Chapter 29: The Past — Leave This Body, And Never Return…
Su Huan tentatively asked Ning Zhou, only to get a glare in return.
Ning Zhou was furious, asking with an extremely ugly expression, “Have you forgotten everything about the past?”
Su Huan pointed to the sleeping youth. “…Is he my younger brother?”
Ning Zhou glared furiously. “You are the younger brother!”
Su Huan sweated. If I said it wrong, I said it wrong. Why curse at people?
Ning Zhou looked heartbroken, his eyes looking as if accusing him of being an ungrateful scumbag.
The words he spoke weren’t much better either: “I can only tell you that you are indeed Ah Chao’s younger brother, and he once saved your life. As for the rest, you have to wait for Ah Chao to wake up and choose whether to tell you himself.”
The information was pitifully scant.
No matter how Su Huan questioned, Ning Zhou wouldn’t speak again.
But if Su Chao really was his brother, why didn’t he have the slightest impression?
Could it be a hidden background setting the author gave the cannon fodder villain?
…
Tao Shouyue didn’t want to wait idly with them doing nothing, so she parted ways and went elsewhere early the next morning.
Su Huan originally thought the Black Lotus would show impatience, but unexpectedly, he also quietly accompanied him without saying a word.
It wasn’t until dusk fell on the third day that Su Chao slowly woke up.
During this period, Su Huan wandered around the area and gathered some spirit herbs. Seeing it was getting dark, he went to the stream to catch a few fish, planning to make grilled fish. As soon as he returned, Su Chao woke up.
As soon as Su Chao opened his eyes, he immediately struggled to look around for Su Huan. Seeing he was fine, he breathed a sigh of relief. After realizing something, he looked deeply at Su Huan again, his round eyes filled with guilt.
“You…” “I’m sorry, I seem to…”
Su Huan and he spoke at the same time, pausing involuntarily.
Knowing what he wanted to say, Su Huan also remembered the section of Xianfan Bone he missed, his heart bleeding.
However, with his current body, if he had been hit by the Xianfan Bone, he might have been smashed apart. Then it wouldn’t be something a simple three-day sleep could solve.
Thinking about it this way, he didn’t feel bad anymore. Placing the prepared fish on the fire rack, he even had the mind to comfort him in turn: “Don’t mind it. Destiny is something mysterious. As the saying goes, gaining it is my luck, losing it is my fate.”
Su Chao hesitated again and again. Seeing that he really didn’t mind, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Halfway through relaxing, he heard Su Huan smile and say, “Ning Zhou said you are my brother and even saved me, but I don’t remember. If you still feel guilty towards me, tell me what exactly happened between us!”
He almost choked.
Su Huan played a trick, using a wave of moral kidnapping, and added a little lie: “A few days ago, I experienced a great disaster and forgot many things. Tell me about it; maybe I’ll remember.”
However, hearing this, a trace of understanding flashed in Su Chao’s eyes. “No wonder your cultivation regressed so severely.”
After saying that, he seemed relieved instead. The nervous expression on his face dissipated, appearing more calm. “Forgetting is good too. They were all bad things, nothing worth clinging to.”
As if that wasn’t enough, he pulled Su Huan’s hands and held them tightly, frowning earnestly. “Huan-er, promise me, don’t think about the past anymore, okay? As long as you live well, it’s better than anything…”
Those round eyes were like grapes, black and bright, revealing a watery luster. With slightly knitted brows, looking over like that seemed capable of melting a person into water, making Su Huan want to agree involuntarily.
“No.”
The one who spoke wasn’t Su Huan, but Xiao Jianming.
Su Huan was startled and looked at him.
Xiao Jianming smiled. “Because I also want to know.”
Ning Zhou scoffed and said directly, “Who are you? Why should Ah Chao tell…”
Clang—
A sharp sword tip pressed against his throat, drawing a trace of blood.
