Ling Zhang's attention was drawn to the roast pheasants on the grill, his worry ebbing away. Smelling the tantalizing aroma and watching the dripping fat, he found himself stroking his belly.

Yuwen Tong gave a smile and was just about to speak when he suddenly paused, twisting his head aside to look at a clump of bushes to their right.

Ling Zhang's eyes also flashed in that direction.

A faint rustle was heard. At first Ling Zhang thought that it was some kind of wild beast approaching, and then he felt it sounded more like a human than an animal, but its breathing was a little weak, and there was also the sound of footsteps on crisp leaves. It sounded like... a child?

After a while, the bushes shook and with that a little boy's head with two buns on top poked up through the foliage, his fair-skinned, chubby, little cheeks as delicate and adorable as those of the boy beside the lotus seat of the Bodhisattva in a New Year painting, his big, round, liquid eyes as bright and sparkling as obsidian in spring water. The moment his little head popped out, he started looking around and soon caught sight of Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong as well as their... roast pheasants.

His limpid eyes immediately lighting up, he crawled his way out of the bushes. His plump little hands were also fair-skinned and appeared very pleasant to the touch, fallen leaves sticking to his hair and robes which were simple-styled but made of soft, sumptuous material. After getting out of the bushes, he pulled himself up, casually dusted off his hands and then trotted towards Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, but he didn't get too close, stopping a few paces away, flicked a surprised glance at them and then looked at the roast pheasants and asked in a babyish voice, "Who are you? What are you doing?"

Ling Zhang had been astonished when he'd seen that it was really a kid, and been gazing at the little boy all along. Noticing that the style of the boy's robes was rather different from that of the robes worn by common children in the outside world, he got a shrewd idea of where he might be from. After hearing the boy's questions, he answered, "We were invited to pay a visit to this place."

"To pay a visit?" The little boy tilted his head slightly to one side, his big eyes full of puzzlement. "My uncle said no outsiders could get in. Where are you from?"

Uncle? Ling Zhang guessed that this boy lived in the Millennium Pavilion and his uncle was probably a member of the organization.

And surprised as this little boy's eyes were, there was not much wariness in them. He seemed very naive and unsophisticated.

"We came here with an elder named Ji Yin," said Yuwen Tong.

At the sound of Ji Yin's name, the little boy seemed to suddenly understand, an expression of dawning comprehension on his face. "Oooh, it turns out you came here with the Prime Elder."

Having realized this, the little boy was much less afraid of Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, stepped closer and crouched down beside the fire, sniffing the tempting smell of the roast pheasants, staring at the them with gleaming eyes. He swallowed hard and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Roasting pheasants. They're very delicious. You want to give it a shot?" said Ling Zhang in a low voice, involuntarily sounding a trifle amused, for the sight of the little boy gazing at the roast pheasants with longing glinting eyes was so amusing. He could bet it was by the aroma of the roast pheasants that this little boy had been lured here.

Eyes glinting even more expectantly, the little boy bobbed his head repeatedly. He was just about to answer when a voice came from the clump of bushes behind him. "Cong."

On hearing this voice, before the little boy reacted, Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were taken aback. The speaker was right behind the bushes, but neither of them had sensed their presence!

How was this possible? Even when Ji Yin got close to him, Yuwen Tong could faintly detect his Qi, but this person...

"Uncle!" called the little boy, twisting his head around. "I'm here!"

"I know you're there. I've already seen you. You've been misbehaving yourself and running around." The speaker walked out from behind the bushes. He was young, slim-figured, clothed in very plain, light gray robes, one of the lower hems of which was stuffed into his belt, looking casual and simple. His long, black hair was simply tied behind his head, flying in the wind. He slowly walked over, and only at this moment did his footsteps become audible.

Aside from these, there were two things about him that were the most conspicuous. The first one was a multicoloured bird standing on his shoulder, which gave a squeak and haughtily raised its head, scorning to look at Ling Zhang or Yuwen Tong; the second one was a round, scarlet little mole in the middle of his fair-skinned brow, which rendered Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong unable to take their eyes off it, as though it possessed some kind of power that could bind people's soul. His features were beautiful and exquisite, more charming than those of a statue carved out of jade by a consummate sculptor.

This man... was so good-looking. His charm was indescribable. Ling Zhang had only one thought in his mind – he was as handsome as a celestial being.

There was no doubt that this man was a member of the Millennium Pavilion, and his kung fu was superb, for even Yuwen Tong couldn't sense his Qi at a close distance.

Ling Zhang knew he should be alert, but for some unknown reason, the sight of this man made him unable to become vigilant. There was an air of something amazing about this person in front of him. He didn't know how to describe it, but if he had to put it in some way, he would say that this man unmistakably struck him as totally harmless.

Neither Yuwen Tong nor Ling Zhang moved, the latter sitting where he'd always been, the former still turning the branch in his hand, but both of them were watching the young man walking over, their backs slightly tense.

