bit of life experience would be easily able to see all this.
Even a blind man could sense that something was amiss, and Yi Yun was nervous.
Despite all this, the Clan Head ignored the slightly shaky and obviously nervous figure, his eyes lingering on the young Gu Master's face.
"Yi Yun. What happened?" A voice, slightly tinged with firmness, rang in Yi Yun's ears.
Upon hearing the tone, Yi Yun's figure visibly stiffened as he let out a nervous breath and replied with a guilty expression, "That's the thing, Lord Clan Head. Nothing happened."
At this, the Clan Head's smile froze for but an instant. His gaze became more assessing as he looked at the little Academy Student before him.
Yi Yun continued with the same guilt-ridden manner, with slight confusion, "I knelt before the Lord Clan Founder's grave… I paid my respects…"
He began in an unsure tone as he remembered all that had happened last night, "But nothing happened, Lord Clan Head!"
"I knelt the entire night, but nothing happened! I did not even sense the activation of any Gu Worm!" he exclaimed in a slightly agitated tone.
Then, as if catching his slipping tone of voice, his eyes widened as he bit his tongue. He began again, this time in a comparatively tame voice.
"Have… I made a mistake somehow?" a small and meek voice came out.
Yet all of this fell on deaf ears. Gu Yue Bo was a Rank 4 Gu Master and the current Clan Head of the Gu Yue Clan. He was not just one of the four Rank 4 Gu Masters of Qing Mao Mountain, but also the strongest Gu Master and the supreme authority of the Gu Yue Clan.
Currently, he wasn't paying any attention to this Rank 1 initial stage Gu Master. He seemed deep in thought as his hand stroked through his beard subconsciously. He wasn't even looking at Yi Yun; his gaze was fixed far toward the Blood Pond Graveyard, as if distance and space were meaningless and he was looking directly at the grave of the Gu Yue Clan Founder himself.
Yi Yun took a nervous gulp of air, the reality of the situation sinking in deeper as the Rank 4 Gu Master before him seemed to be pondering seriously.
"Did you kneel in front of the correct grave?"
"Yes, Lord Clan Head!" Yi Yun instantly replied as he recited the position of the grave that the Clan Head had given him before.
Gu Yue Bo nodded slightly at this, once more in deep thought.
"What exactly did you say and do? Tell me in detail," he asked, subtly putting pressure on the young Gu Master before him with his gaze.
Yi Yun gulped as he instantly felt guilty. He opened his mouth and gave an honest recount of what had happened.
Gu Yue Bo listened intently and patiently. He asked not a single question. If not for the slight tilt of his head, Yi Yun would think he wasn't listening at all.
"I see…" The Clan Head nodded as Yi Yun finished and was slightly out of breath.
"So to summarize, you climbed up toward the graveyard. Then you went to find the Lord Clan Founder's grave. After that, you knelt in front of the grave and paid your respects by declaring your fidelity. Is that right?"
Yi Yun nodded like a chicken pecking at grains, "Yes! Yes, Lord Clan Head!"
"That is exactly what happened."
The Clan Head was silent for a moment. He moved his gaze from Yi Yun and once again stared at the Blood Pond Graveyard. A faint twinkle appeared in his eye, unbeknownst to Yi Yun. He remained silent for a while.
The silence was suffocating for Yi Yun, who felt that the silence had materialized and was choking him by the neck. There was no noose visible, but he felt his throat constrict and his breathing become difficult.
With a slight smile, the Rank 4 Gu Master turned to face Yi Yun.
Yi Yun felt slight relief as he looked at the Gu Master, and a smile slowly began to grow on his face.
"The explanation of your actions was pretty apt. It explains a lot of things, especially the part explaining the wound on your left forearm."
The Clan Head's gaze drifted slightly toward the hidden bandage, then bore into his eyes again as if staring into his soul.
Yi Yun felt cold sweat on his back as his slowly creeping smile stagnated into an expression of terror. He had never mentioned the bandaged hand, nor had he even acted differently to make sure attention wasn't drawn to it.
"Well?" Gu Yue Bo asked, "Is it perhaps you forgot something or misremembered?"
Yi Yun directly prostrated on the ground.
"THIS FOOLISH ONE SINCERELY APOLOGISES!"
Gu Yue Bo simply sighed.
"Get up from there."
"And quiet down while you are at it," the commanding voice continued.
Yi Yun shivered more intensely, and his perspiration level shot through the roof. The terror in his heart was increasing now.
"Clan Head, I am unworthy of such grace!" he exclaimed in a more subdued voice.
He felt that if he got up now, he might never be able to get up again. He remained firmly prostrated. Fear cloaked his mind while sweat drenched his body.
The Clan Head merely replied with, "Oh? So after lying to your Clan Head, you are now disobeying him?"
Yi Yun instantly stiffened.
The Clan Head continued in the same calm tone, "Get up, Academy Student Yi Yun."
At the address of 'Academy Student', Yi Yun regained some confidence as he slowly rose. Midway, he discreetly glanced up at the Clan Head's face for any clues that could help him. He found no such clue.
The Clan Head appeared as impassive and amicable as usual. Even his brows were no longer furrowed.
