Chapter 08 – Past Incidents

Chapter 08 - Past Incidents

Distant flames illuminated the sky, as glowing embers were continually lifted by the wind, drifting into the darkness of the night to vanish.

Xuan Zhu gazed in that direction, where the twilight forest lay veiled in faint moonlight. His expression was concealed in the shadows, but his eyes shimmered in the gloom.

"Where's Xia Huan?"

Ju Lang's cold voice sounded behind Xuan Zhu, who promptly turned his head, urging anxiously, "He's still inside. You have to go...!"

Before he could finish, an explosion echoed, resounding through heaven and earth, accompanied by rustling leaves.

Xuan Zhu swung his head back, looking into the distance. The fire illuminated his gentle face, revealing a tinge of sorrow in his expression. "I didn't get the chance to tell you... ha ha, transcending emotions is supreme, I suppose...".

"What do you mean 'suppose'? What were you going to tell me?"

—It was Xia Huan's voice!

Xuan Zhu's emotions fluctuated like a roller coaster. Without turning back, he closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling gently as he composed himself.

A little farther away, Xia Huan was dragging and pushing Cao Yuanfang towards them.

"Catch me gently, will you? Ouch!" Cao Yuanfang cried in pain.

"Then hurry up! If it weren't for me taking you out, that explosion would've taken you out. Stop whining!" Xia Huan tossed Cao Yuanfang to Ju Lang and said, "Take him to find the white-haired brat."

Ju Lang froze, his head tilting involuntarily to one side.

Logically speaking, now that Xia Huan knew Shen Yuan had been resurrected, he should have brought Cao Yuanfang back to the organization for interrogation before capturing Shen Yuan. Why was he entrusting Cao Yuanfang to Ju Lang?

With a look of disdain, Xia Huan said, "What are you still standing there for? You'd better change your cowardly attitude, or people will see right through you."

Ju Lang asked, "Aren't you coming?"

Xia Huan replied, "The team leader has ordered the capture of Shen Yuan. As a member of the Di family who defected to the He family, I'm already under suspicion. I pretended not to see Shen Yuan at the hotel last time. If I were to show favoritism again, it wouldn't be justified, and I'd be an easy target for accusations."

Ju Lang's cold expression remained unchanged. He merely uttered an "Oh," expressed his gratitude, then turned to lead Cao Yuanfang away.

Xia Huan called after Ju Lang, "Don't cross paths with me again! The organization's team leader has decreed that whoever brings Shen Yuan back to Heng Yao will become a Demigod!"

Xia Huan was born into the Divine race; there was no need for him to seek other means to enter their ranks, let alone as a demigod. He shared this with Ju Lang merely to caution him about the potential threats from those closest.

Their conversation startled a flock of birds, which took flight overhead.

Turning towards Xuan Zhu, Xia Huan noticed a teardrop hanging on the tip of her chin under the glow of the fire. He extended his index finger, gently touching it and then rubbing it away with his thumb. Surprised, he said, "Your tears?!"

Xuan Zhu offered Xia Huan a warm and relaxed smile, acknowledging it openly, "Indeed, I lost my composure. But I have a question lingering in my mind. Would you indulge me?"

"Ask away."

"How did you manage to escape so swiftly?"

"It's quite simple," Xia Huan replied with a cryptic smile. With his left hand, he pretended to grasp at thin air before slowly opening his palm, revealing a broken white jade flute lying within.

Xuan Zhu looked puzzled, "Just with half a jade flute?"

"This is an artifact left behind by the Di ancestors, the Lu Huadi Flute, a treasured heirloom of Jiu Li. Before Shen Yuan shattered it, it was a complete jade flute."

With a deep and magnetic voice, Xia Huan narrated the story, moonlight casting a healthy bronze glow across his face rather than a pale one. His features were refined, his eyes clear and bright. This contrast seemed to harmoniously blend within him, like a rose blooming in a desert.

Xuan Zhu held the broken half of the flute, gazing at the moon with great attention.

The Lu Huadi flute was carved from a single piece of white jade, smooth to the touch and undoubtedly costly. However, it bore a noticeable flaw.

He inquired, "Why is there a crack in the middle?"

"It was dropped..." Xia Huan's eyes revealed a palpable sadness.

Whenever he wore such an expression, it likely connected to that person.

In the past, Lu Huadi had been whole, but now it was incomplete, severed by a crack. This must have occurred when he parted ways with that person.

Xuan Zhu returned the jade flute to him without further inquiry.

Black attire facilitated concealment, and Xia Huan was clad entirely in black, while Xuan Zhu's white clothes made him stand out in the darkness. As his figure grew smaller, Xia Huan couldn't help asking, "Where are you going?"

