Chen Junnan kept a contemplative expression, but he still felt something wasn’t quite clicking.
Qi Xia’s train of thought had already perfectly aligned with the madness of this place, but Chen Junnan still couldn’t sync up.
“I don’t get it,” Chen Junnan said. “For everyone here, time really has stopped—but I don’t think stopping time works like this… It’s just too absurd. And your whole ‘controlling people means controlling time’ sounds even crazier…”
“It’s normal you can’t grasp it,” Qi Xia replied. “Time doesn’t exist in this world. It’s a concept humans imposed on the universe. When people stop, time stops.”
“So…?” Chen Junnan asked.
“So, if we want our time to keep moving, if we want everyone to return to their rightful lives, we need the most powerful ‘fast forward’ in history,” Qi Xia said. “Like I’ve said, my goal is to take everyone out of here.”
“Old Qi…” Chen Junnan’s expression darkened, and he lowered his voice. “Be straight with me… Does this ‘copying’ of yours have any side effects?”
“No,” Qi Xia answered without hesitation.
Chen Junnan knew there was no way to understand Qi Xia’s reasoning from a normal perspective anymore. After a long pause, he finally said, “Old Qi, whatever you’re planning… I’ll do my best to help.”
Qi Xia didn’t respond, only nodding thoughtfully.
Before long, Qin Dingdong emerged from the distant school building and approached them. “Qi Xia, Yan Zhichun and Lin Qin are back. They’re waiting for you.”
Qi Xia hesitated briefly. “I only need to see Yan Zhichun. Tell her to find an empty classroom and wait for me. I still have something else to deal with.”
“Alone?” Qin Dingdong paused. “They brought back a woman named Wen Qiaoyun. Don’t you want to meet her?”
“No need,” Qi Xia said. “Let those who want to see her do so.”
With that, Qi Xia bid farewell to Chen Junnan and Qin Dingdong and made his way alone to the rooftop of the school building.
He slowly raised his head, about to speak, when the blue-robed figure of Qinglong materialized before him in the blink of an eye, as if he had been standing there all along.
“Well?” Qinglong asked with a smile.
With a casual wave of his hand, he silenced all surrounding noise.
“I don’t like surprises,” Qi Xia said. “What’s the deal with the ‘Heavenly Serpent Hour’?”
“That wasn’t my doing,” Qinglong replied, shaking his head. “The ‘Celestial Zodiacs’ answer directly to Tianlong. I have no say in their actions.”
“Then why did he do it?”
“I don’t know,” Qinglong admitted. “Should I wake Tianlong and ask him?”
“Ridiculous,” Qi Xia muttered. “What’s he thinking? Is there even enough time left for this?”
“Qi Xia…” Qinglong tucked a strand of his dark green hair behind his ear and said softly, “This ‘Heavenly Serpent Hour’… It’s not just you. Even I’m curious.”
“Oh?”
Qinglong’s gaze turned icy as he took a slow step toward Qi Xia. “Qi Xia… I can’t shake the feeling that something’s off. Could someone be playing me?”
“What do you mean?” Qi Xia narrowed his eyes.
“What exactly did Tianlong tell you?” Qinglong demanded. “Are you working for him?”
“Me? Working for Tianlong?” Qi Xia let out a cold laugh. “Don’t be absurd. Why would Tianlong matter to me? I only act for myself.”
“Ha.” Qinglong took another step forward. “Only for yourself? Then that line of yours—‘I’ll lead everyone out’—sounds pretty damn ironic. Did you really think I’d fall for that?”
“You believed it?” Qi Xia scoffed. “Qinglong, knowing you were listening from above, do you honestly think I’d lie to your face?”
“So, should I take that to mean you never intended to take everyone out?” Qinglong pressed. “Like you said, you’re only in this for yourself?”
“Exactly,” Qi Xia confirmed. “Qinglong, none of these people have any real connection to me. Even the ones closest to me—Qiao Jiajin, Chen Junnan—I could abandon them in a heartbeat. The truth is, I’d never meet them in the real world, and they’d never interfere with my life. So our deal is simple: don’t bother listening to what I say day-to-day. Just remember—I kill Tianlong for you, and you let me leave. That’s all.”
“Let you leave?” Qinglong sneered. “Why would I ever do that?”
“There are tens of thousands of people here. One less won’t matter,” Qi Xia said. “You have a way. And I can promise you this—once I’m out, I’ll disappear. No one will ever know what happened to me here. Even if a real ‘god’ caught me, they’d never learn a single thing about the ‘Land of the End.’”
Qinglong fell silent for a moment. “That’s still not a guarantee for me… If word about this place gets out, I won’t be spared.”
“Don’t be stupid,” Qi Xia cut in. “Keeping me here would only make things worse for you.”
The two stood on the empty rooftop, locking eyes, neither able to fully trust the other’s words.
“Qi Xia, I can’t bring myself to fully believe you,” Qinglong said. “But I do need someone to kill Tianlong for me. If you pull it off, I’ll do everything in my power to get you out. But if you try anything… I won’t hesitate to strip you of your sanity, even if it means losing someone as capable as you.”
“That might’ve scared me before,” Qi Xia said. “But now? You wouldn’t dare.”
“I wouldn’t…?”
“If I lose my sanity, I’ll be far more dangerous than I am now. You and Tianlong would be trapped here forever,” Qi Xia said. “If you don’t believe me, go ahead—turn me into a ‘native’ right now and see what happens.”
Qinglong studied him carefully, but those gray eyes held a genuine threat. At this point, Qinglong couldn’t afford to gamble. With a deep sigh, he relented.
“Qi Xia, I can’t let Tianlong know I’m interfering. That would bring me trouble,” Qinglong said. “So I’ll only help within my means.”
“Good. Then stop the ‘Celestial Hour,’” Qi Xia demanded. “No more deaths tonight.”
“I told you—the ‘Celestial Zodiacs’ obey Tianlong. How do you expect me to—”
“That’s your problem,” Qi Xia interrupted. “Right now, everyone’s doing things beyond their limits. You don’t get to sit back comfortably. Find a way to stop it. Otherwise, tonight, I’ll meet Tianlong in his dreams. And you know I’m on the verge of losing it—there’s no telling what I might say.”
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