Chapter 6 Truth and Secrets
The next morning, the peaceful village became unusually lively.
News of the previous night had already spread everywhere like wildfire.
“Did you hear? Yunxiao killed a monster with his bare hands!”
“They said he flew through the mountains like an immortal!”
“Our village actually has an immortal master?”
Groups of villagers gathered together throughout the roads and rice fields, whispering excitedly among themselves. Some were shocked, some doubtful, while others already looked at Zan Yunxiao with reverence and awe.
After all, to ordinary mortals living their entire lives in a remote village, immortal cultivators were existence found only in legends and distant stories.
Yet now…
One seemed to have appeared among them.
Inside the wooden house, however, the atmosphere was far quieter.
Zan Yunxiao sat silently in the living room while Xueyun and Zan Tianming remained beside him. Morning light entered through the windows, illuminating the room with a warm glow, but the silence lingering between them carried an unusual heaviness.
Especially for Zan Tianming.
The young boy stared at his father with sparkling eyes filled with admiration and excitement, almost as if the heroic immortal masters from bedtime stories had suddenly become real before him.
“Dad…” Tianming finally spoke, unable to suppress his excitement anymore. “Are you really an immortal master?”
Zan Yunxiao looked toward his son but did not answer immediately.
At the side, Xueyun quietly observed him for a moment before softly breaking the silence herself.
“Darling…” she said gently, “can you explain everything now?”
Hearing those words, Zan Yunxiao inwardly sighed.
The truth was far too complicated.
A transmigrator from another world… a mysterious system tied to descendants… sudden cultivation gained overnight…
None of those things could easily be explained.
For a while, countless thoughts surfaced within his mind as he considered what he should say. Should he tell them the entire truth? Or should he create a simpler lie to avoid suspicion?
After a long silence, Zan Yunxiao finally spoke slowly.
“There’s something I never told either of you,” he said calmly.
Xueyun and Tianming immediately focused on him attentively.
Zan Yunxiao lowered his gaze slightly before continuing.
“I… am someone who reincarnated.”
The room instantly became silent.
Although neither Xueyun nor Tianming fully understood the deeper meaning behind reincarnation, they could still sense the seriousness in his tone.
Zan Yunxiao continued speaking calmly.
“Since I was young, fragments of memories occasionally appeared in my mind. Memories that did not belong to this life.” His eyes became distant for a moment. “However… most of them are blurry. I can barely remember anything clearly about my previous life.”
This part, at least, was not entirely a lie.
Xueyun looked slightly stunned after hearing this revelation, while Tianming’s eyes widened even further as though hearing some ancient legend.
“Then… your powers?” Xueyun asked softly.
Zan Yunxiao paused briefly before answering.
“They existed from the beginning,” he replied calmly. “I simply never revealed them.”
Naturally, he intentionally avoided mentioning the system.
Some secrets were simply too dangerous to expose.
The room gradually became quiet again.
After a while, Tianming suddenly clenched his fists excitedly.
“That means my dad really is an immortal master!” he exclaimed proudly.
His earlier fear from the previous night seemed to have vanished completely, replaced by childish admiration.
Seeing this reaction, even Xueyun could not help but smile faintly.
Although shock still lingered within her heart, one thing remained unchanged.
Regardless of whether Zan Yunxiao was mortal, reincarnated, or an immortal cultivator…
He was still her husband.
And Tianming’s father.
Zan Yunxiao quietly looked toward Xueyun before gently holding her hand.
“My love,” he said softly, his expression unusually serious, “what I told you… don’t speak of it outside the village.”
Then his gaze shifted toward Tianming.
“You too.”
Zan Tianming immediately nodded obediently.
“I understand, Dad!”
Seeing their responses, Zan Yunxiao finally relaxed slightly inwardly. Although he trusted his family completely, matters involving cultivation and immortals were far too dangerous for ordinary mortals. If outsiders discovered his existence, the peaceful life they currently possessed could easily be destroyed overnight.
After chatting quietly for a little longer, Zan Yunxiao suddenly stood up.
“Right,” he muttered. “I should explain things to the villagers first.”
Xueyun looked slightly worried.
“Will it be alright?”
Zan Yunxiao smiled faintly.
“It’s better than letting rumors continue spreading.”
With that, he walked outside the house.
The moment he appeared, the villagers gathered nearby immediately fell silent.
Dozens of eyes instantly focused on him.
Their gazes were no longer the same as before.
Some were filled with awe, some with reverence, and others with disbelief, as though they were looking not at a fellow villager, but at a legendary immortal who had descended into the mortal world.
The atmosphere became strangely tense.
Zan Yunxiao calmly looked around before speaking.
“Everyone,” he said, his voice steady and clear, “I have something to say.”
The villagers immediately listened attentively.
After a brief pause, Zan Yunxiao slowly began explaining the story he had prepared earlier.
“In truth… I have long been cultivating in seclusion to pursue a higher realm,” he said calmly. “As for why I appeared in this village as a child… that was part of my cultivation itself.”
