Chapter 781: The Ultimate Cause

The name struck like a bolt of lightning, freezing Lin Qin in place and widening Yan Zhichun’s eyes beside her.

“Wen… Qiaoyun?”

Yan Zhichun and Lin Qin exchanged bewildered glances for a long moment before finally scrutinizing the girl before them.

“What kind of joke is this… Same name?” Yan Zhichun muttered in confusion. “You’re saying you’re Wen Qiaoyun?”

“What’s wrong with me being Wen Qiaoyun? Do you know me?” Wen Qiaoyun tilted her head, puzzled by the two girls. “You two are really strange.”

Lin Qin and Yan Zhichun immediately ceased their argument, sensing that something far more important had just surfaced.

After a brief pause, Yan Zhichun felt she had caught onto something and asked, “How long have you been here?”

“Been here… how long?” Wen Qiaoyun blinked. “What kind of question is that? Didn’t you both come from that weird corridor too?”

“It’s already been seven days,” Yan Zhichun replied. “Are you just arriving now?”

“Seven days…?” Wen Qiaoyun frowned. “You’ve been here for seven days? I thought we all just got here.”

At that answer, Yan Zhichun fell silent, turning to Lin Qin and whispering, “Just who did you bring here?”

“I…” Lin Qin hesitated. “I don’t know. But she wasn’t brought here by me.”

Even as she said it, doubt gnawed at Lin Qin’s mind.

This entire situation was beyond bizarre—not just Wen Qiaoyun’s appearance, but her own circumstances too.

She vividly remembered dying.

In Di Gou’s “Year of Calamity,” she had broken her leg, only to face the “Pegasus Moment” the next day. There was no escaping those black threads—they had killed her on the spot.

Yet the moment the threads pierced her forehead, she opened her eyes and found herself standing on an empty street at dusk.

Baffled but with no other options, she had sought refuge in the nearest building, where she encountered Yan Zhichun.

Not long after, Wen Qiaoyun had also entered to spend the night. At the time, Lin Qin had assumed she was just another ordinary “participant,” too preoccupied with her own inexplicable reappearance to think much of it.

But now, the presence of this person was far more suspicious than her own situation.

Lin Qin had seen Wen Qiaoyun as one of the “natives” multiple times. She distinctly remembered Wen Qiaoyun always wearing this same top.

And her features—identical to that terrifying native—confirmed she was the real Wen Qiaoyun.

Except now, she looked healthier. Her cheeks weren’t hollow, her eye sockets weren’t sunken. This was a reborn, vibrant, and entirely new Wen Qiaoyun.

How had she appeared?

“Could it be… Yun Yao and the others actually succeeded in their plan against Qi Xia?”

Though Lin Qin hadn’t openly supported it, she knew Yun Yao and the others had intended to use Qi Xia to resurrect Wen Qiaoyun.

Now it seemed they had succeeded—but what use was a Wen Qiaoyun with no memories?

If this line of thought held, then she, too, must have been “created” by Qi Xia…

This realization only deepened Lin Qin’s confusion. Was she still herself? If she was merely a newly created person, why did she retain her old memories?

“Today is just one weird thing after another,” Yan Zhichun muttered, cutting through Lin Qin’s thoughts. “This tiny room is packed with impostors.”

Lin Qin shook her head, opting not to argue further. Instead, she turned back to Wen Qiaoyun.

She didn’t know which era Wen Qiaoyun came from, but the gap between them felt like decades—as if a figure from history had stepped right into the present.

“Wen Qiaoyun, I’d like to team up with you,” Lin Qin said. “Would you come with me to meet my teammates?”

“Me…?” Wen Qiaoyun studied Lin Qin for a long moment before replying, “But from what I’ve seen, you don’t exactly seem like the righteous type. Are all your teammates part of that so-called ‘Ultimate Path’?”

“Don’t worry,” Lin Qin reassured her. “The team I’m taking you to isn’t just about ‘righteous’ or ‘villainous.’ Each of us has our own goals—it’s far more complicated than good or bad. If you’re willing, we can leave now.”

Despite the discouraging tone, Wen Qiaoyun pondered for a while before finally flashing a confident smile. “Interesting. I’ll go with you.”

Lin Qin nodded. Truly, this was Wen Qiaoyun. Only someone with that kind of mindset could reach the pinnacle here.

But… was there still enough time for her to climb from the bottom again?

That answer would have to come from Wen Qiaoyun herself.

Ignoring Yan Zhichun, the two prepared to leave—only for another girl to step through the door.

Lin Qin frowned at the sight of her, but the newcomer grinned and waved.

It was Jiang Ruoxue, whom Lin Qin had met once before.

“Hey!” Jiang Ruoxue greeted cheerfully. “You… where did we meet again? Di Gou’s… ‘Messenger,’ right?”

Lin Qin gave a curt nod.

“What a coincidence,” Jiang Ruoxue chuckled warmly before her gaze shifted to Wen Qiaoyun.

She studied her for a long moment before calmly saying, “Hello.”

Wen Qiaoyun nodded in return. “Hello.”

Remembering that Jiang Ruoxue was neither friend nor foe—just someone with a strange stance—Lin Qin turned to Wen Qiaoyun. “Let’s go.”

With a quiet agreement, Wen Qiaoyun followed Lin Qin out of the building.

Now only Yan Zhichun and Jiang Ruoxue remained in the room.

Yan Zhichun sighed. “How did you find me?”

Jiang Ruoxue stepped closer with a smile. “Because of ‘causality.’ I knew that if I set out, I’d find you.”

Yan Zhichun nodded, then looked up. “Today’s been bizarre. Those two women were stranger than anything.”

“Oh?” Jiang Ruoxue covered her mouth with a laugh. “There’s still something you find strange?”

Yan Zhichun quickly recounted what had just happened—one claiming to be a “wandering Ultimate Path member” for seven years, the other a legendary ruler from history.

Two figures who should have been powerhouses in their own right, yet they had spent the night in the same tiny building.

“That really was Wen Qiaoyun,” Jiang Ruoxue confirmed.

“What?” Yan Zhichun stiffened. “Wasn’t the legendary Wen Qiaoyun supposed to have disappeared?”

“Exactly.” Jiang Ruoxue nodded. “Her appearance is a massive ‘effect.’ There must be an ultimate ’cause’ behind it. Don’t you want to follow them and see?”