The moment Jixian stopped, Qiguan Yuan was already in front of him.
The red dress fell in the wind like a red leaf drifting down from a height. Her silver hair, still carrying momentum, swayed in the air for a moment before slowly hanging down and clinging to her face.
Qiguan Yuan's eyes were half-closed, still with that lazy expression, but his fingers were already raised.
The Dust-Settling Red Cord flew off his wrist, the red thread shooting straight toward Jixian's neck.
That's too fast.
Jixian was able to cross this line before because Qiguan Yuan didn't have any magical powers back then.
Things are different now.
The red line carried a sharp edge, and the sound of it cutting through the air was piercing.
Jixian's pupils reflected that red line. He didn't flinch, knowing he couldn't escape it.
Just before the red thread was wrapped around his neck, he called out, " Qiguan Yuan!"
The red line stopped.
It's already against his skin; he can feel the warmth of the thread—it's cool, and now it feels very metallic.
Qiguan Yuan looked at him.
The red thread was still wrapped around Jixian's neck, the end hanging down and swaying gently in the wind. Qiguan Yuan didn't take it back, but tilted his head slightly.
Who are you?
Qiguan Yuan's voice was soft, and his tone was no different from usual, as if he were asking about something very ordinary.
"Don't you know that trespassing on someone else's territory is extremely rude?"
Jixian opened his mouth, but the red line on his neck made him swallow.
"I am the keeper of your Yue Lao Temple."
Qiguan Yuan glanced at him.
From head to toe, from the bald head to the ring of marks around the neck.
He sensed a faint but unmistakable Power of Marriage Power of Marriage emanating from Jixian.
If he is the guardian of the Yue Lao Temple, then he would indeed possess an extremely faint Power of Marriage.
Qiguan Yuan took back the Dust-Settling Red Cord, which slipped away from his neck and retracted onto Qiguan Yuan wrist.
Qiguan Yuan's expression remained unchanged.
Jixian rubbed his neck and breathed a sigh of relief.
It's normal that Qiguan Yuan doesn't recognize him.
Seeing Qiguan Yuan like this, Jixian knew that he still hadn't remembered anything.
Before Qiguan Yuan could ask, he had already expertly straightened his slightly disheveled monk's robe and said, "Come with me."
Jixian turned and walked away, his steps slow.
Qiguan Yuan watched his retreating figure and followed him.
The two walked through the corridor, passed through the moon gate, and arrived at the secluded courtyard at the back.
The courtyard was the same as when Qiguan Yuan woke up, with blue bricks paving the ground and a clump of bamboo rustling in the wind in the corner.
Jixian stopped at the entrance of the courtyard but did not go in.
"Go and check the marriage fortune slip by your pillow," Jixian said.
Qiguan Yuan glanced at him.
Jixian's face remained expressionless, offering no further explanation.
Qiguan Yuan didn't ask any further questions and pushed open the door to enter the room.
The windows were closed, so the light was dim.
The blankets on the bed were a bit messy. Qiguan Yuan sensed that someone had intruded into his territory, so he quickly rushed over.
The bed wasn't exactly tidy.
The pillow is placed at the head of the bed.
Two marriage fortune sticks, made of bamboo and tied with red string, were placed side by side on the white pillowcase.
Qiguan Yuan walked over, sat down on the edge of the bed, and picked up the first fortune stick.
The name written on the slip of paper Qiguan Yuan.
The characters are beautiful, with strength between the strokes, horizontal and vertical lines, and a slight retraction at the end of each stroke.
The handwriting looked familiar to him.
He put down the first one and picked up the second. This one had three words engraved on it.
Xiu Yun Yin.
The characters are small, but deeply engraved, with no hesitation between the strokes.
He flipped the slip over, and there were words engraved on the back as well.
It's another name.
Pei Yubai.
Qiguan Yuan stared at these three characters for a long time.
His hand twitched slightly.
Pei Yubai.
The name was like a pebble thrown into a lake, creating ripples. He couldn't recall much more, but the name wasn't a blank in his memory.
Who is Pei Yubai?
Qiguan Yuan placed the two fortune sticks side by side in his palm.
One was written by himself, and the other was carved by himself.
The handwriting on the first fortune slip wasn't his; it belonged to someone else.
Who can write his name?
Who would write his name so carefully?
Horizontal and vertical strokes, each stroke carefully executed, as if afraid of making a mistake.
That person's face surfaced from the depths of my memory, but it was blurry and indistinct.
He only remembered those eyes; when they looked at him, there was so much in them.
He looked at the name on the back again.
He put down the slips of paper, used his magic to sense the energy emanating from the two slips.
An aura that didn't belong to him lingered between the two fortune sticks, faint, like the coolness left after a breeze.
He followed the scent, probing deeper into the bamboo skewer from its surface, and the scent grew stronger and stronger.
It's the same person.
The aura emanating from both fortune sticks belongs to the same person.
Qiguan Yuan's hand tightened slightly.
Two names swirled in his mind: Xiu Yun Yin and Pei Yubai. Pei Yubai and Xiu Yun Yin.
The aura slowly spread in his palm, like a river flowing down from a high place, washing over all his memories.
Those blurry, blank, and obscured corners were all swept away by this scent.
He remembered.
He was looking for Yun Yin.
Pei Yubai is Xiu Yun Yin.
Qiguan Yuan stood up, took the two fortune sticks, and walked out of the room.
Jixian was still standing at the gate of the courtyard, not having left.
"What happened?" Qiguan Yuan looked at him. "I can't remember many things."
Jixian's gaze fell on the marriage fortune slips in his hand. Seeing that he was still holding those two slips, she knew that he had remembered something.
"You're thinking of Xiu Yun Yin?"
Qiguan Yuan nodded.
"Then you should remember that you came to the lower realm to find Xiu Yun Yin," Jixian said.
Qiguan Yuan nodded.
He could remember this; he could recall all his memories from before the Yun Yin disappeared.
Jixian looked at him for a while, then thought about where to begin and how to make sure he could understand.
"When Xiu Yun Yin in trouble, you stripped away your divine essence, stabilizing his soul and divine essence. Then you resigned from your post and descended to the mortal realm to find him."
Qiguan Yuan remained silent.
Jixian looked at him, knowing he was listening.
"An incomplete divine nature affects memory."
This explains why Pei Yubai has no memories of his time as Yun Yin.
His divinity was incomplete, his soul was incomplete, and he had no memories.
This has led Pei Yubai to still believe that Yun Yin is a scumbag who betrayed Qiguan Yuan.
As for Qiguan Yuan, because he separated his own divine essence while preserving a portion of Xiu Yun Yin's divine essence and soul, his memories were also affected.
After he was stripped of his divinity, his memories would disappear periodically.
Unlike Pei Yubai, Qiguan Yuan's soul is intact; he can leave behind some things to recall memories that are important to him.
Jixian paused, looking at Qiguan Yuan's expression.
Qiguan Yuan was sorting through his memories, but he was still listening to Jixian speak.
"Your memory will only last for sixty years. After sixty years, you will forget everything that happened in those sixty years."
"You will write down what you don't want to forget on your marriage fortune slip to help you quickly recall it after each bout of amnesia."
Jixian pointed to the marriage fortune slip in his hand.
"Every time before you lose your memory, you write a marriage fortune like this, and you always write the same name: Xiu Yun Yin."