The villagers immediately showed expressions of realization.
“So that’s how it is…”
“No wonder…”
“To think Immortal Master Yunxiao was actually cultivating among mortals…”
Many villagers quickly accepted the explanation without doubt.
To them, immortals were mysterious existences beyond understanding. Strange cultivation methods or reincarnation-like techniques sounded entirely believable.
As for why Zan Yunxiao remained in the village and even married.
The villagers naturally arrived at their own conclusions.
“Immortal Master Yunxiao must have truly fallen in love…”
“He stayed because of his family…”
“How touching…”
Hearing the whispers spreading among the crowd, even Zan Yunxiao himself almost felt awkward.
Still, he maintained a calm expression.
After allowing the villagers enough time to process everything, he spoke once more.
“One more thing,” he said seriously. “What happened last night… and my identity… must remain hidden. Do not speak of it to outsiders.”
His gaze slowly swept across everyone present.
“I only wish to live peacefully with my family.”
The villagers immediately straightened their expressions.
Then, one after another.
They knelt.
“Don’t worry, Immortal Master!”
“We will keep this secret until death!”
“No outsider will ever hear of it!”
Their voices echoed with sincerity and respect.
Seeing this, Zan Yunxiao finally let out a quiet sigh of relief inwardly.
At least for now…
Their peaceful life could continue.
Soon afterward, the villagers gradually dispersed, though the excitement in their hearts clearly remained impossible to suppress completely. Nevertheless, life within the village slowly returned to normal once more.
The rice fields continued swaying beneath the wind.
Children continued running throughout the roads.
And the small wooden house beside the fields once again regained its quiet warmth.
Only now.
Everyone knew that within their humble village lived an immortal.
Another year quietly passed beneath the changing seasons.
The peaceful life of the Zan family continued as always, and before long, joyful news once again spread within their small home.
Xueyun had become pregnant with their second child.
The moment Zan Yunxiao confirmed it, genuine happiness appeared on his face. Even Zan Tianming became excited beyond measure after learning he would soon have a younger sibling.
“I’m finally going to be an older brother!” Tianming proudly declared almost every day while following Xueyun around carefully as though protecting her personally.
Seeing this scene, warmth quietly filled Zan Yunxiao’s heart.
At the same time, however, another thought surfaced deep within his mind.
The mission is finally nearing completion…
If everything succeeded, then the Reconstruction Pill would finally belong to him and with it, perhaps Xueyun could truly step onto the path of cultivation alongside him.
Still, over the past year, Zan Yunxiao gradually realized another issue.
After becoming a cultivator, conceiving children had clearly become more difficult than before. Even with his relationship with Xueyun remaining close and affectionate, months still passed before success finally arrived.
“The higher a cultivator’s realm,” Zan Yunxiao thought inwardly one night, “the harder it becomes to produce offspring…”
Fortunately.
They had still succeeded in the end.
Nine months later.
Deep into the quiet night, the familiar sounds of labor once again echoed throughout the wooden house.
Just like years ago with Tianming’s birth, Zan Yunxiao anxiously waited outside the room while pacing back and forth. Despite possessing cultivation far beyond ordinary mortals now, moments like this still made him feel powerless.
Finally.
The cries of a newborn baby echoed through the house.
A wave of relief instantly washed over Zan Yunxiao.
Not long afterward, the door opened.
“Congratulations,” the midwife said with a smile. “It’s another son.”
Zan Yunxiao immediately entered the room.
Inside, Xueyun looked exhausted but happy as she gently held the newborn child in her arms. Beside her, Zan Tianming excitedly stared at his younger brother with sparkling eyes full of curiosity.
After discussing quietly together, the family finally gave the child his name.
Zan Wei.
The small room soon filled with warmth and laughter once more.
Later that night, after Xueyun and both children gradually fell asleep, Zan Yunxiao quietly remained seated beside the bed while watching over them silently.
Only after confirming they were resting peacefully did he slowly close his eyes and call inwardly.
“System.”
A familiar mechanical voice immediately echoed within his mind.
[Ding!]
[Mission Completed: Have a second child with current spouse.]
[Reward: Reconstruction Pill.]
The next moment, a faint glow appeared within his storage space as the reward was distributed.
Zan Yunxiao immediately inspected it carefully.
A translucent description panel soon appeared before him.
Reconstruction Pill
A pill capable of destroying and reconstructing the mortal body, allowing it to become compatible with spiritual energy and capable of cultivation.
Zan Yunxiao’s eyes widened slightly after reading the description.
For a brief moment, he was somewhat confused as to why the system even displayed explanations now, but he quickly dismissed the thought entirely.
Because at this moment.
Only one thing mattered.
A smile slowly appeared on his face as he looked toward the sleeping Xueyun.
“This…” he thought quietly, his heart filled with anticipation, “is exactly what I needed.”
At long last.
The path toward immortality had finally opened for her as well.