High Martial World: I Gain Passive Skills Daily-Chapter 89 - 88: From Reality to Illusion, Multitasking
When Chen An received the assignment from Pei Xiu, he was initially quite puzzled.
But Pei Xiu emphasized that the background of this father and daughter might be problematic, possibly even related to the current collusion between the Cao Bang and the Governor.
After careful consideration, Chen An decided to report truthfully.
He was indeed fond of the girl named Xiaohong, but precisely because of his fondness, he hoped she would be innocent and clean.
Moreover, "related to" might not refer to participation but could indicate being listed on the human sacrifice roster...
If that’s the case, Chen An must ensure that the two are not problematic.
In truth, he also didn’t believe there would be any issues with them.
This Old Ape Head appeared at Dongting Lake about ten years ago, which was when the Chen Family began to prosper.
Back then, he had Xiaohong with him, claiming her as his daughter.
For a full ten years, Old Ape Head lived off fishing at Dongting Lake, never showing any abnormal behavior, living an ordinary life like any other fisherman.
No one knew the real name of Old Ape Head.
He got the nickname simply due to his strangely long arms resembling ape arms.
Over time, people began using this nickname as his name, and he himself accepted it.
But this was not unusual since among the fishermen in Dongting Lake, about half were undocumented, not knowing or unwilling to share their real names.
As for Xiaohong’s real name...
In the world, only two people should know it, one being Old Ape Head, the other... Chen An.
Chen An never thought of investigating her background.
But this time, he must investigate to prove her innocence.
"Her real name is Hong Xue Shao, Hong is not the given name, but the surname."
Chen An said seriously, "She is from Dongning County of the Liang Kingdom."
He held a token in his hand, carved with Sound and Voice Art, allowing brief communication but consuming a large amount of Spiritual Qi.
Although convenient, it essentially only allowed one-sided contact from the other end.
Given Chen An’s Spiritual Qi amount, he couldn’t sustain it for more than a few moments.
However, if it’s important, face-to-face communication is preferred to avoid the risk of impersonation.
Pei Xiu was silent for a while, seemingly dispatching someone urgently to retrieve records.
Seeing as she’s from Liang Kingdom, it should be easy for them to check.
Moreover, the name is not likely to be duplicated.
"Earth Official," originally relying on the power of the palace and the Court, couldn’t be simpler to investigate a Liang Kingdom person.
Soon, Pei Xiu received a response.
He paused and said, "Chen An, Hong Xue Shao from Dongning County..."
"No such person found."
Chen An’s pupils contracted immediately: "Impossible, she told me herself, she can’t lie about such a thing, and it makes no sense."
"Fabricating an identity can’t help her gain anything from me... Especially when it can be easily verified as true or false."
"Calm down."
Pei Xiu said ponderingly, "Now tell me in detail, all you know about this identity, everything she’s told you about it, the more detail the better."
Chen An said, "I’m not anxious."
Pei Xiu replied, "Alright, alright, you’re not anxious."
Chen An: "..."
He was silent for a while, then said eerily, "She mentioned Hong Family is a wealthy household in Dongning County, dealing in fabric business, with a Patriarch who is benevolent and charitable..."
Indeed, with extensive details.
Almost as if it were true, she described even the pattern on the belly of a dog raised by Hong Family and the kind of trees planted in the corners of the residence.
Pei Xiu looked at the changes in the dossier in his hand, the people on the other side acted quickly and provided all the information about Hong Family accordingly.
The result is...
Exactly as Chen An described!
Pei Xiu couldn’t help being astonished.
If it weren’t clearly written that the Patriarch of Hong Family had no daughters, only a son, he would have truly believed it.
But outsiders couldn’t possibly know such details about Hong Family, which is truly strange!
This Hong Xue Shao, as if she were a ghost living in Hong Family...
Pei Xiu was unable to decide, so he could only relay the information as it was to Chen Kuang.
...
Qi Sibai furrowed his brow: "Is this Xiaohong perhaps still trapped in an illusion, mistakenly believing she’s the daughter of Hong Family?"
Chen Kuang shook his head: "You mentioned before that those influenced by the Demon Blade went mad, often believing themselves to have another identity, differing greatly or even completely opposite from the original identity."
"Yet there’s one thing that remains unchanged, which is their name!"
"That’s also why they ultimately succumbed to their hallucination."
"But this Xiaohong, it’s like she’s created an identity for herself based on reality."
"However, the many details Pei Xiu provided actually prove that her identity is genuine."
"Considering how Tie Baiyuan values her, viewing her as a crucial reason to leave the illusion behind, I have a theory—"
Chen Kuang paused, then fell into contemplation.
Qi Sibai waited quietly, while Shen Meinan couldn’t sit still, she tapped the table urgently: "Come on, tell us! What’s Xiaohong’s identity?"
This girl had evidently turned the matter into a suspense series she was eagerly following.
To halt at a gripping part naturally made her impatient.
Only then did Chen Kuang say:
"Xiaohong might be someone from within the illusion."
Qi Sibai’s pupils contracted: "Someone from the illusion?"
Shen Meinan’s mouth was agape, taking quite a while before she closed it, then perplexedly said: "That can’t be right; those influenced by Demon Sword back then entered the illusion, and when they came out, weren’t they replaced by people from the illusion."
Chen Kuang shook his head: "But they only had changes in spirit and cognition."
"As for this Hong Xue Shao, she doesn’t exist in reality at all."
"She’s someone whom Tie Baiyuan materialized from the illusion!"
Shen Meinan pondered dazedly for a long time: "So Xiaohong is actually a part of the Void Illusion Realm?!"
Chen Kuang nodded.
Qi Sibai said gravely: "I see..." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚
"Tie Baiyuan isn’t mad at all; he’s believed in the illusion as the reality because he brought out the daughter from it!"
Chen Kuang said: "I was thinking; since he could bring out a part of the illusion, then... maybe others in reality can enter the illusion."
"We just need to figure out how he brought people out."
"This should be the key to resolving the situation."
Qi Sibai immediately stood up: "Time is of the essence, I’ll go find Tie Baiyuan."
Chen Kuang stopped him: "No use you going, let Chen An go."
"Considering Xiaohong revealed these things to him, she probably favors him, motivate her to see."
Then, Pei Xiu was tasked again to give new orders to the bewildered Chen An, while Qi Sibai claimed he had seen some vague destiny and needed further confirmation.
Chen Kuang and Shen Meinan returned to the guest room at the Chen Family.
Shen Meinan couldn’t help asking: "If someone can enter... then who will go in?"
Chen Kuang shrugged: "Me."
Shen Meinan hesitantly said: "But what if you can’t come out?"
Chen Kuang laughed: "You worry about me."
He thought Shen Meinan might be shy, but unexpectedly she nodded heavily: "Worry."
This rendered Chen Kuang silent.
He changed the topic: "Let’s rest, still unsure if Tie Baiyuan will cooperate, let’s sleep first and tackle it tomorrow."
Chen Kuang sent Shen Meinan to the guest room and returned to the East Wing Room.
He was somewhat troubled as well; if he entered the illusion, how would the matters at the Chen Family be handled?
But soon the matter was resolved.
[You’ve uncovered the secrets of the Void Illusion Realm and obtained the passive skill "Multitasking": your Divine Sense is extraordinarily strong, allowing you to multitask.]
