I Am the Fated Villain

Chapter 1618. It seems like I have seen it in a dream, like an old friend coming

Gu Changge glanced at Ling Yuxian with a hint of surprise, then said with interest, “What’s this? Could it be that Senior Sister Yuxian wants to interfere with whom I’m going to meet?”

Ling Yuxian had spoken out of instinct just now, but upon realizing it, her expression became somewhat awkward. However, she still forced herself to remain calm and nodded, “It’s just curiosity. If Senior Brother Gu doesn’t want to say, then forget it.”

“Oh, really?” Gu Changge’s gaze swept across her face, and he smiled, “It was just that I saved the life of an old friend in the Southern Wilderness Ancient Domain, so I’m visiting now. Of course, it’s not a woman; it’s an old man over seventy years old.”

Ling Yuxian felt that there was some teasing in his smile, and she wondered why he emphasized that it was not a woman. Nevertheless, the fact that Gu Changge actually explained the matter to her made Ling Yuxian feel a strange and indescribable emotion. It felt somewhat reassuring, but at the same time, a certain unfamiliar feeling was rising within her.

“I see. By the way, tomorrow morning, I plan to visit Saintess Xiyuan. I heard that she has arrived at the capital of Xianchu Haotu. I wonder if Senior Brother Gu has time to accompany me there?” Ling Yuxian spoke, bringing up the matter at hand.

Gu Changge hadn’t expected that she had been waiting for him just for this. In fact, he did want to meet Xiyuan, the current Saintess of the Xiyuan Sacred Hall, especially since she now possessed the Reincarnation Mirror, a treasure from the Primordial Civilization.

However, with everything going on, Gu Changge didn’t have the extra energy to deal with this matter at the moment. But why had Ling Yuxian singled him out to accompany her? Was it because the Xiyuan Sacred Hall, like the Yuxian Palace, had ties to the Black Calamity Era, and they wanted Xiyuan to investigate his identity?

“Did your sister, Ling Yuling, send you to find me?” Gu Changge smiled and asked, suddenly realizing something.

Ling Yuxian froze, not knowing how Gu Changge had figured it out. But since this was something she couldn’t lie about, she could only nod in acknowledgment.

“Since Senior Sister Yuxian has sincerely invited me, how could I possibly refuse?” Gu Changge smiled and said, “Then tomorrow morning, we’ll go together.”

Gu Changge nodded and didn’t wait for Ling Yuxian’s reply. He walked past her and went straight back to his courtyard.

Ling Yuxian stood at the entrance of the courtyard, stunned for a moment. She then furrowed her brows, feeling that something was amiss between her sister and Gu Changge. Why did Gu Changge know that it was her sister who had sent her?

There were so many elders from the Yuxian Palace, yet they specifically wanted Gu Changge to accompany her to visit Saintess Xiyuan? Was it because Gu Changge’s identity was somehow connected to the Xiyuan Sacred Hall?

With these doubts, Ling Yuxian glanced at the tightly closed courtyard door of Gu Changge, then turned to leave.

“However, this guy didn’t even invite me in for a cup of tea?” She couldn’t help but murmur inwardly, and the strange emotions she had felt earlier suddenly vanished.

The next morning, in a quiet and elegant pavilion by the water, a green lake surrounded by lush bamboo forests and ancient vines and pine trees, mist rose and smoke drifted, creating an ethereal atmosphere. Between the rock gardens and pavilions, rainbow-colored lights steamed, and celestial fog filled the air, like a sacred land of immortals.

Saintess Xiyuan was sitting cross-legged on a piece of blue stone the size of a table, her eyes closed as she absorbed the morning sun. Wisps of divine light circled around her, enveloping her in a soft glow.The black hair fluttered slightly, and her flawless face, hidden behind a veil, emitted a faint glow, both hazy and transcendent.

“Saintess, someone has come to visit again, from the Yuxian Palace. It’s a man and a woman, both look quite young,” a maid-like girl suddenly rushed over to report.

Saintess Xiyuan didn’t even open her eyes, her tone calm and unaffected, “For this period, refuse anyone who comes to visit, no exceptions.”

Her status in the Xiyuan Civilization was extraordinarily noble. Since her appearance in public yesterday, numerous visitors have come, including representatives from the Rulai Buddha Kingdom, Guangming Temple, and other civilized nations. Saintess Xiyuan couldn’t entertain each visitor out of politeness, so she had declined them all. As for the other cultivators and beings, they were aware of the difference in their status and would not bother her.

“But the woman said it’s very important and must speak with you in person,” the maid quickly explained.

“Very important?” Saintess Xiyuan opened her eyes, pondering for a moment, before starting to calculate with her fingers. Her slender fingers, as delicate as tender shoots, seemed to contain thousands of rules and orders flowing within them.

“I can’t even deduce the origin of these two visitors; this is quite interesting.”

“People from Yuxian Palace?”

She thought of the recent stir in the Shengyang Ancient Domain regarding the Sheng Clan, which had deep ties with the Yuxian Palace. Could this be related?

Her expression shifted slightly as she said, “Let them in.”

“Yes, Saintess.” The maid respectfully withdrew and soon disappeared outside the pavilion.

Saintess Xiyuan gazed in the direction the maid had gone, her thoughts deepening. She then stood up and left the blue stone.

