"You seem to know something." General Li said when he noticed the Fairy Empress' expression.
"You see, a gaping hole appeared in the sky above the Fairy Paradise that's right beneath us about an hour before your arrival, and an old man with an unfathomable aura descended from it—"
Before the Fairy Empress could even finish her sentence, General Li exclaimed, "That's him! What did you two speak about?!"
"N-Nothing much. He was looking for a certain individual, but he couldn't give any description or information about this individual. However, he did give me a surname— Tian."
The Fairy Empress noticed General Li's face twisting with fear after hearing her words, and she wondered what this was all about.
"T-T-This 'Tian' individual… Have you seen him?" General Li asked her after a moment of silence.
"I don't know. I did tell the old man about a certain individual I came across not long ago, and the old man appeared to be interested in him." Fairy Empress said.
"Who?! Tell me everything you know about this person! There is only one person in the Nine Heavens that would make that old man come out of his hiding so blatantly! He must have sensed this person's presence here!"
The Fairy Empress quickly opened her mouth to respond, but she didn't utter a single word even many moments later.
General Li raised his eyebrows in a puzzled manner, "What's the matter, Fairy Empress?"
However, the Fairy Empress was just as puzzled as General Li.
"I-I don't know… I can't remember for some reason…" Fairy Empress responded in a dumbfounded voice.
"I know I have met this person before, but I cannot remember his face or our conversations… It's almost as though it had been wiped from my memories…" Fairy Empress continued to explain her phenomenon.
"..."
Despite Fairy Empress' crazy talk, General Li did not seem to be angry at her. In fact, he had a look of understanding on his face.
"You just had your memories stolen by the old man." General Li said, shocking the Fairy Empress.
"W-What do you mean I had my memories 'stolen'?" She asked.
"The old man has a forbidden technique that can steal one's memories. He usually surprises his victims before taking away their memories, as that makes it easier for him to steal your memories." General Li explained to him.
Fairy Empress' eyes widened with surprise upon learning about this information. Is this why the old man scared her by appearing behind her like a ghost?
'He did that to steal my memories? But I didn't even realize my memories had been stolen, and I probably would've never realized it if General Li never told me…'
"Why did he not steal my memories of him? Wouldn't that be more logical?" Fairy Empress asked a moment later.
"Because he's arrogant like that. He is aware that we've been chasing him, and he purposefully allowed us to chase him. The reason he left your memories of him is so that we could confirm his presence had been here."
After pondering for a bit, Fairy Empress spoke, "Even though he'd stolen my memories, there are other people that have seen this person he's looking for!"
However, General Li shook his head and said, "That won't work. The moment the old man stole your memories, he would know everyone that's involved and steal their memories as well. Although I am confident that's the case, we will still investigate just in case he'd slip up. After all, it's been thousands of years since he last showed up."
Fairy Empress swallowed nervously.
She then led General Li and his people to see those who had met with Yuan before. Even though her memories had been stolen, it was only her memories of meeting and speaking with Yuan.
Sometime later, General Li met with Elder Xue and the disciples that had met with Yuan before.
Of course, the ladies were surprised to see so many men inside the Fairy Paradise. However, it was not as though the Fairy Empress could do anything about the situation, as these people were working directly for the Celestial Emperor, the most powerful individual in the Nine Heavens.
"Have you seen an old man recently?" Fairy Empress asked them.
And to her surprise, all of them nodded their heads.
"I thought I was only seeing things. The old man appeared behind me like a ghost while I was working inside my room, but when I blinked, he was gone." Elder Xue said.
"That happened to me as well! I was taking a bath in the lake when I noticed an old man staring at me from behind the trees. I was terrified at that time, but when I looked again, he had vanished like a ghost!"
Everybody there recalled their experience with the creepy old man who was appearing and vanishing like a real ghost.
General Li wasn't surprised, but just in case, he asked them about their encounter with Yuan.
In the end, none of them could remember Yuan's face or their conversations with him, but they could remember their encounter with him.
Sometime later, General Li said to the Fairy Empress, "If he ever shows up again or you remember something about this 'Tian', use this jade slip to contact me."
General Li and his thousand-strong army departed the Fairy Paradise and went to the Royal Dragon Family.
Inside the royal guest room, the Dragon King sat before General Li with a profound frown on his face.
"I cannot remember this person's face or name, but I do recall his identity as a Dragon Emperor." The Dragon King said.
"Dragon Emperor?" General Li raised his eyebrows.
"Yes, the old man asked me about the Dragon Emperor. I remember taking the Dragon Emperor to our home, but he disappeared shortly after. That's the extent of my memories." The Dragon King sighed.
And he asked General Li, "If you don't mind me asking, why are you looking for this old man? I thought he was only a hallucination of mine because of my lack of sleep."
After a moment of silence, General Li spoke in a solemn voice, "The day the old man reunites with 'Tian', the Nine Heavens will erupt with chaos.. That's all I can say since that's all I know."