Chapter 26: Faded Memories Resurface

Qin Ming noticed that his younger self was dressed very poorly, but he was quickly drawn to the booklet.

It was a very thin ancient booklet; when opened, it revealed silk pages. Its beast-hide cover seemed to have been bound later—dark in color and coarse in texture, it was meant to withstand the erosion of time and protect the true scriptures within.

The first page recorded the "unorthodox methods" Qin Ming knew all too well. As he looked, a whispering voice echoed in his mind, reading the dense text aloud.

Then, that calloused hand turned to the second page. The font remained tiny, continuing from the previous section. It contained new text and diagrams that immediately caught Qin Ming's attention, and he memorized them quickly.

Perhaps he didn't even need to consciously memorize them. These were his faded childhood memories. As he underwent his Second Rebirth, his physical fitness improved drastically, and his mental awareness strengthened accordingly. He was brushing away the dust of time, allowing the scenes of the past to reappear and bringing back the contents of the Silk Book he had once seen.

In a state between sleep and wakefulness, Qin Ming wanted to turn to the third page, but he couldn't. That large hand did not open it for him.

He carefully examined the Silk Book protected by the tough beast hide. Weathered by the years, it had long since lost its original luster. It was slightly yellowed, exuding a beauty of age and the heavy atmosphere of history. It was indeed very thin, likely containing only ten to twenty pages.

Qin Ming tried several times to turn the page, but he remained unable to open the third one.

He stopped trying and instead gazed through the mottled lens of time at his younger self. The small figure was dressed in tattered clothes. Even in his semi-conscious state, Qin Ming was moved. His childhood had been one of extreme poverty; his small, faded clothes were covered in patches, his cuffs were frayed, and when he looked down, there were holes in his tiny shoes.

He sighed softly, thinking of his later years. His youth hadn't been much better; he had suffered from chilblains and hunger, his body often covered in blood and injuries. Two years ago, he had collapsed from illness outside Silver Vine Town before being brought back to Twin Tree Village.

"The year I was fourteen..." Qin Ming reached toward his head. There had once been a wound near the back of his skull that had bled profusely.

He realized he was awake. He wasn't reaching for his head in a dream; his fingers were actually passing through his black hair, touching the spot that had once been a bloody mess. No scar remained. It must have vanished during his first Rebirth.

"My childhood self and my fourteen-year-old self—two special Nodes, and memories that are so fragmented. Those few faded faces often appear in my dreams."

It was during his fourteenth year that he had been displaced and experienced many hardships, which was why he was more mature than others his age.

Qin Ming looked outside. The thick darkness of night was gradually receding. He walked into the courtyard and took a deep breath of the freezing air, recalling his childhood memories once more. The contents of the first two pages of the Silk Book were now clearly etched in his mind.

Then, he began to practice the movements he had never tried before, along with the methods for regulating his breathing and spirit. He studied them with intense focus.

It was a long time before he stopped. His body was still burning hot, but it no longer glowed; he looked relatively normal.

"That rough, large hand..." Qin Ming reminisced. The sleeve of that hand had been severely frayed, and the hand itself was covered in calluses, indicating that the person had lived a life as poor as his younger self, far worse than his current situation.

The reason he called it a "large hand" was because it had seemed massive in the eyes of his childhood self—full of power and a sense of security. He truly wished he could see that small hand held by the large one again, to make up for the regret of not seeing his kin for so many years.

"The Second Rebirth isn't over yet. Tonight, I'll continue eating the Blood Snake meat containing Spiritual Matter. As my physical constitution improves, my mental power will strengthen with it. Perhaps I'll be able to see the past again in my subconscious dreams and more of those faded childhood memories will surface."

With these thoughts, Qin Ming felt radiant and incredibly energetic. He picked up a stone millstone to test its weight; it felt quite light! He estimated that he could now lift a weight of fifteen hundred jin.

Shallow Night arrived. Qin Ming washed his heated body. He didn't plan to go into the mountains to hunt today; he wanted to stay home and study the newly recovered scriptures from the Silk Book.

"Why did they say it couldn't be mastered?" He hoped to find the reason in his dreams when Deep Night returned.

The Silk Book clearly had a significant origin, as someone had preserved it so carefully to prevent damage.

