Chapter 531: Wake Me Up

Qi Xia felt tears streaming down his face. If this was a nightmare, why wouldn't it end?

"Shu... you..." Qi Xia's pupils trembled slightly.

He remembered the first time he saw the child in front of him, when he had boldly declared, "This time, I will bet my life."

After that bet succeeded, he had suffered excruciating headaches.

"What on earth am I doing...?"

He wanted to reach out and touch the mummified face, but the mummy recoiled in fear, stepping back.

On both sides, doors kept opening one after another, and figures of the Sheng Xiao emerged. They all nodded in respect to Qi Xia before heading deeper into the corridor.

Distant sounds of the world collapsing continued, mixed with the footsteps of countless Sheng Xiao on the wooden floor. Qi Xia felt his mind in complete chaos, as if fragments of countless lives' memories were converging on him.

"I want to go home..." Qi Xia finally came to his senses, muttering shakily, "I want to return to my room... This place doesn't belong to me..."

He took a few steps forward, only to find the door he had come through was gone.

Now, both in front and behind him were endless, profound corridors, with no end in sight on either side.

"Bai Yang Ge Ge..." Qi Xia heard the mummy call out from behind him again. He turned around, but no one was there.

"Bai Yang Ge Ge..."

No matter how Qi Xia turned, the voice always came from behind him.

It was as if she was floating just out of reach, following his every move, yet impossible to see.

"Stop calling me..." Qi Xia broke down and said, "I'm sorry... Shu... Really sorry..."

"Bai Yang Ge Ge..."

"Bai Yang Ge Ge..."

Qi Xia slowly closed his eyes and covered his ears.

Why wouldn't this dream end?

If it went on, he would truly go mad.

After some time, the mummy's voice seemed to vanish completely. In this empty corridor, only the sound of Qi Xia's heartbeat and breathing remained, accompanied by the dim lighting, making everything eerily quiet.

"Bai Yang."

A strange voice echoed behind Qi Xia, blending male and female tones, sounding somewhat familiar.

Even though Qi Xia clamped his hands tightly over his ears, the voice pierced through, clearly entering his mind.

"In a dream, you can't hear sounds..." Qi Xia said, "This isn't a dream... Where is this? What are you?"

"Bai Yang, don't you recognize me?" The androgynous voice rang in his ear again. "Turn around and look at me."

Qi Xia's entire body turned ice-cold. This voice was even more terrifying than what he had just experienced.

"I can't..." Qi Xia said, "I can't look at you..."

"Bai Yang, turn around and look at me." The voice carried an undeniable authority.

"No..." Qi Xia suppressed his emotions and whispered, "I can't look..."

"So, you're giving up?" The voice chuckled lightly. "I'm disappointed."

"I won't give up." Qi Xia replied with his back turned. "The reason I'm still standing here is to defeat you. As long as you're not dead, I won't give up."

"But how can I die?" the voice continued. "None of us can die, you know that, right?"

"You..."

"Qi Xia, you know that as long as you don't die, no one here can die."

The voice sounded closer and closer, and Qi Xia felt a chilling coldness on every inch of his skin. A layer of goosebumps spread over him like fish scales, and every hair stood on end.

"Qi Xia, I see you." The voice said, "If you won't turn around to look at me, then I'll come to you."

Though Qi Xia couldn't remember anything, his instincts resisted. A voice inside told him he absolutely must not look at the person behind him.

But the footsteps grew nearer, about to reach his front.

"Let me wake up..." Qi Xia said with his eyes closed, "I can't see him... I can't see him here..."

Smack!

A sharp slap stung Qi Xia's left cheek, and his head jerked to the side.

He opened his eyes and looked—there was no one in front of him.

"Lao Qi!"

"Deceiver!"

Qi Xia's eyes widened slowly: "Chen Jun Nan... Quan Tou... Wake me up..."

Smack!

Another loud slap landed, and Qi Xia felt the surroundings shake, as if they were about to collapse.

"Not enough..." Qi Xia gritted his teeth, "Wake me up right now..."

Qi Xia lifted his head, as if speaking to someone unseen.

"Wake up!!"

"Quick, wake me up!!"

Smack!!

A powerful slap hit Qi Xia's face, and at the same time, a sharp pain struck his abdomen, as if someone had punched him hard. The blow was so intense that it made his internal organs churn, and the entire scene around him crumbled in an instant.

All the surroundings shattered like thin paper, revealing a vast, dark void behind.

Qi Xia glanced around—the other side was a boundless starry sky.

Before he could react, the ground beneath his feet cracked completely, and he plummeted downward rapidly.

"Ah!!"

Qi Xia suddenly opened his eyes, the smell of decay filling his nostrils, and the dim room lighting coming into view.

In front of him were the faces of Chen Jun Nan and Qiao Jia Jin, while nearby, Zheng Ying Xiong and Qian Wu Zhou Liu watched him with concern.

"My goodness, Lao Qi, what's going on with you?" Chen Jun Nan sighed in relief as Qi Xia awoke. "Out of nowhere, why were you lying on the bed shouting?"

Seeing these familiar faces, Qi Xia knew he was still in hell, but he could finally relax a bit.

Everything he had just experienced felt vividly real, not like an ordinary dream.

Who was the one speaking?

What did Yu Nian An's words mean?

What is the meaning of "Dao Fa three thousand six hundred schools, each person holds one root"?

"Hey!" Qiao Jia Jin chuckled awkwardly, "Jun Nan, I told you slapping wasn't enough—it took my punch to do the trick."

Qi Xia turned and carefully examined his surroundings, realizing he was lying in bed asleep.

"Absurd..." Qi Xia murmured, "How could you let me lie down?"

"Huh?" Chen Jun Nan was puzzled. "What do you mean, Lao Qi? What's wrong with lying down?"

"I can't lie down..." Qi Xia said absentmindedly, "I can only sleep sitting up... Lying down makes me too relaxed..."

Qiao Jia Jin looked at Qi Xia in confusion and shook his head: "Deceiver... You fainted earlier. If you fainted, would we put you on a chair instead of the bed?"

Qi Xia found it strange too.

Deep in his subconscious, he knew he absolutely must not lie down or lower his guard, but he couldn't recall why.