“Take…?”
The sand and stones above their heads continued to fall, as if many of the faceless beings had already collapsed from exhaustion.
Yet, new faceless figures kept rising from the city, filling the vacant positions.
Tianlong let out a slow, cold laugh. “Aries, the moment I awaken, the entire ‘Peach Blossom Spring’ will tremble for me. I will see countless faces filled with fear, while you still need someone outside to *take* you… Such is the tragedy of being mortal, isn’t it?”
“If I heard correctly… every time you wake up, you see eyes that don’t want you to awaken,” Qixia retorted. “And I’m the exact opposite—there are people who *want* me to wake up and will rejoice because of it. I don’t see who’s more pitiful between us.”
Tianlong fell silent for a few seconds, as if struck by a nerve.
In this vast “Peach Blossom Spring,” how many people truly awaited his awakening?
Qixia keenly caught this hesitation and quietly filed it away in his mind.
A few seconds later, the sole remaining mouth on Tianlong’s face twisted into a cold smile.
“Why should I care about them…?” he said. “If they don’t want me to wake up, then let them kill me and put me to sleep forever. But who in this entire ‘train’ can actually do it?”
Tianlong took a step forward, floating in midair.
“Aries, Qinglong can’t touch me, so he has to delegate the task of killing me to someone else,” Tianlong continued. “But none of the ‘Zodiacs’—whether ‘Heaven,’ ‘Earth,’ or ‘Man’—dare take on this mission. Because Qinglong is unpredictable, they can’t tell if he’s testing them or truly wants me dead.”
“So the task falls to outsiders,” Qixia said. “Even if a ‘Zodiac’ were bold enough to accept it, they’d become enemies of the others. Most are unaware of the truth—they still expect you, Tianlong, to grant them promotions. They won’t let you die.”
“You seem to understand this better than I do,” Tianlong grinned. “So even if none of them want me to open my eyes, I’ll still wake up on the tenth day. Who can stop me?”
“Look at the world you govern,” Qixia said. “Not only is the ‘Land of the End’ full of lies, but even the ‘Zodiacs’ on the ‘train’ don’t know who to trust. Tianlong, your rule is a failure, and you’ve woven a colossal lie.”
“Me…?” Tianlong paused, then burst into laughter. “What ‘colossal lie’? Aries, all ‘mortals’ live their entire lives under threats and intimidation—whether in ‘Peach Blossom Spring’ or the ‘real world.’ I’ve merely continued the norm. How is that a lie?”
“Living under threats and intimidation their whole lives?” Qixia frowned. “What a joke…”
“Am I wrong about mortals?” Tianlong sneered. “From childhood, they’re told—’If you don’t eat properly, you’re ruined. If you don’t study hard, you’re ruined.’ Fail to get into a good university, land a good job, buy a car or a house by a certain age, or get promoted in a few years—someone will always declare your life over. I’ve simply extended these threats to the ‘train,’ warning them not to provoke me, or their lives will be forfeit. Where’s the lie?”
Qixia remained silent, studying Tianlong, trying to understand the madman’s logic.
Tianlong pressed on, “If mortals had never faced such threats before, why would they accept them so easily now? Whether they see this place as a ‘workplace,’ a ‘school,’ or a ‘family,’ they find that the rules I’ve set align perfectly with reality. So in the end, they embrace it all willingly.”
“Your sophistry sounds convincing,” Qixia replied. “But those who threaten mortals in the real world don’t actually want them dead. *You* do. Your motive for these threats is to justify their deaths.”
“Oh?”
“Stop trying to convince me with your twisted logic,” Qixia said. “I won’t believe a single word you say. The reason ‘people’ are called ‘people’ is because they *live*. Yet you’ve done everything to erase their existence—deliberately turning them into monsters, stripping them of reason and life. These are your sins.”
“I thought you were going mad…” Tianlong grinned. “But you still sound lucid.”
“Oh?” Qixia rolled his neck. “Tianlong, you couldn’t overpower me with brute force, so now you resort to psychological warfare. But if I were so easily defeated, would I still be standing here opposing you?”
After a moment’s thought, Tianlong nodded. “Fair point.”
“So give up. Walk away now, and we both avoid mutual destruction,” Qixia said.
Tianlong lowered his head, his gaze settling on Qixia’s trembling arm.
Even if the faceless beings he created were mindless, sustaining such a massive “Endless Cycle” couldn’t leave him unscathed.
“Aries, the next time I awaken, it will be the moment everyone collapses,” Tianlong said softly. “Are you ready to face me in reality?”
“You might not wake up,” Qixia countered. “Tomorrow night, I might lead a mob to beat you to death.”
“Hahahaha!” Tianlong laughed, pointing at Qixia’s shaking arm. “With *that*?”
He drifted closer, stopping just inches from Qixia, and whispered, “Aries, even if everyone in ‘Peach Blossom Spring’ unleashed their powers in reality… who could possibly kill me?”
“In that case… I have a question for you too.”
The bone-and-flesh steps beneath Qixia’s feet rose, bringing him level with Tianlong.
“Oh?” Tianlong tilted his head. “What is it?”
“Tianlong… tell me honestly…” Qixia’s voice darkened. “Can the ‘train’… *really* leave?”
“Hmm…?” Tianlong froze.
“Where exactly is this ‘next stop’ you speak of?” Qixia pressed. “Have you ever been there?”
After a long pause, Tianlong answered, “Aries, I could lie to you… but I don’t mind telling the truth. There’s nothing at the ‘next stop’—or the ‘last stop.’ Not even darkness. Just pure nothingness.”
“I see…”
“So give up on that idea,” Tianlong said. “If you still want to feel ‘alive,’ the only place left is ‘Peach Blossom Spring.'”
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