"Thank you for the clothes, Miss. I am Chen Ye, just a loose cultivator."
Chen Ye’s voice was slightly deep, his gaze fixed on the girl in front of him,
"Just now in the storm, I injured my Divine Sense, feeling a bit dizzy... May I know your name? And why are you alone here on the outskirts of Broken Soul Gorge?"
The girl saw him dressed neatly and finally turned her head, offering a smile without any guard, revealing two cute little tiger teeth:
"Big brother, what are you saying? I am Jiaming, Qin Jiaming... We originally followed some loose cultivators to try our luck at the edge of Celestial Abyss, to gather some spirit grass, but who knew suddenly the sky and earth would shatter, and everyone got separated."
She carried her hands behind her back, gently kicking the stones on the ground with her toes, her tone filled with a trace of lingering fear,
"All my protective magical artifacts are broken, and I barely managed to hide behind this big rock. I thought I was dead for sure, but unexpectedly the storm stopped so quickly, and then I saw you walking out. Thank goodness you’re alright, I was so worried!"
Qin Jiaming?
Chen Ye quickly searched his mind for this name but found nothing.
Loose cultivator?
This anomaly at Celestial Abyss is terrifying, even the fake pill offspring went crazy, how could a seemingly cultivation-less young loose cultivator survive unharmed with just a big rock?
Moreover... she seems quite familiar with himself?
Even with doubts in mind, Chen Ye is now extremely weak and does not want to alert any snakes.
He suppressed his wariness, rubbing his brow: "Miss Qin... apologies, my mind feels like hammered heavily, my Divine Sense severely impaired, much of everything is blank."
Qin Jiaming’s lively expression changed abruptly upon hearing this.
She instinctively took half a step closer:
"Big brother, you can’t even remember me? We met more than half a month ago at Chouyun Pass! At that time, we both arrived in Qi Kingdom alone, and I pestered you into teaming up. We agreed to come to the outskirts of Celestial Abyss to gather Yin Condensation Grass, didn’t you say you would protect me..."
The girl spoke so seriously, even the details of their meeting and the purpose of herb gathering were vivid, her expression showing not a hint of deceit.
"Chouyun Pass? Is that so..."
Chen Ye pretended to be doubtful.
He already understood, this world is probably just an illusion realm.
If someone really wanted to deceive him, they wouldn’t use such a clumsy lie.
"Yes! Luckily we met Brother Bai, otherwise we’d already be dead..."
Qin Jiaming anxiously grasped her chest.
"This... what happened again?"
Hearing "Bai", Chen Ye’s heart skipped a beat, quickly pursuing.
Qin Jiaming was not bothered, giving a sweet smile:
"Sure, Jiaming will say more, maybe big brother’s memory will recover!"
"We were originally loose cultivators from Yan Kingdom, later tricked by demon cultivators from Emotion Crossing Sect to Qi Kingdom, those demon cultivators wanted to refine us into pills! Luckily on the way, we met Bai Li, Brother Bai, who bravely killed that demon cultivator."
"Then, we agreed to gather spirit stones for passage, once we collect enough spirit stones, we’ll smuggle back to Yan Kingdom from Black Cliff City!"
Bang—!
Suddenly there was a searing pain in Chen Ye’s mind.
Back then, in the Dragon Transformation Pool of Lingyin Sect, an obscure memory suddenly appeared.
In the memory,
in this life, he was once favored by someone from an Immortal Sect when he was young.
And that was the true reason he left his parents to pursue the path.
But unfortunately, he was not selected later and was returned by the Immortal Sect.
But the Immortal Sect,
was actually a sect from Qi Kingdom!
Qi Kingdom is a complete Demon Path land, where is the Immortal Sect?
"Big brother? What’s wrong? You look awful, is your injury acting up again?"
Seeing Chen Ye standing stiffly like struck by lightning, Qin Jiaming hurriedly approached with concern, reaching out her fair hand to check his pulse.
"Don’t touch me!"
Chen Ye stepped back, avoiding the girl’s hand.
In his Sea of Consciousness, the Star of Suppression shook, and the pain in his Divine Soul was unbearable.
"Wait... could this be inside my memory? And the Bai Li she spoke of, could he be Bai Susu’s father?"
