Chapter 81: So-Called Rebirth

What delighted her was that this piece of spirit soil had finally been found. What shocked her was that the person who found it was not her.

Everyone wanted destined opportunities and rare treasures, and Zhao Lan was naturally no exception. Because of that, she tried her hardest to persuade Lin Yuchu to trade with her.

But Lin Yuchu’s attitude was cold, hard, and resolute. He simply would not exchange it with her.

In the end, Lin Yuchu was so annoyed by her pestering that he spoke directly in a cold voice. “This is something given to me by a friend. I cherish it in my heart and will not hand it over to another.”

“If I gave it away, wouldn’t that be ruining a friend’s kind intentions?” Lin Yuchu said.

Zhao Lan was instantly left speechless by his words.

The young sword cultivator seated in front of the stall, however, raised his head and looked at him with interest, thinking, Since when did I become your friend?

That said, the upturned corners of the youth’s mouth and the smile on his face were very honest indeed!

Clearly, he found Lin Yuchu’s talk of friendship very pleasing.

Seeing that Lin Yuchu’s attitude was firm and that he refused to yield, Zhao Lan, though unwilling in her heart, could only give up. She comforted herself inwardly. This was fine too. As long as Zhao Zhao did not get it, everything was fine. In any case, this youth was a sword cultivator. He posed no threat to her.

After comforting herself like this, she raised her head and showed Lin Yuchu, who stood before her, a somewhat apologetic expression. “I was too fixated on it. Please forgive me, fellow Daoist.”

Hearing this, Lin Yuchu glanced at her and said in a faint voice, “It is no matter.”

Hearing him say this, and seeing that the expression on his face also showed no concern and that no grudge had been formed, Zhao Lan immediately let out a breath in relief. It was better to form a connection than to make an enemy. Zhao Lan was not someone who easily made enemies with others. This time, she had truly been dazzled by greed and desire, which was why she had acted so rashly.

But she did not regret it. Even if she were given another chance, she would still fight for it in the same way.

After taking leave of Lin Yuchu, Zhao Lan turned and left.

Yet after she had only walked a few steps, she heard the people behind her speak.

“No matter how I look at this, it’s just mud that has nothing special about it except that it’s strange. Or is it that my eyes are too poor, and I don’t recognize treasure? Lin Yuchu, did you figure out anything about it?”

The moment she heard the three words “Lin Yuchu,” Zhao Lan, who had turned to leave, felt her heart leap. Shock abruptly seized her.

“No. Gu Chun, if you’re really curious, do you want to reach out and pinch it? It’s quite soft.” The youth who had been speaking with her for a long while just now opened his mouth in a cool, clear, indifferent voice.

“!!!!!” Zhao Lan.

The moment she heard the name Gu Chun, Zhao Lan’s entire heart began pounding wildly.

Lin Yuchu. Zhao Lan!

Were these two not, not…

The Rain Emperor, who unified Divine Continent and proclaimed himself emperor, and the ruler of the Sword Path, Taichu Sword Master!

With her back turned toward Lin Yuchu, Gu Chun, and the others behind her, Zhao Lan’s whole face instantly went deathly pale.

Her entire body stiffened. Her limbs and hands and feet went cold.

Her whole person went limp and powerless.

She began desperately recalling every word of the conversation she had just had with the Rain Emperor, over and over again, not letting go of a single detail or phrase, confirming that she had not offended him…

Regret. At this moment, Zhao Lan began to regret it.

She regretted it endlessly.

She had still been too rash. Her actions had not been thorough enough and had lacked consideration.

Ever since her rebirth, she had still been too eager for quick success and instant benefit. Everything else was still fine, but if she offended someone she should not offend, not only would she be unable to protect herself, she might even implicate the Zhao family.

“Senior Lu, do you know where there is any blood-tear stone?”

Another sentence came from behind her.

At this moment, Zhao Lan, whose entire person was dazed and whose mind was in utter chaos, heard this and found a bitter sort of amusement in her heart. It couldn’t possibly get worse than this, could it? That Senior Lu could not possibly be Shura Sword Emperor Lu Qingyuan, right?

