Zhang Liang couldn't comprehend Ye Xiu's actions at all. "Brother Ye, why must you be so completely subservient to an unreasonable old man? He says five days, so five days it is. What if he doesn't show up after five days?"

"You should actually thank me for this. Believe me, you won't regret listening to me," Ye Xiu suddenly adopted a solemn, meaningful tone. "Do you believe he will truly return in five days?"

"What power could an old fellow possibly have? Why should I bother coming here?" Zhang Liang snapped, thoroughly annoyed. "If he wants to come, let him come himself. I don't wish to be entangled with this old man."

"You must come!" Ye Xiu looked at Zhang Liang with grave seriousness. "You know I dabble a bit in physiognomy. This old gentleman is a lucky star in your destiny. Your future depends on him—believe it or not?"

"Is it really that magical?" Zhang Liang was clearly unconvinced. "This old man is so strange and peculiar; you expect me to rely on him?"

"Then how about a bet?" Ye Xiu knew he was guaranteed to win this wager. "If things turn out as I say, when you achieve boundless success in the future, you must help me without regard for any consequence—even if it's just obeying one order from me unconditionally."

"Fine. If you're wrong, I'll just forget about it, after all, you did save my life once," Zhang Liang agreed to the bet.

And so, the two of them slipped into the dense thickets of Mount Xiaqiu and found a dilapidated thatched hut to stay in temporarily.

Five days later, Zhang Liang went out alone to the stone bridge. It turned out the old man had indeed arrived long before, just as Ye Xiu predicted. When Zhang Liang tried to speak, the old man merely said, "To meet with this old one, a young man is actually late. Come back in another five days."

Zhang Liang was bewildered, but having made a pact with Ye Xiu, he certainly wouldn't abandon it halfway. He returned, dejected, to their lodging: "Is it really this bizarre!"

Another five days passed. Zhang Liang intentionally left very early and went to the stone bridge again. To his surprise, the old man was already standing leisurely on the bridge, as if waiting. Just as Zhang Liang was about to step forward to speak, the old man spoke first: "Being late has no excuse. Return again in another five days."

Zhang Liang grew somewhat angry. He rushed back to the hut in a fit of pique. Seeing Ye Xiu lounging casually on the grass, basking in the sun, he complained aggrievedly, "Brother Ye, that old man is clearly making things difficult for me! I got there so early, yet he was already waiting there. What should I do!"

"That’s twice now, hasn't it?" Ye Xiu slowly sat up. "If one wishes to achieve great things, one must learn patience. Next time, I will accompany you. We will spend the entire fourth day waiting on the bridge; this time, we absolutely must be earlier than him."

"Is it worth it? What is so mysterious about that old man?" Zhang Liang still couldn't grasp why Ye Xiu placed such importance on him.

"Ah, just listen to me, it’s the right path," he lay back down. He was beginning to feel that history always seemed to contain certain deviations. After all, Zhang Liang, being nobility of Han, could not easily accept being toyed with and humiliated by an old man.

If he hadn't been there for the incident where Huang Shi bestowed the military text, that scene simply wouldn't exist. It was much like how Wang Long claimed to be a variable in history; perhaps history only changed its process, as the outcome seemed utterly unchanged.

Indeed, on the evening of the fourth day, Ye Xiu pulled Zhang Liang along to wait on the stone bridge. The wind in the dead of night was chilling to the bone. Zhang Liang longed to run into Ye Xiu’s embrace.

"Just endure it a little longer, and from then on, you, Zifang, will make your name known throughout the world. Just don't forget me when that time comes," Ye Xiu smiled at Zhang Liang, his words serving as both encouragement and comfort.

Zhang Liang remained silent. He only felt that this Ye Xiu before him was truly an extraordinary individual, far beyond someone who merely understood star-gazing and physiognomy.

After a long time, a pale white light began to show in the east, and like this era, every day felt utterly murky.

At some unknown moment, the old man was standing beneath the stone bridge, watching the two of them.

"The old gentleman has finally arrived," Ye Xiu and Zhang Liang spoke in unison, bowing respectfully.

The old man spoke little, merely glancing at Ye Xiu and then at Zhang Liang, before drawing a scroll from his sleeve and presenting it before them.

"This..." Zhang Liang was slightly suspicious, unsure what this scroll represented. "Old gentleman, what is the meaning of this?"

"You must accept this volume!" Ye Xiu gave Zhang Liang a meaningful look, then bowed again to thank the old man.

Zhang Liang naturally understood Ye Xiu's good intentions. He knelt down slowly, accepting the scroll with both hands from the elder. However, before the two could exchange many more words, the old man turned and walked away directly, disappearing into the green forest not long after.

"Where did that old man go?" Zhang Liang felt as if he had encountered a spectral phantom, yet the scroll in his hands felt profoundly real. "Where did he go?"

Ye Xiu considered this internally. Huang Shi Gong was, after all, a figure of legend, though records also claimed he was a genuine strategist. Seeing him today truly left one utterly perplexed.

"Brother Ye, look quickly." By this time, Zhang Liang was visibly agitated. He rushed up to Ye Xiu. "This is The Art of War of the Grand Duke."

"En," Ye Xiu replied flatly. Of course, he knew what it was; in fact, he had already read the entire volume. His elder sister, Ji Jiang, had required him to study it. The strategies and tactics within the book were indeed astonishing.

"Wonderful, wonderful!" Zhang Liang was overjoyed and was about to unfurl the scroll to read immediately—truly, scholars cannot resist books.

Ye Xiu turned his head to look at Zhang Liang, realizing this moment seemed to be the turning point for their separation.

"What are your plans from now on?" Ye Xiu asked slowly. "With this military text, your grand ambitions can take flight."

Zhang Liang didn't even look up, responding immediately, "With this military text, I will surely accomplish great things in breaking Qin someday! Brother Ye, why don't we both retreat to the mountains and study the military arts together, waiting for the opportune moment to annihilate the Qin Emperor in one fell swoop?"

Ye Xiu heard this and faintly closed his eyes, saying nothing.

"What? Brother Ye, you think that's inappropriate?" Only then did Zhang Liang notice Ye Xiu's slightly strange expression and hastily asked, "Ye Xiu, what is wrong..."

"I have no interest in military strategy. You, Zifang, should pore over this book carefully," Ye Xiu took a sharp breath. "I have some personal matters that need handling, so..."

"So we part ways here, right?" Zhang Liang carefully secured the scroll, stood up, and looked at Ye Xiu with deep emotion again. From the flicker in his eyes, it was clear he was restraining something—brotherhood, shared hardship, a mixture of all kinds of sentiment.

Ye Xiu nodded heavily, shouldered the Mu Shang Sword, and headed in the opposite direction of the stone bridge. He felt that the will of heaven often played cruel tricks on people, constantly leaving him particularly isolated. He knew he couldn't keep wasting Zhang Liang's time here; in the near future, Zhang Liang would become a pioneer of this age, while he himself was nothing here.

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