“What did you say…?” Qi Xia slowly stood up, clearly agitated. “Don’t talk nonsense to me… Others’ leftover thoughts might be mere distractions, but my ‘Yu Nian’ is everything to me…!”
“Hey… calm down, trickster…” Qiao Jiajin reached out and tugged at Qi Xia’s sleeve. “What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”
Lin Qin noticed it too—Qi Xia was acting strange.
His emotions were unstable.
His mental state was consistently painful, repressed, and anxious.
“My wife’s name is Yu Nian’an,” Qi Xia said to the elderly woman. “This time when I returned home, she was gone.”
Aunt Tong pondered for a moment before asking, “Child, what do you mean by ‘gone’?”
“Every trace of her existence has been erased,” Qi Xia replied. “This method does resemble that of the so-called ‘Mother Goddess’ you mentioned. If you can sense her, could you let me speak to her directly? There are many things I need to clarify with her.”
Aunt Tong shook her head slightly. “Child, though your situation is pitiable, even I cannot communicate with the ‘Mother Goddess.’ How could I help establish a connection for you? Moreover… this is the first time I’ve heard of a case where ‘traces of existence were erased.'”
“What…?” Qi Xia frowned.
“Generally speaking, when an ‘Echoer’ returns to the day before their death, it’s a clear ‘divine gift.’ They can wield the power of the ‘Mother Goddess’ and experience a day of godlike existence. But I never expected you to feel pain instead.” Aunt Tong gave Qi Xia a meaningful look. “Child, since you still have memories, it means you too received the ‘divine gift.’ So, could it be that you yourself erased the traces of your wife’s existence?”
Qi Xia was about to respond, but his eyes slowly widened.
The sheer amount of information in her words left him momentarily speechless.
So, the “Echo” wasn’t just an ability unique to the “Land of the End”?
They could even carry the “Echo” back to the real world for a day?
But that still didn’t explain why Yu Nian’an had vanished.
“Even if my ‘Echo’ truly is ‘erasing someone,’ how could I possibly erase my own wife? I still can’t believe she’s gone!” Qi Xia gritted his teeth. “I would never discard my ‘Yu Nian.'”
“Then, is there another possibility…” Aunt Tong lifted her gaze to meet Qi Xia’s, her eyes unfathomably deep. “Child, could it be that you never had a wife at all?”
“You—!” Qi Xia flared up instantly. “What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Wouldn’t I know if I had a wife or not? How dare you claim she never existed?!”
Lin Qin and Qiao Jiajin quickly stood up to restrain him.
“Qi Xia… you…” Lin Qin hesitated, unable to voice her thoughts.
He really was acting strange.
Most people, when speaking of their wives, would sound proud, nostalgic, or longing.
But very few reacted like Qi Xia.
Mentioning the name “Yu Nian’an” alone made him instantly sensitive, fragile, and prone to anger.
The two pulled Qi Xia back into his seat and noticed his body trembling slightly.
Aunt Tong studied Qi Xia for another moment before saying, “Child, why don’t you ask someone else?”
“Ask someone else?” Qi Xia was taken aback.
“When you return to the real world, ask mutual friends you and your wife shared,” Aunt Tong suggested, taking a sip of tea. “If they remember her, then her disappearance was indeed manipulated—perhaps by the ‘Mother Goddess’ or through an ‘Echo.’ But if they don’t remember her… then the only explanation is—”
“Enough!” Qi Xia cut her off. “I’ll figure it out myself when I go back.”
But even as he said this, he couldn’t recall having any “mutual friends” with Yu Nian’an.
Did Yu Nian’an even have friends?
“Wait…” Qi Xia’s lips twitched slightly as an even more unsettling thought crept into his mind. “Do… I have friends?”
Ignoring this tangent, Aunt Tong reiterated the greatness of the “Mother Goddess” before dismissing the class.
While the others gradually filed out of the classroom, Qi Xia remained motionless in his seat.
“Qi Xia… are you okay?” Lin Qin gently patted his shoulder.
Qi Xia turned to her. “I… I’m fine. There’s just a lot I can’t make sense of.”
“What’s there to fear?” Han Yimo suddenly interjected. “Isn’t there an all-knowing aunt right here?”
Qi Xia sighed. “Han Yimo, do you really believe everything that woman said?”
“Well…” Han Yimo stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Qi Xia, usually in situations like ours—I mean, suddenly being thrown into another world—there’s always a ‘mentor’ to guide us. If we follow their lead, things usually turn out well. I think that aunt is playing that role.”
If Qi Xia had to guess, Han Yimo was trying to rationalize their predicament using tropes from fiction.
“You died early last time, so you might not know…” Qi Xia shook his head. “We wandered the ‘Land of the End’ for four days without any guidance. Not just us—even the ‘Zodiacs’ here are fumbling in the dark, risking their lives without a clue. That’s what terrifies me the most.”
“Ah…?” Han Yimo paused, then mused aloud, “Then maybe it’s because I’m the ‘protagonist’ this time…?”
“What?”
“Last time, since ‘I’ wasn’t here, you didn’t get any guidance…” Han Yimo tried to articulate his theory. “I mean, now that the ‘protagonist’ has appeared, so has the ‘guidance.'”
Qi Xia shook his head and stood up without another word.
He never realized writers could think so strangely.
“Han Yimo, though I don’t know much about this place, I’m certain most of what that woman said is false. I suggest you don’t follow her lead—unless you want to lose your mind.”
With that, he slowly walked out of the classroom.
The other three exchanged glances before following him.
By now, evening had fallen, marking the end of the first day.
The good news was that Qi Xia had learned much more than he had in his last attempt, inching him closer to that elusive “escape.”
The bad news was that three teammates—Tian Tian, Officer Li, and Lawyer Zhang—had been lost in a single day.
When the four returned to the classroom, Dr. Zhao was sitting inside, eating canned food. Xiao Ran was nowhere to be seen.
Spotting Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin, Dr. Zhao wore an awkward expression and didn’t greet them.
Unaware of the tension, Han Yimo and Lin Qin found seats while Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin fetched food for them. The four sat together.
Before long, Yun Yao entered and scanned the room. “Qi Xia… I know this might sound presumptuous, but there’s a ‘welcome party’ tonight. Will you be joining?”
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