#411 - Only the heart can be trusted
In the days following his return from Yan Yun Mountain, Wei Changtian dedicated his time to learning the Art of Concealment from Old Zhangtou.
If the "Starry Sky Scabbard" was the only spatial magic item he had ever seen, then this Art of Concealment was the only spatial divine ability.
From the *Book of Jin*: The Art of Concealment allows one to become invisible upon seeing an object. Earth Concealment is the quickest, as earth is everywhere.
As one of the five methods of borrowing objects for invisibility, as described by Taoism, the Five Elements Concealment Art is divided into five types: "Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth."
Old Zhangtou possessed the "Earth Concealment" technique, which could only be performed while standing on the ground.
As long as one's feet were on the ground, and the incantation was recited silently, internal energy would circulate through the body in a fixed pattern, allowing the caster and any living being they touched to move instantaneously.
This divine ability sounded impressive, but in reality, it had many strict conditions for its use.
Firstly, to perform the Art of Concealment, one had to follow the path of Taoist cultivation.
Secondly, since internal energy had to fill the caster's entire body during the technique, the caster had to be a martial artist with all sixty-four meridians open.
Clearly, this alone would eliminate ninety-nine percent of cultivators.
At least, among those around Wei Changtian, only Ah Chun, with her Innate Taoist Body, met this condition. Xu Qingwan, Liang Qin, Chu Xianping, and others did not.
This directly dashed Wei Changtian's idea of "promoting and expanding" the Art of Concealment.
However, although these people couldn't learn it, Wei Xianzhu and Qin Caizhen could.
If he found an opportunity to teach the Art of Concealment to them, they would have an extra means of self-preservation, and Wei Changtian could be more at ease about their safety in the capital.
“...”
“Master, my parents also have all sixty-four meridians open.”
In the backyard, Wei Changtian, who had just successfully "flashed" several zhang away, stopped and approached Old Zhangtou with a flattering smile: “Can I teach them the Art of Concealment?”
“The Five Elements Concealment Art is a unique skill of the White Hall. It was already an exception to teach it to you.”
Old Zhangtou glared at him unhappily: “So, as long as I'm still here, I will never allow you to do such a thing!”
“Understood!”
Wei Changtian nodded nonchalantly: “Then I'll wait until you're gone before teaching them!”
“...”
Old Zhangtou glanced at Wei Changtian helplessly, and said nothing more, tacitly agreeing to the latter's plan.
In fact, from the moment he decided to pass on the Art of Concealment to Ah Chun, he had already anticipated that the "secret skill would be leaked" inevitably.
But he still did it.
Perhaps this was the last "farewell gift" that Old Zhangtou wanted to leave for Wei Changtian.
After all, as master and disciple, Wei Changtian had called him "Master" at some point.
“...”
“Listen carefully, the Art of Concealment requires a long preparation time before each use, so you must be very cautious when using it against enemies.”
Old Zhangtou slowly walked to a bluestone and sat down, saying solemnly: “Also, the further you move, the harder it is to control the position, and even the direction becomes difficult to control beyond a certain distance.”
The afternoon sun was lazy, and Old Zhangtou squinted as he explained the "precautions" of the Art of Concealment one by one.
Although his expression was very impatient, he spoke very carefully, and in some places, he even repeated himself several times.
Wei Changtian didn't interrupt, but stood beside him and listened until the former had finished speaking, then smiled and asked: “Master, I understand everything about the Art of Concealment.”
“Besides that, do you have anything else to tell me?”
“You...”
Old Zhangtou patted the dust off his clothes, and after a long silence, suddenly sighed.
“Alas, I know that you don't really see me as your master.”
“I don't blame you.”
“If I were as young as you, I'm afraid I would have the same thoughts as you.”
“It can only be said that you and I have a master-disciple relationship, but not a master-disciple affection.”
“I have nothing to tell you, but there is one more sentence... consider it my only insight in this life.”
“I once said this to Sect Leader Qin, but he didn't seem to listen.”
“So now, if you are willing to listen, then listen; if you are not willing to listen, then just treat it as the wind in your ears.”
“...”
Looking at Wei Changtian's complex expression, Old Zhangtou paused for a moment, and then slowly said, as if sighing and admonishing:
“The affairs of this world are impermanent, ever-changing, illusory, and unreal.”
“If you can't see clearly between illusion and reality, then remember that only your own heart is the most trustworthy.”
If you can't see clearly, only your heart is trustworthy.
Wei Changtian's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he remembered that Old Zhangtou had indeed said similar words to Qin Zhengqiu.
However, when the same words were said to himself, the meaning seemed to be different again.
“...”
Without saying anything, Wei Changtian slowly sat down beside Old Zhangtou.
White-haired old man, young man, sitting and watching the clouds rise and fall.
The sunlight slowly changed from golden to pale, and then mixed with a little orange-red.
The old and the young sat silently on the bluestone, from afternoon until dusk.
A few wisps of smoke rose sparsely from the front yard, and a lone crane was flying towards the vast and boundless sky.
Tonight, the small house was as peaceful and quiet as usual.
The next morning.
After breakfast, Wei Changtian took Agou and Ah Chun to send Old Zhangtou all the way to the outside of the city.
The latter had very little luggage. Besides a few clothes, all that remained was the long sword that had almost killed "Yan Luo" twice.
Although it no longer had the sharpness it once had, the blade was still smooth and bright.
It's just that the sword is new but the person is old. The man who once traveled the world with it was no longer as young as he used to be.
“...”
“Alright, go back.”
Without saying a word of nonsense, Old Zhangtou bent down and got into the carriage, his expression very relaxed.
Several Freemasonry members who were acting as his escorts on this trip turned their eyes to Wei Changtian, and then saw the latter waving his hand with equal ease.
“Okay, let's go.”
“Yes! Young Master!”
The Freemasonry members responded in unison, and immediately got on their horses, whipped them, and escorted the carriage away.
Soon, the group disappeared at the end of the official road, and Wei Changtian turned his head to look at Ah Chun and Agou beside him.
Logically speaking, the former's feelings for Old Zhangtou should not be as deep as the latter's.
But at this moment, the emotions of the two little girls were exactly the opposite.
Ah Chun, who had only known Old Zhangtou for a few days, looked reluctant, while Agou, who had been by Old Zhangtou's side since she was a child, looked indifferent.
Such a big heart...
Wei Changtian didn't say anything. After standing in place for a while, he took the two little girls back to the small house by carriage.
Although it was still morning when they left, it was lunchtime when they returned.
Ah Chun barely ate anything for the meal, while Agou ate as deliciously as before.
“Senior Brother! I'm full!”
“I'm going back to my room for a nap!”
Putting down her chopsticks and patting her bulging little belly, Agou hopped out of the dining hall.
She ran lightly back to her room, tiptoed to close the door, took off her shoes and socks, and slowly crawled into the quilt.
Lying on the bed with her eyes open, Agou was trying hard to fight back her tears.
She didn't dare to blink, took a deep breath, and clenched her small hands into fists...
But after struggling for a long time, she still couldn't hold back.
“Gra- Grandpa...”
“Ah- Agou doesn't have a grandpa anymore...”
“Wuwuwu, I want Grandpa, I want Grandpa...”
“...”
The crying hidden under the quilt was a bit muffled.
The sunlight shone in from the window, like a large, wrinkled hand, gently falling on her body.
