Harold Whitman completely ignored his bitter expression, first pointing to that patch of red-leaf forest, then said loudly, “Within the red-leaf forest lies the most important place of my Tuoxie Sect: the Birth, Aging, Sickness, and Death Court.”

Logan Whitman felt his mind cramp a little. On this trip up the mountain, he first encountered two foolish uncles he’d never known before, then met a fourth great-uncle he’d never even heard of, and now yet another secret place of the Wen family had appeared—the Birth, Aging, Sickness, and Death Court.

Every power, whether a family, sect, or organization, has its own secrets. The Wen family, inheriting the Tuoxie tradition, has occupied Jiuding Mountain for two thousand years and was once regarded as a forbidden land by the world, so naturally, they are no exception.

The Birth, Aging, Sickness, and Death Court is the Wen family’s greatest secret.

The Birth Section: stores all kinds of classics, including the collected and summarized insights of Wen Bucao’s ancestors, the five-element attributes of all things, poison recipes, medicinal formulas, and various folk secret techniques—an endless variety. Even if one studied for hundreds of years, it would be impossible to learn them all.

The Aging Section: stores the corpses of the Wen family patriarchs of past generations. These people were all masters of poison arts in life, accumulating vast amounts of toxins in their bodies. After death, their corpses do not rot or decay; thrown in water, they poison the fish; buried in soil, no grass grows; exposed to fire, they turn into poisonous smoke that corrodes bones. For environmental reasons, all are collected in the Aging Section.

The Sickness Section: breeds a large number of poisonous creatures.

The Death Section: is the Wen family’s secret base for cultivating strength and experts.

The Wen family has stood for two thousand years without falling, and their poison arts have only grown more refined, largely thanks to this court.

This Mr. Whitman is the master of the Birth, Aging, Sickness, and Death Court. Without his permission, even Senior Whitman cannot reveal anything about the court to outsiders.

Mr. Whitman waited expressionlessly for Harold Whitman to finish speaking, then looked at Logan Whitman with the same critical eye a housewife uses to pick cabbages. Only then did he slowly raise two fingers at him and say, “Two years. The Birth, Aging, Sickness, and Death Court will only allow you two years. You may browse any of the classics within. If you have questions, you can ask me. If you need to leave the court, you don’t need to inform me. But you only have two years. How much you can learn is none of my concern. If you’re still hanging around after two years, then you’ll never leave for the rest of your life.”

Harold Whitman frowned. “Fourth Uncle, isn’t two years too short? There are so many classics in the court…”

Mr. Whitman’s face didn’t show a trace of emotion as he stiffly shook his head. “For this kind of material, what difference would ten or a hundred years make?”

Logan Whitman’s face turned bright red, but he still respectfully asked, “Are there any rules in the court? Please instruct me, Fourth Granduncle.”

A trace of disdain flashed in Fourth Grandpa Whitman’s eyes. “Not many rules. I’ll tell you later. As for the rest, there are no real restrictions. If you think you’re capable of burning this court down, go ahead and try.” With that, he didn’t spare Logan Whitman another glance, but turned to look at Harold Whitman, suddenly asking out of nowhere, “How is it?”

Harold Whitman shook his head, glanced at the bewildered Logan Whitman beside him, and said nothing.

Mr. Whitman actually sighed—a sound with a hint of emotion, the only one Logan Whitman had heard from him since they met.

Mr. Whitman took a small red square box from his robe and tossed it to Harold Whitman. “Keep this on you. Be careful in everything, don’t push yourself!” With that, he turned and walked toward the red-leaf forest without looking back.

Eldest Uncle caught the box, quickly stepped forward, and gently pushed Logan Whitman’s back. “You’re here this time to study the classics in the Birth Section. If you gain some insight, you’ll naturally reach a new level, which will help you find and prepare poison recipes suited to your own constitution. Even if you don’t, just memorizing a few more poison recipes will benefit you endlessly. Fourth Uncle may seem cold, but he’s warm-hearted. You’ll understand after a while. Hurry and catch up. If you work hard for two years, you’ll learn a lot. I’ll come pick you up after two years!”

Nathan Whitman and Travis Whitman also jumped over, grabbing Logan Whitman’s sleeve with serious faces. “Sun, should the two of us come find you to play later?” Then, with a mysterious air, they added, “We’ll teach you how to make puppets fight.”

Logan Whitman nodded with a smile, then strode off after his Fourth Granduncle. Eldest Uncle Harold Whitman watched his back, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something more, but in the end he just shook his head and patted his two foolish brothers. “Come on, big brother will play with you in the mountains for a few more days!”

Nathan Whitman and Travis Whitman cheered loudly…

Volume One: Breaking New Ground

Chapter Seven: The Girl

The red-leaf forest wasn’t very large. In each of the four directions stood rows upon rows of wooden houses, neatly arranged, surrounding several large buildings in the very center of the grove.

Some people came and went from the wooden houses, and there were people moving about in the forest as well, but all wore expressions of extreme coldness. They ignored Logan Whitman’s pure smile, and even Mr. Whitman and the others paid no attention to him. It was unclear whether they regarded themselves as air or regarded him as air.

Mr. Whitman didn’t mind in the slightest, walking ahead with his hands behind his back, not looking back as he said, “Without my permission, no one can take more than seven steps in this forest.”

Logan Whitman was startled and quickly tried to recall how many steps he had already taken.