Chapter 71

Chapter 71

The Sea of Consciousness is a cultivator’s most private realm—the abode of the soul and the anchoring point of the Dao. It stores all of a person’s memories, including those secrets one would never allow others to glimpse.

Yet it was precisely this innermost sanctum that Lou Guanyue—without resistance—had willingly drawn the youth into.

Pelan temporarily ceased wondering how he had arrived here. Watching the soul fragment in his hand gradually fade, he cautiously began nourishing it with his spiritual energy. Slowly, the blurred images within the fragment sharpened, and a strange scene unfolded before him.

It appeared to be a dilapidated hut. The dim light of an oil lamp cast an impossibly long shadow from the bed.

On the bed lay a gaunt woman. She struggled to prop herself up into a sitting position—but lacked the strength.

“Mother!”

Hardly had the word left her lips when a small figure rushed in from outside, helping the woman lean against the headboard. “Mother, why are you trying to get up again? I can reach the stove now. Lie down and wait—I’ll finish brewing your medicine. Once you drink it, you’ll get better!”

The woman coughed weakly. “Yue’er… Mother’s illness won’t improve.”

The two seemed unaware of Pelan. He stood beside the bed, watching the child with quiet concern.

Dressed in tattered clothes, the boy was remarkably endearing. His pupils were as dark as ink; the corners of his eyes slightly upturned. Though no older than three, his brows and eyes already bore striking handsomeness—strongly reminiscent of Lou Guanyue.

Their conversation reached Pelan’s ears in a language he did not understand.

The only word he comprehended was the child’s name: *Yue’er*.

This was Yue’s memory. The little boy before him was Lou Guanyue in childhood.

Pelan continued watching, unblinking. Though he could not grasp the meaning of their words, for some inexplicable reason, as those unfamiliar syllables entered his mind, he found himself understanding the woman’s speech.

Her voice was soft—yet crystal clear to the child’s ears.

He shook his head, wiping away tears that slid from the corners of his eyes. “You *will* get better! Mother! I’ll go kneel before the princess’s courtyard right now—kowtow to her—and beg her to summon the imperial physician from the palace to treat you! You’ll be fine! And the prince—I’ll beg him too—”

“No! Don’t go!” Something in her words struck a raw nerve. Her emotions suddenly spiraled out of control—nearly hysterical. “Don’t you *dare* beg *him*! I’m going to die. No one can cure me. I will never recover in this lifetime—nor is there any hope of returning home…”

As she finished speaking, her tears fell freely, her expression agitated and despairing.

Her eyes reddened. She raised a hand to cover her face—but her sleeve was tugged. Looking down, she met the child’s terrified gaze—and seemed to shatter completely.

Sobbing, she pulled the child into a tight embrace, her whole body trembling. “I’m sorry, Yue’er… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…”

“If only back then—if only I hadn’t… it would have been better.”

Pelan missed the few words in between. The scene ended abruptly. He looked down at the fragment in his hand—now softly glowing once more—and faintly furrowed his brow.

He picked up another fragment.

“You—a bastard son born of an outside concubine! What right do you have to see our princess? Allowing you to live in the same courtyard as the servants is already a tremendous favor from Her Highness!”

“I carry royal blood in my veins! How dare you refuse to bow before this young master?”

“Get out! We won’t share a school with lowborn scum!”

“Qingyue? You *dare* share a generational name with this young master? So you enjoy staying in the woodshed, do you? Then you shall be called *Guanyue*! That name suits a lowborn like you perfectly—locked inside every time, unable to emerge for half a month!”

“Hmph! To think our prestigious Prince’s manor would harbor a household thief! Report him to the authorities! Someone—bind him and take him straight to the magistrate’s office!”

The surrounding scenes shifted erratically. One moment, it transformed into little Lou Guanyue begging the prince and princess for a simple coffin to bury his mother; the next, it became a slightly older boy eavesdropping outside the schoolhouse—only to be discovered, bullied, and ostracized by the group, his small figure scrambling desperately to dodge the objects hurled at him. Pelan wanted to intervene—but the stones passed straight through his body, striking the Lou Guanyue behind him until blood streamed from his head.

In the next instant, the scene changed again: a spoiled, arrogant young master snatched the jade pendant left by his mother, falsely accused him of theft—and he was shoved and dragged through a long street, spending half a year imprisoned in a damp, freezing cell…

The scenes within this fragment were brief—flashing by almost in the blink of an eye. The child grew from a knee-high bean sprout into a tall, slender youth. On the surface, this period seemed to leave no significant ripple in Lou Guanyue’s life—yet Pelan felt a suffocating tightness in his chest, his heart unbearably heavy. Suppressing a surge of emotion, he picked up another fragment.

The youth appearing in the scene had grown considerably taller again. He stood surrounded by a crowd of faceless people pointing and gossiping about him.

A richly dressed noblewoman paused as she passed by, her eyes brimming with disgust.

“Today is the day the Immortals accept disciples. How *dare* you—an unfavored son born outside—show up? Haven’t you brought enough shame upon the Prince’s manor?”

The youth did not leave. He bowed respectfully, his voice clear and resonant—neither subservient nor arrogant. “The Immortals’ great compassion looks only to spiritual root talent—not to background. This is a glorious honor for the clan. As a son of the Ning’an Prince’s Manor, I naturally bear responsibility for upholding the manor’s prestige.”

The noblewoman flicked her sleeve and walked away. Pelan had full confidence in the youth’s talent. Unsurprisingly, he was taken away by the Immortals who had come to recruit disciples—heading toward a place of breathtaking scenery.

