# Chapter 261: Illusory Dream of Cang Yun
"Ling'er, let me first introduce you to a big sister, and then I'll take you home, okay?"
Yun Che's attention had never left Xia Qingyue. He took little Ling'er by the hand and walked over to Xia Qingyue's side.
Just as expected, when Su Linger saw Xia Qingyue, her eyes immediately lit up, and she let out a surprised cry: "Wow! Such a beautiful big sister! More beautiful than any sister I've ever seen... But why is she lying here? Is she injured?"
"Mm!" Yun Che nodded, coming to Xia Qingyue's side and pressing his palm back against her heart: "But she'll get better soon."
Xia Qingyue's body temperature had gradually returned to normal, but her breathing was still very weak, and there was no sign of her waking up. As a physician, he understood her current state well... She had transferred all of her profound energy to him, leaving herself completely depleted, and in that depleted state, the cold had invaded every part of her body... including her blood, internal organs, every corner of her body... She had suffered damage not just to her vitality, but her life pulse had also been greatly wounded. It was entirely possible she might become paralyzed.
Mo Li was right. If not for the fact that she cultivated the Ice Cloud Art and her body had adapted to cold to a certain degree, she would have already perished before Yun Che woke up.
Given how weak her body was now, Yun Che could only use the gentlest methods to dispel the cold within her, not daring to do anything else.
Little Ling'er crouched to the side, holding her cheeks with both hands, staring unblinkingly at his serious and focused expression. She watched him for a long time, as if trying to figure something out.
After a while, Yun Che moved his hand away from Xia Qingyue's heart. He let out a long sigh and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Only then did he notice that little Ling'er, who hadn't disturbed him, was staring at him with rapt attention. Her adorable, focused expression made him smile involuntarily: "Why are you always looking at me?"
"Because Yun Che-gege is very handsome-looking." Ling'er answered without hesitation.
"Handsome?" Being praised by such an innocent, guileless young girl made Yun Che feel secretly pleased. He said with a smile: "Although I really am quite handsome, handsome people aren't always good people. Aren't you afraid I might be a bad person too?"
"Not afraid!" Ling'er shook her head firmly: "Yun Che-gege absolutely can't be a bad person!"
"Why?"
"Because..." Ling'er didn't even think, hurriedly defending him: "Yun Che-gege not only saved me, but the moment I saw you, I knew you were a very, very good person. Mm... Father always taught me since I was little not to get close to strangers. All my life, whenever I saw someone unfamiliar, I would hide far away. But Yun Che-gege is completely different. When I saw you, I wasn't afraid at all. In fact, I felt so close to you... Even closer than my own brother! It's like... like I've known you for a very, very long time. When I look at you, my heart feels so happy."
As she spoke, little Ling'er smiled, revealing two pearl-like canine teeth.
Yun Che smiled too. In truth, didn't he feel the same way? Just quietly watching her made his mood extraordinarily joyful, as if he had truly seen his little Ling'er back by his side. Even the pain in his heart caused by Xia Qingyue's condition was greatly eased.
Xia Qingyue was no longer in danger of dying. What he could do now was slowly restore her vitality and wait for her to wake up. Even after waking, she would need a long, slow recovery. After that, he would need even more time to regulate her body so she wouldn't suffer any lasting aftereffects. As for fully recovering her profound energy, that might be impossible within half a year.
It was fortunate that she had him. If he hadn't been by her side, given Xia Qingyue's current state, she might have been paralyzed for life.
"Is the beautiful big sister not better yet? When will she wake up?" Little Ling'er looked at Xia Qingyue, who was still unconscious, and asked with concern. At the same time, she thought silently: If only I could be as beautiful as that big sister when I grow up...
"Don't worry, she's fine now. She just needs to rest a while longer." Yun Che said in a relaxed tone.
Xia Qingyue's condition had temporarily stabilized, so he didn't dare make any sudden moves. Now it was time for him to seriously explore where the Evil God had sent him and Xia Qingyue. This girl he had saved, who deeply stirred his heart—just because she shared the same name as Su Linger and had a similar face, he knew he couldn't simply abandon her.
