Chapter 169 Once upon a Time in the Sect
Mu Cangli wore an expression that clearly said “you’re not fooling me, but I’ll let it slide,” while Lian’s gaze was even heavier—like it could strip a person down to the bone. I nearly lost my soul on the spot.
I had no choice but to put on a serious face and quietly continued questioning the system in my mind.
“Then tell me this—Feng Yu… no, Hua Xiang. Is he an enemy or an ally? In this situation, should I already be planning an escape route?”
The system paused for a moment, as if searching through damaged records—or deliberately building suspense.
[Host, please note: according to the system’s restorative analysis of the original setting—]
I held my breath.
[Hua Xiang, in the original narrative, is a highly special character. He functions as the male lead’s… key emotional counterpart.]
“???”
[This can also be understood as the host’s romantic rival.]
I almost stumbled straight into a bush.
“W-wait. You’re saying that kind of flamboyant, universally adored figure—someone who smiles and half the world rushes forward to offer flowers—is Hua Xiang? That kind of top-tier rival?”
[Affirmative. In theory, his life trajectory should have been smooth and uninterrupted.]
“Then what is this current miserable version supposed to be?!”
[Host is advised to proceed with caution. Because—]
The system’s tone suddenly dropped, becoming more restrained and grave than ever before.
[Hua Xiang’s current condition—identity instability, fragmented timeline positioning—is linked to the collapse of the narrative after the original novel was discontinued.]
My chest tightened violently. Goosebumps rose all over my skin.
Lowering my voice, I asked, “So… you’re saying he might not be orchestrating this situation? He’s being forced into it?”
[Conclusion remains inconclusive. However, the host must remember: regardless of his current behavior, his original trajectory was never a tragic one. The fact that he has fallen into this state implies—]
I swallowed hard. “Implies what?”
[That the underlying force is more dangerous than the formation, illusion, or timeline distortion you currently perceive.]
My mind buzzed violently.
“So Hua Xiang is the one who dragged us into the illusion? To make us reenact the storyline? What exactly is he trying to do?!”
[System is reconstructing damaged data… however, based on current evidence—]
It suddenly stopped.
Its tone flickered.
I frowned. “Don’t do that. Half-sentences are the worst possible thing right now.”
[Not intentional. Data stream has reached a discontinuity. Further prediction requires continuation of events.]
“So what you’re saying is my life doesn’t even get full answers—it depends on future chapters?”
[Your understanding is correct.]
I exhaled sharply.
Fine. I was already used to being psychologically attacked by it anyway.
The wind along the northern ridge was sharp enough to cut skin. I hunched my shoulders as we moved forward, secretly watching Lian’s back.
He walked steadily, his red robe moving with the wind. Lean, but unbroken. Somehow reassuring.
And that was exactly the problem.
The more reassuring he looked, the more uneasy I became.
Eventually I couldn’t hold it in and moved closer.
“Lian… I need to tell you something.”
He glanced back. Not suspicious, just calm.
“What did you do this time?”
“I don’t only do bad things,” I said, tapping my chest. “Mostly just stupidity.”
Lian replied flatly, “That makes it worse.”
I took a breath.
“It’s about Hua Xiang.”
His steps halted for a fraction of a second.
I hurried on, “I’m not guessing randomly. I’ve thought this through.”
I lowered my voice further.
“Feng Yu is Hua Xiang.”
The words left my mouth—and even I felt a chill.
Lian’s fingers trembled slightly, but he forced himself steady.
“…Say that again.”
“Feng Yu is Hua Xiang,” I repeated. “If that’s true, everything fits.”
I quickly laid out my reasoning, piecing it together from the system’s information:
“In the camp, Hua and Mu Cangli entered the formation through the hot spring passage under Feng Yu’s guidance, right? Later Feng Yu led me in through the same route. And if you hadn’t been sent to the mountain excavation at the start, you might have gone in the same way too.”
Lian’s brow darkened.
I continued.