Ling Zhang was pondering what his preamble should be. Should he just show this man the token left by Ji Yin? But the man had already shown a sign of what was on his mind. He casually cast a look at the roast pheasants, and then slowly glanced at them once again.

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Jin, "..."

"Uncle, this smells so good!" The little boy, crouched before the grill, gave the young man a wave. His hands were white and chubby, making his wave seem soft.

Almost subconsciously, Ling Zhang blurted before he could make a decision, "We're roasting pheasants. You want to have a try?"

The young man briefly paused and then walked up to the little boy in a very natural manner to sit onto the ground beside him, his long, jet-black hair flying at the back so lightly it was reminiscent of willow twigs, which made the mood quite relaxed. The colorful bird on his shoulder gave another squeak and finally moved its eyes onto Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong.

"Thank you," said the young man, gazing at the roast pheasants. "What spices did you use? The smell is so pleasant."

"Common ones." Yuwen Tong gave the names of a couple of spices and then added, "When it comes to roasting pheasants, timing is everything. You've got to make sure it's done to a turn."

The young man seemed to find this reply quite enlightening. "You've got a point. My family chef never made any roast pheasants smelling so good."

Ling Zhang was still wondering whether or not he should show him the token, but seeing that the young man's eyes had been fixed on the pheasants all along, he came to realize that showing him the token wouldn't be necessary. This man definitely didn't care, for all he care about was the roast pheasants.

Ling Zhang, without any more talking, helped Yuwen Tong roast the pheasants, which had almost been done before the appearance of the young man and were now ready to eat.

Their original plan had been that they each had one pheasant and ate them by using branches to impale the meat, but now...

Yuwen Tong directly handed the branch to the young man. "Give it a shot."

The young man's eyes brightened slightly. He took it, thanked Yuwen Tong, briefly sniffed at it and then took a bite of it. The expression on his face was so content and happy as though this was the most delicious food in the world. The sight of this made Ling Zhang feel even hungrier.

"Uncle! Uncle! I want a bite as well!" The little boy, mouth watering, grabbed the young man's wrist with his chubby hand, staring at the roast pheasants.

The young man tore off a chunk of meat reluctantly, handed it to the boy and reminded him, "Be careful. It's hot."

Since the meat was fairly scalding, the boy turned it over and over in his palms, getting his hands oily, gasping loudly. After a few moments, he quickly stuffed it into his mouth.

Ling Zhang was worried about him. "Slow down. It's very hot."

The boy chewed through the meat in his mouth, exhaled and then said happily with a frown, "It's so yummy."

Ling Zhang secretly swallowed hard and with that a big drumstick was held to his lips. He turned aside and saw Yuwen Tong looking at him. Somewhat embarrassed, he took the drumstick and bit off a chunk of meat.

At this moment, nothing could stop them from enjoying the roast pheasants.

As a result, none of them was talking. The boy uttered "Yummy" thickly from time to time, but other than that, there was no other words. Three adults and one child were all indulging in eating, too busy to talk.

While eating, Ling Zhang was speculating about this young man's identity. After an appraising look at the scarlet mole in the middle of his brow, he shifted his gaze to the multicoloured bird on his shoulder which, as though capable of understanding human's actions, looked back at Ling Zhang, tilting its head to one side. After a few moments, seeming a little confused, it fidgeted on the young man's shoulder and suddenly flew over and perched onto Ling Zhang's shoulder instead, crouched.

Ling Zhang was astonished, hurriedly looking at the young man, not daring move.

The young man, gnawing away at his roast pheasant with little consideration of grace, threw a glance at the bird with an indifferent look on his face, but it was not long before he shifted his gaze back to the roast pheasant against, utterly unconcerned about the bird's throwing itself at another person.

Ling Zhang looked at Yuwen Tong, who observed, "This bird is quite special. I've never seen its likes before."

The boy raised his head from the pheasant which he'd been enjoying very much and said in a babyish voice, "Her name's Color. She's pretty badass."

Ling Zhang gave a smile. "Color? That's quite an interesting name."

"You think it's a good name?" The boy looked at him in surprise. "My mom said that my uncle named it too carelessly. She thinks this name sucks."

The young man, though fully occupied with eating, managed to spare a hand to give the boy a playful knock on the head with his knuckle. "I'm your uncle. You're not allowed to say anything mean about me."

After being hit on the head, the boy uttered "O" and then obediently shut up and resumed eating the drumstick.

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong exchanged glances. So far, apart from the knowledge that this bird's name was Color which had been given to it by this young man and was disliked by his elder sister, they hadn't got any useful information. Eventually, the two of them also went back to eating.

After quite a while, all three adults and a child finished eating. The boy stroked his belly. The young man looked at the bones of the roast pheasants, clearly hoping there were more.

"You must be Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong, I suppose? The ones brought back by the Prime Elder," said the young man in a casual tone.

Ling Zhang inclined his head. "Yeah. My grandfather went inside to meet the clan leader. He told us to stay here waiting for him to come back."

The young man nodded and rose to his feet. Though casual, his bearing was pleasant to the eye. Color the bird flew back to the young man's shoulder and gave a squeak.

