Fortune

"It's been a long time!"

"Wait a little longer!"

Ren Anran stood by the window for a long time, so long that even the usually calm Ren Yisheng became anxious.

Looking out the window into the distance is a very common behavior. It's normal to look for a few minutes, or even ten or twenty minutes. Even an hour or two can be spent looking at Ren Yisheng people find boring.

But if you look at it this way for a day, two days, or even three days, one bad thought after another will pop into Ren Yisheng's mind.

Aside from receiving an IV drip of nutrients to maintain her health, Ren Anran's body remained completely untouched.

No one dared to make a move at the moment, lest Ren Anran lose her physical coordinates and thus experience a situation like Ren Yisheng's, where the body and soul could not be stably unified.

He whispered to Zhang Xuezhou, and Zhang Xuezhou's only response to Ren Yisheng was always "Wait a little longer" or "Wait a little longer."

In Zhang Xuezhou's eyes, Ren Yisheng showed no particular emotion whatsoever, whether 'positive' or 'negative'. Zhang Xuezhou's expression was calm and serene, just like a surgeon in the operating room.

"Zhouzi, my sister is now part of your Zhang Household. How can you just let her stand there like this?" Ren Wuyang said anxiously, "Don't you have even the slightest worry?"

"I'm worried it won't do anything!"

"But... but... alas!"

Ren Wuyang sighed heavily.

He knew Zhang Xuezhou was right, but Ren Wuyang just couldn't help but worry.

If Zhang Xuezhou hadn't been there to keep things calm, Ren Wuyang would have known very well that Ren Yisheng might have become restless three days ago.

Right now, Ren Wuyang felt that Ren Yisheng's mentality was starting to fall apart again, and even Zhang Xuezhou couldn't control it anymore.

"Where did An Ran go, her spirit wandering beyond the mundane world?" Ren Yisheng asked solemnly. "You and An Ran are in sync in your cultivation. You should know the extent of her abilities, her situation, and even more importantly, where her spirit is!"

Ren Yisheng looked around.

In his perception, Ren Yisheng did not notice anything unusual at all.

Not only did he fail to detect Ren Anran's spiritual essence, but Ren Yisheng also felt that Ren Anran's symptoms were very similar to Zhang Xuezhou's, as if she had also fallen into a coma and was experiencing a loss of spiritual essence.

The difference is that Zhang Xuezhou was aware that he had fallen into bed, while Ren Anran fell into this situation unconsciously.

"Does the Realm Technique have the drawback of causing drowsiness? What about Hongku? What did Hongku say? Does Hongku's record mention this symptom?" Ren Yisheng asked repeatedly.

"Let's wait and see if this turn of events is a blessing or a curse!"

Those who are close friends with Zhang Xuezhou, being minor experts in cultivation techniques, are unlikely to suffer too much misfortune.

Despite Ren Anran's severed tendons and seemingly dire situation, Zhang Xuezhou and the others were facing Pei Jing, especially with Ron behind him.

Due to various factors, Ren Anran ended up in what appears to be a less than ideal situation.

But in that battle, very few of those who fell into enemy hands survived.

Ren Anran undoubtedly had good luck.

However, Zhang Xuezhou could not guarantee that Ren Anran would remain consistent after leaving the Scarlet Alliance State. He could not protect Ren Anran and could only place his hopes on the Emperor's assistance, since Ren Anran and the Emperor did have a good relationship.

As time went by, Zhang Xuezhou's hope also grew weaker and weaker.

He mechanically and repeatedly responded to Ren Yisheng.

"What does it matter if fate brings misfortune or fortune? Why does fate divide fortune into misfortune and fortune?" Ren Yisheng pressed.

"Misfortune is misfortune, and fortune is fortune. If fate is in your own hands, it is a blessing; if fate is in the hands of others, it may be a misfortune!"

Who is this person?

"An Ran figure in the painting!"

"He?"

A chill ran through Ren Yisheng's heart.

He had seen Ren Anran's painting; it depicted a pavilion, with an emperor in ancient costume and various incoherent, nonsensical words inside, while Zhang Xuezhou always accompanied Ren Anran in his narration.

In hindsight, Ren Yisheng realized that the scene that appeared in Ren Anran's eyes was likely some kind of fantasy in her mind.

If there were no two worlds overlapping, and they could be seen directly with the naked eye, his daughter would likely have developed a severe mental illness several years ago.

