“Baa?”
Qiao Jiajin chuckled upon hearing this. “You want me to use my tricks to break the trickster’s tricks?”
“More or less,” Xu Liunian nodded. “Are you willing to do it?”
“I…” Qiao Jiajin scratched his head and smiled again. “This question has really stumped me.”
Xu Liunian fell silent for a moment before saying, “Do you also want to be trapped in this cycle forever, never leaving?”
“No, pretty lady, I think you’ve misunderstood something,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “From the moment I first met the trickster, I told him that I’d be his fists, and he’d be my brain. We’re partners. So, in my view, if I use my tricks to break his tricks, that’s not cooperation—it’s betrayal.”
After a quick pause to gather his thoughts, Xu Liunian asked, “But does Qi Xia even know about this plan? If our ‘cycle’ is happening in his subconscious… what if even he can’t control it?”
“Then I’d still trust him,” Qiao Jiajin said firmly. “I’m not a smart man, but I believe the trickster has his own reasons for everything. If all of you can think of this method, he definitely can too. But if he hasn’t done it, it must mean his plan goes deeper than this.”
“So your decision is…”
“I won’t actively break his tricks,” Qiao Jiajin answered with determination. “The trickster is working on something right now, and I’ll always trust his judgment and stand by him. Only if the day comes when he realizes his plan is failing and asks me to say those words—only then will I resolutely use my ‘Echo.'”
Xu Liunian froze for a moment before nodding slowly. “I see… I understand now.”
“So, it’s not the time yet,” Qiao Jiajin said. “Let’s just wait together.”
…
Chu Tianqiu frowned as the figure before him approached slowly.
“So, what’s with this look?” Chu Tianqiu pointed to his own eyes. “Sheep pupils?”
“Talking about ‘looks,’ you’re hardly in a position to criticize me, are you?” Qi Xia grinned cheerfully. “And what about you? Are you that ‘lunatic’ hanging on the screen?”
Instead of getting angry, Chu Tianqiu laughed. “If you’re coming to see me now, it must mean you’ve found a way to restore your memories, right? Do you even need to ask whether that ‘lunatic’ outside is me?”
“Yeah,” Qi Xia nodded. “I just hate that I’m not smart enough. Back when you divided the people here into ‘good folk’ and ‘lunatics,’ I should’ve asked—where did you even get the word ‘lunatics’ from? Wouldn’t ‘madmen’ have been simpler?”
“No, no, no…” Chu Tianqiu shook his head with a smile. “‘Madmen’ are ‘madmen,’ and ‘lunatics’ are ‘lunatics.’ Just like you are you, and I am I.”
“Oh…?” Qi Xia slowly curled his lips into a grin—one eerily identical to Chu Tianqiu’s. “You’re saying I’ve gone mad…? Interesting…”
“So, what do you want from me?” Chu Tianqiu asked.
“I have questions for you, but not here,” Qi Xia replied.
Chu Tianqiu nodded. “Follow me.”
The two walked into the school building, their auras starkly different, leaving the others behind.
Glasses turned slowly to Zhang Shan and asked, “Are you really going to follow that guy?”
“I…” Zhang Shan sighed, glancing in the direction Chu Tianqiu had left. “Glasses… do you want to get out of here?”
Glasses hesitated for a moment. “I… can die if I have to, live if I have to. I came here by suicide, and when I found myself alive again… it was complicated. Just like how I feel now.”
“Then I get it,” Zhang Shan said. “You mentioned before—you committed a crime, so you killed yourself out of guilt?”
“Yes,” Glasses nodded. “Not ‘guilt’ exactly, more like ‘atonement.’ But the result’s the same. Even if I get out, I’ll be arrested. If not, I’ll just kill myself again. So whether this place is destroyed or continues… I don’t really care.”
“Damn… that’s kinda like me,” Zhang Shan scratched his head. “Going back would be a mess… What about you, Old Lü?”
“I…” Old Lü shook his head meaningfully. “I’m pretty much the same, goddammit.”
“But I won’t interfere with you two,” Zhang Shan said. “My word is my bond—once it’s out, it’s set in stone. He’ll keep us safe, and I’ll lend him a hand. Whether he becomes that ‘god’ in the end… that’s not my concern anymore.”
Han Yimo and Dr. Zhao, standing nearby, grew visibly uneasy.
“Hey… what’s going on with you guys?” Han Yimo demanded. “If you don’t want to leave, I do!”
Dr. Zhao nodded hurriedly. “Exactly! Chu Tianqiu only ever said he wanted to become a ‘god’—he never said we’d all die with him!”
Zhang Shan sighed. “Then do whatever you want.”
“But where else can we even go?!”
As they argued, another group appeared at the school gate.
“Yo! Big guy!” Qiao Jiajin waved.
“Oh…?”
Zhang Shan turned and grinned broadly at the newcomers. “Tattoo kid.”
“What’re you all doing here?” Qiao Jiajin asked. “Where’d the trickster go?”
“He went upstairs with Chu Tianqiu just now,” Zhang Shan jerked his thumb over his shoulder. “You here with him?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded, but his expression quickly darkened as he noticed the bodies scattered across the field. “You… what’s going on? Killing people?”
“It’s a long story,” Zhang Shan said. “Originally, we were the ones getting killed, but now it looks like we’re siding with the killers.”
Chen Junnan seemed entirely unfazed by the corpses, staring instead at the school building with a frown. “What the hell is Old Qi up to…? A secret meeting with Little Chu?”
Qin Dingdong, now somewhat calmer, also looked worried. “But what could they possibly be talking about…?”
Chen Junnan pondered for a moment before answering with mock seriousness, “You’re asking me? Old Qi might be… exchanging constructive views with Little Chu on the ten-day plan, discussing bilateral relations, and outlining strategic guidance for the tense situation between us and ‘Paradise.’ Old Qi pointed out that currently—”
“Shut the hell up,” Qin Dingdong kicked him. “With you around, I’ll never have a moment of peace.”
Despite the jokes, Chen Junnan’s expression remained grave as he looked up at Paradise’s rooftop—where Qi Xia and Chu Tianqiu now stood.
Tai Sui Yellow Amulet Paper FuLu Taoist Love Talisman Traditional Chinese Spiritual Charm Attracting Love Protecting Marriage