"Hmph... This is from being forced to kneel in the freezing cold. I'm afraid it won't be long before they're ruined..." Yi Shangyun said with a sneer, looking at his legs, which were feeling worse and worse lately.

The old Taoist priest was startled. He had already hurriedly reached out his hand, intending to use his profound internal energy to heal the poison and dispel the cold. But then, as if sensing something, he slowly withdrew his hand, and his expression returned to normal.

After concentrating for a moment and calculating, he comforted her, saying, "Miss, don't worry. A benefactor has found a good medicine for you, and your leg will recover soon."

"How is that possible? Unless I return to my own timeline, there is still a possibility of recovery, otherwise..." Yi Shangyun was disheartened and desperately convinced that her leg was definitely going to be ruined.

The old Taoist priest smiled and shook his head after hearing her words. He stroked his beard and pondered for a moment before saying, "Miss is determined to return to her own time and space, but if her soul returns to your space, what will happen to this body?"

"This body?" Yi Shangyun suddenly remembered the original owner of the body; she hadn't really thought about this before. She then looked up at the old Taoist priest and murmured, repeating the question.

The old Taoist then solemnly told her, "Now, the original soul of this body has departed, but her responsibilities and mission are forever sealed within this body. Any soul that enters this body must fulfill her responsibilities and mission in order to be freed, unless..." He trailed off, seemingly wanting to say something but stopping himself.

"The Taoist priest talked about responsibility and mission... What does that mean? What responsibility? What mission?" Yi Shangyun felt a slight pang in his heart upon hearing this, and immediately frowned deeply, asking in confusion.

The old Taoist priest paused for a moment, then said meaningfully, "The alignment of nine stars is a once-in-a-millennium event, an extremely rare moment. And as you have heard before, Miss, those born at this moment are not choosing a unique life, but rather are chosen by a special responsibility and mission. Therefore, it is Heaven that has chosen you, Miss, and it is Heaven that has destined your life to be extraordinary. Unless... but now it is too late to avoid it."

"No, how can there be no way to avoid it? Didn't the Taoist priest just say unless... unless what?" Yi Shangyun couldn't possibly be willing to be trapped in this time and space forever. Suddenly remembering the old Taoist's words, she asked anxiously.

The old Taoist priest stroked his white beard, sighed softly, and said, "Unless Miss doesn't encounter a certain person?"

"Don't you run into someone...who?" Yi Shangyun asked impatiently.

However, the old Taoist priest closed his eyes with a helpless expression, exhaled a deep breath, and said, "As I just said, Miss has no way to avoid it now. It's all too late. Miss has already met that person!"

Yi Shangyun lowered his head and quickly searched his memory for everyone he had met here. Who exactly was that person? And what exactly was the responsibility and mission sealed within the original owner's body?

Just as she was about to look up and ask for more clues, the old Taoist's voice rang in her ears again: "What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not destined to be yours cannot be forced. Cause and effect, reincarnation, a hundred lifetimes of covenant, flowers bloom and wither, and since you are here, make the best of it."

Upon hearing this warning, Yi Shangyun quickly raised his head, but the old Taoist priest had vanished without a trace. Only his last words echoed in the air above the backyard of the Yi residence.

She felt a sudden surge of panic; there were still many things she didn't understand.

So he hurriedly looked around, and right where the old Taoist in the green robe had just stood, he saw a familiar, heavy bag of silver lying on the ground.

Yi Shangyun stared at him, completely lost in thought...

Just then, Yan'er saw Yi Shangyun fall to the ground alone. She quickly closed the back door, ran over, helped her up, and brushed the dust off her clothes. Then she looked around and asked, "Miss, where is that old Taoist priest?"

Having received so much unexpected information in such a short time, Yi Shangyun was clearly unable to react, appearing as if her soul had been hollowed out.

"Oh dear, why are Miss's hands so cold?" Yan'er exclaimed in surprise when she accidentally touched her fingers. Seeing that Yi Shangyun was so distraught, she quickly helped her back to her room.

Upon arriving at the Mingyue Pavilion, Yan'er quickly poured a cup of hot tea and handed it to Yi Shangyun, saying with concern, "Miss, please drink this hot tea to warm yourself up."

"Yan'er, Yan'er... Waaah..." Unexpectedly, Yi Shangyun, who had been standing there in a daze since entering the courtyard, didn't take the teacup Yan'er offered. Instead, she tightly hugged Yan'er, who was standing before her, tenderly caring for her, and burst into loud sobs...

"Alright, Miss, don't be afraid, it's alright, it's alright..." Yan'er saw that she was crying so sadly and thought that she had been frightened by the old Taoist priest. So she said this while gently patting Yi Shangyun's back with her small hand to comfort her.

But who would have thought that Yi Shangyun would be so heartbroken, and that she would cry for a very long time...

Finally, when he calmed down a little, he was still holding Yan'er, sobbing and saying, "Yan'er, my dear Yan'er, I can't go back, I can never go back..."