“Speaking of which, after leaving the Xiyuan Sacred Hall this time, I used the Reincarnation Mirror to divinate the future of Xianchu Haotu. The results show many changes compared to before. Is there some unseen force affecting the fate of Xianchu Haotu?”

She couldn’t shake the feeling that a layer of invisible mist was shrouding the river of destiny for Xianchu Haotu, sometimes obscured, sometimes clear. However, this did not affect what she saw through the Reincarnation Mirror, a glimpse of a corner of the future.

No matter how many times she used the mirror to interpret the cycles, she could not change the destiny of Xianchu Haotu. The only change was the length of time before its destruction.

Just as countless thoughts were swirling in her mind, Gu Changge and Ling Yuxian, following the maid who was leading the way, arrived at the pavilion of Saintess Xiyuan.

“Looks like meeting Saintess Xiyuan isn’t an easy task,” Ling Yuxian hummed lightly, clearly displeased.

She was, after all, from the same era as the founder of the Xiyuan Sacred Hall, yet to meet the current Saintess, she had to go through the maid’s announcement and wait for approval. This feeling, to some extent, made her feel uncomfortable.

Gu Changge, however, didn’t comment on it. He wasn’t someone who was overly concerned with such small details. His main purpose in meeting Saintess Xiyuan this time was to confirm something.

Before arriving in the Xiyuan Civilization, he had often felt as though someone was calculating his fate, a hidden cause-and-effect link pulling at him.

Through that cause and effect, he was able to capture some unexpected fragments of the future. Each time, the fragments he caught were different, as though someone was continuously verifying and revising the line of the future, trying to reach the optimal conclusion.

“Only a treasure of civilization, like the Reincarnation Mirror, could have this kind of ability to simulate the future…” Gu Changge thought to himself as his gaze fell upon the enchanting woman standing by the edge of the pavilion, gazing into the distance.

“Hmm?”

Saintess Xiyuan, standing atop the pavilion, immediately noticed the two visitors. She completely ignored Ling Yuxian, who was walking alongside Gu Changge, and her gaze was fixed entirely on Gu Changge. In that instant, an indescribable sense of familiarity hit her head-on.

The images from the hundreds of simulations she had conducted using the Reincarnation Mirror flashed before her eyes like fleeting glimpses.

“How is this possible?”

Saintess Xiyuan’s expression, once casual, now shifted to one of shock and disbelief. Although she had never seen Gu Changge’s true form in the Reincarnation Mirror, she was extremely familiar with his silhouette and aura.

This left Saintess Xiyuan momentarily dazed, feeling something utterly unbelievable.

How could this be? She had simulated hundreds of possible outcomes, but why was she meeting Gu Changge in this way, at this moment?

Could it be that the hidden mastermind behind the fall of Xianchu Haotu was now making such a grand appearance?

Her gaze met Gu Changge’s in the void, and she noticed the amused interest on his face.

Saintess Xiyuan quickly regained her composure, masking her shock, and tried to calm herself down. Although it was her first time meeting Gu Changge in person, the hundreds of future simulations she had conducted made her well aware of how terrifying and mysterious this man was. She could not afford to show even the slightest vulnerability in front of him.

“Could it be that you and Saintess Xiyuan are old acquaintances, Senior Brother Gu?”

Ling Yuxian, noticing the astonishment on Saintess Xiyuan’s face, couldn’t help but look at Gu Changge with a puzzled expression.

“It’s not that we’re old acquaintances. This is my first time meeting Saintess Xiyuan, but this sense of familiarity feels like we’ve met in a dream,” Gu Changge replied with a faint smile, his lips curling with a trace of something unusual.

Their conversation was not concealed from Saintess Xiyuan, who clearly heard everything. She distinctly caught the term “Senior Brother Gu” that Ling Yuxian had used.

The only clue she had in the Reincarnation Mirror simulations to identify Gu Changge was his surname, Gu, and the fact that he had established a force called the Fatiang Alliance.

Now, seeing him in person, she could basically confirm that it was indeed him.

“In a dream?”

Ling Yuxian felt a little uncomfortable hearing this, wondering if this was some kind of unique way of flirting or making an introduction.

She also scrutinized Saintess Xiyuan, who was famous in the Xiyuan Civilization. In terms of appearance and figure, Saintess Xiyuan was not in the slightest inferior to her or her sister. Moreover, the rumors outside described her as transcendent, no longer bound by worldly matters, but truly detached from the mortal realm, pure and sacred beyond measure, like snow that could not be touched by the warmth of the world.

“This young man really does seem like someone we’ve met in a dream. Just from the first glance, it feels as though we are old friends,” Saintess Xiyuan spoke, her red lips parting gently beneath the veil. Her voice carried a hint of softness and a trace of a smile.

Ling Yuxian was stunned by her words, unsure whether Saintess Xiyuan was teasing them or speaking sincerely. The image of such a cold and sacred person saying something so intriguing on their first meeting left her wondering—had she and Gu Changge actually known each other beforehand?

“An old friend, you say? That description is quite fitting. I also feel the same way,” Gu Changge smiled slightly.

Saintess Xiyuan’s face also showed a smile, and she extended her slender, white jade hand, gesturing for the two of them to enter the pavilion. She then instructed the maid, “Serve the tea.”

She appeared calm on the outside, but inwardly, she was deeply shaken.

It was through the simulations of the Reincarnation Mirror that she had been able to perceive Gu Changge’s existence, yet how could he possibly say something like he had seen her before?

This was far beyond what she had anticipated.