"Cong, it's time to return."

On being called, the boy meekly stood up. "Uncle, what about these two big brothers?"

"Come with us," the young man said to Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong.

Now that someone was offering to take them inside, of course they wouldn't stay here and keep waiting. Besides, although not having asked about the young man's identity, they believed that he definitely had a high status in the Millennium Pavilion, given his powerful internal energy.

Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong rose from the ground, put out the fire, quickly gathered up their stuff and then followed in the young man's wake. "Thanks."

"You don't have to thank me. Take it as a recompense for the roast pheasant." The young man leisurely proceeded, holding the boy's hand.

In front of them was a lofty hill, and it was at the foot of this hill that they'd just stayed. Eyes on the towering hill, Ling Zhang was deeply puzzled. He wasn't seeing any inhabitable areas. Had people of the Millennium Pavilion hollowed a cavern out of the hill and been living in it, by any chance?

But as they followed the young man forward, the scene ahead them seemed to be changing.

They first entered a dense wood. All trees in it were fairly ancient and had very thick trunks, their criss-cross branches and luxuriant foliage overhanging the path, blocking most of the sunshine as well as people's view of the high hill. Ling Zhang guessed that they were probably going uphill, but after walking in circles at the young man's heels in the wood for some time, he began to feel that there was something out of the ordinary going on. On the surface, this young man was as though he was idly taking them for a stroll, but in fact there were regularities in the route he chose.

Along a tortuous pathway, they made it out of the wood and the space ahead instantly became bright and open. It was not a cavern but a basin with high hills on three sides of it, in which carpets of green grass and giant trees could be seen everywhere. There were also paddies divided by a criss-cross of pathlets as well as a stream worming its way across the basin from the opposite end, providing profuse water resources. As where they were standing was not the commanding height, they couldn't get a panoramic view over the basin, but judging from the distance between the three hills on its sides, this basin was vast.

Ling Zhang looked back and saw the dense wood they'd just crossed that was dark and seemingly boundless, but the lofty hill he'd caught sight of before entering the thick wood was nowhere to be seen.

This was a formation which had given them an illusion. They'd thought they saw a lofty hill ahead of them, but actually the hill was a lot further away. People who went into the wood would be lost in it if they couldn't figure out a way to crack the formation; those lucky ones might be able to get out of it by fluke, but they'd never find the hill they saw.

Of course, to find the entrance of the wood, people needed to get through the numerous natural barriers and formations first.

This place was indeed very difficult to find.

"Let's go. People here are very wary of outsiders. You need to stay close to me. If you wander off and get your asses kicked, don't say that I never warned you," said the young man.

After hearing the last remark of his, the two of them naturally followed close behind him.

They went through the paddy fields and some country cottages which seemed to be a village, saw some members of the Millennium Pavilion who dressed like peasants, but whose clothes were of a very different style from that of attire worn by people in the outside world. There were also women, children and youngsters.

Everybody's face took on an expression of surprise mixed with revere when they saw the young man. They slightly lowed their heads to pay their respects to him, but their attitudes were spontaneous and there was no distance in them. Children would run over and cluster around him, calling him "Brother Yanlai."

As Ling Zhang and Yuwen Tong were clearly outsiders, everybody wore a confused and watchful look on their face when they clapped eyes on them, but seeing the young man leading the way for them, they did no more than size them up. Ling Zhang could sense that all people here, except for children, more or less had some kung fu, and no matter whether they were powerful or not, they were not to be taken lightly.

Ling Zhang kept in mind what the young man had just said, not daring to straggle behind.

Yuwen Tong held his hand, signaling him to relax. Naturally, Yuwen Tong was a great comfort to Ling Zhang.

"They are all descendants of then supervisors or servants of the Deca-Millennium Pavilion. Hundreds of years has passed. Now they're all just common folks trying to get by," said the young man.

Ling Zhang looked at him. Just now those adults had all been very respectful to him, and children had called him "Brother Yanlai", and his internal energy was so powerful that his prowess as a kung fu practitioner seemed to be even greater than his grandfather's. Who was he exactly?

"This is a retreat away from the world," said Yuwen Tong.

"It's a retreat away from the world but also a prison. There are always some trying to get out," said the young man.

Ling Zhang felt it somewhat weird to hear these words coming out of the mouth of a young man. After all, this man seemed to be no older than him, and his words and deeds had so far been casual and unreserved. How come he suddenly started talking like an old man?

"All young people are like this. They want to seek their fortune in a broader world, especially when they believe they have something secure to rely on. This is not really disagreeable. After all, you need to go around to gain experience while you're young so that when you've been around, you'd be ready to take on greater responsibilities. Many saints of the olden days believe that he who excels reads as many as ten thousand books and travels as far as ten thousand miles, don't they? Even when a dynasty is dying, there are still enthusiastic youngsters trying to make a difference. Youth means vitality. No place would remain stagnant forever," remarked Yuwen Tong.

It was a while before the young man walking in front replied, "Even if the price is blood and death?"