Chapter 744: Those Involved Are Blind
On the rooftop, Chu Tianqiu and Qi Xia stood at the edge, looking down at the ruined city before them.
"Chu Tianqiu," Qi Xia called out. "I haven't recovered all of my memories."
"Oh...?" Chu Tianqiu let out a puzzled sound with a blank expression, then asked nonchalantly, "How could that be?"
"You should know something about this," Qi Xia said. "You started recovering all of your memories much earlier than I did."
"Can we talk about such matters so openly here?" Chu Tianqiu looked up at the sky. "This feels like we're summoning the gods to assassinate us. It's no different from jumping straight off this building."
"It's fine," Qi Xia said. "Since I spoke first, it means I'm confident."
"Oh...?" Chu Tianqiu bared his teeth in a grin. "So what exactly is your current state? You've even got the 'Celestial Dog' under control?"
"I wouldn't dare say I have the 'Celestial Dog' under control." Qi Xia also smiled and looked up at the sky. "I only have the 'Azure Dragon' under control."
"Ha..." Chu Tianqiu couldn't help but laugh. "The 'Azure Dragon'?"
"The 'Azure Dragon's' current state is quite interesting," Qi Xia replied. "He's not on our side, nor is he on the 'Heavenly Dragon's' side. So I think he will help us."
"You're counting on the 'Azure Dragon' to deal with the 'Celestial Dog' for you...?"
"Otherwise?" Qi Xia turned his head to look at Chu Tianqiu. "Do you want me to go kill the 'Celestial Dog' right now?"
The two of them, like old friends, threw their heads back and laughed on the rooftop, the sound carrying all the way down to the ears of the crowd below.
They could already clearly feel that these two men had gone mad.
After a long while, Qi Xia withdrew his smile and asked softly, "So... when exactly did you start recovering your memories?"
"I..." Chu Tianqiu pondered. "Do you remember that cycle...? When you came to 'Heaven's Gate' with nowhere left to turn, I turned you away at the door. From that day on, my 'memories' began to assault me relentlessly."
"Oh...?"
"Why do you suppose that is... Qi Xia." Chu Tianqiu reached out and tapped his own temple. "My 'memories' were clearly stored with Wen Qiaoyun, and Wen Qiaoyun can no longer activate her 'Echo.' So how did these 'memories' come back?"
"Is that so?" Qi Xia nodded. "You don't lose your memory with each annihilation; rather, you actively throw away your own memories."
"Of course." Chu Tianqiu smiled faintly. "With the 'Celestial Serpent' and the 'Heavenly Dragon' here, not to mention all kinds of capable individuals, if I merely pretended to have 'amnesia,' there's no guarantee which day they might discover the truth. The situation would be even more dangerous then. So the best method was naturally to truly lose my memory."
After speaking, Chu Tianqiu looked at Qi Xia and asked in a low voice, "You did the same, didn't you?"
Qi Xia thought for a moment, then shook his head. "I need to deny that one. Although I took risks just like you, I didn't use the same method. Actively discarding one's own memories is certainly a good thing, but it's also full of uncertainty. That's not my style. I hate anything that's unexpected."
"That's because you're always able to predict the outcome," Chu Tianqiu said. "Has your life always been like this? Knowing all the answers in advance, with nothing left to anticipate for you?"
"Yes, I always try to predict everything in advance." Qi Xia nodded. "My life is a narrow path that can only move forward. Above my head hangs a sharpened blade, behind me are man-eating ghosts, ahead of me is an impenetrable fog, and beneath my feet is cracking ice."
"I'm starting to pity you," Chu Tianqiu said.
"Any single accident could lead me to utter destruction, losing everything." Qi Xia turned to look at him. "You're the same, Chu Tianqiu. In this place, no one has it better than anyone else. We're all in the same situation."
"Perhaps. The road beneath my feet was smooth at first, but as I walked, it became covered in thorns. When I looked back, I saw they were already soaked with my own blood." After speaking, Chu Tianqiu pointed to his head again. "If I couldn't discard my memories, I wouldn't be able to stop myself from looking back. I would see thorns hung with the flesh of me and my companions. I would see thorns stained with the blood of countless people."
"Yes, a man must move forward. He cannot be trapped by the past," Qi Xia nodded.
"But I am still trapped," Chu Tianqiu said. "Why... did Wen Qiaoyun, who had already turned into a 'Maniac,' suddenly release her 'Echo'? And why did those memories suddenly come rushing back to me?"
Hearing this, Qi Xia's gray-white pupils flickered slightly. Combining this with the note the Earth Serpent had shown him, he suddenly thought of something with an extremely low probability.
"Speaking of Wen Qiaoyun..." Qi Xia squinted as he pondered something. "Could it be...?"
"Your expression looks like you've seen her," Chu Tianqiu said. "Was that eyeball she swallowed really because of you?"
Qi Xia carefully thought back to the events of the past few days. If there was anyone he had made swallow an eyeball, it was the convenience store clerk.
Chu Tianqiu continued, "I conducted experiments. Even if you make a 'Maniac' swallow the eyeball of an 'Echo User,' their ability can only be exerted for a single moment. For Wen Qiaoyun to release all her power like that, there is only one possibility. That eyeball you fed her... was it coincidentally Wen Qiaoyun's own?"
Qi Xia still didn't speak, but Chu Tianqiu had already guessed the answer.
"But this is truly strange..." Chu Tianqiu mused. "It's been decades since Wen Qiaoyun's last death... She's been living as an 'Original Resident' all these years. So where did you find an eyeball belonging to her that hadn't rotted? "
"Not an eyeball—a 'Tao,'" Qi Xia said. "But at the time, I didn't know that person was Wen Qiaoyun, nor did I know that a 'Tao' is formed from an eyeball."
"I see... Because she was emaciated beyond recognition, it wasn't until just now that you realized that woman was Qiaoyun." Chu Tianqiu nodded. "Although the probability is extremely low, it is indeed possible. Reasonable."
"No, not reasonable." Qi Xia refuted with a blank expression. "The probability is far too low. At that time, the Human Dragon gave us four 'Taos' to enter this land. One of them came from Wen Qiaoyun decades ago, and we actually encountered Wen Qiaoyun, and then by a twist of fate, we gave her one of those 'Taos.' Even if it could happen, it shouldn't be this coincidental."
"It is indeed a bit too coincidental," Chu Tianqiu nodded. "What do you think the reason might be?"
"As far as I can think, there's only one way." Qi Xia squinted. "If this was indeed intentional on the Human Dragon's part at the time, then there was only one way for him to increase his chances of success—those four eyeballs he gave me all came from Wen Qiaoyun. But another thing is very puzzling: how could he be sure that we would definitely encounter Wen Qiaoyun?"
"Those involved are blind, Qi Xia. When you stepped onto this land... who was it that suggested going to that convenience store?" Chu Tianqiu asked.