Chapter 1145: Eyes

Chapter 1145: Eyes

Although she said that, Qiu Shiliu still had a bewildered look in her eyes.

She knew she wasn't the sharpest person, so she could only resort to the most straightforward method—

That was to enter as many doors as possible and then find a way to leave behind all the information she discovered in some location, hoping that her teammates outside might stumble upon it by some stroke of luck. After all, she was beyond saving no matter what.

With that thought, Qiu Shiliu turned around again and moved toward another door not far away. The scenery within her line of sight began to rush past behind her.

But just a few seconds later, she halted her intention, and everything around her stopped as well.

Indeed, in the face of despair, people could spark inspirations they never imagined before—

Just before entering the door earlier, Su Shan had told her that to explore this space, she needed to abandon all preconceived notions.

If that was the case... Qiu Shiliu turned back and looked at the door she had just attempted to enter.

Why had she chosen that particular door to move toward?

The reason was simple: it was close enough to her. Based on common sense, in a limited time, the nearer door would be easier to reach.

But if that were true, combined with the condition that "it's not me moving, but the space," then the logic of her movement shouldn't have been "I'm going to the nearer door," but rather "let the nearest door come to me."

Qiu Shiliu reached up and pressed her hand to her forehead, trying to cool her overheated mind.

In other words, it was because the space had received the instruction "let the nearest door come to me" that everything had shifted, ultimately bringing her to stand before that door.

"If this theory is correct..." Qiu Shiliu took a breath, "then I don't need to enter these doors randomly at all..."

She steadied her thoughts and slowly closed her eyes.

Sure enough, she couldn't rely on "common sense" here.

If this space could accept such abstract instructions, then theoretically, she could do anything.

She felt that she was the only living person in this strange space, like its "god," with everything here moving according to her will.

At that moment, she cleared all other thoughts from her mind and focused intently on repeating one phrase—

"Let the most important door come to me."

The abstract description left Qiu Shiliu standing in place, stunned for a long time, with no changes around her. She could only empty her mind and enter a state of deep concentration.

After an unknown amount of time, she finally heard a whooshing wind in her ears. The wind blew from the front one moment and from the side the next, as if the entire space was rapidly moving and turning.

To ensure success, Qiu Shiliu kept her eyes closed, continuously repeating the phrase. In just a moment, all the wind sounds vanished completely.

She waited a few more seconds before slowly opening her eyes.

The scene in front of her had indeed changed, but since she'd had her eyes closed, Qiu Shiliu didn't know which direction the space had moved. She could only confirm from the multitude of doors that she was no longer in the original spot.

But soon, she noticed something odd.

There were no "doors" in front of her.

The nearest door, by normal distance standards, was at least a hundred meters away, yet she found herself in an empty area.

Was this because her intention wasn't strong enough... or had she been wrong about the direction from the start?

Maybe there was no such thing as the "most important door" in this place, meaning Xuanwu's weakness wasn't here at all...?

Just as Qiu Shiliu was about to close her eyes and rethink, she spotted something strange right in front of her.

In the air, very close to her, there seemed to be a floating light point.

Qiu Shiliu furrowed her brow and stared at the light point. It was no bigger than a coin and flickered with some kind of pattern inside.

"Could this be... a door...?"

Qiu Shiliu slowly widened her eyes and stepped forward cautiously.

This light point was far too small to really count as a "door"—at best, it was just a "hole."

If it was the so-called "most important door," how could she enter or exit it, and how would she know what was inside?

Qiu Shiliu paused, leaned in a little, and peered into the hole with her eyes.

...

"Jiu Jie... it's okay."

Jiang Shi leaned against the wall and said, "I'm fine... You should go to Xuanwu. Your abilities are important too."

Bai Jiu sighed after hearing this. "Do you think I don't know why I'm staying here?"

"How could I not know..."

Jiang Shi coughed twice and forced a bitter smile. His remaining eye blinked, making the dark socket on the other side look even more eerie.

"Jiu Jie, don't waste your effort... I'm done for. I could die any time now. You're just wasting time here."

"But you said you didn't want to die alone, that it would make you feel especially scared."

Bai Jiu replied with a blank expression, her tone coldly detached. "I'm here to keep you company until the end."

"Oh, right..." Jiang Shi slowly lowered his head. "Thanks... Jiu Jie... Don't worry, I don't feel any pain right now, so I don't even know when I'll die. It could be the next second, or maybe a few hours from now... Just talk with me for a bit..."

Bai Jiu nodded. "What do you want to say?"

"I..." Jiang Shi thought for a long time, then shook his head. "Never mind... I'll recite something instead."

"Okay, go ahead. I'll listen."

Bai Jiu replied, "Don't be afraid. I'm right here with you."

He nodded: "The tales of books and plays guide people straight, three great paths lead to the center. Good and evil will always meet their due, the way of the world... the way of the world is... it is..."

As Jiang Shi recited, his expression turned pitiful, and tears began to roll from his remaining eye.

Bai Jiu stood there for a moment, then frowned and bent down to wipe his eyes.

"Don't cry, little Jiang Shi."

Bai Jiu said, "Your body doesn't hurt anymore, but crying will hurt your heart."

Yet Jiang Shi's tears wouldn't stop; he lay on the ground, sobbing continuously.

Bai Jiu sat beside him, gently stroking his hair. Although the two of them looked about the same size, Bai Jiu was acting like a big sister, softly comforting him.

"Little Jiang Shi, don't cry. I know you're most afraid of pain, but it's okay now. It doesn't hurt anymore."

Bai Jiu's voice started to choke up.

As she reached out to wipe his tears, she suddenly noticed something unusual in the dark socket of Jiang Shi's other eye.

Bai Jiu held his head steady and stared carefully at the eye that Xuanwu had long since gouged out.

In the next second, an eye appeared out of nowhere in the dark socket.