Chapter 339: The Path Reserved
"Qi Xia..." Qian Wu felt that the man before her was even more unfathomable than she had imagined. "Even if you really want to use each other, why did you choose such a terrifying teammate like Chu Tianqiu? I've been pouring my heart out to you—wouldn't I be more suitable?"
"He wants to become a god, and I can help him," Qi Xia laughed. "He is willing to replace 'Tianlong' here, while I only want to get out. So from the perspective of our respective goals, the two of us won't cause any trouble for each other. Once he becomes a god, he definitely won't allow someone like me to remain in the 'Land of Endings,' because he can't completely kill me, and one day I will threaten his position. That is the deal we made on the edge of a knife."
After hearing this, Qian Wu was silent for a moment, then looked up and asked, "You'd rather make a deal with that kind of person than give me face...?"
Qi Xia looked at this person who alternated between male and female before him, and silently shook his head. "Qian Wu, in my opinion you are a decent person, so I find it hard to cooperate with you. After all, those who cooperate with me never come to a good end."
"Ha..." Qian Wu gave a bitter laugh. "But Qi Xia, I've been looking for you for ten years."
"Is that so...?"
"For the first three years, I could still vaguely see you, but starting seven years ago... you seemed to have completely disappeared." A trace of sadness flickered across Qian Wu's expression. "After a while, all of you disappeared... I once thought you had become walking corpses in some corner of the 'Land of Endings.'"
Qi Xia only felt that Qian Wu's state seemed familiar—he was very much like Chen Junnan.
"Why me?" Qi Xia narrowed his eyes and asked. "There are tens of thousands of people in this 'Land of Endings,' and even though the number has decreased a lot now, why does it have to be me?"
"Because you are the only one who has ever confronted 'Tianlong' head-on," Qian Wu said with some excitement. "Even if you have lost all your memories, I know you can do it. Ten years ago, you could make ten thousand people stand before 'Tianlong' at the same time; ten years later, you can still do it."
After hearing this, Qi Xia slowly lowered his head, also feeling a sense of sadness.
"Qian Wu, but I lost," Qi Xia said. "I not only lost ten years ago, but also lost ten years later. Although I have no memories, I know I have been using different methods to break through 'Tianlong' and escape from here, but I really don't have any confidence."
Qi Xia felt that this seemed to be the first time he had opened his heart since entering the 'Land of Endings'; perhaps it was because he had an inexplicable familiarity with Qian Wu, or because 'Silence' gave him a sense of security.
"Different methods...?" Qian Wu seemed very interested. "Do you know what methods you used?"
Qi Xia nodded and said, "This matter was something I was going to reveal anyway, and it just so happens to serve as a bargaining chip for our negotiation."
"What?"
"I'll tell you the second method I used. You can then comprehensively consider the possibility of cooperating with me."
After hearing this, Qian Wu nodded seriously. "Tell me."
"I was a 'Beast' for seven years."
After these words, everyone present was stunned; all except Qi Xia stood up.
"You were a 'Beast' for seven years?!"
This answer completely exceeded Qian Wu's expectations.
"I started from 'Human Sheep' and climbed up step by step, reaching as high as 'Earth Sheep.' But just as I was about to be promoted to 'Heavenly Sheep,' I was tricked by 'Tianlong' and reduced to my original form. I had all my memories erased and became a participant again."
After hearing this, Qian Wu slowed down, exchanged glances with Song Qi and Zhou Liu, and tentatively asked, "This... you can remember it?"
"No, I don't remember," Qi Xia shook his head. "I inferred it from some clues, but as it stands now... there is no evidence that can disprove my hypothesis."
Qiao Jiajin was also at the side, his lips moving slightly as he spoke in a low voice, "Liars guy, you are the goat that the Tiger Head guy was looking for...?"
"Yes," Qi Xia nodded.
"Then why didn't you tell him?"
"Because I don't know his stance," Qi Xia sighed and said. "So what if he knows I am that 'Goat'? As a 'Beast,' would he choose to help us 'Participants'? Or would he make me become a 'Goat' again? I don't look forward to either scenario, so I didn't make it clear to him."
At this moment, Qian Wu slowly sat down as if in a daze. "I originally thought becoming a 'Beast' was our fallback, but now it seems it was still a scam?"
Song Qi, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke. "So... none of the paths here lead anywhere... Brother Wu... how do we get out?"
"Paths...?" Qi Xia frowned slightly.
Xia, there are many paths in this world, and everyone has their own.
"Wait a moment..." Qi Xia suddenly thought of a very faint clue, but he couldn't grasp it.
A strange question also circled in his mind.
Why did he use a different method every time he faced Tianlong?
The same person, walking out of the same room, leading the same teammates along the same path, yet he used completely different tactics.
"Hold on..." Qi Xia stroked his forehead, as if he had figured out something crucial.
Suppose...
If he clearly knew that he wouldn't retain his memories, then how would he know to use a different method against 'Tianlong' next time?
How could he ensure he didn't repeat the same mistakes?!
"So that's how it is...?" Qi Xia's eyes suddenly widened as he looked at Qian Wu.
At this moment, only this man knew the answer to the question, but Qi Xia didn't dare to ask it.
If the answer was really as he had imagined, then... what about Yu Nian'an?
Qian Wu also noticed Qi Xia's abnormality and frowned slightly. "What's wrong?"
"I..." After much deliberation, Qi Xia still asked the question. "Qian Wu, in your memories from ten years ago... was I an 'Echoer'?"
Qian Wu thought for a moment and nodded. "It should be. On the battlefield at that time, I seemed to have heard someone mention it. But your ability wasn't very strong—just an ordinary two-character 'Echo'."
Indeed...
Qi Xia covered his forehead with some frustration, his expression very pained.
In this way, everything made sense...
Why did he choose a different path every time?
Because he had paved the way for his future self!
If he wasn't mistaken, when he failed in challenging 'Tianlong,' he left a trick—that trick was to seal the opportunity for his own 'Echo,' so that no matter how many times he resurrected, he would only be an 'Unfortunate,' and thus had no choice but to walk the path of becoming a 'Beast.'
And after becoming a 'Beast' for seven years, seeing that he was about to fail, in order to avoid repeating the same mistake, he left himself a new path.
That path was called Yu Nian'an.
As long as Yu Nian'an existed, it could ensure that he still had a longing, so he wouldn't become a 'Beast' again.