Yan'er was puzzled and didn't understand what he meant. She thought that the old Taoist priest had done something to her young lady that made her very scared. So she comforted her, "Don't be afraid, young lady. Yan'er is here. You have returned to Mingyue Pavilion. You are alright now. Don't be afraid. Yan'er is here. I will stay with you and never leave you again." As Yan'er spoke, she regretted that she hadn't insisted on staying by Yi Shangyun's side to serve her.

Then, Yan'er began to spit fiercely, "What an utterly despicable old bastard! How dare he frighten my young lady like that! If I ever see him again, I'll have him arrested and brought to justice... no... I'll skin him alive!"

Finally, Yi Shangyun slowly stopped crying and raised the back of her hand to wipe away the tears on both sides. When Yan'er saw this, she quickly took out her embroidered handkerchief.

Ran Yishangyun sniffed and said to Yan'er in a serious tone, "Yan'er, do you remember when I told you, 'Actually, I am not your young lady'?"

Upon hearing this, Yan'er immediately knelt down in a panic and said urgently, "Why are you here again, Miss? I was wrong last time. I shouldn't have given you advice and pressured you. You can hit me or scold me, but please don't say such things again. I can't live without you in my life."

"Yan'er, listen to me carefully. I've never told anyone about this before. I know that even if I did, no one would believe me. But, Yan'er, I'm really not your young lady. I just share the same name as your young lady and occupy her body... That Taoist priest in green just now, he knows, he really knows everything." As she spoke, her emotions became agitated again.

Fearing that she would break down again, Yan'er decided to patiently pretend to listen to her first in order to help her calm down.

So she asked, "What did the Taoist priest say to you, Miss?"

"Yan'er, your young lady has actually been dead for a long time. The Taoist priest in green said that it was because there was a mysterious seal in her body that she had been in a coma... No... it wasn't her... to be precise, it was this sealed body that had been in a coma, waiting for another soul to enter it, and this other soul was none other than me, born in the 21st century of the future, with the same name as your young lady, on the day of the Nine Stars Alignment."

These words, seemingly spoken to Yan'er, were actually her processing of the information she had just received after waking up from a dream.

But Yan'er touched her forehead, looking somewhat aggrieved and bewildered, and said, "Miss, Yan'er doesn't understand. What do you mean, 'Miss isn't unconscious,' but rather that her body is unconscious? And what about the nine stars aligning, and the 21st century? What is all this?!"

Seeing Yan'er's blank expression, Yi Shangyun grew impatient and said, "Oh dear, Yan'er... alright, just know that I am not your young lady Yi Shangyun, I am Yi Shangyun from the future world, and I want to go back to my future world. But now, I can't go back... I can never go back..."

"Why can't we go back?" Yan'er seemed to understand and asked.

"The Taoist priest in green said that a special responsibility and mission is sealed in this body. Any soul that enters this body must wait until it completes this responsibility and mission before it can be freed."

As soon as Yi Shangyun finished speaking, Yan'er asked curiously, "What kind of responsibility and mission is that?"

A look of worry appeared between Yi Shangyun's brows, and he slowly shook his head. "I hadn't even asked clearly when the Taoist priest in green disappeared."

"Hey, Yan'er, what big deal do you think happened? There are plenty of masters of divination in the world. Miss, why don't you just find another one to do the divination again? Could it be that only that annoying old Taoist in green robes can do the divination? Maybe he's one of those charlatans who spends his days scheming and cheating people out of their money?" Only now did Yan'er realize why this person was so elusive. She had never heard of any divination Taoist priests lurking in the back alley before.

Suddenly, Yi Shangyun shook her head frantically, saying, "No, Yan'er, it's no use. That Taoist priest in green said it's all too late."

"Why?" Yan'er asked, puzzled.

"The Taoist priest said it's because I met someone I shouldn't have met?" Yi Shangyun said with a worried and bewildered expression.

"Someone I shouldn't have met...who is it?" Yan'er asked curiously, but saw that Yi Shangyun only slowly shook her head.

Seeing that her young mistress was indeed rambling incoherently and knew nothing when asked, Yan'er smiled and advised her, "Alright, it's getting late. Miss has been frightened today and must be tired. Don't think about it anymore. Yan'er will help you bathe and change your clothes so you can rest early. Tomorrow is New Year's Eve. It's the New Year, so please cheer up and have a happy New Year, okay?"

Having finally listened to the young master's fantastical story, and seeing that the young master had finally calmed down, Yan'er felt much more at ease.

"Yan'er, believe me!" Yi Shangyun looked at the little girl in front of her with almost pleading eyes and took her hand.

Yan'er smiled sweetly at her and replied, "Miss, Yan'er believes you. No matter what you say or do, Yan'er will believe you!"

After saying this, the master and servant clasped hands tightly, looked at each other and smiled, remaining silent for a long time...