Her luck couldn’t be that good… hahaha.

Zhao Lan, who was doing her utmost to calm herself down, hurriedly quickened her steps and left in haste, looking so frightened and rushed that it was as if there were ghosts behind her.

After learning that those three people were Lin Yuchu, Gu Chun, and someone suspected to be Shura Sword Emperor Lu Qingyuan, Zhao Lan completely gave up. She did not dare have any more thoughts about that piece of spirit soil. She only prayed that the Rain Emperor, as a great person, would not hold the faults of a lowly person against her, would forget about an ordinary, insignificant ant like her, and would not remember her!

Zhao Lan was still young. It had not been easy to be reborn once. She did not want to kick the bucket so early!

Behind her, Lin Yuchu, who was currently lowering his head and saying something to Gu Chun and Lu Qingyuan, seemed to sense something. He raised his head and glanced ahead at Zhao Lan’s frightened back as she hurried away.

A thoughtful look appeared on his face.

…

Zhao Lan’s strangeness was something Lin Yuchu, Lu Qingyuan, and Gu Chun could all detect. It could be said that as long as one’s eyes were not blind, one would notice that her conduct was odd.

It was just that ordinary people would not think of something as fantastical and inconceivable as rebirth.

But these ordinary people naturally did not include the Immortal Lords of the Immortal Alliance, who had likewise been reborn, and not merely reborn.

The Immortal Lords of the Immortal Alliance, who had never relaxed their attention on Lin Yuchu, naturally learned at the first possible moment of what had happened at the sword cultivator trade fair.

After hearing their subordinate’s report, the seasoned and experienced Immortal Lords of the Immortal Alliance immediately understood what was going on with Zhao Lan.

“Another person who, because of the cycle starting over again, was affected by it and retained memories from the previous time that they should not have.”

Because the cycle had restarted again and again, there would always be some people with special soul traits who retained memories from the previous cycle.

However, the world’s cycle starting over again was the highest secret, or law, capable of causing the world’s destruction if it became known to the people of the world, meaning ordinary people.

Therefore, under the influence of the Heavenly Dao, these people would only think they had been reborn, and thus would be unable to perceive the truth of the world.

But…

“The occasion on which this young girl appeared was far too wrong. She actually encountered the Rain Emperor! With the Rain Emperor’s sharpness and vigilance, he has likely already become suspicious…”

The Immortal Lords of the Immortal Alliance spoke with faces full of worry.

There were not many people like Zhao Lan, who because of a special constitution retained part of the memories from the last cycle, and under the rules of the Heavenly Dao mistakenly believed themselves to have been reborn, but there were not few either. There were always some such special individuals.

But it was not a serious matter. They could not stir up any great waves.

If these “reborn people” behaved themselves, then so be it. For minor fusses, the Immortal Alliance, Divine Capital, Imperial Court… and the forces of all sides would all turn a blind eye and pretend they had not seen anything.

If they were not content with their place and wanted to cause trouble, if their actions crossed the line, then naturally someone would deal with them.

After so many cycles, the forces of all sides, such as the Immortal Alliance, were already familiar with such matters and possessed abundant experience in handling them.

But this time!

The reborn Zhao Lan had directly encountered the young Rain Emperor.

This was something no one had expected.

“The previous few times, the Rain Emperor nearly noticed it. This time, the flaw was exposed too early.”

The Immortal Lords of the Immortal Alliance were deeply worried, afraid that this time the young Rain Emperor would detect the truth of the world too early, and then end this cycle ahead of time.

However, compared to this cycle ending early, they were even more worried that the Rain Emperor would turn their own scheme against them…

And cause trouble to the skies.

Playing them all in the palm of his hand.

After all, the Rain Emperor was someone with a record!

Just as the Immortal Lords of the Immortal Alliance were full of worry, Immortal Venerable Yuquan came out to steady everyone’s hearts. “Do not panic. I feel things have not yet deteriorated to that point.”

