Chapter 1714: [Transcender] (Part 1)

The mosquito net split open, and this mysterious Old Lady Xu finally appeared before Hu Xiaotian. When Hu Xiaotian saw her appearance, he was so astonished his mouth gaped wide, unable to close for a long while. What lay before him was hardly an old lady—she was a pale, frail young girl, at most fifteen or sixteen, her hair as white as snow; the description 'white-haired, youthful face' fit her perfectly.

Based solely on her appearance, one could never imagine she was a woman nearing seventy; but if you carefully observed her eyes, you would discover her gaze was extraordinarily deep, having witnessed the vicissitudes of the world—such a gaze could not belong to a young person. Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but think of Qiqi; even with Qiqi's deep scheming, her gaze remained pure and clean, showing no trace of the world's weariness.

Old Lady Xu studied Hu Xiaotian for a long time before nodding and saying, 'You are truly not a creature of the pond.'

Hu Xiaotian whispered, 'Old Lady, you surprise me.'

Old Lady Xu laughed, her face that of a girl yet her voice aged and hoarse; to Hu Xiaotian it seemed utterly strange.

Old Lady Xu said, 'When Fengyi gave birth to you back then, you were deaf, mute, and a fool, thus you became her greatest regret.'

Hu Xiaotian's answer was unexpected: 'Do you blame me?'

Old Lady Xu couldn't help but smile faintly at his reply, laughing like a tranquil maiden, yet even as she smiled there was no hint of mirth in her eyes—her gaze was cold and calm, like an undisturbed ancient well.

Hu Xiaotian even thought he was facing a person of supreme wisdom, someone even Xu Lingkong could not avoid, someone even the emperors of past Dakang dynasties would have to show deference to—perhaps one who had long since cultivated to perfection.

Old Lady Xu whispered, 'Your skin and hair come from your parents; this is certainly not your fault. Fengyi has told me countless times that she should not have brought you into this world.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'My mother was a good person; it's a pity that in this world good people don't necessarily meet good ends.'

Old Lady Xu slowly nodded: 'For everyone, the most important thing in this world is one's own life, yet what is most important to oneself may be worthless in another's eyes; to the world, a single life is even more insignificant, and in the flow of history it might not even count as a speck of dust.' Her gaze became bewildered and empty.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'So you have become indifferent to everything? Even the life and death of your kin cannot arouse even a hint of sympathy in you?'

Old Lady Xu smiled: 'You have made it this far, which is truly not easy; I thought you had already seen through many things, that feelings are merely a luxury, optional at best. Sympathy? Heh, any sympathy will only drag you into torment and self-blame, meaningless to you.'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Old Lady, your insight is truly profound.'

Old Lady Xu said, 'I've heard your medical skill is superb, having many times turned the tide with it; since your medical skill is so excellent, could you explain how a boy who had been an idiot for sixteen years suddenly became a person versed in both civil and military affairs?'

Hu Xiaotian smiled: 'Many things in this world cannot be explained, just as I cannot understand how someone could be so ruthless as to refuse to see their own daughter one last time.'

Old Lady Xu said, 'It seems you still care about this matter—why, when your family fell into hardship, did I not lend a hand? Why, before your mother's death, did I refuse to see her one last time, and even when she passed, I would not send anyone to mourn her?' She paused, then said, 'Because she was never my daughter!'

Hu Xiaotian had long been prepared for this; Xu Fengyi had once told him a shocking story on her deathbed, but now he gradually realized that Xu Fengyi was merely a poor soul kept in the dark.

Old Lady Xu said, 'Actually, whether it's Fengyi or Buwei, they are not so easily deceived; do you really think they truly believed their son would suddenly become intelligent?'

Hu Xiaotian fell silent; Old Lady Xu's words hit the mark—even without saying more, Hu Buwei had never believed he was his son, otherwise he would not have acted so coldly.

Old Lady Xu said, 'Fengyi has long been disheartened over the son matter; her affection for you is nothing but self-deception. Do you think her death is unrelated to you? Knowing full well that her son's body is occupied by another consciousness, yet she must deceive herself to treat kindly the boy who personally strangled her own son's life—surely that is not a cruel torment for her?'

Hu Xiaotian's heart shook violently; he bit his lip and stared fixedly at Old Lady Xu. This white-haired, youthful-faced old lady had already seen through everything—no! One should say his appearance had never deceived anyone; from start to finish he merely deluded himself into thinking he had fooled others.