Su Chao’s body froze. He tried hard to lean back, but the sword edge pressed closer, sinking into the flesh.
Fresh blood flowed down, soaking his collar.
“Who I am isn’t important.” Xiao Jianming stood tall holding the sword, a cold light flashing on the tip. He whispered with a smile, “What’s important is that I want to know, so he has to speak.”
The situation was somewhat tense, with swords drawn and bows bent. Su Huan swallowed involuntarily.
Ning Zhou was furious that he let Ah Chao’s life be threatened so easily. But with a sword at the throat now, he was helpless and had to look at Su Chao.
Su Chao remained silent.
Su Huan advised him, “How about… just confess?”
“No!”
Su Chao closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he looked at Ning Zhou with a sorrowful expression, a trace of determination between his brows. “I won’t say it. If you want to kill, just kill!”
Su Huan was stunned.
Xiao Jianming raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised, and actually applied force with his hand.
Ning Zhou was shocked and shouted hurriedly, “Stop!”
“If you won’t say it, I will!”
“Ah Zhou!”
Ning Zhou shouted back, “You are willing to die for him, but I’m not! Do you want me to watch helplessly as you die!”
As he spoke, his voice couldn’t help trembling. “Why do you all value him so much? First, you were forced to hide your name and flee far away. Now you are willing to sacrifice your life to guard his secret…”
Su Huan was shocked. Listening to this, there was big gossip!
Xiao Jianming also raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I’d like to hear the details.”
Su Chao fell silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth. “…Don’t say anymore. If you really say it, I will… will divorce you!”
Ning Zhou turned his head away. “I’m not too clear on the specifics either. I only know that Ah Chao is the biological son of Uncle and Aunt Su. And this person, Su Huan, appeared suddenly four years ago. Not only did he squeeze out Ah Chao’s soul and occupy Ah Chao’s body, but he also forced Ah Chao to flee to a small sect like the Wangyue Sect and live under a different identity!”
Speaking of this, Ning Zhou glared at Su Huan. Su Huan lowered his head guiltily, thinking that the original host was also a “counterfeit.” But this couldn’t be blamed on him; four years ago, he hadn’t transmigrated into the book yet.
“I originally wanted to kill him to take back the body for Ah Chao, but Ah Chao wouldn’t let me interfere. He said he was voluntary, and claimed this person was his younger brother. He agreed to someone’s request, so he had to save him. Only in this way could he survive…”
“Ning Zhou!”
Ning Zhou paused, then continued, “As for who that person is, I don’t know. But Ah Chao and I grew up together as neighbors. I saw her once at the Su family.”
Xiao Jianming: “What is her name?”
Su Chao wanted to hit the sword to commit suicide but was held down by Su Huan.
A flash of an image passed through Su Huan’s mind, like a white light he couldn’t grasp no matter what. He huddled with Su Chao and begged, “Let him finish. I seem to have an impression…”
Su Chao hugged him, shaking his head vigorously. “Don’t think, don’t think about it…”
“I don’t know. But that woman was veiled. Looking at her brows and eyes, she should be a very beautiful woman. And between her eyebrows, there was a bright red mole.”
Following Ning Zhou’s words, some images slowly surfaced in Su Huan’s mind.
Hazy and indistinct, he saw a woman holding him gently, rocking him lightly. The cinnabar mole between her brows was very beautiful. She sang softly, “Buhuan, Buhuan… leave this body, and from now on, never return…”
Su Huan repeated blankly, “Buhuan?”
“Ugh…” His head suddenly ached violently, so painful he couldn’t help hitting his head with his hands.
Hearing this name suddenly, Xiao Jianming looked at him abruptly, his eyes full of astonishment.
Su Chao hugged Su Huan, protecting him tightly, his voice painful. “Huan-er, be good. Brother begs you, don’t think about it anymore, okay? Just forget those painful memories…”
Xiao Jianming suddenly sheathed his sword and forcibly fished Su Huan out of his arms. “Did you just say the word ‘Buhuan’? Didn’t you say earlier that you had never met him…”
Bang!
