The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 454: Peeling off the cocoon
After a while, Zhao Ti finished answering Yang Yao'er's questions one by one. Seeing that it was getting late, he got up and said goodbye.

Yang Yao'er blinked her beautiful eyes and said, "Brother Zhao, I have a request for you, and I hope you will accept."

Zhao Ti glanced at her, thinking to himself, "You're such a handful. I really regret getting on the boat that day to listen to the flute; it's led to all this trouble."

"Miss Yang, please go ahead."

"Brother Zhao, do you still remember the friend I mentioned last time?" Yang Yao'er asked.

"Which friend?" Zhao Ti pondered for a moment, "Is it the one who is skilled at playing the zither and has excellent musical talent?"

“Indeed, it seems Brother Zhao remembers. It is said that true friends are hard to find, and true friends are found in the mountains and rivers. Brother Zhao is aloof and has few admirers, so you must care a lot about those who share your interests, right?” Yang Yao’er smiled sweetly.

Zhao Ti's lips twitched. "Don't flatter me. Those who spread rumors are themselves rumor-mongers, and those who flatter are never up to anything."

"Miss Yang only mentioned one friend that day, so of course I remember it."

“Brother Zhao, my friend came to Yuzhou today. I told her about Brother Zhao, and she was very surprised. She admires Brother Zhao greatly and wants to meet him to learn about the art of zither music,” Yang Yao’er said.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ti took a breath, knowing that nothing good was coming and that he was going to waste his time studying again.

“Miss Yang, please thank this friend for my sake, and thank her for her appreciation. However, I have been busy with the autumn imperial examinations lately, studying hard every day, and I really have no time to see her. Moreover, my knowledge of music is really not that profound, and I may not even be as good as this friend. I think we should let this matter rest.”

"Brother Zhao..." Yang Yao'er said sweetly, "Brother Zhao, you don't need to be modest about your musical skills. As for time, how could Brother Zhao not have time? Just take a little free time."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ti rubbed his forehead, thinking to himself that one should not be too soft-hearted. He had been too soft-hearted; he had simply refused to board the ship and turned to leave. How could he have caused all this trouble?
“Miss Yang, I really have to study and don’t have any free time, so it’s better if I don’t see you.” Zhao Ti shook his head and refused directly.

"Brother Zhao..." Yang Yao'er said coquettishly, "But I have already promised that friend. I didn't expect that Brother Zhao would be busy. Brother Zhao... Brother Zhao wouldn't want his daughter to become a person who breaks his promise, would he?"

“Miss Yang, you…” Zhao Ti shook his head: “How can you make this decision on your own without asking me? You should explain to that friend quickly, I really don’t have time to see her.”

“This is hard to explain…” Yang Yao’er looked disappointed, but then her expression suddenly brightened, and she said happily, “Brother Zhao, how can you say there’s no time? Isn’t this the time right now?”

“Right now…” Zhao Ti was taken aback.

“Yes, Brother Zhao now has time to discuss music with my daughter, so there’s no need to pick a specific time to see my friend. We can just meet him on his way home from school when he passes by Yujiang.” Yang Yao’er looked like a sly little fox.

“But…” Zhao Ti frowned: “I have to go home for dinner and then immediately start studying. Time is very tight. I only boarded the ship today because Miss Yang was so kind to me. After today, I’m afraid I won’t have the chance to chat with Miss Yang again.”

“That’s easy!” Yang Yao’er said. “Tomorrow I will set out a meal on this painted boat. Brother Zhao can come up to see my friend, eat and chat, and then go home. You can go straight to your studies without having to eat dinner again, so it won’t take up much time. What do you think, Brother Zhao?” Yang Yao’er looked at Zhao Ti with an expectant expression.

"This..." Zhao Ti thought to himself, "You actually came up with this kind of idea, you really racked your brains."

He glanced at Yang Yao'er and saw her expectant look. He couldn't help but shake his head inwardly. He thought that meeting like this wouldn't take up much time. Now that she was practically begging, he sighed and said, "Then it's settled. I'll come to the Yujiang River to see that friend after school tomorrow. I'll leave after a meal."

"That's wonderful, Brother Zhao!" Yang Yao'er beamed with joy upon hearing this, her cheeks blooming like spring flowers, making her incredibly beautiful.

Seeing this, Zhao Ti quickly looked away and said, "Miss Yang, then I shall take my leave."

