Wooden Box

Qin Meng and Leng Yueyan sat inside a carriage as it drove. It was silent within the carriage, except for the occasional flipping of pages—of Leng Yueyan's book—and the rolling of carriage wheels and the sound of galloping horse hooves. Neither of them spoke until Qin Meng couldn't take it anymore."Why did you do that?"

"Did what?" she said, her eyes still focused on the pages of the book.

"Why did you beat Mentor Zhu?"

"Because he deserves it." Her face turned cold and she closed the book. "How dare he treat my fiancé in such a disgusting manner. Who does he think he is!"

Qin Meng eyed her and then said, "Is that it?"

Leng Yueyan looked at him and smiled. "Nothing could escape from your eyes, huh?" Suddenly the wagon stopped moving. She eyed him and a gentle look appeared on her breathtaking face, "We are already here. Let's talk about it some other time."

Qin Meng stared at her for a moment and then nodded before climbing down the carriage.

Looking at the vanishing wagon in the distance, he sighed, and then slowly turned towards the building where he had spent seventeen years of his life. There was a board hanging at the entrance—Qin Family—was written on it.

The place looked terrible as if no one had cleaned it for ages. It appeared almost abandoned. No one had cared for the garden for a long time, it was covered with weeds and thickets. The walls of the building had turned yellow and black without whitewashing as the vines twisted over them, and the leaves littered the ground, crunching under his feet when he strolled.

Qin Meng sighed as he pushed open the gate. There was a time when this place was filled with people. Many big shots of Yorel kingdom would line up in front of this abandoned-looking building to meet his parents.

"You have returned." As soon as he entered the hall, a voice sounded. He hoisted his head and spotted an old man sweeping the hall with a broken broom. His back was hunched, his hair and beard were white, and his clothes were tattered and covered in dust. His eyes, however, were bright and vigorous. If someone had seen just his eyes, he would never believe that they belonged to a hunch-backed old man.

"Grandpa Hu," Qin Meng greeted the old man with utmost politeness. The old man nodded and said, "Go wash yourself. I will ask the maid to send lunch to your room." Although this place looked deserted, there were still a few servants present.

"Yes." Qin Meng nodded obediently and sauntered towards his room. It'd already been about seven years ever since his parents left. It was Grandpa Hu who took care of him. Without him, even this house would have been snatched by some people, like the other businesses of the Qin Family.

It was Grandpa Hu who had taught him Talisman Engraving(Glyphtor in Illusion) as well. Alas, he could not reach beyond rank 1 without a Martial Spirit. Not that it was needed for engraving, but it needed to strengthen the body. People could improve their soul power without a Martial Spirit, but it was still limited. If someone were to improve his soul power without cultivating, at some point, his body and soul would become imbalanced and the person would die. Qin Meng had already reached the limit.

"After lunch come to meet me," Grandpa Hu said when he'd taken only a few steps.

Qin Meng nodded before trotting toward his room.

***

Qin Meng walked through the long deserted gallery and arrived at a secluded place. A hut stood in front of him and occasional chirping of birds echoed from the trees around it. This place was too silent, and whenever the birds made a sound, it felt almost spooky. He strode towards the hut and knocked on the door. "Come in," said a voice from the inside.

He pushed the door open, stepped inside, and spotted the old man sitting on a mattress on the ground. "Grandpa Hu, what did you want to talk about?"

The old man eyed Qin Meng and a smile spread on his wrinkled face. "Come, sit here with Grandpa."

Qin Meng settled on the mat in front of him. Grandpa Hu peered at him for a moment and then said, "I'm leaving."

"What?" Qin Meng gawked at the old man in shock and said with his trembling voice. "Y—you're leaving?"

"Yes." The old man nodded solemnly.

"Wh...why do you also want to leave me, Grandpa?" he said, tears threatening to escape his eyes.

"Child…" A painful look appeared on his wrinkled face as he stared at the kid in front of him. He had seen him grow up from infant to the current him. Qin Meng was like his own flesh and blood. If it was so hard for him to leave Qin Meng, he wondered what his parents would have gone through at that time. He sighed and then said, "Don't make it harder for this old man, child. Grandpa also doesn't want to leave, but sometimes we need to do things against our wills."

After that, he waved his hand and a cuboidal wooden box appeared on the mat between him and Qin Meng. It was about a feet long and a half feet high. There were complex runes etched at its surface. However, Qin Meng's attention wasn't on the box; his gaze was fixed on the ring in the old man's hand. Grandpa Hu had a Spatial Artifact!

Grandpa Hu spotted his gaze, but didn't explain. He held the box and said, "This is something your parents have left for you."