“From my many years of being with the child Lin Yuchu and my understanding of his temperament, he is a cautious and proper person. Without irrefutable evidence, and before he has determined what the matter is, he will not lightly draw conclusions or take action,” Immortal Venerable Yuquan said.

Of course, once he determined something and made up his mind to do a certain thing, then even eight oxen could not drag him back.

There was no need to tell the Immortal Lords that, lest it increase the panic.

“With the situation now, though he has become suspicious, it is only suspicion,” Immortal Venerable Yuquan said.

Moreover…

With Immortal Venerable Yuquan’s understanding of the Rain Emperor, even if he learned the truth of the world’s cycle, he would not do the things everyone was worried about.

The Rain Emperor was not someone who, because he had been deceived, would take revenge on all living beings in this world. He would only act for the Dao and righteousness in his heart. He would not vent his anger for private grudges.

This was a fact that even the enemies who most disliked, were dissatisfied with, and even hated the Rain Emperor had no choice but to admit.

“For now, we should still go and strictly investigate those reborn people with abnormalities, and prevent them from approaching the Rain Emperor and exposing even more information,” Immortal Venerable Yuquan said.

Hearing this, the Immortal Lords of the Immortal Alliance felt that it was reasonable.

So they issued orders and began dealing with the matter.

…

Neither Zhao Lan, who had caused all this, nor Lin Yuchu, who at this moment was on the pleasure boat in Bright Moon Capital where sword cultivators had gathered, expected that such a minor episode would cause hidden tremors throughout the entire cultivation world.

The Immortal Alliance mobilized and secretly cleared away no small number of reborn people whose behavior was high-profile and whose morals were flawed.

Those people who had once thought they could rely on the advantage of their rebirth and foreknowledge to plunder wantonly, persecute people they had known in their previous lives, and commit evil, all fell and vanished overnight for various reasons.

Yet because these people were so tiny and insignificant, aside from the people beside them, no one discovered or noticed their disappearance or deaths.

The Immortal Lord presiding over this operation sighed and said, “To be able to retain memories from the cycle and be reborn is an enormous fortune and opportunity.”

“Yet these people did not know to cherish it. The moment they gained power, they forgot themselves, committed evil, and brought destruction upon themselves.”

Did they not see that the great figures of the Immortal Alliance, Divine Capital, Imperial Court… all kept their necks tucked in and behaved themselves?

Did they think the cycle starting over again came without a price?

Did they think the Heavenly Dao was dead?

The cycle starting over again was, in itself, a matter bound up with enormous karmic ties. The more one was a person reborn through the cycle, the more one ought to act low-key…

Some people understood this. Some people did not.

And those who did not understand and did not restrain themselves would only invite destruction.

As for Zhao Lan, who had triggered all this, ever since her rebirth she had always acted low-key, and her conduct had not crossed any major lines. The Immortal Alliance did not do much more to her.

The more one did, the more mistakes one made.

Zhao Lan had already met Lin Yuchu. If they did something to her now, it would only make the Rain Emperor even more suspicious.

They might as well do nothing.

…

Time moved back again, returning to the pleasure boat where the sword cultivators had gathered.

After Lin Yuchu, Gu Chun, and Lu Qingyuan finished browsing the trade fair on the second floor, they went up to the third floor.

They entered a small private room.

By the time they went in, Qin Chuan, Lou Qianxue, and Bai Luozhou were already inside.

Sensing movement at the door, Qin Chuan and the other two, who had originally been sitting quietly in the private room, immediately raised their heads and looked toward the doorway.

And Lin Yuchu and Gu Chun, who followed Lu Qingyuan inside, could not help showing surprise on their faces when they saw Qin Chuan and the other two inside the private room. They had not expected it to actually be these three.

Just two days ago, the four of them had still been fighting on the stage until they were like fire and water!

Although people said that on the stage they were opponents, and off the stage they were friends…

That was all nonsense!

Between rivals, it was not as simple as being friends. Hostility was unavoidable.

So Lin Yuchu and Gu Chun were even more surprised. This so-called mutual exchange among acquaintances was actually with these people.

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