“This does not conform to the rules recorded in this book.”
Su Muchen turned to Xiao Yuan. “The ancient texts clearly state, ‘Within a single generation, they cannot coexist.’ But now, written there in black and white, it says that Sheng Chengxiu has become the Gate Master, and this Han Dongji is his Gate Key.”
Xiao Yuan’s gaze lingered on the three characters “Sheng Chengxiu” for a long time, his eyes so deep they seemed capable of piercing straight through the thin sheet of paper.
After a moment, he slowly raised his eyes. The murderous aura surrounding him silently spread, cold enough to make one’s blood run cold.
Yet when his gaze shifted toward Su Muchen, that sharp, intimidating presence miraculously restrained itself somewhat.
“So he is no longer merely the heir of the Sheng family, but another Gate Master.”
Xiao Yuan’s voice was so calm that it was frightening, yet it carried a bone-deep chill. “This is why the Sheng family refuses to let go of the Gate. They possess the ‘Master,’ but they do not have a Gate of their own. So they want to seize one.”
“The most dangerous variable is this Han Dongji.”
Xia Lanshi gently pushed up his glasses and calmly analyzed the situation. “The Sheng family now possesses both Imperial Blood and their own Gate Key. This means they have the conditions necessary to open the Gate at any time. Yet their reverence for and understanding of the Gate are pitifully lacking, and they have no Gatekeeper to restrain or guide them.”
His gaze shifted slightly and landed on Xiao beside him. His tone grew grave.
“If they act recklessly and break the Gate’s laws, the balance between the two worlds will collapse completely.”
He did not dare imagine what Sheng Chengxiu might do once he gained control of the method for opening the Gate.
Xiao’s gaze remained fixed on the name “Han Dongji.”
As a Gatekeeper, throughout the long years of the past, he had never heard of such a person.
But he knew certain secrets that had been buried deep within the passage of time.
“In the past, our Gatekeeper lineage always believed that the direct and collateral branches of the Su clan on the Dasheng side had been completely slaughtered in that catastrophe.”
Xiao slowly spoke, a faint, almost imperceptible ripple in his voice. “It turns out… someone really did survive.”
Xiao Yuan raised his eyes to look at him, his expression darkening slightly.
“Can you talk about these things?”
He knew very well that Gatekeepers were bound by the laws of the Gate. He was worried that if Xiao revealed heavenly secrets, he might once again incur the Gate’s brutal punishment.
But Xiao merely tugged at the corner of his mouth, forming a faintly desolate smile.
“It’s fine. Since the black book has already appeared before you, even if I say nothing, you’ll eventually uncover this sealed history by following the clues. It’s simply that the time has come.”
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone before slowly revealing that hidden history.
“Long, long ago, members of the direct and collateral branches of the Su clan once passed through the Gate and, for various reasons, took root in the Other World. This included Dasheng.”
At this point, he suddenly glanced at Su Muchen, his tone becoming somewhat peculiar.
“That naturally included those Gate Keys who were invited over, or… ‘carried off.’”
Su Muchen was utterly confused by the look Xiao gave him. He tilted his head and looked back at him, unable to understand why, at such a serious moment, Xiao had suddenly brought up an anecdote that sounded suspiciously like elopement.
But Xiao Yuan immediately understood the weight and bloodshed hidden behind those words.
His gaze suddenly darkened.
He knew very well that not all of the Gate Keys who had once come to Dasheng had ultimately lived happily ever after with their Gate Masters.
Not every relationship could withstand the cruelty of reality.
Especially when one side was a Gate Master who wielded the power of life and death and carried Imperial Blood.
While the other was a Gate Key with a rare bloodline and a precious treasure within them.
Power, suspicion, betrayal… Reality often tore what had once been a pure bond to pieces.
Xiao offered no further explanation. He simply reached out, picked up the black book, and handed it to Xia Lanshi across from him.
He said nothing, but Xia Lanshi immediately understood what he meant.
—The answer he was looking for was hidden within this black book.
Xia Lanshi’s expression turned solemn, and he immediately accepted the book.
His long fingers rapidly flipped through the pages, tracing backward page by page as his sharp eyes swept over the ancient names.
