Chapter 536: The Former Benevolent King
“Chu Tianqiu, are you listening to me?”
A figure dressed entirely in white stood before Chu Tianqiu, her expression hesitant as she looked at him.
“I heard you, Yan Zhichun. Not only did I hear you, but I heard you clearly.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “The ‘Pegasus Moment’ is about to descend. When it does, countless people will die.”
After saying this, Chu Tianqiu glanced at Jiang Ruoxue and Xiaoxiao behind Yan Zhichun, then let out a light laugh. “You three are also strange. Since you know such a big event is about to happen, why aren’t you waiting in an open area?”
He then walked toward Jiang Ruoxue, slowly revealing a meaningful smile. “Jiang Ruoxue, didn’t you leave ‘Paradise Entrance’ to join the ‘Extreme Path’? Have you come back specifically to inform me about the ‘Pegasus Moment’?”
“There’s something I need to clarify,” Jiang Ruoxue shook her head. “I didn’t leave ‘Paradise Entrance.’ I’ve been ‘Extreme Path’ from the very beginning.”
“I see…” Chu Tianqiu smiled and nodded. “Well, that’s truly heartbreaking news for me. To possess both a powerful ‘Echo’ and ‘Rationality,’ yet be a thoroughgoing ‘Extreme Path’ follower.”
After saying this, Chu Tianqiu slowly furrowed his brows. He felt that most members of the “Extreme Path” seemed better able to maintain their “Rationality” than those in ordinary organizations.
“The three of us are all ‘Echoers.’ Dead is dead—whether we flee or not, the outcome is the same,” Yan Zhichun said. “But what about the people under your command?”
“Whether the people under my command live or die… what does that have to do with me?”
Yan Zhichun let out a soft laugh. She felt that Chu Tianqiu was completely different from what she had imagined. “As the former ‘Benevolent King,’ you gathered so many powerful people here… and you can’t even preserve their memories?”
“Is that necessary?”
Chu Tianqiu turned around, threw his coat over his shoulders, and adjusted his glasses with a push. The expression on his face made Yan Zhichun feel particularly hard to read.
“Interesting.” Yan Zhichun nodded. “I’m curious—as a leader like you, how did your reputation spread to the ‘Extreme Path’? Is it because you periodically erase your members’ memories so they can’t remember the evil deeds you’ve done?”
“I…” Chu Tianqiu squinted as he looked out the window. The sun had already begun to shrink.
He swallowed the words that had been on the tip of his tongue and said softly, “Go and save yourselves. Although our deaths are nothing to mourn, ‘annihilation’ is still better than a ‘horrific death.’”
“And you?” Yan Zhichun asked. “Do you plan to die here too?”
“No.” The corners of Chu Tianqiu’s mouth lifted. “I’ll definitely escape. Anyone here can die except me.”
“What a selfish and capricious leader,” Yan Zhichun said meaningfully.
“Thank you.”
Yan Zhichun turned back to glance at Jiang Ruoxue. When Jiang Ruoxue gave a slight nod, the three of them rose and left the room, walking out to the sports field.
At that moment, not a single person in “Paradise Entrance” had noticed the change in the sun in the sky. Some were still indoors—if those eerie threads crept up on them, they would have no chance of escaping in time.
“Zhichun.” Jiang Ruoxue called from behind. “We only came to inform you. Why did you insist on telling Chu Tianqiu?”
Yan Zhichun let out a sweet laugh. “I’m just curious about him. I wanted to see his decisions. This man’s reputation and his actual behavior are complete opposites. How did such a situation come about?”
Jiang Ruoxue knew that Yan Zhichun valued the weight of the title “Benevolent King” immensely.
She had once told many “Extremists” that if they ever grew tired of being “Extremists” and wanted to escape the “Land of the End,” their best option was to seek refuge with the “Benevolent King,” Chu Tianqiu.
But now, before any “Extremist” had ever joined Chu Tianqiu, Yan Zhichun was the first to be disillusioned.
The so-called “Benevolent King” didn’t care about anyone else’s life or death either.
He was not only utterly insane but also possessed a profound depth of cunning.
“So, this place actually has no ‘way out,’” Yan Zhichun said, looking at the sky. “Rather than placing hope in others, I’d rather choose a path myself.”
“Do you think Chu Tianqiu isn’t lying?” Jiang Ruoxue asked, also looking at the sky.
“Lying…?”
“Although the saying goes, ‘Hearing is false, seeing is truth,’ we’ve heard too many praises about Chu Tianqiu,” Jiang Ruoxue sighed. “If his current behavior is the ‘cause,’ it could never have produced the ‘effect’ we once heard about.”
“I think you’ve gone mad too,” Yan Zhichun shook her head. “Ruoxue, which comes first—the ‘cause’ or the ‘effect’? Who treats the present as the ‘cause’ and infers that the past was the ‘effect’?”
“So you understand that reasoning too.” Jiang Ruoxue nodded. “If so, doesn’t that mean Chu Tianqiu has changed? We can’t deny everything he’s done based on the present situation.”
“I hope you’re right.” Yan Zhichun nodded.
The tall Xiaoxiao stood by, staring at the two women. She had only joined the “Extreme Path” a short time ago, and this was her first meeting with the so-called “King of the Extreme Path,” Yan Zhichun. The latter always carried a strange aura that made Xiaoxiao feel hard to approach.
Yan Zhichun looked up at the countless black threads emerging from behind the sun and shook her head helplessly.
“On the fifth day, the ‘Pegasus Moment’ descends. The ‘Extreme Path’ will suffer a heavy blow; the consequences are hard to predict.” Yan Zhichun’s expression grew darker. “We were already short-handed. I’m afraid we won’t be able to protect this place anymore.”
“Every ‘cause’ leads to its own ‘effect.’ You’ve done well enough,” Jiang Ruoxue said calmly. “Let’s go.”
The three of them no longer paid any heed to the lives or deaths of the people inside “Paradise Entrance.” They stepped out through the main gate.
In the distance, Chu Tianqiu watched their receding figures from the window, his expression gradually turning desolate.
Just then, someone knocked lightly on the door. He turned to see Dr. Zhao standing outside.
“Chu Tianqiu.”
“What is it?”
Dr. Zhao held an old rag in his hand, continuously wiping the bloodstains off his fingers. “I’ve made some progress on the matter you asked me about…”
“As expected of a professional doctor.” Chu Tianqiu nodded. “You can even dissect a body so rotten?”
“It was indeed a bit disgusting, but I roughly understand now.” Dr. Zhao nodded and tossed the rag aside. “That corpse of Qi Xia… there really was a malignant tumor in his brain. Although the body was severely decomposed, I could still tell that with this condition, he wouldn’t have had many days left. Most people would just be bedridden waiting to die.”
Chu Tianqiu nodded after hearing this. He had already prepared himself mentally, but the result still struck him as strange. Qi Xia’s brain contained a tumor even more malignant than his own.
“But there’s one more thing I don’t understand.” Dr. Zhao’s expression turned serious. “That corpse’s brain had been damaged… as if someone had… dug into it.”