Chapter 1236: Lin'an

Qinglong heard that woman slowly walk out of the door and continued rubbing his forehead.

Everything felt off right now, but he couldn't pinpoint the problem at all.

On the surface, everything appeared perfectly normal... If he had to name the most unforgettable thing, it would be that game of "Cangjie Qi" against Qixia, and that reckless Xuanwu who had wanted to challenge him.

But was Xuanwu really that powerful? How could he have caused Qinglong to lose so much of his conviction?

Ever since "Cangjie Qi," Qinglong's mind had started to feel slightly muddled, and even "Lingwen" had vanished without a trace.

The "Liezhen" looked no different from usual.

In the worst-case scenario, Qixia might have brought various "participants" onto the "Liezhen," and perhaps there were even Qixia's spies among the "Shengxiao." These people were probably trying to turn the entire "Liezhen" upside down.

Almost everyone had gathered here for different reasons. Some were fed up with the oppression and wanted to rebel at the final moment; others were dissatisfied with the "Tianji" management and aimed to take it over; some sought to eliminate the Twin Dragons and completely overhaul "Taoyuan"; and there were those who, for hypocritical dreams or grand ideals, were willing to sacrifice themselves to save all the sinners.

No matter their motivations, they had indeed come together now, throwing the whole "Liezhen" into utter chaos.

But what could be done about it?

This was still the "Liezhen," after all. As long as Qinglong could activate "Xianfa," the situation wouldn't spiral out of control.

Qinglong slowly closed his eyes and searched his mind for that faint trace of "Duo Xin Po" he had left behind. She must have boarded the "Liezhen" too, right?

The chaos in his mind made Qinglong feel as though even his conviction was stalling. It took him several times longer than usual to finally locate that person on the "Liezhen."

Yet, her mind seemed no clearer than his own.

In her thoughts, only three ideas kept looping:

"It's almost time to drink some water."

"Is it time to eat something?"

"I need to use the restroom."

These three thoughts were even clearer than before and kept repeating endlessly.

Just as Qinglong was about to withdraw his search, a few seconds later, he sensed something was wrong.

These were ordinary things that any common person might think about...

But as a "participant" who had boarded the "Liezhen," how could she have no other thoughts at all?

There was no tension, no fear, not even any hope in her mind.

Her thoughts contained nothing about "Shengxiao," nothing about her teammates—as if she had completely set aside everything happening on the "Liezhen."

If this could still be called "normal," then the situation was starting to turn strange.

Linjian—had she realized she was being watched?

All the control Qinglong had exerted over her was at the subconscious level, and even her memories were carefully constructed by him. So why would she notice?

To give Qixia the drive to keep moving forward in this cycle where memories couldn't be preserved, Qinglong had gone to great lengths to set up an identity for Linjian from the year 2068, including a memory of an old man who resembled Qixia.

Unfortunately, Linjian had never actually met that old man. If Qixia asked about him, she would only relay that a "friend had seen him."

Her subconscious would convince her that, no matter how unrelated that old man seemed to Qixia, he was definitely the Qixia who had escaped from here.

Only with that belief would Qixia overcome all obstacles to board the "Liezhen" and turn his sights on the Tianlong.

Why did that old man keep muttering about "Shen zhi Qipian"?

Qinglong slowly smiled. The clue was already buried in Linjian's memories because the entire memory was fake.

It was just Qinglong, as a "god," playing a joke on mere mortals like insects, all about fate.

And why did Linjian appear as a "psychological counselor" in the room?

It was because only someone with a life experience similar to Qixia's arrogant self could engage in meaningful conversation.

How could a master's degree in psychology open up to just anyone?

Qinglong slowly closed his eyes and, through "Duo Xin Po," tried to make Linjian stand up and look at her surroundings.

He couldn't access what she was seeing, but he could control her subconscious.

"What is in front of me?" Qinglong murmured.

"There is... a wall..." Linjian's voice echoed in Qinglong's mind.

"Why is there no one?" Qinglong continued. "Where are the people in front of me?"

"The people in front of me..." Linjian paused. "There are no people in front of me..."

"I need to find them," Qinglong said. "I want to know who is around me and what they are doing."

Didou and Xiaoxiao watched from behind Linjian as she stood up and then fell silent, staring downward.

The next second, they saw her raise her hand and slowly cover her mouth and nose.

"There are no people around me..." Linjian said after a long silence. "I don't know where I am."

That brief statement made Qinglong furrow his brow.

It seemed this strange informant was indeed having issues—either she had lost her senses or she had been won over by Qixia.

But if she had been won over by Qixia, why wouldn't Qinglong know about it?

Countless questions made Qinglong's mind even more confused, and with so many rooms on the "Liezhen," he couldn't locate Linjian right away to get to the bottom of it.

How could a single pawn going wrong affect him?

"It looks like I'm not suited for using 'Needles' after all..." Qinglong muttered quietly. "I only need myself."

Didou and Xiaoxiao saw Linjian quiet down and stepped forward to check on her.

"Are you okay?" Didou asked. "Were you talking to someone?"

Linjian had one hand on her chest and the other covering her mouth and nose, looking uncomfortable.

"I'm fine... it's just too smelly," she said, finally regaining control of her emotions and lowering the hand from her face.

"Smelly...?" Didou yawned lazily. "That's odd. You seem to have retained quite a few memories, yet you're still bothered by the smell here?"

"Ha." Linjian chuckled lightly. "Yes, even you understand that, but some people just don't."

"Oh?"

"I've been wandering here for seven years... and I still can't get used to the smell. I find it overwhelmingly foul and have to cover my mouth and nose just to move around."

Linjian waved her hand in front of her mouth and nose, as if trying to dispel the air around her.

"It's illogical... isn't it?"