Old Lady Xu softly sighed: 'Life is a game of chess; we both once thought we were the players controlling the board, only to realize at the end that we are merely pieces moved by others. Hu Xiaotian, if I am not mistaken, your medical skill comes from Ghost Doctor Fu Luo.'

Hu Xiaotian continued to remain silent; this point Old Lady Xu guessed wrong—no matter how wise she may be, she could never imagine where he truly came from.

Old Lady Xu grew somewhat weary, took a soft cushion, leaned against it, and lay on her side as she said to Hu Xiaotian, 'My body grows weaker each day; my time is not far off. I came today not to congratulate you on your wedding, but because I have words that must be spoken.' She pointed to a chair nearby and said, 'Come over, let's have a good talk.'

Only then did Hu Xiaotian move the chair to the bedside.

Old Lady Xu reached out her hand; Hu Xiaotian hesitated a moment, then let her take his hand. Her palm was as warm, soft, and smooth as a maiden's—nothing like that of a seventy-year-old.

Old Lady Xu said, 'You still haven't answered my question—yes or no?' She was asking who he had learned his medical skill from.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'You just said I personally killed your grandson, didn't you?'

Old Lady Xu fixed her gaze on Hu Xiaotian's eyes and whispered, 'Could you be Ghost Doctor Fu Luo?' She then shook her head, saying, 'No, you are certainly not!'

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Don't you know there is still a Demonic Cultivation Great Method in this world?'

Old Lady Xu said, 'The Demonic Cultivation Great Method can be practiced only by women, you?' She shook her head, saying, 'I really cannot fathom how you came into this world.'

Hu Xiaotian had already concluded that Old Lady Xu's identity was certainly not ordinary; whether she was a descendant of those extraterrestrial visitors or a kin of Ghost Doctor Fu Luo is hard to say, but judging from Hu Buwei's efforts to obtain that Blue Skull, her relationship with the Heaven's Mandate Ones must be closer.

Hu Xiaotian said, 'Have you ever heard of the Heaven's Mandate Ones?'

Old Lady Xu furrowed her brows and said softly, 'It seems you know quite a lot.'

Hu Xiaotian drew the light sword from his waist, twisted the hilt, and a pale blue blade sprang forth.

Old Lady Xu whispered, 'I have observed you for a long time—your medical skill, your demeanor, even the couplets and poems you wrote, every painting you made—I can already determine where you come from.'

Hu Xiaotian now realized he had left behind too many clues; although to most people his abilities seemed miraculous and unfathomable, to someone versed in Earth's history and culture he was merely a skilled plagiarist. If Old Lady Xu says this, does it not prove she, like Ghost Doctor Fu Luo, might also come from the same place as he?

Hu Xiaotian extinguished the light sword, retracted it, and whispered softly, 'Are you a member of the Transcend Space Plan?'

Old Lady Xu's gaze remained calm as she quietly looked at Hu Xiaotian and said, 'I have long awaited this day, hoping someone would come to find us; after waiting nearly half a century, someone has finally arrived—but… I have grown too old to move.'

Hu Xiaotian shook his head; Old Lady Xu's words amounted to an admission that she was a member of the Transcend Space Plan, from which one could infer she had little connection with Ghost Doctor Fu Luo. Hu Xiaotian said, 'Although I come from the same place as you, I did not come here especially to find you; upon arriving, I had no plan or purpose whatsoever.'

Old Lady Xu felt no disappointment; to her it no longer mattered, just as she had said—she was already too old to move, and whether she could return in this state was no longer important. Since Hu Xiaotian knows of the Transcend Space Plan, it proves he has seen Ghost Doctor Fu Luo.

Old Lady Xu said, 'Fifty years ago, a five-person team carried out the Transcend Space Plan's mission, arriving in this world; however the plan was imperfect, their space-jump device appeared at a wrong location, and they became scattered in the battlefield, each unaware of the others' whereabouts.'

Hu Xiaotian nodded; Ghost Doctor Fu Luo, on this point, seems not to have told the whole truth—earlier he had told himself that all his companions were dead, leaving only him as a survivor, yet Old Lady Xu is alive and well. Is it that Ghost Doctor Fu Luo does not know her identity, or that he knows but deliberately conceals it? Is there any contact between them? Hu Xiaotian secretly guarded himself, for these Transcend Space travelers have undergone such tremendous change that their minds must have shifted greatly; their words cannot be wholly trusted.

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