Chapter 130: The Miraculous Realm

"This requires a long story; everything must be told from the beginning." Seeing that Ziyi, Ziyu, and Wan'er were all convinced, I began to speak.

Ziyi gestured with his hand, "We shouldn't talk here. Let's head home, have the servants prepare some food, and we can eat while we talk."

Fatty was naturally in favor; the guy had been hungry for two days and had even lost some weight.

Back at the Ziyi Mansion, to avoid unnecessary trouble, we did not see the old matriarch again. Instead, we went straight to Ziyi's room and had the servants prepare some wine and dishes so we could eat and chat.

I recounted the events from the beginning, though I omitted many details, such as the cause of Wan'er's death and Ziyi's quest to the tomb of the Duke of Ju to find the Blood Linglong. History had already been written, and it could not be changed by our single act of time travel. In truth, I was overthinking it; all of this was already destined to happen, and through a twist of fate, they were still headed toward that same conclusion.

"Brother, what should I call you?" Ziyi asked after I finished, his face full of disbelief.

I shook my head. "I honestly don't know. I am merely your descendant; I suppose I must be younger than you."

Wan'er looked at me, her small face flushing red. "You... you say I am with you 2,000 years from now? What am I like?"

I described her state to her. The girl lowered her head and fell silent. I could see that she still harbored reservations about me. After a while, she fished a sachet from her waist. "If what you say is true, please take this trouble to that world and give it to her!"

I smiled and took it. "It’s not for her; it’s for you."

"Brother, I need to discuss something with you," Ziyu said, looking at Ziyi with a grin.

"Go ahead."

"I’m going to call him brother too. You won't be jealous, will you?" Ziyu asked playfully, glancing at Ziyi.

Ziyi shook his head. "No. After all, we are the same person."

"Brother! I'll give you the Luoshui Ring if you promise me one thing, okay?" Wan'er leaned in, sitting beside me with a smile.

"Tell me. You don't need to be formal with me." Since we were now like siblings and she was giving me the Luoshui Ring, I would naturally grant her request. I had no reason to refuse a sister as clever and perceptive as she.

"Take me to your time. I really like your world—2,000 years from now," Ziyu said with a laugh.

"I think that’s doable. Ziyu, if your brother won't take you, I will!" Fatty chimed in. Only then did I notice the fiery look in the lad's eyes. This guy was lazy and gluttonous, but he had better not set his sights on my sister.

"I'm not going with you; I have my brother," Ziyu said, hugging my arm, which made even Ziyi feel uncomfortable.

After the meal, it was quite late. Ziyi's home was a royal mansion with plenty of rooms, so Fatty and I were assigned separate quarters. Exhausted from the last few days, I fell into a deep sleep the moment I lay down.

No sooner had I fallen asleep than Ziyi knocked on the door. I opened it, and the guy actually looked a bit embarrassed. Ziyi came in, sat on a round stool nearby, and pulled the Luoshui Ring from his pocket to hand to me. "Here, take this. If you have the chance, bring it back to me!"

I took it and smiled. "How stingy. You won't even part with it for yourself, and I'm not an outsider."

Ziyi blushed. "It’s just so miraculous. If you like it, keep it. I have two things to tell you. First, after you go back, please treat Wan'er well. She has suffered much; her heart is ambitious, but her fate is as thin as paper. Though born into an official's family, she was born to a concubine, so you must treat her well." His eyes turned red as he said this.

In truth, I would have done so even without his prompting. My feelings for Wan'er were different from those for Wang Ying. Wang Ying was love—true love—but for Wan'er, love was tinged with pity. A 2,000-year wait is something few could endure. In a strange world 2,000 years later, where she was a fusion of human and spirit, how could I not treat her well?

"What else?"

"The other thing is simpler: I want you to stay here for a while longer. I need to be kind to myself, too!" Ziyi laughed.

"That..." I hesitated. I wanted to return quickly; with the Luoshui Ring and my Fengchi Sword, I could finally take my revenge.

