After the Sword Qi scattered the mud and sand, Chen Changsheng saw a Stone Gate appear.

There were several words carved into this Stone Gate.

【One】【Two】【Three】【Four】…【Nine】【Ten】

Below these were two more words:

【Life】【Death】

Chen Changsheng paused for a moment as he looked at the characters from One to Ten.

This Stone Gate was a bit…

The Black Pagoda spoke next. “Press the ‘ten’, then the ‘one’, then the ‘three’ again. Finally, press ‘death’. That will open it. Don’t push anything else. This door should have an Arcane Spell or Formation Array. Back when that Monster brought me out, I saw plenty of corpses piled outside this gate.”

“Thirty-three?” Chen Changsheng paused. This reminded him of those small words he saw inside the Fate Stone. Could there be a connection?

The Black Pagoda said, “Now that was a pretty interesting secret code.”

Chen Changsheng thought deeply for a moment, his mind drifting.

He snapped back to reality. “Is it that simple?”

“I thought the same thing,” said the Black Pagoda. “But yes, it really is.”

Chen Changsheng said nothing more. He reached out and pressed the ‘three’, then ‘three’ again, finally pressing the ‘death’ character. The Stone Gate before him slowly swung open.

“Rumble…”

The Stone Gate slid upward. Inside, a Formation Array sealed the space, blocking all dust and dirt from the outside world.

Chen Changsheng looked past the open gate. Suddenly, this place felt familiar, as if he’d walked here before.

He hesitated briefly, then stepped inside.

The moment he entered the Formation Array, the scene before him spun completely.

Light poured down from above. Tilting his head back, he saw a vast sky overhead, a bright sun hanging high, flooding the space with illumination.

Spread before Chen Changsheng was an ancient, elegant mansion courtyard.

Lanterns glowed brightly on both sides. Directly ahead stood a white wall, about two meters tall, built over water. Dark tiles covered its top, and its edge formed a rolling wave design.

Centered within it was a red arch moon gate, slightly ajar. Above the gate, a black plaque bore two characters: “Southern Garden”.

The Black Pagoda said, “She died right there.”

Chen Changsheng walked into the courtyard.

Inside sat a rocking chair. Beside it, a table held several books. They weren’t neatly stacked, as if someone had flipped through them before leaving them scattered like useless junk.

The doors to all the inner rooms hung open. Inside and out, everything looked rummaged through. Several windows were even smashed.

“It used to be very orderly here,” commented the Black Pagoda. “But after that Badger Demon went crazy digging and tearing the place apart, well… you see it.”

“Did that Badger Demon,” Chen Changsheng asked, “take anything away?”

“When Yu Xuan first settled here,” replied the Black Pagoda, “she brought next to nothing. No talk of inheritance or legacies. Magical Artifacts, Immortal Swords… nothing really. The only somewhat unique thing was me, and even then, she just wanted to trap me inside that pagoda.”

Hearing this, Chen Changsheng began a careful inspection of the yard.

He approached the table beside the rocking chair and picked up the books lying there for a look.

‘The Romance of the Western Chamber’, ‘Book of Songs’, ‘The Book of Plainness’…

The Black Pagoda threw a quick glance. “Those books weren’t much use. Though she did seem fond of reading them back then. She carried them all the way when she first arrived.”

Chen Changsheng held the books thoughtfully. “These books…”

“Just miscellaneous reading,” the Black Pagoda dismissed. “Utterly insignificant.”

Chen Changsheng’s thoughts stumbled.

To his knowledge, this world had no ‘Romance of the Western Chamber’. Neither did it have a ‘Book of Songs’. Even ‘The Book of Plainness’ did not belong to this place.

If he had to find an explanation… these books probably flowed from his own hand.

It seemed meeting and knowing her truly happened long ago.

Otherwise, the existence of these books simply couldn’t be accounted for.

Chen Changsheng neatly stacked the books back on the table. He then began exploring deeper inside the residence.

He reached the door to the inner chamber. Pushing the slightly opened door, he entered.

Decorative pieces stood placed around the room, but their slight displacement suggested someone had picked them up previously, just placing them back almost exactly where they’d found them.

The bedding on the bed looked fresh and new, though it too showed signs of being disturbed.

The inner chamber felt plain. Furniture, bedding—all in subdued, unpatterned colors. Strikingly bright items were few and far between.

Chen Changsheng asked, “Did anyone actually live in this room?”

The Black Pagoda replied, “No. She usually stayed in the Side Room.”

“Not the master chamber, but the smaller Side Room?” Chen Changsheng was perplexed.

“I don’t know why,” admitted the Black Pagoda. “She never spoke of it. She’d mostly just sit here reading those books. Very rarely did she offer much conversation.”

Chen Changsheng scanned the inner chamber thoroughly. Nothing helpful revealed itself.

He proceeded toward the Side Room.

Stopping briefly at its entrance, he finally stepped in.

The Side Room was also starkly simple. A faint scent of grasses and plants lingered. Yet, just like before, he discovered nothing of significance.

“Could she genuinely have left nothing behind…”

Chen Changsheng murmured to himself.

The Black Pagoda dredged its memory. “Honestly… it didn’t seem like she left much at all…”

Chen Changsheng shook his head, frustration lightly tapping. He moved to the next room: the study.

The study held bookshelves stacked with scrolls, paintings, volumes. Without exception, clearly mundane objects.

Compared to the other rooms, this one screamed chaos. Some scrolls lay scattered across the floor. Books had fallen from shelves, pages tumbling over one another.

The Black Pagoda explained, “That Badger Demon spent forever rummaging here. Found absolutely nothing. Threw such a fit he actually smashed the windows.”

Chen Changsheng approached, stooping down to gather a few books.

Most volumes tackled philosophy, classics—plainly ordinary books with nothing exceptional. Next, scattered paintings, calligraphy scrolls. To a greedy Badger Demon, mere trash.

Chen Changsheng’s gaze lifted, landing on a Landscape Painting hanging on the study wall.

His focus fixed. He drew near the painting and halted.

At first glance, basic mountain-water scenery. But nestled within the brushstrokes, Chen Changsheng spotted a tiny figure.

He carefully unhooked the painting for closer study.

Set among painted cliffs, a solitary figure stood, gazing toward drifting clouds and winding rivers. Yet the form remained indistinct—a single, faint ink stroke.

Beside the figure flowed delicate calligraphy:

‘In this life, three things alone held love: mountains and rivers, Immortal Sword, and the person in this painting. But mountains and rivers shift with time. Immortal Swords cannot endure forever. And the painted person… remains out of reach.’

Black Pagoda noted, “Ah, that painting she left behind.”

“I watched her make it,” it continued. “She truly understood nothing about ink painting art. Not even a hint of deeper meaning.”

Chen Changsheng rolled the Scroll Painting gently. “I actually find quite a charm in it.”

The Black Pagoda snorted. “What standards are you judging by?”

Chen Changsheng only waved dismissively, choosing not to engage. He rehung the painting. His steps then carried him finally back into the courtyard.

He sank onto the waiting rocking chair. This entire search proved fruitless. Disappointment settled heavily.

“To come all this way and leave empty-handed…”

A sigh whispered internally within Chen Changsheng. His eyes drifted towards the books left atop the table. Pausing thoughtfully, his hand reached out…

Suddenly, the Black Pagoda’s voice broke the stillness. “So… what exactly was your relationship with her?”

Chen Changsheng jolted back to the present. Realization dawned: he himself struggled to define what bound him to Yu Xuan.

“I…”

“I should count as someone she once knew.”