Chapter 13
On the other end of the communication jade slip, Elder Wei Tu finally relented with a sigh.
“Alright, you did have a congenital weakness,” he admitted, his tone casual, almost dismissive. “But I already cured it. It won’t affect your cultivation in the future. You’re a grown man now—why make such a fuss over it?”
There was even a trace of reproach at the end, as though he found Wei Houming’s reaction unnecessarily dramatic.
Wei Houming didn’t take the bait.
He knew his master well enough to recognize a diversion when he heard one.
“Master,” he said quietly, his voice low and steady, “I’m not worried about my cultivation. I just want to know… why didn’t you tell me you cured it?”
Elder Wei Tu scoffed lightly. “Why would I? I’ve always preferred to leave no trace—do the deed and disappear without a name.”
“Master…”
Wei Houming tightened his grip on the jade slip. For a moment, he couldn’t find the words.
Something warm surged through his chest, spreading outward, wrapping around his heart.
The reason no longer seemed to matter.
All that mattered was this—
His master was, without question, his second parent.
On the other end, Elder Wei Tu asked casually, “By the way, where did you hear this? I told those old fellows to keep their mouths shut. Looks like someone couldn’t hold their tongue.”
“…I just happened to find out,” Wei Houming muttered. “It has nothing to do with my senior uncles.”
“You’re even covering for them?” Elder Wei Tu chuckled, clearly unconvinced. “No one else would know.”
Wei Houming fell silent.
There was no way to explain this. Not even if he wanted to.
In the end, his senior uncles could only take the blame.
After a pause, he asked, “Master… when are you coming back?”
“What, missing me?” Elder Wei Tu’s voice softened with amusement. “I still have matters to attend to here. I’ll return once I’m done.”
“I’m not—” Wei Houming stiffened, then corrected himself awkwardly, “I was just asking.”
“Ming’er,” Elder Wei Tu said gently, “in my eyes, you’ve always been a child. There’s nothing you can’t say to me.”
It had been a long time since he’d seen this side of him.
When Wei Houming was young, he had been obedient and earnest—easy to tease, easy to indulge. But as he grew older, he became increasingly rigid, all sharp edges and restraint.
Even a simple joke would no longer land.
Wei Houming’s ears reddened faintly. This time, he didn’t argue.
After a brief hesitation, he asked in a quieter voice, “Then… when exactly will you return? There’s something I need to discuss with you.”
“What is it?”
“My biological parents.”
There was a brief pause.
Then Elder Wei Tu spoke, his tone light. “That’s a good thing. You finally found what you were looking for. I’m happy for you.”
“…I’m not.”
Wei Houming lowered his gaze. The resistance in his voice was unmistakable.
Elder Wei Tu frowned slightly. “What’s wrong?” Then, more seriously, “Is there a problem with them?”
Wei Houming didn’t answer directly.
Instead, he said, “Master… from now on, you’re my only family.”
A beat of silence followed.
Elder Wei Tu’s brows knit together. He could hear the instability in his disciple’s voice.
“Don’t jump to conclusions,” he said, gentler now. “There might be a misunderstanding.”
A misunderstanding…?
Doubt flickered across Wei Houming’s face.
Everything Xiao Lou had “seen” so far—his past, even the details he himself had misunderstood—had all proven accurate.
So could the rest… be wrong?
Before he could settle the thought, Lou Yuqing’s voice rang out again.
[This family is squeezing Captain Wei dry. Getting his brother into the sect is just the beginning—they’ll only get worse from here.]
[Today it’s a secret realm slot. Tomorrow it’s a position in the sect. The day after that—cultivation resources…]
[There’s no end to it.]
Her thoughts sharpened, laced with anger.
[Has Captain Wei really been fooled this badly? He actually agreed to something so outrageous?]
[You make concessions for family—and they take it as weakness.]
[Some things don’t even make sense, but he just… ignores them.]
Wei Houming closed his eyes briefly.
…She wasn’t wrong.
If he hadn’t known the truth—if he had only seen their supposed suffering—
How could he have turned them away?
And then—
The next line struck like a blade.
[If Elder Wei Tu hadn’t died unexpectedly, how could Captain Wei have fallen this far—his Dao heart shattered, reduced to a cripple?]
Everything stopped.
Wei Houming’s pupils shrank violently.