"Impossible, this is impossible! An Ran has a strong spirit, and her cultivation is on the right path. How could she have gone astray and developed a mental illness? She only has the drawback of forgetfulness; it's impossible for her to have any worse effects!"

Whether to believe there are two worlds or to believe that Ren Anran is mentally ill, Ren Yisheng's answer gradually leaned towards the latter.

A mix of emotions, including sadness, fear, loss, and helplessness, flashed through his mind.

As a professor of psychology, Ren Yisheng is very clear about this concept of 'self' and 'others'.

If Ren Anran is classified as a mental patient, this is the difference between a normal state and a mentally ill state.

If it's the former, his daughter can recover normally; if it's the latter, his previous daughter may have disappeared, leaving only a patient with a drastically changed personality.

The person is still the same, but their entire way of thinking will be completely different.

"Dad, you... why is your hair all white... Dad, you have to take it easy. Men suffer three kinds of hardship: losing their mother when they are young, losing their spouse in middle age, and losing their son in old age. Zhang Xuezhou doesn't even look like he's lost his spouse, so why are you so depressed?"

"The three greatest sorrows are the loss of one's mother, the loss of one's spouse, and the loss of one's child!"

Ren Wuyang noticed Ren Yisheng's unusual condition relatively early. Frustrated, he looked up and saw Ren Yisheng, who was extremely dejected.

Even Ren Yisheng's change was so rapid that his black hair had turned somewhat gray.

But his thoughtless words of comfort had no effect. Ren Yisheng felt that Ren Wuyang was not talking about Zhang Xuezhou, but rather a realistic portrayal of his life.

His life was filled with these three kinds of suffering. He seemed to be on a high pedestal but never experienced happiness. Every time he felt that everything was going well, he would encounter terrible things.

He muttered something to himself, then stretched out his right hand and gently placed it on Ren Anran's shoulder.

Zhang Xuezhou, who was standing to the side, opened his mouth, then sighed, without correcting Ren Yisheng's behavior.

"Return!"

Ren Yisheng sighed softly.

His voice was hoarse and heavy, completely lacking its previous warmth.

Zhang Xuezhou may have a silver tongue, but he couldn't stop the long-suppressed emotions from erupting.

"There's a coordinate of a technique in An Ran's eyes. If you can find that coordinate, there might be a slight chance of glimpsing her location," Zhang Xuezhou said. "That coordinate is related to her soul's return, so please don't destroy it!"

"Return!"

Ren Yisheng sighed again.

He didn't answer Zhang Xuezhou, but his right hand trembled slightly.

Ren Anran stood by the window, her body extremely close to it. Unless the window was opened from the outside, it would be difficult to see Ren Anran 'Ren Anran eyes without moving her.

Ren Yisheng stared blankly at the back of Ren Anran's head, his gaze slowly shifting to the glass in the window.

Ren Anran Ren Anran's figure was reflected in the glass, and her light-colored eyes could also be seen.

Ren Yisheng stared at her for a long time until night fell. Through the indoor light, Ren Anran became clearer and clearer in his eyes, allowing Ren Yisheng to observe her more and more deeply.

In the dim light, a sliver of darkness entered his eyes, and Ren Yisheng felt his vision almost blur.

A feeling of weightlessness washed over me, followed by a dizzying sensation as if I were inside a kaleidoscope.

In the dim light, Ren Yisheng only felt that white starlight was spinning and twinkling.

Within the starlight, one could almost see mountains, earth, waterfalls, lakes, and human figures.

"Returned An Ran!"

Ren Yisheng used all his mental strength to shout, trying to find the real Ren Anran and hoping that the other party would hear his call and wake up.

But after touching that tiny patch of darkness in Ren Anran's eyes, Ren Yisheng felt as if he were being spun at high speed, followed by a dizzying sensation.

His body went awry and he staggered backward, black circles flashing before his eyes. A gigantic handprint appeared, followed by a whirlwind of wind and clouds, and countless bolts of lightning, as if the heavens and earth were about to be cleaved in two. Intense pain surged through his mind.

This prompted him to push forward forcefully, unleashing the Dragon Elephant Combat Technique to quickly counterattack.

An Ran is back!

When Ren Yisheng managed to suppress the images that flashed through his eyes and stop the stinging pain, he heard Zhang Xuezhou say something, and stared wide-eyed at Ren Anran, whose eyes were beginning to slowly move. He felt a sense of relief wash over him.

At the same time, Ren Yisheng felt a sudden thought, and the image of the raging thunder and lightning and the stinging pain flashed through his mind. He felt as if he had vaguely grasped something.