The Lu Ban Tome, the lower volume of which had puzzled Yan Shouyi for twenty years, finally had its mystery unveiled by Yan Chou's explanation.
Yan Chou's words struck Yan Shouyi like a bolt from the blue. A deluge of information flooded his mind, and fragments of memories, of his grandfather's teachings, resurfaced.
So that's how it is!
If his grandfather's deductions were correct, then everything made sense.
Why did the Lu Ban successors have to desperately protect the Lu Ban Tome?
Because the lower volume of the Lu Ban Tome was the culmination of the hard work of generations of Lu Ban successors. In their eyes, it was a thousand times more important than any supposed method for immortality! They would guard it with their lives. This reverence from the Lu Ban successors led outsiders to mistakenly believe that the secret of the Lu Ban Tome was a method for immortality. Despite drawing the envy of countless people, the Lu Ban successors dared not reveal the truth about the lower volume of the Lu Ban Tome to the public, as it also involved inter-sect relations. Prominent sects would not easily allow another sect to emerge in the world.
And why specifically the Lu Ban successors?
Because among the folk sects, only the Lu Ban successors were masters of all trades! Outsiders only knew that the Lu Ban successors stole the skills of other sects, unaware that they did so to learn from others, to understand their doctrines, and compile orthodox scriptures suitable for folk sects!
No wonder... no wonder...
It took Yan Shouyi quite some time to fully digest the immense amount of information.
Now, when he looked at the lower volume of the Lu Ban Tome, the greed that had been fueled by his inner demons was gone.
All that remained was admiration for his ancestors and predecessors.
The lower volume of the Lu Ban Tome was written with the blood, sweat, and even lives of generations of Lu Ban successors; it was an unparalleled treasure.
"But... Dad, what does the lower volume of the Lu Ban Tome have to do with Mom?"
Although the truth of the lower volume of the Lu Ban Tome shocked him greatly, he could not fathom any connection to his mother, no matter how hard he thought.
Yan Chou recalled the distant, beautiful figure in his memory, a faint smile unconsciously appearing on his face.
"Your mother was a Lu Ban successor of another lineage. When I was young, I also traveled the world, but your mother was different. In front of ordinary people, she never used Lu Ban's skills to gain personal advantage. She was like a tourist, traveling across the vast land, witnessing the vicissitudes of the world. She never fought or scrambled for anything. Her greatest wish in life was to perfect the lower volume of the Lu Ban Tome."
"I met your mother at Tianchi Lake in Changbai Mountain. That time, your Uncle Gou, Uncle Miao Ji, and Uncle Zou and I heard that there was a water monster in Tianchi Lake, so on impulse, we decided to go and see. Unexpectedly, we chanced upon your mother painting by the lake. I remember very clearly, your mother was wearing a white dress that day, the gentle breeze fluttering her skirt, rippling like the clear water of Tianchi Lake, or perhaps like the clouds reflected on the water."
"Alas, in this life, one encounters countless people and things, but there is always that one person, whom just a glance is enough to decide a lifetime."
Seeing his father lost in thought, sinking deeper and deeper, a rare smile gracing his face,
Yan Shouyi debated whether to interrupt his father, as Daoist Gou and Monk Miao Ji were already covering their mouths, snickering.
Presumably, the uncles were also present on the day his parents met, and that memory must have been equally beautiful in their minds.
As if realizing his lapse, Yan Chou coughed dryly and adjusted his expression.
"Your mother and I fell in love at first sight. Before long, she became pregnant with you. I brought her back to Chen Family Village to await your birth. Before you were born, our family lived very happily."
"But after your birth, your mother and I had a serious disagreement."
Hearing this, Yan Shouyi couldn't help but feel a little nervous.
From childhood to adulthood, his grandfather and father had always said that his mother died during childbirth. But now, it seemed they had clearly lied.
Where did his mother go? Was she still alive?
"I wanted a stable life, while your mother yearned for freedom. After giving birth to you, she always wanted to leave Chen Family Village and pursue her ideal of compiling the lower volume of the Lu Ban Tome. However, I did not want you to have a childhood of constantly moving, hoping our family could stay and live in Chen Family Village. Unfortunately, in the end, I couldn't keep her. She left us, father and son, and left alone."
Yan Chou's tone was tinged with undisguised disappointment.
Yan Shouyi was also stunned.
He had considered many possibilities, but never had he imagined that he and his father had been abandoned!
Damn it! Dad, your charm isn't that great. My wife would never abandon me like your wife did!
Of course, Yan Shouyi only dared to think this in his mind; saying it out loud would be asking for trouble.
Yan Chou sighed and said in a low voice, "After your mother left, there was no more news. I fell into despair, and it was only after learning of my former comrades' plight that I angrily killed someone. I abandoned you and my brothers in the martial world, and intentionally confined myself to prison to escape the mundane world. Those ten years were like a pilgrimage for an ascetic monk."
With Yan Chou's abilities, leaving prison was not difficult at all. In fact, many people outside were eager to get him out.
But he was unwilling. He feared the outside world and did not know how to face it, which was why he hid in prison, living a dissolute life, even becoming obese.
Similarly, he had abandoned Yan Shouyi for a full ten years.
"I'm sorry, to you and to your grandfather," Yan Chou apologized to Yan Shouyi for the first time.
As he lowered his head, Yan Shouyi saw a few strands of white hair on his father's head, and only then did he realize that his father might have grown old too.
"Before Grandpa passed away, he sent me a message, hoping I would go and see him. But I didn't reply, and this has become a lifelong regret for me."
"But just as I was about to be released from prison, I received a letter, a letter sent from Changbai Mountain."
A letter from Changbai Mountain?
Yan Shouyi's spirits lifted. He could guess with his toes who sent this letter.
"You must have already guessed it. That letter was from your mother," Yan Chou said softly. "In the letter, she said she had almost finished compiling the lower volume of the Lu Ban Tome, but there were still four difficult problems she couldn't solve and needed my help."
"Because of this letter, I rediscovered myself, whom I had lost for ten years. After leaving prison, I have been searching for the answers to those four questions, but to this day, I have not found them, and therefore, I feel ashamed to go to Changbai Mountain to find your mother."
"These past three months in Rongcheng, I have been thinking. Later, I suddenly realized that perhaps the person who can answer these questions is not me, but you."
"Shouyi, pack up and let's go. Go to Changbai Mountain in my stead, meet your mother, solve those four questions, and bring back the lower volume of the Lu Ban Tome for the folk sects, bring back... everyone's hope."