After Master's midnight talk, Xiao Qi's state of mind grew increasingly serene. He no longer obsessed over the speed of his cultivation progress, instead devoting more energy to solidifying his foundation and comprehending the subtleties. Every day, apart from his unwavering practice of the *Qi Introduction Art* and Senior Sister Liu Yun's "special training," he still went to help in the kitchen, viewing fire control and wok-tossing as cultivation to hone his spiritual power mastery. He also maintained a silent "fruit-and-vegetable exchange" with that elusive rabbit spirit. His days passed peacefully and contentedly.
That night, moonlight flowed like water, filling the simple wooden hut where he lived. Several fellow handyman disciples in the same room were already snoring loudly, but Xiao Qi felt no drowsiness. He sat cross-legged on his bed, five centers facing heaven, following the method of the *Qi Introduction Art: Supplemental Edition*, guiding the faint stream of qi within his body to slowly circulate through its heavenly cycle. Outside the window, insects chirped, making the room seem even more tranquil. Spiritual power flowed through his meridians, bringing the familiar warmth and soreness. Xiao Qi kept his mind focused, discarding distracting thoughts, striving to make the qi flow just a little more smoothly.
However, just as the spiritual power was about to complete one small heavenly cycle and converge into the dantian's qi sea—an abrupt change suddenly occurred!
The jade pendant, which he always wore close to his body and which usually only emitted a gentle warmth, abruptly grew scalding hot without any warning! This wasn't the warmth generated by cultivation's qi circulation, but a near-searing, burning heat, as if a red-hot branding iron had been pressed against the skin of his chest!
"Ugh!" Xiao Qi grunted, his cultivation state instantly broken. The previously stable spiritual power within him suddenly stalled, nearly going astray. Instinctively, he reached to grab the burning pendant.
But before his hand could reach his chest, a massive, chaotic stream of information, like a burst dam's floodwaters, violently rushed into his mind!
It wasn't sound, nor was it text, but rather fragmented images flashing by at high speed—blurry yet carrying intense emotions:
——A sunlit, splendidly carved courtyard. A woman whose face was unclear but who felt incredibly gentle and kind (Mother?) held the hand of a toddling young child (himself?), pointing to a strange flower blooming with seven-colored radiant light in the flowerbed, laughing cheerfully…
——Inside a solemn, majestic ancestral hall, incense smoke curled. A middle-aged man with a tall, straight figure and imposing, dignified bearing (Father Xu Zhan!) solemnly placed a jade pendant emitting a hazy cyan glow (the very one on his chest!) into an ancient altar recess. Instantly, the entire altar lit up with intricate, arcane runes, dignified and sacred…
——A bustling, prosperous street market, heavy traffic, crowds coming and going. Hawkers' calls, children's playful laughter ceaselessly filled the air. The Xu Lan Mountain Manor's flags fluttered in the wind before shop fronts, a scene of peaceful, thriving prosperity…
These images flickered extremely fast, fragmented, yet felt intensely real, saturated with rich familial affection, solemnity, and peacefulness. They formed an incredibly sharp contrast with the blood, fire, and screams of his final memory!
The intense emotional impact and massive amount of information far exceeded what the soul of a seven-year-old child could withstand!
"Ah——!" Xiao Qi felt as if his head was about to explode, a tearing, agonizing pain surging through him! He could no longer maintain his seated posture. Clutching his head, he curled up in pain on the bed. Instantly, dense beads of cold sweat broke out on his forehead, and his body trembled uncontrollably with slight spasms.
The burning heat and the agony in his mind lasted about ten breaths before suddenly receding like a tide.
The jade pendant returned to its usual gentle warmth, the images in his mind vanished without a trace, as if everything just now had been nothing but a sudden nightmare.
Xiao Qi lay sprawled on the bed, panting heavily, drenched in cold sweat, his face pale as paper. Lingering throbbing pain remained in his head, and his soul felt a drained weakness. With lingering fear, he touched the pendant on his chest—the fingertips felt only the familiar, reassuring coolness.
What… was that just now? Was it memories transmitted by the pendant? Scenes from Xu Lan Mountain Manor… from the past? Those blurred images, especially of his father and that possibly maternal gentle woman, stirred an indescribable ache and longing in his heart. His eyes instantly reddened. That was the warmth of "home," which he had nearly forgotten.
But what followed was deeper confusion and a thread of fear.
This pendant, capable of calming the mind, healing wounds, and expelling toxins—it actually stored memories? What exactly was its origin? What profound meaning did Father intend when he gave it to him back then? Why did it suddenly transmit these memory fragments to him at this moment? Was it because his cultivation had improved? Or had some other condition been triggered?
Master once said there was a dormant power within him, needing opportunity to awaken. Could this anomaly of the pendant be the beginning of that "opportunity"? Yet this "opportunity," besides bringing brief warm recollections, also brought soul-rending pain and more unsolved mysteries.
Lying in bed, gazing at the cold moonlight seeping through the window crack, he remained unsettled for a long time. Gaining clues about the past should have been a cause for joy, but this manner, and the hidden implications behind it, made him uneasy. This final relic left by his parents, like an exquisitely crafted Pandora's box, had quietly opened a corner before him, releasing not merely hope, but also secrets accompanied by immense risk.
He tightly gripped the pendant. Its cool touch slightly clarified his chaotic thoughts. Regardless, he now knew: Xu Lan Mountain Manor had once been so beautiful, his parents had loved him so deeply. This gave him courage to continue forward.
Simultaneously, he also saw more clearly: this pendant was absolutely extraordinary. It was closely linked to his origins, to that calamity. The road ahead likely wouldn't remain as peaceful as it had been in Qingxu Temple.
He needed strength—not merely the strength to improve his cultivation, but strength sufficient to bear this secret, to uncover the truth.
This first anomaly of the jade pendant was like a warning bell, ringing within his seemingly tranquil cultivation life.