"What? You don't believe me? You'd only believe if I got a sword and thrust at your throat huhn" the old man laughed self-deprecatingly.
Chen Zhiyu got up first, being careful, his gaze never left the old man for a second. After some time, to his amazement, the old man didn't make any movement. It turned out he was just being unnecessarily skeptical and stupid.
But it wasn't wrong to worry about one's life at any point in time or was it?
"How do I leave here?" Chen Zhiyu asked after scanning the room but not seeing a well represented exit.
"Right there!"
While still sitting, the old man casually pointed behind him. A trace of force completely invisible to Chen Zhiyu escaped, colliding with a portion of what Chen Zhiyu had initially taken to be the room's wall.
CRACK!
A crackling noise echoed as there was a rolling effect from the mechanism at this 'wall'. After minutes of rotation, a radiant opening was made. Chen Zhiyu could see the outside of the opening that was just about a little above his normal height.
"Alright then, see you around" Chen Zhiyu clasped his hands respectfully before turning to leave the room.
He began walking outside right after. However, when he walked for about five meters, he stopped to take a peep to be sure that he wasn't followed by the eccentric old man.
"Phew! That was close!" Chen Zhiyu sighed inwardly in relief to himself.
It was a narrow escape from death just now and he was finally happy to be out of trouble. But he still felt an ounce of gratitude for the old man being able to dispel the poisons that had been tormenting him all this while. Though he always braved the pain most of the time in the past, there were nights when he would almost lose his live when the poison flow grew in concentration.
But now, though he couldn't see his insides, he could tell from how his body was functioning that he was in a better state —at least, the rosy skin was a positive reference.
However, he could not help but reflect to the implication of the old man's words. He could tell that there was something unusual about his sudden and unplanned meeting with the old man.
He could not clearly remember how he had exactly gotten into the old man's room as the last memory he had was of the time he entered the cave and reached a special spot he could hardly remember, that led him into a strange room.
When he entered the room, he immediately passed out and couldn't remember anything else.
And then…he awoke to the old man's benevolent act of ridding off his poisons.
But the old man actually suggested that they would have more deals in the future. Wasn't he being too overconfident? After all, what if he wasn't around here anymore or relocated?
"Tsk! The old man must have had snots in his head to think that way" Chen Zhiyu sneered in his heart, shoving the thoughts of the old man aside.
He hurriedly sped back, trying to locate the Chen clan as soon as he possibly could.
However, unknowingly to Chen Zhiyu, there was one last needle stuck at the back of his head that had strangely bonded with his white hair.
As for what it was and what it was meant for?
…
"Haha! Little Friend, you wouldn't think I'd be so careless to let you go scot-free just like that huhn. Let this old man watch your moves, before you do that thing, I can't permit you to die. Hmm, the heavens are really on my side after all"
Back in the cave room, the old man had a mirror in hand. It was silver in color and a radiant silvery glow could be seen on the surface which was constantly shimmering with a mystifying feeling.
In the mirror, Chen Zhiyu's figure could be seen walking towards the Chen clan. The old man smiled for sometime before putting away the mirror and continuing his meditation.
Unknowingly to Chen Zhiyu, he was being monitored by the old man who had managed to fuse a tracker into his body during the healing process. It could have been troublesome if Chen Zhiyu was a cultivator as he would definitely tell the aura and energy contrast.
But he was only a mortal after all, he had no idea about items or concepts such as this. Even till now, he didn't know for sure if the old man was a cultivator or just a more experienced traditional doctor.
…
Chen Clan.
Chen Zhiyu arrived at the Chen clan about an hour after. He moved in silently, yet his actions were closely followed by all and sundry within the clan.
It was even annoyingly noticeable today and Chen Zhiyu could feel that something was off somewhere. The people were speaking in hushed voices and every now and then, he could sense undisguised gazes of envy from the surrounding people.
It was only when he listened in depth that he began to get a nick of what was going on, through their gossips, he was reminded of that matter.
"Did you hear, the Yan Clan has already set a date for the bethrotal of their Young Mistress to Chen Zhiyu"
"What? That can't be true? Brother Xin, when is the date?"
"I hear it's happening during the fall, four months from now before the Snowstorm Festival"
"You mean the Snowstorm Festival of the Snow Moon Peak, the Yan Clan's Young Mistress' sect? How's that possible, aren't disciples of their sect celibate?"
"Hais! You still don't know the tragic tale a decade ago. The former clan leader had already proposed the marriage between Chen Zhiyu and the Yan Clan's Young Mistress. This was done before he was transformed into the trash that he is today"
"Interesting. I don't think the Yan Clan today would be willing to fulfill the marriage agreement this time around or would they?"
"It's actually surprising but it's the Yan Clan that's making the first move towards it and showing their interest. The Chen clan is feeling tensed these days as we don't know what the other party might be plotting after all"
Chen Zhiyu's ears had quite the fill from the gossip shots flying all over the place.
They weren't even speaking in really hushed tones, their pitches were set just right in a manner that they could be audible to him irrespective of the distance he kept.
Thinking about the matter of the past decade and the marriage talks around him, Chen Zhiyu's expression that was once radiant before immediately dimmed down.