Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 325 - 243: Where the Tombstone Stands_1

Chapter 325: Chapter 243: Where the Tombstone Stands_1

Feng Yi held the model and sat down on the chair opposite the butler.

"Did you make this yourself?"

"Of course! I said I would make it by hand."

"The model is very good; I like it a lot. It’s clear that you put a lot of effort into it. It’s just, don’t you think there’s something off about this tooth?" Feng Yi looked at the butler.

The butler’s eyebrows didn’t even twitch. "Oh, I might have been too absorbed in the process and overlooked it."

Feng Yi continued to look at him expressionlessly.

The butler showed a loving smile and said gently, "Ah, the next one, the next one will definitely be perfect!"

Feng Yi: "..."

As if I’d believe that!

Once the airplane took off and entered a stable state of flight.

Bing got busy, with meals being served one after another.

On this trip, Feng Yi treated the butler as an elder, but clearly, the butler was still immersed in his role and enjoying it.

Before Feng Yi could start, the butler stood up to set the table for him.

Feng Yi couldn’t stop him.

The longer he spent with the butler, the more he discovered the old man was full of secrets.

Feng Yi had never heard him mention any relatives. The butler wasn’t willing to talk much about his past life. He only mentioned he had made some small investments.

Now it seemed, the so-called "some small investments" were quite the understatement.

Everyone has secrets, and Feng Yi respected his privacy.

But there were too many inexplicable things about the butler, such as—

Feng Yi: "Why did you choose to become a butler?"

Butler: "A kind of pursuit in life."

Throughout the long hours of the flight, Feng Yi suggested the butler to rest in the bedroom for a bit—sitting for such a long time was not good for someone his age.

However, the butler refused.

On this trip, the butler remained oddly exhilarated the entire time, busying himself with his mysterious notebook and sketching without letting anyone peek. When he grew tired of writing, he would adjust the backrest of his seat, close his eyes to rest for a while, and then continue taking notes.

Feng Yi wondered if the butler was so excited because they were going to visit his great-aunt.

The closer they got to their destination.

Even through the airplane, he could sense those energy particles above the clouds, high in the sky.

It was the same substance he had sensed in the sky on the day of Early March.

The closer they got to the destination, the more there were of those energy substances.

But Feng Yi couldn’t try anything now. For the safety of everyone on the plane, he had to stay as he was.

Truth be told, he was on tenterhooks flying on the plane, fearing that some change in him might affect the flight.

Even though the butler told him there would be no problems as long as he maintained the appearance, he was still nervous.

Only when they finally arrived at the destination did Feng Yi’s anxiety ease.

At the landing airport, Feng Yi didn’t need to worry about the procedures.

There was already a car waiting outside.

On the car ride from the airport to the seaside, Feng Yi looked outside through the car window.

It wasn’t the tourist season, but there were still many people who came here for tourism or filming work.

All sorts of skin and hair colors, different languages and habits.

However, Feng Yi’s final destination for today wasn’t here.

They switched to a yacht at the seaside.

The yacht had a strong personal style, obviously a private custom-made one not rented out to tourists.

"This yacht belongs to?" Feng Yi asked.

"The butler’s," Jia answered.

"Oh."

Feng Yi couldn’t muster much surprise anymore.

The group took the yacht to their target island.

The small island that his great-aunt had bought was not particularly large among this archipelago, but it was certainly not small.

Before they came, the butler had told Feng Yi about the history of the island.

During the period of climate abnormality, news of rising sea levels and various terrifying doomsday predictions were rampant.

The former Island Master, worried that the island would be submerged, sold it to take care of other matters.

At that time, many island owners were selling their islands, and his great-aunt ultimately chose and bought this one.

Comparatively speaking, the 20 years of climatic abnormalities didn’t affect this island too much. After the climate returned to normal, the island also underwent significant changes. The island and its surroundings recovered quickly, even better than before the period of abnormality.

On the island, there were also more traces of human life.

Feng Yi looked at the approaching island.

In front of them was a tourist boat, possibly full of curious tourists.

The yacht only got near when the island’s security staff came out to shoo them away.

The tourist-carrying yacht quickly left.

Meanwhile, the security personnel didn’t even approach to intercept Feng Yi’s group.

Bing explained to Feng Yi, "This yacht itself is a passage permit."

Before his great-aunt passed away, she left the island to her eldest son. According to the family hierarchy, Feng Yi should call him his elder cousin.

According to the butler, it was that elder cousin who won the island in a draw. However, even though it belonged to the elder cousin, the other children of his great-aunt would still bring their families here for vacations.

This served as a rather private family vacation destination.

When the butler spoke of the great-aunt’s children, his tone was quite indifferent, not showing much closeness.

It wasn’t that those cousins and relatives whom he had never met had any problems in terms of personality or behavior.

The butler’s attitude was more like he simply wasn’t interested.

Several zones were demarcated on the island, with areas where the hired staff lived and others meant for accommodating guests.

And at the heart of the island was the area belonging to the Island Master’s family.

