It was like looking through frosted glass. You could see a figure moving on the other side, but its features, details, and exact movements had all blurred into a single haze. It wasn't the feeling of having forgotten something. You knew something should have been there, but now it had been brutally erased.
Chen Yan pushed himself up against the wall, trembling all over.
This wasn't a coincidence. The words had vanished, and the corresponding memories had grown hazy. The two things had happened almost at the same time. He remembered the discrepancies he'd noticed while comparing historical records in the study, and the identical lines in the Ode to Luoyan Valley and the shrine's inscription...
“So that's how it is.” His voice was hoarse as he spoke under his breath. “Change the history books, and you can change reality. It doesn't even spare your memories.”
The rain came down harder.
Clutching the damaged scroll, he staggered deeper into the alley. Where was he going? He had no idea. The study was gone, he couldn't stay in the capital, and the History Guard was surely searching for him everywhere. Escape the city? Every gate must be under close watch by now.
He hesitated at a crossroads.
The left road led to the docks, where he might be able to sneak aboard a cargo ship. The right led to the Western Market, where the crowds might help him hide. But either choice felt like walking straight into a trap.
“Brother.”
