Grandpa Yu was a very interesting old man. He liked to tell stories, liked to use copper coins to tell the fortunes of every living creature he saw, and even more, he liked to tease Yu Zhen.

He had said many amusing and joking words; some he forgot right after saying them, some were self-contradictory, and some were clearly made up just to tease people. But only the story of the "Remnant Soul of a Great Power" was one he repeated for many years, and the details within it were never wrong.

Yu Zhen's memories started late. The earliest childhood memory he could recall traced back to just before elementary school; he couldn't remember anything before that at all.

But even so, he could clearly remember the scene of a dreary afternoon where his grandpa, holding the few-year-old him, knelt before the statue of the Founding Ancestor and told his fortune with a serious expression.

That was the first time he had seen such a grave expression on his grandpa's face, and also the first time he saw his grandpa unable to believe the results of his divination, repeatedly tossing the copper coins again and again.

That day, Grandpa Yu's face was very pale, and Yu Zhen didn't get to eat the egg pancake he wanted.

It was also from that day on that Grandpa Yu began to tell the story of the "Remnant Soul of a Great Power." He also found a tattered book with strange patterns on it from somewhere and urged him to cultivate diligently.

But how was Yu Zhen, who couldn't even recognize characters at the time, supposed to cultivate with a book he couldn't understand at all?

Perhaps Grandpa Yu also realized this was an impossible task. Although he still loved to ramble on about "Great Power" and "cultivation," he never forced Yu Zhen to do anything, and only took to teasing him more and more.

Later, as Yu Zhen slowly grew up, gained knowledge, and understood reason, the stories he heard as a child truly became just stories, and he never took them seriously again.

Grandpa Yu probably noticed this thought of his, and gradually told fewer and fewer supernatural and strange stories. Although he would occasionally bring up the old tale of the "Remnant Soul of a Great Power," because the two of them saw each other less and less, this tale hadn't been mentioned for a long time.

When the old wooden chest was opened, a cloud of dust billowed up. Inside were Yu Zhen's childhood treasures: a small wooden horse, storybooks he had once read, and a pile of copper coins of unknown age that he had gotten from Grandpa Yu.

Yu Zhen found a yellowed and tattered book at the very bottom of the chest. He opened it with some urgency, only to see a patch of mildew stains.

Books are inherently fragile things. After so many years of neglect, the book, which was already very worn back then, had been decayed by time for over a decade and was now so tattered it seemed it would crumble at the slightest touch.

His rapidly beating heart slowly settled down. Smelling the musty scent emanating from the book, Yu Zhen recalled Grandpa Yu's pale and weary appearance on the night of the fortune-telling. Tears suddenly welled up without warning, dripping onto the book and smudging into two wet circles.

It's true. What Grandpa said is true.

He actually has a remnant soul inside his body, and now that remnant soul has come looking for him.

But why didn't Grandpa tell him that his soul was also incomplete?

"Born against the heavens, all familial ties severed..."

All familial ties severed. It really is all familial ties severed.

He raised a hand to wipe away his tears, only to find that the more he wiped, the more they flowed. The feelings of sadness and pain rose belatedly, pressing down on him until he could barely breathe.

On the night of the funeral, he could still cry out loud. But today, pushed by a cruel fate, when he finally and truly realized that his only relative had left him for good and that the rest of his life might be destined for lonely hopelessness, he could only squat wretchedly on the ground, sobbing silently at a chest full of old things.

"Some people are much slower to perceive pain than ordinary people."

In the front room, Yin Yan twirled an old porcelain teacup in his hand and suddenly spoke, "He thinks he's already gotten through it, but he actually hasn't. Any small thing related to the past could make him..."

"Brother?"

Yin Le looked at him with worry and confusion, not understanding why he had suddenly started saying strange things. He was also a little worried about Yu Zhen, who had run off to the backyard to be alone.

Tap.

Yin Yan stopped his sudden lament, placed the old porcelain teacup on the table, glanced at Yin Le and Weng Xiping, and suddenly stood up, saying, "We're going to the Taoist Temple's back mountain."

Yin Le couldn't follow his train of thought at all and asked, bewildered, "What are we going to the back mountain for?" 'Aren't we here to give thanks and pursue someone?'

Yin Yan began unbuttoning his shirt again and replied calmly, "Catching a pheasant."

"...Huh?"

He didn't know how long he had been crying. Just when Yu Zhen felt his eyes were about to be blinded by his tears, a tempting meaty aroma suddenly wafted over from the direction of the kitchen.

He froze for a moment, his thoughts finally pulling away from his grief. Remembering the trouble and the guests still sitting in the front room, he quickly wiped his eyes and face, put the book that was too old to make out its words and patterns back in the chest, and turned to follow the scent towards the kitchen.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

In the kitchen, Yin Le had chicken feathers in his hair and was sitting behind the stove with a piece of firewood in his hand. He was clumsily stuffing wood into the stove while covering his nose and coughing wretchedly, his face smudged with black ash.

At the table next to the stove, Weng Xiping was slicing ginger with a serious expression, a portion of washed green vegetables placed beside his hand.

