Pei Du read through the night.
The texts spanned four thousand years. A Qin dynasty record mentioned a youth at the burning of books, crawling from the burial pits unharmed. A Han account placed the same face among the forty thousand buried alive at Changping. He appeared during Chen Sheng's rebellion, learning fox-calls beside bonfires. He tied Liu Bang's father to a cookpot before two armies.
Every dynasty. Every catastrophe. The same youthful face at history's margins.
Pei Du set down the final scroll. His hands were steady, but his dao heart trembled.
"Family head," Pei Jingting said carefully, "these are folk tales. An undying youth from before recorded time—no one would believe it."
"You're right." Pei Du nodded slowly. "His name never appears in true histories."
"And Su Yan may not be that youth. He speaks with wisdom, but acts with a child's heart."
"He plays at adulthood," Pei Du agreed. "Yet his guidance of the white-browed ancestor through tribulation—that too sounds impossible."
"He's useful. We should cultivate him, not consume him."
"Indeed. Every clan wants him. If we strike, we become every clan's enemy." Pei Jingting paused. "I worried you might covet his flesh. Father grafted cursed meat to survive. What if there were uncursed meat? True eternity without the price..."
"Don't speak it." Pei Du's voice cracked like a whip. "My dao heart isn't strong enough to resist that temptation. Go. Silence every disciple who searched these texts."
* * *
Su Yan arrived at the Pei estate with the completed *Primordial Spirit Calamity-Defying Scripture*. Pei Du studied it for an hour, amazement deepening into awe.
"Your translation exceeds decades of our brightest disciples' work."
"The original text was incomplete. I finished what was missing."
Pei Du's eyes widened. "You completed an ancient immortal's scripture?"
Su Yan produced the revised scroll. "The original only refines the soul and forges the Primordial Spirit. It lacks the method to cross calamities. I added that."
He said nothing of Veyon's contribution, protecting his friend.
Pei Du read the additions, hands trembling. "Come. There's something you must see."
In an inner chamber, ancient texts lay open—every record of immortal youths the Pei library held. Su Yan read them, face shifting from curiosity to shock to dread. Images of Sujiaping flashed through his mind. His spiritual sense fractured.
Pei Du pressed a seal to Su Yan's brow. "Ha!"
The shout stabilized his consciousness. "The Heart-Setting Seals. Next time your mind fractures, heal yourself."
He demonstrated intricate finger-seals. Su Yan followed, clarity returning.
"Thank you, Chancellor."
"I nearly destroyed my dao heart with greed. I should thank you." Pei Du paused. "Su... brother. I must confess—I considered killing you. The temptation of eternal life..."
"I understand."
"But your honesty repays mine. The Pei family will guard your secret. I'll search for more records of your past."
Su Yan bowed. Pei Du returned the bow. "If I escape death's grip, it will be thanks to you. Bi He will escort you out."
Walking through the Pei estate's gardens, Su Yan admired a scenic pavilion. *Perfect for tasting rouge with Rusi,* he thought. *Pity it's the Pei estate.*
Several young men approached. The leader smiled. "The snake-catching Su?"
"That's me."
"I'm Pei Jing, second son. Hosting palace friends today. Join us."
In a lakeside pavilion, Pei Jing and his companions sat. As Su Yan moved to sit, Pei Jing's face darkened. "You're here to entertain. You don't sit. Bring out your snake. Perform, and maybe we toss you silver."
Su Yan walked to the lake's edge. "Seventh Lord, come out."
A small serpent emerged from his collar. The young men laughed.
"Seventh Lord," Su Yan said, "let us dance."
His qi erupted. The serpent expanded, hundred zhang of ancient ferocity gliding across the lake. Sword-qi blazed. The serpent dove.
The pavilion exploded. Pei Jing and his guests tumbled into the water, broken and drenched.
Su Yan laughed, stepping onto the wreckage. "I'm a guest here. Even your chancellor treats me with courtesy. Who are you to humiliate me?"
Pei Jing erupted from the mud, four grotto-heavens manifesting. "You dare—"
A voice cracked like thunder. "Enough."
Pei Du strode into view, face stone. He looked at the dead palace prince in the mud. He looked at his broken son. He looked at the clan elders gathered around, hunger in their eyes.
"Bring the second son."
Servants dragged Pei Jing forward. Pei Du drew his jade belt and whipped him—again and again, flesh tearing, blood spraying, until Pei Jing could no longer scream.
"From this day, Pei Jing is no son of mine. He killed the prince and two clan disciples in a mad fit. Deliver him to the imperial court. I will go myself and beg forgiveness."
He turned to the elders. "I am still master here. Who dares overstep?"
An elder whispered, "Family head, we're old. We have little time left..."
"Your ancestors died. You'll eat a living man?" Pei Du's voice was ice. "From today, the Pei estate is sealed. Anyone who leaves dies."
He turned to Su Yan. "The clan is not united. I cannot hold them long. I go to the palace—I'll be trapped there, alive but unable to leave. The Pei estate is unsafe. The Yuan estate too. I'll take you to the Guo family."
In the carriage, Su Yan asked, "Chancellor, don't you want to make me your elixir?"
Pei Du looked at him. "If you are that undying youth, countless powers greater than mine have tried. Where are they now? I see only you, sitting whole before me."
Su Yan gazed out the window. "I don't know who I am."
A gentle voice echoed in his memory. *Su Yan. Su Yan. Remember your surname. Never forget your name.*