Chapter 544: My Name is Xu Liunian
My name is Xu Liunian.
I lied.
*If the fleeting years pass, beauty fades and dreams grow idle.*
I often wonder, when my parents gave me this name, they hoped my life would be stable and ordinary.
And just as they expected, I lived my entire life as an utterly ordinary person.
From childhood to adulthood, I had an ordinary face, ordinary height, ordinary grades, and an exceedingly ordinary family background.
I never learned any special skills either. While other kids learned painting, piano, and dance, I never practiced a single one.
By the time I realized that many people around me were far more capable than I was, it was already too late for many things.
So I could only seek ordinary work, live an ordinary life, and attempt to spend an ordinary existence.
My parents granted me a life, and I repaid them with fleeting years.
Wasn't this exactly what they had hoped for? My life?
But my parents would never have imagined that my ordinary life would be completely transformed after death, allowing me to experience things ordinary people could never go through. Even less could they have imagined that I would end up in a place like this, to live here and die here.
Let alone them…
Even I, when I was ordered by my superiors to escort tens of thousands of people into the space train heading for this "Taoyuan," could never have predicted such a terrifying outcome awaiting me.
No one could have predicted that "Taoyuan" would one day become what it is now. No one could have imagined that I would become a complete and utter "Insane One."
But thankfully, I waited.
Two years after becoming an "Insane One," I finally waited for the person who would awaken me.
Before he appeared, I only thought I had returned to where I was supposed to be. I was just driving my taxi, waiting for fares by the roadside.
At that moment, there was only one thought in my mind—this is clearly the real world.
But it wasn't until he spoke a few words, completely shattering the illusion before my eyes, that I understood how ridiculous it all was.
How could I be a taxi driver in the real world?
When did this lie I casually fabricated become my actual life?
If I were just an ordinary taxi driver… why would I agree to take such a huge risk, even becoming an aboriginal, just to find a new path?
Though my early life was mundane, everything had changed since my death.
Fortunately, my constitution had always been different from everyone else's here. The influence of the "Insane One" wasn't too deep; I still retained a sliver of rationality.
"You waited by the roadside without eating, drinking, or sleeping… for two years?" the man asked back then.
"It was this car… When I saw this car in the city, I felt like I was bewitched…"
"What's so strange about this car?"
"How could I possibly see this car here? I'm not even—" I suddenly turned my head, only to find the man beside me gravely injured and near death. "You're hurt?"
Thinking back, it was fortunate that his horrifying injuries interrupted my train of thought.
Otherwise, I would have blurted out—"I'm not a taxi driver at all."
At that time, I felt my thoughts were very strange. Though I was still an "Insane One" capable of the simplest communication with people, this rationality seemed temporary, slowly fading away.
Back then, that person saw the crisscrossing roads outside the city, staring blankly at the distant skyscrapers.
After a long while, as if struck by some blow, he collapsed rigidly to the ground. Only then did I realize he looked familiar.
Wasn't this Qi Xia?
Fortunately, I didn't say that sentence. Otherwise, he would surely have dissected my mind, seen through everything, and disrupted my true plan.
Yes. In his memory, it's best that I remain just an ordinary taxi driver.
I have my duty. I must destroy this deceitful "Taoyuan" and provide an accounting to everyone.
Even if I myself am trapped within, unable to escape, I cannot simply stand by. This is my mission.
I moved Qi Xia's corpse aside and couldn't help but sigh. Even if you're so powerful, so what?
An "unfortunate one" is ultimately just an "unfortunate one." You can only die like a stray dog at the edge of the city, with no one ever discovering that you perished in this godforsaken place.
Now I have to drive back. Though you helped restore some of my rationality, I can't help you. I can only hope fate grants us another meeting.
I have a new idea now. Since the "Gods" outside can't enter, we'll create our own "God." We'll dismantle from within.
Such a violation of natural law will surely attract the attention of those above. Even if this is an independent space detached from all worlds, someone will notice.
Yes. That's right…
I took a deep breath, walked to the car, and was about to open the door when I felt a wave of mental dizziness.
Wait. I… who am I again?
What is my reason for being here?
Right… I'm a taxi driver…
Now… I need to go wait for fares…
I blinked somewhat blankly. Yes, I'm a taxi driver. I need to…
Just as I was about to get in the car, I suddenly saw a person standing beside the corpse not far away. The man was wearing a strange white robe, very simple in style.
He had long hair reaching his waist, seemingly untrimmed for a long time, casually tied into a long braid at the back of his head, giving him a somewhat ethereal, immortal-like bearing.
Upon closer look, his hair had a faint, barely discernible dark green tint, appearing almost black in the dim sunlight.
"You…" I felt as if I had seen this person somewhere before.
He slowly turned around, revealing a cold, pale face. Only then did I notice a dark green pattern on his forehead.
"Xu Liunian?" the man called out.
His voice was strange. When he spoke, a male voice and a female voice emerged simultaneously, as if two people lived inside his body.
Just those three words made my heart tremble. The rationality that was about to slip away returned somewhat.
"How did you end up like this?" the man asked again.
Watching him walk toward me step by step, I felt a hint of fear. Though I couldn't remember exactly who he was, I knew he was no ordinary person.
It wasn't until the man stopped before me that I noticed his brow slightly furrowed, his expression turning complicated. "Where is your rationality? Did Vermilion Bird take it?"
"Vermilion Bird…?"
Before I could answer, he reached out and gently tapped my brow.
In an instant, a flood of memories surged into my mind. All the fog dissipated like smoke, and those chaotic memories all came back.
"Azure Dragon…?" I recalled the face before me and immediately felt relieved. "Good, it's you…"
"Not bad this time. At least you didn't mistake me for Celestial Dragon." Azure Dragon nodded.
"I won't make that mistake again…"
I calmed my emotions, a lingering fear washing over me. If I hadn't encountered Azure Dragon, I would have lost my sanity again, wandering who knows where.
This is the path that "aboriginals" must walk.
"I haven't seen you in a long time. I didn't expect you to become an Insane One." His expression was complex. "Does Vermilion Bird dare to lay hands on even you?"
"It doesn't matter." I shook my head. "Here, all beings are equal. I am one of all beings. Besides, Vermilion Bird doesn't know who I am."