In front of the stove, Yin Yan, having taken off his coat again, stood with his back to the kitchen door. His sweater and shirt sleeves were rolled up, and he was standing before the wok with a plate in one hand and a spatula in the other, dishing out food.

Yu Zhen found the scene before him incredibly comical and surreal. He asked dazedly, "What are you all doing?"

"Si... uh, Brother Yu, you're here! Is your hypoglycemia any better?"

Upon hearing his voice, Yin Le immediately turned his head to look over. He first greeted him cheerfully, then explained with great animation, "Brother Yu, we're cooking! Big Brother just took me and Uncle Weng into the mountains to catch a pheasant! This place is so interesting, the pheasants are so dumb. They actually foolishly pounced at our feet, rushing to add themselves to our meal, hahaha!"

"..."

Yu Zhen suddenly didn't know how to respond.

Yin Yan ladled the last spoonful of chicken into the plate, put down the spatula, and turned to walk in front of Yu Zhen. He bent down, grabbed one of his hands, placed the plate on it, and said, "Take this to the front room and set the table."

The plate was very large, and the braised chicken with potatoes inside was piled high, carrying some weight.

As Yin Yan let go, Yu Zhen reflexively reached out with his other hand to hold the plate steady. Smelling the aroma of the chicken, he met Yin Yan's gaze through the steam rising from the dish. It felt as if ten thousand pheasants were screaming and flying through his mind. He asked in a daze, "You... can cook?" 'And you know how to use a rural earthen stove?'

Yin Yan didn't answer, but the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.

"Of course my brother can cook! He lived on his own for several years when he was studying abroad and developed superb cooking skills!" Yin Le seized the opportunity to praise his own big brother extravagantly, while cleverly hiding the fact that his brother had learned to cook back then to win Han Ya's favor.

However, thinking of this, he became a little puzzled. Han Ya was a woman who pursued "style" and loved Western food, so his big brother had mainly learned Western cuisine and rarely touched Chinese food. He never expected that his brother's Chinese cooking today would turn out even better than his Western dishes!

Yu Zhen felt that the "deceased's" younger brother was being a little too enthusiastic towards him. A sense of guilt on behalf of "Yin Yan" welled up in his heart again of its own accord. He gave a couple of dry laughs in agreement and hurriedly carried the dish to the front room.

There were no usable vegetables in the kitchen, but fortunately, there was a small vegetable garden outside the backyard with some winter vegetables growing in it. Paired with the pheasant that had delivered itself to their door, a simple lunch with both meat and vegetables was ready.

Fragrant braised chicken with potatoes, a refreshing and delightful stir-fried bok choy, appetizing and palatable hot and sour cabbage, a beautiful tomato and egg soup, plus a small dish of homemade pickled vegetables. Although there were few dishes, the portions were generous and went very well with rice.

Yin Le ate until his mouth was shiny with oil, completely losing his young master image. After finishing, he didn't forget to praise his big brother who had worked hard to cook, saying, "Brother, your cooking is getting better and better. I want to eat rabbit meat too, let's go catch a wild rabbit in the mountains this afternoon."

"Go wipe your face."

Yin Yan didn't respond to his request. Instead, he turned his head to look at the perpetually silent Yu Zhen beside him and asked, "Are you full?"

Yu Zhen, who hadn't had such a lively meal in a long time, was taken aback by the question. He nodded, then shook his head, then suddenly reached out, grabbed his arm, and pulled him towards the backyard at a quick pace.

"Hmm???"

A gossipy light gleamed in Yin Le's eyes.

Weng Xiping consciously stood up and began to clear the table.

Closing and locking the door, Yu Zhen turned to face Yin Yan directly. His fingers hanging at his sides tightened, and he took a deep breath, asking, still not giving up, "You said you're the remnant soul in my body. What proof do you have?"

Yin Yan moved the arm that had just been pulled and replied, "When I was in your body, my consciousness was not clear. It was there one moment and gone the next, so I don't remember much."

"When you were three, you fell off the bed. When you were six, you got lost on the back mountain. When you were eight, you wet the bed for the last time. When you were sixteen, you had your first wet dream—"

"Stop, stop, stop! I believe you! Don't say any more, don't say that word!"

Yu Zhen's feigned seriousness and composure crumbled. His ears turned slightly red with embarrassment, and the last shred of lingering hope in his heart completely dissipated. He continued to ask, "Then why are you in my body? And why is my soul incomplete?"

Yin Yan looked at him quietly, not answering.

After a few seconds of silence, Yu Zhen suddenly understood his meaning and asked, "You can't answer that question?"

This time, Yin Yan reacted, nodding lightly.

"..." 'Fine.'

Yu Zhen's shoulders slumped in slight dejection. He changed the question and asked, "So, what do you want from me, coming to find me like this?"

"To save you."

Yin Yan replied, taking a Household Register out of his coat pocket and adding, "And to save myself. Our fates are linked; we live and die together. Yu Zhen, live on. Don't give up on yourself."

'Live on, live on well.'

His grandpa's past words suddenly flashed through his mind. Yu Zhen froze, a little puzzled.

'Strange, why are both Grandpa and this Yin Yan so earnestly telling me to live on, as if I don't want to live myself? And also...'

"Why did you take out the Household Register?"