Chapter 215: The Connection
Wang Gege stared at Bai Ruoxi, unable to take her eyes away from her.
"A miracle?"
Bai Ruoxi nodded.
"Yes." Her voice was quiet, but there was something complicated hidden beneath that single word.
"For eighteen years, I tried countless ways to find you. I performed rituals, searched for Taoists, and even tried to recreate the circumstances that brought me back here." She lowered her gaze, her fingers slowly tightening inside her sleeves. "But nothing worked."
Wang Gege listened silently.
"Then, about a year ago..." Bai Ruoxi paused. "I suddenly felt the connection again."
Wang Gege’s brows furrowed. "The connection?"
"Yes." Bai Ruoxi nodded. "It was faint, but it was there. For the first time in eighteen years, I could sense that the path between the two worlds had opened again."
Wang Gege’s heart began to beat faster. "Then you pulled me back?"
Bai Ruoxi shook her head. "No."
That answer immediately caught Wang Gege off guard. "If you didn’t pull me back, then how did I return?"
Bai Ruoxi looked at her for a long moment before answering. "Because someone else had finally finished what she was meant to do."
Wang Gege’s expression slowly changed. "Someone else?"
Bai Ruoxi nodded. "The soul that has been living in your body in this world."
Wang Gege froze. Her mind immediately went back to everything Bai Ruoxi had told her.
The soul that had occupied her body. The person who had lived as Shen Taotao for eighteen years. The person who had eventually returned to her original world.
"Shen Taotao..." The name escaped her lips.
Bai Ruoxi nodded. "Yes."
Wang Gege’s breath caught.
"She completed her mission." Bai Ruoxi’s gaze softened. "And the moment she returned to her own world, the connection between the two worlds opened once again."
Wang Gege stood completely still. "So... when she left..."
"She created a path for you to return." Bai Ruoxi finished Wang Gege’s words.
The room fell silent.
Wang Gege’s lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
After eighteen years of searching, after countless failed attempts, the miracle Bai Ruoxi had been waiting for had finally arrived.
And it had come from someone Wang Gege had never even known was living her life in another world.
But there was still something that didn’t make sense.
Wang Gege slowly raised her eyes. "But I didn’t come here a year ago... I only arrived here a little over two months ago."
Bai Ruoxi nodded, "I know... When I checked on Shen Taotao a year ago, she was still the Shen Taotao who had swapped souls with you."
Wang Gege’s expression became even more confused.
Bai Ruoxi continued, "I asked the Taoist again. He said something about someone who was not supposed to be here creating an imbalance in the world..."
She paused, her brows knitting together as she recalled that time.
"I was deeply confused and frightened because I thought... the woman who was supposed to be your mother in the modern world had returned here."
Wang Gege’s eyes widened. "You thought the person who took your place had come back?"
Bai Ruoxi nodded slowly.
"At that time, I didn’t know what else to think. Shen Taotao was still there, living her life as you. The soul that had been occupying your body in the modern world was supposed to have already returned to her own world, yet the Taoist told me that someone who did not belong here had created an imbalance."
She lowered her gaze. "I thought perhaps something had gone wrong when the souls were exchanged again."
Wang Gege remained silent, trying to follow every word. "Then what happened?"
Bai Ruoxi took a slow breath. "Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"For months, I couldn’t find any answer. Shen Taotao was still there, and I still couldn’t reach you." Her expression darkened. "So I continued waiting and searching for a way to bring you back."
She looked toward Wang Gege again. "Then, a little over two months ago... something finally changed."
Wang Gege’s heart tightened. "That was when I came here?"
"Yes." Bai Ruoxi nodded. "That was when I finally realized that the imbalance the Taoist had warned me about... might not have been caused by you at all."
Wang Gege remained silent for a few moments.
Her thoughts raced through everything she had just learned.
Shen Taotao had returned to her original world after completing her mission. The path between the two worlds had opened again. Then, a little over two months ago, Wang Gege had suddenly returned to this world.
And around that same time... Xie Rong had already been here. Her gaze slowly shifted toward the closed door.
"Husband..." she murmured under her breath. Her fingers tightened slightly. "Is it him?"
Bai Ruoxi’s expression changed. She didn’t answer immediately.
Instead, she followed Wang Gege’s gaze toward the door, her expression becoming thoughtful. "Young Master Xie... is he not from here?"
Wang Gege’s eyes widened slightly. She slowly turned back toward Bai Ruoxi.
"I don’t know." Her voice was shaky.
Bai Ruoxi studied her expression before continuing.
"A year ago... he was supposed to die on the battlefield. There were rumors going around that everyone had already confirmed his death."
She paused, her gaze softening as she looked at Wang Gege, as though trying to determine whether her earlier suspicion had been correct.
"But five minutes later..." Bai Ruoxi’s voice dropped. "His eyes suddenly opened."
Wang Gege’s gaze drifted toward the closed door again. She didn’t answer.
A part of her wanted to tell Bai Ruoxi everything she knew about Xie Rong, especially after hearing that the Taoist had spoken about someone who did not belong in this world.
But she couldn’t.
This was the first time they had met. Everything Bai Ruoxi had told her, no matter how convincing it sounded, was still only her side of the story. There was no way Wang Gege could be certain that every word was true.
And if Bai Ruoxi was lying...
Wang Gege’s fingers slowly curled.
Then telling her that Xie Rong’s soul had awakened inside the body of a man who was supposed to be dead might put his life at risk.
She couldn’t take that chance.
"I don’t know what happened to him," Wang Gege finally said, keeping her voice as calm as she could.
Bai Ruoxi watched her silently.
Wang Gege avoided her gaze and looked toward the door once more.
Whatever the truth was, she would ask Xie Rong himself first.