He asked Su Linger: "Ling'er, where is your home? Is it far from here? Why were those people trying to capture you?"
Ling'er moved her hands away from her cheeks and pointed north: "My home is over there, not too far from here. Today, Father was supposed to take me out to play, but halfway there, suddenly a lot of people in black clothes appeared. Father fought with those black-clad people and told me to run fast... I ran and ran, and after I got far away, those three bad guys suddenly appeared and chased me... If not for big brother saving me, I would have been caught by them. Mm... I don't know how Father is doing now, but Father is so strong, he must have knocked down all the bad guys."
When she mentioned "Father," her eyes sparkled with admiration, but not much worry, clearly having great confidence in her "Father."
Because she had been running for a long time and had taken a heavy fall, little Ling'er's shoes were completely covered in dust, the hem of her dress was dirty, and there was a large bruise on her calf. Yun Che had been so focused on Xia Qingyue's condition that he hadn't noticed until now. He felt a pang of distress, went to Ling'er's side, picked up her slender calf, and asked gently: "Ling'er, did you get hurt from the fall? Does it hurt?"
"A little... but it doesn't hurt much anymore." When Yun Che picked up her calf, there was a clear flash of pain in her expression, but it was quickly replaced by a warm smile, as if she were trying to comfort him instead.
"Come, let me take a look. I'm a very powerful divine physician. No matter what kind of injury, I can heal it." Yun Che sat down beside Ling'er. As he spoke, he carefully began to remove her shoes and socks, because he needed to check if her ankle had been injured.
While untying her shoes, he asked: "Ling'er, can you tell me where this is? I came from a very faraway place, and I don't even know what place this is."
"A very faraway place?" The girl was surprised, then said excitedly: "No wonder Yun Che-gege doesn't look old at all, but is as strong as Father. You and this beautiful big sister must have come from those legendary powerful places, right? Father said that in those powerful places, there are many very strong people, many stronger than Father... Ah! Right, I almost forgot to answer Yun Che-gege's question..."
Ling'er pointed into the distance: "My home is called 'Tai Su Sect,' at the foot of that tallest mountain. That mountain is called 'Tai Su Mountain.' Has Yun Che-gege ever heard of that mountain? Father said our mountain is very famous on the Cang Yun Continent."
"Mm, of course I've heard of it." Yun Che nodded and smiled: "One of my masters once said that Tai Su Mountain is a divine mountain, listed as one of the Thirteen Divine Mountains. I longed to visit it for a time. I never imagined that here... was... is..."
Yun Che's voice suddenly slowed down, then got completely stuck in his throat. Suddenly, his entire body trembled, and even his pupils sharply contracted. His voice became shaky: "Tai Su Mountain... Cang Yun... Cang Yun... Cang Yun Continent? Are you saying this is... is... the Cang Yun Continent?"
"Yes, this is of course the Cang Yun Continent." Yun Che's sudden strange reaction puzzled Ling'er.
Yun Che stood there stunned, his mind a mess. It took him a long while to calm his emotions. The Cang Yun Continent... a place sealed in his memories, a place where he had stayed in his previous life, a place where his life had ended, a place he thought he would never have any connection with again.
In the Cang Feng Empire, he had once tried to inquire about information regarding the Cang Yun Continent, but the name "Cang Yun Continent" was completely unknown. No records mentioned it at all. He knew then that the Cang Yun Continent and the Tian Xuan Continent were in completely different worlds, with no overlap at all. From then on, it would only exist in his memories, a place that only he knew about within the Tian Xuan Continent.
He had never imagined that the place the Evil God had sent him to would actually be here!
