Whether the Wu Dao Age belonged to the past or the future, Gu Qingfeng did not know.
Nor did he care.
However.
One sentence muttered by Huode's past self was something Gu Qingfeng could not help but care about.
That was Huode's past self saying he had been looking for Gu Qingfeng all along, and the words Huode's past self had admonished him with were almost exactly the same as what the Great Dao Seed had warned him earlier.
Both told him to beware of the Bosuo Clan, the so-called Jiashe Clan, and the Mahā Clan. Huode's past self had also told him to seek out a woman, saying that finding her would make everything clear.
When Gu Qingfeng asked who these so-called Bosuo, Jiashe, and Mahā people were, Huode's past self actually said that all the women around him were from these clans.
All the women around him?
Could he be referring to those women entangled in karma with him?
Jun Xuanji?
Feng Zhuyue?
Ye Tianlan?
Tang Hengheng?
Including Su Hua?
What puzzled Gu Qingfeng even more was that Huode's past self claimed the Heavenly Secret Elder, Genggu Wuming—known as the incarnation of karma and the messenger of fate—was a member of the Mahā Clan.
And told him not to trust her, nor any woman.
While chasing after Huode's past self, Gu Qingfeng's mind had been constantly pondering this issue, but no matter how much he thought about it, he couldn't make sense of it. Ultimately, he had never even heard of these so-called Bosuo, Jiashe, and Mahā existences.
He had wanted to pry some information from Huode's past self, but unfortunately, the man was mad and rambling, his words not only jumbled but also contradictory. Gu Qingfeng's inquiries not only failed to clear things up but instead left him even more confused.
Another question also left Gu Qingfeng utterly perplexed.
Was the 'Gu kid' that Huode's past self kept muttering about really him?
If not.
Then it didn't matter.
But if the 'Gu kid' Huode's past self was muttering about was truly him, then this matter was utterly earth-shattering, perhaps even beyond his imagination.
Because Huode's past self said that the Gu kid was his kin, that the Gu kid had left, seemingly vanished, and that this Gu kid would definitely return, return to end all of this.
The key issue was that Gu Qingfeng was absolutely certain and convinced that he was not acquainted with Huode's past self and had never said such things to him.
Could it be that Huode's past self had mistaken him for someone else?
Huode's past self was from the Wu Dao Age; did he also know a 'Gu kid' back in the Wu Dao Age?
Or was the Gu kid he spoke of Gu Qingfeng's own previous life?
And Huode's past self had mistaken Gu Qingfeng for his own past life.
What the actual truth was, Gu Qingfeng simply couldn't figure out.
And so.
Gu Qingfeng thought, agonized over it.
Meanwhile, Huode's past self, trapped in the void space he had created, had been darting about wildly, muttering nonsense without end. After who knows how long, Huode's past self stopped his mad dashing and ceased his endless rambling. Instead, he sat alone cross-legged in the void, head bowed, hair disheveled.
Gu Qingfeng watched for a while, noticing no movement, and grew concerned. He walked over and tentatively called, "Huode?"
No one responded.
Gu Qingfeng called out several more times, but still, there was no reply.
Perhaps exhausted from the earlier turmoil, Huode at this moment looked extremely weak. A long time passed before Huode slowly raised his head. His aged face was deathly pale, his eyes increasingly lifeless, his expression still that of confusion and bewilderment, giving the impression of a soul with nowhere to rest, lost in endless darkness.
With just one glance, Gu Qingfeng knew that the Huode here was still Huode's past self, not the one who had left.
"Gu... Gu kid..." Huode's past self uttered a hoarse voice, staring at Gu Qingfeng, the muscles of his lips twitching as if convulsing. "It really is you... truly... you! I knew... you would definitely return... definitely would."
"You."
Gu Qingfeng furrowed his brows. "Have you mistaken me for someone else?"
"Cough! Cough! No mistake, couldn't be mistaken, Gu kid... I... even if I mistook myself... I wouldn't mistake you."
"But I only know the Huode of this life, not you, the Huode of a past life."
"The past life is this life; this life is the past life."
Gu Qingfeng shook his head. "I don't understand."
"If you don't understand, then no one in this heaven and earth understands... because these words were spoken by you."
"By me?"
Gu Qingfeng was speechless. "I've never said such a thing. Are you sure you haven't mistaken me for someone else?"
"I said... even if I mistook myself, I would never mistake you..." The Huode here was like a lonely old man on the verge of death. He stared at Gu Qingfeng and asked, "Gu kid... you said you would definitely return to end all of this... but... why has it become like this? What exactly happened, what did you do? Why has everything become chaotic..."
Gu Qingfeng looked at Huode suspiciously. He couldn't understand a word Huode was saying and didn't know how to respond. However, he felt that Huode here seemed much clearer in consciousness, no longer ranting madly or muttering nonsense. He asked, "Your consciousness... seems quite normal now."
"My... soul is lost, my spirit is lost... my consciousness even more so... everything is lost... I've forgotten... forgotten why it became like this... forgotten everything, why I forgot, I don't remember either..." After saying this, Huode asked again, "Gu kid, can you tell me! 'The great calamity since antiquity births heaven and earth, endless cycles of reincarnation manifest, past and present lives meet through karma, whose fate is whose depends on heaven'—what exactly does this mean? Why did you say this? I've thought for a very, very long time... and still can't understand."
"What a coincidence."
Gu Qingfeng responded, "You don't understand this phrase, and neither do I. I was actually going to ask you."
"Ask me? Heh... this phrase was spoken by you... how could you not understand?"
"This phrase was also spoken by me? You must be joking?"
Hearing this, Gu Qingfeng was not only baffled but even began to doubt his own existence.
"Gu kid, what exactly is wrong with you? Didn't you say you would definitely return to end all of this? Why has it become like this? What kind of accident happened? Or did you fall into someone else's trap, or was all of this within your expectations? Why have you forgotten everything? Could it be that you are lost too?"
"This..." Gu Qingfeng was nearly driven to break down. He found that being unable to communicate with someone was truly a painful thing. He asked, "Do you know my previous life? Or what's going on?"
"Previous life? What previous life do you have? You have no previous life! You are your own previous life!"
"Since you are Huode's past self, let me call you Elder. My brain is a bit slow; I don't understand what you're saying. Could you put it more simply?"
"Elder? Gu kid... you're actually calling me Elder? Hehehe? Hahahaha!"
Huode suddenly burst into loud laughter. "Gu kid... you're lost... you must be lost... Yes! You must be lost..."
"Me? Lost?"
Gu Qingfeng shook his head and said seriously, "I don't think I'm lost... At least I haven't forgotten anything."
"No! You are lost! You just don't know that you're lost..."