The old woman's gaze was firm and steady. It was obvious she wasn't someone easily swayed.
Yun Jin thought for a moment, then lightly moved her fingers.
The chains binding the old woman suddenly loosened. At least now they wouldn't bite into her flesh like before.
Yun Jin took out a healing pill and fed it to her. Before long, the woman's wounds began to heal before their eyes, and her complexion improved dramatically.
"Thank you," the old woman said softly.
Though the young woman before her looked cold and detached, she was clearly gentle at heart.
To meet someone this kind... that child must've grown up well too, right? The old woman couldn't help feeling a growing anticipation.
"Wait here for a bit," Yun Jin said. "I'll be right back."
The old woman nodded quickly.
When she saw Yun Jin turning to leave, she hastily called out, "Wait!"
Yun Jin stopped and turned, puzzled. The old woman looked embarrassed and murmured, "I just wanted to ask... when you see that child, could you maybe put in a good word for me?"
Yun Jin sighed. "I'll tell the truth, nothing more."
"That's fine, that's fine," the old woman said repeatedly, relieved.
Yun Jin nodded, then vanished without a trace.
The old woman stared at the empty spot where Yun Jin had stood, her heart growing more and more restless. Would that child even want to meet such an unreliable elder like her?
Leaving the bamboo grove, Yun Jin had the system copy the token she'd taken and tossed the duplicate back into the guard's arms.
Then, with a snap of her fingers, the guard woke up in confusion, his memory of fainting completely gone. He hurried off to report back to Zhi Yue as if nothing had happened.
Outside the Imperial City, Yun Jin hadn't expected that her investigation would uncover such a huge secret. When she found Yu Songnian, she didn't even know how to begin explaining.
Yu Songnian noticed her hesitation. Slowly, his expression grew serious.
His little junior had originally agreed to meet him again at the ceremony, yet less than a day later, she'd come looking for him in secret. And she'd specifically asked to meet him alone.
Yu Songnian's heart tightened. Could it be...
He felt a trace of unease.
Yun Jin took a deep breath and recounted everything that had happened that day, from how she'd met the old woman to how she'd learned the hidden truth. By the time she finished, her throat was dry. Only then did she dare glance at Yu Songnian's face.
"Third Senior Brother," she said softly, "what do you think? No matter what you decide, I'll support you."
To her surprise, Yu Songnian looked calmer than she'd imagined. He smiled faintly. "Mother kept looking south even at her final moment. She must've been thinking about her homeland... and about her mother too."
Yun Jin watched him carefully, worried.
Yu Songnian's eyes softened. "Xiao Jin, knowing there's still someone in the Shi Tribe who thinks of my mother every day, it makes me happy. Take me to meet her. It'll fulfill one of Mother's last wishes."
"Alright," Yun Jin agreed without hesitation.
Soon after, she brought Yu Songnian back to the bamboo hut.
The barrier opened once again.
The old woman looked toward the doorway, eyes full of expectation.
In the past, every time that barrier was opened, she'd felt nothing but fury, because it meant her daughter was coming to drain her bloodline again.
But this time... she felt hope.
Was it him? Had he agreed to come see her?
The door creaked open.
The old woman's eyes widened as she stared toward the entrance.
Then she saw him—Yu Songnian.
"Third Senior Brother, I'll wait outside," Yun Jin said quietly. She closed the door behind her, leaving only the grandmother and grandson in the room.
The old woman stared at Yu Songnian, not daring to blink.
This was the child Zhi Yin had risked her life to protect—the one carrying traces of her existence.
"Could you... come a little closer?" Her voice trembled.
Yu Songnian hesitated, then slowly stepped forward until he stood before her.
The old woman reached out a trembling hand and traced the lines of his face, her voice breaking. "Good child... you're such a good child."
Just as she was about to say more, her expression suddenly froze. Shock flashed through her cloudy eyes. "King Stone?! Why do you have the aura of the King Stone inside you?"
She knew that aura too well. The moment Yu Songnian came closer, she sensed it.
"It was left to me by my mother," Yu Songnian replied, confused. What was so surprising about that?
"No, that's impossible." The old woman shook her head in disbelief. "The King Stone is born with the Shi Tribe and dies with them. When Zhi Yin passed away, the King Stone should've vanished too. So why... why is it still here?"
Yu Songnian frowned slightly. "Mother preserved it with a Bloodline Casket. She told me that when I reach the Unity stage, I'll be able to fully merge with it. Maybe then I can resolve the conflict in my bloodline."
"Bloodline Casket?" The old woman's face changed.
That tool only verified bloodline kinship, nothing more. It couldn't preserve something that should've disappeared with its host.
"Can you... let me see your King Stone?" she asked carefully, afraid she might offend him.
Yu Songnian nodded and summoned the stone.
"It really is the King Stone... but this aura..." she muttered again and again.
She held the stone in both hands, her expression shifting rapidly. It was the King Stone, yet something about it was different. Someone had altered it with an unusual power, embedding something else inside.
The old woman extended her spiritual sense to examine it more closely—
Then suddenly, an image flickered in the air.
She looked up in confusion, and Yu Songnian's eyes widened.
The projection showed a breathtakingly beautiful woman.
Yu Songnian's heart trembled.
It was his mother.
He'd had the King Stone all these years and never realized it contained a message from her.
"Songnian," the woman said softly, smiling with warmth. "If you're seeing this, you must be in the Shi Tribe... and you've met my mother, haven't you?"
Then she adjusted her gaze slightly. "Mother, are you in this direction? Or this one?"
"I'm here, I'm here," the old woman murmured, shifting herself toward the direction of the image.
Finally, the woman in the projection looked straight toward one corner.
The old woman crouched in that corner at once, making sure her position matched perfectly with her daughter's gaze.
"Mother," the woman said with a tender smile, "let's just pretend I'm looking right at you. How is it? Isn't my child outstanding, handsome, and kind?"