“In the formation—you remember, right? We ended up in that secluded back-mountain area of the Blood Lotus Sect.”
“I remember,” he said. “That place is rarely visited.”
“Exactly,” I said. “But Feng Yu knew it too well. Every path, every bend, every rock—he led us like he had lived there.”
I spread my hands.
“If he didn’t know the Blood Lotus Sect intimately, how could he possibly do that?”
Silence stretched between us, broken only by the wind through pine branches.
I pressed on carefully.
“Lian… if he really is Hua Xiang, then everything aligns.”
Then I asked the most important question:
“When you were first made sect leader… what exactly did the elders tell you?”
Lian’s eyelashes trembled slightly, as if an old wound had been peeled open.
He looked toward the distant mountains.
“When I woke up,” he said slowly, “the three elders told me only one thing—Hua Xiang had disappeared.”
“Nothing else?”
“Nothing else,” he said. “I only knew there had been imperial interference. I didn’t know it was for the Dragon Bone Token prescription. I didn’t know the prescription had been stolen. I only thought Hua Xiang… had left on his own.”
His voice turned rough.
“I was still injured. I had just taken over leadership. I focused only on stabilizing the sect… I never searched for him again.”
Then, suddenly, he gave a bitter laugh.
“If it really was him… maybe he thought I didn’t care. That’s why everything ended up like this.”
There was regret in his voice—deep and unspoken.
I was about to say something when—
Shhhk.
A faint sound came from deeper in the forest. A branch snapping underfoot.
I snapped my head up.
A figure slowly emerged from the shadows between the trees.
Taller than I remembered Feng Yu being, thinner, colder. Half his face was hidden in shadow—but I recognized him instantly.
Those eyes. That expression. That suppressed, long-buried resentment.
My throat tightened.
“Hua Xiang?”
No.
I shouldn’t call him that.
His current name was Feng Yu.
But the word slipped out anyway.
“…Hua Xiang?”
Lian stepped forward immediately, calling him without hesitation:
“Hua Xiang.”
The man paused.
That single moment of stillness was sharper than any blade.
Lian showed no caution. No doubt.
Only trust.
Meanwhile, Mu Cangli and I tensed instantly. His hand moved slowly toward his blade.
Feng Yu’s gaze shifted from Lian to us. He smiled faintly.
“Look at you,” he said lightly. “You really do treat an old friend like an enemy.”
Lian frowned. “Where have you been all this time? Why didn’t you return?”
Feng Yu shrugged slightly.
“If I could have returned, I wouldn’t have waited until today.”
“Then what happened that day?” Lian pressed. “Why did you disappear?”
Feng Yu looked at him.
Their gazes locked in the cold wind—heavy with things unsaid.
After a long moment, he finally spoke.
“That day… I originally took that sword for you.”
I exhaled slowly.
Even though the system had already told us, hearing it directly still sent a chill down my spine.
“After that, you already saw fragments of it in the illusion. After the imperial forces withdrew, rumors of a ‘thief incident’ spread—within outsiders’ eyes, I became the one who stole the prescription.”
His lips curved faintly.
“I didn’t accept it. But the three elders condemned me. I didn’t even get the chance to defend myself before I was stripped of my martial arts, and I was expelled from the Blood Lotus Sect.”
His voice lowered.
“I hated it. But I refused to accept it. I wanted to return, even if I had to crawl back.”
“So I came here—to North Ridge—to search for herbs, remedies, anything that could restore even a fraction of my power so I could clear my name.”
He tilted his head slightly, as if looking back at that long stretch of misery.
“But this place… someone had already laid down a strange formation. I stepped into it by accident.”
His voice grew distant.
“The formation wasn’t ordinary. Time inside was distorted. People lost their sense of self easily. I don’t know how long I was trapped.”
“When I finally broke out and returned to the world… no one recognized me anymore. Even my appearance was no longer the same.”
Feng Yu’s lips twisted faintly.
“So I took the name ‘Feng Yu’ instead. Easier that way. No old pals. No second expulsion.”