The Other Half

Ouyang Qingcheng narrowed his eyes dangerously, prompting Cheng to quickly continue. "When I was very young, my master told me that my sole purpose in life was to find you before your thirtieth birthday and returned your power to you."

What an outlandish tale! Cailun silently muttered from the side.

"So, you've spent nearly thirty years searching for me."

Cheng caught the disdain in his gaze and scoffed, "How could that be? The only reason I'm seeking you now is because it's my master's instruction!"

"Then, you—what exactly is your relationship to me?" That was the crux of the matter.

Cheng finally appeared troubled, his expression turning somber. "My master said I'm a part of you. I belong to you."

...

Cheng had no parents.

By the time he became conscious, he was already a year old.

Upon opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was an old man smiling kindly at him.

The man asked him to call him Master.

From a young age, his master told him he was incomplete, merely a part of another person in the world who looked exactly like him.

That person was also his master, and Cheng's only purpose in life was to find this person and return his power to him.

Cheng was filled with curiosity about his destined "master."

Every day, he would peer into a crystal orb to observe him.

From the very first glimpse, Cheng felt a strange sense of belonging to this person.

He tried asking his master more about him, but the old man would only say that all would be revealed in time, and all Cheng needed to do was wait.

When Cheng was nearly thirty, his master gave him one final piece of guidance before disappearing right before his eyes, fading into transparency.

The old man left him with one last phrase: "My dear apprentice, do not grieve. We shall meet again in the future."

And with that, his master's last piece of advice was to find Ouyang Qingcheng before his thirtieth birthday.

...

Cailun suddenly coughed violently, startled by Cheng's ambiguous words.

Ouyang Qingcheng shot him a cool glance, and Cailun immediately straightened up, his face flushing red in embarrassment.

"So, about this power—did your master say anything else?" Ouyang Qingcheng asked skeptically.

He didn't believe in free lunches.

Cheng frowned. "I asked him once, but he just said that everything is predestined, and when the time comes, I'll naturally know."

Ouyang Qingcheng's verdict was succinct: "Vague nonsense."

He was still unaccustomed to speaking with someone identical to himself.

It felt strange—almost like talking to himself.

"Have you ever thought about keeping this so-called power for yourself?"

Cheng rolled his eyes. "Didn't you feel like you were looking at yourself just now when you saw me? You can't deny it—we treat each other as if we were ourselves. There's no way we'd harm one another. As strange as it sounds, that's just how it feels. Besides, I'm not the original. This power in my body is nothing more than inert gas—it has no use whatsoever. In other words, I'm just a temporary vessel for your power. Got it?"

Ouyang Qingcheng nodded thoughtfully. "Interesting."

"You don't suspect I'm lying to you?" Cheng asked with a smirk, propping his chin on one hand, deliberately provoking him.

"As you said, we're transparent to each other. So, what exactly is this power you mentioned?"

Cheng shook his head and leaned back in his chair with a complete lack of decorum. "I don't know. After all, I'm just holding onto it. I can only sense that it seems to be of a light nature. There have been many times when we were injured, and I could feel the power in my body circulating on its own, speeding up the healing process significantly. My master also said that only when you fully make it your own will you understand what kind of power it truly is. You can try sensing it."

Ouyang Qingcheng extended his right hand.

Cheng mirrored the gesture, pressing his right hand against Ouyang Qingcheng's and closing his eyes.

"…I feel a strange sense of familiarity," Ouyang Qingcheng said as he lowered his hand.

Cheng responded matter-of-factly, "Of course. Master said it was originally yours to begin with."

Ouyang Qingcheng nodded. "One last question: how do you plan to return this power to me?"

"Because the power is so immense, it will take at least two years to transfer it fully. How long it takes for you to master it completely will be up to you. But before that happens, we have to send our daughter away."

He gestured toward Yuanjiu.

Ouyang Qingcheng glanced at him sharply. "What does this have to do with my royal child?"

"The process of transferring the power to you will cause significant fluctuations in your magical attributes. Since our daughter also has all-elemental magic, there will be a mutual interference, which causing harm to both of you."

Ouyang Qingcheng snorted.

"I'm already planning to send her to the academy. If there's nothing else, you should leave for now."

Cheng hesitated. "I haven't even gotten to meet our daughter properly yet."

"I don't permit you to see her."

"Why not?"

"I refuses to answer. Still not leaving?"

"You're so stingy. Fine, I'll come back after she's gone."

After Cheng left, Cailun approached him cautiously. "Your Majesty, do you truly believe what he said?"

Ouyang Qingcheng removed the barrier around Yuanjiu and absentmindedly caressed her face.

A deep, knowing smile played on his lips. "Although I don't fully understand why, I know that what he said is true."

Cailun had his own concerns. "But he looks so much like you, Your Majesty. If someone with ill intentions were to find out…"

"It doesn't matter. I have my own ways to keep him in check. For now, don't let the little one know about this."

Although Ouyang Qingcheng felt as if an invisible hand was manipulating the events, the power undeniably belonged to him.

He had no reason to reject it.