Chapter 402: The Fate of the Zhou Family

Li Zongguang lifted his chin.

"It is all because of that Jade Pendant in your hand."

Bai Wei was startled, and subconsciously picked up the half of the Phoenix Pendant hanging from her belt.

"Grandpa, are you talking about this?"

This half of the Jade Pendant was, aside from the wardrobe, the tool she used to teleport items with Xiao Moting; the other half was in Xiao Moting's possession.

"Yes, that is it." Li Zongguang nodded, closed his eyes, and sighed slightly, "When A Yun traveled to the modern era, the Great Diviner at the time feared she might meet with an accident over there, so he secretly slipped this Jade Pendant to A Yun."

Zhou Yanli was also shocked, "This Jade Pendant is actually something from my Zhou Family ancestors?"

"Yes," Li Zongguang said, "The Zhou Family has served the Goddess for generations, serving as the Great Diviner of the Divine Witch Tribe. That Great Diviner at the time, who was your ancestor, risked using a Forbidden Technique to craft this Artifact. If your grandmother encountered an accident and lost the ability to teleport, she could still use this Jade Pendant to return to Daliang."

"This Jade Pendant is actually so magical!" Bai Wei also widened her eyes, "No wonder I can return to Daliang while carrying the Jade Pendant."

As she spoke, she looked at Zhou Yanli.

"I really didn't expect your ancestors to have such powerful abilities; it's truly amazing."

Li Zongguang gave a bitter laugh, "How could something that defies the heavens and changes fate just exist for no reason? Everything in this world has a price. The Great Diviner paid a price to craft this Artifact."

"A price?" Bai Wei was startled.

Suddenly, as if she had thought of something, she covered her mouth.

Could it be the curse that the Zhou Family has borne for a thousand years?

At this moment, Li Zongguang's sigh reached her ears.

"The price for defying the heavens and changing fate was to take away half the lifespan of the Zhou clansmen; their descendants all live short lives."

"What." Bai Wei couldn't help but blurt out, murmuring, "No wonder Zhou Yuchuan cannot live past thirty; so it was because of this reason..."

As she spoke, she looked up at Zhou Yanli.

This Daliang State Preceptor was also a clansman of the Zhou Family, and he looked exactly like Zhou Yuchuan.

Noticing Bai Wei's gaze, Zhou Yanli seemed to know what she wanted to ask and nodded slightly.

"Yes, I also cannot live past thirty."

When he said this, his expression was calm, as if he had long since accepted his fate.

Bai Wei's heart tightened, and she shook her head vigorously.

It wasn't just Zhou Yanli; there was also her friend Zhou Yuchuan in the modern era, and both shared the same fate.

Her traveling back to ancient Daliang was not just to help Xiao Moting, but also for an important purpose: to find the source of the Zhou Family's curse and help them escape this fate.

Bai Wei looked at Li Zongguang and asked urgently.

"Grandpa, you also know about this Jade Pendant, right? Is there really no way to lift this curse?"

"I have a friend in the modern era who is also a Zhou clansman, and he told me that no one in his family lives past thirty."

As she spoke, she glanced at Zhou Yanli.

"This friend of mine, he... he looks exactly like Zhou Yanli."

Zhou Yanli also held his breath, revealing an expression of disbelief, "In another space-time, there is someone who looks like me?"

Li Zongguang's brows furrowed tightly, and he sighed deeply.

"Your ancestor used a Forbidden Technique, leaving the Zhou clansmen with only half their lifespan. But all things in the Universe are constant; for all the Zhou clansmen to have half their lifespan taken away does not conform to the Heavenly Dao."

"In the unseen, the lifespan taken from you Zhou clansmen naturally appeared in another space-time."

"Appeared in another space-time?" Bai Wei held her breath, and a thought she dared not believe herself appeared in her mind, "Could it be that Zhou Yanli and Zhou Yuchuan..."

Li Zongguang nodded, "Yes, originally it was a complete lifespan, but now the two each possess half. You could also say that they are the same person in different space-times."

"What?" Bai Wei was extremely shocked, "They are the same person?"

She was born in the modern era and received an education in scientific materialism; she never believed in ghosts or gods.

But now, not only had she traveled to ancient times, she had witnessed the history of the ancients and seen all sorts of inconceivable things.

Now, she had heard about the Forbidden Technique regarding the Zhou clansmen.

Lifespan?

The same person?

Could this be the theory of the soul?

"Wait!" Bai Wei's head felt a bit dizzy, "Grandpa, do you mean that one complete soul was split into two halves, with Zhou Yuchuan occupying one half and Zhou Yanli occupying the other, and they both exist in different space-times?"

Li Zongguang said, "You can understand it that way. Your friend was not supposed to appear in the modern space-time. But because Zhou Yanli only had half a lifespan, the other half of the lifespan appeared in the modern era, becoming your friend named Zhou Yuchuan."

Bai Wei's mind went blank, and she was completely unable to speak.

She had always thought that Zhou Yuchuan not living past thirty was due to some vicious curse; she never expected the real reason was that he was not supposed to appear in the modern era at all, and only appeared because of the Universe's law of balance.

Zhou Yuchuan worked so hard, choosing to major in archaeology and researching ancient artifacts everywhere, all to live on and lift the curse that had plagued the Zhou Family for years.

If he knew that he was a person who did not exist, and only appeared because Zhou Yanli was missing half his soul, how sad would he be?

Bai Wei found it hard to accept; her mood seemed to plummet to the bottom, and she felt extremely distressed.

"How could it be like this?"

She could not tell Zhou Yuchuan, and she dared not tell him.

Bai Wei stumbled, unable to stand steadily.

Xiao Moting immediately stepped forward, held her shoulders, and said in a deep voice.

"Don't worry, since the source has been found, there must be a way to solve it."

After finishing, he looked up at Li Zongguang.

"Old Master Li, regarding the Zhou Family having half their lifespan taken away, can the curse be lifted?"

Li Zongguang reached out his hand and pointed at the ground.

On the ground, there was a broken bowl shattered into two halves.

"If you want to resolve this matter, the only way is to let them merge into one."

"How do they merge into one?" Bai Wei looked at Li Zongguang anxiously, as if she had grabbed onto a life-saving straw. "Grandpa, that friend of mine has been helping me all along, and he treats me very well. I cannot watch him die. How do I solve this? Please tell me the method."

However, Li Zongguang furrowed his brows tightly and did not speak again.

Bai Wei grew anxious. "Grandpa, please tell me the method. This friend is very important to me..."

Just then, Xiao Moting reached out and pulled her into his embrace.

"Bai Wei, calm down first. Perhaps Old Master Li isn't speaking because there is another reason."

As he spoke, he looked up at Zhou Yanli. "Perhaps the method to merge them into one is to fuse their lifespans back together."

"Fuse them together?" Bai Wei was stunned for a moment, then suddenly came to her senses. "It couldn't be..."

A thought flashed through her mind in an instant.

No!

Bai Wei clenched her fists tightly.

She dared not speak this method, nor could she even think about it.

Beside her ears, Zhou Yanli's indifferent and cold voice rang out.

"Actually, the method is very simple: before the Forbidden Technique takes effect in three years, either I die, or he dies."