Pelan exhaled softly. After watching the youth’s monotonous daily routine of sword practice, he suddenly realized he had been holding his breath for quite some time.

The scene shifted again. The youth matured swiftly. Pelan witnessed with his own eyes the transformation—from a green-faced boy into a steadily grounded young man, his height increasing once more, now half a head taller than Pelan himself.

His features were handsome; his ink-black hair tied high with a jade crown; a long sword strapped to his back. He bore near-identical resemblance to the great beauty Pelan knew.

If there was any difference, the youth before him was slightly shorter, his frame a bit slimmer—yet he appeared brighter, more spirited.

Those around him had also multiplied.

“Senior Brother Lou possesses a natural Sword Bone—truly worthy of being a once-in-a-millennium genius of our Sword Sect!”

“Congratulations, Senior Brother, on winning first place in this year’s Sect Competition!”

“What’s so surprising about that? You’re new disciples—you don’t know. Senior Brother Lou already claimed first place in last year’s Sect Competition. Now that Senior Brother Lou has formed his Nascent Soul, the Sect Competition holds no suspense whatsoever!”

The youth responded to all congratulations with gentle courtesy—not a trace of impatience on his face. A young maiden hurried over, informing him that the Sword Venerable urgently summoned him to his secluded cultivation site.

The Sword Venerable was the youth’s nominal master. After the youth entered the sect, he rarely appeared. It was said that in recent years, he had been in seclusion preparing to break through to the late Mahayana stage—appearing even less frequently. The last time he had instructed the youth was after his victory in the Sect Competition.

A sense of foreboding rose in Pelan’s heart. He wanted to stop the youth—but could only watch as he passed once more through Pelan’s form, leaving behind a gradually receding silhouette.

“Master.”

The youth had barely bowed when a violent surge of sword energy slammed into him—blood gushing from his mouth.

The Sword Venerable, his face shrouded in demonic aura, glanced at him indifferently. “Only this Sword Bone is somewhat useful—promising to help me break free from the shackles of the Sword Dao…”

The following scenes changed with terrifying speed. His Sword Bone was gouged out; he was branded with the mark of a demonic path practitioner; his spiritual roots and cultivation were crippled—and he was cast into the perilous Ghost Realm.

Had it not been for the contingency measures he’d prepared in advance taking effect, he might not even have survived expulsion from the sect.

Pelan reached out—for what felt like the umpteenth time—to support the battered youth, expecting only empty air. To his surprise, this time his hand made contact—with that icy-cold body.

The scenes within each fragment were brief—most no longer than the first. After this one shattered, a youth clad in blood-red robes appeared beside him.

“Yue!”

Pelan was both startled and overjoyed. He had finally found a strand of Lou Guanyue’s conscious soul.

The youth stopped him from attempting to heal his wounds—and smiled. “Teacher… are you feeling sorry for me?”

As he spoke, the wounds on his body gradually vanished—and even his clothes transformed back into the white uniform of the Sword Sect.

His smile remained as bright as ever. Pelan knew the world Lou Guanyue came from was utterly unlike the continent of Yakalanst. Its people wielded no magic or battle aura—yet possessed a cultivation system even more dazzling—and far more perilous.

That world also had ordinary mortals, with lifespans of only a few decades, their lives passed in a blur of busyness.

"You... are you having a heart demon episode?" Having seen Lou Guanyue's memories, Pelan made a guess about the reason for his coma.

Young Lou Guanyue tilted his head. "You could say that. I don't have his complete memories, so I don't know exactly what happened, but I can lead you to him."

Find him?

Pelan gave Lou Guanyue a strange look.

Young Lou Guanyue shrugged and winked at Pelan. "I'm just a fragment of his consciousness. The real him is currently trapped in some corner, lost to madness. Do you want to go find him, Teacher?"

Pelan nodded without hesitation.

The young man chuckled lightly, then said with mock seriousness, "I've never let anyone peek into my memories before. Since Teacher has seen my memories, you have to take responsibility for me!"

Pelan: "..."

Even at a time like this, he's still in the mood to joke. It seems the heart demon isn't as severe as they say.

Pelan kept a straight face, turned around, bent down to pick up another memory fragment, and planned to stay here to piece Lou Guanyue back together.

Seeing this, young Lou Guanyue stopped smiling. He took Pelan's hand and, without another word, led him deeper into the sea of consciousness.

"Pelan, perhaps I wasn't clear enough."

Under the young man's inquiring gaze, Lou Guanyue curled his lips, a sly glint flashing in his eyes. "Teacher has already 'seen' my memories and knows I'm not from this world, so you must take responsibility for me. You know, in my world, I've already been completely open with you. If you don't want me, you'd be a confirmed heartbreaker."

Pelan: "..."

That's not true, he isn't!

Besides, they're both men. It's not a big deal to look. Worst case, he could let Yue see his memories once too.

Lou Guanyue looked at the young man before him, thinking of how he had tried time and again in the illusion to protect that timid version of himself. The obsessive thoughts that suddenly arose in his heart intensified to an extreme.

A stray dog doesn't understand manners or rules. All his patience and concessions were given to the young man half a month ago. Since Pelan chose to approach him again, there's no room for regret.

Good things must be seized by any means necessary. Only the weak rely on pity to obtain the slightest chance that might come their way.

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Author's Note: I'm back! Thank you for your encouragement and concern, babies (sends hearts).

Still updating daily. Originally wanted to wrap it up in one chapter, but didn't finish QAQ. Continuing tomorrow~~