Love is so close, yet we can only hear the distant sound of pestles from every house.

"Only your young master probably knows where this sword is."

Yu Qingxiang stared at the sword mark on the stone wall, recalling an object that had been placed in the ancestral hall for over six hundred years, and his expression became somewhat dazed.

Zhaoyue didn't notice the old man's expression beside her. She had many questions in her mind, so she prepared to ask again.

However, before it could speak, Shen Gui's voice came.

"The sword is still here."

Shen Gui had already walked away from the tombstone at some point and was now sitting on a stone bench, his gaze fixed on the stone wall.

The Eternal Stream was the faith of the entire village. Yu Qingxiang disregarded etiquette and asked with clasped hands:

"May I ask, senior, where is the sword forged by our master? Our Yu family has been keeping an eye on it, but we have never received any information about it."

"Zhonghunhai".

Shen Gui replied.

As soon as he finished speaking, there were two more repeated sounds of "Zhonghunhai".

The first sound was Zhaoyue's; it blinked its eyes, having never heard of this place name before.

The second sound came from Yu Qingxiang, his voice filled with shock.

He asked again, "When you mentioned the Zhonghun Sea, are you referring to the Shattered Star Islands on the edge, or that forbidden area?"

"the latter."

"If I may be so bold as to ask, why did you place it there, senior?"

"It's suppressing something."

Shen Guihui.

Yu Qingxiang didn't dare to ask any further questions. He didn't care about what was being suppressed; he only cared about one thing:

"Will you retrieve the sword later, senior?"

"Pick."

"I understand."

Yu Qingxiang loosened his grip on the bamboo cane a little.

This was also his first time meeting Shen Gui, but through the things in the ancestral hall, he was not unfamiliar with Shen Gui.

The promise, coming from Shen Gui's mouth, was not just a casual remark.

Yu Qingxiang's eyes reddened at some point. He, too, had grown up hearing the name "Wangu Liu" since childhood. If he could truly see it in his lifetime, he would have no regrets.

"Village Chief Yu, sit down and let's talk."

Shen Gui pointed to the empty stone bench.

After Yu Qingxiang took his seat, Shen Gui got straight to the point, stating the purpose of his visit: "I have come today to request that the Yu family open their furnace."

Yu Qingxiang sat up a little straighter, but did not immediately agree:

What do you want to call?

"So close yet so far."

Shen Gui paused and added, "Truly, a world apart yet so close."

Yu Qingxiang's expression changed.

The green sphere in his waist pocket is the key to traversing vast distances.

This item is born in pairs. Once one is infused with vital energy, the other will turn red.

The Fish-Inclined Elephant is a counterfeit version; it can only be used within a hundred miles, and it loses its effect at greater distances.

But true closeness can be felt across vast distances.

The Yu family has only ever made two pairs of these items throughout their history. They gradually disappeared over the years and have not been seen in the world for more than four hundred years.

What truly made Yu Qingxiang change color was not only the difficulty in crafting this item, but more importantly, an ancestral precept:

[If the Yu family does not have a descendant of the Mountain and Sea Realm, they are not allowed to participate in the affairs of the world, nor can they form marriage alliances with other aristocratic families, nor can they create the "Ten Thousand Miles Within a Foot" technique.]

The Mountain and Sea Realm is a legendary realm, and even though the Yu family has passed it down for six generations, they have never produced such a powerful expert.

Therefore, the ancestral precepts have been followed to this day.

but...

At the end of the ancestral precepts, there is a line of small seal script that reads "an exception."

The exception, however, is now sitting right across from me.

Yu Qingxiang felt that the burden on his shoulders was quite heavy.

After waiting for so many generations, it turns out that it was my generation that finally got to meet this person.

"call."

Yu Qingxiang took a deep breath, then slowly stood up. He didn't ask Shen Gui why he wanted this item, but simply led the way.

"Young master, please come with me."

He walked towards the cave to the east.

The cave entrance was low, and one had to bend over after taking a few steps inside. Yu Qingxiang took an oil lamp from a crack in the rock wall, lit it, and continued forward.

The stone steps lead downwards.

The further you go in, the stronger the sulfur smell becomes.

At the bottom of the cave was a small stone chamber, its walls blackened by soot.

In the middle stands an old furnace, its body wrapped in burlap, situated on a crack in the ground. Every now and then, a flash of fire appears from the crack, and the smell of sulfur wafts out from within.

The fish tilted its head and put the lamp down.

"This furnace has never been fired since the third generation master sealed it. Every autumn, I have to come down to clean the ash and carry out maintenance."

Instead of immediately tearing off the cloth wrapped around the stove, he took a rock from the nearby stone wall.

This is a hidden compartment, and inside it is an iron box.

Yu Qingxiang took out the iron box with both hands and presented it to Shen Gui: "This is something left behind by the patriarch before his death. All the village chiefs of the past generations know about it."

Shen Gui raised his hand and gently took it.

His brow furrowed slightly when his hand touched the metal box.

More than 600 years ago, when he came to erect a monument for Yu Huixuan, it's no wonder that the village chief had a strange expression, hesitating as if he had something on his mind. At the time, he was focused on the war and didn't ask any questions.

