Capítulo 1012: Chapter 828: The Delicious Taste of Freeloading

“Where is this?”

Zhao Changhe came to his senses, finding himself standing atop a mountain ridge that seemed somewhat familiar. Below lay the surging river, steadily flowing eastward.

Turning his head, he saw a fairy in white standing close by, also gazing down at the river. Her robes fluttered, her eyes were hazy, and her beauty was peerless.

Both familiar and unfamiliar. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

Familiar because he had just seen her in the stone wall painting… or rather, moments ago he was teasing her while she was bound in chains, and at that time she was deceiving herself by closing her eyes, letting him be frivolous.

Unfamiliar because she had been surrounded by demonic intent, her vicious energy barely concealed; that wasn’t her true self. What he saw through the Soul Capturing Mirror or the Qinghe Sword was only a distant view, a dreamlike visage.

This was the first time he saw her true appearance up close, not the childish face of Yangyang, but the fully matured Yangyang with added ethereal beauty, breathtakingly beautiful.

Piaomiao.

He wondered if the Piaomiao he knew was sucked into the Soul Capturing Mirror with him, or if he had encountered the Piaomiao of Ancient Times. If the latter, they were strangers, which posed a problem.

As if sensing his gaze, Piaomiao’s eyes lifted from the river below, glancing at him with a complicated expression: “This place… you should have been familiar with it.”

Zhao Changhe exhaled, realizing that this was indeed the Piaomiao he knew. It seemed she was the one who tried to save him and got pulled in, and he vaguely heard her shouting, “Zhao Changhe, be careful!”

Shaking off the strange feeling in his heart, Zhao Changhe replied, “It does seem somewhat familiar, but I can’t recall where. Could it be that I saw it in the Mountain and River Atlas at some point and didn’t pay attention?”

“This is Beimang, the place where you once lived.”

“But the Beimang I know doesn’t have a river…” Zhao Changhe was saying when he suddenly realized, “This is Ancient Beimang!”

“That’s right, the river is the Luo River,” Piaomiao said. “This is the land of the Central Plains; the mountain is where emperors are laid to rest, and it’s a gathering place for Human Realm Dragon Energy. I was born from the Luo River and made it my home.”

“No wonder it feels familiar. I’ve actually seen you here several times… even bathed here… uh…” Zhao Changhe paused mid-sentence. It was strange; he could easily make teasing remarks toward the demonic and violent Piaomiao, but not toward the normal Piaomiao.

Her aura made such comments feel disrespectful.

Stealing a glance at Piaomiao, her expression was still somewhat complex, but she said nothing.

Zhao Changhe quickly changed the topic: “It seems your state of demonization is lifted.”

“Mm.”

“Thank you for trying to save me just now.”

“…There’s no need to say that,” Piaomiao said casually. “Besides, I didn’t actually succeed, and now it seems we have an even bigger problem.”

Zhao Changhe looked around, puzzled: “We were drawn in by the stone wall, which is the Soul Capturing Mirror, so why are we in Beimang and the Luo River?”

“Because you kept saying you only wanted to lift the cause of the demonization, but your subconscious still wanted to resolve the grievances between me and Ye Wuming, and the Soul Capturing Mirror revealed the truth in your heart…” Piaomiao calmly responded. “And so did I. Though I claimed I was tracing the moment of demonization, how could I not want to see Ye Wuming in my heart?”

“This thing can traverse time and space?”

“We are the ones traversing time and space,” Piaomiao sighed. “It merely helped us locate the place we wished to go.”

Zhao Changhe: “…”

Finished. If this is true, it seems there’s no way to return. My causal path has been disrupted, which means I’m lost…

Lost in the long river of time and space, which would be troublesome.

No, there is a way. Find the Soul Capturing Mirror of this era, that should be the way back… but that seems to be in the Heavenly Realm, and we’re in the Human Realm here.

“Do you know how to get to the Heavenly Realm?” Zhao Changhe asked.

Piaomiao remained silent, lost in thought.

Zhao Changhe knew: “I advise against tampering with any causality. Honestly… going after Ye Wuming now, you’d probably lose, and so would I. I suggest we head straight for the way back without interfering with past events, as the ensuing chaos is unpredictable.”

Piaomiao stayed silent for a while, then softly said, “What if I disrupt her plans?”

Zhao Changhe considered it. Currently, both he and Piaomiao were only divine souls here, with no Heavenly Book or protective eyes. Ye Wuming might indeed be unaware of their presence, so secretly causing some disruption might actually work.

Having read many novels and watched films involving time-space interference, Zhao Changhe dared not gamble on what interference would lead to. You see, merely altering the causality of demonization led to this mess—what if it were more severe? People could die. If the world line changed significantly, returning to find familiar people vanished would lead to much regret.

But the Soul Capturing Mirror revealed the truth… In his subconscious, he indeed wanted to help Piaomiao resolve this grievance, which was why he was brought here. Doing nothing would contradict his heart’s desire.

Seeing him ponder, Piaomiao said, “At this moment, I’m forging a sword beneath the water. On the day the sword is completed, the sky will shatter. You and I have very little time to make a choice.”

Zhao Changhe suddenly clapped his hands: “That’s right, there might be something we can do. It’d be greatly beneficial to us, wouldn’t change any causality, and might let you vent a little, taking some interest.”

Piaomiao curiously asked, “What?”

Zhao Changhe grinned: “Since the Soul Capturing Mirror is in the Heavenly Realm, we’re destined to go there. Since we’re already here, how about stealing the lotus platform from Ye Wuming’s palace?”

Piaomiao’s eyes brightened slightly, and for the first time, her face, which rarely showed emotion, revealed a hint of delight akin to Yangyang’s.