Chapter 17: The Name That Shouldn't Be Spoken
The night air was colder here, thick with the scent of wild ironwood trees. Li Yuan moved quietly through the forest, his white hair swaying like moonlit silk, golden eyes calm yet ever-watchful. The Spade of Buried Truths pulsed faintly, and the Sickle of Memory whispered with soft voices—echoes of those he had known.
[System Alert: Unknown Spiritual Disturbance Detected — Caution Advised]
He crouched near a moss-covered stone, running his fingers over the soil. The dirt trembled faintly.
"Something waits ahead," he murmured, his tone steady as if he were merely commenting on crops. "And it knows my steps."
A Village Frozen in Time
At dawn, Li Yuan emerged into a clearing… and froze.
Before him lay a village, but unlike any he had seen. Its buildings were intact, crops still standing, wells full—yet there was no sound, no movement. The air shimmered as if caught between breaths.
He stepped inside carefully, Rootsplit Hoe in hand.
The silence felt alive.
As he walked past a field of wheat that never swayed, his golden eyes narrowed.
[System Notification: Soul-Imprinted Stasis — Triggered by Name Seal]
The truth hit him immediately: this village was locked in time itself, sealed by a technique so ancient even gods rarely used it.
Then, from the center of the village, a voice broke the silence.
The One Who Remembers
"You've finally come back… Xiao Tianmie."
The moment the name left the stranger's lips, reality shuddered.
The sky cracked faintly, showing glimpses of stars that shouldn't exist. The ground vibrated with power, vines curling unnaturally as if the world itself recoiled.
Li Yuan's calm expression hardened, his golden eyes dimming for a breath.
He turned to the speaker.
An old man in faded green robes stood there, leaning on a wooden staff. His hair was silver but his posture was strong, his eyes sharp. Despite his age, his qi rippled with the confidence of someone who had once walked among immortals.
"Who are you?" Li Yuan asked, voice steady but lower than usual.
The man smiled bitterly.
"A farmer you once saved, before you became… what you are now. You won't remember me. But I—"
He slammed his staff into the ground, and the frozen villagers twitched, as if waking for the first time in centuries.
"—I kept their lives sealed here, waiting for you to come back and finish what you started."
The Weight of the Name
Li Yuan exhaled slowly, eyes closing for a moment.
When he opened them, they burned faintly brighter.
The old man stepped forward.
"I've waited for you to remember who you are. Because this village… was the first you failed."
Li Yuan's grip on the Hoe tightened.
"I didn't come to reopen old wounds," he said calmly. "I came for something buried."
The old man smirked, raising his staff.
"Then you'll have to earn it. Prove you're not just pretending to be a farmer again."
The Battle of Roots and Time
The ground split instantly. Vines surged like serpents, twisting through the air. The old man's qi bent time itself, making attacks appear twice—once in the past, once in the present.
Li Yuan moved with unshakable grace. His Hoe spun in smooth arcs, knocking aside vines while planting new ones in the soil as he fought. Every time he struck, golden roots burst upward, countering the temporal distortions.
The villagers—half-awake, half-frozen—watched in awe, some whispering his forbidden name. Each time they whispered it, the sky cracked a little more.
The Truth Under the Soil
Finally, Li Yuan struck the ground with his Hoe, sending a shockwave through the village.
The old man froze mid-attack, staring as the soil split open, revealing a small wooden box wrapped in roots.
Li Yuan approached slowly.
"This is what I came for," he said, kneeling. "The world doesn't need me to be Xiao Tianmie. It needs me to keep planting, even in ruins like this."
The old man lowered his staff, his expression softening.
Inside the box lay an ancient seed glowing faintly gold.
End of Chapter 17