Unseen Immortal of Three Hundred Years - Chapter 13: Soul Checking

“This is…” Wu Xingxue took a long look inside the box, then remarked suddenly.

Yi Wusheng was stunned.  “Oh, this is a Dream Bell.”

In the mortal world, Dream Bells were rather common.

Before, there used to be an extremely lively market in the southwest. Every year on March 3rd, when lanterns were lit to celebrate the opening of the market, the glow of those fires would reach out for twelve kilometers, illuminating the mountain range. At first glance, it seemed that the fires of heaven had descended into the mortal world, burning for three days and three nights.

That mountain range was called the Falling Flower Tower, and that market was called the FallingFlower Mountain Market. There, all sorts of rare and odd things were sold, and that was where the Dream Bell originated as well. Then, it trended for a bit in Dream City and Lang Island. 1I should note here that when I use the word Island, please don’t mistake it with the small islands you’d see in movies and cartoons. Rather, it’s a giant piece of land that’s just simply surrounded by water. Something like Taiwan.

The only reason it was popular was because it was small and cute, and people used it for good luck. It was said that carrying it could ensure peace and chase away devils. Hanging it in the bedroom would give one a good night’s sleep and a good dream.

Later, the Falling Flower Mountain Market was gone. Falling Flower Tower became Devil’s Den Zhaoye City’s entrance; as a result, Dream Bells became less common. Legends said that they had completely disappeared from this world already, and that their only use was to put one to sleep and to make one dream.

But this one in front of them was different. The Hua Sect’s Dream Bell was not a mundane item from the mountain market, rather, it was actually a heavenly treasure.

It did have the effect of instantly immersing someone in a dream.

But it was said that once one becomes submerged in a dream, he will forget everything in the real world and won’t be able to easily wake up by himself. The only way to undo the dream spell was to use the Dream Bell.

Hua Zhaoting tried it once, but no matter what he tried, he still couldn’t get the clapper to budge. In the end, he could only give up. Afraid that it would land in the hands of a devil, he carefully hid it. 2I should also note here the word “devil”. In western culture, “devil” is a single powerful evil being ruling hell. However, in Chinese culture, the word devil’s translation is just any being that has evil intentions. It could be cultivators, spirits, or even gods. The word Devil is NOT to be confused with “Demons”. In official Chinese webnovel translations, Demons are animals that have learned how to cultivate. The word Demon does not mean they are bad, it simply means their original form was a beast or animal, and therefore the word demons can be used interchangeably with beasts in certain scenarios.

But now, Hua Zhaoting has already turned into a devil, and this Heavenly Treasure…

Yi Wusheng hesitated for a moment, then picked up the Dream Bell and shook it to test.

The Dream Bell rang out, “Ding–”

Yi Wusheng: “……”

This didn’t make any sense.

Back then, Hua Zhaoting tried to make it ring using everything he had and still failed. Yet all he did was casually shake it. Could it be that the Dream Bell thinks that he’s nice and decided to sound?

No, That only leaves one explanation — The Dream Bell in the box was a fake.

Yi Wusheng’s hand that was holding the bell was shaking, “This Dream Bell… The real one got stolen!”

Who did it?

And when?

Yi Wusheng tried to recall, but for the past twenty years, he was practically completely unconscious, not much different from being dead. He couldn’t remember anything at all.

“Could it be…” Yi Wusheng suddenly slammed his fist into his hand, “Wu Xingxue?!”

He looked up after speaking, and caught Young Master Cheng looking at him with a very incredulous look.

Yi Wusheng: “……”

Yi Wusheng: “?”

He desperately tried to recall the fragmented memories of 25 years ago, but still couldn’t come up with the whole story. He rambled on, “Actually, this Dream Bell has been lost once before. “ That was the time when Wu Xingxue came to Peach Blossom Island. Afterward, it was found again. Could it be… it was then that the bell was secretly swapped by Wu Xingxue?

As Yi Wusheng spoke, the sound of his voice faded under Young Master Cheng’s gaze.

Young Master Cheng looked at him, then suddenly smiled, “What’s the matter? Did the paper break?”

Yi Wusheng: “……”

He didn’t know what kind of person this Young Master Cheng was. Before, when he became taken over by a devil, his mind was fogged up. All he remembered was that he wanted to find someone to end his life, and in the midst of the commotion, this Young Master Cheng was the person he grabbed onto.