Finally, his hands stopped.
His fingertip slowly passed over a name that seemed to bear the dust of history itself.
Xiao Yuan followed his gaze. When he saw what was recorded on that page, his swordlike brows drew together slightly.
He had just watched Xia Lanshi turn to this page when the final line, 【Assessment】Abandon the world to guard one Gate, slowly emerged, as though it had only just appeared before the eyes of the world.
And that assessment was deeply shocking.
—To abandon the world meant that this person had originally possessed the ability to contend for the world.
Yet he had given it up.
【Name】Sheng Xia Ying
【Blood】Imperial Blood
【Origin】Chenjing
【Key】Su Jinyu
【Cause】Guard the Gate
【Balance】Complete
【Assessment】Abandon the world to guard one Gate
The study suddenly fell silent.
No one spoke.
The surname “Sheng” simply lay quietly upon the yellowed page.
This was not a legend from the history books.
It was a person who had truly existed.
“The Gate Masters recorded in this black book… those who possess Imperial Blood do not all bear the surname ‘Xiao.’”
Xia Lanshi spoke thoughtfully.
He had just seen countless names recorded in the book.
Their names were all different.
Some appeared to belong to people from foreign lands.
Some resembled those of Dasheng people.
There were even some written in scripts he had never seen before, or represented by nothing more than codenames.
Xiao nodded and explained in a low voice.
“This book does not record only Dasheng or the modern era. It records all the Returning-Dust Travelers who have ever entered Guichen Studio throughout the generations. They came from different worlds, and from different eras.”
“I see.” Xia Lanshi understood.
“But this ‘Sheng Xia Ying’ was clearly the Gate Master who was the ancestor of the Sheng family four hundred years ago.”
Because only this person’s “Origin” clearly recorded a place name he knew well—“Chenjing,” the name of the capital of Dasheng today.
“That’s right.”
Xiao’s voice sank, as though carrying a trace of the rotten stench of blood across centuries.
“And that Gate Key, ‘Su Jinyu,’ was an ancestor of the Su family from our world. Unfortunately… he later died in Dasheng.”
A razor-sharp chill flashed through Xiao Yuan’s eyes.
“How did he die?”
Xiao shook his head.
“The records are vague about the exact cause of death.”
After a brief pause, he met the grave gazes of the others and slowly unveiled that sealed history.
“I once looked through the records left behind by generations of Gatekeepers. After Sheng Xia Ying passed through the Gate, the Gatekeepers sensed disturbances in the cause and effect between the two worlds. They forcibly opened the Gate several times and came to Dasheng to investigate the situation. But by the time they arrived, Su Jinyu’s remains had already disappeared without a trace.
“Not only that, the entire Su clan within Dasheng had been subjected to a horrific purge during that sudden political upheaval. No one was spared, whether old or young, man or woman, child or infant. When the Gatekeepers arrived, all they saw was a devastated wasteland and cold corpses scattered across the ground.”
Hearing this bloody history, Su Muchen had already heard fragments from Xia Lanshi before, but hearing the details of the massacre with his own ears still sent enormous waves crashing through his heart.
What kind of terrifying power struggle had the Su family been dragged into back then,
to the point that an entire clan had been erased from history?
Xiao Yuan keenly noticed the slight tension in the back of the person beside him.
He said nothing. He simply reached out and firmly covered Su Muchen’s cold hand with his warm palm.
That steady strength passed through their touching skin, carrying a silent promise of protection.
There was not the slightest hesitation in Xiao Yuan’s deep eyes, as though this gesture were a silent oath:
Even if the world changed beyond recognition, he would never allow the tragedy of four hundred years ago to happen to Su Muchen again.
The warmth seeped from his fingertips into his heart, and Su Muchen’s taut, aching nerves finally began to relax little by little.
Xiao took in the small gesture between the two of them without changing expression and continued.
“That underground cavern—the ‘Hall of Returning to the Gate’—was originally the sacred ground where the Su clan of Dasheng had guarded the Gate for generations, as well as their final refuge. But when the Gatekeepers arrived back then, it had already been completely sealed off, and the ancient shrine above it had also been burned to the ground.
