150: Chapter 150 Master Liu

The trip to Nancheng took longer than Chen Zhen had expected.

He had originally planned to make a round trip in one day, but after Master Liu said, "Stay the night, I'll take you somewhere tomorrow," he decided to stay.

The hotel was the same one as last time, and the receptionist was still the same middle-aged woman.

When she saw Chen Zhen return alone, a hint of curiosity appeared in her eyes, but she didn't ask anything and simply handed him the key.

It started to rain at night.

Chen Zhen lay on the bed, listening to the sound of the rain, tossing and turning, unable to sleep.

He simply sat up, took the three jade plaques out of his Storage Space, and lined them up on the nightstand.

North Mountain, West Mountain, and Nanshan; their milky white surfaces shimmered in the darkness.

He arranged them in a triangle, with North Mountain at the top left, West Mountain at the top right, and Nanshan at the bottom.

A spot was left empty in the middle of the triangle; that was where the east mountain jade tablet should be.

He stared at the empty space for a long time.

Then, he placed his hand on his chest and probed his spiritual power into the seed.

The seed was spinning, and the pattern was glowing.

Beside the pattern, that tiny speck of light was also glowing.

He tried to touch it with his intent—the speck of light flickered, but this time it didn't dim; instead, it remained lit for a few seconds.

It was as if it were responding to him.

Chen Zhen withdrew his hand. It was moving.

He put the three jade plaques away and lay back down on the bed.

The rain was still falling. He closed his eyes.

The next morning, the rain stopped.

When Chen Zhen arrived at Master Liu's house, he was already in the courtyard carving an inkstone.

The carving knife spun rapidly in his hand, and stone chips flew, landing on the cuffs of his work clothes, on the stone table, and on the ground.

Beside him sat an enamel teacup; the tea had gone cold, and the tea leaves had settled at the bottom, looking like a small patch of dark seaweed.

"You're here?" He didn't even look up.

Chen Zhen walked over and sat down across from the stone table.

Master Liu finished the last stroke, put down the carving knife, picked up the inkstone, and blew on it.

It was a new inkstone with fine stone texture and a greenish hue; the ink pool had already been polished, and it was shiny enough to reflect a person's face.

He examined it over and over, nodded, and set it aside.

"Where did you stay last night?"

"At the hotel."

"Are you used to staying there?"

"It's alright."

Master Liu picked up the teacup and took a sip, realized the tea was cold, and put it back down. He looked at Chen Zhen, his gaze lingering for a few seconds.

"You have something on you."

Chen Zhen didn't speak.

"It's gold. On your chest. It's flickering."

Chen Zhen looked into his eyes. "You can see it too?"

Master Liu didn't answer directly.

He stood up, walked into the house, and after a while, brought out a cloth bundle and placed it on the stone table.

The bundle was made of blue cloth, washed until it had faded to white, with frayed edges.

He opened the bundle, and inside was an inkstone—an old pit stone with a fine texture and a purplish color.

Carved on the inkstone was a rune—a core circle with three dots, radiating curves, and an outer dot matrix.

It was exactly the same as the Dongshan Rune.

It wasn't a rubbing; it had been carved into it.

Chen Zhen picked up the inkstone and turned it over to look.

The back was also inscribed with characters, very small and dense, covering the entire bottom of the inkstone.

"My father carved this," Master Liu said. "He only carved this one in his entire life. It took him three years."

Chen Zhen looked at the characters.

They weren't runes; they were Chinese characters.

He carefully deciphered them. The first line read: "I, of the Liu family, have lived at the foot of Fu Mountain for generations, making a living by quarrying stone and carving inkstones. The mountain has anomalies that others do not know of, but I alone have witnessed them."

It continued below: "There is light in the mountain, appearing at night and hiding by day. I followed the light and obtained a stone box containing a jade plaque. I do not know its purpose, but I know it is extraordinary. I keep it in my home, waiting for someone who recognizes it."

Master Liu pointed to that passage.

"My father was illiterate. He had someone write these characters, and he carved them himself by copying them."

Chen Zhen turned to the front of the inkstone and pointed to the runes. "What about these?"

"He drew these himself. He said he saw this thing in the mountain, carved into the rock, very large. So he just copied it onto the stone."

Chen Zhen stared at the runes.

The lines were not very precise; some places were crooked, but the overall structure was correct.

An illiterate old stonemason, relying on his memory, had carved the runes onto the inkstone.

He put down the inkstone and looked at Master Liu.

"What did your father do with that jade plaque later?"

Master Liu was silent for a while.

