"What a foolish child."

Hearing the name Chen Zhiyi, Xiao Shou felt that it sounded somewhat familiar. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

He followed Chen Yufei inside while thinking about where he had heard it before.

Since it was from the book Longevity Love, he began to recall its plot.

Before he could piece anything together, Chen Yufei who had led him into the house suddenly stopped.

He immediately let go of Xiao Shou’s hand and took the tray from a young boy standing ahead.

As he set the tea on the table, he scolded with concern, "Second brother, didn’t I say I would handle these things when I got back? Teapots and cups are heavy."

"Yufei, it is just a pot of tea. I can still carry it."

Although Chen Qingzhi said this, his attention remained fixed on Xiao Shou.

His body was tense and his wariness was obvious.

Chen Yufei did not notice his second brother’s caution.

After placing the tray down, he quickly poured a cup of tea, tested the temperature with his hand, and then offered it to Xiao Shou with a flattering expression.

"Senior Xiao, please have some tea."

When Xiao Shou took the cup and looked curiously at Chen Qingzhi, Chen Yufei immediately introduced him enthusiastically.

"This is my second brother, Chen Qingzhi. He is sixteen years old, five years older than me."

The name Chen Qingzhi was like the loose end of a tangled thread.

In an instant, Xiao Shou followed that thread and unraveled his earlier confusion.

Chen Zhiyi and Chen Qingzhi.

So it was them.

Their storyline had little to do with Xiao Ran’s main plot, which was why he had not recalled them at first.

Only now, after hearing Chen Qingzhi’s name, did he remember their roles in the story of Longevity Love.

In the book Longevity Love, aside from the main plot involving the male and female leads, there were also side stories told through the memories of certain characters.

For example, Xiao Shou’s Snow Cave Mountain came from a flashback involving a pair of bandit brothers.

The Chen Qingzhi and Chen Zhiyi brothers also appeared in a similar flashback segment.

However, there was no mention of Chen Yufei in that story.

It only briefly stated that they had a younger sister who died young without even giving her a name.

That particular storyline took place after Xiao Ran’s Nascent Soul celebration at the age of one hundred and thirty-nine.

Zhong Kui came to congratulate her and presented a precious gift.

It was a pair of Spirit Insight Pearls.

These pearls that was once infused with a person’s blood could merge into the eyes and grant the user the ability to see through things.

It was precisely because of this treasure that Xiao Ran later found the Undying Grass overseas and successfully saved the Water Qilin.

Through Zhong Kui’s recollection, it was revealed that during the sixty-plus years when Jian Li accompanied Xiao Ran through the Golden Crane Realm, Zhong Kui had disguised himself as a Golden Core cultivator and joined an expedition to a hidden sea region.

In that team, there was a Foundation Establishment cultivator named Chen Qingzhi and a blind Golden Core cultivator named Chen Zhiyi.

After gaining abundant rewards and leaving the hidden sea region, the group was ambushed by the very organizer of the expedition.

Zhong Kui who is powerful was naturally unharmed.

As someone from the demonic path, he had no intention of saving others.

The group suffered heavy casualties.

What surprised him, however, was that under such a deadly ambush, many Golden Core and even Nascent Soul cultivators perished, yet a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator and a crippled Golden Core cultivator managed to survive.

This piqued his interest.

He pretended to be a kind cultivator, protecting them while secretly probing.

Eventually, he discovered that Chen Qingzhi’s eyes were unusual.

He could see things that even his divine sense could not detect.

Once he figured that out, he lost interest.

Later, when the brothers were grievously wounded and on the verge of death, and the organizer attacked him as well, he instantly killed the attacker.

While cleaning up afterward, he realized that Chen Qingzhi was still alive, though barely.

With his final breath, Chen Yufei mistook Zhong Kui for a fellow survivor and revealed that his eyes contained the Spirit Insight Pearls formed from his brother Chen Zhiyi’s eyes.

These pearls granted the ability to see through everything within a thousand meters.

In exchange, he asked Zhong Kui to take the brothers’ remains back to their homeland and bury them together with their deceased younger sister.

Zhong Kui agreed.

The part about returning their ashes was only briefly mentioned.

More detail was given to Zhong Kui experimenting with the Spirit Insight Pearls.

He found them inferior to his own divine sense in range and usefulness, so he removed them.

Later, after Xiao Ran advanced to the Nascent Soul stage, he thought they would be useful to her and gifted them to her.

After Xiao Ran fused with the pearls and experienced many adventures overseas, her power grew stronger and stronger.

In the end, the Spirit Insight Pearls evolved into an ability that could see through everything, magical treasures, spirit artifacts, immortal tools, formations, sealed lands, ancient cultivator caves, secret realms.

Nothing could escape her gaze.

Before her, almost nothing remained hidden.

As for where Chen Zhiyi’s Spirit Insight Pearls originally came from, why he became blind, or how Chen Qingzhi fused with them, the book never explained it.

Xiao Shou had no way of knowing.

But now, he finally understood.

The feeling he had earlier when he saw Chen Zhiyi, the sensation of being completely seen through, had not been an illusion.

He really had been seen through.

At the very least, his meridians, cultivation level, and the spiritual energy within his dantian could all be clearly perceived.

The original Spirit Insight Pearls allowed their user to see all of that at a glance.

Xiao Shou felt a mix of unease and relief.

At least he no longer needed to pretend to be profound.