“Watch your mouth,” Jia Chiying scolded. “Don’t go around calling the Young Lord a fool. If His Excellency hears you, he’ll grind your bones into dust.”

Nie Chenhui shuddered. He glanced around. “But don’t you all find it odd?”

“Of course, we do!” Wen Yuqing said. “We just…have to wait and see. If the Young Lord truly is…you know…then, we’ll act.”

“Until then, let’s not jump to any conclusions,” Zhao Cuihong said. “It’s fine if you all don’t care about a child’s safety, but at least worry about incurring His Excellency’s wrath.”

The remaining four Saints nodded.

“Ah!”

“Huh!?” the four Saints looked at Wen Yuqing.

“We have to go back! The one we left with the Young Lord is Ling Tong!” Wen Yuqing exclaimed.

The five Saints remained frozen in shock for a moment before they hurried back to the Western Wing, where the Young Lord resided.

The small boy stared at the strange girl, who had been silently watching him for the past hour. He shifted uncomfortably. His hands kneaded the comforter that kept him warm and he glanced uneasily at the unblinking girl again.

“Jiejie, do you know when Father is coming back?” Ge Nianlan timidly asked.

Ling Tong shook her head. “No.”

“Um…then, do you know when Zhao-jie is coming back?” Ge Nianlan asked.

“No.”

“Um…what about…my biaoge?” Ge Nianlan tried again.

“No.”

Ge Nianlan wiggled uncomfortably. “Then, jiejie, can you take me to the restroom?”

“Just use the pot,” Ling Tong said. She pointed to the pot at the corner of the room without any sign of leaving.

Ge Nianlan followed her finger and gulped. “I think…I think I can wait…”

The fear that had propelled him to need to relieve himself had subsided significantly after he had grasped his surroundings. Although he still wasn’t sure about all the memories in his mind, he was more certain that he was indeed the ten-year-old version of himself. He was the most comfortable with this thought. But another part of him was also confused. How was he like before? And why did he feel like he had just woken up from a long, muddled dream?

He glanced at Ling Tong once more. “Jiejie, what’s your name?”

“Ling Tong.”

“Ling-jiejie,” Ge Nianlan called out with a sweet smile.

Ling Tong observed him silently. “You weren’t like this before.”

Ge Nianlan tilted his head curiously. “What was I like before?”

“A fool.”

Ge Nianlan felt like a large stone fell from the ground and crashed onto his head. How could you be so blunt to a child!? Well…was it okay if the other party was also a child?

However, from the external memories that had been shoved into Ge Nianlan’s head, this girl was not actually a child! In fact, she was a puppet turned yao! The Python Saint of Black Mane Palace! In Ge Nianlan’s fuzzy memories, Ling Tong had little presence, but he did know that Ling Tong was constantly by his side, watching over him until the bad things started to happen.

And when the bad things happened, Ling Tong was nowhere to be seen. Ge Nianlan wasn’t sure what happened, but when he looked at Ling Tong’s face, he felt a deep sorrow within him.

“Ling-jiejie.”

“Don’t call me that.”

“Do you protect me?” Ge Nianlan asked curiously.

Ling Tong thought about it for a moment. “If His Excellency orders me to.”

Ge Nianlan let out a soft hum. “Then, if Father told you not to protect me, then you won’t?”

“That wouldn’t happen.”

“Why?”

“Because His Excellency has told me to always protect you,” Ling Tong replied confidently.

“Always?” Ge Nianlan asked.

“Always.”

Ge Nianlan realized why he felt so sad then. If Ling Tong didn’t appear after all the bad stuff happened, it probably meant that she had died in a place that Ge Nianlan didn’t even know about. The theory made his head hurt again. He doubled over. His hands gripped his head as cold sweat beaded against his back. He heard Ling Tong stand and then felt a hand against his back.