"He buried it back. Before he died, he had me carry him up the mountain, and he buried it with his own hands."

Chen Zhen was stunned for a moment. "Buried back in Fu Mountain?"

Master Liu nodded. "He said this thing couldn't stay in the house; it had to be returned."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

He was too late. The jade plaque had already been buried back.

He stood up, put the inkstone back into the cloth bundle, and pushed it back.

"This was left to you by your father. Keep it."

Master Liu looked at him, a hint of surprise in his eyes, yet it seemed he wasn't surprised either. "You aren't looking for it anymore?"

Chen Zhen shook his head. "I found it."

He looked down at his chest.

The jade plaque was under Fu Mountain, but as long as Fu Mountain existed, the jade plaque existed.

He didn't need to hold it in his hand; he only needed to activate it.

"Can you take me to Fu Mountain?"

Master Liu stood up, tied the cloth bundle, and put it back in the house.

Then he walked out and brushed the stone chips off his clothes. "Let's go."

The two of them walked onto that dirt road again.

The mountain road after the rain was very muddy. Chen Zhen walked in front, and Master Liu followed behind, his pace not fast, but steady.

"That light on you," Master Liu suddenly spoke, "what is it?"

Chen Zhen thought for a moment.

"A kind of power."

"Where did it come from?"

"It's innate."

Master Liu nodded and didn't ask again.

After walking for an hour, they arrived at the foot of Fu Mountain.

The mountain was still the same mountain—dark and barren.

But the air after the rain was fresh, carrying the scent of soil and stone.

Master Liu stood before the mountain, looking up at it.

"My father said that when he was young, this mountain would glow. At night, looking up from the foot of the mountain, you could see streaks of golden lines, like tree roots."

He pointed to the mountainside.

"Later, it stopped. He said it was because after the jade plaque was dug up, the light disappeared."

Chen Zhen crouched down and pressed his hand against the ground.

He probed with his spiritual power.

The entire mountain was glowing—dimly, but steadily.

Those golden lines were still there, just buried deeper.

The stone slabs underground were covered in runes, exactly the same as the ones on the inkstone.

Beneath the stone slab, there was a tiny speck of light.

The nanshan jade tablet.

He withdrew his hand and stood up.

"Where did your father bury the jade plaque?"

Master Liu pointed to the mountainside. "There, under an old pine tree. The pine tree died, but the roots are still there."

Chen Zhen climbed up.

On the mountainside, there was a dead tree stump; the bark had rotted away, revealing the grayish-white wood.

Weeds had grown all around the stump. He crouched down and pressed his hand into the soil beside the stump.

He probed with his spiritual power.

One meter below, there was a small pit, and in the pit was a jade plaque.

The nanshan jade tablet.

It lay there quietly, emitting a faint light.

It resonated with the runes in the mountain body from afar.

Chen Zhen did not dig it up.

He simply pressed his hand on the soil and slowly injected his spiritual power.

The jade plaque lit up for a moment, then dimmed.

It was responding to him.

[nanshan jade tablet has returned to position]

[Composite Rune Array · Nanshan node activated]

[Current progress: 3 / 4]

[Missing: east mountain jade tablet]

Chen Zhen withdrew his hand and stood up.

Master Liu stood at the foot of the mountain, looking up at him.

"Found it?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

"It's here."

Master Liu was silent for a few seconds. "Then are you taking it?"

Chen Zhen shook his head.

"I'm not taking it. Let it stay here."

He walked down the mountain and stood beside Master Liu. The two of them looked up at the mountain together. The mountain was dark and barren. But in Chen Zhen's eyes, it was glowing. It was dim and steady, like a lamp that had been lit.

"Your father was right," Chen Zhen said. "This thing cannot be taken away. It must stay here."

Master Liu glanced at him but didn't speak.

After a long time, he nodded slightly.

When heading down the mountain, Master Liu walked in front.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

"Chen Zhen."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

Master Liu didn't turn around.

"The light on you is even brighter than the light on the mountain my father spoke of."

He paused. "You are more powerful than it."

Chen Zhen didn't speak. Master Liu continued walking forward.

Returning to town, Chen Zhen hailed a taxi to the high-speed railway station.

Master Liu stood at the entrance of the alley, watching the car drive away.

Chen Zhen saw him in the rearview mirror; he was still in the same posture, his back slightly hunched, his hands in his trouser pockets, his shadow stretched long by the setting sun.

The car turned a corner, and Master Liu was no longer visible.

Chen Zhen leaned back against the seat and closed his eyes.

Internal Vision of the Dantian.