Chapter Thirty-Eight: Lin Kuang of Today

Why can I not see your face? How am I supposed to know you are my grandfather?

After a brief recollection, Ruoxi voiced her doubt. What had he been doing all these years, and why was his face still hidden in darkness?

She did not rush to approach him. She could not even make out his features, so how could she be sure he was Lin Kuang? If he were an impostor, what then? And what if that strange inner energy harmed her?

Given the strange surroundings and what she had seen before, she would not relax. Not unless...

"No matter whether you believe me or not, I am your grandfather. Here, this is something your father left for you."

The man in black opened his palm, revealing a black stone that gleamed in the sunlight.

He gave his hand a slight shake, and the stone bounced a few times in his palm before arcing neatly through the air and landing in Ruoxi's hand.

"Ah, I did not want to say it this way. I had meant to tell you my name first, then take out the thing Lin Feng gave me," the man in black said with a sigh.

"This stone..." Ruoxi stared at the glittering stone, her heart filled with uncertainty.

It was a family heirloom, passed from one generation to the next by the head of the family. This was the very thing her grandfather had given to Lin Feng, her father. How had it ended up in his hands?

It was an object her father had guarded with his life, and in a few more years it might have been passed to her. Yet now it was unexpectedly in her own hand.

Could it really be that her father had asked her grandfather to hand it over to her for some reason? Or perhaps...

At that thought, Ruoxi broke into a cold sweat.

The man in black saw the flicker of doubt and astonishment on her face. At first, he had given off no aura at all.

If he stood still, one would not even know where he was. Yet now, without any effort to sense it, one could not help but feel a trace of fear toward that presence.

It was an overbearing, domineering aura. Monshan's eyes lit up; he felt as though he had seen this kind of presence somewhere before, yet it also seemed strangely unfamiliar.

"My face was ruined in an important experiment. I can only hide it with special means. Now do you believe me, girl?" A magnetic voice came from beneath the black hood.

"Oh, I understand now!" A sharp gleam flashed in Monshan's eyes, and he hurried to Ruoxi's side. "I think he is the murderer who slaughtered this little town. Look at the dust on the ground—it must have all fallen from his sword. He is highly suspicious!"

Monshan whispered into Ruoxi's ear.

"What is with that sword of yours?" Ruoxi ignored Monshan and took a few steps forward instead.

"I ruined my face just to forge this sword," the man in black said sorrowfully.

"All right, I believe you. Can you remove the black mist from your face?" Ruoxi stepped forward again, while the Soul-Splitting Sword still lay where it was, utterly defenseless.

"Very well... You little girl are so wary that I shall let you see my wretched state!"

The man in black paused, his voice seeming to carry a sob, as though he were helpless.

As soon as the words fell, his aura instantly contracted, his breath turned inward, and the black mist on his body gradually receded, revealing his true appearance.

It was like ice and fire in one. One half of his face was extraordinarily handsome, with only faint wrinkles at the cheek; the other half was horrifically ugly, the kind of face covered in wrinkles that made one want to retch at first sight.

"Grandfather!"

The moment Ruoxi saw his true face, she cried out hoarsely.

It was a face she knew all too well. Though it seemed somehow far too young, she could not tell why he had become younger, but the features were unmistakably real and three-dimensional. It was Lin Kuang. There could be no mistake.

She moved slowly toward him, her face flushed with excitement, all her earlier wariness completely gone.

"Young lady! Don't go any closer!"

This time it was Aunt Mei who awakened from unconsciousness and warned her in alarm.

Though her voice was very weak, with Ruoxi and the others' hearing, even fallen leaves within two or three meters could be sensed.

Ruoxi froze. She looked at the man in black, and her expression changed drastically, an utterly incredulous look rising to her face.