Chapter 557: Success or Failure

I reached out to knock on the door, but a faint voice came from inside the room.

"An...?" It sounded like Qi Xia's voice. "Yu Nian An?"

"What 'An'?" Another girl's voice emerged from behind the door.

"An... Are you really here?"

The conversation inside left me utterly confused for a moment. Qi Xia had actually seen Yu Nian An in there?!

But I had just observed from outside—there were only two people inside the room!

Wait a second...

It suddenly dawned on me. There were two people in the room—who was the other one?

Li Xiang Ling...?

In a way, Li Xiang Ling's "Xian Ling" had the same devastating effect on Qi Xia as my "Hua Xing."

She could make Qi Xia see illusions of the person he longed for, and now that the trigger for Li Xiang Ling's "Hui Xiang"—encountering battle—had been met, she was in the midst of "Hui Xiang."

"In that case..." I pressed my hand to my forehead, deep in thought. Li Xiang Ling had unwittingly become an ally to me at this critical moment.

As long as her emotional fluctuations were strong enough, she could keep triggering "Xian Ling."

So, how could I maximize her emotional turmoil?

After a few seconds of pondering, a clear idea struck me.

Yes, there was an excellent way to completely break Li Xiang Ling.

Finally, I could score a point in this "game."

Gaining this point wouldn't be easy—Qi Xia had to die, and so did I.

Just then, the room door opened, and Qi Xia poked his head out.

I knew my opportunity had arrived. I quickly reached out, grabbed him, shoved him back inside, and slammed the door shut.

From that moment on, no one could escape.

"Qi Xia! I... It's too dangerous outside—be careful!" I turned and said.

Seeing the injuries on me, Qi Xia was startled. Truth be told, even I hadn't expected to disguise myself as severely wounded.

It seemed I still harbored some wariness toward the "Cat's" power.

With a few words, I steadied Qi Xia and tried to convince him that I was there to lead him out of the room.

All the while, I kept glancing at Li Xiang Ling out of the corner of my eye. There wasn't a hint of suspicion in her gaze. As long as I could draw my knife first, I'd have the upper hand.

I wanted Qi Xia to fully understand my capabilities. Not only could I kill him, but I could make him "Hui Xiang" as well.

Next time, what he threw at me wouldn't be "Jing Ji," but a genuine "Gan Lan Zhi."

But to my surprise, after just three steps—right as I touched the dagger—a unimaginable blow struck my back.

A chair smashed into me and shattered on impact.

I had considered that Qi Xia might suspect me, but I never thought he'd strike so viciously. For a normal person, even if there was an 80% chance the person in front of them was fake, they wouldn't instantly go for a kill.

Qi Xia mounted me and grabbed my throat, just like the first time he saw me posing as Chu Tian Qiu.

"Are you trying to get yourself killed? How dare you impersonate Qiao Jia Jin—what did you do to him?"

Yes, he had seen through me. My flaws were always so obvious in front of him.

Even when I pretended to be the unfamiliar Chu Tian Qiu, he saw through it—let alone Qiao Jia Jin.

"Hey... heh heh..." I forced a smile, since I already had the dagger gripped in my pocket. This point was still mine. "It doesn't matter if you've figured it out, Qi Xia. I've found a way to prove my abilities..."

I pulled out the dagger: "I've made up my mind. Only by killing you here can I make you understand what I'm capable of."

"Hey! I've had enough—don't you get it?"

"I don't want to pretend anymore. I don't want to be anyone's pawn. I just want to be myself."

I'd played so many roles over the years, but never once did I want to be myself like this.

Let me vanish, or let me return to my old life—whatever it takes. I don't want to keep going.

I reversed the knife tip, aiming it at my own heart. The task had become simple now.

Qi Xia, if you encountered a "Xuan Wu" that wanted to kill you for no reason, could you just let it happen?

Wouldn't you fight back?

But "Xuan Wu" is like that—she'd anticipate your resistance and then slowly torture you to death.

You wouldn't ask Li Xiang Ling for help, would you?

You'd make her stand there quietly and watch you die.

As you die, her emotions would peak, manifesting the Yu Nian An you've longed for.

This Yu Nian An would be even more deadly than my impersonation—she'd have no flaws because she's exactly as you imagine.

Even fate is on my side.

"Death's edge" and "Yu Nian An"—the two triggers I've deduced are already in place.

Now, as long as I plunge the knife into my heart, everything will end.

Qi Xia never expected this move from me—he couldn't stop it in time.

Yes, for you, today's events have been overwhelming. How could you possibly anticipate every twist?

You haven't even figured out who the intruder is, and here I am, driving the knife into my own heart.

After feeling a surge of intense pain, I saw the confusion in Qi Xia's eyes. Seizing the chance, I slipped a "Dao" into his pocket.

A heart wound is agony—I could feel my consciousness slipping away rapidly.

...

When I opened my eyes again, I was sitting next to Chu Tian Qiu.

I'd been in this interview room countless times, yet no one ever realized I didn't belong here.

Chu Tian Qiu greeted me warmly, as if nothing had happened, but his eyes were even more manic than before.

It was like he'd witnessed something incredibly entertaining and couldn't wait to leave the interview room.

I turned to look at Yun Yao on the other side—her expression was complicated too.

Right, this was her first time seeing me in two years, though I'd seen her many times before, always in Chu Tian Qiu's form.

"Yun Yao!" I called out happily, "Long time no see!"

Yun Yao glanced at me without any real response, giving a perfunctory nod.

By then, I pretty much understood everything—Chu Tian Qiu had truly betrayed me.

And Yun Yao was treating me coldly because of it. In the "Zhong Yan Zhi Di," what is real friendship anyway?

We're all just scrambling for our own interests.

Like flipping through a well-worn book, Chu Tian Qiu led everyone smoothly through the games with the pig-people, horse-people, and cow-people, then arrived in the alley.

After landing, he told us to head to "Tian Tang Kou" first, and once Jin Yuan Xun arrived, he hurried off toward the area where Qi Xia would appear.

It seemed Qi Xia had indeed "Hui Xiang."