At the time, he could vaguely feel the formless oppression coming from this young master’s body, but now, it seemed to be gone. It was like the fog of this night, seemingly there, seemingly not, unable to be grasped for certain.

But regardless, he knew for sure that he wasn’t just an ordinary human. Perhaps he was also a former immortal like Celestial Xiao Main.

Yi Wusheng pondered, then looked back down at the treasure box in his hand.

“No, it’s still not right. He was a person who would never return an item after taking it. He wouldn’t bother finding a fake one to trick others.”

Yi Wusheng muttered as things gradually started to make sense.

“So this Dream Bell, when it was lost and returned, was still real at that time. It must have been swapped in recent years.”

In all these years, Hua Zhaoting has not kept anyone around, which meant the only person who could approach the Dream Bell was none other than himself.

Or rather… the devil inside of him.

In other words, the devil was the one who wanted the Dream bell.

Yi Wusheng raised his hand and touched the back of his neck.

The scar was still there, and the print that looked like a puppet mark was still there. His situation was identical to that of  the other victims of the Valley of Great Sorrow back then. But his case was weird because he had never even gone to the Valley of Great Sorrow before.

Not only him, but Yi Wuxi and Hua Zhaoting never went there either.

So how did they fall victim?

“Immortal, please allow me to ask.” Yi Wusheng suddenly gave a deep bow towards Yi Wusheng, then held the paper and asked, “How many more days can my vestigial soul still last?”

“It’s hard to say. Three to five days, no more than ten.” Xiao Fuxuan replied.

“Alright, alright,” Yi Wusheng repeated.

“Why?” asked Xiao Fuxuan.

“I want to go to the Valley of Great Sorrow,” said Yi Wusheng heavily.

“I don’t understand how the Hua Sect ended like this, and I don’t want to leave this world without learning the truth,” said Yi Wusheng, “Before, when guarding this Peach Blossom Island, I still had thousands of worries. Now that I’m on the brink of death, I have nothing to fear. I might as well use this chance to go to the Valley of Great Sorrow and try to find out what really happened back then.”

“First, I can find out what caused all this. In the netherworld, I can explain to those who have deid before me what has really happened.”

“Second, I really want to find the real Dream Bell as well.”

When he brought up the word “Dream Bell”, Xiao Fuxuan and Young Master Cheng both looked up.

After a moment, Young Master Cheng nodded, and gave a light “oh”.

***

Peach Blossom Island had a restless night. With all the flabbergasting events that had happened, the disciples only calmed down after a great deal of reassurance. Yi Wusheng brought the Hua Zhaoting that had been nailed to the ground to the Hua Sect’s Devil-Sealing Hall. He summoned the elders of the other three halls and roughly informed them of what had happened.

After entrusting everything to them, he got a carriage from the Transportation Hall and left the very next day. He brought along two bottles of pills and his sword.

Before leaving, he bade farewell to Xiao Fuxuan and that Young Master Chen. He repeated his earnest thanks and his utmost indebtedness over and over again for nearly two hours.

***

Later, on the carriage to the Valley of Great Sorrow.

Yi Wusheng held his bottles of pills and his sword and sat face-to-face with the person he had just bid farewell to.

Yi Wusheng: “……”

Those two hours of farewells just now basically amounted to nothing.

This carriage was specially made by the Hua Sect. It was tall and spacious. The horses were also spiritual animals, raised with pills and medicines. No whips and reins were necessary, they knew the way, and the ride wasn’t bumpy at all. It should have been a comfortable ride.

But at that moment, that Young Master Cheng sat across from him with a table in between them. That Xiao Mian immortal probably didn’t like to sit, as he stood next to him with his sword in his arms, leaning against the carriage door.

Either way, it felt suffocating to be in between them, and there was no place to escape to.

Of course, it wasn’t like he wanted to escape anywhere. He just felt that the atmosphere inside the carriage was a little tense, and that his near-death body wouldn’t be able to endure these two large mountains’ worth of heavy pressure.

He was very puzzled at why these two wanted to come with him to the Valley of Great Sorrow.

It couldn’t be because they were concerned about the Hua Sect, right?

In that case, then it must be that they were after the Dream Bell…

Yi Wusheng glanced to the side of the table.