"I'll see Brother Zhao off!" Yang Yao'er skipped out from behind the desk and escorted Zhao Ti all the way to the shore. "Brother Zhao, my friends and I will be waiting for you here after school tomorrow. Please don't forget."

"I can't forget it!" Zhao Ti replied, quickly walking forward while wondering why he had softened his heart again. He had been thinking things through just now, how could he have forgotten it so easily?

Something's not right! He had already taken several steps when he suddenly stopped, his expression strange. Something was definitely not right.

It wasn't that I was soft-hearted, but rather... I had a strange familiarity with Yang Yao'er, and it was this familiarity that made me finally agree. It wasn't about being soft-hearted at all!

Is it because she is from the Yang family?

It didn't seem to be the case. Her mother was an only child and had no direct relatives. The Yang family was a large and powerful family with countless branches and descendants. Some of them were even more than ten or twenty generations apart. She didn't know which branch Yang Yao'er belonged to; at most, she was a distant cousin. She didn't feel any familiarity with Yang Jian or Yang Dian, so it couldn't be because they were from the Yang family.

Then… Zhao Ti suddenly raised his eyebrows, and a look of surprise appeared on his face once again.

Why does this feeling of familiarity feel the same as my feelings for Zhuge Qingqing, Qin Luofu, and Mochou?
He felt a strange familiarity with all three women, and now that familiarity was also present with Yang Yao'er. What was going on?

This is really not right. Zhao Ti reached out and wiped his face. Something was wrong, even a little eerie.

He started walking forward again, pondering the question in his mind, but he couldn't find the answer at all. He couldn't figure out why he had these feelings for the girls.

Returning home with many questions, I went to my room to read after dinner, but I couldn't calm down no matter what I did. I kept thinking about those familiar things. Although I had a very familiar feeling, I couldn't figure out why they were familiar.

If it were said that I had known a few of them for a long time, that would be absurd. If I didn't know any of the women before, then where did this feeling of familiarity come from?
Zhao Ti felt as if his head was about to explode. He was in a daze, as if something flashed by, something related to this, but he couldn't grasp it, no matter how hard he tried. In the end, he was pale and sweating profusely. He sat down at the table, unable to read any more books.

It took him a full hour or two to regain his composure. He let out a soft breath, then stood up, went to the window, closed it, and drew the curtains.

It was already late at night, and he had lost interest in his studies. He took out a small crystal coffin from his pocket, placed it on the table, and opened the lid to quietly observe it.

Inside, the tiny figure had slightly pink cheeks and half-closed eyes, as if she were fast asleep. The coffin was illuminated by the light, making it appear translucent like dew, and she looked like a jade doll bathed in moonlight. Her long eyelashes, like butterfly wings, curled up with a faint shadow and fell on her porcelain-white eyelids, as if she might tremble and open her eyes at any moment.

Her delicate nose was glistening, and her lips were a tender pink like newly blooming roses, pursed into a soft arc, as if she were still dreaming sweet dreams. Her hair was as soft as golden threads, clinging to her fair forehead, making her exquisite little face seem even more unreal.

At this moment, the little figure was surrounded by a delicate halo of light. His sleeping appearance was pure and soft, and every contour was like a masterpiece carefully sculpted by the Creator. His beauty was so exquisite that it revealed a natural childlike innocence, making people reluctant to even breathe heavily, for fear of disturbing the tranquility and beauty within the crystal coffin.

Zhao Ti was stunned for a moment before finally moving, shaking his head. No matter how beautiful, he was still a demon, even if he came back to life…

Just as he thought of this, his expression suddenly changed, and his gaze became fixed on the eyelashes of the Feather Spirit in the coffin. Just now, those eyelashes had actually trembled.

Zhao Ti's eyes flashed with coldness. Instantly, he activated the Four Illuminations Divine Skill, and four colors of light enveloped him, flashing and interacting incessantly.

But at that moment, his body suddenly trembled, and the scene before him began to blur. Then, as if a mirror had been shattered, the reflection rippled and broke apart...

What! Zhao Ti suddenly opened his eyes and found himself sitting cross-legged under a large ancient tree, with Zhou Tong and the white jade unicorn guarding him on either side.

What a long ordeal! I never imagined I'd be stuck in another world for so long.

His expression was somewhat uncertain. The Feather Spirit Demon was indeed showing signs of life and was most likely to wake up, but he had been too soft-hearted to destroy it beforehand!
Just now, the little demon's eyelashes fluttered, and it's possible that it was pretending to be dead. If I attacked now, there might still be a chance to kill it. But once the Feather Spirit Demon fully recovers, even if I master the Four Illuminations Divine Art, I'm afraid I won't be its match.