The wind and snow had stopped, and the night grew slightly paler. This was a "clear day" in an era without a sun.

Qin Ming focused on studying the Silk Book. Though he had only seen two pages, they were densely packed with tiny text and diagrams. More than half of the second page was entirely new to him. These recovered memories required careful contemplation to practice and master thoroughly.

"It's very subtle and profound. Unfortunately, I can't compare it with middle-level Meditation Techniques or high-level Yiqi Arts, so I don't know its exact tier."

In this remote place, Qin Ming lacked Rebirth methods. Aside from the Silk Book, he had only read the widely circulated Night Meditation Technique Introductory Guide.

The Silk Book mentioned "Sky Light," but only briefly in passing. It did not explain how to cultivate Sky Light Force, and it certainly didn't contain the highly revered Rulai Force.

Qin Ming frowned. The Silk Book was undoubtedly extraordinary, but why didn't it provide a detailed explanation of the critically important Sky Light?

He read carefully and practiced repeatedly in the courtyard. Eventually, he formed a hypothesis: the Silk Book aimed to convey the most information with the fewest words. If one persisted in this training, Sky Light would naturally be born within the flesh and blood, thereby strengthening the essence, energy, and spirit.

However, it truly made no mention of how to develop Sky Light Force.

"The Silk Book seems to be about elevating one's life level. Does it lack specific combat techniques?" This realization left Qin Ming a bit bewildered.

In the afternoon, during the brightest part of Shallow Night, Qin Ming rubbed his temples. After half a day of intense study, his mind was slightly fatigued, but he believed he had fully grasped the new content from the Silk Book.

When he practiced again, his movements were fluid and seamless, merging with his surroundings. His gaze was focused and clear, his hair fluttering as he embodied a state of natural grace.

Most importantly, the warm current within him surged. The silver ripples on the surface of his body solidified slightly, as if transforming into Silver Clay. The Silk Book didn't mention what level he would reach or what states would appear, so Qin Ming had no way to judge his progress.

He stopped to rest. Even just standing there, he appeared naturally composed, his temperament significantly enhanced.

"Xiao Qin, come out! We're going into the mountains to pay our respects to the ruins," Xu Yueping called out to him.

Qin Ming had originally planned to stay home and reflect on the Silk Book, but since he had already mastered the new parts, he could afford to go out.

"What ruins?" he asked.

Xu Yueping chuckled. "The Mountain Patrol Team's outpost. Let's see what traces that brilliant Mountain God—er, no, I should say Mountain Monster—left behind."

Then, he lowered his voice. "We're going to see if any good stuff was left."

This wasn't just a whim. The leaders of several villages had gathered and secretly agreed that since they were no longer planting Black Moon, they would go check out the outpost together.

"Let's go!" Qin Ming nodded.

Lately, even the Reborn of the various villages had to travel in groups of several people to dare venture even slightly deep into the forest; otherwise, the dense woods were extremely dangerous. Not everyone dared to wander the mountains alone like Qin Ming. Ultimately, it all came down to strength.

"There's a pile of fine wine here," Qin Ming called out to Xu Yueping. He was very familiar with this outpost; the flashes of saber light from that snowy night still lingered in his mind.

Xu Yueping and Yang Yongqing immediately ran over, overjoyed. The so-called "paying respects to ruins" was really just seeing if there was anything useful left behind. The men of the villages were equally pragmatic and simple.

Old Man Liu's face lit up with a wide grin. His legs were no longer weak as he leaped over half a zhang high and darted over with a "whoosh."

Qin Ming smiled. "Old Man Liu, how about it? Yesterday I said I'd gift you ten jars of good wine, and today we find a whole pile. Let's divide them up and take them back."

"Good, good, good!" Old Man Liu repeated, itching to break the clay seals and taste the liquor right then and there.

"Coming to the Mountain Patrol Team's place to 'rob graves'... why does this feel so satisfying? Heh heh." Xu Yueping couldn't stop laughing.

The Reborn from other villages were naturally alerted. In the end, Twin Tree Village took away over thirty jars, and the remaining smaller portion was divided among the other villages. Although Qin Ming had found them, he couldn't keep them all to himself, lest someone cause trouble later.

In fact, the Mountain Patrol investigators had already been there and seen the wine, but they were on official business and looked down on such common spirits, so they hadn't bothered with them.