Yi Yun's shoulders remained hunched, and he still appeared slightly servile and bowed. His expression was one of guilt and regret. He opened his mouth and began,
"Clan Head, I-"
"Stop," a firm voice commanded.
Yi Yun instantly sealed his lips, his voice dying in his throat.
"First, answer this question- 'Did anyone ask you to lie to me?'" the Clan Head spoke, looking down at Yi Yun assessingly.
"No, Lord Clan Head! No one commanded me to do such a thing," Yi Yun obediently answered, then he instantly began speaking.
"And not everything I said was a lie, Lord Clan Head!"
"It's true that I went up to the Blood Pond Graveyard. And it's also true that I knelt and paid my respects to Lord Clan Founder."
"It's just that… I…" Yi Yun began nervously as the Clan Head's gaze bore into him.
"I lied about kneeling in front of the grave for a long time!"
"I got bored and left!" His cheeks flushed with shame.
"Some time after midnight, I wandered around the forest for a while. Then I came across an ordinary monkey and was bitten by the beast!" His face was red with shame.
After all, to be bitten by an ordinary beast as a Gu Master, and by a monkey no less, was humiliating. Monkeys were generally indifferent to humans after all. If Yi Yun were a mortal hunter, then maybe even fellow hunters might begin calling him- 'Monkey King' or 'Monkey Kissed'. To make things worse, this wasn't a lie but actually the truth.
Yi Yun then flicked his sleeve, showing the iron sheen of a small blade.
"Thankfully, I carry this for self-defense, hence I was able to stab the beast and escape with no further injuries."
The Clan Head remained silent upon this revelation.
He coughed twice lightly.
The spreading redness on Yi Yun's face grew.
His voice turned shaky and weak, "After that… 'incident', I went back to Lord Clan Founder's grave and obediently knelt."
"I see," the Clan Head said in response, as if he had finished digesting his words.
The Clan Head once again fell deep in thought as he stayed silent.
Yi Yun, as if remembering something, hurriedly spoke again, "I also carry some bandages around for emergencies!"
The Clan Head, jolted out of his musing, looked at the smaller figure and replied with, "Well done. That is a… good habit."
Then the Clan Head beckoned Yi Yun toward himself, "Come over here for a minute."
Yi Yun obediently came over as the Clan Head placed a hand over his abdomen to check for the baby's kick.
The Clan Head's eyes widened slightly as he confirmed his doubts. "No wonder…" the Clan Head said, his eyes narrowing.
Yi Yun remained silent and obedient, more like a mortal servant than a mighty Gu Master.
After a while, as the clamor in the village increased, the Clan Head turned to Yi Yun as if just then remembering he was there and smiled gently at him.
Yi Yun gave a weak smile in response.
The Clan Head began in a gentle but firm tone, "Academy Student Yi Yun, I understand that young people like you are too full of energy. In fact, I was counting on you not being able to remain kneeling in front of the grave for a long time. I even expected you to rush back down here as soon as you were… 'graced'."
Yi Yun felt slight fear at the word 'graced', though he remained silent and listened intently.
"What I am trying to say is that, while your attempt at lying to me was… good, it was inherently wrong."
Yi Yun blinked in shock, "Am I being encouraged to lie?!" he thought inwardly with bewilderment.
The Clan Head, as if sensing his thoughts, smiled once more and said, "With your B-grade aptitude, second only to A-grade aptitude, your future is quite bright."
Yi Yun's eyes flickered as a peculiar thought went through his mind. He responded with, "You think too highly of me, Clan Head."
The Clan Head merely chuckled in response.
"Now, for the matter regarding your contribution to the clan…" Gu Yue Bo began.
"That reminds me… Is there anything you want to ask for, Yi Yun?" he asked gently.
"No, Clan Head! Simply doing my utmost for the clan is reward enough for me," he loyally stated.
The Clan Head chuckled again. "If you say so." Then he remained silent as he studied his fingernails, which suddenly felt extraordinarily interesting to him.
Yi Yun had an embarrassed expression on his face as he began slowly with hesitation, "Um… Clan Head…"
"Yes, Academy Student Yi Yun?" the Clan Head grandly and amicably asked.
"I was wrong. Please forgive me," Yi Yun sincerely stated.
The Clan Head smiled a knowing smile in response and said, "One must always know one's limit," he merely stated and didn't bother pursuing the matter.
"As I was saying, the reward for the contribution to the Clan." The Clan Head's voice gained an authoritative edge.
"Initially, I had planned on rewarding you with 30 Primeval Stones…"
Yi Yun's eyes widened at the sum.
"However, in light of recent events… I believe… hm…" The Clan Head stroked his beard in thought as he looked at Yi Yun from the corner of his eye.
Yi Yun's eyes glazed slightly in greed as he eagerly awaited the verdict.
"This… should be enough. No?" The Clan Head handed Yi Yun a bag.
Faced with the Clan Head's question, Yi Yun opened the bag instead of storing it to open it elsewhere.
As soon as he opened it, he was momentarily blinded by a glimmer.
