parentshiftbook Chapter 13, Level 3: Enlightenment
Chapter 13, Level 3: Enlightenment
Shen Chi was woken up by being pushed.
After returning from the Valley of Broken Souls, I went straight to sleep.
His mind was still foggy, but Ah Zhu's expression brought him mostly back to his senses.
She wasn't afraid. She was serious.
"Brother Shen Chi. His reputation is resounding."
Shen Chi sat up. He didn't hear a sound, but A-Zhu was never wrong.
I put on my coat and pushed open the shop door.
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From a distance, the monument to the people's hearts looked no different than usual.
But as he got closer, Shen Chi sensed it—the heart imprint on his chest and something inside the monument, separated by dozens of steps, were beating at the same frequency.
Shen Chi stopped three steps in front of the monument. He reached out and pressed his hand against the surface of the monument.
Last time we bumped into the monument, the memories of hundreds of people were flooded into our minds. This time, not.
The monument only showed him one thing: himself.
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The first image: Old Chen's hoe.
A dark red dot was embedded in the blade of the hoe. Old Chen said, "It's easier to use than before"—Shen Chi had always thought it was due to improved skills.
No. He froze. It was the swearing fire that was loosening the soil for him.
The second image: handprints at the foot of the monument.
There was a very faint handprint on the ground where the old woman knelt when we bumped into the monument last time. It was left by Shen Chi when he helped her up.
The monument to human hearts magnified the palm print for him to see—the palm lines were filled with golden powder, like seeds.
The third image: a mine shaft.
He kowtowed in the direction where his father had hidden the sword. A thin crack appeared in the stone—not from the kowtow, but from the fire of the oath. He himself didn't even know it.
The fourth scene: Soul-Severing Valley.
When the chain broke, a shard embedded itself in the back of his right hand. Beneath the skin, a dark red light shone. He always carried it with him.
Shen Chi looked at these images.
He had always felt that what he did was just what he was supposed to do, and that it would be over once it was done. Nobody would care.
But the monument tells him: there is no past.
Every single one has survived. Embedded in iron, imprinted in stone, burned into cracks, pierced into flesh.
He suddenly felt that these things were like the stones he had piled up one by one.
He felt like he was standing when he stood on the rock.
------
Shen Chi withdrew his hand and prepared to turn around.
The monument wouldn't let him go.
The golden patterns on the monument lit up, gathered on their own, and three characters emerged:
"Why not?"
Shen Chi was silent for a moment: "Because I promised."
The monument did not respond.
Shen Chi added, "Because I promised, I wouldn't feel at ease if I didn't finish it."
The monument still didn't respond.
Shen Chi roared, "Because I am Shen Chi! My father is Shen Qingshan! What the Shen family promises, we will fulfill even if it means death!"
After shouting, he loosened his clenched fist and lowered his voice.
"Even if I die... I still can't do it."
Three breaths.
The surface of the monument gleamed with gold. Two lines of text were branded on it:
"The one who keeps his promise remains steadfast. Half a month. Four traces."
"This has never happened before in a thousand years."
Shen Chi was stunned for a moment. A thousand years?
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"good!"
Mo Chenzi appeared before the monument at some unknown time. He stared at the two lines of text on the monument, his one eye narrowing slightly.
"Most people who touch a stone tablet are lucky to leave behind one genuine mark in their lifetime. You've left four marks in half a month."
Mo Chenzi tucked his hands into his sleeves.
"Your father only managed to leave four traces in three years, yet he claimed to have the strongest talent since the Heart-Locking Era. Haha! If he knew his son could experience four seasons in half a month, would he be happy or ashamed?"
Shen Chi turned to look at him: "And what about you? What is an authentic piece?"
"Me?" Mo Chenzi snorted. "I've never touched a tombstone. Our generation didn't look at these things."
Shen Chi frowned.
"The Monument of Human Hearts is an ancient sacred object left behind from the Era of Emotional Guidance." Mo Chenzi pointed to the surface of the monument. "It doesn't judge your current strength, but your potential—the earlier you reach the Four Traces, the greater your potential. This potential is called mental strength."
"Mental strength is the foundation of cultivation in this world. Whether it is your Shen family's mental imprint system, the Yansheng Pavilion's heart-locking system, or the Mo Sect's weapon cultivation, in the end, they are all about cultivating mental strength, only the concepts and paths are different."
Shen Chi listened attentively.
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Shen Chi suddenly lowered his head.
The area on my chest feels intensely hot.
He lifted his shirt and took a look.
The pattern had changed. It had become more rounded and full than it had been in the Valley of Broken Souls.
Mo Chenzi leaned closer to take a look.
"The Iron Seal is complete."
He paused, then added a sentence.
"The Iron Seal has three realms. In the first realm, Iron Heart, you shattered the cold iron and entered the initial realm; in the second realm, Forging Weapons, you transformed into the Seal of Promises and entered the middle realm; now that the Monument of People's Hearts recognizes you, the Iron Seal is complete."
He spoke calmly, as if he were talking about something he already knew would happen.
Shen Chi put his clothes down.
He looked at the monument to people's hearts, as if he were talking to the monument, or as if he were talking to himself.
"Every time I fulfill a promise I made..."
He paused for a moment.
"...and then I felt like a real person again."
The monument remained silent.
The two lines of text slowly faded away, and the golden patterns also dimmed.
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Shen Chi turned around and walked back.
After taking two steps, I stopped.
There's a piece of iron at the foot of the monument. It's the one we brought back from Broken Soul Valley, with heart-shaped patterns on it. It was clearly in the shop, but somehow it ended up here.
He bent down and picked it up. The feel of the metal had changed—it had been cold before, but now it was warm.
Without thinking too much, he gripped the iron and walked back.
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Back at the shop entrance, A-Zhu was still very well-behaved, sitting on the threshold waiting for him.
The moonlight cast a long shadow over her, and she sat there, hugging her knees. When she saw Shen Chi return, she didn't ask "What's wrong?" or "What happened?" She looked at his face for a while, then glanced at the piece of iron in his hand.
Shen Chi handed over the piece of iron, saying, "It was supposed to be yours."
A-Zhu took it. The iron was warm. She paused for a moment, looked down at the patterns on the iron, and then looked up at him.
He said it very softly:
"You still remember?"
Shen Chi did not answer. He walked into the shop.
The embers of the fire are still burning in the furnace. I've had a lot of information to process today, so I can't sleep.
He picked up the flint and relit it.
Dry straw ignited the tinder, and flames leaped up on the thick wood rack. A dark red light shone on his face.
Mo Chenzi had followed us here at some point and was leaning against the doorframe. The old man stared at the ball of fire, his single eye reflecting the flickering light.
He muttered something under his breath, so low that only he could hear it.
"Old Shen, your son... is a good prospect."
Shen Chi sat in front of the stove, watching the fire.
It's almost dawn.
He touched his chest. The imprint of his heart was warm, like the fire in a furnace, no longer needing to burst forth. It was right there.
Like a promise made. There's no need to constantly repeat it.