In case they needed it, they brought the fake Dream Bell as well. The box was just sitting on the side, and the last bit of celestial energy had also disappeared from the box already.

He wondered what the real Dream Bell would sound like, and what it would feel like for someone to be submerged by the bell’s dream.

Yi Wusheng tried to blank out for a while, but failed to do so.

In the end, he couldn’t help but break the creepy silence in the carriage with “Uhhh…”

Young Master Cheng, who had his head propped up, raised his eyes to look at him, and Xiao Fuxuan, who was staring outside the carriage with his sword in his arms, also turned his head around.

Yi Wusheng thought for a bit before finally coming up with something to say, “Oh right, Immortal, you asked me earlier if I could still perform the Dreaming Souls Technique?”

As soon as he said this, Young Master Cheng’s lazy look finally disappeared as he slowly straightened his body. His hand was still supporting his head, and his black pupils glanced toward Xiao Fuxuan.

“I’m so sorry for not remembering this earlier. All the matters with the sect made me forget.” Yi Wusheng said deferentially while holding the paper. His voice sounded sincere.

Finally, he had found something to say, making the atmosphere inside the carriage a bit livelier. Knowing this, he would definitely try to keep the conversation going. But he failed to notice the split-second subtle change in the other two.

If he had noticed, then he might have shut his mouth and stopped talking.

But not only didn’t he be quiet, he continued, “I already heard the disciples in the sect say that this was your main reason for coming to our sect. They said it was a soul that had accidentally entered someone else’s shell.”

Young Master Cheng seemed like he was in a difficult situation, but then immediately recovered, making one feel like anything they saw must’ve been just a mistake.

“Mm,”  he said, “It’s pretty much as you said.”

“Oh,” Yi Wusheng nodded, “That truly is a big deal. If a soul occupies the wrong shell for a long time, it’s not beneficial for either party. We must still send your soul back to your body as soon as possible. Although this type of situation is rarely seen, I have come across this before, and can give you a slight bit of help.”

“Really?” said Young Master Cheng, “Then what do I have to do?”

Yi Wusheng pointed at the table and said, “Please place your wrist flat against the tabletop.”

Young Master Cheng gave an “oh”; he seemed very obedient.

Yi Wusheng said “If you’ll pardon me,” then placed his finger on his wrist.

To the other side, , Xiao Fuxuan’s sword moved slightly. He seemed to be looking at his fingers, waiting for a reply.

After a bit, Yi Wusheng asked, “Young Master, from where do you come from?”

“Que City,” replied Young Master Cheng.

“Que City… Que City…” Yi Wusheng muttered, “I have never heard of that place. I assume that is not a place in this world.”

“Is it a good place?” Perhaps it was a doctor’s natural instinct to try to calm a patient, Yi Wusheng asked casually.

Young Master Cheng smiled. His gaze was downcast, so others couldn’t clearly make out the look in his eyes, but his words were slow and unhurried, “It’s pretty good. My manor has a lot of people. Que City is also very lively, with markets on both sides. There’s a Winding Waters Banquet in the spring and also a Hundred Man Hunt in the winter.”

As he spoke, Yi Wusheng kept his hand on his wrist. After a short while, he started to frown slightly.

Yi Wusheng subconsciously looked towards Xiao Fuxuan, just to see that Xiao Fuxuan’s gaze had remained on Young Master Cheng’s figure from start to finish, dark and heavy. His lips were pursed, and no one knew what he could be thinking about.

“It does sound like a good place.” A moment of silence later, he asked the Young Master again, “May I ask for your name?”

This time, he waited for a bit, yet no response came.

Another moment of silence in the carriage.

The mountain road was very long, and the horse hooves clopped incessantly, making this deafening silence seem all the more unsettling in comparison.

Yi Wusheng raised his eyes, frowning, and met with Young Master Cheng’s black pupils.

He was an Elder of the Four Halls of the Hua Sect, after all, and he had seen and known many people. It had been a long time since he had been startled to the core just because of someone’s gaze. But that feeling came quickly and left even quicker.

It was just that Young Master Cheng had already averted his gaze, appearing kind and harmless once more. He seemed to be thinking about his name.

Yi Wusheng’s finger moved.

