Why do I have so many masters?-Chapter 374 - 65: The Gift (4000-word long chapter) (1/2)_2

Pompous and extravagant!

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Indeed, pompous and extravagant!

Such stone material is also considered a heavenly and earthly treasure, serving to block various sounds, making it most suitable for martial artists to cultivate their inner strength and break through bottlenecks. External noises cannot disturb the inside, while the sounds within can be heard by a particular method, allowing one person to be aware.

In this way, external distractions cannot affect the martial artist, yet should the martial artist encounter any anomalies or deviate during a breakthrough, others can be informed to offer assistance.

Even outsiders must use unique methods to hear the sounds inside, and these methods vary depending on the style of the secret chamber. Perhaps it can be heard from another secret chamber, or it may require the aid of some wondrous object of heaven and earth—there’s no standard procedure.

To use such material and construct such an enormous secret chamber, the financial power of the Tan Residence is indeed formidable.

Wang Anfeng marveled in his heart, but what followed was admiration for Tan Tianxiong, the master of the Tan Residence. Inside this quiet room, there wasn’t the slightest sound. Over a prolonged period, it almost amounted to purgatory. In the Ministry of Punishment, against those martial artists with high martial skills and strong will, this method was employed. Over an extended duration, even the toughest of individuals wouldn’t be able to bear it.

Looking at it, this secret chamber has probably been around for more than a decade.

Indeed, those capable of achieving extraordinary feats must themselves be extraordinary...

Wang Anfeng inwardly praised, then slowly continued forward, calming his mind and carefully sensing whether there were others present.

Upon entering the second sealed room, a series of extremely sharp edges suddenly closed in on him. Wang Anfeng’s footsteps froze in an instant, his pupils contracted, and the hairs on his neck stood on end.

No one had launched an attack on him.

Ahead of him and not far off, there were several wooden racks. Facing him on one of them, there were about a dozen weapons, each containing astonishing murderous intent and sharpness, obviously having had extraordinary pasts. Placed in Jianghu, they were coveted items even for a Sixth Rank Martial Artist.

Wang Anfeng walked past slowly without reaching out to touch them.

On the second rack lay jade vases, their faint medicinal fragrance, even unable to be completely contained by the special cold jade storage, spread all over the place, prompting the inner strength in Wang Anfeng’s meridians to circulate faster, clearly of no ordinary quality.

And on the third rack, there were a dozen books and ledgers, presumably all secrets of Jianghu collected by the Tan Residence, with pages that had slightly yellowed.

Wang Anfeng didn’t touch these treasures coveted by those in Jianghu, but couldn’t help feeling a bit hesitant in his heart, thinking that he might have been somewhat rash this time. Or perhaps it was because of the letters Tan Yurou left behind, which just touched the irritated part of his heart, causing him to become temporarily unbalanced. In a moment of anger, he descended into this secret chamber.

Otherwise, on any other day, he would certainly have given it more careful consideration.

Looking at it, he feared that he had entered into the Tan Family’s secret vault. Such a treasured place was already quite presumptuous.

Some reticence already forming in his mind, he nevertheless saw that there remained just one final secret chamber ahead. After pondering momentarily, he still stepped slowly into it. Glancing around, he indeed didn’t discover Tan Yurou’s whereabouts, and Wang Anfeng felt a touch of disappointment. Shaking his head, he prepared to leave.

He didn’t like such a deathly quiet place very much.

Especially since this place was so spacious and vast. In a short time, he had become aware of the oppressiveness and the faint scent of despair here. Prolonged duration here would likely be unbearable. That Tan Tianxiong could have stayed here for so long was truly formidable.

As he was about to turn and leave, just at that moment, Wang Anfeng’s gaze swept across a corner of one wall, and his expression suddenly froze.

After a rigid few seconds, he walked over quickly, crouched down, and with a lifted hand, he touched the corner, realizing that what he saw wasn’t a mistake, his expression undergoing violent fluctuations.

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There were no secret manuals here.

And no elixirs.

But on this wall, crafted from heavenly and earthly treasures, there were some friction marks, looking worn.

Like the shoulder and back of a young girl.

Wang Anfeng fell silent, crouching on the ground, his hand gently passing over these marks. The traces were very distinct and must have formed over years of constant wear, day after day.

In his mind, many previously unclear things suddenly became exceedingly clear.

Why she had such capabilities at a young age.

Why the real hidden experts in the Tan Residence would obey her orders.

Why, after the Tan Residence’s upheaval, Tan Yurou appeared while Tan Tianxiong disappeared without a trace. Thinking about it carefully, he had never actually seen Tan Yurou and Tan Tianxiong appear together.

