Looking at the bewildered Huode, Gu Qingfeng chuckled and said, "Feeling sore all over is about right!"
"What do you mean 'about right'? How is that right... Wait!"
Huode seemed to recall something and said, "This old man remembers that earlier, while I was in secluded cultivation on the ship, I suddenly felt something was off, and then... my past life seemed to emerge, didn't it?"
"That's right, that's exactly what happened."
"What did you do to my past life, kid? You didn't... kill him, did you?"
"I'm saying, Huode, your past life isn't some beautiful woman. What could I possibly do to him? On the contrary, it was me who had a tough time trying to suppress your past life all the way here."
"Didn't I tell you not to interfere, kid? Why did you have to suppress my past life!"
"Your past life was completely mad. If I hadn't stepped in to suppress him, who knows what trouble he might have caused."
Gu Qingfeng asked casually, "What? You don't have any recollection at all of what your past life did after emerging?"
Huode first nodded, then shook his head. "It's not that I have no recollection, but the memories are very blurry. It feels like a dream. I vaguely remember my past life saying a lot of nonsense to you, kid. Something about being careful of some clan? And going to find some women?"
"Oh!"
Gu Qingfeng was surprised. "You know about this too?"
"I don't know the details clearly. That feeling... how should I put it? It really was like a dream. It's just that after waking up, the events from the dream aren't very clear, only a general impression remains."
Huode plopped down on the ground, pulled out some fine wine, and took a drink. He asked, "What exactly did my past life tell you? I feel like it's all very strange."
"Some bizarre and peculiar words."
Gu Qingfeng didn't hide anything and recounted everything Huode's past life had said to him word for word. Huode listened, stunned. After a long while, he gradually snapped back to reality and said, "Why would my past life tell you these things? What does it mean? Is the 'Gu kid' he mentioned actually you? What is a 'Bosuo Clan'? And who are these women he told you to find?"
"Are you asking me?"
"Nonsense! Who else would I ask if not you?"
"Heh."
Gu Qingfeng laughed.
"What are you laughing at?"
"Huode."
Gu Qingfeng stood up, patted Huode's shoulder, and said, "Believe me, I want to know the answers to these questions even more than you do."
"Didn't my past life tell you?"
"No. He said he was lost, had forgotten... couldn't remember anything."
"This whole thing feels so eerie. If my past life really knew you, then your past life, kid, is probably also from the Wu Dao Age. The key point is, you're not someone who has been reincarnated. Your connection to the Wu Dao Age isn't about past or present lives. Could it be that you awakened from the Wu Dao Age? That doesn't make sense either. I watched you grow up with my own eyes. I know your origins better than anyone."
Huode scratched his head, frowned, and pondered. "And he said you would definitely return, return to end all of this. What does this 'return'... mean? 'Return' usually means going back to the original place, right? Even if you, kid, really are from the Wu Dao Age, 'returning' should mean going from now back to the Wu Dao Age. It couldn't mean coming from the Wu Dao Age to the present, could it? That would be backwards."
Gu Qingfeng said casually, "Perhaps the Wu Dao Age isn't the past, but the future."
"That's even more absurd. The one who said this was my past life, and my past life is a figure from the Wu Dao Age. Therefore, the Wu Dao Age must be the past. How could it be the future? If it really were the future, then 'past life' wouldn't be 'past life'; it would be 'future life.'"
"So, your past life is lost. Lost between past life and future life, and lost between past and future. He said he couldn't distinguish between past life and future life, nor between past and future."
Gu Qingfeng shook his head and sighed. "Perhaps it's truly as he said: past life is future life, the past is the future."
"Past life is future life? The past is the future?"
Huode violently shook his head. "What does that mean?"
Gu Qingfeng didn't respond, only pointed upwards.
Huode raised his head and looked. The sky above was gloomy; he couldn't see anything. He didn't know what Gu Qingfeng pointing at the sky meant and asked, "This old man's brain isn't very sharp. Can you explain it more clearly, kid?"
"I, your lord, don't even fucking understand it myself. How could I explain it clearly to you!"
"This..." Watching Gu Qingfeng wandering around this desolate mountain range, Huode quickly chased after him. "Are we just going to let it go like this?"
"Let what go like this?"
"Didn't my past life tell you to be careful of some Bosuo Clan, and some damn Mahā Clan, Jiaye Clan, and so on... all that messy stuff?"
"That's right."
"And then..." "What 'and then'? I'll just be careful, that's all."
"You don't even know what a Bosuo Clan is, kid. How can you be careful?"
Gu Qingfeng stopped and looked at Huode with annoyance. "I'm saying, Huode, as you said, I don't even know what a Bosuo Clan is. How can I be careful?"
"Not knowing isn't a problem. We can ask. Just because we don't know doesn't mean others don't. There must be people in this Heaven and Earth who know about the Bosuo, Jiaye, and Mahā Clans. As the saying goes, 'know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.' Only by understanding the enemy can we make thorough preparations."
"Fine, no problem. Leave this matter to you. You go and make inquiries for me."
"What do you mean 'leave it to me'? Gu kid, this is your own business."
"Since it's my own business, then could you please, venerable elder, stop worrying about it?"
"I'm saying, Gu kid, you're being a bit excessive here. This old man is worried about you. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't bother."
"Then, according to your venerable opinion, what should I do?"
"Nonsense! Of course, investigate the Bosuo, Mahā, and these other clans immediately! Since they are enemies, make preparations early. If that doesn't work, we strike first and kill them all."
"I can't be bothered to go through the trouble."
"Gu kid, this isn't about whether you can be bothered or not. It concerns your life, kid! And..." Seeing Huode going on and on, Gu Qingfeng couldn't be bothered to listen any longer. "Huode, I know you're worried about me. But your past life was mad. We can listen to what he said, but we shouldn't take it seriously."
"Gu kid, my past life definitely wouldn't have told you these things for no reason. There must be some secret here that we don't know about. Of course, we can't believe everything he said completely. But it's always better to be safe than sorry."
"'Safe than sorry'? In my eyes, there is no such thing as 'sorry.' And, let me tell you, right now I roam the Heaven and Earth with no one able to match me. Whatever Mahā, whatever Jiaye, whatever Bosuo—I don't know who they are, I can't be bothered to know, and I have no interest in knowing. To put it plainly, I don't give a damn about these so-called clans."