âOkay, thank you very much!â Xiao Yan nodded and took a sip of juice. He proceeded to dig into the food, but looked visibly nervous and cautious of his surroundings.
Chen Hao grinned and said, âYou received two million for the fly whisk, didnât you? Why are you still mistreating yourself like that? Piaopiao told me that you were having buns and salted vegetables when she found you.â
âI donât dare to touch that money. If you guys want it, I can give you!â said Xiao Yan.
Chen Hao smiled and shook his head. âWe donât want your money. We just want to ask you about the fly whisk. Where did you get it? Besides, it doesnât look like you went to the auction on your own accord.â
Xiao Yan pondered a moment, raised his head and said, âIâm sorry, but I canât tell you guys about it. If you want the money, Iâll give you the money. Iâm just doing this on someone elseâs order!â Xiao Yan was so startled that he did not dare to eat any more.
âBrother, you donât have to be so nervous! We donât mean anything else. Letâs do it this way then. Iâll rephrase my question: When you received the fly whisk, was there anything else or any message that came along with it?â Chen Hao asked cautiously.
Xiao Yan hesitated for a while before he finally answered Chen Haoâs question. âA friend from the South is coming!â
âHey, whatâs that supposed to mean? My master is asking you something important, and yet you keep talking about irrelevant stuff!â Shen Piaopiao rebuked angrily.
âA friend from the South; did he mean by the Chen Family from the Southern Region?â Chen Hao asked with a smile.
Upon hearing that, Xiao Yan stared at Chen Hao, his eyes almost bulging out. âDude, seeing as you know about the Chen Family from the Southern Region, is your surname Chen?â Xiao Yan became ecstatic.
âMy name is Chen Hao, and Iâm from the Southern Region. In fact, the reason I came here is to look for Master Ghost, the owner of the fly whisk!â Chen Hao stated.
âOh, youâre really Chen Hao!â Xiao Yan wiped his mouth. âMy savior told me that someone will come and ask me about the fly whisk soon. That person is Chen Hao. My savior also reminded me to give you a letter!â
Xiao Yan obviously knew something, but he refused to say anything because he was not sure whether he could trust Chen Hao.
âYour savior?â
âHmm, Iâm not sure whether the Master Ghost you mentioned is the exact same person as my savior.
Back then, my savior saved my entire family, and he had asked me to pass this message to you. I have finally met you now!â Xiao Yan exclaimed happily.
Almost immediately, he pulled out a letter from a hidden pocket in his shirt and passed it to Chen Hao.
âHereâs the letter!â
Chen Hao took the letter and looked at it. The words âTo My Friend, Chen Haoâ was written on it. Chen Hao was ecstatic when he saw it. It was indeed Master Ghostâs handwriting. When he opened the letter, there was a paragraph explaining everything.
It turned out that Master Ghost did come to Ji Province. In fact, he had everything planned out carefully since the day Chen Hao arrived at Dragon Mountain for the first time. After he left, Master Ghost immediately made his way to Ji Province. Master Ghost had also pointed out that his arrival in Ji Province had a direct connection with Chen Hao. In his heart, he believed that Chen Hao was the one he had been waiting for all these years. Hence, he came all the way to Ji Province to personally deliver a valuable gift to Chen Hao as a request to be the latterâs servant. Although Master Ghost could predict the future, the future was not a fixed variable, and it was always subjected to change. He did not know what kind of danger lay ahead. Hence, he changed his name, and concealed his identity in order to escape his enemies who intended to kill him. At the end of his letter, Master Ghost brought up the Underground Ceremony organized by the Wan Family. He reminded Chen Hao to obtain the qualifications to participate in the Underground Ceremony, as he would benefit a great deal from everythingâespecially at the ceremony, which Master Ghost emphasized on repeatedly.
âHmm, Iâm not really sure what Master Ghost is trying to convey here,â said Chen Hao. He was just as puzzled as ever after reading the letter.