“Because we searched everywhere and could not find a single survivor, we always believed that the Su bloodline of Dasheng had been completely severed back then.”
As he said this, Xiao’s gaze once again shifted toward the three ink-black characters in the book—
“Han Dongji.”
“But now it seems that not only did someone survive that desperate situation, they even concealed their identity to evade pursuit. Four hundred years later, this surviving branch has actually resonated with Sheng Chengxiu and become his Gate Key. This is definitely not a coincidence.”
Xiao raised his eyes and looked directly at Xiao Yuan, solemnity in his voice as though he could see through the workings of cause and effect.
“The reason all of this happened is because Sheng Chengxiu carries an unfinished ‘cause.’ That is why the Gate opened for him. As unbelievable as it may seem, there can be no mistake in this black book, because it is the Gate that recorded it, not human beings.”
Before this absolutely objective “black book,” everyone had no choice but to accept this absurd yet genuine reality.
People could lie.
Ancient texts could be incomplete.
History could be altered.
Memories could be forgotten.
Only the Gate would never lie.
Xiao raised his eyes again and looked toward Su Muchen’s still somewhat stunned face.
“Just now, you mentioned the line in Volume Six: ‘Within a single generation, each has only one; they cannot coexist.’ Perhaps under most ordinary circumstances, that statement is indeed true.”
As he spoke, Xiao casually took a sheet of paper and swiftly sketched out four points:
“Dasheng,” “the modern era,” “Gate Master,” and “Gate Key.”
“The words in the ancient texts have never been absolute laws,” he said calmly.
Xia Lanshi immediately understood.
“So the problem isn’t the content, but how ‘a single generation’ is defined?”
Xiao nodded.
“Exactly.”
He continued, “The Su clan’s ancient texts were passed down orally by a different people a thousand years ago and are the oldest volume among all the ancient texts. But how the writer interpreted it, and how the reader defines the scope of ‘a single generation,’ often differs from person to person.”
Xia Lanshi said, “‘A single generation’ has an extremely broad definition. It can mean a person’s lifetime, an era, the entire realm, or even different worlds.”
“Precisely.”
Xiao nodded.
After that incident, he had also thought about it and come up with several possible answers. This was one of them.
He connected the points on the paper with several smooth lines.
“His Highness is the Gate Master of Dasheng, while Mu’an is the Gate Key of the modern era. Sheng Chengxiu is the Gate Master of the modern era, while Han Dongji is the Gate Key residing in Dasheng. You are like two mirrors, perfectly reversed and intersecting with each other.”
Xiao Yuan reasoned in a low voice.
“You mean that in different causal relationships or worlds, as long as the Gate Masters they belong to are different, multiple Gate Keys can exist simultaneously on both sides?”
“Based on what we know now, yes.”
Xiao paused, his gaze becoming slightly more focused.
“It is simply extremely rare, so naturally no one thought of it.”
He spoke solemnly.
“Since the black book has now confirmed that the Gate recognizes Sheng Chengxiu’s identity as a Gate Master, then as a Gatekeeper, I cannot directly act against him.”
Xiao Yuan nodded slightly.
He understood all too well the helplessness of being bound by the laws imposed upon a Gatekeeper, and he also understood the leeway deliberately left in those words.
Xia Lanshi’s brows furrowed deeply.
“However, up to now, every intelligence network and informant we have has searched through every possible channel, yet we still cannot find Sheng Chengxiu’s whereabouts.”
They had mobilized countless resources. Although they had received a great deal of intelligence, not one piece of it concerned Sheng Chengxiu himself.
It was as though the man had vanished from the face of the earth.
Yet this black book had brutally proven that he was still alive in this world, lying in wait somewhere in the shadows.
Xiao pondered for a moment before analyzing the situation.
“I’m thinking… since he knows very well that I understand his methods and patterns of thought, he absolutely won’t follow the same path again. Instead, he’ll deliberately abandon his original plans and even do the opposite, carving out a path that even I cannot see through.”
Previously, when the price of silver had risen abnormally in Linzhou, he had suspected that Sheng Chengxiu was the mastermind behind it, but the investigation had ultimately revealed that someone else was responsible.
Xiao Yuan narrowed his dark eyes.