Once the news spread that day, even more people headed out. The Mountain Patrol outpost was "grave-robbed" by various parties.

"It's likely this person killed everyone in the Mountain Patrol Team?" Qin Ming was surprised when he saw a portrait after returning from the mountains.

It was the man with the greenish-black face. Admittedly, the image of him slaying a Blood Snake with a sword was quite impressive. Someone from Silver Vine Town had delivered a stack of these portraits, telling the villages to be on the lookout and report any sightings immediately.

The Mountain Patrol Team was not a weak organization; its highest-ranking official was a Great Personage in Crimson Cloud City.

"His name was Wang Nianzhu. He looks quite heroic; I didn't expect him to be such a person." Qin Ming truly hadn't expected to see the man's likeness again after killing him, let alone learn his name.

"You didn't exactly die in obscurity. At the very least, your portrait is being posted in every town. You've become famous in this region, even if it is remote." Qin Ming glanced at it a few more times before leaving. Someone whose head he had already blown apart wasn't worth dwelling on.

"However, I hope the Mountain Patrol Team can find out which family he came from or what organization he belonged to." He also kept Golden Chicken Ridge and the Three-Eye Cult in mind.

Deep Night. After Qin Ming ate the Blood Snake meat, the effects of the medicinal meal kicked in quickly. His entire body became scalding hot and began to glow, just like the previous time.

Finally, wearing his Gold-threaded Jade Suit, he drifted off to sleep.

Qin Ming saw his younger self again. Though impoverished, with his little clothes and shoes in tatters, the boy seemed to possess immense willpower, practicing the Rebirth method from the Silk Book over and over.

"If it has such an extraordinary origin, why can't it be mastered?" The young Qin Ming was stubborn and determined, refusing to give up.

"A very formidable person once practiced the methods in this Silk Book and trained himself to death. And he was one of its creators." That large hand stroked the beast-hide cover of the Silk Book.

"Huh?" The young Qin Ming was still very naive and completely bewildered.

"Some paths are too glorious. But others have an uncertain future. A few old fellows weren't satisfied; they researched together, wanting to rival those brilliant paths. The theory was excellent, but in the end, after they abandoned their previous achievements to practice this method, they either died or were injured. Or, when their lifespans were nearly spent, they wandered off to the ends of the dark earth. If they couldn't master it, how could those who come after?" The whispering voice echoed.

"If it can't be mastered, why leave it behind?" the child asked.

"The parts that couldn't be mastered were torn out. What remains is less than half, and even that requires the help of someone who has practiced this method just to enter the gateway. So, just look at this Silk Book for fun."

"What about the more than half that was torn out?" The young Qin Ming still didn't want to give up, as this was the only decent technique he could obtain.

"Burned."

The young Qin Ming fell silent, appearing somewhat sad as he looked down at his tiny shoes where his toes peeked through.

Shallow Night arrived, and Qin Ming woke up.

He sighed softly. He had thought he had obtained a heavenly scripture, but it seemed he had overthought it. In the future, he would have to pay more attention to other high-level Yiqi Arts.

However, he was also somewhat dazed. No one had helped him, yet he had still mastered the first two pages of the Silk Book.

"What if I mastered it? The rest of the Silk Book was burned. And the creators themselves couldn't do it—they verified it with their own lives and died. After so many years, those others are likely long gone from this world as well."

Qin Ming stood up and went into the courtyard, feeling the changes in himself. Because this Second Rebirth had been aided by Spiritual Matter, it had been fast and intense. He had succeeded.

He felt that he now possessed a thousand jin of strength in a single arm.

...

Two days later, news came from Cao Long, Wei Zhirou, and Mu Qing. The higher-ups were set to hold a final negotiation with the top-tier Heteromorphs from the mountains. The location was at the entrance to the mountain range.

By this time, many people were already waiting.

In the snow, a donkey plodded along leisurely.

"This must be the mount of some Great Personage from Crimson Cloud City, right?"

As the donkey drew closer, people noticed that its back wasn't empty. A creature sat cross-legged upon it, but it wasn't human. It was a snow-white weasel, sitting as still as an old monk in meditation.

The very first being to appear was so bizarre that many people were too afraid to speak.