Chapter 86: Who is the Real Me?
“No!”
Within the cage of endless mist, Chichi Su panicked.
Her soaked long hair stuck to her forehead, and she instinctively reached out, her nostrils flaring as she gasped for breath, her voice hoarse.
But all of it was in vain.
Who would have thought that the first to truly “sharpen” against the past would be the very person who created it?
The long sword in the woman’s hand fell to the ground.
She knelt, her fingernails digging deeply into her palm, drawing a few streaks of crimson bloodstain.
She closed her eyes, unable to bear watching the scene unfold.
The man’s clear black and white eyes held no resentment, no confusion.
There was only a calm as still as dead water.
But this memory existed in her mind; how could closing her eyes resolve it?
The scene continued to play out.
Then, in the next moment, Chichi Su’s eyes widened.
Because the scene she expected did not appear.
In the image, she stopped herself at the last moment, let go of the past, and stepped forward to embrace the man.
Without many words, they simply held each other tightly.
Helplessness and confusion flickered across the girl’s face.
So the man smiled and comforted her, explaining the ins and outs of that event from years ago.
He remained unchanged, always doting on her unconditionally, even after being betrayed.
Their paths converged once more, but the outcome seemed entirely different.
Chichi Su stared blankly at the scene of their embrace, feeling that something was not right, yet unwilling to delve deeper.
If things could have continued like this, she would have been willing to sink into it, never to wake up again.
But deep within her sea of consciousness, there seemed to be a last sliver of clarity reminding her.
Which one…
was the real me?
…
…
Blue Star, Mount Longhu.
Courtyard Four Branch had no trees. Although Chen An had set up a bamboo chair for himself, lying in the empty yard, he occasionally felt like something was missing.
Without trees, there were naturally no falling leaves.
Chen An could not, therefore, experience the mundane scenery he had in another lifetime: quietly watching the leaves sway on the branches, then being blown down by a gust of wind from who knows where, spiraling in the air, and finally landing softly on the ground.
He hadn’t kept careful track of the days, only vaguely remembering that more than ten days and nights seemed to have passed since he arrived.
During this time, apart from going to the dining hall to eat, Chen An rarely went out.
His three roommates, from initial doubt and confusion about his extremely laid-back behavior, had slowly shifted to acceptance.
Given his attitude, not even attending classes, what else could they do but accept it?
On Mount Longhu’s outer mountain, apart from the anomaly that was Chen An, everyone else diligently cultivated day and night, extremely diligent.
No one dared to slack off, fearing that a single oversight would cause them to fall behind and never catch up.
On the platforms by the cliffsides, students were frequently seen earnestly training.
Some were body refining, others were running, and still others meditated peacefully from sunrise to sunset.
They were all pouring their energy into reaching Qi Refining.
As for who would be the first among them to win the championship, there were already speculations within the student body.
Setting aside Chen An and Lin Jingq, whom they knew nothing about, the most highly anticipated individuals were likely the disciples who already had a strong foundation.
Their conversations were extraordinary, their demeanor refined, and they always stood out in a crowd like cranes among chickens.
For instance, there were disciples from Mount Longhu and Mount Qingcheng, as well as from other major Taoist temples, and those with deep family backgrounds.
The most representative of them was likely a young man named He Jin.
He was an outstanding disciple of Mount Longhu, supported by the He family from the capital. In just over ten days, his name had, intentionally or unintentionally, spread throughout the entire group of newcomers.
In this regard, Lin Jingq was quite similar to him, though their approaches were entirely different.
One was extremely high-profile, aiming to win people’s hearts and eager to establish his own circle.
The other was silent and extremely low-key.
That afternoon.
The main gate of Courtyard Four Branch was pushed open, and three laughing young men walked in.
Having been here for some time, Shao Ren and the other two had shed their initial excitement and nervousness, settling into the rhythm of cultivation.
They had just returned from a formation class and were enthusiastically discussing it.
“To be honest, Teacher Meng is formidable and knowledgeable, but he looks so stern that I don’t dare to ask him questions.”
This was Sun Zhenjiang’s voice. He clicked his tongue, complaining.
The other two agreed wholeheartedly and nodded along.
“Indeed. But if you want to talk about bad tempers, it has to be Teacher Ma from the Alchemy Department. I heard that during his class, anyone caught daydreaming would be dragged up to be tested on medicinal properties. That’s too terrifying.”
Xie Wenqing said, then suddenly chuckled as if struck by an idea.
“In my opinion, the class everyone likes the most is probably Teacher Luo’s. She’s beautiful, has a good figure, and most importantly, she’s gentle.”
Upon saying this, the three exchanged glances, their eyes filled with agreement.
“Of course. Think about it, every time we go to the Sword Cultivation Department’s classroom, how many times has it been full? I’ve often seen people standing at the back just to listen to the lecture.”
As they talked about this, their gazes fell upon the young man on the bamboo chair, and they paused.
Because it seemed the day they first arrived, he had followed behind Teacher Luo.
Initially, the three had thought Chen An was likely skilled but just liked to act mysterious and was unwilling to communicate with them.
But as time went on, Chen An had not displayed any extraordinary abilities.
This had to make the three wonder if his relationship with Teacher Luo was merely a coincidence.
After all, considering Teacher Luo’s gentle nature, it wasn’t an impossible scenario.
But regardless, Chen An’s current self-abandoning state was truly something that made people look down on him in their hearts.
Fortunately, there were no irreconcilable conflicts between them, and they remained polite on the surface.
“Chen An.”
Shao Ren greeted him first.
A light reply came from the young man on the bamboo chair.
“Good afternoon.”
The three were accustomed to Chen An’s response.
In fact, privately, the three often compared Chen An to an emotionless greeting robot.
As long as you greeted him, it would trigger a keyword, and you would receive a slow response of a greeting.
After the greetings, the three brought small stools from inside and sat together in the yard, basking in the sun and chatting about everything under the sun.
Shao Ren took out his phone and casually swiped the screen.
He saw the first news item pushed by his browser and showed a hint of surprise.
He beckoned to the other two, “Damn, you guys look at this. Up in Changbai Mountain, there’s been another incident of wild beasts attacking humans.”
The two perked up, their interest piqued.
(End of chapter)