The Phoenix Soul had said he had three lifetimes. That was correct. Indeed, three lifetimes. First life: He grew up in the Xiao Sect of the Cang Feng Empire on the Tian Xuan Continent. At sixteen, on the day of his wedding with Xia Qingyue, he was poisoned to death by Xiao Yulong, and his life ended. Second life: He was born on the Cang Yun Continent, found by the Medical Saint, spending half his life learning medicine, saving lives, and the other half consumed by hatred and countless killings. At twenty-seven, he was forced to Jueyun Cliff and died.
Third life: He carried all the memories of his first and second lives and awakened in the body of his deceased self from the first life...
His understanding told him how bizarre and shocking his experience was.
He had also wondered if everything in the Cang Yun Continent had been just a dream... Otherwise, how could he have awakened in a body that had been dead for at least twenty-seven years? In this world, everything could reverse except time. If his lifetime on the Cang Yun Continent was not an illusion, then setting aside everything else, time had at least reversed by twenty-seven years.
But now, the name "Cang Yun Continent" had reappeared in his world, telling him with a thunderous voice... Everything in the Cang Yun Continent was not an illusion, nor could it be an illusion.
"Yun Che-gege, what's wrong? Your expression is so strange? Ah ya!" Su Linger cried out in pain. It turned out that Yun Che, lost in thought, had accidentally touched the bruise on her ankle.
Yun Che snapped back to reality, quickly and carefully held her little foot, and slowly removed her sock: "It's nothing, I was just thinking about something. Did I hurt you...? By the way, Ling'er, can you tell me which country this is?"
Tai Su Mountain was located in the Fusu Kingdom, the easternmost part of the Cang Yun Continent. Yun Che knew this very well. He just wanted to use the girl's answer to confirm more clearly that he had truly returned to the Cang Yun Continent.
"Of course it's the Fusu Kingdom!" Ling'er answered crisply.
"Then... what Xuan year is it this year?"
"Cang Yun 1999 Xuan Year!" Ling'er blurted out with certainty.
Yun Che's movements froze...
Cang Yun 1999 Xuan Year?
When he had jumped off Jueyun Cliff, it was clearly Cang Yun 2014 Xuan Year. Now a year and a half had passed, so the time here should be Cang Yun 2015 Xuan Year!
If time had truly reversed by twenty-seven years, then this year should be Cang Yun 1987 Xuan Year!
Why was it Cang Yun 1999 Xuan Year?
On this day of Cang Yun 1999 Xuan Year, he was still on the Cang Yun Continent, twelve years old. His Ling'er was two years younger, just turned ten. At that time, they had not yet met. He was traveling far and wide with his master, learning increasingly profound medical arts, knowing all the herbs of the world, and had just learned of the existence of the Heavenly Poison Pearl...
Could it be that the place the Evil God had sent him to was merely an illusion it had created? After all, the Evil God's remnant soul had read his memories and might think this was the place he most wanted to come to.
His thoughts fell into chaos again, and his movements slowed. On Ling'er's little foot, the dust-covered sock finally came off. On her delicate, milk-fat-like instep, two light brown scar marks were strikingly conspicuous...
Yun Che's entire body trembled again, as if struck by lightning.
This scar...
It was the same position, the same shape, the same size, the same color as his little Ling'er's... An identical scar!!
In his mind, the image of the first time he had seen this scar surfaced... At that time, Ling'er had told him: "I got this when I was seven. I was bitten by a very cute little snow ferret. But it wasn't its fault; I accidentally stepped on its tail. Oh, and that little snow ferret was called Ling Ling, and we became good friends."
Later, he had used a medicinal ointment he prepared himself to completely erase the scar from her foot, making it flawless and white again.
Seeing Yun Che suddenly staring blankly at the scar on her foot, little Ling'er blinked her eyes and said with a giggle: "I got this when I was seven. I was bitten by a very cute little snow ferret. But it wasn't its fault; I accidentally stepped on its tail. Oh, and that little snow ferret was called Ling Ling, and we became good friends!"
"...!!!"
Yun Che slowly raised his eyes and stared blankly at the smiling, charming little girl. Everything before him started spinning...
[Only one chapter today, everyone doesn't need to wait... Three chapters tomorrow!]