Chapter 216: Xu Liunian's Plan
"An......?"
Qi Xia's lips trembled slightly: "Yu Nian'an?"
Li Xiangling was taken aback and quickly turned to look behind her.
But there was nothing there—completely empty.
"What 'An'?" she asked, puzzled.
"An... are you really here?"
Qi Xia walked forward step by step, his pupils trembling incessantly.
He felt his thoughts were very strange.
He seemed chaotic, yet as if he understood everything.
This feeling hovered between clarity and madness, with only the last thread yet to snap.
"Xia, why haven't you come home yet?" Yu Nian'an spoke.
"Home...?" Qi Xia blinked, slowly revealing a guilty smile. "I went home... but you weren't there..."
Li Xiangling, seeing Qi Xia like this, was so frightened she kept backing away.
"Qi... Brother Qi... what's wrong with you? Don't scare me..."
She kept turning her head back, but there was clearly nothing behind her. Yet Qi Xia was not only talking to empty air but even smiling at it.
This was also the first time she had seen Qi Xia smile.
"How could I not be at home?" Yu Nian'an continued. "Xia, tell me—if I'm not at home... where should I be?"
Qi Xia slowly widened his eyes, as if understanding something.
"You mean... you're here... so this is home..."
"Yes, Xia..."
"So I've... come home..."
Seeing the light gradually fading from Qi Xia's eyes, Li Xiangling couldn't hold back anymore.
Ignoring the pain all over her body, she leaped up and kicked Qi Xia to the ground.
"Brother Qi! Don't let this place affect you!" After shouting, Li Xiangling felt the pain from her broken ribs even more sharply. "Ahhhh, it hurts..."
Having been kicked for no reason, Qi Xia wasn't angry. Instead, he quickly stood up, searching for Yu Nian'an's figure.
He needed Yu Nian'an too much.
Yu Nian'an was his conviction.
But after a few seconds, Qi Xia noticed something was off.
That kick just now had been perfectly timed, snapping him out of his daze.
How could Yu Nian'an suddenly appear in this room?
She didn't look like a person at all—more like a ghost.
Qi Xia slapped himself hard. He felt like he was going crazy.
"Brother Qi... are you okay?" Li Xiangling asked.
"I'm much better." Qi Xia stood up, shook his head, and then asked seriously, "Li Xiangling, what is your 'Echo'?"
"Uh..." Li Xiangling gave an awkward smile. "I don't know. Everyone just says my 'Echo' is useless..."
"Is that so...?"
Qi Xia knew that if Li Xiangling's 'Echo' was to make her see an illusion of someone she missed, it would indeed be useless to others. But for him, it was fatal.
After realizing it was just a fleeting illusion, Qi Xia felt his brain was about to explode.
An overwhelming sense of grief began to make the world spin around him. But soon, he suppressed his longing for Yu Nian'an and focused on the situation at hand.
"Li Xiangling, I need to go out and take a look. You hide well and lock the door," Qi Xia said.
"Huh? You're leaving too?" Li Xiangling said, her face full of worry. "Brother Qi, it's really dangerous outside..."
"It doesn't matter..." Qi Xia gathered his thoughts and slowly opened the door.
If Tian Chuqiu's goal was to kill him, staying with Li Xiangling would only bring harm to her.
Just as Qi Xia was about to step out, a figure suddenly rushed over and pushed him back into the room.
It was Qiao Jiajin, covered in blood.
"Qi Xia! Ef—" Qiao Jiajin said. "It's too dangerous outside... Be careful!"
When he turned around, Qi Xia was startled.
Qiao Jiajin had even more wounds on him. He seemed to have really gone through an explosion—his entire left arm was burned, and there was a gunshot wound on his right shoulder. He must have endured quite a few battles.
"What's going on?" Qi Xia asked. "Who's attacking us?"
"It doesn't seem to be the 'Jidao'..." Qiao Jiajin said cautiously, staring outside. "Those people are all wearing black clothes. They seem to be looking for something..."
Qi Xia had a vague feeling that he might be their target.
"And Lin Qin and Han Yimo are both dead," Qiao Jiajin said regretfully. "I haven't found Yun Yao and Zhang Shan. Don't know if they're dead or not."
"Is that so...? If that's the case... things are getting difficult..." Qi Xia squinted, his expression unusually grim.
"There's nothing difficult..." Qiao Jiajin looked serious as he stared outside. "Don't worry. As long as I'm here, everything will be fine."
"Oh?" Qi Xia looked at him. "What are you planning to do?"
"I'll take you away." Qiao Jiajin carefully pushed the door open. "I've already cleared the path from the second floor to the first-floor exit. As long as we slip out of the teaching building before reinforcements arrive, we'll be fine."
Qi Xia stroked his chin and thought for a moment, then said, "But we have an injured person."
"I'll take care of Li Xiangling," Qiao Jiajin said in a low voice. "If we don't leave now, we'll really lose our chance."
"Alright." Qi Xia nodded, helped Li Xiangling up, and said to Qiao Jiajin, "Lead the way."
"Mm." Qiao Jiajin carefully glanced outside and whispered, "Wait for my signal to move. There are too many enemies. We need to be cautious."
"I know. I'll follow your orders completely."
Although Qi Xia said this, he silently walked toward a chair.
"No one's around now. Let's go!"
Just as Qiao Jiajin turned around to speak, Qi Xia swung the chair and viciously knocked him to the ground.
Under Li Xiangling's shocked gaze, Qi Xia reached out and locked the door, then straddled Qiao Jiajin and grabbed his neck.
The blow was indeed heavy. Qiao Jiajin seemed completely dizzy.
"Are you looking for death?" Qi Xia gritted his teeth and asked. "How dare you impersonate Qiao Jiajin?! What did you do to him?!"
"Cough, cough..." The person beneath him coughed a few times, instantly turning into Xu Liunian. "How... how did you know..."
Li Xiangling's eyes widened. She hadn't noticed at all that the Qiao Jiajin just now was someone else in disguise.
"You think saying 'Ef—' is enough to become him?" Qi Xia said with some anger. "What 'Lin Qin, Han Yimo, Li Xiangling, Zhang Shan, Yun Yao'? Qiao Jiajin has never called any of these people by name, and he's never called me 'Qi Xia'."
"Heh... heh heh..." Xu Liunian grinned maliciously. "It doesn't matter if you saw through it... Qi Xia, I've found a way to prove my ability..."
"Is that so?" Qi Xia still held Xu Liunian's neck, asking viciously, "How do you plan to prove it to me?"
"I've decided to kill you tonight and send you into the next cycle."