“To be honest, your request really surprised me.”

Yan Hui and Ruan Xun gave the lady with a full head of silver hair but still youthful features a professional smile while exchanging a surprised glance.

“I need offspring who possess my son’s excellent genes. At the same time, I also know that my son will never return. Imbuing Fei Ze’s memories into this child would be unfair to him.

He will exist as Fei Ze’s son, and in the future, he will support the entire Mu family.”

As members who grew up with Hua Lan Star and witnessed its ups and downs over the past few centuries, Yan Hui and Ruan Xun would naturally give the Mu family face.

However, they didn't expect that the Mu family’s matriarch would seek their help with such a request.

“My child died on the Empire’s battlefield. I have always been proud of his fervor and passion, but this continued until his death… Fei Ze, my dazzling youngest son…”

Mentioning her youngest son, whose body was never recovered, Old Madam Mu’s tears began to fall. Ruan Xun handed her a tissue.

“There will never be another Mu Fei Ze. All that is needed is a mature successor.”

The old lady wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes as she spoke. “I know about the ‘Eternal Life Project’ researched by the research institute, and I also understand that the spiritual eternity you are studying still requires a body, just a vessel. But I need the opposite… I need a body, a body with Fei Ze’s genes…”

“Even if it contains a mature soul, right?” Yan Hui interjected, his sharp gaze piercing into Old Madam Mu’s eyes. He continued, “Don’t you find it terrifying that someone with the exact same face as your son has a personality, behavior, and way of thinking that are all different from the son you remember?”

“I said, he is not my son. His identity, to the outside world, is an adopted son that I chose for my prematurely deceased son. Later, he will become my heir.”

“So, you need a perfect heir, preferably one with a mature way of thinking, so that you can keep him by your side and carefully teach him to become an excellent successor, is that right?”

“Yes.”

Hearing Old Madam Mu’s unwavering answer, Yan Hui raised his eyebrows. “Okay, I understand.”

…

“Have you… ever resented Old Madam Mu?”

Ming Mei had never known exactly how Mu Chen had obtained a legitimate identity in this era until the day before she and Mu Chen planned to get married, when she learned about it so clearly.

A purposeful upbringing, rational and clear-headed—this was truly a case of mutual exploitation.

However, Ming Mei had seen Mu Chen’s respect for Old Madam Mu over the years. She had also witnessed Old Madam Mu’s kindness towards her and her concern for Mu Chen.

Suddenly knowing the “relationship” between Old Madam Mu and Mu Chen, Ming Mei found it somewhat difficult to comment for a moment.

“No, I am very grateful to her for giving me a new body and identity.”

Mu Chen shook his head, not minding it at all. Just as Old Madam Mu never minded his origins, the two souls with their own purposes unexpectedly became the most compatible grandmother and grandson, comforting each other.

She was relieved that he would no longer be as reckless and self-sacrificing as her youngest son had been in her memories.

He admired her calmness and strength. When he made mistakes, she would criticize him mercilessly, analyzing all the superficial aspects of things for him in detail.

“Although her initial purpose was very strong, growing up by her side, I know that she is just a soft-hearted old lady.”

“Knowing that you call her an old lady when you talk to me, is it so hard for you to just call her Grandma?”

Hearing Ming Mei’s words, Mu Chen couldn’t help but smile. Then, Ming Mei took a light breath and carefully asked about Mu Chen’s former master, Xie Zhen.

She suddenly took Mu Chen’s hand, watching the fleeting hint of nostalgia in his eyes, and carefully asked, “A Chen, do you miss Sect Leader Xie Zhen?”

“I do, but I’m not worthy…”

Filled with melancholy and regret, Mu Chen never regretted anything he had done for Ming Mei, but he still felt guilty, sorry for the sect leader who had brought him back to the sect and raised him since he was a child.

His master had repeatedly told him that heavenly secrets could not be predicted, but for his sake, his master had ultimately exhausted his cultivation to calculate that glimmer of life for him, giving up reincarnation and bearing the heavenly punishment of the destruction of his soul.

Ming Mei had never seen such helplessness and guilt on Mu Chen’s face.

Mu Chen had once thought that if it weren't for this new identity of Mu Chen, he would probably only be called "Chen," without a surname.

He was not worthy of his master’s surname.

Xie Zhen had given him his name, brought him back to the sect, and raised him, but all he had repaid him with was those things, harming the world, burdening the sect, and his master.

Old Madam Mu had given him a new identity. Although she was not as kind to him as his master had been, the events of the past made him cherish everything before him all the more.

Unfortunately, the past could not be recovered.

Listening to Mu Chen’s confession, Ming Mei remained silent the entire time.

She never expected that Mu Chen had buried so much in his heart, and had even analyzed it with her for so long, making her gift feel a little hot in her hands at this moment.

She had originally thought that Mu Chen would be very happy with the gift she was about to take out, but now she wasn’t sure if he would cry.

…

“Heavenly principles can be measured, but people's hearts cannot~”

The boy was wearing a Daoist robe, with a hairpin crookedly inserted into his hair bun. He sat upside down on a donkey, chewing on a dog's tail grass and flipping through the *Gua Jing*, the introductory scripture for Bu Tian Sect disciples. (Gua Jing: Classic of Divination)

"Come on, if heavenly principles could be measured, the elders wouldn’t have repeatedly told us not to deduce the heavenly principles when they were explaining the *Tian Yan Jue*!" (Tian Yan Jue: Heavenly Evolution Art)

The boy stuffed the book into his Qiankun bag (Qiankun bag: a type of magical storage bag), lay down on the donkey, and looked at the blue sky and white clouds, appearing carefree and content.

He touched the wine gourd at his waist, took it up, poured two mouthfuls into his mouth, smacked his lips, and muttered, "Bu Tian Sect, Bu Tian Sect, if you don't divine the heavenly principles, then what's the point of calling it Bu Tian Sect? When I get stronger, I will definitely… hiss!"

Suddenly, the boy felt a stabbing pain in his temples. He suddenly sat up from the donkey's back, spit out the dog's tail grass in his mouth, took out the mission jade tablet, and whispered, "Forget it, forget it, I'll just complete the mission first. I'll investigate why there's such chaos in the mortal realm..."

Mu Chen watched the face on the projection, which was almost an exact replica of his master's when he was young, and for a moment, he didn’t know what to say.

"Although Sect Leader Xie Zhen used his soul to block the heavenly tribulation that was triggered when you became demonized, his true soul was not scattered, it just didn't enter reincarnation. A Jiu and her husband accidentally discovered him while traveling through the Nine Heavens and Eight Desolations.

Later, Sect Leader Tian Qing obtained Sect Leader Xie Zhen's soul from A Jiu. He used his lifespan as a bet to divine a method of reincarnation for Sect Leader Xie Zhen. In the end, these were the scenes he calculated…”

As Ming Mei spoke, she paid attention to Mu Chen's reaction. Mu Chen's expression was stunned when he heard the name Qi Tianqing.

He had forgotten that someone who had become a close friend with his master couldn’t possibly not know anything about divination.

At the end of the scene, there was a sigh from someone: "A Zhen, you reckless fool!"

Immediately afterward, an old, low laugh carried a long sigh, its joy and sorrow indistinguishable…