Chapter 168 He Is the He
“Is... is it really Hua Xiang?”
My heart was pounding so hard it hurt.
The scene from the illusion replayed itself in my mind: Feng Yu's manic laughter, the world collapsing around us, and that face—torn from beneath his own skin as though he were ripping off a mask.
Even now, the memory made my skin crawl.
“From what I saw, Feng Yu looked older than Hua Xiang,” I said. “Could he be an uncle? A distant relative? Some reincarnated version of him?”
The more I spoke, the more ridiculous it sounded.
“No, that's absurd. Completely absurd.”
Hua rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
“If he really was Hua Xiang, then who was the Hua Xiang we saw inside the illusion? Can Hua Xiang split himself in two? Or did the formation create a fake one?”
Realization struck me.
“Exactly! How can the same person exist in the same place twice? Don't tell me there are large and small versions of Hua Xiang now?”
Lian, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke.
His voice was cold enough to freeze water.
“Something is wrong here. This is likely the work of the illusion itself... or more precisely, the person who created the formation.”
The moment he mentioned the formation, his gaze darkened.
Following his line of sight, I looked around.
Cool mountain winds swept through dense greenery. Mist drifted between distant peaks.
Nothing about this place resembled the Blood Lotus Sect.
“Where exactly has this formation dumped us?” I asked uneasily. “Are we even still within Blood Lotus Sect territory?”
Before anyone could answer, Mu Cangli, who had remained quiet until now, rose to his feet while rubbing his temples.
“This... should be North Ridge.”
“What?!”
I nearly jumped.
Mu Cangli bent down and picked up a weathered copper coin half-buried in the grass.
“Look. This is the coin Hua and I dropped when we first entered the formation.”
I stared.
“You have a habit of losing money now?”
Mu Cangli gave me a flat look.
“The point isn't the coin.”
He held it up.
“The point is that it proves we've been returned to North Ridge. The formation has most likely been broken.”
My spirits lifted at once.
“So our theory was right? In the original timeline, Hua Xiang really had to lose his cultivation and be expelled from the Blood Lotus Sect?”
Mu Cangli nodded grimly.
“If the timeline is to correct itself, then yes.”
A chill ran down my spine.
“Then Feng Yu came to North Ridge after Hua Xiang was expelled?”
I frowned.
“But the ages still don't make sense. Feng Yu looked older than the Hua Xiang from the illusion, yet younger than Lian. How is that possible?”
Even Hua frowned.
“What happened during the years Hua Xiang disappeared?”
All of us turned toward Lian.
He didn't answer immediately.
His gaze remained fixed on the grass beneath his feet.
For a moment, he looked like a man being cut apart one blade at a time.
Finally he spoke.
“What exactly did Hua Xiang go through?”
His voice was low.
So low it was almost lost to the wind.
And somehow that made it hurt even more to hear.
I was about to offer some comfort when—
Clang.
The unmistakable sound of armor echoed up the hillside.
I nearly jumped out of my skin.
“Why are there soldiers again?!”
“Hide.”
Lian's sharp command cut through the air.
We immediately dropped into the grass and shifted position to look downslope.
A squad of soldiers clad in golden armor was escorting several frightened civilians—men, women, and elderly villagers.
They stopped at a seemingly ordinary patch of ground.
The only distinguishing feature was a ring of small stones arranged in a deliberate pattern.
A marker.
“There.”
The captain frowned.
“This place was inaccessible before. Yet today... it looks different.”
Suddenly he shoved a middle-aged man forward.
“You. Walk ahead.”
The poor man trembled violently.
He took one cautious step.
Then another.
The wind blew softly through the grass.
Nothing happened.
The captain's eyes lit up.
“Stop!”
He shouted excitedly.
“The formation is gone!”
The soldiers erupted into cheers.
“Hurry! Inform the Eighth Prince!”
Silence fell over our group.
Me: “...”
Hua: “...”
Mu Cangli: “...”
Lian finally said,
“So we really are in North Ridge.”
I swallowed hard.
“Damn it. I'd completely forgotten about the Eighth Prince. One disaster ends and another begins.”
Before I could complain further, Lian interrupted with a single word.
“Move.”
He pointed toward an inconspicuous rise to the north.
“The formation is broken. The soldiers will search the mountain soon. We leave now.”
Then he turned to Hua.
“Stay behind and monitor their movements. If you learn anything, meet us on the northern slope.”
Hua nodded.