A cool stream of energy flowed into his system. It eased the pain in Ge Nianlan’s brain, but at the same time, it stirred up new memories. The memories crashed against the walls of Ge Nianlan’s mind, threatening to break them down. A part of Ge Nianlan knew that if that were to happen, he would be gravely injured. After all, these were memories of several decades. Ge Nianlan had already taken in a great chunk of them. If he took in anymore, he wasn’t sure if he would be able to handle it.

“Ling Tong!”

The doors burst open at that moment and five people came barreling in.

The puppet jing released Ge Nianlan and looked at the new arrivals with a rare spark of confusion.

“Ling…Ling Tong,” Wen Yuqing awkwardly choked out. She glanced at Ge Nianlan, who was keeled over. “Everything okay?”

“He’s in pain. I was trying to ease the pain like Master does, but it isn’t working,” Ling Tong explained.

“That’s because the Young Lord is a child who hasn’t cultivated,” Nie Chenhui explained. “Obviously, it wouldn’t work on him.”

Hasn’t cultivated?

For some reason, the sentence made Ge Nianlan irritated. A part of him wanted to lash out, but what reason would he have? At this point, he truly hadn’t cultivated. However…did that mean that, in the future, he also won’t have cultivation? Was that why the intruding memories taught him to react so negatively?

“Young Lord,” Zhao Cuihong knelt down beside Ge Nianlan. “Young Lord, can you hear me?”

Ge Nianlan glanced at Zhao Cuihong. The moment he saw the man’s face, his expression pinched slightly. His gaze flickered up to Jia Chiying. The pain grew so intense that he wanted to yell out.

Horrendous images flashed through his mind of the two people. Some showed their severed heads while others showed scenarios of them together or apart. No matter what it was, it was all horrible. They were either dead or suffering. It was as if these were the fates they would endure because they were allied with someone as useless as Ge Nianlan.

Thoughts that weren’t his bashed into his mind, confusing him until he wanted to lash out. He felt multiple hands on him, but when he screamed again, everyone quickly stepped back.

The six Saints watched as Ge Nianlan slowly calmed himself back down until the boy was only sitting silently with a heaving chest. He slowly turned his gaze to the remaining four behind Zhao Cuihong and Ling Tong. He slowly accepted the information that poured into his mind with a bit more familiarity and less frustration.

However, after receiving such information, his mind remained confused.

“Young Lord,” Wen Yuqing softly spoke. “Are you okay?”

Ge Nianlan nodded listlessly. A moment later, he spoke.

“Where is the book that I read?” Ge Nianlan asked.

The Saints glanced at each other.

“Young Lord, that thing was a cursed artifact, meant to hurt you and His Excellency. After you collapsed, His Excellency already destroyed it,” Guan Yongqin said.

“Destroyed it?” Ge Nianlan echoed.

The boy fell into a daze. The Saints glanced at each other nervously.

“Young Lord, whatever you saw in the artifact isn’t real,” Zhao Cuihong gently said. “Just treat it as a bad nightmare.”

But how could Ge Nianlan treat it as a bad nightmare if his heart and his mind tells him that everything was real. He sat uncomfortably on his bed and slowly nodded.

He looked up at the Saints. “I’m tired. Can I rest?”

Zhao Cuihong immediately nodded. The Saints stepped back and bowed.

“Rest well, Young Lord. If you need anything, do not hesitate to call for us,” Zhao Cuihong said.

Ge Nianlan watched the six people file out. Once he was alone, he slowly stood and walked over to his desk. He pulled out paper, grinded ink, and brought out his brush. He stared at the blank sheet of paper for a long time before he started writing.

In his muddled memories, he does not know how to write. For whatever reason, his father had deemed him unsuited for learning. Despite being the only heir in the Ge Clan, he was not given a tutor. In normal circumstances, people might think that his father was trying to thwart him, but no one seemed to think that way. But after waking up, Ge Nianlan could now read and write—not only that, he could do it quite well.

He stared at the words that came from his brush and paused.

The cursed artifact followed him from two months old until his untimely death, at twenty-two.

That’s right. According to the cursed artifact, Ge Nianlan will only live two decades.