Chapter 67: Bygone Days

These streams of true energy flowed through Chang Yu’s body like gentle rivulets, circulating endlessly and passing through every corner of him. Threads of spiritual energy were drawn from the spirit stone, coursing through the meridians of his palm and suffusing his entire being, merging seamlessly with the spiritual energy that was already within him.

“Amazing, this cultivation efficiency far surpasses my usual meditation—it’s almost on par with my training speed in the Poria Valley.” Chang Yu looked up in surprise, realizing that the spiritual energy inside him was steadily growing, and at an impressive rate.

“Next, I want to see if, by continuing to circulate my technique, the pain in my chest still returns. I really want to see where the problem lies.”

To test this, Chang Yu continued to draw spiritual energy from the spirit stone, cultivating as he waited patiently.

An hour passed, then two, until the spirit stone in his palm had turned to nothing but powder, yet the anticipated pain never came.

“All this time, and the spiritual energy in the spirit stone is exhausted, but my chest still doesn’t hurt.”

“Could it really be, as Master said, that there’s nothing wrong with the Poria Heart Scripture itself?”

“Is the problem instead with the environment of the real world I inhabit—the spiritual energy of Earth itself?”

“But who can tell me, just what is wrong with the spiritual energy on Earth?”

“Oh, forget it! No point overthinking. It’s so rare I get the chance to cultivate, I should simply focus on my training!”

With that thought, Chang Yu fetched another spirit stone from his storage pouch, held it in his palm, and soon felt his body fill up with spiritual energy once more.

He didn’t know how long he cultivated, but eventually a wave of drowsiness overtook him, and the second spirit stone in his hand had long since crumbled to dust.

He casually brushed the powder onto the floor, resolving to clean it up the next day, and drifted drowsily into sleep.

In his dream, he found himself somewhere both familiar and strange.

“Huh? This place looks familiar.”

Chang Yu stood in a tastefully decorated room—everything from the floor to the furniture was made of redwood, clearly of great value.

He felt he’d been here before.

“I remember now, isn’t this the home of Zhen Youcai and Katerina? I visited this riverside apartment before with Feng Sanpao.”

As he pondered this, he walked, as if on instinct, toward the bedroom.

“I was in a hospital ward before—I shouldn’t be here. As I thought, I must be dreaming.”

Having previously experienced entering the dreams of the woman in the cheongsam, Chang Yu felt no panic at finding himself in someone else’s dream again. If anything, he felt a little… excited.

He quietly pushed the bedroom door ajar and peered inside, just like a nosy old neighbor, his curiosity burning.

Someone was in the bedroom—a girl of about twelve or thirteen, with blue eyes and curly chestnut hair.

She was a Chinese-Russian mixed-blood, with rosy lips and white teeth. Her face held both the gentle grace of the East and the depth of foreign lands. Though still young, she was already delicate and captivating.

It was easy to imagine she would grow into a stunning beauty.

It was a sunny afternoon. She sat upright in a chair, bathed in sunlight, one hand holding a small set of scales, the other picking up bits of nameless medicinal herbs from the table.

Her expression was solemn as she weighed and sorted the herbs, her movements fluid and practiced, as if she’d been doing this all her life.

“That must be Katerina.” Seeing her signature way of measuring medicines, Chang Yu couldn’t help but guess her identity.

Who else but Katerina would be so obsessed with preparing medicinal drinks?

Unbidden, the words Katerina had once spoken to him echoed in his mind.

“I’ve been studying all kinds of health-preserving secrets from my homeland since I was very young.”

“When it comes to health, I’m a true expert. So you’d better trust me and drink this potion.”

Clearly, Katerina hadn’t lied—she really had been devoted to health from a young age.

“It’s true what they say—health preservation starts with the young,” Chang Yu sighed.

At that moment, Katerina suddenly turned her head and looked his way. “Zhen Youcai! What are you doing, creeping around like that?”

“Huh? What did she just call me?” Chang Yu instinctively looked around, but there was no one else present.

If Zhen Youcai wasn’t here, then who was Katerina addressing? How odd!

Seeing Katerina stand up, Chang Yu hurriedly pushed the door open and walked in, trying to mask his guilt.

“Were you just calling me?” he asked, puzzled.

“That’s right, I was calling you.” Katerina put her hands on her hips, her face proud and haughty.

She looked every bit the pampered princess, her every gesture radiating the willfulness of a young lady—a stark contrast to the grown woman she would become.

Little Katerina was truly adorable, Chang Yu thought, as delicate as a porcelain doll.

“Are you trying to learn the art of health from me? Is that why you’re sneaking around while I prepare medicine?” she asked.

“Huh?” Chang Yu looked up at her, utterly confused and feeling wronged.

When had he ever wanted to learn the art of health from Katerina?

This was a gross misunderstanding!

“I don’t…” He instinctively wanted to deny it.

