Chapter 78

So everyone in the Chen Mansion—even Chen Yaoguang being attacked by the Painting Enchantment, Zhao Yunluo being possessed by Nightmares, and even Chen Yueming playing with mud by the street—all really existed.

“Wait a minute, if everything around us is a memory, then what about the real Goose City today—”

He Zhizhou paused, suddenly realizing, “I understand! Do you remember the incident of the demon gate opening? Goose City might really be in trouble. Chen Lubai, homesick, created this illusion to reminisce about home.”

This seemed to be the most convincing explanation now.

But Ning Ning still felt something was off, like—

“But if that’s the case, what is Chen Lubai’s intention in keeping us here? She’s just an ordinary girl; how could she have the power to create illusions?”

Pei Ji spoke coldly, without any fluctuation in tone, “Most importantly, if the true mastermind behind the scenes is only her, why is this Floating Tower referred to as ‘extremely difficult’? Something that could be solved by simply killing her, why would it pose so much difficulty for so many predecessors?”

He Zhizhou looked at him blankly.

Then, very moved, he said to Ning Ning, “Could Pei Ji also be a fake person? Can he really talk so much in one breath?”

“Regardless, there are still many mysteries in this tower.”

Zheng Weiqi rubbed her forehead. “How about this. Let one person secretly investigate the secrets of Goose City, while the rest stay in the Chen Mansion to lower Chen Lubai’s guard. That person should live alone, be silent, and even if they’re not with us, they won’t arouse suspicion. Who do you recommend to go?”

He Zhizhou remained silent for a moment.

He Zhizhou: “Senior Sister, if you want to assign tasks to Pei Ji, just say it directly. You really don’t need to follow his template to find adjectives.”

=====

So, time rewinds to the present.

The turmoil in the stable has passed without incident, and the four of them sit in Pei Ji’s room, listening to his findings for today.

“I found three things in total.”

Pei Ji said, “First, there seems to be a barrier around Goose City. After flying a certain distance on a flying sword, it becomes impossible to proceed further.”

Ning Ning sat in the chair, resting her cheek on her hand, watching him.

“… Second.”

The black-clothed youth calmly lowered his long eyelashes, and his Adam’s apple moved slightly. “The people in the city say that Chen Lubai seems a bit off.”

Cheng Ying chuckled mysteriously, “Let’s focus on the serious matters; why are you blushing? When she looks at you, you just look back at her.”

A hint of displeasure flashed across Pei Ji’s eyebrows, but his tone remained calm: “There are rumors that a servant once saw her alone going to the backyard of the Chen Mansion at night, talking to an old locust tree. What’s strange is that she was clearly facing away from the servant at the time, but somehow she suddenly turned around and stared directly in the direction of the servant.”

It was midnight, with a dark moon and a strong wind.

If you see a little girl wandering into a deserted backyard and talking to a tree, that’s scary enough, but then she suddenly turns her head and stares straight at you.

He Zhizhou felt his scalp tingling, and beside him, Zheng Weiqi said, “The locust tree is known as a ghost among trees, easily growing into demons and seizing others’ bodies for their own use.”

She hesitated for a moment before adding in a low voice, “Could it be that the Chen Lubai we see now is not the real person but transformed by the locust tree ghost? In that case, it could explain why an ordinary person like her could create such an illusion.”

“What’s going on with the Chen Mansion?”

He Zhizhou shuddered, looking around somewhat disdainfully. “With the Painting Enchantment, Nightmares, and locust tree spirits all in one place, those who don’t know will think this is the lair of the demon world. And then there’s the ‘demon gate opening’, with hordes of demons pouring in like this. Can this city still be saved?”

This was just a whim, but unexpectedly, Zheng Weiqi suddenly slammed the table, making a muffled sound. “Don’t you remember! I said before, It seems like I’ve heard of the name Goose City somewhere?”

He Zhizhou was startled, almost shrinking into Pei Ji’s arms, causing Cheng Ying to lament bitterly, like an insulted flower girl.

(T/N: cute and pure beauties)

“I remember now! Goose City!”

Zheng Weiqi’s tone was excited, almost standing up from her chair. “During the battle between immortals and demons, with the demons rampant, there was a group of evil demons who absorbed blood and attacked a small county, causing countless deaths and no survivors—that county was called ‘Goose City’!”

With this statement, both Pei Ji and Ning Ning showed a look of understanding.

“So,”

Only He Zhizhou’s face turned pale. “The so-called ‘demon gate opening on the fifth of June’ is very likely not a made-up legend, but…”

He took a deep breath. “On the fifth of June, Goose City was completely occupied by the demon cultivators. The people in that city…”

He didn’t continue.

Since it was about blood absorption, there must be no survivors.

On the misty riverbank, among the white walls and green tiles of the buildings, in the garden-like Chen Mansion, and the group of children playing with mud in the alley.

Everything that used to exist was gone, replaced by the rampant demons and the bodies that never closed their eyes, in a world of darkness where blood flowed like a river.

Although this illusion was constructed from memories of the past, due to their involvement, it was very different from the real situation. There was no one who had managed to escape from the demons. Those seemingly uneventful scenes were actually straightforward predictions of everyone’s deaths.

Chen Yaoguang had never been rescued from the beginning to the end, bound by the Painting Enchantment in the dark and cold cave, gradually losing blood and essence, closing his eyes in endless fear and despair.

Zhao Yunluo failed to escape the Nightmares’ control, experiencing tormenting cycles of life and death in the dream, eventually collapsing completely, never to wake up again.

Chen Lubai was lured by the locust ghost in the backyard, gradually losing her sanity, leaving only an empty shell behind. Regardless of the process, her life was taken away and replaced.

As for the other people in Goose City, they also met their end in the sea of blood, becoming tools for the demons to enhance their cultivation.

All the mysteries seemed to be gradually dissipating, and now there was one most important question remaining.

— Regardless of whether that person was Chen Lubai or the locust ghost, why did she trap them here, and what was her purpose?

=====

Their plan was almost complete.

Chen Lubai pressed down heavily on the rice paper with her brush, and the ink on the brush spread thickly, like the darkness of the night.

She pulled a faint smile from the corner of her mouth, put the paper into an envelope, and walked out.

The wind in the illusion was completely different from outside; although it was fresh and cool, it made her feel disgusted from the bottom of her heart. But this scene was doomed to not last long when the time came—

Thinking of this, a trace of cunning flashed across the fair-skinned girl’s face.

She hurried along, concealing her tracks in the deepening dusk, and went straight to the backyard.

In the backyard, flowers and plants were overgrown, and green trees stood tall. In the center stood an ancient locust tree.

The locust tree belonged to Yin, and now it was clearly summer, but one could still feel a bone-chilling cold when approaching it.

The dense branches and leaves swallowed up most of the daylight, casting a dark shadow over Chen Lubai’s face. This time, she didn’t talk to the locust tree as rumored, but placed her palm on the trunk and silently recited a chant.

As if responding to her command, the bark split open with a straight crack. The crack grew wider and wider, and from her perspective, beyond the crack was not the trunk but another place similar to the backyard.

Chen Lubai made no sound, raised her hand, and tossed the envelope into the crack. Unexpectedly, a chilling gust of wind suddenly swept from behind.

—Someone!