Could her birth date and horoscope be identical to the original owner’s? Was this a coincidence?

Panguan had specifically found her this incomplete corpse to resurrect into. She could feel the compatibility between her own soul and this body — could it be because the two of them were born in the same year, the same month, the same day, at the same hour?

Lang Jiuchuan recalled the original owner’s birth date she had seen inscribed in the ancestral hall, her fingers subtly performing a calculation, trying to divine the remarkable nature of that horoscope.

The moment she cast the reading, her brow furrowed. The year of the Jiachen Dragon, the month of the Dragon, the day of the Dragon, the hour of the Dragon — if the timing was without the slightest deviation, then this destiny would truly be of extraordinarily noble quality. It should not have been a fate destined for early death.

Lang Jiuchuan quickly cast this doubt aside. Just as the Great Dao holds fifty principles yet Heaven’s workings account for only forty-nine, there is not a single fate in this world that truly flows smoothly from birth to death without a single obstacle, with all things proceeding as wished. Sometimes, a minor misstep can taint a prosperous and noble destiny with misfortune — in lighter cases, it brings bad luck; in severe cases, it alters the very nature of the fate entirely, or even causes death.

Just like when someone steals another’s destiny.

The original owner’s fate was no different. If it was truly so extraordinarily noble, and someone harbored greed and wished to tamper with it, it would not be impossible for them to succeed.

What she needed to focus on was the fact that she and the original owner, in all likelihood, shared the same birth date.

Now this was interesting.

The original owner died, and she had also died — they were both finished. What could the reason be? Was it this remarkably noble fate that Heaven had sent down as an auspicious omen?

“Something doesn’t add up,” Jiangche said, deeply puzzled. “If they clearly shattered the original owner’s soul into oblivion, why would they still use her birth characters to perform the Soul Summoning Technique across a thousand li? And they summoned your soul with such precision — does that connection still hold some influence?”

Lang Jiuchuan said: “What is called cause and effect — all things are interconnected. I am using this body; her soul is gone, but what of her residual essence? Even if only a trace remains, as small as a fingernail’s sliver, that is still her. If there were personal belongings of hers, it would be even easier to summon.”

As she said this, her gaze grew several degrees colder. “Such precision — I fear it was coincidence. He did not expect that my own birth characters would be identical.”

Jiangche said: “Tell me, who exactly are you? What a coincidence — to be reborn in a corpse whose birth characters match your own?”

“Panguan said this was my only path to survival.”

“Would it not be easier to just find those people and ask them directly? Since you have a personal acquaintance with him, instead of going through all this trouble of investigating everything, why not simply get a clear answer from them?”

Lang Jiuchuan smiled lightly: “Where in this world does such a ‘want it both ways’ arrangement exist? A person ought to have some principles. Defying the cycle of reincarnation to allow me to return to the mortal world already goes against the rules of Heaven and Earth. I cannot, on account of one person like me, get others struck by lightning in return.”

“Oh ho, I never expected you to have such self-awareness. Are you putting on an act?”

“Silence!” Could she admit it was because she couldn’t overpower that Nine-Layer Purgatory?

But no matter — since she had been given a second chance and this lifeline, one day she would uncover the truth of the mystery of her identity. She would not have lived this life in vain.

Jiangche watched her suddenly brimming with fighting spirit, and felt something stir within him. If she refused to give up even with such a body as this, should he not also seek out a tiger’s vessel anew, resume cultivation — might he too touch upon the threshold of becoming a divine beast?

“You must also find a body for yourself.”

Lang Jiuchuan spoke as though she had perceived his thoughts through her spiritual sense: “You and I share one body only as a temporary measure; we will not remain like this forever. If you wish to become a divine beast — or even take human form — you must have your own original body. Only with an original body can you have the foundation for cultivation. Wandering solely as spiritual sense, if you were to encounter a formidable Celestial Master who captured and refined you, that would truly be the end. Moreover, spiritual sense without a vessel will eventually dissipate. You need only look at whether a mountain has spirit to know the truth of this — where a mountain has no spirit, nothing can exist.”

