Chapter 563: Chapter 563: The Hidden Truth.
"This is Zi Yuanling’s memory."
The original Li Feng looked even more confused at that answer.
He glanced between the black-cloaked version of himself and the scene of the sickly young girl speaking with the masked man, brows furrowed.
"...How are we even seeing her memory?"
At the question, surprisingly, the future Li Feng paused.
For a moment, he remained silent, empty eyes still fixed on the quiet exchange unfolding in front of the bamboo house.
Then, in a soft voice, he began to explain.
"...Golden Severance is not limited to cutting the physical form."
His tone carried none of its earlier arrogance... only a quiet, almost weary clarity.
"It can sever and erase the soul... fortune... memory... and even fate itself."
The original Li Feng’s eyes widened as the implication struck him.
"...Then, could we be inside..."
"Yes."
The future Li Feng answered before he could finish, his voice calm and certain.
"We are currently inside Zi Yuanling’s soul."
The original Li Feng’s expression darkened at once.
"...Then why do we need to see her memory?" he asked, his voice rising with clear frustration. "You could have just ended her right there, couldn’t you?"
His hands clenched at his sides as the anger he had been holding back finally surfaced.
Through gritted teeth, he continued,
"I’m sick of this woman, frankly. She killed her best friend, kidnapped her own daughter, and brought that calamity upon the entire dynasty. I love mature women, but one as rotten as this? Screw that!"
The memory of being played like an idiot, chased around in circles, manipulated without even realizing it... only made the anger burn hotter.
It was one of the most frustrating experiences he had ever gone through, and the thought of simply forgiving someone like her left a bitter taste in his mouth.
"..."
The future Li Feng remained silent for a moment.
Then he let out a soft sigh.
"...That was also my thought back then," he said quietly, still watching the scene of the sickly young girl and the masked man.
"But... it seems there may be a different story."
His empty eyes narrowed slightly.
"So before killing her, I want to confirm whether that story is real."
The original Li Feng’s eyes widened slightly at those words.
’Come to think of it...’
He had never truly known this woman’s intentions.
Why she kidnapped Fen Ziyan.
Why she brought the Calamity upon the dynasty.
Everything he understood about her had been built on the results of her actions and the rage they provoked... but never on the reasons that led her there.
Slowly, the anger in his expression faded into silence as his eyes narrowed.
Without another word, he stepped forward and stood beside his future self.
Side by side, the two identical figures... one in tattered white, one in black quietly turned their attention back to the bamboo house, watching as the memory of the sickly young girl and the masked man continued to unfold.
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Young Zi Yuanling’s pale face was still lit with that bright, relieved smile as she looked up at the tall masked figure.
"Of course I’m worried!" she said, her voice soft yet filled with genuine emotion.
"Brother Peng, you are my benefactor. How could I not be concerned when you suddenly disappeared for so many days?"
Even in her sickly state, her eyes shone with clear trust and dependence as she spoke to the man she called Brother Peng.
The masked man let out another soft chuckle from behind the peculiar mask and stepped closer to the porch.
Reaching out, he gently flicked a fallen bamboo leaf from her hair.
"There is no need to worry so much, Young Miss Zi," he said in that same mild tone. "I only went to handle a few troublesome matters. With my ability, something as small as this would never be enough to claim my life."
Zi Yuanling pouted slightly at his lighthearted response, though the worry in her eyes had clearly eased.
"...You always say that," she murmured. "But you still disappear without a word. If something truly happened to you, what would I do?"
Her voice softened further at the end, carrying a quiet vulnerability that did not match the later image of the cold, calculating Apostle Zi.
In this memory, she was simply a frail young girl sitting in front of a bamboo house, looking up at the one person who had become her support.
But then—
As if that fragile vulnerability had only been a thin layer, Zi Yuanling’s expression shifted.
A sly little smile curved across her pale lips, and the dependence in her eyes was quickly replaced by a glint of playful cunning.
"...In that case," she said lightly, "why don’t you remove your mask in return?"
She tilted her head, gazing up at the tall masked figure with open curiosity.
"Ever since I met you, I’ve never seen your face even once."
At those request,
Brother Peng immediately took a dramatic step back and raised both hands in an exaggerated gesture of refusal, as if she had just asked him to commit some great crime.
"I must refuse!" he declared with seriousness,
"If I were to remove this mask, my unparalleled handsomeness would definitely make your heart race without stop. You might even fall hopelessly in love with me on the spot!"
At those words,
Far from being discouraged, Zi Yuanling’s eyes only grew more curious after hearing his exaggerated refusal.
The sly smile on her pale face deepened as she leaned forward slightly from her seat on the porch, studying the strange mask with renewed interest.
If anything, his shameless claim of "unparalleled handsomeness" had only made her want to see what was hidden underneath even more.
"...Now I really want to see it," she said, her voice carrying a clear note of intrigue. "If you’re going to praise yourself that much, shouldn’t you at least prove it?"
Brother Peng skillfully avoided the question.
The playful exaggeration in his posture faded as he lowered his hands and straightened slightly.
Behind the peculiar mask, his tone shifted into something more serious.
"...About your ’wish.’"
The light atmosphere around the bamboo house quieted at those words.
"I have already uncovered its cause... and its effect."
Zi Yuanling’s expression paused.
The earlier playful curiosity and sly smile faded from her pale face, replaced by a still, complicated silence as she looked up at the masked man.
Brother Peng continued in that same serious tone.
"The plague that killed your parents was not something simple."
"It was a creation of one of the Venerables from the Divine Blood Sect... Venerable Dreamless."
"The plague is known as the ’Dreamless Fortune Plague.’"
"It does not merely bring illness and death. It silently absorbs the fortune of those it infects, hollowing them out from within... and in the end, it kills them by twisting their bodies and minds, turning them into mindless, monster-like beings no different from walking corpses."
Brother Peng paused for a moment, a slight hesitation entering his otherwise steady voice.
"...And it is already too late for simple containment."
Zi Yuanling’s pale face remained still as she listened.
"This plague does not spread through ordinary means such as air, water, or physical contact," he continued more slowly.
"It was released directly into the Fortune Providence of the Fen Dynasty itself. Because of that, the entire dynasty’s foundation of fortune has already been contaminated. Every living being born and raised under that Providence... is already within the plague’s reach."
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