I wonder if I'll be able to truly ruthlessly destroy it next time I go back, without hesitating, feeling fond of it, and being unable to bear to do it.

But it's actually very hard to say. After all, judging from the previous situation, he tried every means to find reasons to exonerate the identity of the Feather Spirit Demon because he didn't want to destroy the other party.

I was clearly bewitched in that world!
Hmph! Zhao Ti snorted coldly as he thought about this. What exactly was going on? When would he be able to fully regain his clarity of mind? Otherwise, things would become increasingly dangerous.

"Your Highness is awake?"

"Has the sage finished his training?"

Zhou Tong and Qilin spoke at the same time, Zhao Ti nodded, waved to the two of them, and then began to think again.

Besides the matter of Yu Ling Tian Mo, there are also Zhuge Qingqing and the other four women. Why do they feel familiar?
Familiarity implies having heard of, seen, or even known someone, but I have never met or known the four women before, so how could I feel familiar with them?
In that world, when I was pondering this matter, a flash of inspiration clearly struck me, as if there were clues to follow, but they vanished in an instant. What exactly were those clues?
Since there are clues, it means that my feeling is correct and I really do feel familiar. But this is too strange. How can I be familiar with four women from another world when I am in this world?

If these two worlds are truly familiar, what special reasons or causes exist between them? What is the connection between myself and those four women? What entanglement do they have?

What is the relationship between that world and the world we live in?

Is it...

An idea suddenly came to Zhao Ti's mind: Could the two worlds be... the relationship between the outer world and the inner world?

Is the world I live in the inner world, while the world of the Great Qian Dynasty is the outer world?

This……

Zhao Ti narrowed his eyes, the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Since another world really existed, and he could travel between them in an instant, it certainly couldn't be as far away as the stars in the sky.

Therefore, the explanation of the inner and outer worlds is the most reasonable!
There are three pieces of evidence, one of which is that the starry sky of the world they are in is very abnormal. They felt something was wrong when they flew upwards, and it was different from the known starry sky.

In a normal starry sky, one should be able to fly directly up. At most, the wind would be biting and the aura weak, but there would be no pressure as great as Mount Tai, which even one's Dao Palace achievements cannot break through directly and must fight against.

Although my immortal cultivation level is still low and my immortal body is not as solid as metal or stone, this situation is still impossible unless the space above the starry sky is not truly beyond the heavens, but rather a membrane of spatial rules between it and the surface world!
Since the two worlds are parallel, there should be spatial nodes that can connect them, and these spatial nodes are most likely hidden within the membrane of spatial rules.

Secondly, there's the matter of time. Every time I travel to another world and return, time here is pushed forward. It's not the time I left; more or less, a certain amount of time has passed.

When I went there again, the time there had hardly changed; it was the same time I returned from there.

The flow of time in the surface world is necessarily slower than that in the inner world; this is an indisputable rule. There is a saying that goes, "One day in heaven is one year on earth, seven days in the mountains are a thousand years in the world," which is the meaning of this saying.

Thirdly, there was the arrival of extraterrestrial demons in that world, and Yang Dian's words to him, saying that in the vast starry sky, there is a heaven beyond heaven, and beyond the starry sky, there is an endless universe, and beyond the endless universe, there is an unfathomable vastness and chaos.

This proves that the starry sky of that world is traversable, and that there is a normal sky outside, just like the one we know.

From this perspective, that must be the outer world, and the one I'm in right now must be the inner world!

If this assumption holds true, then another thing can also be confirmed.

This inner world is not the original Pangu universe!
In that Pangu universe, let alone immortals, even some man-made machines can fly to the heavens and explore the mysteries of the universe. How could immortals have difficulty flying up there and feel immense pressure, as if there is a crisis?

If both hypotheses are true, then only one question remains: who is disguising this fake Pangu world?!
What was the purpose of creating this fake Pangu world? What happened to the real Pangu world? How was it possible to create a world that was virtually identical to the real Pangu world in terms of both its inhabitants and its history?
Just as Zhao Ti thought of this, he suddenly frowned, his expression changed, and he looked up at the northwest horizon.

Looking across the northwestern night sky, a dark cloud drifted in from afar, and a faint, low mooing sound could be heard from within it...

(End of this chapter)