His hand gripping the paper tightened, trembling faintly. His originally sharp and stern gaze sank down, visibly sorrowful.

Ji Yinshu saw the change in his expression.

She said: “This person is the old friend you spoke of, isn’t she?”

Third Master didn’t respond.

He continued looking at the woman in the portrait.

Then Ji Yinshu took out those two square wooden plaques.

And held them out toward Third Master.

“You should recognize this thing as well, shouldn’t you?”

Third Master raised his eyes. When he saw those two overlapping wooden plaques in Ji Yinshu’s palm, his eyes suddenly shook with incomparable surprise. He immediately reached out to take them.

His hands trembled as his rough fingers gently traced the patterns on the wooden plaques.

Uneven, layer upon orderly layer.

Each knife stroke, each carving!

Crystal clear.

He was all too familiar with this pattern.

He had carved it stroke by stroke himself.

His eyes moistened. He looked up and asked Ji Yinshu excitedly, “Why do you have two such wooden plaques?”

Uh!

With this question, Ji Yinshu understood.

“So you really do know about what happened back then.”

“Tell me, where did you get the other wooden plaque?”

Urgently!

Ji Yinshu said, “This portrait and the other wooden plaque came from that Yue Dan man we captured.”

“Him?”

“He told me himself that twenty-one years ago, when he woke up, he was in a forest. He remembered nothing, and all he had on him were this portrait and a wooden plaque.”

Third Master’s body trembled.

The items nearly fell from his hands.

He muttered, “Twenty-one years ago? Twenty-one years ago…”

Ji Yinshu: “It was in the distant northwest, in that forest near Yicheng. Pass through the forest and you can reach Huyi.”

She deliberately emphasized this.

With this said, Third Master’s eyes widened. His fingertips tightened as if about to crush the portrait in his hand.

At the same time, his body became unsteady. He retreated several steps, his eyes wavering uncertainly, murmuring again, “Distant northwest, Yicheng…”

All the points almost matched up.

Seeing him like this, Ji Yinshu became even more certain.

That affair from twenty-one years ago—Third Master had not only been involved, perhaps… he was one of the parties directly concerned!

She stepped forward and asked, “Can you tell me exactly what happened back then? Who is the person in the portrait? What is her relationship to me? What is that captured Yue Dan man’s relationship to me? And you… who exactly are you?”

A barrage of questions came.

Third Master raised his eyes and met hers.

She was waiting for the answer she had in mind.

But Third Master suddenly called out toward the outside, “Someone!”

A soldier from outside entered, “Third Master?”

He ordered, “Go bring that Yue Dan man here.”

The soldier was momentarily bewildered, glanced at Ji Yinshu, then went to carry out the order.

Very soon, Bai Yin was brought in, his hands bound behind his back, unable to move.

These past few days, someone had continuously brought him food and water. Someone had even come in to apply medicine to him. His body had improved considerably and he had regained his strength. He stood there with an unyielding expression.

At this moment, the atmosphere inside the entire tent was extremely heavy.

When Bai Yin saw the portrait and those two wooden plaques in Third Master’s hands, vaguely, he seemed to realize something.

Presumably, it was related to him!

But how could Third Master be involved?

Was it also related to Third Master?

Third Master waved his hand at those two soldiers, “You may go.”

“Yes.”

The soldiers left!

Only the three of them remained!

Third Master took a dagger from the side. With a cold expression, he walked behind Bai Yin, drew the dagger, and quickly cut away the rope binding his wrists, throwing it on the ground.

Bai Yin’s wrists had been rubbed raw and bleeding. Having gained his freedom, he twisted them a few times, clenched his fists several times to loosen his muscles and bones.

At the same time, Third Master circled from behind him to the front and asked, “Your name is Bai Yin?”

Bai Yin looked at him and responded with a “Mm.”

Third Master held up the portrait and asked him, “This portrait and the wooden plaque are yours?”

“They’re mine.”

“Where did you get them?”

“They’ve always been on me!”

“You’re certain?”

“I have no need to lie.”

“I heard you woke up in a forest, and the events before you woke up… you don’t remember any of them?” Third Master continued asking.

Bai Yin furrowed his brow slightly, the corner of his mouth curving slightly, “It seems you know quite a bit.”

Third Master’s gaze slowly fell on his arm. Suddenly, he grabbed his arm and rolled up the sleeve.

Right there on his arm was an oval-shaped black birthmark!

Uh!

Third Master’s eyes trembled. Tears couldn’t help but well up in his eyes as he carefully examined Bai Yin.

“Yes! Indeed similar! Is it really you? Is it really you!”

Third Master was very agitated!

Bai Yin withdrew his hand.

He frowned.

“What do you mean? What exactly do you know?”

Third Master let out a heavy breath. He had originally thought he could hide this secret forever, but in the end, the day of revelation had inevitably come.

He shed his usual stern and cold demeanor. With tears in his eyes, he looked at Ji Yinshu, then at Bai Yin. His Adam’s apple rolled for a long while.

Only then did he speak: “The woman in this portrait… is your mother.”

Uh!

What?

Your… mother?

Ji Yinshu was certain she hadn’t misheard. Although beforehand she had prepared herself and roughly guessed it, when the truth was revealed at this moment, she was still shocked.

Not just her—Bai Yin as well.

He was so astonished he was dumbstruck. After being stunned for a while, unable to believe it, “What did you say? The person in the portrait… is my mother?”

Third Master nodded, “That’s right, she is your mother.”

“…”

Both of them needed quite a while to process this.

They looked at each other.

Indeed, their features were inexplicably similar!

Ji Yinshu took a deep breath and asked Third Master, “Then what about you? Who are you?”

Third Master was silent for a long while, looking at the items in his hand, and said: “Xi’er and I grew up together from childhood, childhood sweethearts, innocent companions. I painted this portrait for her in the year she came of age. I had thought then that I could marry her as my wife, but circumstances are unpredictable. Due to family reasons, she ultimately married someone else. These two plaques were also carved by me later. The pattern on them is a flower, the Zhilan flower unique to our region, representing blessings. I blessed her to be happy, to be forever joyful. Not long after, she gave birth to a son and gave him one of the wooden plaques. She said when she had a daughter, she would give her the other one. But who could have anticipated that twenty-one years ago, internal strife suddenly broke out in Huyi. There was slaughter everywhere, smoke and fire permeating the air. I escorted your mother with several people all the way fleeing to Dalin, but when passing through that forest, we became separated. From that time on, I never saw her again. I searched all along the way and finally reached Hou Liao, where I settled down. I never expected that both her son and daughter were still alive. Perhaps… this is heaven’s arrangement.”