Chapter 813: Aching Serpent

Qi Xia heard Qin Dingdong’s question and remained silent.

“Isn’t this terrifying?” Qin Dingdong shivered slightly. “The friends around me aren’t really my friends, my parents might not even be my parents. I’ll be living in a completely strange place, thinking it’s a normal life, and I might even forget everything and grow close to those people... This is utterly horrifying. What are those people exactly? What would I be at that time? Where have my real friends and family gone?”

“I’ve said it before,” Qi Xia reiterated. “It’s possible your memories haven’t been altered, just your personality.”

“But I don’t believe it!” Qin Dingdong retorted. “Qi Xia, I’ve believed every word you’ve said before, but not this time... because I’m a liar too. Your expression gives you away—you’re deceiving yourself! You’re not even sure about the answer...”

“Qin Dingdong,” Qi Xia said coldly, looking at her, “as a liar yourself, if you can’t deceive even yourself, how can you deceive anyone else?”

“You...”

Chen Junnan saw that the two were about to argue and quickly stepped forward, positioning himself between them. “Dingdong jie...”

At that moment, he finally understood why Qin Dingdong had always been so bothered by the idea of her life being changed—she was wholeheartedly determined to return to reality and live a normal life.

After all, she was only in her twenties, yet she had already spent decades here. The best years of her life had been dedicated to “Zhongyan Zhidi”—why shouldn’t she have the right to go back to her own life?

“Calm down, Dingdong jie,” Chen Junnan said softly. “Let’s all think of a way together, and put our efforts in the same direction.”

Qin Dingdong glanced at Chen Junnan standing in front of her, gradually steadying her emotions. She then gently pushed him aside and continued speaking to Qi Xia: “Qi Xia, I have to get out. I’m fed up with this place. I must find my true life and return to it without any mistakes.”

“Don’t be foolish...” Qi Xia replied. “Qin Dingdong, no one has ever escaped in the past seventy years. How do you know you can succeed?”

“Because I’m more clear-headed than anyone else,” Qin Dingdong said resolutely. “It’s not just seventy years—if I have to, I can wait seven hundred. As long as I have enough time, even if I’m not as smart as you or Chu Tianqiu, I still have the confidence to escape from here.”

“I hope you can stay that confident,” Qi Xia said. “And I hope you never go mad.”

“Then I’ll wish you the same,” Qin Dingdong replied. “If you ever manage to free this place and find that I still haven’t confirmed which part of my life is real, just leave me here forever.”

“Are you sure?” Qi Xia asked.

“Sure.” Qin Dingdong nodded. “My ideas have always been a bit whimsical, but I think as long as I stay here, my own timeline will be frozen forever. That way, my important friends and family won’t disappear, and I won’t be trapped in lifelong confusion.”

Qi Xia said no more. He simply nodded seriously at Qin Dingdong, then slowly walked toward the direction of Di She, with the others following behind.

As Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin walked forward, they exchanged glances, feeling that the situation was still tricky.

No matter how many times the same issue came up with Qi Xia, he always responded in the same way.

He refused to discuss anything related to Yu Nian’an with anyone and absolutely would not admit that there was any falsehood to it. Even with plenty of evidence pointing otherwise, he would never budge.

But this time was clearly different from before—Qi Xia was actually inviting these three to join him in “protecting” the answer about Yu Nian’an, and it sounded almost like he was asking for help.

He was placing his trust in them, yet Chen Junnan had a very ominous feeling—Qi Xia seemed to be wavering.

Chen Junnan didn’t know what would happen if Qi Xia wavered, but for him to make such a plea, the consequences must be serious. Could the existence of Yu Nian’an directly affect his entire plan?

Chen Junnan watched Qi Xia’s slightly lonely figure and sighed heavily. Now, Qi Xia was like a flickering candle in a storm; his self-suggestion alone wasn’t enough to fully believe that Yu Nian’an definitely existed. He needed others to constantly remind him to stay true to himself.

“But what exactly is Yu Nian’an...” Chen Junnan murmured to himself, gazing at Qi Xia’s back in the distance. “Why does it have to be this person?”

If Yu Nian’an didn’t really exist, what had Qi Xia relied on to create someone who wasn’t there? If he wanted something to hold onto, there were so many people in “Zhongyan Zhidi”—why not choose a real “Canjuzhe”?

The four of them walked in silence, and after about two hours on the street, they finally spotted Di She’s game venue.

The building was clearly a shop, but at first glance, it was impossible to tell what it sold.

The walls on both sides were all glass, and inside, rows of wooden shelves were visible, though they were all empty.

Qi Xia approached and didn’t see Di She, so he looked up at the shop’s sign. On the badly faded and rusted facade, he could vaguely make out the characters for “bookstore.”

Those two characters made Qi Xia frown slightly.

“Bookstore...” He glanced at the completely empty shelves inside. “Where are the books?”

In just a few seconds, Qiao Jiajin and the other two joined him.

“Lao Qi...” Chen Junnan said, “Is this the place?”

Qi Xia pulled out the map from his pocket and checked it. “Yes, it is.”

“Why is there no one here?” Qiao Jiajin asked from the side. “Is the game in progress?”

“Possibly.”

Qi Xia nodded and looked at the door, which was locked from the inside. It seemed that games in progress didn’t allow observers.

Before the four could come up with a plan, a figure slowly emerged from behind a wall inside the shop. About three or four “Canjuzhe” walked out from an unseen area, all with their heads down and looking dejected, slowly making their way to the door.

Following them was a snake-headed person with pale skin, holding a rope in his hand and appearing somewhat sad himself.

“Oh, wow, it’s a white flower snake,” Chen Junnan said. “This thing isn’t poisonous, right?”

Qi Xia didn’t respond. His eyes were fixed on the Canjuzhe inside as they reached the door, unlocked it, and slowly stepped out.

Qi Xia stared at them, feeling curious—their faces were all streaked with tears.

“This...?” Qiao Jiajin was slightly stunned. “Why are these people crying?”

The Canjuzhe wiped away their tears while turning back with reluctance to bid farewell to Di She. Some even reached out to grasp his hand, murmuring things like “you have to take care.”

Di She, with a blank expression, simply comforted them, saying only that he “understood.”

The scene left Qi Xia and the others looking puzzled.