"In life, paths diverge to north and south, you head for the Xiao-Xiang, while I journey to Qin. I'm searching for the breathing soil," Xuan Zhu replied with a well-modulated tone, as gentle as the warm spring sunshine. A shade more would have made him an adversary, a shade less too distant; his balance was impeccable.

Upon hearing this, Xia Huan felt a sense of wistfulness. Covering his chest, he nodded, furrowing his brows as he muttered, "Strange, we've only known each other for a short while... Why do I feel like this?"

...

An Zhi escorted Dong Quan back to his bedroom and soothed him to sleep before returning to investigate further.

In Jian Songxiang's trunk, there was no sign of Cao Wen's father.

Upon opening the wooden chest, a thick, viscous substance oozed out, slithering slowly along the ground with a sticky slurping sound.

"What the hell is this?"

The mass resembled a tiny patch of swamp, and beneath its muddy surface, a monstrous creature seemed to be struggling violently.

Staring at the blob before him, he felt a chill run down his spine, his lips turning pale as they quivered uncontrollably. A wave of nausea churned within him. "This world is just too insane... too insane..."

"It's a cluster of recently hatched, yet unformed echoers."

The voice, ghostly in its silent arrival, echoed behind An Zhi.

His shoulders jerking, he stiffly turned his head to see a middle-aged man wearing glasses.

"Who are you?" An Zhi inquired.

The moon's bright light filtered down, casting a cold sheen across the man's eyes. "This is my home."

Dong Tianyi!

An Zhi felt a mix of guilt and panic. Swallowing hard, he stammered, "R-Really quite a coincidence... Haha." He forced out a nervous laugh.

Dong Tianyi sighed. "It's not like you think. I did it for the safety of this town, out of necessity."

Isn't that a classic villain line? An Zhi didn't buy it. "All the evidence points to you, and you expect me to believe it was all out of necessity?"

"I don't intend to convince you with just these words," Dong Tianyi said casually, his glasses hiding any trace of cunning in his eyes.

At that moment, rustling came from the bushes of the estate, and two dark figures emerged.

Suddenly, a massive force struck the back of An Zhi's neck, causing his vision to blur, and before he could make a sound, his gaze faltered.

...

Regaining consciousness, he first saw the curtains swaying in the breeze.

"Have I returned to the beginning, to that hotel once more?"

"Not at all."

He pushed himself up on his arms, "Hisss..." The pain in the back of his neck was still vivid. "Where am I?"

"Ruomu Huating," an unfamiliar voice sounded.

"What court are you talking about?"

"Shen Yuan, Shen Yuan, you've been soaking at the Wangsi Terrace for too long; your mind must be addled with water."

"Who are you!?! Mind your own bussi—"

An Zhi turned around, and a figure dressed in red caught his eye.

The person appeared to be in his early twenties, with a wine gourd hanging from his waist. He had an imposing presence, not resembling an ordinary individual.

Adapting one's language to the situation, speaking to humans in their terms and to spirits in theirs – the person before An Zhi seemed to carry considerable clout. He swallowed the rest of his words unspoken.

"It seems they were right, you don't even recognize me anymore," the person shook their head repeatedly.

Subsequently, Dong Tianyi was seen walking alongside an elderly woman whose hair was as white as snow, akin to An Zhi's lustrous, jade-like tresses.

They showed great respect toward the man, addressing him in unison as "Yi Shujun."

"Child of Scarlet Misfortune, the deity who governs winds and rains, Scarlet Water Ruler, known elegantly in the mortal world as Yi Shujun."

The trio whispered their plans, and taking advantage of the situation, An Zhi got out of bed, slipped on his shoes, and tried to sneak away.

"Stop," Chi Zi'e called after him after just a few steps. He approached An Zhi steadily with a clenched fist.

An Zhi froze on the spot, despairing inwardly. When will I ever be able to stand up for myself...

"As you progress through the missions, your combat power will increase, and it can also be enhanced by the unlocking of Shen Yuan's memories. Upon completing a mission, you'll receive a mission reward item. The reward for this mission is - the Shadow-Trapping Pearl."

"A Shadow-Trapping Pearl?" An Zhi repeated aloud. "What's its use?"

Red Child said with a hint of approval, "Seems like your mind isn't too rusted. At least you still remember the Imaging Bead."

An Zhi was perplexed. "Are you saying that I've used a Shadow Pearl before? What does it do?"

Chìzǐ'è explained, "The Shadow Pearl can record events as they unfold, or seal away memories you'd rather not keep. Before you passed away as Ciye, you bestowed the Shadow Pearl upon the ancestor of the Rong Family. It has been treasured and passed down through the generations since."

"Given that it's the precious heirloom of the Rong family, how is it possible that you know so much about it?"

