Chapter 559: Life and Unceasing
Upon hearing this question, Qinglong slowly turned his head to look at me.
The excitement and madness that had filled his eyes moments earlier had completely vanished, replaced by an icy, murderous intent.
"Xu Liunian... you seem to be a lot smarter than before?"
"Perhaps it's because I don't need to 'lose my memory'." I steadied my nerves and said, "Qinglong, the 'Land of the End' doesn't only have your ears, does it?"
Qinglong faced me, standing with his hands behind his back.
After a brief moment, he took out a single 'Dao' and casually tossed it onto the ground.
Neither of us spoke for a while, merely staring at each other.
Within a few minutes, a rustling sound came from not far away. An 'ant' crawled up from the wall and, like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, lunged at the 'Dao' at Qinglong's feet.
Once it had grasped it in its hands, the 'ant' turned around and crawled away.
"Xu Liunian, you also know this, don't you? 'Tianlong' sees everyone as 'ants'." He said.
I didn't understand what Qinglong meant, so I could only nod. "To him, even I am an ant."
"Good. Since you've grasped that reasoning, let me ask you another question... What are you all to me?"
As his words fell, Qinglong reached into his robes again and pulled out a large handful of 'Dao'. Then, with a flick of his hand, he scattered them across the rooftop of the school.
I sensed a chill creeping down my spine. Although those humanoid insects usually wouldn't bite people, they could never resist the temptation of 'Dao'.
Before long, rustling sounds began to come from all directions. They emerged in their bizarre forms, each one grabbing a 'Dao' before disappearing back into the night.
I think I roughly understood what Qinglong meant.
Human lives, to him, were not exactly 'ants', but they were certainly not important either.
"Xu Liunian, human lives are nothing but chess pieces to me." Before I could guess the answer, Qinglong spoke up himself. "This is the greatest difference between me and 'Tianlong'. He believes he doesn't need the help of 'people' to do anything, but I am different."
He glanced into the distance at the 'ants' scurrying rapidly through the shadows, then lowered his voice to me again. "I want human lives to serve my purposes. I want them to do whatever I tell them to. Even if they've all become 'ants', they still have to appear where I want them to appear and do what I want them to do."
Upon hearing this, I took a deep breath and said, "So you've never truly intended to cooperate with anyone? How is that any different from 'Tianlong'?"
"Xu Liunian, if you want to cooperate with me, you need to know your place. I have my own plans and my own strategies. Every chess player dislikes having his pieces possess subjective consciousness. Those subjective thoughts will not only disrupt my plans but will also harm you."
Although Qinglong's tone was exceptionally calm, I could hear the threat in it.
If I dared to guess Qinglong's plans again, he could eliminate this chess piece at any moment.
He didn't even need to lift a finger. With just a single word, I would die in the annihilation of the Tenth Day.
"I understand..." I nodded blankly, but I didn't know what use I could possibly be now.
After a few seconds of silence between us, he spoke again.
"It seems that 'Jade City' was not meant to be destroyed." He smiled. "This cycle was supposed to completely slaughter 'Jade City', but Qi Xia's appearance happened to save them. I have a feeling that this coincidence will have a crucial impact on the future."
"So what do we do now...?" I asked, then felt something was off, so I corrected myself: "I mean, what should I do?"
"We need to make good use of Qi Xia." Qinglong said. "I want to know the upper limit of his ability... Simply making someone immortal... that doesn't strike me as a particularly powerful ability for me."
"But isn't that the meaning of 'Life and Unceasing'?"
"What we have witnessed is only 'Unceasing', not 'Life'." Qinglong's expression returned to madness, and that look that terrified me reappeared. "I want Qi Xia to create a person who does not exist at all. To inject fresh blood into this bizarre place."
"'Create' a person?" His words left me stunned.
"Yes. In his subconscious, if he believes a person is alive, then that person lives..." Qinglong stood with his hands behind his back, speaking calmly. "In that case, if he subconsciously believes a person exists... will that person exist?"
"Who... do you want to create?" I asked.
"Anyone will do, as long as it's a 'chess piece'." Qinglong replied. "Even Wen Qiaoyun would work."
I felt his idea was somewhat strange. "Wen Qiaoyun should still be living in the 'Land of the End' as a 'Lunatic', right? You could restore her with a flick of your finger, so why create another her?"
"That's not quite right." Qinglong shook his head. "The reason Wen Qiaoyun continues to live as a 'Lunatic' is precisely because she is not strong enough. I need a more powerful Wen Qiaoyun. No one can achieve this—only Qi Xia can."
I had to admit that Qinglong's reasoning made a certain amount of sense, but when I thought about it more carefully, it seemed nearly impossible.
This cycle would not only require Qi Xia to obtain 'Resonance', but also to make him believe that there was a very powerful person named Wen Qiaoyun in the 'Land of the End', and then have him successfully activate 'Resonance' to create Wen Qiaoyun...
Every step from here on would be hellishly difficult.
"Qinglong... are you mocking me..." My lips trembled slightly as I voiced my thoughts. "The tasks you give me get harder and harder each time... At this rate, I'll be abandoned by you one day."
"No, Xu Liunian, you won't receive any more tasks." Qinglong turned his head and smiled at me. "This time, you will interact frequently with Qi Xia. And as far as he is concerned, he will only see you as an ordinary 'participant' in the 'Land of the End'."
"What...?"
"As long as this thought swirls around in his mind for just a moment, you will become a 'participant' forever." Qinglong laughed heartily. "How interesting... From now on, I won't need to give you any more 'promises'. As soon as Qi Xia's mind stirs, you will be completely changed. This place will eventually become orderly due to his subconscious. Whoever he thinks is the 'ruler' will be the 'ruler'. Whoever he thinks is a 'participant' will be a 'participant'."
"You fucking..." I couldn't help but curse. "Would that 'me' still be 'me'? The real me will disappear from here forever!"
Qinglong extended a hand and slowly placed it on top of my head, then revealed a disgustingly affectionate expression and said in a low voice, "Xu Liunian, what sweet dream are you having? The real you disappeared long ago."