“In your view, what will he do next?”
Xiao calmly uttered two words.
“The Ancient Gate.”
“His ultimate goal is still the Gate. And the Gate is in the Northern Frontier. If he wants to completely escape and return to the modern era, the only passage available to him is the Ancient Gate beneath the Hall of Returning to the Gate.”
Just as Xiao Yuan had experienced when he crossed between the two worlds.
If Sheng Chengxiu wanted to return to the modern era, he would likewise have to pass through that underground Ancient Gate.
Xia Lanshi gave a cold laugh.
“But the underground Ancient Gate is now heavily guarded by His Highness’s troops. There is no way he can get close to it.”
Xiao nodded, then shifted his gaze toward Su Muchen.
“Unless… Han Dongji has already mastered another concealed rule for using the Ancient Gate.”
Su Muchen looked back at him, a trace of confusion appearing on his face.
But Xiao did not explain. He simply continued.
“However, I highly doubt that after four hundred years of bloodshed, the Han family has completely preserved the records in their ancient texts. It is even possible that Han Dongji himself has no idea that he is a ‘Gate Key.’”
Xiao Yuan understood the implication and turned toward Su Muchen.
“Mu’an, how far have you gotten in Original Record of Returning to the Gate?”
Su Muchen answered honestly, “I only reached Volume Seven yesterday before this Record of Returning-Dust Travelers interrupted me.”
Before Xiao Yuan could respond, the corner of Xiao’s lips curved into an extremely faint, almost teasing smile.
“Volume Eight happens to record another, completely different method of ‘using the Gate.’ Perhaps you two can find some time to try it. It might serve as an emergency backup when the crucial moment comes.”
Su Muchen was slightly startled. He did not understand the deeper meaning hidden in those words at all, and could only nod instinctively.
“Okay.”
Xia Lanshi brought the discussion back on track.
“If Sheng Chengxiu’s ultimate goal is the Gate, then if we use the Gate as bait to lure him out, would that still work?”
Xiao shook his head, his gaze carrying a trace of coldness.
“I’ve already used the same method once. Given how deeply calculating he is, this time he will inevitably raise his guard to the highest level. If we repeat the same trick, not only will we fail to lure him out, we may instead force him to hide even deeper and retreat even farther.”
After a pause, he continued his analysis.
“He currently has nothing in Dasheng. He has no foundation whatsoever. An ordinary person might rush to find the Gate, but Sheng Chengxiu is different. He will first conceal his whereabouts completely. Until he is absolutely certain of success, he will never let anyone know where he is.”
Xiao raised his eyes and looked directly at Xiao Yuan.
“With his abilities, sooner or later he will find out about the ‘Guichen Medical Sect,’ whose name has spread throughout the Northern Frontier. He will find out about the renowned ‘Doctor Su,’ and from there connect it to ‘Guichen Studio’ and ‘Su Muchen.’ He will soon realize that everything behind this is connected in countless ways to His Highness Prince Su of the Northern Frontier.”
Xiao Yuan lightly tapped his knuckles against the table, his voice low.
“So he will deliberately stay away from the Northern Frontier instead? Even after discovering that the ‘Gate’ that can take him home is right here?”
“He might. Or he might not.”
For once, there was a rare gravity in Xiao’s tone.
“Sheng Chengxiu is an extremely cunning person who is exceptionally good at adapting to changing circumstances. Every time we clash, he keenly absorbs the lessons from the encounter and readjusts his game. Even I am finding it increasingly difficult to accurately predict his next move.”
Xiao Yuan nodded slightly, a dark, sharp glint passing through his deep eyes.
Even someone as skilled at planning as Xiao found this opponent troublesome.
And now, he had not only acquired the fate of a Gate Master, he had even gained control over a Gate Key.
Such a vicious wolf lurking in the shadows, holding his cards close and deliberately retracting his claws to hide himself—
for the time being, it would indeed be extremely difficult to drag him out.
The atmosphere in the study grew heavy.
Seeing the worry on everyone’s faces, Xiao showed not the slightest trace of nervousness. Instead, the corner of his lips curved into a meaningful smile.
“If we can’t find the fox, then we’ll find the footprints the fox left behind.”