Chapter 937: The Person Who Can Only Smile

Chu Tianqiu stood quietly in front of a classroom door for a moment. After a full few minutes, he reached out and knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

A girl's voice came from inside the door, leaving Chu Tianqiu momentarily stunned.

He slowly pushed the door open and saw the figure of the person inside.

At that glance, it felt like a lifetime ago.

She was wearing a convenience store uniform T-shirt, her hair tied up casually, and she was staring at him with wide eyes.

Chu Tianqiu's gaze flickered for a second, and then a bitter smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

How many years had it been since he last saw that face?

Her cheeks were no longer gaunt, her eyes no longer lifeless, her fingers no longer withered, and even her clothes were clean and neat.

She was no longer a deranged monster, but a living, breathing person.

"Shengshengbuxi"—what a domineering and eerie ability.

It could tear apart all separations, trample all emotions, override every rule, and then make all separations begin anew.

In that instant, Chu Tianqiu felt as if he had returned to the time when he first arrived on this land. If not for the eyeballs hanging around his neck, he might have truly traveled through time.

Unfortunately, time in this cursed place never rewound; all that looped endlessly were lives full of vitality.

The seemingly frail woman before him had experiences no ordinary "Canjuzhe" had ever had. She had served as the leader of many "Canjuzhe," and had been both "Shengxiao" and "Yuan Zhumin." She had borne the trust of everyone and endured suffering that no one else had faced.

Now, she stood there perfectly fine, as if nothing had ever happened. Her eyes were clear as water in that moment, as if she were experiencing it all for the first time.

"What can I do for you?" the girl asked.

As she spoke, she looked at Chu Tianqiu's outfit, and her expression turned a bit odd as she said, "What is this...?"

"I am the leader here, named Chu Tianqiu." Chu Tianqiu placed the can of food and bottled water on the table and continued, "In the future... please take good care of me."

"Leader..."

"You..." Chu Tianqiu started to speak but felt it was too forward, so he just smiled bitterly and shook his head, asking symbolically, "What is your name?"

"Wen Qiaoyun."

"Wen... Qiaoyun." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "That's wonderful..."

Wen Qiaoyun thought the man in front of her was a bit strange. "What's 'wonderful'...? And why are you dressed like this...?"

"Are you referring to these?" Chu Tianqiu reached up and touched the eyeballs hanging around his neck. "These are everyone's hope, aren't they?"

"Hope...?" Wen Qiaoyun had never heard such a phrase before.

"Once, I had my own hope." Chu Tianqiu said. "But under the gaze of these eyes, it slowly vanished completely. Now, I want them to join me in witnessing another path on this land."

"You're a strange person." Wen Qiaoyun said. "You look like a bad guy, but talking to you, I don't sense any malice."

"I'm certainly not a good person." Chu Tianqiu slowly walked over to a chair next to Wen Qiaoyun and sat down. "Qiaoyun, on this land, people who are too kind never meet a good end. History has proven that to us countless times."

"What...?" Wen Qiaoyun was slightly taken aback. "But... this is such a strange feeling... We're clearly meeting for the first time, yet when you call me 'Qiaoyun,' it feels so familiar."

The eerie red glow of the setting sun cast across Wen Qiaoyun's face, instantly flashing countless images through Chu Tianqiu's mind.

Images of the person he had assisted, felt lost with, deeply loved, and ultimately killed with his own hands.

Countless images intertwined in his mind, but in the end, they were all stained red with blood.

"Qiaoyun... you shouldn't have come back." Chu Tianqiu lowered his head and said.

"Come back...?" Wen Qiaoyun was slightly startled, quickly realizing. "Leader, did you know me before?"

"I..."

"I had a feeling about it earlier." Wen Qiaoyun said with a smile. "I couldn't have appeared out of nowhere for no reason. Did I lose my memories?"

"Perhaps you did." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "Everyone here loses memories, but you lost more than most."

"So, we must have been good friends before, right?" Wen Qiaoyun asked again.

"I suppose so." Chu Tianqiu murmured in response.

"Then... why do you say I 'shouldn't have come back'?" Wen Qiaoyun gave a bitter smile. "If we were good friends, shouldn't you have been looking forward to my return?"

"Because I killed you with my own hands." Chu Tianqiu replied.

"Hmm...?"

"I strangled you to death right in front of me." Chu Tianqiu looked up, his face filled with despair as he answered. "Your existence was the only proof that I was still human."

"I don't really understand..."

"I thought that by killing you, I could become a 'god,' but I never imagined the path would be so difficult." Chu Tianqiu laughed bitterly, his body reeking of blood. "Who knew Qi Xia had an even more brutal method... He even used a way no normal human could, to abandon his humanity."

The more Wen Qiaoyun listened, the more she felt the man before her seemed unhinged, but she didn't know how to respond. Everything about Chu Tianqiu, from his appearance to his words, exuded an air of danger.

Yet, deep in her heart, a voice told her that this man wasn't truly bad; he carried a helplessness that even normal people didn't have.

"It seems 'mental world' is the true mark of being human... 'Emotions' aren't it at all." Chu Tianqiu let out a miserable laugh. "What I thought was the most brutal way to become a 'god' was just an entry for him."

Wen Qiaoyun paused for a long time after hearing this, then reached out and patted Chu Tianqiu's shoulder, saying, "Being a 'leader' must be exhausting, right...? If there's anything I can help with, just let me know."

"Qiaoyun... how can this cursed place ever let us go?" Chu Tianqiu said. "Wasn't killing the person I loved with my own hands enough? Wasn't watching the person I loved suffer for over a decade not enough?"

"Loved one...? Tell me..." Wen Qiaoyun seemed to recall something, her expression changing as she said, "When you killed your loved one, what were you thinking?"

Chu Tianqiu was silent for a while before answering,

"I wanted to set her free, wanted to let her escape."

"You..."

"I wanted to become a 'god' and let everyone escape."

"How could you think that way?" Wen Qiaoyun said. "Don't you want to escape yourself...?"

"I..." Chu Tianqiu slowly lowered his head after hearing this. "If I escape, I'll die immediately. Even every day here, my head aches terribly, and I never find peace... I can't sleep, and I can't even feel sadness..."

He looked at Wen Qiaoyun again with a desolate smile.

"Qiaoyun... whether it's sadness, pain, helplessness, or despair... all I can do is smile."