Chapter 949: Shared Equally

Qi Xia reached the fourth floor.

The door in front of him, which had been an old wooden door, was now covered in half flesh and blood.

Recalling fragmented memories, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a key.

However, the "key" in his hand had transformed into a slender, sharp fragment of bone.

He looked at the bone fragment, then at the "lock" on the door, which had become a pulsating mass of flesh.

Qi Xia offered a bitter smile, inserted the bone fragment into the throbbing meat, and twisted it forcefully. The sensation was strange; blood splattered as the door swung open.

Inside the room was Qi Xia's all-too-familiar home.

It was warm and spacious.

But now, half of the room had turned into flesh and blood.

A red dividing line stretched across the floor, neatly splitting the normal house in half—one side blood-red, the other dimly yellow.

Even though the entire city had become scarlet flesh, this place still offered a space to breathe.

Qi Xia stepped over the flesh-covered area near the door and walked towards the central dining table. The table itself was divided down the middle—one side old wood, the other crimson flesh.

Qi Xia sat in the only illuminated spot in the entire dream, picked up the kettle and cup on the table, and quietly poured a glass of water, placing it on the surface.

Within seconds, a bright red figure appeared in the doorway, but it didn't rush inside; instead, it scanned the surroundings.

"No one else is here, just me," Qi Xia said. "Come and sit."

Tian Long paused but still didn't enter.

"Bai Yang..." a voice that blended male and female tones emerged from the flat face, "Is this your final inner defense? You're just going to let me in like this?"

"Just a friend visiting," Qi Xia replied, looking up. "It's rude to leave you standing outside. Every time, you've tried to barge in, but this time, I'm opening the door myself."

Tian Long's flat face observed Qi Xia for a long while, sensing that something had changed.

"These eyes of yours..." Tian Long said slowly, "Have they always had this kind of pupils?"

"It's thanks to you," Qi Xia said. "You helped me shed the last shackles of being human."

"Me?" Tian Long hesitated slightly, then stepped inside, unleashing a powerful pressure. "Bai Yang, it sounds like you've been scheming against me."

"Scheming is too strong a word—it's more like mutual assistance."

Qi Xia pushed the glass of water on the table forward, crossing the boundary between wood and flesh, and placed it in front of Tian Long.

Though they were in the same room, one side was a normal, aged dwelling, while the other was crimson flesh, creating a stark divide between their figures.

Qi Xia gestured like a host welcoming a guest, indicating the glass on the table: "Tian Long, you've been asleep for so long that you don't even know what I'm up to. Today, we can finally have a proper chat."

Seeing that Tian Long remained silent, Qi Xia gestured again.

Instantly, the floor in front of Tian Long began to crack, with bones and meat blocks rising from the ground, quickly forming the shape of a chair. The chair seemed to have a pulse, throbbing slowly.

"Sit," Qi Xia said. "Aren't you here to see me?"

Tian Long lowered his head, his flat face gazing at the chair. Although his face showed no expression, Qi Xia felt that he was smiling.

"'Finally have a proper chat'?" Tian Long found the phrase amusing; he shifted his body and sat on the chair of flesh. "Bai Yang, last time I wanted to chat with you, but you refused."

"Last time, your role for me wasn't finished yet," Qi Xia answered. "I had to resist you, but now it's all good—I've achieved my goals, so I'm willing to chat with you."

"How absurd..." Tian Long pondered for a moment. "Though I've entered your dream, from our encounters, you should have noticed... what's the most deadly thing in your dream? Is it me?"

"Of course not," Qi Xia replied. "You're not only the safest person in my dream, but you've also given me the greatest help."

"Yes," Tian Long said softly, "but Bai Yang... you've been using me all along. For so long, I might have been the one who trusted you the most, yet you've been scheming against me from the start."

"I don't understand," Qi Xia shook his head. "I'm just an ordinary 'Can Yu Zhe,' and you're the 'Taoyuan Zhuzai.' How many people could deceive you here?"

"Many of the rules here were set by you and me together," Tian Long said gravely. "So why is everyone resentful only of me?"

Qi Xia was silent for a moment before answering: "As I said... because I'm a 'Can Yu Zhe,' and you're the 'Taoyuan Zhuzai.' Why would they resent a 'Can Yu Zhe'?"

"But you chose to become a 'Can Yu Zhe' voluntarily, which means you actively avoided all dangers," Tian Long continued. "Bai Yang, even though you've schemed against me time and again, I still don't want to give up on you, so this conversation isn't much different from the last one."

"Oh...?"

"Will you come with me?" Tian Long said. "The 'Liezhe' is ready; let's head to the new land. You're the one I've been searching for."

"But it's only been a day since we last met," Qi Xia said. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"Because I randomly entered a few dreams and found that some people's dreams are starting to have 'hope,'" Tian Long replied. "I don't know where this sense of expectation comes from, but I feel it's related to you."

"Just because of that, you had to see me?" Qi Xia said. "It looks like you went to a lot of trouble to meet me—did people die in the process?"

"It doesn't matter," Tian Long said. "In my eyes, anything that can die isn't really a person."

"Since you know something's about to happen, I won't hide it from you," Qi Xia said. "Things are going to change here soon because Qing Long has been trying to take your life."

"Qing Long... wants my life?" Tian Long's face twitched slightly, as if laughing. "He's always wanted my life, but now you're saying you're going to help him achieve that?"

"It seems you're the one who's been kept in the dark," Qi Xia replied. "You want Qing Long's life, and he wants yours. You should know you two have similar ways of thinking—he wouldn't choose to live peacefully for so long. And he can directly control everyone in the 'Zhongyan Zhidi'; how many people could resist him?"

"Ha..." Tian Long laughed. "You're wrong; I'm ultimately merciful. I don't want Qing Long's life—I just want to leave him here and take you to the new land. And... Bai Yang, the one who's been kept in the dark isn't me."

Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brow upon hearing this.

Tian Long was silent for a while before saying: "Bai Yang, whether you believe it or not, I knew about your plans all along, even the crack on the glass was deliberately left by me."