Chapter 1170: A Conspiracy

Qi Xia pondered for a moment, closed the safe door, and as soon as he turned around, Bai Yang's figure appeared before him again.

"Annoying, aren't you?" Qi Xia asked.

"I just thought of something..." Bai Yang reached up and stroked his chin.

"Think it through slowly if you can't figure it out."

"No." Bai Yang shook his head. "In my view, asking you will get the answer faster."

"Ask away."

"When the time comes... how will you get out?"

Qi Xia looked at Bai Yang with a cold stare and said, "What do you mean?"

"Don't play dumb." Bai Yang's expression turned stern. "I've been thinking about it for a long time without finding an answer... Have you arranged an escape plan for yourself this time?"

"No." Qi Xia replied firmly. "I'm destined to die here."

"As expected." Bai Yang stroked his chin, then narrowed his eyes after a moment. "I thought maybe there was a flaw in my logic... After all, I couldn't see a way out for you. Turns out, you never planned to leave alive from the start."

"So what?"

"If you die, that means I'm completely dead." Bai Yang replied. "So, 'whether you can live' is the only thing about you that I truly care about."

"But... you're already dead." Qi Xia sneered and tapped his temple. "You're just a lingering illusion in my mind. Don't go thinking you're a real person."

"Have you ever wondered..." Bai Yang's voice suddenly turned cold, "...why I had to leave this illusion behind?"

"Oh?" Qi Xia raised an eyebrow, thought for half a second, and said, "So this is your ultimate weapon..."

"You're smarter than most people here, so you naturally understand my strategy." Bai Yang's ethereal figure shifted slightly, pointing to the black safe behind him. "My 'ultimate weapon' couldn't possibly be that 'door' behind me. That's just something I prepared for you out of duty and reason."

"Fair enough."

"So, are you prepared to fall for it?" Bai Yang asked.

"Interesting." Qi Xia nodded. "Because people will keep dying here, you think I'll keep using 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi', which will drive me increasingly mad."

"That's right." Bai Yang laughed. "If at some point you go completely insane, then I'll no longer be just an illusion..."

"...but a real person." Qi Xia nodded as if suddenly realizing. "Clever plan."

"Do we really need to stand here pretending to praise each other's schemes?" Bai Yang asked.

"Not really." Qi Xia shook his head. "But I can't just blindly unleash the 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi' power... After all, you remember what happened to Yan Zhichun. If you or my mind gets affected, anyone reborn with memories through 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi' will become disordered, and we still need them."

"That makes sense." Bai Yang said. "Outside, there are probably countless casualties by now. Are you just going to let it be?"

"They can only survive by tapping into my subconscious, just like the trick you're using."

"It's just a straightforward yang mou. You couldn't possibly miss it, but you have no way to refuse." Bai Yang chuckled. "You disdain seeing yourself as me, and I disdain seeing myself as you. Even the 'Ren She' who crosses time dimensions would tell you 'he is he and I am I'. In that case, if you truly separate us in your heart, I'll be forced to manifest right here. And if you fully accept me as yourself, you'd have to take on all my memories."

"What a 'forced manifestation'. So, as I said... what a clever plan." Qi Xia rolled his shoulders, which were a bit tired, and slowly sat down in a chair. "Going through all that trouble to have Ren She deliver a message across time... Was it worth it?"

"He remembered that line because of his bond with me." Bai Yang replied. "His subconscious doesn't admit we're the same person either. Among my disciples, only he would pass that message to you exactly as is."

"No wonder it's a yang mou. You can use this chance to leverage my subconscious for your rebirth and replace a mad version of me. Though you're dead, you've planted a needle in my mind. That needle makes me cautious even when controlling my own thoughts." Qi Xia said. "In all of 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di', besides myself, you're the only one bold enough to plant a needle in my brain."

"That was the original plan." Bai Yang said. "But I didn't expect you to leave no way out for yourself."

"Is that so strange?" Qi Xia asked. "I've turned myself into a monster through my subconscious. Now, I'm both terminally ill and heartless, so I can't get out. In other words, that path to survival was never meant for me from the beginning."

Bai Yang let out a cold laugh, his white fur trembling slightly. "You, calling yourself a monster in front of me?"

"The outward change to a monster is just the most superficial part. Now, I'm no longer human inside or out." Qi Xia added. "In that case... are you still planning to use 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi' to rebirth and replace me?"

"Good question." Bai Yang thought for a moment and nodded. "Since you didn't leave a way out for yourself, that means if I appear, I'll inevitably die too. That does greatly dampen my motivation."

"But even you can't stop this plan now." Qi Xia said. "After all, even the current you isn't the real you—it's just the you in my subconscious. When you manifest here, my consciousness has already split us into two separate people."

"Strange..." Bai Yang narrowed his gray eyes, looking at Qi Xia with a complex expression. "It sounds like... you're admitting defeat."

"It's not admitting defeat; it's seeing through it." Qi Xia replied. "To be honest, whether you rebirth or not doesn't matter to me at all. But this time, I have to make sure everyone except me gets out."

"So, what's your final decision?" Bai Yang asked.

"I'll board the 'train' with Tian Long and head to a distant place."

"Oh...?" Bai Yang nodded. "How curious. Isn't that exactly what Tian Long has always been waiting for? Going to a new space and building a brand-new world."

"Heh..." Qi Xia sneered. "It sounds the same, but the reality is worlds apart. Asking that question just proves you're not the real Bai Yang—just a trace of my illusion."

After hearing this, Bai Yang smiled faintly, his figure growing more ethereal in the room.

Qi Xia took the opportunity to shake his dizzy head. Seeing Bai Yang more frequently only meant his sanity was gradually slipping away.

This was not a good sign.

He steadied his mind, walked out of the office, closed the door, and the next second, he saw Yun Yao appearing at the bank entrance.