# 1079
Chapter 1080: Lin Qiye's Confusion
Hearing these three words, Si Xiaonan felt a surge of joy in her heart. She clutched the medicine cauldron and deeply bowed to the Queen Mother of the West before turning and rushing toward the mist outside.
"Wait."
Upon hearing these two words, Si Xiaonan's footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
She turned stiffly, only to see the Queen Mother of the West slowly walking to her back, taking the cauldron of "Immortal Pill" from her arms.
"The Soul-Devouring Poison Pill you took has insufficient toxicity for gods..." The Queen Mother of the West retrieved that ink-green pill from the cauldron and instead placed a pure white pill emitting a faint fragrance into it.
"Replace it with this one. The effect might be better."
Si Xiaonan took back the cauldron that the Queen Mother of the West had returned, her whole body frozen in place.
The Queen Mother of the West hesitated for a moment, then spoke again: "Besides this, this palace will leave you with one more thing..."
She reached out and gently drew several strokes on Si Xiaonan's palm.
"What's this?"
The Queen Mother of the West softly said something, and Si Xiaonan's gaze gradually brightened.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
She respectfully bowed once more, then clutched the two medicine cauldrons and swiftly headed toward the mist outside.
Staring at Si Xiaonan's form disappearing into the mist, the Queen Mother of the West stood alone in place for a long while before letting out a long sigh.
"The Immortal Pill has entered the mortal world, so this Eternal Life Pill seems destined to follow the same path, but if that's the case..."
She fell silent for a moment, then raised her head to look at the endless void above.
"Lord, is this what you wanted..."
...
Lin Qiye moved forward in a daze, his thoughts drifting, until without realizing it, he had already arrived at the entrance of the Kayu Border Defense Company.
To his surprise, the border defense company was completely quiet. From outside the gate, the spacious grounds were completely empty.
Based on the range, this place should also have been caught in the Time Fragment's scope... why was it so quiet? M..
Lin Qiye did not directly blink through the closed gate. After all, there were many ordinary soldiers here, and using Forbidden Ruins in front of them might raise some unwarranted suspicions. He walked straight to the entrance and exchanged a few words with the border defense soldiers guarding the outside. Soon after, An Qingyu walked out from within.
"Qiye, you're back?"
"Mn." Lin Qiye looked around. "Why is it so quiet here?"
"Oh, when the Time Fragment started, I came to take command here. I ordered them all to stay in their dormitories and not go outside without permission."
"As expected of you." Lin Qiye sighed in admiration. "How are the new recruits doing?"
"Pretty good. I observed carefully, and it seems quite a few of them have already come to their senses. Some still look a bit confused, but after witnessing that Time Fragment with their own eyes, they all seem to have gained some understanding." An Qingyu paused, then continued,
"The new recruits from Mount Kongur, Pangpang and Zhuige are leading them over. Counting the time, they should be arriving soon."
An Qingyu glanced at the time. Before Lin Qiye could say more, Lin Qiye turned to look into the distance and smiled faintly.
"They've already arrived..."
Outside the border defense company, a fat man wrapped in a deep red cloak was leading over a hundred limping, exhausted new recruits toward here. At the very end of the line, Shen Qingzhu held a cigarette in his mouth, quietly guarding the rear.
These hundred-odd new recruits were all survivors of six consecutive days of elimination who had climbed Mount Kongur. At this moment, they walked unsteadily, covered in mud and dirt, looking like a band of beggars. But their eyes were like blades that had been thoroughly honed—bright and sharp.
Lin Qiye swept his gaze over them. Lu Baoyou, Fang Mo, Ding Chongfeng, Li Zhenzhen—all these familiar faces were among them.
"Qiye!"
Baili Pangpang saw Lin Qiye and waved at him with a smile.
Lin Qiye nodded slightly. His gaze swept over the new recruits as he asked, "Did anything happen to the new recruits?"
"No, with young master me here, what could possibly happen?" Baili Pangpang patted his chest. "Except that midway through, Jade Ding True Person's shadow came by and took an interest in young Fang Mo and Lu Baoyou, nothing else happened."
Jade Ding True Person?
Lin Qiye contemplated for a moment and understood the sequence of events. The white tiger sealed within Fang Mo was originally one under Jade Ding True Person's command. It wasn't strange that he noticed Fang Mo's existence and came to take a look.
"And then?"
"Then, young master me explained the situation to him, and he left."
Lin Qiye nodded and turned to leave. Suddenly, as if remembering something, he asked, "By the way, Pangpang, how did you know that person was Jade Ding True Person? You shouldn't have met him before."
"He told us himself." Baili Pangpang said matter-of-factly.
"...Oh."
While the two were chatting, Cao Yuan walked over.
"Qiye, the new recruits have all assembled. Should we get them packed up and ready to return to Shangjing?"
The seven days of devil training had ended. Regardless of the results, the subsequent oath ceremony and the distribution of the Night Watch's three-item set all needed to be done in Shangjing City.
"I think before that, Qiye, you should hold a meeting with the new recruits first." Shen Qingzhu, who had been silently standing to the side, suddenly spoke up. "Most of them have gained some understanding from this training, but they still need someone to awaken them and guide their thinking toward the correct path.
There's also the need to explain to them why the elimination system was set up and why they were being diverted into two different environments."
"I agree as well." An Qingyu nodded. "The training just ended. Summarizing now while it's fresh is the best time for effectiveness. Qiye, you... Qiye?"
An Qingyu was halfway through her words when she noticed that Lin Qiye had already frozen in place.
Lin Qiye's gaze swept over those new recruits with bright, clear eyes. Their faces were full of vitality, and it seemed every single one of them was full of期待 for the future.
Looking at their eyes, Lin Qiye's heart trembled slightly.
The correct path...
A hint of confusion flashed through Lin Qiye's heart. After a moment of silence, he patted Shen Qingzhu's shoulder:
"Zhuige, you hold the meeting and summary for them instead... I'm a bit tired."
After speaking, Lin Qiye didn't wait for anyone else to say anything. He turned around and walked straight toward a mountain peak outside the border defense company.
Everyone present froze in place at the same time.
This was the first time they had ever seen Lin Qiye like this.
Cao Yuan stared at Lin Qiye's departing back, his brow furrowed slightly, and said with some confusion, "What's wrong with Qiye?"
Jiang Er contemplated for a moment, "Maybe he's really tired?"
"I don't think so."
"What about you, Qingyu?" Baili Pangpang turned to look at An Qingyu. Everyone's gaze fell on this team's strategist.
An Qingyu contemplated for a moment and let out a long sigh:
"I... don't know either."
Seeing that even An Qingyu couldn't figure out what Lin Qiye was thinking, everyone present had a heavy expression.
After an unknown amount of time, Shen Qingzhu stepped forward. He glanced in the direction Lin Qiye had left, then slowly said: "I'll go take a look."
...
...
Recently I've been a bit busy, plus the plot has hit a bit of a block. For now, there are only two chapters... Later tonight, I'll see if I can squeeze out another chapter. If I can't, it'll stay at two chapters for now~