Chapter 120: Zhang Xiaoyan, Do You Remember Wei Xiaofan?

At that very moment, the two guards at the door spoke in unison: "Master, you have returned!"

Before long, Master Xuanzhe stepped through the threshold. Seeing Zhang Xiaoyan there, he briefly asked if his niece-disciple had also arrived, before walking directly to the bedside to examine Xiao Ping’s complexion.

Zhang Xiaoyan immediately rushed over, clutching Master Xuanzhe’s sleeve. "Uncle, you’ve examined Xiao Ping’s wound—is he in danger? Who was it that wounded him? I asked Dahuang and Master Xuanwu earlier, but they wouldn’t tell me!"

Master Xuanzhe turned and patted Zhang Xiaoyan’s shoulder. "Rest assured, although Xiao Ping was pierced through the chest by a sharp weapon, the wound is not fatal. I have already stitched him up and channeled my energy to treat him. He is out of immediate danger; as long as he takes my Hundred-Life Soul-Returning Pill daily, he will wake up in less than half a month."

Hearing this, the sorrow on Zhang Xiaoyan’s face eased slightly, though she asked, "Half a month to wake up? That’s so long! Uncle, just who is powerful and vicious enough to wound Xiao Ping? And how could they have struck with such precision?"

Master Xuanzhe glanced at Xuanwu and Dahuang, then asked Zhang Xiaoyan, "Did you not ask your Uncle Xuanwu and Dahuang?"

"I did," Zhang Xiaoyan replied, "but they wouldn't say. Dahuang just shed tears and kept nodding and shaking its head—I don't know what it meant!"

Master Xuanzhe looked at Dahuang and Xuanwu. "Junior Brother Xuanwu, do you have any knowledge of the evil art known as Soul-Seizing?"

Hearing this, Xuanwu looked at him in surprise. "Brother, why do you ask? I heard our master mention the Soul-Seizing art long ago, but he said it was so dark and wicked that all who practiced it became infertile, so no one studies it anymore."

Master Xuanzhe continued, "More importantly, the training method is incredibly depraved and difficult. Should the practitioner deviate from the path, they descend into madness, forgetting their own identity. Furthermore, those who master it use it to enslave others. Once the art is anchored to a victim, their will is completely suppressed; they become mere puppets, carrying out the controller's every command without a shred of consciousness."

"Yes," Master Xuanwu replied, "that is what our master told me as well." He paused, then added, "That technique hasn't been mentioned in centuries. Why bring it up today? Have you encountered someone capable of using it?"

Zhang Xiaoyan, watching their exchange, felt a spark of frustration. "Uncle, what are you talking about? You still haven't answered me—who was the enemy that wounded Xiao Ping?"

Master Xuanzhe sat on the edge of the bed, placing his left hand on Wei Xiao Ping’s right hand. He gathered his strength, channeling his internal energy into Wei Xiao Ping’s body as he spoke: "Niece Zhang Xiaoyan, do you remember Wei Xiao Ping's younger brother, Wei Xiaofan?"

Zhang Xiaoyan’s eyes widened. "Of course. Ever since he went missing over a decade ago, there hasn't been a day I haven't thought of him. I just kept it to myself, fearing it would sadden Xiao Ping. Uncle, you haven't mentioned him in years—why today? Do you have news of him?"

Her eyes burned with urgency and hope. She thought to herself that if Master Xuanzhe had kept silent for so long, he must have finally discovered a lead.

Having finished channeling his energy, Master Xuanzhe took a Hundred-Life Soul-Returning Pill from his robe, handed it to Zhang Xiaoyan, and stood up. Pacing back and forth, he recounted the events of the battlefield.

As he described his duel with Wei Xiaofan, he did not use the boy's name, referring to him instead as Yang Shengtian.

When Zhang Xiaoyan heard that this "Yang Shengtian" had attacked using the very same mysterious, magical bow that Wei Xiaofan had carried on his back, her eyes filled with shock. "Uncle, why is this Yang Shengtian so similar to Wei Xiaofan? Especially that bow—isn't he the only one in the entire Wilderness Continent who possesses such a weapon? It can't be a coincidence that he looks just like him, too!"

"Niece Zhang Xiaoyan," Master Xuanzhe asked, "do you also believe that Yang Shengtian is Wei Xiaofan?"

"Yes! I am certain he is Brother Wei Xiaofan! Such things cannot be coincidental," she insisted.

"You are correct," Master Xuanzhe confirmed. "This Yang Shengtian is indeed your brother, Wei Xiaofan, who has been missing for over ten years."

Master Xuanwu added, "When I first saw the arrow wounds on the Qilin beast, I suspected it was Xiaofan’s work, as he is the only one who wields such a strange weapon, much like Xiao Ping’s Demon-Slaying Sword."

Dahuang looked up at the group, nodding and letting out a low growl, confirming their assessment.

"Dahuang, you knew all along that Yang Shengtian was Brother Wei Xiaofan, didn't you?" Zhang Xiaoyan said, her voice laced with anger. "You didn't know who to help, so you just let him wound Xiao Ping? That was irresponsible! How could you let two brothers fight each other?"

Dahuang whimpered and shook its head in protest.

Master Xuanzhe sighed. "Niece, you misunderstand Dahuang. Xiao Ping was wounded because he chose not to retaliate for three strikes, hoping to make Xiaofan recognize him. You know what a man of honor and loyalty Xiao Ping is—especially when facing the brother he has sought for a decade."

"I don't understand!" Zhang Xiaoyan said, puzzled. "If this Yang Shengtian is really Wei Xiaofan, why won't he admit it? He was fourteen or fifteen when he disappeared; he should remember his life before that. And they are twins—even without anything else, their appearance and personality should be proof enough!"

"That is the crux of the problem," Master Xuanzhe replied. "The current Wei Xiaofan has lost all memory of his life before the age of fifteen. He has no recollection of Wei Xiao Ping at all."

"Brother," Master Xuanwu asked, "when you fought him, did he not recognize you as his master? Did he have no memory of you either?"

"Since he has forgotten everything before fifteen, that naturally includes me," Master Xuanzhe said.

"If he has forgotten his past entirely," Master Xuanwu pondered, "then how does he still know how to use that bow? He received it from a master when he was only five or six!"

"Master Xuanwu is right!" Zhang Xiaoyan added. "I remember meeting the brothers when I was six; he was already practicing with that bow. Though, it didn't seem terribly complex to use."

"Brother," Master Xuanwu asked, "is your earlier question about the Soul-Seizing art related to the Wei Xiaofan you encountered today?"

Master Xuanzhe sat back down by the bedside, hesitating before he spoke. "I suspect that the reason Wei Xiaofan has become this way—wiping his memory clean—is because someone has cast the Soul-Seizing art upon him."

Xuanwu and Zhang Xiaoyan were stunned, stepping closer to him.

"Did you see signs today that his behavior matches the traits of someone under the influence of that art?" Master Xuanwu asked.

Zhang Xiaoyan felt a chill of dread. What kind of nightmare was this Soul-Seizing art? To think it could erase a person's very memory. She prayed that Brother Xiaofan had not truly fallen victim to such a cursed thing.