Chapter 818: Mutation

Di She noticed Qi Xia's calm and composed expression, and his face naturally didn't look good.

At that moment, seeing Qi Xia extend his hand, Di She was clearly angered:

"What trick did you just use?"

"I didn't move at all," Qi Xia said. "You do make me curious. After touching, can you really control emotions?"

It wasn't just Qi Xia—even Di She felt something was off.

He had directly touched Qi Xia, yet the other three people, through Qi Xia's palm, were affected, while Qi Xia himself was fine.

He should have felt an overwhelming sadness beyond what others experienced.

Di She stepped forward and grasped Qi Xia's hand.

The two of them held hands for a long time, like merchants who had successfully negotiated a deal.

"Are you just forcing yourself?" Di She asked. "If we hold on a bit longer, you might end up sitting on the ground, slapping it and crying your heart out. I won't be responsible if you make a fool of yourself."

"I'd actually like to see that version of myself," Qi Xia said. "How long do we need to hold?"

A few seconds later, Di She clearly sensed the problem.

It felt like he was gripping a dead tree—he couldn't transmit any sadness at all, and he couldn't sense any emotions from the other person.

"What's going on...?" Di She said in disbelief. "You weren't like this before..."

"Since 'bei shang' doesn't work, how about trying 'kai xin'?" Qi Xia asked.

Di She shook his head helplessly after hearing this: "Unfortunately, I can only control 'ai shang'."

"Then amp up the intensity and let me feel the sadness," Qi Xia said. "I'm not 'Po Wan Fa'—why isn't your technique working on me?"

"No, that's not right..." Di She murmured to himself while still holding Qi Xia's hand. "If you can't feel 'bei shang', then how..."

Qi Xia was waiting for him to continue, but Di She suddenly closed his mouth.

He pulled back his pure white, snake-skinned palm, thought for a moment, then stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Qi Xia in a big hug.

Qi Xia clearly recoiled from the action and hadn't even taken a step back before he was held in place by a powerful force.

Before he could say anything, a sharp pain suddenly surged from deep in his brain. This pain was very familiar—he had experienced it countless times in that place.

Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brow. Although his head hurt, he still wasn't sad.

After waiting for a while, Di She slowly released his hold and looked at Qi Xia with an expression of utter disbelief:

"If it were the old you, a full-body touch like that would have you crying until you passed out."

"Originally, that's how it was," Qi Xia nodded. "It seems you were very important to me back then, since I needed sadness."

"Of course you need 'bei shang'!!" Di She exclaimed, then reached out and tousled Qi Xia's hair before adding, "What was that force that blocked me just now? What did you do to yourself?"

"To put it simply, the Xing Ren Ti, Hai Ma Ti, Qiu Nao, and Xia Qiu Nao in my brain all have varying degrees of abnormalities," Qi Xia said. "This abnormality has made me forget the emotion of 'bei shang' entirely. Even if the most important person died right in front of me, I couldn't feel sad."

"Abnormalities...?"

With that simple statement, everyone except Qi Xia was left puzzled.

"Zhong Yan Zhi Di" is quite different from the real world. No matter how many years pass, healthy people entering it won't get sick, and those who are sick can't expect to be cured here.

The moment you step into this place, you're doomed to wander in its eternal state.

"How did you get sick?" Di She asked.

Qi Xia smiled slightly at the question: "Unfortunately, I'm in a bad mood and don't want to tell you."

"You..." Di She was clearly angry, but mixed in with the anger were other emotions. "Qi Xia... you little brat... you damn fool... how did you end up with this condition? How could you get sick in a place like this?!"

"How so?" Qi Xia asked. "Maybe I just went with the flow and decided to get sick if I felt like it."

Di She thought for a long time before replying: "Fine, I won't ask how you got sick. Without 'bei shang', how will the 'Ju Zhong' outside ring because of you?"

"No, you're wrong," Qi Xia said. "A person with strong beliefs will definitely make the Ju Zhong tremble for them, but there are many ways to activate the Ju Zhong. I've blocked one path, but I can still take others."

"What?"

"Don't you feel it?" Qi Xia said. "Everyone here is supposed to go to the mountain to watch the sunrise, but they're all distracted by the river at the base. To reach the mountaintop, I'd spend decades draining that river to ensure nothing distracts me. That way, if I want to see the 'view', I have to go to the 'mountaintop'."

Although Qi Xia didn't spell it out, Di She understood the implication.

He had sealed off his own trigger for 'hui xiang' in pursuit of a stronger 'hui xiang'.

"You little brat, you damn fool..." Di She said. "Who told you the river at the base isn't worth seeing? That river is down there, and lots of people can see it every day. But how many can see the sunrise on the mountain every day? Aren't you just going for the distant when the near is at hand?! What if one day you... die on the path to that view?!"

"How can the feeling of seeing a river at the base compare to the vast expanse at the mountaintop?" Qi Xia slowly stood up. "If I'm not mistaken, you're the 'boatman' on that river, right?"

"I..."

"For a long time, you kept steering me straight to that river, and I have to admit you saved me a lot of trouble," Qi Xia said. "But you've been away from the river for too long—I've already drained it dry."

"Then what the hell do you mean, you little brat?" Di She also stood up. "I know how to get you to that river the fastest! I just need to touch you once, and you'd see the view! But no, you have to climb to the mountaintop. Does that mean I have to become a 'Tiao Shan Gong' from now on?!"

"No," Qi Xia shook his head. "You've done a great job as the 'boatman'. Next, I want to invite you to come with me to the mountain and see the view."

Everyone was waiting for Di She's response, but instead, he slowly turned around, picked up a rope nearby, and said:

"Sorry, I'm a bit messed up right now. I think I'll go hang myself first."

"Sure!" Chen Jun Nan jumped up with a "thump". "Hanging's great! I can help you with that! Doing it yourself is so tiring!"

He seemed afraid Di She might change his mind and grabbed his arm right away.

A few seconds later, Chen Jun Nan slowly turned back, tears in his eyes, and said:

"I'm really useless, aren't I..."

Qiao Jia Jin sensed something was wrong and quickly stepped forward to pull Chen Jun Nan away:

"Jun Nan Zi! You've been hit! Don't touch him!"

But before he could pull him away, Qiao Jia Jin also slowly turned back and said:

"I've let down Guan Er Ge..."

Seeing the two of them like that, Qi Xia and Qin Ding Dong both wore expressions of speechless exasperation.