Chapter 56: Three Fires Dimly Burning

Indeed, even if we were to part ways right now, I wouldn't feel any particular way about it.

"What about the ancient tomb at the bottom of the river?"

I took out my phone and pulled up a photograph—the very portrait I had seen earlier.

"And what about this? This painting is at least several hundred years old. Who is he?"

These two questions had been constantly plaguing me.

"I have no idea."

Jiang Yuanshan shook his head. "I am not a mystic, nor did I ever discuss these matters with your grandfather. I am merely an ordinary person."

After saying this, Jiang Yuanshan looked at me once more. "Many things are for you to find the answers to yourself."

Is that so?

I stared at the photograph on my screen and fell into deep contemplation.

The person in the photo bore a striking resemblance to me, sharing seven or eight points of similarity. I could clearly sense that he was an ancestor of mine. But what was this ancestor's name, and from what era did he hail?

Given how far our conversation had gone, Jiang Yuanshan had no reason to lie to me.

If he said he didn't know, he truly was unaware.

I had no choice but to drop the matter.

...

Early the next morning, Liu Qingya, the old man Zhang Yuxuan, and I returned to the ancient capital.

Although nothing eventful had happened this time, I vaguely felt as though I had caught the faint trace of a clue.

Jiang Yuanshan did not leave with us. Toward the end of our conversation last night, he had told me that once he returned to the ancient capital, he would move—relocating to a place unknown to me.

That place was also within the ancient capital, yet even the villagers there knew nothing of it.

I could understand Jiang Yuanshan. He not only had a son like me, but two other family members as well.

Compromises had to be made.

He could not let his younger son and stepmother be plunged into mortal danger simply because of me.

It was already around eleven or twelve noon by the time we returned to the ancient capital.

Liu Qingya took charge of the kitchen, preparing lunch for the old man and me.

Accustomed to acting like a young lady of privilege, her cooking left much to be desired. It was edible, to be sure, but the taste was nothing to write home about.

Neither the old man nor I were picky eaters, so we simply made do and finished the midday meal.

In the afternoon, I headed back to the driving school.

My mind wasn't dull; otherwise, I wouldn't have managed to test into a top-tier Project 211 institution like Ancient Capital University.

Memorizing the driving test theory manual posed no real challenge for me.

I decided I might as well start practicing for the second module of the practical exam as well, which would make things more convenient later on so I could pass everything in one go.

When I arrived at the driving school, two female students were still ahead of me in line, both of whom appeared to be from Ancient Capital University.

Since the driving school was not far from the university, it was quite normal for students to enroll here.

Sitting on a bench inside the training grounds, I quietly watched the instructor named Yang Zhe.

With a beaming smile, he ushered a young woman into a car. When the practice session ended and she stepped out, I noticed her face was slightly flushed and tinged with annoyance.

That scoundrel had undoubtedly been whispering inappropriate things inside the cabin, likely tossing out crude remarks or off-color jokes.

Those girls were reserved and usually too embarrassed to speak up.

"Hey, you there! It's your turn to practice!"

In the distance, Yang Zhe shouted at me twice.

I walked straight over and settled into the driver's seat.

"We're driving now. Left foot on the clutch, right foot on the brake and gas. Pay attention when you press them..." Yang Zhe's attitude toward me was rather poor.

He muttered a few perfunctory instructions.

After I familiarized myself with the basic operations and managed to stumble through a few clumsy rounds, Yang Zhe told me to get out, claiming there was another session scheduled for the afternoon.

Because the school was nearby, quite a few people had signed up, resulting in long waiting lines.

Driving schools were always like this—consuming vast amounts of time.

Actually practicing for a few laps took very little time; the vast majority of it was spent waiting around.

It wasn't until around nine o'clock in the evening, when pitch darkness had fallen and both my phone and portable charger were on the verge of running out of battery, that Yang Zhe finally called me back into the car.

I began to suspect this guy was deliberately targeting me.

Before I even got in, he started offering excuses. "When practicing driving, you must never rush. We have way too many students at our driving school, so it's guaranteed we can't look after everyone. You need to understand!"

Understand my foot!

Making me wait until this hour—only a ghost could understand that.

I pulled the door open and climbed inside.

The moment I stepped into the car this time, I distinctly felt something was different.

The strange odor inside the cabin had grown much more pungent.

I observed Yang Zhe's physiognomy; the dark Qi lingering on his forehead had grown noticeably thicker, and the affected area seemed to have expanded.

Since I had nothing to do tonight, and this punk had made me wait so long while telling me not to rush, I wouldn't rush either. I would simply play a game of attrition with him.

By the time it was nearly ten o'clock and Yang Zhe was so exasperated his mouth was practically smoking, I finally managed to finish.

As I was about to get out, instructor Yang Zhe glared at me irritably. "I hate teaching students like you the most—dawdling and dragging your feet. Can't you move a bit faster?"

"Coach, weren't you the one who told me to take it slow?"

Instead of getting upset, I replied with a smile.

I was certainly in no hurry. I had no work recently, and nothing to do at night anyway.

Even if I went back to the dorm, I would just lie there playing on my phone or reading the two books my grandfather had left behind.

"I told you to take it slow, so you take it slow? If I told you to go kill someone, would you go kill them?" instructor Yang Zhe raged furiously. "I've never seen anyone as slow-witted as you!"

Calling me slow-witted?

I chuckled inwardly twice. "I think the truly slow-witted one is someone else. Coach Yang, have you encountered anything strange these past couple of days?"

"Strange things? What strange things? I don't know what you're talking about!"

Yang Zhe wore a defensive expression.

"If you don't know, then you don't know. Head home early tonight. If you can make it back safely, then it's nothing. But if you run into anything bizarre on your way back, I'll leave you a number—try contacting them if that happens."

I placed the old man's business card on the roof of the car and turned to walk away.

The dark Qi on his forehead was dense, and his bodily fires were weak.

Under such circumstances, the chances of running into malevolent entities were extremely high.

It would all come down to luck. Who knew? Maybe his luck would hold tonight.

Leaving the driving school, I made my way back to the dormitory.

By this time, lights-out was rapidly approaching. When I walked in, Fatty Wang and my other two roommates looked at me as if I were a giant panda on display.

"Old Jiang, seeing you actually show up in the dorm is truly a rarity!" Fatty Wang came over and threw an arm around my shoulder. "I was actually planning to message you tomorrow, but I never expected you'd actually come back tonight."

"What is it?" I asked.

"It's a good thing, of course! After all this time, I've finally managed to score a girlfriend, and I'm planning to treat everyone to dinner tomorrow night. You're not allowed to back out this time. I know you're a busy man, but you've got to grace us with your presence tomorrow night!" Fatty Wang declared. "I even organized a joint gathering between two dorms."

"I invited the girls from my girlfriend's dorm too—four guys and four girls. Tomorrow night, we're going to let loose!"

Fatty Wang beamed, flashing a wide grin.

"No problem, I'll definitely be there tomorrow." I nodded and agreed to the kid's request.

I couldn't tell; his progress had been quite fast. Less than three months into the semester, he had finally hooked up with a girl. This could be considered the first successful romance in our dorm, definitely worth celebrating!