Zhu, on the other hand, was reading it too.
âItâs not complicated at all, Chen Hao; it seems that youâre my master now. No, youâre my masterâs master!â Zhu said.
âWhat do you mean? Iâm going to be Master Ghostâs master?â
âYes. Master Ghost did mention it to me several times before. He said that he has long been waiting for the one who he can rely on and serve for the rest of his life. And now, he is certain that you are the one. His journey to Ji Province this time round is to be your servant. The valuable gift he mentioned that he had prepared for you must have something to do with the Underground Ceremony. When the time comes, Chen Haoâno, I mean master, your cultivation base will surely improve by leaps and bounds!â Zhu explained.
âNonsense! I still have a bunch of problems I need to solve with Master Ghostâs help! Itâs a little too early to be talking about him serving me as his master!â Chen Hao said helplessly. âBesides, Iâve come across several magical relics before. To be honest, Zhu, I donât think those magical relics are of much help to me!â Chen Hao continued.
âYou have to finish reading the letter first. It looks like there is a Diagram of Five Elements drawn at the back of the letterâ¦â Zhu reminded Chen Hao.
Chen Hao flipped the letter and looked at it. Indeed, there was a Diagram of Five Elements drawn on the back of the letter. Wait, it was not the Diagram of Five Elements. Chen Haoâs eyelid twitched as he looked at the diagram. This was because the diagram, with uniformly arranged patterns drawn on it, were the exact same patterns of those five discs that appeared at the Energy Center within his body.
However, Master Ghost did not explain much about the diagram. Chen Hao figured that Master Ghost mustâve thought his cultivation base remained at the same level without any improvement. Hence, Master Ghost took it upon him to search for magical relics in order to help him improve his cultivation base. But unbeknownst to Master Ghost, Chen Haoâs current cultivation base had exceeded that of a normal humanâs limit. Nonetheless, the diagram reminded Chen Hao of something elseâMaster Ghost must have known that he recovered his cultivation foundation. He also knew about the peculiar changes that affected his Energy Center recently. Perhaps, the Underground Ceremony will be the answer to the mystery of what will happen at my Energy Center? Chen Hao thought to himself quietly.
Since Master Ghost brought it up, he decided to participate in the Underground Ceremony to find out more about it.
âXiao Yan!â Chen Hao kept the letter and looked at Xiao Yan, who was still eating.
âYes, Chen Hao? What can I do for you?â
âCome to think of it, it is fate that brought us together. I have a card here. Iâll ask someone to change the date on the card to todayâs date in a while. Thereâs some money in it; use it well, and just think of it as a token of my appreciation!â
âChen Hao, I donât want it!â Xiao Yan shook his head.
âJust take it!â Chen Hao insisted on giving it to him anyway.
Later on, Chen Hao went straight back to the Shen Familyâs house.
âMister, youâre back!â As soon as he stepped into the house, Chen Hao was greeted by Lin Jiu and Shen Tiangang simultaneously. Both of them walked toward him.
They addressed Chen Hao as âMisterâ because they thought he had gone through too much change, becoming even more powerful than before. Therefore, if they continued to address him as âYoung Master Chenâ, it would be a disrespect to him. Besides, Chen Hao was fine with them addressing him as âMisterâ.
Chen Hao had forcibly meddled with the conflict between Lin Jiu and Shen Tiangang. He had arranged for Lin Jiu to teach and guide the younger generation of the Shen Family by helping them unlock their Spiritual Roots, which was an important step in starting their journey of cultivation training. Seemingly, the result from this arrangement would also reduce Shen Tiangangâs resentment toward the Duan Family. After all, Shen Tiangang was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the Shen Familyâs long-
term survival!
âLin Jiu, can you tell me more about the Underground Ceremony? What is it about?â Chen Hao asked Lin Jiu after he took a seat.
âYes, mister!â Lin Jiu stood politely while beginning his elaborate explanation on the Underground Ceremony and its establishmentâ¦