Chapter 85: Cause and Effect

“So that Ocean of the Muses is the reincarnation of your senior brother, then?” Yi An had already guessed Li Qingshan's fate; otherwise, the Ocean of the Muses would not exist at all.

Shen Baiyu nodded, finally opening up, and continued, “Just when I was lost in confusion, your master Lingxuzi appeared. He said this whole matter began because of him, and he was willing to help. At that time, my first thought was to kill that old Daoist to vent my anger. But he was no weakling; if nothing had happened to my senior brother, there would not have been you now.”

Xuan Yangzi listened without objection, but his face was full of disdain. Demons truly live up to their name, even their actions are so domineering. Moreover, his master Lingxuzi was astonishingly talented; even if Shen Baiyu and her senior brother joined forces, they’d hardly gain the upper hand. Xuan Yangzi always had an inexplicable confidence in his master.

However, he did not reveal his true thoughts—provoking this demoness was a chilling prospect. Shen Baiyu, oblivious to his expression, continued, “No one understands the harm caused by that secret art better than I. Under its backlash, my senior brother’s situation was dire; he’d likely not last more than a few days. Though it broke my heart, I had to let him go to be reincarnated. Lingxuzi then insisted he wasn’t joking before—he truly had a way to help us.”

“At that moment, I had no other choice. Treating a dead horse as a living one, I chose to trust Lingxuzi. Fortunately, he did not disappoint me but actually produced a plan. The scene from that year remains vivid in my memory—the proposal was daring, yet feasible. Lingxuzi suggested that if my senior brother and I ever wished to meet again, we could only do so through his reincarnated self.”

“And the method of splitting the primordial soul was key. Whether human or demon, cultivators possess souls stronger than ordinary folk. By dividing my senior brother’s soul in two, then finding his reincarnated self and fusing them, his past memories would return as well.”

All these years, who could understand her pain? Since her senior brother’s departure, it was as if she’d lost something vital; she wandered aimlessly, almost despondent. Her master and senior brother were her only family in this world. Her brother’s misfortune left her unable to face her master again.

Yi An looked doubtful after hearing all this. “But in such a vast world, how did you determine the location and identity of your senior brother’s reincarnation?”

From Shen Baiyu’s previous actions, it was clear she had a specific purpose—targeting only scholars in Hangzhou. Fortunately, Ocean of the Muses kept a low profile; otherwise, it would not have dragged on so long.

“The Yuxu lineage is skilled in divination, as you well know. Unlike Xuan Yangzi’s meager talents, Lingxuzi truly excelled at divination—he could deduce affairs centuries into the future by reading a person’s fate. It was only by following his guidance that I finally found him.” Shen Baiyu’s expression grew somewhat resentful as she spoke.

In fact, she’d begun preparations decades ago, long before Ocean of the Muses was born. This matter was of utmost importance to her; nothing could compare to her senior brother, and she would not allow the slightest error.

Yet, what left her perplexed and frustrated was that, according to Lingxuzi’s instructions, she had not found her brother’s reincarnation before the provincial examination. Had Lingxuzi not already passed away, she would have grabbed his collar and demanded whether his calculations had failed, and if her brother’s reincarnation was not in Hangzhou at all.

At first, Shen Baiyu could handle things calmly. But as time grew urgent, she could no longer keep her composure. So she resorted to necessary measures—employing forbidden techniques and coercion, bringing suspicious scholars to her side for testing. If they were not the one, she simply erased their memories.

Of course, this applied to ordinary people. When she met Yi An, such measures were unnecessary, as he too was a cultivator, with nothing to hide.

Even so, she had always returned empty-handed. She spared no one of renown among the scholars; anyone with talent she tested, in case Lingxuzi’s divination was slightly off.

She followed the principle of “better to kill a thousand by mistake than to let one slip through.” She estimated she’d examined hundreds of scholars throughout the Hangzhou region.

The scholarly pursuit of fame was well known, and under its influence, Shen Baiyu fell into the trap of targeting only famous individuals, neglecting the truly gifted. She never imagined that among scholars there would be someone like Ocean of the Muses, who cared nothing for fame or fortune.

Ordinarily, he hid his talents, but at critical moments, he astonished everyone.

“So that’s how it is. Daoist, when you have time, could you divine my future as well?” Yi An suddenly understood; everything made sense now.

At the same time, he glanced at Xuan Yangzi. He hadn’t expected the old Daoist, who seemed unreliable, to possess such skills. Though not as adept as his master Lingxuzi, who could see centuries ahead, being able to glimpse even a few years was worthwhile.

“Uh…” Xuan Yangzi was speechless for a moment. This youngster always managed to touch on his sore spots. The divination art he took pride in had failed him when it came to Yi An, making him wonder if the boy was deliberately trying to annoy him.

“Recently, I cast a divination for myself and found it’s not an auspicious time for such things. Sorry, perhaps in the future, I’ll make it up to you,” Xuan Yangzi said with a smile.

Who could understand the bitterness behind that smile? Since meeting this boy, he hadn’t had a single comfortable day. Even his rock-solid Dao heart had begun to waver.

Petty, Yi An thought to himself, full of silent mockery.

He couldn’t even be bothered to expose Xuan Yangzi’s weak excuses.