A ruthless kick came suddenly from the side, sending him flying.
Xiao Jianming fell to the ground, coughing up blood.
Ning Zhou hugged Su Chao, stopping the bleeding wound on his neck. The pressure of the Divinity Transformation stage poured out majestically, suppressing Xiao Jianming completely. “Hmph, brat, daring to hold Ah Chao hostage. Did you really think I couldn’t beat you!”
“Huan-er!” Su Huan fell to the ground in pain. Su Chao wanted to check on him with worry but was held back by Ning Zhou.
Ning Zhou said with disdain, “Didn’t you see him helping an outsider bully you just now? Why care about such a person?”
Xiao Jianming disregarded the mountain-heavy pressure on his body entirely. He stared fixedly at him, recalling in his mind the suddenly faded evil delusion on Ji Buhuan a few days ago, the monstrous evil delusion under Su Huan’s originally gentle surface, and the aura that later became clean to the point of being unstained…
Soul exchange… one named Huan (Return)… one named Buhuan (No Return)…
All clues connected into a line, pointing to the same answer.
“So that’s how it is, so that’s how it is…”
Xiao Jianming couldn’t help laughing. “It turns out the person I was looking for was right in front of my eyes.”
He stood up slowly. Ning Zhou was surprised that this person could still withstand his Divinity Transformation pressure after having his ribs kicked broken. Just as he was about to strike with spiritual energy, he saw him walk step by step toward the youth rolling in pain on the ground and pull him into his arms with difficulty.
Ning Zhou paused involuntarily.
Xiao Jianming’s heart ached, his hands trembling uncontrollably.
Eighteen years ago.
His father used an immortal artifact called “Dustless” to disguise himself as a naturally Innocent One (one without evil delusion). After becoming a Spirit Imprinter, he lied that the Dongfang family, the number one noble family at the time, was in trouble, and begged the Lingxi Clan to go to the seabed to collect various heavenly treasures to help the Dongfang family escape danger.
Although his mother felt it was strange, she was deceived by his hypocritical father into truly believing the Dongfang family was about to encounter a great disaster. She sent a large number of resources to the Dongfang family. Although they indeed established an alliance with the human race because of this, it was at the cost of the sharp reduction of spiritual energy in the Wuwang Sea.
Later, to seize power over the Lingxi, he tricked his mother into giving her true heart and uniting with him. If his mother hadn’t accidentally discovered the secret that he had long fallen into the demonic path, and forcibly searched his soul to find and destroy the immortal artifact, he would have nearly succeeded.
Unexpectedly, he held a grudge because of this. Feigning repentance, after tricking his mother into forgiveness, he secretly stole his mother’s Spirit Seal and forced the clansmen to open the sea territory, letting the demons into the sea…
He still remembered that day when the Wuwang Sea was in chaos. Tens of thousands of evil spirits suppressed under the sea took the opportunity to escape, partnering with the demons to kill everywhere. The seawater was dyed completely red; the entire Wuwang Sea was like purgatory.
Xiao Jianming slowly touched the youth’s painfully furrowed brow. Blue spiritual light appeared at his fingertips and poured into Su Huan’s forehead.
“What are you doing! Huan-er only has half a soul; a forceful soul search will kill him!”
But it was too late. A white light flashed. Through Su Huan’s memories, Xiao Jianming saw himself having just pried open a corner of the black prison’s iron window.
Looking up at the skylight through the iron prison window, he was sallow and emaciated, dressed in rags, looking just like a beggar.
He also saw the white-haired youth who seemed like an immortal, who had accidentally trespassed into the forest that day.
Hearing the noise, the lost youth’s eyes lit up. After seeing him, the expression on his face was one of shock and heartache.
“Who is so wicked to lock a child in a place like this!”
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