Is He Really Wu Mingdao

Chen Chang'an looked at the young man grinning foolishly at him, his expression deeply complex.

This person's face reminded him of Wu Mingdao, yet the two were vastly different in countless ways.

"I asked you—do you know him?"

Seeing the group of youths remain silent, Chen Chang'an's face darkened, frightening them to their knees.

"We... we don’t know him either. We just know he’s an idiot. We come by to tease him when we have nothing better to do."

"Sir, we never harmed him. In fact, we gave him food every day."

"At most... we just played a few pranks on him."

They didn’t know him?

Then was he not a native of this City of No Return? But if that were the case, how could a fool like him have entered the city?

According to the rules of the City of No Return, newborns here were exempt from any fees until they turned eighteen.

So, he must have been born here. But ending up in such a state meant he either had no family left... or had been abandoned by them from childhood.

Chen Chang'an slowly crouched down, gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar youth before him, and asked with a smile, "Would you like to come with me?"

The young man simply kept grinning at him, showing no reaction, as if he hadn’t heard a word.

"You’ll have clothes to wear, food to eat, and no one will bully you anymore."

"How about it?" Chen Chang'an wasn’t impatient, repeating the question gently.

This time, the youth finally responded. Whether it was the promise of clothes, food, or freedom from torment, he nodded at Chen Chang'an with that same vacant smile.

"If you’re willing, then follow me."

Chen Chang'an stood up, and the youth followed suit. When Chen Chang'an turned around, he noticed the other boys hadn’t left—they were still trembling nearby.

"Can... can we go now?" one of them stammered.

"Originally, this wouldn’t have been a big deal. But unfortunately..."

Chen Chang'an glanced at them, then flicked his hand, striking them all down in an instant.

Their crimes didn’t warrant death—but they had humiliated someone they should never have humiliated.

"You went out and came back with... a beggar?"

The Boss Lady frowned slightly at the sight of Chen Chang'an returning with a grimy, foolish boy, though her eyes held no disgust—something that earned Chen Chang'an’s silent approval.

"Could I trouble you with something?" Chen Chang'an asked with a smile.

"Oh? A big shot like you needs my help?"

"Go on, I’m curious." The Boss Lady tilted her head.

"You’re well-connected here. Could you help me investigate his background?"

Investigate his background?

The Boss Lady studied the filthy youth, puzzled. What was Chen Chang'an’s motive? Did he have some connection to this fool?

"Fine, I’ll look into it. But no guarantees I’ll find anything."

"Thank you."

"Want me to have someone fetch him clothes and prepare hot water?"

"Yes. I’ll pay you back in spirit stones later."

"Don’t bother. It’s not like it’ll cost much."

Chen Chang'an nodded at her before leading the boy, who bore an uncanny resemblance to Wu Mingdao, back to his courtyard.

"Young Master, who is this?" Gu Xian'er was equally curious—how had Chen Chang'an returned with an extra person after just one outing?

"I suspect he might be Wu Mingdao’s reincarnation."

Reincarnation?

Back at Tianshui Lake, Gu Xian'er had naturally heard the rumors. But she never expected they’d find him so soon.

Wasn’t this too much of a coincidence?

"Just because they look alike?"

"But there must be people with similar appearances in this world, right?" Gu Xian'er questioned skeptically.

Chen Chang'an agreed. The Grand Mystic Realm was vast—doppelgängers surely existed.

But this boy resembled Wu Mingdao to an eerie degree. Whether it was true or not, Chen Chang'an didn’t want to miss the chance.

"Da Huang, can you figure out what’s wrong with him?"

"Or is there a way to confirm if he’s connected to Wu Mingdao?" Chen Chang'an asked.

At this, Da Huang’s expression turned solemn. After a moment of thought, he said, "Wu Mingdao was at the Immortal Realm when he died."

"Logically, someone of that level reincarnating would have a chance to awaken past memories."

"Even if he didn’t, he shouldn’t have ended up like this—a babbling fool."

"Unless something went wrong at birth... or Wu Mingdao’s soul was severely damaged before death."

"So, to confirm if this is really him, we’d need to heal him first."

"I just checked—this kid’s soul is indeed damaged. And all these years, as someone without cultivation, he’s been heavily affected by bloodthirsty energy."

"You’d need to repair his soul and purge the bloodthirsty energy from his mind."

"Got any ideas?"

Chen Chang'an frowned, then began rummaging through his storage for anything that could restore a soul.

While he searched, the Boss Lady had someone deliver fresh clothes and hot water, even assigning two attendants to help clean the boy up.

"What’s he doing?"

Noticing Chen Chang'an’s complete lack of reaction to her arrival, the Boss Lady turned to Gu Xian'er in curiosity.

"Young Master is looking for something," Gu Xian'er replied.

Something to heal the boy?

The Boss Lady didn’t press further, simply standing quietly to the side as she waited.

A long while later, Chen Chang'an finally withdrew his consciousness from his spatial ring.

"Strange. How could I not have anything like this?"

He was baffled. With so many treasures at his disposal, how was there nothing to restore a soul?

Then, it hit him.

Mu Yunyao had once told him that his soul was extraordinarily powerful, his mental strength bordering on monstrous.

That was why, even without cultivation, he could use spatial rings—something unimaginable for anyone else. Yet Chen Chang'an had done it effortlessly.

Because of this, Mu Yunyao had never worried about his soul being damaged and thus never given him such treasures. Chen Chang'an himself had never paid it much mind.

"Hm? When did you get here?"

Snapping out of his thoughts, Chen Chang'an realized the Boss Lady had been staring straight at him the whole time.

"You really aren’t afraid of danger, are you? Are you just careless, or do you simply not care?"

She couldn’t fathom how Chen Chang'an could be so absorbed in his own world, completely oblivious to his surroundings.

It was incredibly reckless. If danger struck, he wouldn’t react in time.

"I can’t die."

Chen Chang'an spoke this truth very earnestly, but the Boss Lady didn’t believe him, thinking he was just joking.

"The matter you asked me to investigate—there’s news already."

"Oh? That fast?"

"You’re really underestimating me. Did you think it’d take me days to dig up some information?"

"This kid was born in No-Return City. A pitiful case—his parents were killed on the very day he was born."

"Because No-Return City has a rule protecting newborns, he was spared. But as he grew older, the people who took him in noticed he was slow-witted and drove him out."

"All these years, he’s been wandering and begging in No-Return City. It’s a miracle he’s survived this long."

"As for the reason behind his mental impairment, it might be due to severe trauma in the womb, compounded by years of exposure to blood-fiend energy."

"You want to cure his condition?" the Boss Lady asked.

"Yes, but I don’t have the means to do so."

"Is that so? Well, I might be able to help you figure something out."

"Oh? You have a way?"