A/N: I take back what I said previously. It's just a bit confusing going back and forth on the name, so for narration, I'll just use Cyrus. Gu Yangde will be used within conversation and things of that nature. Sorry for any confusion until now. Was still trying to figure out how I wanted to handle the name situation, but this seems to be the least confusing from a reading perspective. At least, I hope so. Please let me know if you think otherwise.
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"Are you okay, Yangde? Did something happen while you were away from your sect?" Gu Yangde's mother asked, concerned eyes darting all over his body checking for injuries.
Cyrus briefly observed the worried woman with keen eyes and thought, 'She has a very gentle aura that is affecting her surroundings. Reminds me a bit of Luria, just on a much smaller scale…'
In order to avoid an awkward silence, Cyrus shoved down the memories of one of his wives from his time in Seventh Heaven and answered, "I did have some encounters, but I'm okay. Father sent me here to inform you about it."
"Eh? Did you get hurt?"
"No. I lost some of my personal memories temporarily due to a memory inheritance of sorts," Yangde replied. Then, he adopted an apologetic smile and added, "Sorry if I'm unable to remember you or others in the family for now."
The woman's amber-like eyes widened, and she stared at his expression for several seconds. Eventually, she came back to herself and asked, "...You lost your memory? Will you be okay? Should I call for some of the family doctors to check on you?"
Noticing that the woman cared more about his well-being than the made-up inheritance, Yangde couldn't help showing a small smile before assuring her, "I'll be fine. Since you are assured of my safety and know the situation, I need to go cultivate for a while. I might be in seclusion for a few days."
"...Is that so? Um… may the Heavens watch over your cultivation, then," The woman replied with hints of unwillingness in her tone.
Yangde observed her expression for a few moments before saying, "When I'm done, would you like to talk about my experiences outside over some tea or something?"
Eyes even wider than before, the woman opened her mouth slightly, but no sound came out.
"Why so surprised?"
"...It's nothing. If you wish to spend time with your mother, then I would be happy to entertain you," she answered in a small voice.
'I guess the old Gu Yangde didn't spend much time with her. Idiot was missing out. Even though she's your mother, how could you pass up spending time with such a good woman?' Cyrus thought.
"I'll come visit you when I'm done, then," Yangde said.
The woman nodded, then watched him walk away. Once he was out of sight, she looked at the floor for a while as though deep in thought before quietly closing the door with a conflicted expression on her face.
* * *
Returning back the way he came, Cyrus eventually found the office belonging to his body's father. While ignoring the curious glances of some nearby servants, he knocked on the door.
"Come in, little Yangde," the voice of his body's great-grandfather called out from the other side.
Without wasting a moment, Cyrus opened the door and entered the office.
"What do you need, Yangde?" Gu Chenggang asked with a slightly irritated tone.
"Is there a place for me to cultivate?" Cyrus responded, not minding the man's irritation that didn't seem purposely aimed at him in the first place.
"You already spoke with your mother?"
"Yes."
"Hmm…"
"I'll go with him, Chenggang," The older man offered. "We can handle the situation with the Su Family later."
'The Su family again… Is it the same one I knew?' Cyrus wondered without showing much of an outward reaction.
"Haaah… fine. I'll handle other business until you are free."
"Let's go, little Yangde," The old man said, suddenly appearing next to Cyrus as though he had teleported. "I'll show you where our family normally cultivates and remain by your side to prevent any accidents."
"Thanks, gramps."
The man raised a brow, but then led Cyrus back into the hallway. Along the way, the old man asked, "Did the talk with your mother go well?"
"Yes."
"...I see. From my understanding, your relationship with her has been somewhat distant, causing her to become a bit estranged from the rest of the family. Hopefully the memory inheritance gave you enough wisdom to at least maintain a good relationship with her. You never truly appreciate family until they're gone, so it's best to treasure them while you have the chance."
Due to the older man's wistful tone in his last sentence, Cyrus figured the old man experienced his own fair share of hardships over the years. Whether or not that was the case, he simply replied, "That's the plan."
"Good."
Shortly after that brief exchange, the older man led Cyrus outside into a massive hanging garden full of spiritual herbs, vines, and flowers that sprawled out for several hundred square meters behind the mansion, steadily sloping upwards the further out it went. Beyond the garden lay a small mountain, of which the Gu Family's land seemed to cover a quarter of the mountainside if the tall property walls climbing up the slope were anything to go by.
Out of curiosity, Cyrus asked, "Do other families own the other sections of the mountain?"
"Yes. The mountain is split equally among our Gu family, the Lin family, though it is one of their branch families, the Senilin family, and the Su family. I'm sure you'll remember them all once you get your memories back. We each have separate seclusion caves for our families within the mountain."
'The Su family? Is it the same Su family that Su Yang and Meili came from? Their family was a simple merchant family in the game, though, so maybe it's a different Su family. I can't imagine them growing to this extent in only the few decades after the three of us ascended to the Second Heaven. I don't recall a famous Gu or Senilin family from the game, either. The only one I recognize is the Lin family, which is probably that big family from the capital if this one is a branch clan. After I fix my cultivation, I'll need to study the current social climate to make more sense of things.'
Since they still had time before reaching the Gu family's seclusion area, Cyrus decided to sate more of his curiosity by asking, "What's the name of our city, again?"
"Little Mountain City."
"Eh? That's the common tongue name of Xiǎo Shānchéng, right?"
The older man's eyebrows flew upward, and he stared at Cyrus with wide eyes.
"It is, but the old tongue hasn't been used like that in thousands of years. Even the history taught by your tutor while growing up might only have mentioned it in passing, and considering your past propensity for studying… Ahem. Anyway, your memory inheritance must have come from a long time ago if you can casually name the city in the old tongue like that. Perhaps even from the Age of Upheaval. I wasn't going to ask before, but I'd love to hear about some of the memories you received if they are that old. There aren't many records left from that era."
Cyrus halted in his tracks. Caught off guard by the unfamiliar information, he took a moment to process it before pushing it to the back of his mind. For now, though, he focused on the almost child-like excitement in the old man's eyes and chuckled.
"Well, I guess I could tell you some later when I get a chance. Most of it isn't too interesting, though."
The old man simply smiled, nodded, and replied, "It's a perfect opportunity to spend time with my little descendant."