This scoundrel is a bit of a swordsman.

Xiao Xingchen's heart sank. He confirmed it again and again. Just now, for a fleeting moment, he had completely forgotten Daji's name. It was as if all his memories of Daji had been erased.

His face darkened, and he went to Daji's side, asking...

"You've been here the whole time?"

Daji nodded, somewhat puzzled.

"Brother Xingchen, what's wrong?" Lan Beitang seemed to notice his unusual behavior and came forward to ask.

"That's not right, how could that be?"

Xiao Xingchen spoke in a language only he could understand, making sure Daji was right in front of him before he stopped. However, he still made sure to remember the moment his memory had vanished.

No one would believe this if he said it aloud, so it's better to keep it to himself and verify it slowly. As he experiences more of the world, he won't be surprised even if someone really was erasing his memories just now.

"It's nothing, let's go. This time we can enter Yong'an City openly."

He offered Daji a helping hand, which seemed unusual to Lan Beitang. Normally, it's fine for a married couple to support each other; it's quite normal. But for some reason, when he got close to Daji, she gave him the feeling of someone seriously ill.

Even as Xiao Xingchen helped him up, he felt as if he were supporting a seriously ill person. He shook his head vigorously, inwardly lamenting that he must not have been sleeping well lately. How could such a healthy woman be afflicted with illness? Although she couldn't speak, her body appeared perfectly healthy.

Of course, he wouldn't voice these misconceptions; there was no need to create trouble or upset others.

But then the little tiger suddenly poked its head out of Daji's arms, which startled Lan Beitang.

"What... what is this?"

"Oh, my wife's pet is a dog!"

Xiao Xingchen's answer made Daji burst into laughter. The little tiger waved its paws, looking quite adorable, as if to say, "You're the dog, your whole family are dogs."

"A dog?" Lan Beitang frowned speechlessly, but since he said so, he couldn't be bothered to investigate further. Whether this cute little creature was what he was thinking or not didn't matter; it wasn't harmful anyway.

And so, the three set off again towards Yong'an City. Along the way, Xiao Xingchen was filled with mixed emotions; every time he came to Yong'an City, nothing good came of it. He hoped that things would go smoothly this time.

From time travel to rebirth, the time has been short, yet it feels like a dream. From being alone to now having two companions, plus a tiger, the experiences during this period have been more exciting than my previous life.

The eight previous transmigrators he had never met all left a significant mark on this world.

Xiao Jianxian's sword could suppress mountains and rivers.

The first owner of Lancheng Study proposed the principle of "being the first to worry about the world's troubles and the last to enjoy its pleasures."

What about the other exes? They certainly won't remain unknown; after all, their advanced knowledge means they're bound to do many shocking things.

His primary objective was to find them, learn about them, and then discover who was hunting down the time travelers.

Of course, the reality we have to face is that survival comes first.

To survive, he had to enter Yong'an City. In the coming years, many world-shaking events would unfold within its walls.

Using Xiao Jianren's memories as a springboard, he intends to rise to power completely, only then will he be qualified to pursue the stories of his exes.

The event that is about to happen is the Poetry Assembly.

In Xiao Jianren's memory, this Poetry Immortal Gathering was extremely grand. Not only did a sage descend upon the event, but even the Martial Emperor participated throughout, demonstrating its great importance.

Beyond the Great Qian Dynasty, all the notable nations of the Great Li, Great Yan, and the Western Regions sent representatives to participate, making it a competition for supremacy.

In the following days, envoys from various countries will bring their most outstanding talents to Yong'an City of the Great Qian Dynasty. This grand event will attract the attention of the entire world. At this moment, the Great Qian Dynasty will truly become the center of the world.

But at this conference, which is the focus of the entire world's attention, something shocking is about to happen.

Xiao Xingchen didn't know much about the specific details of this matter, because Xiao Jianren wasn't interested in such things; he had only heard about it because it was common knowledge.

However, after the nations returned home, several names became renowned throughout the world.

One of them was Huangfu Lingxue. It was precisely because of her outstanding performance at the Poetry Immortal Assembly that she was appointed Ghost King by Emperor Wu, putting her right at the forefront of all the princes.

Along with him, the scholar-swordsman beside him also gained fame, and there seemed to be a few others, but Xiao Jianren couldn't remember them anymore.

Years later, people referred to this gathering of poets as the "Houtu Sacrifice," but even Xiao Xingchen couldn't understand the meaning of those three characters.

Sacrifice is a ritual, a ceremony. If Houtu (the Earth Goddess) is described according to the accounts of her past lives, then her origins are truly extraordinary.

The concept of "Heaven and Earth" is not unfamiliar in the Chinese mythological system. In ancient times, both "Emperor" and "Empress" represented the highest honorific titles.

Everyone knows the story of Hou Yi shooting down the suns, but Hou Yi's name only has one character: Yi. Why is he called Hou Yi? Because "Hou" is an honorific title, signifying that he was a deity who controlled archery.

The Book of Changes says, "After heaven and earth came all things, and after all things came people." Therefore, the first priority for people in ancient times was to thank heaven and earth.

This explains why sacrifices to Heaven and Earth are the first to be offered in sacrificial rites, and why there is the grand ceremony of Fengshan, where Feng is for worshipping Heaven and Shan is for worshipping Earth.

Therefore, the meaning of the words "Heaven and Earth" is unimaginable. This is Xiao Xingchen's understanding based on ancient stories from his previous life.

However, in this world, he wasn't sure how the four characters "Heaven and Earth" were interpreted, but he understood that anything involving these four characters was never simple.

At the Houtu Festival, he didn't even need to guess what had happened to the Poet Immortal; a bloody stench already wafted towards him.

Moreover, he had a vague feeling that this Houtu Festival might be connected to them, the transmigrators. As for why, he couldn't explain it; if he had to give a reason, it might just be intuition.

Thinking of this, he suddenly asked the two people beside him,

Do you know what Heaven and Earth are?

What was originally just a casual question turned into a shock. Daji froze on the spot, a mysterious light appearing in her eyes. This made Xiao Xingchen's heart sink, and he quickly grabbed her hand.

"calm down,"

His words glowed and immediately transmitted to Daji.

Lan Beitang was also stunned for a moment, only regaining his composure after seeing the two of them pressed close together. However, he felt like he had forgotten something, as if Xiao Xingchen had asked him a question.

But what did they ask?

"Brother Xingchen, what did you ask me just now? Why do I feel like I've forgotten?"

Lan Beitang asked in confusion, but his question instantly made Xiao Xingchen's hair stand on end. The three of them were walking side by side, and even the lowest voices could be heard clearly.

He was absolutely certain that both of them had heard his question, but what was going on now? Mysterious symbols appeared in Daji's eyes, and Lan Beitang's expression was even more exaggerated, as if what had just happened had been instantly erased by an invisible hand.

In other words, did someone rewind to the point in time when they asked the question?

Even if Xiao Xingchen were an idiot, he would know that there was a huge problem here. Considering his own behavior of forgetting Daji, he unconsciously broke out in a cold sweat while holding Daji's hand tightly.