Chapter 59 Lost Lights

The dinner concluded amidst laughter.

Regardless of how much despair, dissatisfaction, grief, or anger might fester within, the ability to seamlessly blend into the surrounding atmosphere—to laugh when appropriate, to remain silent when necessary—is an indispensable skill for anyone navigating society.

Xie Shenhong, naturally, was no exception.

Moreover, his sister had fabricated the lie solely to spare him distress. Even if her intentions had backfired, he could never voice his suspicions or betray his feelings, thus rendering her good intentions meaningless.

Indeed, Xie Shenhong was precisely such a person, one whose rationality invariably outweighed his emotions.

Consequently, he was acutely aware that, despite his sister’s seemingly fabricated explanation, there remained a less than twenty percent chance of it being true.

Even if his sister had indeed lied, there was still a very low probability that the matter he truly feared in his heart was merely a misapprehension on his part.

Without absolute confirmation, one ought not to jump to conclusions.

It was akin to how he had repeatedly probed, ultimately confirming Lyte’s innocence… No, that analogy was flawed.

After all, he had no intention of conducting any probes this time.

He intended to cling to his ‘preconceived notions,’ steadfastly believing in the low-probability truth…

‘Am I not, then, merely evading?’

Once the two had departed, Xie Shenhong retreated to his room, unable to suppress a sigh.

Evasion was wrong; it resolved nothing.

Crucially, the fundamental purpose of evasion was merely to alleviate one’s own discomfort.

‘Truly, I claimed my feelings held no importance, yet here I am, contemplating evasion…’

Xie Shenhong offered a self-deprecating smile, his mind swiftly turning to his subsequent plan.

‘The first order of business is…’

He produced the golden pocket watch, hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to transform.

****

For Xie Shen’ai, the hours following dinner were typically quite bustling.

After her brother resumed his schooling, she had silently taken on household chores such as cleaning.

Though these tasks took but a fleeting moment under her already proficient wind magic, they were immediately followed by a series of activities including studying and chatting with friends on her phone… In essence, she found herself with not a single spare moment before bedtime.

However, Xie Shen’ai did not perceive this life as burdensome; rather, she found joy in it.

After all, this was the ‘everyday life’ she had painstakingly acquired.

Yet, this precious normalcy had, today, developed a fissure.

‘Oh dear… did I mess up?’

Inside the restroom, Xie Shen’ai replayed her performance at dinner, growing increasingly despondent with each recollection.

‘Brother… he must have seen through it, right?’

It was all her fault.

She had been too eager to express her gratitude to Li Tianming, so much so that the moment she saw him, she had greeted him without a second thought… Afterward, attempting to rectify the situation, she had blurted out a torrent of words that sounded utterly bizarre… ultimately forcing her brother to feign ignorance and plaster on a strained smile at what should have been a joyful gathering.

She felt utterly ridiculous, utterly inept.

After a while, Xie Shen’ai composed herself, maneuvered back into her wheelchair, and exited the restroom, preparing to carry out her cleaning duties as usual.

This was not due to a lack of sensitivity on her part, nor was her previous despondency merely an act.

Rather, she had always kept her brother’s teachings deeply ingrained in her heart: ‘Mere despondency solves nothing. We must reflect, act, and strive to amend everything; that is our true calling.’

Thus, all she could do was provide her brother with a clean and comfortable home, and meticulously fulfill the role of an obedient and well-behaved sister.

However, the moment she wheeled into the main hall, she froze entirely.

Someone was in the house.

With flowing, deep-sea colored hair, ruby-like eyes of breathtaking splendor, and opulent robes… the Saintess of this nation sat serenely in the hall, leisurely sipping tea.

The Xie family home, situated in a common villa district, appeared unassuming, yet it was protected by a barrier known as the ‘Stone Soldier Eight Formations.’ Without the master’s invitation, even a Duke of Combat could not gain entry.

Furthermore, the Vermillion Bird Grand Formation within the city could repel and isolate the arrival of a War Duke.