In fact, whether this Young Master Cheng responded or not was no longer important. The moment he spoke of Que City, he had  already finished checking. This young master had no signs of a soul separated from the body, and the spirit inside his body and his shell were compatible to the utmost. There were no signs of anything being moved before.

He was the original person.

“Young master…” Yi Wusheng thought for a bit. Like a doctor, he felt obligated to tell his patient the truth.. Although it might make the situation awkward, it was best to let him know what was going on.

“Actually–” Just as he was about to explain, he suddenly felt something poke at his waist.

As a sword cultivator, he was very sensitive to this feeling. He knew without even looking at it that it was Xiao Fuxuan’s sword sheath.

The next sound, he heard Xiao Fuxuan’s voice come from the tip of the sword. But it didn’t sound like he was speaking, rather, he was telepathing him something that only he could hear.

He heard Xiao Fuxuan’s deep voice, “Swallow that back and say something else.”

Yi Wusheng: “……”

Yi Wusheng: “???”

He was completely confused, not knowing why he couldn’t say the truth. But since this was what Xiao Fuxuan said, there was no need for him to find trouble for himself.

He had also truly seen similar types of people, most of whom were relatives of the one who had been immersed in a dream. They want to prevent the patient from feeling grief after learning the truth; they want to protect them. After all, listening to the description, Que City truly was a carefree place, at least much better than the current world before their eyes.

Yi Wusheng swallowed his words back and said instead, “Young master, it is not too big of a deal. Give me a few days and I can promise to bring you back.”

He didn’t have many days left to live anyway.

Only after he finished speaking did he raise his eyes, just to see Young Master Cheng looking over at him, almost seeming surprised at this answer. His gaze flicked towards Xiao Fuxuan’s sword and then retreated; in the next second, he tilted his head with a smile, saying: “Then in that case, thank you very much.”

Yi Wusheng quickly nodded and responded with two “mm”‘s.

He withdrew his hands and leaned on the walls of the carriage again, continuing to hold his pill bottles.

He was frantically thinking in his head.

Suddenly, Young Master Cheng spoke, “Xiao Fuxuan.”

Xiao Fuxuan looked up.

For some reason, the two were silent for a moment, and then Young Master Cheng touched his face and mumbled, “It’s been a while since we left Chunfan City, right? Can you remove this disguise now? My face feels rather uncomfortable.”

Yi Wusheng has known for a long time that they have been using the Appearance Changing Technique. After all, the Celestial Immortal Xiao Fuxuan didn’t look like that at all.

So he wasn’t too surprised and didn’t have too much of a reaction either.

Xiao Fuxuan pointed his two fingers up, and then the Appearance Changing Technique was lifted.

Then, the Young Master Cheng sitting in front of him slowly revealed his original appearance.

It was an infamous face. Because of how distinct it was, it was impossible for anyone to forget after seeing it just once.

It was… Wu Xingxue.

“……”

Yi Wusheng slowly leaned back, feeling that his last bit of soul was about to collapse.

He recalled how Wu Xingxue calmly looked at him when he mentioned that name to him before. That was the obvious look of someone who was already aware.

He then remembered what he was about to say, and he felt a chill down his spine–

He almost held Wu Xingxue’s wrist and exposed directly, “You are the original person, not some soul in a puppet’s body.”  The fear after finding out the truth finally hit him.

Yi Wusheng closed his eyes, not daring to say another word.

After a long time, he woke up from the dead in his head.

Wait…

Wu Xingxue, the infamous Devil Lord, why is he with Celestial Immortal Xiao Fuxuan???

And as an immortal, why would Xiao Fuxuan hide Wu Xingxue’s identity while knowing who he really is? Why did he cooperatively play along and didn’t expose him… why???

• 1I should note here that when I use the word Island, please don’t mistake it with the small islands you’d see in movies and cartoons. Rather, it’s a giant piece of land that’s just simply surrounded by water. Something like Taiwan.
• 2I should also note here the word “devil”. In western culture, “devil” is a single powerful evil being ruling hell. However, in Chinese culture, the word devil’s translation is just any being that has evil intentions. It could be cultivators, spirits, or even gods. The word Devil is NOT to be confused with “Demons”. In official Chinese webnovel translations, Demons are animals that have learned how to cultivate. The word Demon does not mean they are bad, it simply means their original form was a beast or animal, and therefore the word demons can be used interchangeably with beasts in certain scenarios.