Troublesome Final Test
The stone tablet names one final test before Hei Fan’s true inheritance can pass to a main tribe member the heavenly spirit brings, or to a criminal immortal who climbed the mountain. Its content is not written there, so Fang Yuan asks the heavenly spirit itself, mindless but still holding Hei Fan’s own instructions. New lines appear on the tablet. Hei Fan’s grotto-heaven is itself the true inheritance, and whoever wins it becomes its owner; the remaining task is to win the support of half the Gu Immortals already living inside, within three years of the grotto-heaven’s own time. The gathered immortals feel their ancestor never forgot them despite their crime, and some are close to tears. ch. 1122
Fang Yuan reads the new text with a heavy frown. Hei Fan is siding with the immortals already inside the grotto-heaven, so as an outsider Fang Yuan will find their support very difficult to win. But he soon reads the deeper purpose: Gu Immortals are hard to nurture, so taking these in would benefit Hei tribe greatly, and the test measures his ability to lead them. Privately he calls the dead Hei Fan troublesome. Aloud he says Ancestor Hei Fan thought of Hei tribe throughout and calls himself deeply moved as a descendant, and the immortals answer him warmly, relieved that their own welfare is now assured. He then asks how he can win all of their support, and meets only silence. ch. 1122
Chen Chi, the oldest and most experienced of them, begs off, citing the day’s shock, and invites Fang Yuan to rest at his own accommodations while they consider the matter. The immortals, fragmented until now, close ranks behind his delay and answer him with enthusiasm. Fang Yuan judges him a sly host, agrees, and is led away. Chen Chi calls his home crude, but it is in truth very elegant and grand, its palaces spread across a flattened peak where Gu Masters and mortals live as his own descendants. Fang Yuan and Chen Chi trade compliments about valuing relationships, each reading unspoken meaning into the other’s warmth. Chen Chi gives him no clear answer on support and does not meet him again after the first day; Fang Yuan waits without pressing. ch. 1122
Four days later Fang Yuan walks the lotus-pond walkway with Chen Le, Chen Chi’s great-granddaughter. He calls a yellow lotus fitting for her, takes her hands, and steps in close until she stumbles back into his arms; freeing herself, she accuses him of bullying her. Fang Yuan then gasps, steps back, and shows intense pain on his face. Pressed by her concern, he calls it a small injury from a fierce battle to win the true inheritance, then asks whether her great-grandfather suffers a similar wound from Gu refinement, which is why Chen Chi has avoided him. Panic flashes across Chen Le’s face, and she can only stammer. ch. 1122
Chen Chi’s excuse, a backlash from failed Gu refinement, is false, and both men know it though neither says so. That night the four immortals meet in secret, and Chen Le reports that Hei Cheng asked about Chen Chi’s injury. Chen Chi smiles and says Hei Cheng has finally lost his patience. Chen Le believes she concealed it and worries only about later, while Fang Yuan already knows the truth and meant the question as a subtle reminder. Chen Li Zhi concludes they need to talk to this Hei Cheng properly. ch. 1122