In other words, this person was… Xie Shen’ai was instantly at a loss for how to react.

After considerable thought, she decided to bow to the figure—

“Shen’ai, what troubles you?”

Upon hearing the voice, somewhat cool yet undeniably gentle, Xie Shen’ai paused, gazing at the Saintess’s exquisitely beautiful face for a prolonged moment before finally deciding to offer a smile filled with both nostalgia and profound emotion:

“I’m quite alright… It has merely been too long since I last saw my sister.”

****

‘As expected, Shen’ai already knew I could transform into Hai Zhu.’

Xie Hai Zhu exhaled a soft sigh inwardly, yet her face maintained an expression of overall composure, a faint smile playing upon her lips.

Indeed, after this transformation, it was still she, in her ‘fiery’ form, who controlled the body.

However, feigning the persona of her other, detached self was not particularly arduous.

The demeanor of that other self more closely aligned with how acquaintances perceived Hai Zhu.

There was even a possibility that the original Hai Zhu, up until five years ago, had always been that previous self.

From the very beginning, it had been ‘Xie Shenhong’ transforming into the Saintess Hai Zhu.

If this conjecture held true, then the peculiar attitudes people had always shown towards her could be readily explained.

Alas, she was ultimately not that previous self.

That previous self had long since dissipated, a casualty of the golden pocket watch’s price.

As for her, she was merely an interloper, a transmigrator who had unlawfully usurped this body.

Regrettably, others were unaware of her transmigrator status, nor could they inexplicably conceive of such a notion.

Thus, in their eyes, she had simply suffered amnesia, which accounted for her inability to recall anything about that previous self and explained the vast disparity between them.

Therefore, her sole course of action was—

“Indeed, it has been a long time, Shen’ai.”

Xie Hai Zhu approached and gently embraced Shen’ai.

The latter nestled into her embrace as if playfully seeking affection, only reluctantly releasing her after a considerable time.

Were it Xie Shenhong in his usual state, Shen’ai would never have so capriciously squandered his work time, nor would she have lingered in his arms for such an extended period.

This was not due to any notion of inappropriateness between an adult brother and sister.

Nor was it related to any embarrassment about being overly intimate with her brother.

It was simply because she was not the true ‘Xie Shenhong’.

After all, Shen’ai was a child who was remarkably ‘shy around strangers’.

Without the original owner’s guise, she would be an undeniable ‘stranger’.

Fortunately, however, she had inherited the original owner’s powers and could also transform into Hai Zhu.

Thus, if she merely pretended to gradually recover her memories, everyone would become cheerful.

Everyone would find happiness.

Except… no.

This was enough.

It was simply that everything had returned to its origin.

It was merely that everything had reverted to its former state.

If every individual was indeed bestowed a destiny by the divine.

Then her mission was to, as a mere puppet, fulfill the unaccomplished desires of this body’s original owner.

As for the puppet itself… it required nothing.

Nor was it worthy of possessing anything.

****

It took approximately twenty minutes before Xie Hai Zhu finally departed from the house.

Following the embrace, she had successfully convinced Shen’ai that she was only just beginning to recover, that many memories remained elusive, and that she would only appear ‘normal’ in her Hai Zhu form, yet everything was steadily improving.

Although she had always detested lying to her loved ones, the moment she witnessed Shen’ai’s joyful and expectant expression, she swiftly buried that unnecessary sentiment deep within her heart.

If it brought happiness to her loved ones, what harm was there in a small untruth?

Furthermore, this was hardly a malicious lie; as she gradually understood her past ‘self’ and her acting skills further refined… would it not eventually become the truth?

Acting on the thought, Xie Hai Zhu cast her now less clumsy concealment magic upon herself and flew towards Li Tianming’s location.

After discerning the relationship between the body’s original owner and the Saintess Hai Zhu, some of Li Tianming’s peculiar behaviors were consequently well-explained.

Most notably—

‘That fellow’s true mission… is likely to assist me in recovering my memories.’