Bachelor [EN]: Chapter 12

Master Wen’s eyes narrowed, his expression unreadable, as he placed his hand on Han Li’s wrist.

He focused intently on examining Han Li’s inner strength, remaining silent. Only after a long while did he exhale deeply.

His expression was dark, and he still seemed dissatisfied with Han Li, but he didn’t voice any criticism. He simply gestured for Han Li to follow him.

Han Li was very curious about the suspicious figure standing behind Master Wen, but he knew it wasn’t the right time to ask questions freely.

After entering the room, Master Wen sat down heavily on a chair, looking exhausted.

Han Li sensed Master Wen’s unease. He followed the suspicious person to the middle of the room, bowed his head respectfully towards Master Wen, and waited for him to speak. A long silence stretched out. Unable to bear it any longer, Han Li slightly raised his head and secretly glanced at Master Wen.

“If you want to look, then look. Why are you sneaking glances?” Master Wen’s cold voice cut through the silence. Though Han Li didn’t show it, his heart was in turmoil.

‘How did Master Wen’s expression change so drastically all of a sudden?’

A darker aura seemed to emanate from Master Wen’s face, like a living thing, with countless tendrils writhing as if about to unleash its claws. His previous vitality was gone, replaced by a look of grim determination.

Master Wen stared at Han Li with a gaze devoid of any warmth, and his lips curled into a sneer.

Han Li felt a prickle of unease, a sense that something was terribly wrong. A dangerous atmosphere filled the room.

He cautiously took a step back, his hand instinctively reaching into his sleeve to grasp the iron tube he had hidden there.

His nerves relaxed slightly as he felt the familiar weight of the tube. Then, he heard Master Wen’s low, mocking laugh.

“You dare to try such a shallow trick?”

Master Wen moved with unnatural speed, as if he had become a ghost, and was suddenly right beside Han Li. Han Li knew something was wrong and tried to move his arm, but he found himself paralyzed, unable to move.

“Elder, why are you doing this? If I have done something wrong, please tell me. Why are you seizing my acupoints [pressure points]?”

Master Wen didn’t reply, but he clutched his chest and coughed, trying to catch his breath. He looked so weak that he seemed like he could be blown away by the wind.

However, Han Li had just witnessed his incredible speed and strength, so he couldn’t dismiss him as an ordinary old man with a serious illness.

Rather, this pretense of weakness made him even more wary.

“Why are you doing this? Please release my acupoints. I will accept any punishment,” Han Li said again, his tone polite and respectful.

But Master Wen ignored him.

He reached out and took the iron tube hidden in Han Li’s sleeve, then sneered at Han Li with a contemptuous look.

Han Li’s heart sank when he saw Master Wen’s expression. It seemed he had no chance of escape.

Han Li slowly closed his mouth and composed his expression. He stared intently at Master Wen.

At that moment, it felt as if time had stopped in the room. It was eerily quiet, like the calm before a storm.

“Good! Good! Good!” Suddenly, Master Wen uttered the word ‘good’ three times.

“As expected, you are a talent worthy of my, Wen Jingren’s, attention. Even in this situation, you don’t change your expression. You are in danger, but you don’t act rashly. The resources I have invested in you have not been wasted.”

He praised Han Li.

“What do you intend to do with me?” Han Li interrupted Master Wen, his voice sharp.

“Haha! What will I do with you?” Master Wen repeated Han Li’s question.

“What will I do with you? That depends on what you do.”

“What do you mean?” Han Li frowned, trying to decipher Master Wen’s intentions.

“Even if I don’t say it, a smart kid like you would have guessed to some extent.”

“It’s just a bit of speculation, I don’t know the whole story,” Han Li admitted calmly, without denying it.

“Alright, that’s not bad either. If you want to ask anything, ask. Don’t keep it hidden in your stomach.”

Master Wen smiled, a sinister expression on his face. The dark aura around him seemed to have intensified, radiating a ferocious energy.

“I knew that you have always been wary of me, and you have never seen me as a true disciple. But it didn’t matter. I, too, have never truly treated you as my disciple,” Master Wen snorted lightly.

* * *

“How old do I look to you?” He twitched his facial muscles a few times and asked in a stiff tone.

“From the outside, you look to be around 60 years old. But since you’re asking this, your actual age must be different from what it seems. Could it be much older or much younger?” Han Li was curious, but his tone remained neutral.

“Tsk, tsk. So you really are the one who has mastered the Evergreen Technique. How can a mere country bumpkin become so sharp and intelligent!” Master Wen’s lips curled into a sneer as he stared at Han Li with a burning gaze.

“Your guess is correct. I’m only thirty-seven years old.”

An unbelievable number came out of Master Wen’s mouth.

“That’s impossible!” Han Li, who had been maintaining his composure, exclaimed in surprise.

“Impossible! It’s really impossible! Anyone who saw me would not doubt that I’m in my seventies, as it is known to the outside world, not sixty.”

Master Wen’s voice became rapidly high and sharp. It was so grating to Han Li’s ears, as if it were piercing his most sensitive spot.

“I, Wen Jingren, was famous in the martial world of Yue Country’s Southern Province many years ago. I made quite a name for myself, and it was like my own world. Haha! At that time, who in the Southern Province didn’t know the power of ‘Ghost Hand’? I wasn’t bound by the righteous or evil sects, the path I walked was my own path.”

