Number 4

Han Sen himself was surprised. Although he had seen Luo Haitang in Godslayer Shelter, he hadn't agreed to any of the man's requests or given him anything. So, why would the old man send a gift? It seemed as if he really wanted to re-establish a connection with Luolan.

But given Luolan's personality, Han Sen knew what Luo Haitang might have been like. It had been many years since he saw her, and there had been no texting or form of communication in the meantime. If he'd really wanted to send her something, he'd had plenty of time to do it. It wouldn't have had to be that day, of all days.

Now that he had sent something, it obviously had something to do with him having just met Han Sen.

"Mom, I didn't do anything for him. I didn't agree to anything." Han Sen went on to relay the story of how he encountered Luo Haitang.

"You dodged his palm?" Luolan looked at Han Sen with wide open eyes. She looked as if she was in shock.

"I didn't learn the Falsified-Sky Sutra, either. But you know that I knew about it and what to expect. Is there something wrong with the fact that I managed to dodge it?" Han Sen didn't think there was a problem.

"No, there's nothing wrong. You did a great job." Luolan was very happy to hear this. She put her fingers on Han Sen's cheek and rubbed it. "My good son, you really did a great job."

"What does that mean?" Han Sen looked confused, not entirely sure what had just happened. He had very rarely seen her this happy.

"Nothing. It's just good, that's all." Luolan smiled and left, not really answering Han Sen's question.

Han Sen rested at home for another two days before returning to the sanctuary. When he got back, he went directly to Gu Qingcheng's room.

Just as he was about to knock on the door to her chamber, he heard Gu Qingcheng's voice say, "Come in, the door isn't locked."

Han Sen lightly pushed the door open. Gu Qingcheng was in front of a table, drawing with an old pen.

Han Sen learned about what she was doing in a history lesson; it was calligraphy. She was using a brush pen, a tool devised by ancient humans to write. They weren't really used anymore.

The few that still existed were typically used by artists for a few odd tasks. He hadn't expected Gu Qingcheng to be the sort to love them like so.

Han Sen wasn't very good with art, but he could tell that she must have had a lot of practice to draw with the level of talent she had.

Gu Qingcheng lowered her pen. She took a moment to admire her own artwork before asking, "Why were you looking for me?"

Han Sen smiled and then said, "I met someone who told me some wild things about you. I don't know if he was a liar, so I'd like to ask you for the truth about these things he said about you."

"Oh? What did he say about me?" Gu Qingcheng looked at Han Sen as if her curiosity had been piqued.

Han Sen had already established how he'd approach this conversation in his mind. Now, he smiled and said, "He said you killed Cruel Chi. Is that true or false?"

Gu Qingcheng frowned and said, "Maybe. I don't remember. I have killed many creatures in my lifetime."

"Cruel Chi was a famous demi-god super creature. If you killed one such as that, you wouldn't have forgotten, would you?" Han Sen didn't believe her.

"I really did just forget. Why would I lie about this?" Gu Qingcheng said, with lifted lips.

Han Sen thought that if Gu Qingcheng wanted to lie, she would have just said a simple yes or no. He couldn't quite tell from the answer he was given.

"It's okay if you don't remember that. He said a lot of other things. He said you drank the pee of a Jade Beast to avoid dying of thirst out in the desert and..." Han Sen was going to say a few similar statements, but before he could finish speaking the first, Gu Qingcheng's face changed.

"Impossible! No one knew about that. How would you know?" Gu Qingcheng stared at Han Sen as if she had seen a ghost.

"You really did this? Then did you hide inside the Hunting Sky Beast's egg and end up getting sat on by the Hunting Sky Beast for an entire month?" Han Sen asked.

"Impossible! No one should know about this. Who did you hear it from?" Gu Qingcheng's face changed. She ran in front of him and grabbed him by the sleeves.

"I said I met someone, didn't I? He told me these things, saying that he saw you commit these acts. I thought he was lying. I had no idea he was telling me the truth." Han Sen was both surprised and happy. He was now sure Gu Qingcheng was the Number 4 in the diary.

"Impossible! When I did these things, humans did not even know what a steamer was. Who could have seen me?" Gu Qingcheng looked annoyed.

Han Sen froze. His eyes opened wide as he looked at her, and he said, "Steamer? That is something from ancient times. Were you in the sanctuary all the way back then?"

Han Sen couldn't believe what he was hearing, but Gu Qingcheng had unwittingly proved what he wished to know.

Gu Qingcheng frowned as she stared at him. She said, "You are right. I am from that era. I was in the sanctuary even during ancient times. Tell me who told you this stuff. When I did these things, humans could not appear in the sanctuaries. They shouldn't have been able to see me."

"No way. Back then, there were no teleporters. There weren't even generators. How were you able to enter the sanctuary? You're joking, right?" Han Sen heard every word, but he found it hard to believe.

"Does it look like I am joking?" Gu Qingcheng said coldly.

"But that is not right. Even if you entered the shelter, that would have been at least ten thousand years ago. Even as a demi-god, your few-hundred-year lifespan should have long been over. How have you lived for so long?"

Gu Qingcheng had admitted to something quite strange. He didn't believe it.

"I don't care if you believe it or not. I only want you to tell me who told you this stuff." Gu Qingcheng's face looked dim.

A chill had run down her spine. The things she had done were something no other human could have seen. The things Han Sen spoke of were events she believed no one else would know about. Spirits and creatures couldn't have known, either.

Now that Han Sen had said this, it spooked her quite a bit. If someone knew about these things, then it meant someone had been watching her in ancient times and even up until now. This was a pretty scary thing to learn.

"Is there a way for you to prove to me you hail from ancient times?" Han Sen saw that she wasn't actually joking. He had a number of different questions he wished to ask her.