Gu Qiaoqiao reached out, pulled Xiao Wen out of the car, and only then did Xiao Wen come back to herself. She forced a smile at Gu Qiaoqiao, and the two of them walked out of the garage and stood in front of the main courtyard gate.

Lian Yuhong and Gu Tianfeng were not in the Gu Garden. They had gone to Stone Town to attend Lian Dongsheng’s wedding.

Even though it was already noon, there was still no sign of the Old Patriarch or Great Grandma. Clearly, the two of them had gone out strolling again.

Gu Qiaoqiao quietly let out a breath of relief, because Xiao Wen’s condition right now was very bad. Her face was pale, her eyes vacant—one look and you could tell something had happened.

Gu Qiaoqiao took Xiao Wen’s hand. "Sister Xiao Wen, let’s go back to your courtyard."

Xiao Wen nodded but didn’t speak. Her brows were still tightly knitted. The beautiful woman who was usually so arrogant and unrestrained was now like an eggplant hit by frost, completely wilted, making people’s hearts ache for her.

Gu Qiaoqiao held Xiao Wen’s hand and led her into Xiao Wen’s own courtyard. Maybe she would feel a bit better in a familiar place.

Xiao Wen sat down on the sofa and curled herself up, leaning into a corner of the couch. She hugged a throw pillow, buried her chin in it, and stared blankly at a spot on the floor, her gaze unmoving for a long time.

Gu Qiaoqiao poured her a glass of water and set it on the coffee table beside her, then sat down opposite Xiao Wen. After thinking for a moment she still asked, "Sister Xiao Wen, doesn’t the Phoenix Clan and the Phoenix Clan each have its own Clan Leader? How come these two clans still have a shared Clan Leader?"

Xiao Wen finally raised her head and looked at Gu Qiaoqiao, stunned for a moment, then said softly, "Qiaoqiao, do you remember what my dad said that time in that cave in Jinling City?"

"...I remember those elders said that someone with the Phoenix Clan’s shared bloodline had been born, but they’d been searching all this time..."

Gu Qiaoqiao carefully recalled.

...Elder Sima had said that while they, the elders, were acting as protectors, they had all fainted inexplicably. When they woke up, that Nirvana Stone was already gone. They searched for a long time and never found it.

The elders all thought that Nirvana Stone had been punished by the Heavenly Dao and turned to ash because the Heavenly Dao would not allow its birth, since that Nirvana Stone was different from the others—half red, half black, and its Spiritual Power extremely strong.

By the time they found the missing Nirvana Stone, the person inside was unfortunately already gone. Using their Spiritual Power to confirm, they determined it was a boy who possessed both the Phoenix Clan and Phoenix Clan bloodlines. So the four elders split the Nirvana Stone into four parts and set out separately to search...

Thinking of this, Gu Qiaoqiao murmured to herself, "Could it be that the person they spoke of is Chu Chengfeng?"

When Xiao Wen heard the three words "Chu Chengfeng," a flash of pain crossed her eyes, but she still nodded. "Yes. He admitted it himself, so it must be true."

Then Xiao Wen toppled sideways on the sofa, burying her face, sinking into emotions no one else could understand.

At a moment like this, Gu Qiaoqiao wished so much that she could calm down, yet Gu Qiaoqiao also worried that once Xiao Wen did calm down, she might impulsively go confront Chu Chengfeng, or do something foolish, like trying to bring back the real Chu Chengfeng, instead of the current Clan Leader of the Phoenix Clan.

But right now, nothing could be done.

Gu Qiaoqiao stood up. "Sister Xiao Wen, try to calm down first. I’ll go to the kitchen and make some food."

Curled up on the sofa, Xiao Wen seemed to react a little. She lifted her head and glanced at Qiaoqiao. "You should go home at noon. What about the two kids otherwise?"

"It’s fine. Before I left this morning, I already told Grandma. The kids are older now, they can have some solid food in moderation. I’ll go back this afternoon."

After she finished speaking, Gu Qiaoqiao left, leaving this quiet, elegant space to the heartsick and bewildered Sima Xiaowen.

Meanwhile, Chu Chengfeng was sitting in the office in the backyard. At this very moment, memories from several centuries had all surged back, flooding his mind.

The instant he opened his eyes, it even felt like his head might explode. Fortunately, the Mana from this Nirvana Rebirth was many levels deeper than before, so he got through it lightly and, in the shortest time, sorted everything out.

And of course he had also seen Gu Qiaoqiao and Sima Xiaowen leaving the beef noodle shop.

His brows knitted slightly. He had just indirectly learned one thing. Without needing to ask too much, he only had to confirm one point—that was his relationship with Xiao Wen.

He had never imagined that this body of his and Sima Xiaowen were actually lovers. The corner of his mouth curled into a cold, faintly mocking smile.

After circling around and around, he had ended up entangled with that crazy girl.

But what he hadn’t expected was that Sima Xiaowen had forgotten what had happened back then between the Phoenix Clan and the Phoenix Clan, and had also forgotten what had happened to her.

And he, returning from Nirvana, had also forgotten that he was currently in a romantic relationship with Sima Xiaowen.

Was this the arrangement of fate, or just another cruel joke? 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Chu Chengfeng stood up, his tall figure standing in front of the window, looking out at the bustling crowds across the way.

This was the most prosperous district of the Imperial Capital. As of now he was immensely wealthy, with money pouring in every day.

The future operating funds for the Phoenix Clan and Phoenix Clan were no longer a concern.

In the past, the Phoenix Clan and Phoenix Clan had indeed always lived in uninhabited places.

But later they found that this was not a long-term solution. The younger generation in the clan was being raised like blank sheets of paper, ignorant of the hardships of the world and the treachery of human hearts. So later they entered the mortal world. What they hadn’t expected was that once they did, the Phoenix Clan’s and Phoenix Clan’s capabilities grew stronger, and their influence expanded in a way that pleasantly surprised them. But they also hadn’t expected hearts to change. Fortunately, after many more years, they finally managed to slowly straighten everything out.

And he became the fifth Clan Leader of the Phoenix Clan.

He had a childhood companion he grew up with, a Little Phoenix Bird. Her name was Liu Ling.

No matter how you looked at it, the two of them were a good match.

The elders had already tacitly acknowledged her as the future Clan Leader’s Wife. He had no objection, because given Liu Ling’s abilities and her character, she was more than capable of taking on the responsibilities of the Clan Leader’s Wife and staying by his side to handle all matters of the Phoenix Clan.

What’s more, during one of his Nirvanas, Liu Ling had been willing to sacrifice her life just to ensure his Nirvana succeeded.

Fortunately, the Divine Clan blessed them, and in the end both of them came through safe and sound. So he treated Liu Ling very well. And it was around that time that Sima Xiaowen appeared.

Sima Xiaowen now had no memories. She thought her time in Nirvana had been very short, but in fact her time and his and Liu Ling’s were almost the same. It was only because of the Phoenix Clan’s special bloodline that it was delayed by several hundred years.

Then she became Elder Sima’s daughter. Elder Sima doted on her, spoiling her until she was utterly lawless. However, because most of her activities were within the Phoenix Clan, she didn’t actually stir up any major trouble.