Chapter 216: Xu Liunian's Plan

“An…?”

Qi Xia's lips moved slightly. "Yu Nian'an?"

Li Xiangling was startled and quickly turned to look behind her.

But there was nothing there—her back was completely empty.

"What 'An'?" she asked, puzzled.

"An… Are you really here?"

Qi Xia walked forward step by step, his pupils trembling constantly.

He felt his thoughts were strangely disordered.

They seemed chaotic, yet he also felt as if he understood everything.

This sensation hovered between lucidity and madness, with only one last thread holding him together.

"Xia, why haven't you come home yet?" Yu Nian'an said.

"Home…?" Qi Xia blinked and slowly showed a guilty smile. "I went back home… but you weren't there anymore…"

Li Xiangling was so frightened by Qi Xia's appearance that she kept backing away.

"Qi… Qi Ge… What's wrong with you? Don't scare me…"

She kept glancing behind her, but there was clearly nothing there, and yet Qi Xia was not only talking to the air but also smiling at it.

This was the first time she had ever seen Qi Xia smile.

"How could I not be at home?" Yu Nian'an continued. "Xia, tell me, if I'm not at home… where should I be?"

Qi Xia slowly widened his eyes, as if he had realized something.

"Are you saying… you're here… so this is home…"

"Yes, Xia…"

"So I… I'm home now…"

Watching Qi Xia's eyes gradually lose their light, Li Xiangling couldn't hold back any longer.

She endured the pain from her injuries and leaped up, kicking Qi Xia to the ground.

"Qi Ge! Don't let this place affect you!" Li Xiangling shouted, then felt the sharp pain from her broken ribs. "Ouch… it hurts so much…"

Struck out of nowhere by the kick, Qi Xia didn't get angry. Instead, he quickly got up and searched for Yu Nian'an's figure.

He needed Yu Nian'an desperately.

She was his conviction.

But a few seconds later, Qi Xia noticed something was off.

That kick had hit just right, snapping him out of his daze.

How could Yu Nian'an suddenly appear in this room?

She looked less like a person and more like a ghost.

Qi Xia slapped himself hard across the face, feeling as if he had gone mad.

"Qi Ge… Are you okay?" Li Xiangling asked.

"I'm much better now." Qi Xia stood up, shook his head, and then asked seriously, "Li Xiangling, what is your 'Hui Xiang'?"

"Uh…" Li Xiangling gave an awkward laugh. "I don't know; everyone just says my 'Hui Xiang' isn't useful at all…"

"Is that so…?"

Qi Xia knew that if Li Xiangling's 'Hui Xiang' was an illusion of someone she missed, it might not be useful to others, but for him, it was deadly.

Realizing it was just a fleeting illusion, Qi Xia felt his mind about to explode.

An overwhelming wave of sorrow hit him, making the world spin, but he quickly suppressed his longing for Yu Nian'an and focused on the situation at hand.

"Li Xiangling, I need to go out and check. You hide here and lock the door," Qi Xia said.

"Ah? You're leaving too?" Li Xiangling said with a worried expression. "Qi Ge, it's really dangerous out there…"

"It's fine…" Qi Xia sorted through his thoughts and slowly opened the door.

If Chu Tianqiu's goal was to kill him, staying with Li Xiangling would only put her in danger.

Before Qi Xia could step out, a figure rushed in and pushed him back inside.

It was Qiao Jiajin, covered in fresh blood.

"Qi Xia! I'm los—" Qiao Jiajin said, "It's too dangerous outside… Be careful!"

He turned around, startling Qi Xia.

Qiao Jiajin's injuries were even worse; he looked as if he had survived an explosion, with burn marks all over his left arm and a bullet wound on his right shoulder—he must have been through intense battles.

"What's going on?" Qi Xia asked. "Who attacked?"

"It doesn't seem to be 'Ji Dao'…" Qiao Jiajin said cautiously, eyeing the door. "Those people are all in black clothes, like they're searching for something…"

Qi Xia had a vague feeling that he might be their target.

"And Lin Geng, Han Yi Mo—they're dead," Qiao Jiajin said regretfully. "I couldn't find Yun Yao and Zhang Shan; I don't know if they're alive or not."

"Is that so…? In that case… this is getting complicated…" Qi Xia narrowed his eyes, his expression growing heavy.

"Nothing's complicated…" Qiao Jiajin said seriously, staring outside. "Don't worry, as long as I'm here, everything will be fine."

"Oh?" Qi Xia looked at him. "What are you planning?"

"I'll get you out," Qiao Jiajin said, carefully pushing the door open. "I've cleared the path from the second floor to the first-floor exit. If we slip out of the teaching building before reinforcements arrive, we'll be okay."

Qi Xia stroked his chin and thought for a moment. "But we have injured people."

"I'll take care of Li Xiangling," Qiao Jiajin whispered. "If we don't go now, we'll lose our chance."

"Alright." Qi Xia nodded, helped Li Xiangling up, and said to Qiao Jiajin, "Lead the way."

"Mm." Qiao Jiajin peeked cautiously outside and whispered, "Follow my signals later. There are too many enemies, so we need to be careful."

"I know; I'll follow your plan."

Although Qi Xia said that, he quietly walked over to a chair.

"Now's clear—let's go!"

As Qiao Jiajin turned back to speak, Qi Xia swung the chair and struck him down hard.

With Li Xiangling in shock, Qi Xia reached over, locked the door, and pinned Qiao Jiajin to the ground, choking his neck.

The blow had landed solidly, leaving Qiao Jiajin looking dazed.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Qi Xia gritted his teeth and asked. "How dare you impersonate Qiao Jiajin? What did you do to him?!"

"Cough, cough…" The person beneath him coughed a few times and suddenly changed to Xu Liunian. "You… How did you know…?"

Li Xiangling stared in wide-eyed disbelief; she hadn't realized the Qiao Jiajin just now was an impostor.

"Did you think copying his 'I'm los' would fool me?" Qi Xia said angrily. "Qiao Jiajin never calls people by their full names like 'Lin Geng, Han Yi Mo, Li Xiangling, Zhang Shan, Yun Yao,' and he's never called me 'Qi Xia' before."

"Hey… heh-heh…" Xu Liunian grinned maliciously. "It doesn't matter if you figured it out… Qi Xia, I've found a way to prove my abilities…"

"Is that so?" Qi Xia kept choking Xu Liunian's neck and snarled, "How do you plan to prove it?"

"I've decided to kill you tonight and send you to the next cycle."