The butler had a house on the island, or more accurately, a set of local-style residence.

Leading Feng Yi inside, the butler pointed to a room and said to him, "That room over there has been prepared for you."

Upon opening the door, Feng Yi saw the room’s interior.

It was similar to his room at home, even including the same type of large, round Kang bed.

After setting down his luggage, Feng Yi intended to first visit his grandmother’s grave, but the butler gestured with his hand:

"No rush, take a rest first, have a good meal and then go."

The food had been prepared in advance, needing only a bit of final touches by Bing before eating.

The taste was excellent, but Feng Yi ate somewhat distractedly.

How should he put it, he felt that his grandmother wasn’t here.

Observing the butler’s attitude, Feng Yi became even more certain.

Nevertheless, Feng Yi didn’t say much, he’d already come this far, and a little while longer wouldn’t hurt.

After dinner, and a brief rest, Feng Yi followed the butler to where the tombstones were located.

In the central area of the island was a small garden, where stood two tombstones—

His grandmother’s and grandfather’s.

From the inscriptions on the tombstones, Feng Yi knew that his grandfather had passed away several years ago.

"In his youth, he wandered without settling down, and in old age, he chose to close his eyes on this quiet little island."

The butler’s tone was indifferent, revealing little emotion.

"As for Madam Feng... she once told me that the whole world is her homeland, everywhere is the same."

Feng Yi bowed to the tombstones.

Though there were two tombstones in front of him, only his grandfather’s ashes were here.

His grandmother...

His grandmother was definitely not here.

The butler looked at the tombstone, seeing through it to memories of the past.

"Her body was always strong, over 80 and yet she could still stride along carrying a large python, needed to age herself with makeup when going out so as not to be mistaken for a demon."

"But one day, she suddenly said her end was near."

"She then drew up her will, allocating her wealth."

"She said that as the limit of an old person’s life approaches, the inheritors will begin to awaken."

"It was then that she sensed you were the likeliest inheritor."

"Before that, it was impossible to know who the inheritor would be; it could be one of her own children or someone completely unknown. They might carry the Feng surname or not. Being born in the Year of the Snake might have a higher possibility, but it’s not absolute."

The butler spoke of the past.

"Originally, I wanted to observe you for a longer period, but seeing your situation wasn’t very good, I decided to make contact ahead of time."

Feng Yi asked, "Then, the zodiac coins?"

The butler replied, "A kind of key. Without the zodiac coins, one would have to start by finding them. Having the ’key’ allows entry into the secret chamber on Xiao Feng Mountain for gene activation. If activation fails, I would search for the next inheritor."

The good thing was, Feng Yi succeeded.

Thus, afterward, the butler’s attitude toward him obviously changed.

"If I hadn’t successfully activated my genes, what would you have done?" Feng Yi asked.

The butler smiled, "I know a doctor who specializes in hypnotherapy. You might have lost that part of the memory or thought it was just a dream. As compensation, we would have filled in your debts."

Feng Yi nodded.

Whether or not this explanation was true, it sounded reasonable—at least it didn’t mean erasing him from this world.

The butler shifted his gaze from the tombstone, looking up to the sky or perhaps through the dense forest to the distant sea.

"We don’t know where she spent her final days."

So before this, whenever Feng Yi asked, the butler’s answers were always vague, not deliberately evasive, but because he truly did not know.

The butler’s gaze returned, looking at Feng Yi beside him:

"You can sense the direction, can’t you?"

"Yes," Feng Yi said.

His innate compass had already begun to spin, as though a pointer in his mind was directing him to the last direction his grandmother traveled.

"Before her departure, she swam out to sea and forbade us from following, saying the energy changes could cause a storm," the butler said with a hint of sorrow. "She also said if you were to go, we couldn’t follow you either. Anyone following would be buried at sea."

The butler, after having spent so much time with her, could guess a thing or two.

Just by the commotion of Feng Yi shedding his skin during Early March, one could infer a bit.

Being so far from the sea and yet able to "summon" waterspouts, and the thick cloud cover accumulating above the entire city—if a true storm erupted at sea, humans would be like ants in its wrath.

After listening to the butler’s recount of past events in the small garden, Feng Yi joined them again to go out to sea by yacht.

They ventured far from the nearby islands, seeing no other tourists or adventurer sailboats around.

"This is good enough."

Feng Yi had already changed clothes, now only wearing a bathrobe.

He tossed aside his bathrobe and jumped into the sea.

He surfaced to wave at the butler and the others, then dove back into the sea.

Transforming from his imitation form to his original, he swam toward the distant sea.

On the yacht, the butler remained silent.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy, and Jia and the others didn’t speak either.

Not until they returned to shore.

The butler told Bing, "Prepare the food in advance, stock up on meat, he’ll need to replenish a lot when he comes back tomorrow."

Bing’s expression turned serious, "Understood!"

Saying that, he prepared to go shopping.

After taking a few steps, Bing paused, turned back, and asked, "How much should I prepare?"

The butler replied, "Twice... three times... make it five times the usual amount."