After who knows how long, Wang Anfeng lightly exhaled a breath of turbid air, his expression changing as he softly said,

"It’s always been you, hasn’t it..."

The one here... was never Tan Tianxiong, the one always here was only Tan Yurou...

He couldn’t contain himself at the sight, as if he could see once again that extraordinarily beautiful girl smiling tenderly, with blushing cheeks, bashful and full of charm, yet her eyes held innocence and slyness, her voice sometimes coy, sometimes calm, or sometimes capriciously cunning.

"Then, if you’re willing, willing to let me be the only one to dress you up and apply makeup, Yurou wouldn’t mind."

"Young hero, Yurou is tired..."

"I’m sorry... this is the last time I’ll deceive you."

"Young hero..."

Wang Anfeng’s fingers glided over the fine and dense scratch marks on the ground, becoming increasingly silent. The annoyance he had fostered towards Tan Yurou gradually dissipated unnoticed. He seemed to understand the origin of these scratches and why Tan Yurou had taken the Bitter Heart Flower.

If not for the Bitter Heart Flower, how could a child endure the darkness that even he found oppressive?

He seemed to see a thirteen- or fourteen-year-old girl in the dead silence of the oppressive dark, swallowing the Bitter Heart Flower, curled up in a corner of the secret chamber, her knees hugged to her chest, enduring the suffocating and despair-like stillness.

When she couldn’t bear it any longer, she would scratch the surrounding walls and floor.

But she couldn’t make a sound.

Thus, these marks were left.

Within the scratches were some darkened bloodstains.

Wang Anfeng grew even more silent when he suddenly found something unusual on the ground. A stone brick seemed movable, and underneath it was a neatly folded letter, very flat.

He opened the letter.

It was still that extremely familiar handwriting, elegant and serene, but the words lacked the previous jest and cunning playfulness, instead, they carried a solemnity that made Wang Anfeng feel somewhat uneasy.

To the young hero: Good tidings upon opening this letter.

We have known each other for many days, yet not everything was said.

So vast is the world, and with today’s parting, I fear we may never meet again. Thus, I leave these few words as an unanswered farewell.

Yurou’s life has reached this point, with no more blood relatives or close friends remaining. All who were close have gone, retreating into the Jianghu. With the Tan Family’s powerful influence, neglecting it would surely lead to much trouble. I wish to bestow upon you, young hero, these things to ward off disasters. In this secret chamber, you will also find an array of weapons and treasures, which you are free to use as you please.

Beware of the power struggles, the chaos of the Jianghu; take care in all things, and may you always be safe.

If fate allows it... we shall meet again in the Jianghu.

Wang Anfeng held the letter in his hands, closed his eyes, and remained silent for an unknown period before laughing out loud. He collapsed into the corner Tan Yurou had left behind, leaning against the wall. As his laughter subsided, for some reason, he felt a tightness in his chest.

He understood what Tan Yurou was saying.

She was saying, "We shall not meet again in the Jianghu."

From this angle, Wang Anfeng suddenly noticed something unusual. Instinctively, he looked up, and his eyes widened slightly because, being able to see at night, he hadn’t realized until now that beneath a broken tile, starlight and moonlight were flowing.

It was very small, even no larger than the size of a soybean.

But through this tiny hole, he saw a moonlit night unlike any he had witnessed in his life.

It was pure, shining bright...

Just like Tan Yurou’s eyes.

The young man was entranced, his right hand holding the letter, which fell to the ground. Moonlight cast upon the paper, and apart from that one line, there was also a large smiley face.

After a moment of silence, Wang Anfeng gently rested his head against the cool wall, just as Tan Yurou had for the past three years, alone in the most desperate silence, gazing upon the world’s most beautiful moonlight. His breathing seemed to be scattered by the moonbeams and starlight, becoming deep and prolonged.

In the secret chamber just a wall away, a young girl in white sat on the ground, leaning against the cold wall, hands over her lips, eyes curved up, clear and luminous as the bright moon, seemingly smiling.

Yet tears fell drop by drop.

Separated by just a wall.

She spoke softly.

"We shall not meet again in the Jianghu, Young Master Wang..."

"May you have a peaceful life ahead, Miss Tan..."

PS:

About this segment, Tan Yurou is not playing hard to get, she just wanted to see before she left if Wang Anfeng cared for her even a little bit. If he cared, he would doubtlessly return, and then he would discover the gift Tan Yurou left him. As for Miss Tan, the choice for this part has already been written in the ’Calm Before the Storm’ chapter.

Parting is inevitable, isn’t it? The ending is predestined.

As for the future... well, who knows?

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