PWE – Chapter 136

“Zhaozhao is a very cute child,” Long Yan suddenly looked at Zhaozhao’s small face and said, his expression turning somewhat gentle.

Seeing Long Yan’s gaze, Xiao Wange’s eyes darkened slightly, and she hugged Zhaozhao a little tighter.

Her eyes flickered, and a point of golden light gathered at her fingertips, ready to attack at any moment.

Long Yan raised his hand, and suddenly a bundle materialized out of thin air.

He handed the bundle to Xiao Wange. “This is a New Year’s gift for you and Zhaozhao.”

Xiao Wange glanced at the bundle, her brows tightening slightly. “Although you say that we knew each other before, I don’t remember you at all now. So to me, you’re a stranger. And a stranger’s things—”

“Take it,” Long Yan interrupted her. “After all, I… can be considered Zhaozhao’s father as well.”

Xiao Wange: “……”

Those words shook her to the core, and her pupils involuntarily contracted.

She wanted to speak, but he suddenly stood up and straightened the wrinkles in his clothes. “It’s getting late. I’ll be leaving now. I believe that in the future… we’ll have more chances to meet.”

With that, he walked out of the main hall and disappeared into the darkness.

Xiao Wange watched his retreating figure, her brows knitting tightly together.

She raised a hand to her forehead, trying to recall something, trying to quickly figure out who exactly this man was.

But reality disappointed her once again.

She couldn’t remember anything. Her mind was completely blank.

Another half hour passed, and the fire in the brazier gradually died down. Xiao Wange picked up a piece of firewood beside her and gently tossed it into the brazier.

Just as she was about to add another piece, footsteps suddenly came from outside.

The sound made her pause.

She abruptly lifted her head and looked toward the doorway.

In the courtyard, Zhan Zeyan’s figure gradually came into her line of sight.

He was carrying a large bundle in his hand, a gentle smile on his face as he walked toward the main hall. “Wange…”

He called her softly, his voice especially gentle in the night.

Xiao Wange stood up holding Zhaozhao and went to meet him. “Why are you back at this hour? You—”

“My comrades and I passed by the town. I thought tonight is New Year’s Eve, so I wanted to come back and spend the New Year with you. I discussed it with them, and we’ll stay in town tonight and leave early tomorrow morning.”

As he spoke, he walked into the room and set the bundle down on the table.

Then he lowered his gaze and noticed the bundle Long Yan had left. His brows furrowed, and he pointed at it. “This is…?”

Xiao Wange glanced sideways at the bundle. After a few seconds of thought, she pulled Zhan Zeyan to sit down and said, “There’s something I want to tell you.”

Seeing her expression suddenly turn serious, his gaze darkened slightly and his own expression became solemn as well.

He took Zhaozhao into his arms and said, “What is it that you want to say, Wange?”

Xiao Wange picked up the fire tongs and stirred the firewood in the brazier a few times.

Her fingers gripped the tongs tightly. She suddenly raised her eyes to look at him and said, “Earlier, a man came to visit. That man looks exactly like you, and he said… that he can also be considered Zhaozhao’s father.”

At that, an uncontrollable look of shock appeared on Zhan Zeyan’s face.

He frowned deeply. “Exactly like me? And he said he’s also Zhaozhao’s father?”

Xiao Wange nodded. “Yes.”

Zhan Zeyan’s face darkened.

His thin lips pressed tightly together. After several seconds, he said, “It was a demon, wasn’t it? That thing must have been a demon in disguise. Zhaozhao has only one father—me. There’s absolutely no way there could be another, especially one who looks like me. That has to be a demon trying to confuse you by taking my appearance. Wange, I know you’re capable. I know you must have seen through the fact that he was a demon.”

“He indeed isn’t an ordinary person,” Xiao Wange nodded, saying each word slowly. “But it doesn’t seem like he deliberately took your appearance to confuse me. I always feel that he… has some kind of connection to you.”

As she spoke, she looked deeply at Zhan Zeyan.

Her gaze made him stiffen.

His brows knit even tighter, his voice dropping a few degrees. “Wange…”

“It’s not just his appearance that’s like yours. His aura is exactly the same as yours too. In theory, it’s impossible for two people in the world to have identical auras. But he does—his aura is identical to yours. He’s completely like your duplicate.”

Afraid he wouldn’t understand the word “duplicate,” she explained further, “Like another you.”

Zhan Zeyan: “……”

He didn’t believe there could be another him in this world. Instinctively, he felt it had to be a demon.

But the other party’s appearance and aura were both so similar to his. Clearly, this wasn’t an ordinary demon.

It seemed they had run into serious trouble.

He lowered his gaze to look at Zhaozhao, fell silent for a few seconds, then said, “Wange, I won’t be going out again after coming back this time. I’ll stay until we figure out who that man is.”

Early tomorrow morning, he would explain the situation to his comrades and call the unit to request leave. The mission was important, but his wife and child were important too.

Before figuring out that man’s identity, he couldn’t focus on carrying out any mission.

Xiao Wange looked at him. “I know you’re worried about us, but you really don’t need to be. That man has no ill intent toward Zhaozhao or me. If he did, he would have made a move long ago. Not only did he not attack us, he even brought gifts for Zhaozhao.”

As she spoke, she went into the room and took out the jade pendant.

She handed the pendant to Zhan Zeyan. “This was also given by that man. This jade pendant is crystal clear at a glance—obviously something of great value. For him to give such a precious item to Zhaozhao shows that he has at least some sincerity.”

But when Zhan Zeyan saw the jade pendant, his pupils contracted.

His gaze shifted slightly. He reached out to take the pendant and examined it carefully a few times. “Why do I feel like I’ve… seen this somewhere before?”

As he looked at the pendant, his mind was inexplicably shaken. Images also flashed rapidly through his mind—like memories from the past.

But the images disappeared too quickly for him to grasp them.

“You say you’ve seen it before?” Xiao Wange frowned deeply, staring intently at his brows and eyes. “Are you sure you’ve seen it?”

Zhan Zeyan stared at the pendant again for a long moment.

He pressed his lips together, trying to recall something, trying to make those images reappear in his mind.

But…

Those images were like dissipating wind—once they passed, they were gone without a trace.

He clenched the pendant tightly, then lifted his eyes to look at her. “My intuition says I’ve seen it. But where I saw it, I can’t remember. Wange, how about I keep this with me for now? I want to see if I can find some clues from it.”

Perhaps this jade pendant would eventually allow him to remember something.