"It's already been thirteen years..."
Old Yuan muttered softly.
He added with a comforting tone, "Whether it's real or an illusion, it doesn't really matter, does it?"
Xiao Hong turned her head to look at him. "Then have you let it go?"
Old Yuan reached out and patted her head. "From the moment I adopted you, treated you as my daughter, I already let it go."
Xiao Hong blinked and gave a sweet smile.
"Really?"
She tilted her head, but the words that followed were oddly disturbing:
"Then tell me... do you really believe I'm your daughter, or do you believe I'm Tie Yao, the girl who died thirteen years ago in the Yang Kingdom?"
Old Yuan wasn't surprised at all. As though used to this kind of conversation, he chuckled and said, "Of course you're my Xiao Hong."
"We've been father and daughter for three hundred years now. What could be more real than that? Tie Yao was the daughter of Tie Baiyuan the swordsmith. What does that have to do with an old fisherman like me?"
Xiao Hong laughed, a crisp, girlish giggle, the flush on her cheeks growing even redder.
"If Grandpa says so, then I feel better."
She tugged at Old Yuan's arm and said playfully,
"But Xiao Hong doesn't want to get married yet. I don't want to leave Grandpa. When you get old, I'll take care of you and fulfill my duty as a daughter."
Old Yuan smiled. "Good, good. If you have that kind of a heart, Grandpa is already happy."
"Since the moment you came into this world thirteen years ago, Grandpa knew that from then on, it would just be the two of us relying on each other."
He gently patted Xiao Hong's back, a perfect picture of loving father and dutiful daughter.
But from afar, watching this so-called "father-daughter" scene unfold, Chen Kuang felt thoroughly uncomfortable.
"Brother Qi, are you sure Tie Baiyuan isn't insane?"
By all logic, exiting the Illusory Realm without dying should mean one has not gone mad.
And yet, the scene before him looked exactly like a madman rambling.
Tie Baiyuan's entire household of 170 people had perished. His daughter, especially, had died unjustly.
Yet here he was, completely denying her existence, refusing to even acknowledge her, and claiming that this "Xiao Hong" was his real daughter.
What sane person could say something like that?
Qi Sibai shook his head. "If he were mad, he wouldn't know who he was, whether he belonged to the illusion or reality. But look at him. Tie Baiyuan knows exactly who he wants to be."
"He's completely discarded his identity as Tie Baiyuan, rejected everything from the past, and chosen to live as a humble fisherman. As long as he's fully committed to one identity, then he won't go insane."
Chen Kuang raised an eyebrow, speechless.
Honestly, he wanted to say that Tie Baiyuan was likely still running from the past. That line just now, "Of course you're my Xiao Hong", was clearly a lie.
But even if he said so, the old man probably had no intention of waking up.
If he wanted to keep pretending, then so be it.
The more pressing question was: where did this girl called "Xiao Hong" come from?
From what he said, she had "come into this world" thirteen years ago. That likely meant Tie Baiyuan's survival post–Illusory Realm was connected to her somehow.
Chen Kuang asked, "Brother Qi, what do you make of this Xiao Hong's identity?"
Qi Sibai frowned for a moment, then shook his head. "I can't tell. It's as if there's a shroud over her, blocking her fate from me."
Chen Kuang rubbed his chin, deep in thought.
That meant they would need to investigate manually.
And if there was one person best suited to that task...
Chen Kuang looked off toward the direction his "little brother" had walked.
Qi Sibai's ability to perceive fate was dependent on how close he was to a given fate thread, and how many branches of that fate he had encountered.
In a way, Qi Sibai was more like a detective, the more clues he had, the closer he could get to the truth.
Without clues, he was no better than a headless fly.
Fortunately, this time he was incredibly close to the truth.
The moment he arrived at the Eastern Court Lake, he sensed that Tie Baiyuan was still alive.
When Chen Kuang came to him with information about the Demon Sword, he was able to pinpoint Tie Baiyuan's location, which led them to find him so quickly.
What they didn't expect was that this man now just lived as a simple fisherman on the southern wharf, under the Chen family's jurisdiction, someone even Chen An was acquainted with.
And the mysterious Xiao Hong was none other than the girl Chen An had taken a liking to.
At this moment, however, Chen An was extremely wary of Chen Kuang. If Chen Kuang asked him anything about Xiao Hong now, he would likely refuse to say even a word.
Qi Sibai suddenly said, "Brother Chen, you seem concerned about how to investigate?"
"I happened to notice a connection between you and that boy. That link might be helpful to you."
"A connection?" Chen Kuang raised an eyebrow, just about to say, "He's my brother," when Qi Sibai traced a word into the air.
"Zheng", True, Upright, Official.
Chen Kuang froze.
Then he remembered the small wooden token he'd never used, still tucked away on him.
Back then, Qingcuo had said: if he ever encountered people who claimed to be part of the Soil True Officials, they were allies, he could seek their aid.
But when he asked her further about it, Qingcuo only said it was something Huo Hengxuan had asked her to pass on. She'd spent ten years as a spy beside Li Hongling and didn't know much about Liang's internal factions.
Chen Kuang had wanted to investigate, but before he could, the little princess incident happened. He hadn't had the time.
He'd assumed the Soil True Officials would come to him eventually.
But now Qi Sibai was saying the connection between him and Chen An... was through this character "正."
Chen Kuang's expression grew odd. He explained it to Qi Sibai, who replied, "Why not follow him and take a look?"
The two of them tailed Chen An to a residence protected by a powerful restriction.
Chen Kuang mused aloud, "This must be a base for the Soil True Officials. Not bad, nice house."
They clearly weren't hurting for money.
Qi Sibai glanced at him in surprise. "Brother Chen, your eyes are sharp. The restriction here is more advanced than the one on Envious Fish Hermitage. Even a mid-tier cultivator can't see through it."
To ordinary eyes, it was nothing but a clump of trees.
Chen Kuang nodded. "Yes, I have good eyesight. And there are quite a few traps and mechanisms in there. Want me to guide you through?"
Qi Sibai: "..."
He had only made a casual test, suspecting Chen Kuang had some unusual method. He didn't expect this guy to roll with it so naturally.
Wait... isn't he supposed to be blind?!
Qi Sibai was now even more baffled by him.
What he didn't know was that... yes, Chen Kuang just had absurdly good eyesight.
...
Chen An had returned to ask the Soil True Officials for help investigating the Canal Guilds's true motives.
Fan Chuan's recent actions were reckless and alarming.
If this was how he treated other factions with power in the harbors, then their true ambition was obvious.
Fan Hailong was trying to crown himself the king of Jishao Prefecture.
"They're probably planning to use that Enlightenment Envoy's momentum to seize power," Chen An said darkly.
Pei Xiu clapped his shoulder solemnly. "Don't worry. As a member of the Soil True Officials, we'll make sure you and your family are protected."
Chen An was immensely grateful. After receiving this promise, he left.
Just after he walked out the door, Pei Xiu let out a long sigh. "Sigh. Why couldn't the Canal Guild just pick on someone else? Messing with the Chen family... that's like poking a hornet's nest."
"And who says I'm not a hornet?"
A voice floated in from behind.
Pei Xiu froze. He turned around, and oh, right. The man was blind, there was no eye contact possible.