"I am Yi Shujun, the sole deity who abides in the mortal world instead of Lei Ze. When faced with an insurmountable issue here, besides that mysterious organization, I am the one people turn to first. Rong Azu, of course, has divulged every detail of the matter to me."

Chi Zi'e's voice softened, his elongated shadow in the lamplight casting a melancholic aura about him. "After all this time, you're still that young man..."

An Zhi couldn't bear to see others in distress and quickly asked, "What did the Illusory Shadow Pearl record?"

Chi Zi'e shook his head. "When Island Lord Wang took your heart, you fell from Xixuan Gate. He Mengfang, freshly avenging his family's massacre, harbored resentment towards you and immediately struck with his Shadow Painting Sword. Later, Dian Shan pretended to build a Wangsi Terrace, placing your body at the bottom of the Clean Pond, claiming to help your soul transcend. Twenty-five years later, He Mengfang suddenly went mad, diving into the Clean Pond and retrieving your corpse. He was found dead in a field, but you were nowhere to be seen. People speculated that you killed He Mengfang and would soon overturn the Three Realms for revenge. Yet, seventeen years passed without a sign of you. On the first day of the lunar new year in the eighteenth year, you were suddenly captured by Dian Shan in Ciye. Everyone knew you'd return for revenge and waited for your appearance, yet no one sought you out... No one knows what you've been through in these forty-three years."

An Zhi urgently wanted to return to the real world. Adhering to the principle that Shen Yuan was not An Zhi and that it wasn't his concern, he earnestly told Chi Zi'e, "I want to know."

An Zhi's gaze was sharp and resolute, leaving no room for refusal. Chi Zi'e reluctantly frowned and said, "Let's try and see first, lest these past seventeen years hold only unpleasant memories."

With his clenched fist uncurled, the Shadow Reflection Bead was exposed to the light, shimmering fragmented rays.

An Zhi's slender, pale hand covered it.

In that instant, flashes of scenes struck his mind like lightning...

A world blanketed in ice and snow, with silver threads dancing in the air.

Yet outside Ruomu Huating, there was a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. The snow on the ground was stained bright red, steam rising from the heat.

Shen Yuan held Fu You by the throat, lifting him into the air. The cold, serene expression on his snow-white face had transformed into a wild, ferocious beast's.

His eyes were bloodshot, exuding a murderous intent. His gaze was sharp and fierce. His green robe was splattered with blood, while his white hair whipped wildly in the wind, resembling an enchanting demon.

Suddenly, the scene shifted, and the curtains swayed gently...

An Zhi's ears turned crimson all of a sudden. He quickly withdrew his hand, his eyes wide with shock. "Woah! What was that?! Oh my god! OMG!"

Seeing his legs tremble, his unstable posture, and flushed cheeks, Chi Zi'e reached out to steady him, puzzled. "What did you see? What's this 'OMG'? Some strange language?"

"I..." Recalling the past, An Zhi's ears reddened from the base to the tip. "Anyway, I, I, I... I don't want it!"

"Oh!"

"Oh?!" Chi Zi'e's "oh" was laced with obvious excitement. An Zhi asked him, "Chi Zi'e, you're happy that I don't want this Memory Pearl?"

Chi Zi'e smiled quietly and said, "To be honest, I do have some selfishness in me and don't really want you to recall those memories. Now that you've returned, just live in seclusion in this world. It's not bad that you don't remember."

"Seclusion? That's probably not up to me to decide." An Zhi murmured.

He could only follow the tasks assigned by the system.

"What do you mean it's not up to you to decide?!" Chi Zi'e flew into a rage. "Did someone deceive you? Who threatened you so viciously? Was it Wang Pan?!"

"It's just that I have one matter unresolved."

Upon hearing this, Chi Zi'e sighed, his anger subsiding. "You've come to the wrong person for this issue. Dong Tianyi is hunting Echoers, not raising them."

An Zhi replied, "Whether Dong Tianyi is a raiser or a protector, I'm unsure, but Rong Rong's death is connected to him."

"Well then..." Chi Zi'e turned around and slumped into a chair, propping his legs up. He called for Dong Tianyi and the old woman to come over.

He lazily fetched the wine gourd from his waist, uncorked it, and took a few swallows, swallowing with a rolling of his throat. "Let the person involved explain to you. I'll have a couple of sips and take a brief nap."

The old woman with white hair spoke, "This old woman is Rong Shu, the one hundred and twenty-eighth descendant of the Rong family. Cough, cough..."

An Zhi then recalled Old Xing's words. Rong Family's Azu had been hurt by Rong Rong's anger, and now that she appeared before him, she must have just left the hospital.

He quickly helped Rong Shu sit down before saying, "Start from the beginning and give me a clear account of what happened."

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