“Understood.”
With a casual gesture, he slipped into the shadows and vanished.
Only then did I properly notice the terrain.
Unlike the jagged cliffs we had crossed before, North Ridge was filled with rolling grassy hills that rose and fell in endless succession.
Lian, Mu Cangli, and I moved northward along the curved slopes.
As we hurried along, curiosity got the better of me.
“Lian, how are you so familiar with this place? You woke up and immediately knew where to run.”
Lian ignored me.
Instead, I noticed Mu Cangli pulling a crumpled parchment from his robes.
He scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
“When Hua and I investigated the stone statues earlier, we also happened to acquire a military survey map.”
I stared.
“You stole a military map?”
“Borrowed,” he corrected.
“Regardless, it's clear the imperial forces have been stationed around North Ridge for quite some time.”
I inhaled sharply.
“What about Falling Star Ridge?”
Mu Cangli sighed.
“The distant regions haven't been fully charted yet. They're probably still surveying them.”
That explained why the Eighth Prince had dared to venture into North Ridge in person.
The imperial court had been preparing for this for a long time.
The journey continued.
Lian remained silent throughout.
His back looked colder than ever.
Eventually I couldn't stand it anymore.
I edged closer.
“Hey.”
No response.
“Stop looking like you're carrying the end of the world on your shoulders.”
Still nothing.
Lowering my voice, I continued.
“If Feng Yu really is Hua Xiang... then at least one thing is certain.”
Lian finally glanced sideways.
“He survived.”
I spoke carefully.
“When he was expelled from the sect, he didn't die. He lived. He was just... somewhere else.”
My words were so quiet they felt fragile enough to break in the wind.
Lian's steps slowed.
After a long silence, he finally said:
“What happened to him?”
The question barely rose above a whisper.
It sounded as though the wind itself might carry it away.
My chest tightened.
Whatever had occurred during Hua Xiang's missing years...
It was something even Lian feared to remember.
I was trying to think of something reassuring to say when—
Ding.
The familiar sound hit me like a hammer to the forehead.
System: [Host emotional fluctuations detected. Friendly reminder: the current situation is highly complex. It is recommended that you speak less in order to avoid triggering unnecessary side-disaster routes.]
I nearly screamed.
“You! Where the hell have you been?!”
System: [No need for alarm. This system was previously suppressed by a high-level formation and entered a dormant state.]
I sucked in a breath.
“So that's why you ignored me inside the illusion?”
System: [Correct. That formation was not a conventional illusion. Its structure more closely resembled a Timeline Correction Array.]
“Timeline Correction Array?”
System: [To simplify: a formation designed to force a damaged timeline back toward its intended course.]
I blinked.
“Wait. That's why you couldn't interfere?”
System: [Correct. The formation isolated external perception, blocked information flow, and treated this system as foreign interference.]
The system paused.
[More importantly, it produced what may be described as a Plot Protection Effect.]
“Plot... protection?”
System: [In simple terms, fatal injuries occurring within the illusion were automatically negated and reversed.]
The system seemed to search its records before continuing.
[For example: when Hua Xiang shoved you in front of Lian as a shield, the sword should have pierced you through the chest.]
I froze.
[However, because the formation required key characters to survive specific narrative nodes, the damage was forcibly erased. Therefore, you awakened without any wounds.]
I stopped walking.
“Hold on.”
I stared blankly ahead.
“So I wasn't lucky?”
System: [Please maintain an accurate self-assessment. You were not lucky.]
A brief pause.
[You were forcibly kept alive.]
“...”
“...What?”
System: [Statement remains accurate.]
I felt personally attacked.
Then another realization hit me.
“Wait.”
I lowered my voice.
“If someone is trying to restore the original timeline...”
My heart skipped a beat.
“Hua Xiang?”
System: [No comment.]
That answer was somehow worse.
I felt a knot tighten in my stomach.
“Then tell me this.”
My voice rose despite myself.
“Is Feng Yu really Hua Xiang? Is Hua Xiang really Feng Yu?”
System: [Host is advised to remain emotionally stable.]
My eye twitched.
With tremendous effort, I managed not to shout.
Beside me, Mu Cangli and Lian both looked over.
They couldn't hear the system, but they had definitely noticed me suddenly freezing in place and making increasingly bizarre expressions.
The two of them stared.
I immediately forced an awkward laugh.
“Uh...”
I pointed vaguely at my leg.
“Leg cramp.”