Chapter 389: We must quickly think of a solution

Lu Yuan listened to the shopkeeper's account, then fell silent for a moment. He could feel that the story was certainly not fabricated; what the shopkeeper said must be related to the truth of this world.

However, what the exact truth is, he still needs to investigate further.

"Thank you, shopkeeper, for the detailed explanation; I now have a rough understanding of the situation here. However, I have another question I'd like to ask you." Lu Yuan solemnly looked at the shopkeeper, "What exactly is this world? Why did I appear here?"

The shopkeeper seemed to have prepared beforehand, and answered calmly: "You have come here several times before, each time forgetting your previous memories. This time is likely no different."

"What?!" Lu Yuan exclaimed in shock, "Then what did I do here before? Why must I forget?"

"I'm not entirely sure about that." The shopkeeper gave a wry smile, "Each time you come here, you stay at the inn for a while, then suddenly disappear. When you reappear, you have already forgotten what happened before. Everyone speculates that you are here to find something important, which is why you keep returning to this world."

Lu Yuan pondered, "If that's the case, then my appearance here this time must also be to find something."

He suddenly remembered the jade pendant the old woman had given him, and hurriedly took it out to examine. The lotus-shaped jade pendant remained crystal clear and translucent, showing no abnormality at all.

"This jade pendant is not simple." Lu Yuan realized inwardly, "The old woman must know something; I must go find her again to get to the bottom of it."

So he hurriedly rushed to the old woman's stall. However, what Lu Yuan didn't expect was that the old woman's stall was completely empty; no matter how he searched, he couldn't find her.

"How could this be? Could the old woman have vanished after saying those words?" Lu Yuan pondered in bewilderment.

At that moment, a carriage came into view from afar, its driver being none other than the King Qi from before.

"Mr. Lu, I've come to pick you up!" King Qi waved at Lu Yuan excitedly, "Didn't we agree last time to come to my mansion for drinks? Hop on quickly!"

Lu Yuan hesitated a moment, then still got onto the carriage. He faintly felt that King Qi might know some secrets about this place, and perhaps he could extract more information from him.

The carriage slowly drove toward Qi Wang Fu, and along the way the two chatted back and forth, getting along very well.

Upon arriving at Qi Wang Fu, Lu Yuan looked around and found it even more luxurious than he had imagined; at a glance it was clearly the residence of great wealth and nobility.

"Thank you for your hospitality, King Qi. Let me first offer you a cup." Lu Yuan raised his wine cup and drank it all in one go.

After they had a few more cups, Lu Yuan pretended to be slightly tipsy and said feigningly, "Oh dear, I feel a bit dizzy. Did we know each other before? Why are you so warm toward me?"

King Qi stared for a moment, a fleeting hint of panic crossing his face. But he quickly regained composure, laughing, "Haha, Mr. Lu, you're drunk. How could we possibly have known each other before? I treat all guests the same."

"Is that so? Maybe I'm just talking nonsense because I'm drunk." Lu Yuan put on an even more dazed expression, "But why does your mansion's arrangement feel so familiar to me? Perhaps we really did know each other before."

"All right, all right, Mr. Lu, you're really drunk." King Qi said somewhat anxiously, cutting him off, "I'll have someone send you back to rest."

After saying that, he had his attendants help Lu Yuan onto the carriage. Once the carriage had gone far away, King Qi's smile gradually faded.

"It seems he's starting to suspect." King Qi muttered to himself, "I must quickly think of a solution."

Lu Yuan returned to his room, his mind in turmoil. Everything that had happened today confirmed one fact: this world surely hides an earth-shattering secret, and King Qi is very likely the key figure.

"Let me slowly unveil your mask, King Qi." A glint of cold light flashed in Lu Yuan's eyes.

In the days that followed, he outwardly lived as usual, occasionally visiting King Qi's mansion as a guest, while secretly gathering information about him from all sides, trying to uncover his true nature.

Finally, on a gloomy, rainy night, Lu Yuan finally grasped a major secret—it turned out that King Qi was not a native of this world; like Lu Yuan, he came from another world, only he had entered this world earlier.

"Now I see, everything finally makes sense." Lu Yuan mused, "It seems King Qi is indeed the key figure of this world; perhaps I can obtain from him a way to return to our original world."

Thus, Lu Yuan decided to take action. He quietly went to the outside of Qi Wang Fu, used magical power to block the mansion's communications, and then easily captured King Qi.

"King Qi, you should know what I want to ask." Lu Yuan said coldly.

King Qi sighed, and finally revealed the truth.

It turned out that this world is a space created by a cultivator, accessible through a secret realm. King Qi had also entered this place seeking treasure, but after arriving he found he could not leave, and could only scrape by in this world.

Lu Yuan nodded repeatedly, finally unraveling the mystery of this world. Under King Qi's guidance, he quickly found the entrance to the secret realm that leads back to their original world.

"All right, I should be going." Lu Yuan was about to step into the secret realm when he suddenly thought of something, turned to King Qi and said, "You should come with me; this world holds no meaning for either of us."

King Qi nodded with a choked voice and followed Lu Yuan out of this space world.

When the two returned to the original world once more and saw the familiar surroundings, they could not help but redden their eyes.

After enduring countless hardships, they finally uncovered the truth of this mist-shrouded world, and fortunately escaped, beginning a new life.

Lu Yuan and King Qi escaped that mysterious space world and returned to the original cultivation world.

The two were overjoyed, embraced tightly, tears welling in their eyes. They had endured great hardship and finally saw the light of day again.

"We're back!" Lu Yuan shouted excitedly, his voice echoing across the empty valley. At this moment he was so moved he could not speak.

King Qi also wore an expression of feeling: "I never thought we would actually come back alive, how wonderful!"

"Thanks to your help, I was able to leave that terrible place." Lu Yuan looked gratefully at King Qi.

King Qi shook his head and said, "No, without your wisdom and courage, I would still be trapped there, unable to escape."

The two smiled at each other, each seeing in the other's eyes a fraternal bond as close as brothers.

"We need to leave quickly, in case that space world still hides some trap that might pull us back again." King Qi reminded.

Lu Yuan nodded, and he and King Qi immediately mounted the clouds and mist, swiftly departing from that place.

They finally arrived at a bustling city, where lights and wine flowed freely, the noise extraordinary, a stark contrast to the desolate secret realm they had just left. (End of chapter)