Yu Qingxiang patted the moon's head: "Let's go, come with me to get the ingredients."

Zhao Yue looked at the iron box, then at Shen Gui, her curiosity practically written all over her face. She followed Yu Qingxiang into the cave fork, turning back every few steps.

Before leaving the cave, Zhaoyue looked back one last time.

The young master lowered his head, his fingers slowly wiping away the dust from the box lid.

The footsteps of the human and the demon gradually faded into the distance, leaving only a single candle in the cave, its flame casting Shen Gui's shadow on the wall, which swayed gently.

The tin box was unlocked, and with a "click" sound, the lid was lifted open.

A stack of yellowed paper was visible first.

At the very top is a long sword, with tiny dimensions marked on every part from the spine to the hilt. There are several corrections next to the hilt, with old ink pressing down on even older ink, indicating that it has been revised countless times.

Shen Gui placed the blueprints aside.

Underneath the drawing, there were two small gray beans.

The patterns on the beans had long since cracked, and the color was much older than the one on Yu Qingxiang's waist; this was a broken pair of "Close Encounters".

The last thing Shen Gui picked up was the letter at the bottom of the box.

The paper is thick, and the ink has faded considerably over time.

[To Mr. Shen:]

If you were to see this letter, who knows how many years later?

Hundreds of years? Thousands of years? What was the world like then?

Shen Gui pursed his lips; it had been over six hundred years since they last met...

Keep reading.

I told my descendants that if you only come to visit the grave, the box will not be given to you, because you are only here out of guilt or because you happened to be passing by.

I'll hand it over to you when you're ready to forge a weapon, because by then you'll definitely have something you want to do, which is why you'll come to me for help.

Shen Gui touched the stone pendant on his chest.

Turn the page, and there's more writing on the second page:

Do you remember the first time we met? You asked for the best sword in the world.

Back then, you always had a wine flask hanging from your waist, and you spoke in a way that was annoying. You said there was no place in the world you couldn't go.

I'm asking you to go to the backyard and operate the bellows.

You didn't know your own strength. The first pull sent sparks flying up to the roof beam, and the second pull caused half of the furnace wall to collapse.

I chased you half a block with fire tongs, but you didn't fight back. You just said you'd give me something better in return.

The Wan Gu Liu took seven years to cast.

You don't spend much time at the furnace, but you always bring back the materials. Sometimes you come back after a year, throw a bag on the table, and ask me if it's usable. If it's not, you go find more.

On the day the sword was forged, a ripple of water appeared on its spine. You asked me why it was called "Eternal Flow," perhaps meaning to leave a lasting legacy.

I didn't answer, but what I really wanted to say at the time was...

You are eternal, I am flowing.

You will remain in this world forever; I can only pass through your life.

You held it in your hand and tried it for a long time, and finally only said "It's handy". At that time, I thought you were heartless. Seven years and all you got in return were two words.

Thinking back, it seems that what the swordsmith sought was simply these two words.

"Eternal Flow..."

Shen Gui subconsciously reached for his waist, but did not find the sword hilt.

Time passes silently, yet it changes so much.

He turned to the third page.

In the years that followed, you traveled all over the world, and I heard stories about you everywhere I went. I got tired of hearing them.

Sometimes I really miss you. I wish you would help me beat up some arrogant guys who keep pestering me to help them refine weapons, but I don't want to.

So I ran away and found a place to live in seclusion.

During this period, I came up with something fun, which I named "A Thousand Miles Away".

The device itself isn't very useful; it's just that they can sense each other from a great distance.

I thought I'd take one for myself and one for you, so I could tease you whenever I wanted.

Later, I took in seven apprentices.

When there are too many people, the yard is noisy all day long, and I can go ten days or half a month without thinking about you.

I don't know why, but time flies by so fast.

Before you knew it, you became the emperor, the number one person in the world.

But I'm already old.

She certainly can't compare to the beautiful woman beside you.

With someone tending the furnace and someone passing on the craft, his life has actually been pretty good.

I've told you everything I needed to. I didn't inform you about my passing, and even if you came, you wouldn't be able to help. I can't just let you sit by my bedside and watch me grow old and die.

So forget it.

You will then remember what I looked like when I was young.

Shen Gui stopped reading after this point.

He gently put the paper down, his mind filled with the image of a girl.

She had eyebrows like distant mountains, loved to wear red, and her face was always covered in soot, making it dark and grimy. She also liked to grin and show off her white teeth.

A cold wind blew in through the passage, causing the candlelight to flicker and the light on Shen Gui's face to become uncertain.

The suicide note was blown open, revealing the last page of writing.

I've only mastered half of the "A Thousand Miles in a Foot" technique from the box.

I'm afraid that once I succeed, I won't be able to resist going to you.

If it remains green, I will wait.

If it becomes popular, I'm afraid I'll be even more reluctant to let it go.

After thinking it over, I've decided not to practice anymore.

If any of the Yu family descendants still have some skill, have them make a new pair for you.

If someone is waiting for you in the future, remember to call them back.

—Yu Huixuan, three years after the furnace was sealed, the first sand dates began to fall.