IOU
Shen Nianxiang instantly recognized the makeup mirror as his own ability—the one he had just sold. He’d earned 2800 All-Heavens Coins from it (3500 minus 700 in dual service fees)!
“You bought my ability?” Shen Nianxiang asked, holding up the mirror.
“Hm?” Li Chuan looked at him with pure, innocent eyes.
“You don’t remember? That was a transaction completed just 1 hour and 27 minutes ago. You’ve already forgotten it?”
Li Chuan pressed his lips together. He hadn’t wanted to tell a stranger about his memory loss, but now… there didn’t seem to be a reason to keep it secret anymore.
He nodded. “Yes. I’ve lost a lot of my memories.”
He didn’t admit he only retained memories from when he was three years old. He chose to only confirm what Shen Nianxiang had already guessed.
“It’s been less than two hours, and you’ve forgotten enough to mistake me for your dad? ‘Earth Dragon Marrow Liquid’ doesn’t have that kind of effect,” Shen Nianxiang said analytically. “So why did you lose your memory in such a short span?”
Li Chuan didn’t know either and simply watched Shen Nianxiang, eyes clear and untroubled, waiting for his analysis.
Shen Nianxiang continued, holding the mirror: “The ability I sold was called ‘Mirror Copy.’ It creates a selfless replica—it can serve as a decoy or a vessel for soul transfer.”
In the All-Heavens Worlds, there were many mysterious races, and strange things occurred daily.
Some species had to periodically shed their bodies in a vulnerable metamorphic state, easily targeted during that time. To protect themselves, they prepared a soul vessel in advance, transferring their soul into it to safeguard their real body during the transformation.
Shen Nianxiang’s ability was ideal for such purposes.
But this amnesiac youth clearly hadn’t used “Mirror Copy” for soul transference.
Memory loss… Mirror Copy… Shen Nianxiang connected the dots and arrived at a conclusion.
“My ‘Mirror Copy’ has another use,” he said. “It can preserve memories for people suffering from memory loss.”
Though the Human Main City was mostly populated by young people, there were also some elders. These elders often forgot things, and to preserve their memories, they asked Shen Nianxiang to copy them. He never charged for such cases.
“You probably anticipated losing your memories,” Shen Nianxiang said. “So you bought my ability to preserve them. But due to the extreme heat wind and modifications from the ‘Earth Dragon Marrow Liquid,’ you lost the clues needed to retrieve them.”
He flipped through a charred notebook. Though the writing was illegible, it was clear something had been written.
“Maybe this notebook recorded the memory-preservation plan—but it got burned,” Shen Nianxiang said.
Li Chuan listened earnestly.
“I think,” Shen Nianxiang went on, “you only need to open this mirror and look into it to recover the memory copy. But if you’d bought ‘Mirror Copy’ for something else, then using it now would waste it.”
“Fortunately, I’m the ability provider. If needed, I can sell it to you again, so you can go ahead and use the mirror without worry.”
He placed the mirror into Li Chuan’s hands and said, “It’s your call whether or not to open it. But once you’ve recovered your memory and your mind’s functioning properly again—don’t forget to sign this IOU.”
He pulled out a pen and paper and wrote:
“Owe Shen Nianxiang for meals + old clothing + utilities + energy supplement, total 1000 All-Heavens Coins. If unpaid on the spot, interest will be charged—10% monthly.”
He read the IOU aloud clearly, then added, “I don’t know your name yet, so I’ve left that part blank. Fill it in after you recover. You don’t have a problem with the amount, do you?”
He watched Li Chuan carefully. If the youth thought it was too much, he could reduce the price—maybe to 500… no, even 200 would be fine.
But to the three-year-old Li Chuan, 1000 was just a meaningless number—completely outside his comprehension.
Li Chuan simply nodded and said politely, “I forgot to introduce myself earlier. My name is Li Chuan.”
Since he raised no objections to the amount, Shen Nianxiang let out a faint sigh of relief and reminded, “Then I’ll take it that you accept the IOU. Don’t try to weasel out of it once your memory returns.”
Li Chuan gave a soft “Mm.”
He took the mirror, paused in thought, then decided to open it.
Right now, he remembered nothing. He had no way to protect himself. If there was even the slightest chance of recovering his memory, he had to try it.
Most importantly, even though he was only three years old, he felt Shen Nianxiang wasn’t a bad person.
Bad people gave you candy and used sweet talk. They didn’t try to collect debts.
Li Chuan trusted Shen Nianxiang.
Having made up his mind, he didn’t hesitate any longer and opened the mirror.
The small mirror expanded into a human-sized illusionary one. Inside was an identical copy of Li Chuan.
He reached out and touched the copy. It merged into him, flooding his mind with memories.
Anyone else absorbing so many memories at once would’ve collapsed into unconsciousness, but Li Chuan’s memory and information-processing speed were terrifying. He merely blanked out for a second—then everything came back.
He remembered everything—past lives, this life, the deal with the All-Heavens Ring, and his insights into the Soul-Forging Scripture.
And… he also remembered how, during his amnesiac period, he’d mistaken a stranger for his father, hugged him, kissed him, and even asked him to help him bathe.
Recovering the memories was easy. Accepting them… not so much.
Li Chuan stood frozen, unable to look Shen Nianxiang in the eye.