Clenching his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, Chen Ye suddenly raised his head, fixing his gaze on the worried Qin Jiaming ahead.
"Big brother, what’s really wrong? Don’t scare me..."
Qin Jiaming looked at Chen Ye, drenched in sweat and eyes fearful, seeming frightened, timidly stepping back a little, clutching the corner of her clothes tightly.
Chen Ye forcibly activated the Star of Suppression in his Divine Soul, suppressing the pain.
His frosty stare gradually softened.
"If this is indeed sealed memory, blindly resisting may prevent unlocking the truth of my past amnesia forever."
Chen Ye’s thoughts raced.
What’s more, the "Brother Bai" in her words is likely Bai Susu’s father!
Unexpectedly.
He had interactions with Bai Li.
Back then, led astray by the so-called "Immortal Sect" to Qi Kingdom, what did he encounter?
What role did Bai Li play in it?
Why did he return to Yan Kingdom unscathed, yet know nothing about that past?
The answers seem likely to be found in this girl before him.
"Could it be... meeting Little Susu? This guy’s temperament must’ve been quite bad as a child..."
Chen Ye mused silently,
He smiled bitterly, rubbing his temple, speaking gently:
"Sorry, Jiaming... I suddenly had a severe headache and lost control of my emotions, did I frighten you?"
Hearing him call her name and his tone return to calm, Qin Jiaming sighed in relief, patting her chest, coming back closer.
"Whew— you scared me, I thought big brother was going to fall into demon rage!"
She rummaged through her Storage Bag, fetching a fragrant pill, handing it to Chen Ye,
"Here, this is the Solid Essence Pill Brother Bai gave us before, quickly eat it, it’s good for restoring Divine Sense."
Chen Ye glanced at the pill.
Solid Essence Pill.
Chen Ye was very familiar with it.
Lingyin Sect’s exclusive pill, supplied only to Inner Sect disciples for practice.
He took the pill, but actually wrapped it with Spiritual Power, pressing it under his tongue, sighing with a borrowed breath:
"Thank you. Jiaming, since we got separated from the other loose cultivators, and I can’t remember the past, where should we go next to find Brother Bai? The outskirts of Celestial Abyss just experienced an anomaly, probably not safe to stay long."
Seeing Chen Ye had let down his guard, Qin Jiaming’s eyes curved into crescents, pointing to a direction outside Broken Soul Gorge, saying:
"Big brother you truly don’t remember. We previously agreed with Brother Bai, if we encounter any trouble, we could go to Chouyun Pass to find him! Brother Bai seems to be a cultivator from Yan Kingdom too, but I wonder why such a master came to Qi Kingdom, bringing a little girl... Really strange."
Little girl?
Chen Ye pretended to have a headache: "Is that little girl blonde?"
Upon hearing this.
Qin Jiaming’s eyes lit up, delighted: "Big brother you remembered? Yes, that girl is blonde! Brother Bai calls her Susu, this child is really smart! Also, she has a particularly high talent, at a young age, her cultivation already exceeds ours!"
Uh...
Chen Ye earlier thought, would he have a chance to meet Little Susu.
Unexpectedly, it became true, he was indeed going to meet Little Susu.
However, there is one thing, that Chen Ye is quite concerned about, he unintentionally said:
"Oh? Is that so... but I can’t recall clearly, how old is that child now?"
"How old?"
Qin Jiaming frowned thoughtfully, considering seriously,
"Susu seems very mature for her age, I don’t know her exact age... Maybe six or seven years old?"
"Six or seven?"
Chen Ye squinted slightly.
Bai Li perished when Bai Susu was nine, by then he was already a Golden Core True Man.
And in "this world," Bai Susu is about six or seven years old, then Bai Li at this time, must be a late Foundation Establishment cultivator, probably reached the eighth or ninth layer.
Here comes the problem.
From Qin Jiaming’s words, it seems Bai Li had a friendly attitude towards Chen Ye and Qin Jiaming, casually gifting a valuable Solid Essence Pill, also claiming if they encounter trouble, they could seek his help.
If so...
Why would Chen Ye and Qin Jiaming risk their lives to the Celestial Abyss to find Yin Condensation Grass, accumulating spirit stones for smuggling back to Yan Kingdom?
Clearly they could ask Bai Li for help, yet chose to risk their lives coming here...