"I came to ask you something."
"Of course I will speak frankly and without reservation." Zuo Mei smiled slightly. Although she did not have a stunningly beautiful face, she possessed unparalleled elegance.
Shen Yebai didn't waste any words and went straight to asking Zuo Mei, "Where is Fen Tian?"
"Young Master Fen has been ordered to go to the Western Continent."
"Under orders? Whose orders?" Shen Yebai frowned.
Zuo Mei pondered for a moment: "It seems to be an order from the Fen family."
Burning the family home...is that related to him?
Shen Yebai remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he became wary: "Does he know about this?"
It goes without saying who he is.
Zuo Mei smiled gently: "The Emperor knows, and even asked me to pass on a message to you, young master. I was just about to contact you."
"...What does he want now?" Ever since Shen Yebai realized his feelings, he felt irritable whenever he thought about his identity, and he became unwilling to do things that he used to take for granted.
"The Emperor said that this matter can only be clarified in person," Zuo Mei said slowly.
Shen Yebai's hands, hidden under his sleeves, clenched unconsciously, and his lips were pressed into a thin line, clearly showing his resistance to meeting.
But Zuo Mei was just relaying a message on behalf of that person. The decision to contact Shen Yebai was never up to Shen Yebai.
The private room wasn't large, but it contained an enormous boulder. Zuo Shu noticed that Shen Yebai was in a bad mood, but didn't say much. She simply raised her hand against the boulder and created a water curtain.
The water curtain flowed slowly, but what was reflected was not two people, but another figure.
Shen Yebai took a deep breath, and the image on the water screen finally froze on a cave, and inside the cave sat a person whose features were eight parts similar to his own.
Zuo Mei bowed to the people in the water curtain, quietly left the private room, closed the door, and gave the two of them some space.
"...What do you want from me?" Shen Yebai broke the silence first.
"I should be the one asking you what happened over there." The person in the water curtain chuckled softly, but his eyes remained indifferent.
He propped his chin on his hand and asked casually, "According to the plan, you should be checking the box in Xizhou at this time."
"I was held up by something." Shen Yebai hated this person's arrogant attitude the most, as if he was constantly reminding Shen Yebai of his status.
"Whether it's because of work or because of people, I think you know better than I do," the man said, raising an eyebrow and scoffing.
"You know?!" Shen Yebai's voice rose involuntarily, a hint of panic flashing in his eyes.
"I know, and I also know his name is Qin Moyu."
The man's expression turned strange, and his tone carried a hint of disbelief, "At first I thought you were only interested in his status—after all, he's the Crimson Lotus Karmic Flame—but I never expected you to fall for him. It's truly surprising."
"And—" the man raised his chin slightly and smiled mockingly, "you actually concealed the news of the Red Lotus Karmic Fire for him, and wrote back to tell me that the box was not on Yu Lin, trying to remove him. I didn't expect you to be so infatuated, Shen Yebai."
When he mentioned Shen Yebai, he was smiling, but his eyes were cold.
If it were someone else standing here, their mere presence would be enough to intimidate others, not to mention their Tribulation Transcending stage strength would leave no room for resistance. Yet Shen Yebai stood here fearlessly, confronting him.
"So what if I am?" Shen Yebai's dark eyes met his, filled with fierce anger, as he questioned him, "What else do you know? What exactly did you do to me?!"
Unexpectedly, the person who was questioning Shen Yebai burst into laughter.
"Shen Yebai, you seem to have misunderstood something—"
The man suddenly stood up and slowly walked to the water curtain on his side. He felt the fluctuating emotions coming from Shen Yebai's side and found it incredibly funny.
"I didn't do anything wrong, don't you understand?"
The man tapped his forehead with his slender fingers. His dark eyes were exactly like Shen Yebai's, but compared to Shen Yebai, he also carried a profound and indifferent quality that came with the passage of time: "You are me."
"It was I who separated you. Although you have another name and another body, we have always been one person—"
That person—no, it should be Shen Mo—placed his hand on his heart and chuckled softly, "I don't need to do anything, because you are me."
"You are Shen Mo. From beginning to end, there was never a person named Shen Yebai in this world."
—Shen Mo.
Shen Yebai clenched his fist so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh, even drawing out traces of blood, but he seemed oblivious.
If a person is born from another person's soul separated to complete a plan, with no past, no future, and not even their own name, can they still be considered a person?
Thinking of this, Shen Yebai couldn't help but laugh self-deprecatingly, his eyes filled with boundless sorrow.
Shen Mo is right, Shen Yebai has never existed in this world.
33. Chapter Thirty-Three: I think, therefore I am
“Our goals are the same, because you are me,” Shen Mo said gently.
Shen Yebai lowered his head, seemingly lost in deep frustration.
Shen Mo slightly curled the corners of his mouth, sensing the low mood coming from Shen Yebai's side. He felt that Shen Yebai's concealment of this matter was not serious. After all, it was normal for subordinates to have disloyal thoughts. However, he could always make them realize what the right choice was.
In order to better control Shen Yebai, he decided to give Shen Yebai an irresistible reason: "As long as you complete the plan well, you won't need the Red Lotus Karmic Fire, and Qin Moyu will be safe. Otherwise... if our plan fails, he will also be in trouble."