But before he could speak, Katerina interrupted him, “You’re still too young to learn the art of health.”

She reached out and patted his head, her voice gentle and comforting. “You can’t even tell the herbs apart, nor understand their properties.”

“If you rush to learn from me and make a mistake with the medicine, what then? This isn’t child’s play.”

From her attitude, it was less comfort than playful coddling, as if she were humoring a child.

“I can’t believe I just got patted on the head by a little girl.”

Chang Yu felt a pang of sourness, but he didn’t really mind.

Before he could lose his composure, a thought flashed through his mind: “Why is Katerina looking down at me?”

Given her downward gaze and how her hand pressed atop his head, it was clear—dream Katerina was taller than he was.

If it were the grown-up Katerina, it would make sense for her to be taller—Russians are generally taller than Chinese, a simple matter of genetics.

But the Katerina before him was still a child; she shouldn’t be taller than an adult like himself.

Could it be that young Katerina was already taller than him as a child?

That didn’t seem possible.

Chang Yu studied the girl before him repeatedly, finally reaching a conclusion.

Though young Katerina was taller than other girls her age, there was no way she was taller than an adult.

So what was causing the illusion that young Katerina was taller than him?

Chang Yu glanced down at his legs, and to his shock, his once-proud “long legs” had somehow become short and stubby.

He looked at his hands—they were chubby, soft, and fair-skinned.

These were definitely not his hands!

He quickly scanned the room and finally spotted a dressing table in the bedroom, with a mirror gleaming at its center.

He hurried over, looked into the mirror, and saw that the face staring back at him was not his own.

Blue eyes, curly chestnut hair—a face strikingly similar to Katerina’s, but it was that of a handsome little boy, like a foreign porcelain doll.

“Heavens! How did I end up looking like this?”

Chang Yu stared at his reflection in shock; his astonished expression made the face in the mirror look almost comical.

From the exotic features, he could vaguely recognize this as Zhen Youcai’s childhood appearance.

“No wonder Katerina thought I was Zhen Youcai. It’s not that her eyesight is poor—it’s that I really do look like Zhen Youcai as a child right now.”

“So, this dream must be Katerina’s own, since apart from her, I’m the only outsider here.”

“But why do I appear in her dream not as myself, but as Zhen Youcai’s childhood self? I just don’t get it.”

“Could it be that when I entered her dream, I automatically took on Zhen Youcai’s identity and role?”

“What’s gotten into you today?” Katerina looked at Chang Yu strangely, clearly baffled by his odd behavior.

“Today is the day our parents come home. If I’m right, they should be back soon. If you’re free, help me clean up the house to welcome them.”

Before she could finish, the doorbell suddenly rang, catching her off guard.

“Looks like we don’t need to clean after all.” A cute smile lit Katerina’s face. “They’re already back.”

Her smile left Chang Yu momentarily dazed. In his memory, Katerina rarely smiled.

In real life, she was an ice queen, always exuding an air of aloofness that kept people at a distance. Few men dared approach her.

Since he’d known her, Chang Yu had scarcely seen her smile. But now, Katerina’s joy was unmistakable.

It was a smile full of excitement, joy, and happiness—undeniably genuine, and Chang Yu saw it clearly.

So, Katerina wasn’t averse to smiling.

At least, as a child, she had loved to smile.

Katerina dashed to the door, her white dress fluttering like an angel’s wings, brimming with vitality and youth.

She opened the door with a beaming face, but what greeted her was not the familiar sight of her parents, but a middle-aged man weighed down by sorrow.

“Little Osmanthus…” the man spoke in a low voice. “Do you remember me? I’m your Uncle Sun, your father and mother’s colleague at the Disaster Bureau.”

“Yes, Uncle Sun, I remember you. You’re my father’s good friend. May I ask, what brings you here?” Seeing it was not her parents, Katerina’s smile froze on her face, a sense of foreboding rising in her heart.

“Child.” The man bent down suddenly, patting her head. “I have to tell you some bad news. Your parents have passed away.”

A heart-wrenching cry tore from Katerina’s lips, like the final, desperate call of a dying fawn—enough to move anyone to tears.

“No! You’re lying! My parents are so powerful, how could they die?” she cried.

“I’m not lying.” The man’s eyes were full of pain. “We all underestimated the disaster’s strength. It was far more powerful than we imagined. Both your parents were killed by it. I’m the only survivor from the team.”

“Papa… Mama…” Tears blurred Katerina’s vision, streaming silently down her cheeks.

“Your parents gave their lives for the country. The Bureau has given you this compensation—it’s enough for you and your brother to live comfortably.”

With that, the man handed Katerina a bankbook. “Keep this safe, the password is six zeros.”

“If you and your brother ever encounter difficulties, you can always come to me for help. My number is 13XXXXXXXXX.”

Leaving her with that promise, the man departed, shaking his head, leaving Katerina’s helpless figure standing alone in the doorway.