Master Wen regained his original voice and began to speak in a low tone. His story was filled with a sharpness like a newly drawn sword.

It was as if he was back in his prime. Listening to his story, Han Li couldn’t help but be amazed. Master Wen had such a past.

“Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last long. As I was trying to reach a higher level in martial arts, I fell into the trap of a treacherous person. I was poisoned by the hand of the person I trusted the most.

Although my innate medical skills were excellent, I could manage the poison to some extent, but I couldn’t find a way to recover completely.

At that time, my martial arts were also damaged, and I had nowhere to turn. Fearing that my enemies would attack, I abandoned all my assets and family and wandered around other parts of Yue Country, looking for a way. I was hoping to find a way to regain my original inner strength.”

He recalled what had happened to him, as if he had returned to that time. He clenched his fists so tightly that he didn’t even notice the blood flowing from his fingernails digging into his palms.

His face was full of anger, and his resentment towards the treacherous person who had plotted against him seemed to be etched into his bones. Even Han Li, who was listening to his story, felt a chill and goosebumps.

“Heaven must have known my earnest desire, and eventually, it led me to obtain a mysterious book in a secret place. The book was so strange and profound that I could barely understand it after tremendous effort. The first part of the book contained a method to restore my inner strength. I followed that method, but as a result…”

Master Wen stopped speaking, out of breath, and couldn’t continue immediately. For a moment, a feeling of regret rather than anger appeared on his face.

“As a result, you ended up looking like this,” Han Li said, finishing the story he had been unable to tell.

“That’s right. Thanks to that book, my inner strength was restored, but unexpectedly, I aged rapidly and ended up looking like this. Half human and half ghost.”

Master Wen nodded once and continued.

“You must have found the cause by now, right?”

“I made a mistake in following the method in the book, and evil energy invaded me, which led to this state. Now, to live a day, I need to use the essence that an ordinary person would use in ten days. My life is slowly being chipped away, but fortunately, I am well-versed in nourishing my body, and I was able to slow down the aging process by making a kind of elixir according to the book. That’s how I’ve survived until now.”

“What does my cultivation of the technique have to do with that?” Han Li asked, cutting straight to the point.

“Not long after I changed like this, I was able to find a solution in that book. It was the ‘Evergreen Technique’ that you are cultivating. If someone who has reached the fourth level of the Evergreen Technique helps me circulate my inner strength, I can escape this predicament. And I can also regain my original body and spirit.”

“But why me? Wouldn’t it have been enough to find someone with great martial arts skills and have them cultivate this technique?” Han Li muttered for a moment, then spoke the question that had been in his heart for a long time.

“Do you think that this Evergreen Technique is something that anyone can learn? This technique can only be learned by someone who is young when they start cultivating inner strength, and the cultivator must have a spiritual root constitution [a specific type of body that is more receptive to cultivation]. Although I don’t know what this spiritual root is, I have brought hundreds of children before you and taught them, but none of them were able to master this Evergreen Technique.”

Master Wen seemed angry again.

“Did that happen?” Han Li was a little bewildered. He had not thought that cultivating this technique would be so excessively difficult.

“I thought that I wouldn’t be able to find someone who could cultivate this technique in my remaining years. In despair, I began to wander the martial world.

Unexpectedly, I saved the life of the sect leader of the Seven Mysteries Sect, who was on the verge of death after falling into the trap of a treacherous person like me.

After that, at the request of the sect leader, I became an elder of the Seven Mysteries Sect. Originally, I was going to bury everything in my heart and spend my last days in this mountain.

But there was a miracle. Haha! At first, I really intended to take you in as a disciple. But I don’t know what I was thinking at the time, as if possessed by a ghost, I had you try to cultivate the Evergreen Technique.

In fact, even if you couldn’t master the Evergreen Technique, I was going to take you in as a disciple and pass on my medical skills and martial arts. But unexpectedly, you showed a reaction to this martial art! Haha! Even if the sky falls, there is always a way out!”

Master Wen revealed the truth of this mystery in one breath. Even though he was ill, his face was flushed, and he seemed very pleased with the good fortune he had encountered.

“I haven’t even reached the fourth level yet, why are you revealing all of this?”

“That’s your own fault. I have put so much effort into you for so long, but you haven’t satisfied me and have been playing around all the time. You were so close to the fourth level, but you dragged your feet and didn’t move on to the next stage.

Originally, I was going to wait for another two years. But this time, when I went down the mountain, I was discovered by my enemy. After a fierce battle, I was able to kill him, but I used up all my remaining essence.

My lifespan has also been greatly reduced. Now, I only have about a year left to live even if I use my energy. Do you expect me to wait any longer?”

Master Wen’s expression changed in an instant, and he shouted at Han Li with a ferocious look again.

Even after learning everything, Han Li didn’t show any signs of being flustered and kept his usual expression. However, a huge wave was raging in his heart.

He had noticed early on that Master Wen had a hidden plan, but he never dreamed that such a huge thing was waiting for him.

The other party’s background, inner strength, and even the truth of the Nameless Cultivation Method, everything was beyond his imagination.