Jiangche shuddered.

He stared at Lang Jiuchuan for a long while before finally squeezing out: “I never expected you to actually think about my wellbeing.”

Lang Jiuchuan lowered her eyes, her voice cool and detached: “We are partners. If you wish for us to understand each other better, you naturally must consider the other’s interests more. If we were enemies, the only option would be to eliminate the other before they could grow.”

Be grateful you chose to be a partner, and not an enemy.

Jiangche looked at her sideways, feeling she was implying something at his expense, yet unable to find evidence for it.

Lang Jiuchuan said only what needed to be said: “The original owner’s death — while I cannot be certain — is probably connected to the Xuan Clan. Now that this one has been defeated, there may still be others who come to kill me. When that moment arrives, I must seize the opportunity to confirm it. Before then, I need to gather more intelligence on the Xuan Clan. You—”

“Anything I could dig up, the Tongtian Pavilion could find better.”

“Too expensive.”

Jiangche was furious. So it was simply his role to be useful and free of charge?

Lang Jiuchuan said: “Gather what you can. After all, you and I still share this body — if I am finished, you will be finished along with me. We prosper together or fall together. My enemies are your enemies.”

So logical, yet why does it feel somewhat like brainwashing?

“Once we get the shop running in the future and have some silver, we can go to Tongtian Pavilion and spend freely — as much as we wish.”

Understood, so right now we are just a pair of paupers.

Jiangche agreed in aggrieved resentment, when a flash of inspiration suddenly struck: “Tongtian Pavilion should have intelligence. What if I go there and… ahem, lend an ear through the wall — what do you think?”

Lang Jiuchuan laughed coldly: “Aren’t you just so very clever. If you want to die, go right ahead. The aura from that place is far from ordinary. If you get trapped inside, don’t expect me to come rescue you.”

Vicious words, yet a soft heart. What do you call what you did earlier, curling around me to help me dodge?

Jiangche did not argue. The owner behind Tongtian Pavilion was extraordinarily mysterious — it had stood for so long that not even the Xuan Clan could shake it. Either it had some connection to the Xuan Clan, or the power behind it was even more formidable than the Xuan Clan. Either way, it did not seem like something he ought to provoke. And if it had ties to the Xuan Clan, would he not simply be delivering himself to their door?

“Fine then. Let me state upfront — I am not doing this for you. I am doing it for myself.” After all, they shared a body.

Lang Jiuchuan said: “Find out everything about their areas of expertise and make note of all the guests they receive — but do not start any conflict with them. As long as the green mountain remains, there will always be firewood to burn. For something like today, I can still manage against one person. But if they were to be shameless and mob me all at once, I — as I am now — cannot withstand that.”

She was not afraid of the Xuan Clan. It was simply that when there was such a vast disparity in power between two sides, she would not engage in a head-on collision. After all, she was alone, while they were bound together through marriage alliances. If they came at her all together, no matter how capable she was, it would be futile. Furthermore, her soul was not yet intact — she was still in the phase of barely surviving.

What she needed was time — merit, and the restoration of her physical body.

She would wait a little longer.

“Why not go ask your birth mother, Cui Shi?” Jiangche ventured cautiously.

Lang Jiuchuan looked over at him.

Jiangche said: “Wasn’t it that maid called Molan who mentioned that the eldest mistress of the Gong Family had written back to Madam? The Gong Family is one of the Xuan Clan, and that eldest mistress is from the main bloodline.”

Lang Jiuchuan remembered — Cui Shi had told Lang Zhengping that day she would write to the Gong Family’s eldest mistress, saying she was a sworn sister from girlhood.

Thinking of this, she suddenly recalled that the matter of who was targeting the Lang Family had not yet been resolved, and felt a headache coming on.

Panguan, you plague-bringer — I merely borrowed your Panguan brush for a moment’s use. Was there any need to find her a body entangled in so many troublesome affairs?