Chapter 565: Escape

Xu Liunian’s emotions were somewhat out of control. She remembered that in the decades she had spent in Zhongyan Zhidi, she had never cried before, but this time it was truly different.

She was preparing to bid farewell to this world.

But she knew she was not returning in triumph; instead, she had been utterly defeated by Zhongyan Zhidi and was fleeing with her tail between her legs.

“What you know—tell me.”

Qi Xia said softly, “Hand over your ‘weapon’ to me, and let it become my ‘weapon’.”

Xu Liunian looked at Qi Xia with her eyes red from crying. More than anyone, she understood that her only weapon was “information.”

Qi Xia had come this far based on mere guesses. If he knew more, could he forge a completely new path?

“Qi Xia, do you really think we still have hope?” Xu Liunian asked, her voice trembling. “Can we break this strange cycle and stand in the sunlight?”

Qi Xia didn’t answer directly. Instead, he asked, “Xu Liunian, you’ve wandered in Zhongyan Zhidi for so many years. If I asked you to share the one truth you’ve come to realize, what would it be?”

“I…”

Xu Liunian wiped away a tear with her finger, thought for a few seconds, and then said, “Maybe it’s ‘everyone deserves to die without regret.’”

Qi Xia nodded after hearing this. “Although that’s also a rule of Zhongyan Zhidi, it’s not the ultimate truth I’ve realized.”

Xu Liunian slowly furrowed her brow and looked at Qi Xia with a hint of hesitation. “Then, according to you… what truth should we realize?”

“It’s ‘as long as you miss someone, you will meet again.’”

“What…?”

Xu Liunian had never heard such a saying before, yet it was supposedly Qi Xia’s ultimate truth about Zhongyan Zhidi.

“This place is built on ‘belief.’ Everyone’s ‘echo’ stems from their own beliefs,” Qi Xia said seriously to Xu Liunian. “Under these rules, we absolutely cannot admit that we’re already dead.”

“Are you saying… I think, therefore I am?”

“That’s the literal meaning.”

Qi Xia nodded. “You asked if we still have hope, so I can only tell you this: as long as your belief is strong, we will live eternally here. But if you believe you’re dead, then you truly are. What dies isn’t our body—it’s our belief.”

Qi Xia’s words elevated Xu Liunian’s thoughts to an unprecedented level.

“Qi Xia… when did you come to this realization?”

“Just now.”

Qi Xia sighed and looked at Xu Liunian again. “People only see the pain of the cycles here, but they fail to see the hope it grants us.”

“So you think… our ‘belief’ is our hope?”

“Isn’t it?”

Qi Xia said, “Even you are the same, right? You think, and that’s why you can take on others’ appearances. When we leave Zhongyan Zhidi and return to the real world, who else could gain power through ‘belief’?”

Xu Liunian lowered her head in silence, as if she had finally grasped the meaning of Qi Xia’s words.

“So don’t give up,” Qi Xia said. “Our journey is still long. We can be defeated by this place, but we can’t run away from it.”

Hearing the encouraging tone in Qi Xia’s words, Xu Liunian nodded heavily.

“So give me your power,” Qi Xia said. “I’ll carry your strength and fight to the very end, then share with you an ending where we’re both battered, our hearts and spirits shattered. Can you accept that?”

With tears in her eyes, Xu Liunian forced a smile.

“I originally wanted to vanish into thin air in this cycle…”

She kept forcing a smile, but her eyes were like still water. “I have no way back and no way forward…”

“But I don’t believe you come from hell.”

“What… you…”

Xu Liunian knew that Qi Xia’s words had dashed all her hopes.

Now, even complete death was a foolish dream.

“I absolutely don’t believe you come from hell,” Qi Xia reiterated. “In my eyes, you’ve always been just an ordinary ‘participant.’”

“Qi Xia… in the end, you’ve thrown me a thorn-covered branch.”

Xu Liunian bowed her head, hiding her expression from Qi Xia.

“I’m already entangled in thorns.”

Qi Xia replied, “So, can you give it to me now? Your ‘weapon.’”

The air around them fell silent in an instant.

After thinking for a long time, Xu Liunian finally nodded and slowly began to speak: “Qi Xia… what I’m about to say might anger the ‘upper levels.’ Before I tell you, I have to make you aware of the consequences.”

“They’re not angry enough already?”

Qi Xia smirked. “Go ahead.”

Xu Liunian restarted the car and shifted into gear: “In that case, I’ll join this desperate journey.”

She floored the accelerator, shifting into fourth gear in just a few dozen meters, and the car sped along the dilapidated road.

It was as if she were fleeing from some invisible force.

“Qi Xia, I’m not human—I come from the Yin Hun Guanli Ju, responsible for escorting ghosts!”

No sooner had she spoken than a man appeared about fifty meters ahead.

The man had long hair reaching his waist, a smile on his face, and a faint blue mark between his brows. He gazed at Xu Liunian with deep meaning.

Qi Xia’s eyes widened the moment he saw the man. Although he had no memories, the man’s gaze made his hair stand on end.

“Xu Liunian!”

Qi Xia whispered sharply.

Without stopping, Xu Liunian sharply turned the wheel and veered into the side path, the tires screeching against the ground.

Taking a deep breath, she continued:

“Seventy years ago, I escorted fifty thousand souls to this place. It’s called Taoyuan, established by gods that normal people can’t reach, with the purpose of ‘creating Nüwa’!”

As the car raced forward, stones kicked up along the way, and suddenly Qing Long appeared at the end of the path.

“But Tian Long betrayed the gods!!!”

Xu Liunian slammed on the brakes and then swerved right, her whole body trembling as if fighting the world itself.

Amid the car’s speed, Qi Xia’s mind raced. Every word from Xu Liunian exceeded his expectations; he could hardly believe that gods truly existed in this world.

“Tian Long never wanted to create a ‘Nüwa,’ because in his mind… he was the only one fit to become ‘Nüwa’!!”

Xu Liunian plowed through all obstacles in her path, the car’s front badly damaged, but she couldn’t stop now.

As soon as Qing Long appeared in the distance, she turned away again.

“As long as Tian Long could kill everyone here, his actions wouldn’t be exposed! But your appearance ruined his plan—you made us immortal!! So even Tian Long is trapped here!!”

The moment she finished, Qing Long appeared again, this time directly in front of the taxi.

Without a word, Xu Liunian hit the brakes hard, shifted gears, and reversed the car quickly.