His mind went blank.
His master… would die?
He didn’t even register the part about himself.
“Master—come back. Come back now!” The words burst out of him, sharp with urgency. “You have to come back immediately!”
“Calm down,” Elder Wei Tu said, his voice steady, soothing. “I’m here. Tell me what happened.”
But Wei Houming’s composure had already cracked.
“You’ll die!”
The words came out harsh, almost desperate.
Five years.
His master had been gone for five full years this time—longer than ever before.
Was this the time…?
Was this the journey that would take him?
On the other end, Elder Wei Tu fell silent for a moment, his gaze shifting toward the distant horizon—the churning entrance of the Netherworld Sea.
If not for this sudden message…
He would already have stepped inside.
“You say I’ll die?” he repeated, tone unreadable. Then, lightly, “My cultivation isn’t so shallow that I’d fall that easily. Ming’er, don’t curse your master.”
“I’m not!” Wei Houming’s voice tightened. “I just want you to live. That’s all that matters. Please, listen to me and come back!”
“I still have things to do,” Elder Wei Tu replied, gentle but firm. “I’ll return once I’m finished.”
Refusal.
Absolute.
Wei Houming clenched his jaw.
He knew his master’s temperament. Once decided, it was nearly impossible to change his mind.
So he changed tactics.
“What are you doing?” he asked quickly. “Don’t you want to know why I said you’d die?”
A pause.
“…Why?”
There was a flicker of curiosity this time.
No one knew about the Netherworld Sea.
So how could Ming’er be so certain?
“I—” Wei Houming faltered.
He didn’t know.
Xiao Lou hadn’t said how his master would die.
He had no explanation to give.
Just as panic threatened to rise again—
Lou Yuqing’s thoughts arrived, clear and precise.
[So Captain Wei’s congenital weakness was never fully cured. After reaching Golden Core, his body couldn’t keep up with the strain—he even fainted from it.]
Wei Houming froze.
Memories surged back.
The moment of breakthrough.
The sudden darkness.
The collapse.
His master had said it was a spiritual imbalance… and spent forty-nine days personally stabilizing him.
After that—
His master began leaving the sect more frequently.
At the time, Wei Houming had been too focused on his stagnant cultivation to think much of it.
Now—
Everything clicked into place.
[Elder Wei Tu hid the truth. Captain Wei thought his stagnation was due to emotional turmoil… but in reality, his body simply couldn’t support further advancement.]
[Fortunately, the sect’s Medical Sage intervened and stabilized his condition.]
[He even provided a prescription—if Captain Wei takes the pills made from it, his physical strength will finally match his cultivation.]
Lou Yuqing frowned slightly in thought.
Like water and a container.
Too much water, too small a vessel—it would overflow.
You needed a bigger container.
Si Nidie, meanwhile, was fixated on a different point.
The Medical Sage.
A legendary figure—rarely seen, rarely involved personally.
Even the Enforcement Hall only worked with the practitioners under him.
Gu Buqi’s eyes narrowed.
He had been in seclusion for too long.
He hadn’t known any of this.
[Most of the herbs in that prescription grow in dangerous places. Aside from two that can be bought, the rest must be gathered personally.]
[Elder Wei Tu spent over ten years collecting them… leaving only one ingredient missing.]
[The Netherworld Flower—from the Netherworld Sea.]
Silence fell again.
This time, heavy with dread.
The Netherworld Sea.
One of the ten forbidden lands.
A graveyard for cultivators.
Even Nascent Soul experts entered at their own risk.
Some returned maimed.
Some broken.
Most… never returned at all.
“Master… you went to the Netherworld Sea?” Wei Houming’s voice trembled.
In that instant, everything became clear.
His master had gone there—for him.
And never returned.
On the other end, Elder Wei Tu was startled. “How did you know?”
That single question confirmed everything.
A sharp, piercing pain tore through Wei Houming’s chest.
If not for this voice—
If not for this moment—
He would have lost his master forever.
“Master, listen to me,” he said urgently. “You cannot go in!”
Elder Wei Tu stood before the storming entrance, its violent currents slowly weakening.
“I must go,” he said calmly. “Ming’er, I know you’re worried. But trying to scare me like this won’t work.”
His gaze was steady.
Resolute.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward—
And flew straight toward the entrance of the Netherworld Sea.