Bitter Realm: Have the Four Realms been united today?

Chapter 4 Origin

The boy clenched his fists so tightly that his nails dug into his flesh, causing a sharp pain, barely managing to maintain his crumbling sanity.

Although the white-robed man's gaze was very gentle, it still brought him invisible pressure, but compared to the red-robed man's oppressive aura, which was like a mountain collapsing, it was worlds apart.

He dared not look at the silent, crimson figure at the door; even a glimpse of that corner of his eye made his heart tremble.

After an unknown amount of time—perhaps a few breaths, perhaps the time it takes for an incense stick to burn—the boy's lips moved several times before finally uttering a hoarse, dry sound:

"I...I'm sorry," he said with difficulty, trying his best to keep his volume and speaking speed normal.

"I was out of line just now. I didn't mean to offend you." He knew that people in ancient times valued etiquette and law.

The aura of authority emanating from the man in red was almost tangible. He feared that his earlier reaction, which had been like avoiding a plague, might have angered the other party and led to unimaginable consequences.

"It's alright!" Yue Tianji replied gently, his voice carrying a strange soothing power, like a clear spring flowing into scorched earth.

"The Soul Emperor doesn't care about these things."

Seeing the panic on the boy's face subside, Yue Tianji's gaze shifted and he said, "You descended from the sky, so you may have suffered some internal injuries. I have some knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine; may I examine you?"

"Okay..." The boy nodded almost subconsciously, then remembered something and added weakly, "...Thank you, sir."

Yue Tianji led the boy to sit down at the table. The footsteps disappeared, and the side room fell into a subtle silence once again.

The Soul Burial Emperor stood like a mountain. Although his crimson eyes no longer directly locked onto the boy, his invisible presence, like a deep-sea undercurrent, silently filled the entire space.

Mu Yunzhi stood respectfully with his hands at his sides, his posture one of absolute submission to the crimson figure before him. However, beneath his lowered eyelids, his probing gaze would occasionally sweep over the seated boy.

Yue Tianji's slender fingers had already touched the boy's wrist, the touch from his fingertips was icy cold and trembling slightly.

The boy could clearly feel those gazes, some stern, some probing, some scrutinizing, like thorns in his back.

He kept his head down, his gaze fixed on the cold patterns on the tray in front of him, trying to immerse himself in these insignificant details to isolate himself from the suffocating oppression around him.

However, the trembling within the skin betrayed the will.

Time flowed silently in the stillness, and the invisible pressure was like a noose that was tightening ever more.

The boy's heart was pounding out of control!

What started as panic and palpitations has evolved into a frantic, drum-like pounding in my chest!

Thump! Thump! Thump!

The intense, almost bursting pulse was clearly transmitted through the cold skin to the fingertips of the pulse-reader.

The finger that Yue Tianji had placed on the pulse point paused slightly.

He raised his eyes, his gaze calmly sweeping over the Soul Burial Emperor, Ling Shuangjie, and Mu Yunzhishu. His voice remained gentle, yet carried an undeniable air of authority.

"Soul Emperor, General Ling, Zhishu, please look away for now. His mind is disturbed and his breathing is disordered, so it is not helpful to take his pulse."

The Soul Burial Emperor frowned slightly, and a hint of confusion flashed in Mu Yun Zhi Shu's eyes, but the two of them did as instructed and looked away.

Ling Shuangjie's gaze instantly sharpened like lightning. He stepped forward, almost pressing his face against the boy's lowered head, and demanded sharply:

"Kid! You said you were hungry and wanted to eat, but you were just trying to get rid of me, weren't you?"

Her voice, filled with the irritation of being fooled, seemed to pierce the boy's skull.

"Yes...yes." The boy's voice was barely audible, carrying a resigned honesty and a hint of broken apology.

"You didn't answer my questions before because you were afraid of being watched?" Ling Shuangjie's anger intensified, as if sparks were jumping in his eyes.

"If you have something you're reluctant to say, just say it. Why bother making fun of me with such absurd words! Even a three-year-old wouldn't be so terrified by a few glances!"

"Regarding your question... my mind was in complete chaos at the time, and I couldn't say anything. It wasn't that I intentionally didn't answer..."

The boy's voice trembled slightly as he took a difficult breath: "I...I just...felt so miserable and wanted to be alone...but I was afraid of offending the general, so I...I made up an excuse. I thought the general wouldn't hear me..."

"Oh? So it seems I was wrong?" Ling Shuangjie's voice became even more stern.

"I'm sorry! It's all my fault! I'm willing to accept the general's punishment!" The boy shrank back in fright and dared not say another word.

Seeing Ling Shuangjie's eyebrows furrow and her red lips part slightly as if about to erupt, she was about to lash out.

"His body is merely suffering from depletion of qi and blood; there is nothing seriously wrong," Yue Tianji's voice rang out first, while he calmly withdrew his hand from taking his pulse.

He calmly rose, turned his gaze to Ling Shuangjie, whose anger had not yet subsided, and said in a calm but guiding tone: "Since General Ling still has doubts about his explanation just now, why not let him tell us the truth about the questions he was unable to answer before?"

"This proves that what he said earlier was not just an excuse, and the matter can be dropped. What does the general think?"

Ling Shuangjie let out a barely audible hum, her gaze lingering for a moment on Yue Tianji's calm face.

She didn't really intend to do anything to the trembling boy. Now that the strategist had personally spoken up to change things, although she couldn't quite figure out his true intentions, she wouldn't disobey him out of respect for Yue Tianji's wisdom and strategy.

So, the anger on her face subsided slightly, and she regained her usual cold and stern expression, nodding and saying:

"I have no objection, boy. Speak! Who are you, where were you before, and how did you get here?"

The boy composed himself before speaking, "My name is Ming, Xuanming. I was sleeping at home, and I don't know how I ended up here!"

As Xuanming finished speaking, a brief, somewhat ambiguous silence fell over the side room.

When the young man spoke, Mu Yunzhi's calm and deep eyes returned to him, patiently waiting for him to elaborate on his origins, family background, or at least explain where his "home" was.

However, after a few breaths, the boy just sat quietly, showing no sign of speaking again, as if his three dry sentences were the only answer.

Mu Yunzhi's brow twitched very slightly. He simply couldn't understand how, under such circumstances, a person of unknown origin could give such a meager and insincere "answer."

To confirm that this was not some kind of deliberate provocation or mockery, he finally couldn't help but break the silence with an almost affirmative tone.

"That's it?"

Upon hearing this, Xuanming looked up, his face showing pure, unfeigned confusion, and his voice carrying a sense of natural bewilderment.

"What else... do you want to say?"

He paused, then added in a lower voice, even more confused, as if stating a fact that couldn't be more obvious.

"Have I answered all the questions?"