SWHCBB 91

Chapter 91: Reversing Time

Jiang Chuang faked a cough to suppress his laughter.

Wen Jue quickly tried to smooth things over. “Please don’t mind him, Divine Physician. Yunchuan’s just a bit too curious, he didn’t mean to offend you!”

Bai Yuan scoffed lightly and continued, “So… in this so-called ‘first’ life of yours, the Yousu clan never received any order from the ancestor. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have stood by and watched Wen Jue die so tragically without doing anything.”

“You claim you were reborn, that you’ve lived twice in the same world and timeline.”

Jiang Chuang nodded. “That’s right.” He glanced at Wen Xiao Yu’s expression and, seeing no reaction, cautiously continued, “I had already died at the base of the cliff. I just felt my body grow light, like I was floating, and then… I looked down and saw myself and Zhiyu, our corpses, holding each other.”

“But… I never saw Zhiyu’s soul!” Jiang Chuang recalled that time, still filled with lingering dread and despair.

“I drifted at the bottom of the cliff for a long time, unable to leave. I thought Zhiyu had reincarnated before me, and that we’d be separated forever… but after an unknown amount of time, my soul was suddenly pulled into a vortex. My vision blurred, and my entire soul was sucked away. When I opened my eyes again, I was back five years ago.”

Just hearing Yunchuan describe it, Wen Jue could almost picture that kind of despair. If they had died together, and he had become the ghost, endlessly searching for Yunchuan’s soul without finding it, he would have been devastated. And he wouldn’t even be able to take his own life a second time.

He felt a pang of pain in his heart and reached out slowly until he found Jiang Chuang’s hand, gently holding it in silent comfort.

Whether the person who died with Yunchuan was truly himself or not didn’t matter, he couldn’t help but ache for him in this moment.

He didn’t dare think further about the relationship between the ‘Wen Jue’ from the first time and himself, nor about why Yunchuan had come to love him.

He had seen that person in a dream. From his perspective, that ‘Wen Jue’ was clearly different from himself. Even if they had the same identity, name, and appearance, he didn’t believe they were the same person.

And surely that other ‘Wen Jue’ wouldn’t have believed they were the same either.

He didn’t see the light that suddenly flashed in Jiang Chuang’s eyes or the gleeful scheming in his expression. Jiang Chuang rolled his eyes and continued pitifully,

“I thought I could catch up to Zhiyu’s soul… but I ended up floating alone at the bottom of that cliff for so long.”

“And I had to stay beside both our corpses. If not for being reborn, I probably would’ve lost my mind and become a vengeful ghost.”

Wen Jue unconsciously tightened his grip, and Jiang Chuang’s mouth twitched, he was holding back a smile. Wen Xiao Yu really was too easy to fool when he couldn’t see.

Though everything he’d said was true, when he looked back now, none of it seemed to matter. He’d already been completely healed by the Zhiyu in front of him.

Bai Yuan ignored his pitiful act and mused aloud,

“Reversing time and space, defying death, deceiving the heavens, escaping reincarnation, erasing everything that once happened, this means the entire world was reversed!”

“To achieve that, one’s power must be equal to, or even surpass, the Heavenly Dao of this world. Otherwise, the moment they tried, they’d be destroyed by the Dao.”

“There’s a legend that an Immortal Ancestor from the Yousu clan once tried it, but whether he succeeded or not, I don’t know. All I know is that he vanished afterward… But this kind of feat, even if I cultivated for another five hundred years, I couldn’t do it… Wait–vanished?”

Wen Jue suddenly spoke. “Could it have been the fox clan’s ancestor? Could he have done it?”

“He could! He really could!” Bai Yuan suddenly grew excited. He had never imagined that such a massive event could be tied to Wen Jue. This was direct opposition to the Heavenly Dao, not just this world’s Dao, but all of them.

It was mind-boggling and terrifying, shattering the laws of the world. If it really had been his ancestor, then Bai Yuan couldn’t help but feel honored. It was simply incredible!

Usually so cold and aloof, Bai Yuan was now pacing the room in excitement.

“Do you know what kind of power this is? If it really was the ancestor, it would mean that once our cultivation reaches a certain level, we are no longer bound by the Heavenly Dao. We can travel freely across all different worlds! I always thought that was just a myth!”

If it were true, just how powerful must that ancestor have been? How different from the Dao itself?

But then… why had he disappeared for so many years? And after reversing time, why had he dumped the mess on Bai Yuan instead?

Wen Jue listened to his crazed excitement in silence, lips parting slightly but stopping short of speaking.

Bai Yuan suddenly calmed down. He sat, unwrapped the black cloth, and revealed several tufts of reddish-brown fox fur. In a low voice, he said,

“Don’t speak. Let me try summoning a trace of the ancestor’s divine consciousness to attach to me. Let him explain everything to you.”

As he spoke, Bai Yuan sliced his fingertip and squeezed out a drop of blood from his heart, letting it fall onto the fur. The fur floated into the air, drawing a golden sigil that only he could see. Then, from the fur, a green flame ignited, burning straight up into the sigil.

A moment later, sharp, piercing cries unique to foxes echoed in the room, overlapping in dozens of voices, as if a pack of foxes were howling in unison.

Wen Jue didn’t feel much from the sound, but Jiang Chuang turned pale in an instant. The shrieks pierced through his ears and into his brain. He gasped and held onto the bed frame to stay upright, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

But soon, peace returned to his world. Wen Jue reached out and gently covered Jiang Chuang’s ears with his cool palms, blocking out all the noise.

Jiang Chuang stared at him in a daze. Wen Jue furrowed his brow and asked in concern,

“Yunchuan, are you alright?”

The next moment, Jiang Chuang threw his arms around him tightly. But remembering Wen Jue’s injuries, he immediately loosened his grip and said with a half-pouting, half-coaxing tone,

“My head hurts, Zhiyu… hold me…”

Wen Jue stiffened but didn’t push him away. “Mm.”

Jiang Chuang let out a breath of relief, then took another step.

“If Zhiyu kissed me, maybe it wouldn’t hurt so much…”

Wen Jue pursed his lips, silent for a moment. Then he replied heartlessly,

“Then I guess you’ll just have to keep hurting.”

Jiang Chuang: …failed again.

At some point, the sounds in the room vanished. In their place came a commanding, clear female voice:

“Why have you summoned me?”

Before Jiang Chuang could react, the stern tone turned light and cheerful,

“Xiao Zhiyu, so this is what you looked like alive? How pretty!”