Chapter 528: Delusion
Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin took turns carrying Qi Xia back to the prison, and it was nearly completely dark by the time they finally reached the gate.
The ones standing guard at the entrance today were Zhou Liu and Luo Shiyi. The moment they saw Qi Xia’s condition, they instantly panicked.
Zhou Liu rushed over first and examined Qi Xia’s state. “Tch, what happened to this guy?”
“Honestly, I have no idea…” Chen Junnan gasped for breath as he set Qi Xia down from his shoulder. “Quick, give us a hand. We carried him on our backs for over three hours… We’re exhausted…”
Luo Shiyi quickly took Qi Xia from him and hoisted him onto his own back. “I’ll go put him on the bed first… You two hurry up and come in too. We need to rest well tonight. Damn it, tomorrow’s the ‘Pegasus Hour.’ ”
The few of them passed through the prison’s exercise yard and office area before filing into the cell block.
Although Qian Wu had arranged cells for everyone, Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin insisted on checking on Qi Xia’s condition first to make sure he was okay before leaving.
The young boy Zheng Yingxiong, whom they had met earlier, was also waiting in Qi Xia’s room. He didn’t seem to have gone anywhere else, just resting here.
Upon hearing the message from Zhou Liu, Qian Wu also came to the cell. After confirming that Qi Xia wasn’t injured, he finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Are you sure he doesn’t need a new body?” Qian Wu asked. “How could a perfectly fine person just collapse on the street?”
“Probably no need to switch…” Chen Junnan said, sounding a bit uncertain. “This guy’s body really isn’t injured. I guess his brain just shut down.”
“Brain shut down?” Qian Wu frowned at Chen Junnan’s words. “If you said someone else’s brain had shut down, I might believe it. But he’s Qi Xia.”
“That’s exactly why it’s easy for his brain to shut down.” Chen Junnan waved his hand. “If there’s nothing else, folks who are just here for the show, please go back. Visiting hours are over for today. You’re all crowding here, and the patient can’t breathe.”
After shooing away all the members of the “Cat” team, he and Qiao Jiajin sat down in the cell.
This was a double cell—one side had Qi Xia’s bed, and the other side sat Zheng Yingxiong.
Meanwhile, Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan sat on chairs between them.
“Junnan… has Liar-boy ever fainted before?”
“Before?”
“I want to know… did he have any illness before he came here?” Qiao Jiajin still felt uneasy. He had known Qi Xia for a while, but he had never seen him in pain to the point of passing out.
“Probably not?” Chen Junnan said. “You’re asking me, but I’m clueless too… He never even had a headache before. How would I know what’s happening to him now?”
As the two were at a standstill, a faint voice came from beside them.
“His scent has changed…”
Chen Junnan turned to look and found Zheng Yingxiong staring fixedly at Qi Xia on the bed, muttering to himself.
“Changed scent?” Chen Junnan was startled and quickly checked Qi Xia’s breathing. “Kid, don’t talk nonsense! The guy isn’t dead yet. How could he already stink?”
“No…” Zheng Yingxiong shook his head. “His ‘Echo’ is giving off a strong odor…”
As soon as he finished speaking, a stream of crimson blood began to drip from Zheng Yingxiong’s nose. “Can you smell it… When the fragrance reaches a certain level, it turns into a foul stench.”
“So it did stink after all…?” Chen Junnan stepped forward and wiped the blood from Zheng Yingxiong’s nose. “Kid, don’t you feel pain? Don’t you know your nose is bleeding?”
Unconcerned, Zheng Yingxiong wiped his nose with his sleeve, his young yet deep eyes fixed on Qi Xia as he stared straight ahead and said, “What do you think he’s dreaming about…?”
“What… dream…?”
…
“Thump, thump, thump!”
“Thump, thump, thump!”
Qi Xia kept hearing a sound in his ears, but his eyelids were incredibly heavy, and he couldn’t open them no matter what.
He felt so relaxed… every pore on his body seemed to be stretching open, as if it had been years since he last felt this way.
Why was that?
Qi Xia slightly moved his hands and feet, realizing he seemed to be lying down.
“I… how am I lying down?”
Sensing something was wrong, Qi Xia suddenly opened his eyes, only to see a sweetly smiling face right beside him.
“An…?”
“So Qi Xia is home after all!” Yu Nian’an bit her lip and then let out a giggle, using her slender fingers to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. “You were sleeping so soundly that I called you several times and you didn’t answer. I thought you weren’t home.”
“I…” Qi Xia’s eyes flickered slightly. “I’m home?”
He looked around. This was indeed his shabby, rundown little home.
The place was bare—hardly any furniture in sight. The room only had a table and a set of chairs, and he himself was lying on the floor.
“If you aren’t home, then where are you?” Yu Nian’an reached out and touched Qi Xia’s forehead. “Got a fever?”
Qi Xia stared intently at Yu Nian’an, then slowly stood up. This really was his home, but why was he here?
“What do you want to eat today?” Yu Nian’an asked.
“Want… want to eat…?” Qi Xia still couldn’t quite grasp the current situation. He felt that his state today was completely different from before.
In the past, his mind had always been racing with dozens of things to think about. But now, his brain had gone completely blank.
Seeing Qi Xia like this, Yu Nian’an couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “Oh my god! Xia, did you just wake up all groggy?”
Qi Xia’s eyes gradually darkened. He felt very sad, but he had no idea where this sadness came from.
“An, guess what I want to eat right now?”
“How would I know?” Yu Nian’an asked in confusion. “Am I a tapeworm in your stomach?”
“You… don’t know?” Qi Xia was stunned. “The things I’m thinking about… you don’t know?”
“If you keep this up, I’m going to get mad.” Yu Nian’an pouted. “I’m just trying to ask what you want to eat, and you keep dodging the question… I’ll just go make something myself. I don’t care about you anymore.”
She turned her back on him, slightly annoyed, and walked to the kitchen to start bustling about.
Seeing this, Qi Xia frowned and shook his head. He felt like something was off about him, but he couldn’t put his finger on it.
He turned his head to look at the sky outside. The streets were filled with a rotting aura.
A few figures that looked like living corpses were aimlessly wandering the streets, and a foul smell drifted in through the window.
The dark red sky was like a sunset stained with blood, and there wasn’t even a single cloud in sight.
A massive, earth-yellow sun hung directly in the center of the sky, with thin black lines around its edge, slowly spreading inward.