Chapter 751: The light boat has already sailed past ten thousand mountains

"Even the city god couldn't detect it?"

Chen Changsheng frowned.

It shouldn't be like this...

If this demon possessed the skill to deceive the city god, why obsess over this meager bit of Lifespan? Moreover, from what Cao Fa had said, it seemed this sort of thing hadn't just happened once.

"So your Lifespan wasn't stolen all at once?"

Cao Fa nodded. "The City God Lord watched it with me. My Lifespan drained away little by little; it didn't happen in a single day."

"To think such a thing happened..."

Chen Changsheng frowned, becoming even more puzzled.

His intuition told him this wasn't as simple as a demon making mischief.

"Hold out your hand."

Cao Fa extended his hand.

Chen Changsheng drew out a wisp of Magical Power, circulating it through Cao Fa's meridians.

He found nothing unusual.

He then probed Cao Fa's Sea of Consciousness with his divine sense. Though the Soul Fire was weak, his divine sense detected nothing amiss.

This was truly bizarre.

His Lifespan had simply vanished into thin air.

"How many days did this last?" Chen Changsheng asked.

Cao Fa thought for a moment before answering, "According to the City God Lord at the time, it should have been two months."

In those two months, his Soul Fire had reached the brink of extinguishing completely.

Master Jin San chimed in, "Mister, this matter is quite suspicious. From what I know of demons and ghosts, if they had the skill to deceive the City God Lord, they probably wouldn't covet a mortal's meager Lifespan—let alone act up continuously like this. Even if they did, they should have only needed to strike once."

His thoughts mirrored Chen Changsheng's exactly.

Beneath his sleeve, Chen Changsheng's fingers moved in divination.

But then his brow furrowed.

His thumb paused against a finger joint.

"What does this mean?"

Chen Changsheng was baffled.

Why couldn't he calculate a result? Was the truth actually concealed by the workings of heaven?

If heavenly secrets were simply chaotic and unreadable, he would have found it normal. But as it stood, it felt as though heaven's will was actively refusing to reveal the answer.

It was exceedingly strange.

"Think it over again, both of you," Chen Changsheng said, looking at Cao Fa. "Is there anything else suspicious?"

Cao Fa and Master Jin San immediately began to think.

Aside from the demons and ghosts that came to the teahouse to hear stories, they truly couldn't think of anything else out of the ordinary.

They pondered for a long time.

While they thought of a few minor details, none were of any use.

"Since we are no longer in Shangjing and so much time has passed," Chen Changsheng sighed, "I am afraid finding the culprit will be difficult."

"Actually, I have already made my peace with it," Cao Fa said. "Since we cannot find an answer, I will just chalk it up to fate."

They had lingered in the Capital City for a time, only heading back after their search yielded nothing. On the journey home, he had thought things through.

If his Lifespan couldn't be recovered, so be it.

For Cao Fa, just making it back alive was joy enough.

"This matter requires a resolution," Chen Changsheng said, shaking his head.

Both Master Jin San and Cao Fa paused.

"Mister, I am afraid this resolution will be hard to find," Cao Fa ventured.

"This isn't solely about you," Chen Changsheng replied.

Confused, Cao Fa asked the Mister what he meant.

Chen Changsheng merely shook his head, leaving the question unanswered.

Cao Fa knew nothing of Zhishu's situation, and Chen Changsheng had no intention of bringing it up. Whether or not to tell him was ultimately up to Zhishu.

Zhishu had not made her choice yet. For one, she had no intention of telling Cao Fa; secondly, if Cao Fa found out and Zhishu grew reluctant to part with him, she might wish to enter Reincarnation while her worldly attachments remained unresolved—and that would be troublesome.

The two sat in the courtyard for a while.

Chen Changsheng then told them to head back first.

He needed time to think and see if he could find any clues.

Seeing the Mister's insistence, Cao Fa and Master Jin San offered a few more words of persuasion, but he only shook his head. Left with no other option, they bid him farewell and took their leave.

Chen Changsheng sat alone in the courtyard.

He pondered the matter.

There was definitely a hidden truth behind Cao Fa's situation.

He tapped his fingers lightly against the stone table.

"Where exactly is the discrepancy..."

Chen Changsheng couldn't shake the feeling that he had overlooked something.

He couldn't help but feel a bit troubled.

What baffled him the most was how the heavenly secrets were obscured. Was heaven's will intentionally hiding it?

Was the Heavenly Dao acting this way because he had lost all his Magical Power?

Or was the truth being concealed specifically because it involved Cao Fa?

"It shouldn't be like this... It shouldn't be like this..."

Once again, doubts about that particular matter rose in his mind.

He just sat there in the courtyard, thinking.

It wasn't until a long while later that a knock sounded at the door.

Snapping back to reality, Chen Changsheng looked up and went to open the door.

Yunxiang stood in the doorway holding a food box.

She raised the food box to show him. "Mister, it's time to eat."

Taken aback for a moment, Chen Changsheng invited her inside.

Yunxiang arranged the dishes on the table.

"I can't eat all this," Chen Changsheng said. "You really don't need to go to so much trouble."

Yunxiang merely said, "You're always like this, Mister."

Chen Changsheng chuckled, saying no more.

Yunxiang let out a sigh. "Every time we eat, there is one less meal to share. Who knows, perhaps in a couple of years, you won't be able to see me anymore."

"This Chen offered to teach you the method of immortality, but you refused," Chen Changsheng said.

"I already know how," Yunxiang replied. "Why would I need you to teach me, Mister?"

Chen Changsheng paused at that, giving a helpless nod.

Looking up, he asked, "So, when did you remember? And how?"

He was genuinely puzzled.

He couldn't fathom how Yunxiang had recovered her memories of being Zhu Qi.

Yunxiang thought for a moment. "I'm not too sure. Actually, it started a long time ago. The earliest trigger was probably the Jade Pendant. Later on, I would faintly recall things, though the memories were fragmented. Slowly, as I grew older, those scattered pieces knit themselves together until they were complete."

She looked at him. "So, back then, when you told me to just be myself, it was because you didn't want to hold me back anymore? Right?"

Chen Changsheng paused, offering no explanation.

"If the matters of my past life hadn't been a factor," Yunxiang asked, "would you have brought me along with you, Mister?"

Chen Changsheng remained silent.

Yunxiang nodded and didn't press the issue.

"Eat up, Mister."

Chen Changsheng picked up his bowl and began to eat.

Yunxiang sat off to the side, reclining on a long chair, her gaze drifting to the moss growing on the roof tiles.

She let out a long sigh.

"Do you know of the Rebirth Scripture, Mister?" Yunxiang asked suddenly.

The hand holding Chen Changsheng's chopsticks paused.

He looked at Yunxiang, sudden understanding dawning on him.

So that was it. So that was it...

It was just a pity.

The light boat had already sailed past ten thousand mountains.