"Primeval Stones! At least a hundred! Possibly more than that!" Yi Yun's heart sank as he saw this sight. The greed that had momentarily blinded him departed instantly.
The Clan Head remained silent patiently, waiting for his question to be answered.
Yi Yun looked at the impassive expression adorning the Clan Head's face. The Clan Head seemed to be radiating a faint authority by merely standing impassively. The gentle aura of a Rank 4 Gu Master was like the hue of a silent mountain hidden behind the clouds.
Yi Yun thought deeply and quickly. His sleep-deprived and previously overloaded brain went through the information and the current events as fast as it could.
"Essentially, since I descended, what happened was that the Clan Head had a faint hope that I had fixed my Extreme Physique by placating the flaw, with the help of First Generation Gu Yue at his grave. Then my nervous expression should have made him have slight doubts about whether I had been able to fix it."
"But then I began my narration of nothing having happened, leaving out my injury on purpose. He saw through it, obviously, and then found a flaw in my story that I hadn't considered- the fact that a normal 15-year-old, no matter the world, cannot simply sit still for that long."
"That was indeed very terrifying for me. As for the emotions, I tried to emulate the unexpected ones, but the others were truly how I had felt from the start. This is a bona fide Rank 4, after all, and the leader of a Clan, too. Upon finding that he wasn't going to punish or kill me, I was initially surprised. That was also the truth. I felt like this was karma for having killed Wang Da in that manner."
"Thankfully, the Clan Head didn't kill me instantly. Now that I think about it, that makes sense. Why would a Righteous Path member so easily think about killing a member under them? That too without sufficient justification? The so-called PR would probably be a nightmare."
"Anyways, upon finding out I would be rewarded, I reverted back to the so-called humble outlook I demonstrate to those of a higher standing. But this time… He literally fooled around with me. Toying with me like a caught fish."
"This was both a lesson and a reminder from him. The reminder that the one before me was a Rank 4 Gu Master, and the lesson that this person was not only a Rank 4 Gu Master but also the Clan Head."
"After finding out that my Aptitude was only B-grade. He compared it with an A-grade aptitude and praised me. Not once did he admonish me. He isn't even punishing me for lying to him. Instead, he is providing me more Primeval Stones than I initially asked for."
"Is this an investment or a test? Regardless, every instinct in my body is screaming that I must not accept. Maybe it's because I was blinded by greed earlier. Maybe it's due to the prior realization and acceptance of my own mortality. Maybe it's just due to me being excessively paranoid. Regardless, I need to firm my resolve and reject this 'reward'. After all, assuming the worst of the two cases is more prudent."
"To be honest, I have absolutely no idea what is the best thing to do in such a situation. I may be morally ambiguous and familiar with this world somewhat through the lens of a novel. But I was just a normal university student. That said, organizations, no matter where, would value benefits. On Earth, it was what benefited the higher-ups or made more money. Here, it is more on the side of power, yet still keeping the semblance of the higher-ups needing more benefits."
"Well, at least that is what I believe to be the case right now. It could be correct or false. I don't know. And I have no immediate power or benefits to offer to the Clan. At least, not any that I am willing to part with. I should keep that as a backup, just in case."
"So, I suppose I should give the only thing I can currently offer. My loyalty and promise of potential."
Thinking so far, Yi Yun looked up at the Gu Yue Clan Head and, with a resolute expression, moved the bag back toward the Clan Head.
"Clan Head, I apologize, but I would not like to accept this reward," Yi Yun said firmly through gritted teeth. This was over a hundred Primeval Stones after all! Yi Yun's mind had begun subconsciously thinking up schemes to better utilize them to increase his own power.
Gu Yue Bo raised a single eyebrow as his eyes narrowed subtly.
"Oh? Is that so? And why is that?" the Clan Head asked assertively.
Yi Yun opened his mouth to reply, but was stopped with a single raised finger.
"If it is due to you 'being unworthy' or because 'it was your honor to serve the clan', then I will have to stop you right now and insist that you accept. After all, such an honorable person deserves the reward for his service," the Clan Head spoke while staring directly into Yi Yun's eyes as if he could see his soul.
Yi Yun swallowed nervously as he averted his gaze and spoke clearly, "Clan Head. I refuse this reward. For I would like to ask for something else."
The Clan Head's eyes narrowed as his gaze bore deeper into Yi Yun as he replied, "Oh? And what will that be?"
Yi Yun quickly answered, "Instead of this vast sum of Primeval Stones, I would like to be given the Moonlight Gu as my reward instead."
In response, Gu Yue Bo asked impassively, "Are you sure?"
"I am sure, Lord Clan Head."
Gu Yue Bo nodded thoughtfully as he said to Yi Yun, "You shall have your reward delivered later on then."
Yi Yun bowed in response as the Clan Head left.
As the figure of the Clan Head blurred, he straightened his back with a slight pop.
Then he sighed lightly, "I hope it was the right choice."
Then he steadily made his way to the Academy for class.
Throughout this conversation with the Clan Head, neither of them mentioned the matter regarding missing memories.
If he had an Extreme Physique, perhaps he would have an answer by now. Perhaps he might even be exempted from classes for a day.
Yi Yun mused as he made his way.