"Very well, I won't force you," Ziyi said, seeing my troubled expression.

"Alright, I'll stay for a few days." I suddenly realized something: I had traveled through time to the ancient past. If I wanted to return, I just had to time it right; it didn't matter which day I left. I was currently 2,000 years in the past, so leaving a day or two early wouldn't change the timeline. Everything 2,000 years in the future hadn't happened yet.

Damn! Thinking about it, I felt it was truly miraculous.

"Then I won't disturb your rest. Tomorrow I'll take you out for a stroll; the scenery here is quite nice." He stood up and patted my shoulder. When he touched me, it felt strange—was I patting myself?

As soon as Ziyi left, I lay back down, but all sleepiness had vanished. My mind wandered. Was it true that in my time, 2,000 years later, this moment had already passed or not? If it had, wouldn't that be a spatial overlap? But this was the mortal realm, not part of the seven parallel dimensions. That was impossible. According to that theory, everything 2,000 years later hadn't happened yet. Wang Ying, my mother, my uncle, Wei Qi, and even Xingyun hadn't been born. It was the 221st year of the state of Ju. By that logic, the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing dynasties, and even the new China hadn't occurred yet. That was the theory.

But then, the problem arose: if these people and events hadn't happened, where did I come from? If I exist, then my mother must exist; if my mother exists, then my grandparents must exist, which means the new China, the Qing dynasty, the Ming, the Yuan... all had to exist.

My head felt like it was going to explode, and eventually, I drifted off into confusion.

Before I could pull myself out of the stupor, there was another knock at the door. It was Ziyu, standing in the doorway with a plate of fruit. "Brother, I've brought you some fruit."

"Oh, thank you, sister." I felt a genuine closeness to Ziyu, as if she were my own kin. As she handed me the fruit plate, I noticed a birthmark on her wrist. It wasn't the dragon-shaped blood spot, but a phoenix-headed one.

"Don't mention it. It’s only right for a sister to bring her brother fruit. But you have to take me to your era to see it. Everything you said makes me want to stay there for a few days." As she spoke, she squeezed into the room.

The girl hadn't forgotten. It wasn't that I didn't want to take her back; I wouldn't mind, but would her family here allow it? The old matriarch, the old master, and even Ziyi—would they let their sister vanish into thin air and go 2,000 years into the future? I wouldn't be comfortable with that either.

"Sister, this is no small matter. In any case, I won't be leaving for a day or two, so we can discuss it then," I said. To be fair, Ziyu's request wasn't unreasonable; anyone would want to visit the future or the past if they had the chance.

"Fine. I believe you'll take me. You are my own brother, after all," Ziyu said with a smile.

"Yes, definitely!"

"Brother, shall I take you to Feilai Peak tomorrow?"

"Feilai Peak? That sounds familiar." I suddenly remembered: it was Mount Fulai. It seemed that 2,000 years ago, Mount Fulai wasn't called Mount Fulai, but Feilai Peak!

I had special feelings for Mount Fulai. So many things had happened there—traversing the barrier, my feud with Xingyun—that I was very eager to see Mount Fulai as it was 2,000 years ago, so I agreed.

Ziyu was a lively and curious girl, constantly asking me about the world 2,000 years later. She stayed in my room for over an hour, and had I not been yawning repeatedly, she might not have left at all.

Not long after she left, there was another knock at the door.

This time, it was Shangguan Wan'er. I knew she had stayed at the Ziyi Mansion, but I had assumed she was with Ziyi. I hadn't expected her to come see me in the dead of night. Looking at her gentle and delicate appearance, I thought of her 2,000 years later and felt a sudden urge to embrace her, though the feeling vanished just as quickly. Even though I was Ziyi's descendant, Ziyi was right here in this world; I couldn't bring myself to embrace her.

"Wan'er, it's so late. Is something the matter?" I asked, trying to remain calm.