Chapter 51: I Am Not Me, Nor Are You Yourselves

Chen Changsheng emerged from that space.

When he opened his eyes again, he saw the Old Dragon King already waiting for him in the same spot.

The Old Dragon King wore a faint, cryptic smile. Seeing this, Chen Changsheng spoke up. “Dragon Lord, may I ask why you brought me here today?”

The Old Dragon King simply said, “You are the chosen one. Only can you pass beyond this gate.”

Chen Changsheng furrowed his brows, lost in thought.

He couldn’t understand what connection the Old Dragon King had with Nezha from the thick fog, something that terrified him so much. The Old Dragon King he’d seen before wasn’t like this.

Chen Changsheng then asked, “Dragon Lord, what past relationship exists between you and the Third Prince?”

But the Old Dragon King replied, “You need not ask me, Mr. Chen. I have no knowledge of the rest.”

Chen Changsheng understood immediately. “Also something you cannot say?”

“I see.”

It seemed no answers would come.

It felt as though a thick mist had enveloped the entire truth, purposely hiding it from him.

Nezha had said he wasn’t fully himself yet.

Chen Changsheng remembered the texts on the altar.

“Bound Deities: Chapter Two”

If there was a Chapter Two, there must be other chapters too. Meaning, what he knew now was just a part.

Where were the others then…

Chen Changsheng turned to look at the Stone Gate behind him.

The gate had changed. Its runes were now scattered and chaotic, devoid of their former divine aura.

Most likely, re-entering was impossible.

The Old Dragon King asked Chen Changsheng’s intentions, initially offering hospitality at the Dragon Palace. But burdened with too many thoughts, Chen Changsheng had no mind to stay. After explaining, the Old Dragon King didn’t press him and let him leave.

After leaving the Tongtian River,

Chen Changsheng headed back to Autumn Moon Market.

During the journey, he kept pondering the words of Nezha and the Old Dragon King.

There were too many puzzling points.

The more Chen Changsheng recalled, the more he felt not a single word had been true.

The Flowing Cloud Temple was utterly quiet.

“Mr. Chen?”

Xuan Huang sat in the courtyard. He thought Mr. Chen had already left, so he was surprised to see him return at sunset.

Chen Changsheng answered, “Just rest; don’t mind me.”

Chen Changsheng then walked into the Library Pavilion.

Seeing the troubled look on Chen Changsheng’s face, Xuan Huang dared not ask questions.

Once inside the pavilion, Chen Changsheng closed the door.

He took a deep breath, steadying himself.

One thing was certain to Chen Changsheng: he had definitely forgotten some things.

Perhaps, in this world, he had existed for far longer than a mere hundred years.

So why, after whatever happened, had all those memories vanished?

Suddenly, Chen Changsheng paused, recalling the Divine Decrees that bound deities.

He drew the sword from his back, swung it gently, summoning Magical Power from its blade.

“Through my Daoist Arts, I bind the deities!”

“I summon, Third Prince Nezha!”

At the decree, a figure suddenly appeared before Chen Changsheng.

It was the Third Prince Nezha seen at the Lotus Pond.

The Third Prince held a long Spear. Light shimmered from the silk knot atop his head. He wore a water-patterned robe cinched with dragon and tiger designs. Fire seemed to burn in the depths of his eyes.

“Third Prince Nezha greets you, master.”

Chen Changsheng was stunned. He stared at Nezha before him. “What exactly are you?”

Third Prince Nezha tilted his head in confusion. “I am Nezha. Why ask such a question, master?”

Chen Changsheng looked the figure up and down once more. “A Dharma Form?”

It felt like a Dharma Form, yet also wrong—this Nezha clearly possessed its own Divine Sense.

Chen Changsheng frowned, as if realizing something. “You are not the Nezha from the Lotus Pond.”

At these words, confusion filled Third Prince Nezha’s eyes. He seemed unable to grasp his master’s meaning.

“What do you mean, master?”

Chen Changsheng could sense it—this Nezha and the one seen at the Lotus Pond were not the same being.

Chen Changsheng lifted his sword again, channeling his Magical Power. He summoned another decree.

“Through my Daoist Arts, I bind the deities…”

“I summon, Yang Jian, True Lord Erlang of Guankou!”

As his voice faded, a transparent figure appeared before Chen Changsheng.

The figure stood eight feet tall, clad in silver armor. He gripped a three-pointed, double-edged spear. Ferocity burned in his gaze. A Black Dog trotted at his side.

“Yang Jian, answering your call!”

A flicker of astonishment crossed Chen Changsheng’s eyes.

These two beings before him—neither human nor god, neither spirit nor immortal—existed outside even the cycle of the Five Elements.

This…

Chen Changsheng had certainly studied some Daoist Arts texts, but he had never encountered anything so eerie.

“Is our Lord in danger?” Yang Jian inquired, holding his spear.

Chen Changsheng looked at Yang Jian. “I summoned you to ask something.”

Yang Jian sheathed his three-pointed spear. “Ask away, master.”

“Where do you come from?”

Yang Jian paused, seemingly unable to find an answer.

His reaction told Chen Changsheng all he needed to know.

“As expected… I am not yet fully myself. And you are not yet fully yourselves either…”

Chen Changsheng sighed deeply. Finding the truth now rested solely on his own shoulders.

He wondered intensely: What had he done during those lost memories? And who was he, truly?

Chen Changsheng swept his sleeve.

The figures of Third Prince Nezha and True Lord Erlang dissolved into nothingness.

Chen Changsheng lifted his gaze toward the window.

Today, the sky hung heavy and grey. Thin white fog drifted within the nearby Mountain Stream.

It all hinted that a heavy rain was coming.

Chen Changsheng knew in his heart that when he met Third Prince Nezha, he became a piece on a board—perhaps a player’s tool, or perhaps… the player himself!

“The mountain rain is coming…”

Chen Changsheng walked forward and shut the window of the Library Pavilion.

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He refused to dwell on these thoughts any longer. Returning to the bookshelf, he picked up a volume at random and began to read.

An odd resistance settled within him. He seemed unwilling to engage with these matters. He much preferred merely walking freely through the world.

He wanted no part of these great, looming things.

Yet…

This matter seemed beyond his control.