Consciousness struggled upwards from the depths of the sea, breaking free from heavy restraints.
Aoki snapped his eyes open, breathing heavily, his chest still aching with the phantom pain of soul being torn and life ebbing away.
He had returned.
From that simulated world where he sacrificed himself to help Nongli break through to the Eight Tails and ultimately “died,” he was back in reality.
Beneath him was the rough animal hide of the Halfling Tribe. The air was thick with the familiar scents of earth and herbs.
Outside the window, dawn was breaking, and the tribe lay in silence, seemingly unchanged from before he entered the simulation.
But Aoki knew, everything had changed.
He forcefully suppressed the turbulent, tragic memories of “Falling Star Lake” in his mind, as well as Lin Qiyou’s desperate, crazed swordlight and Nongli’s grief-stricken eyes.
Those were the necessary prices for his goal, he reminded himself again and again.
He focused, sinking his awareness into his sea of consciousness.
That familiar simulation interface appeared once more, shimmering with the light of settlement.
[Immortal World, Phase Two Simulation Complete]
[Now beginning reward settlement]:
[1. “Qi Formula” *1, a wondrous book in the possession of Benji. It seems to strengthen your soul power.
It appears to be a part of a book. Perhaps you can obtain the other parts from “elsewhere.”
Current Vegetative State Debuff has been removed!]
Seeing these rewards, a ripple finally disturbed the cold lake of Aoki’s heart.
This simulation, though cruel, had yielded results far beyond his expectations.
He was certain he had pulled Nongli back into the real world. According to the feedback from the simulation system and the self-correcting worldline, Lin Qiyou must have returned as well, pursuing Nongli.
He did feel sorry for them, but it had to be done.
He rose at once and stepped out of the stone hut.
Xiao Ya was just coming over, arms full of dry firewood. She saw Aoki emerge and beamed with delight, “Lord Aoki, have you finished resting?”
“Xiao Ya, what’s the situation outside? How’s the Demon King’s Army offensive? What about Yueqi?” Aoki asked in rapid succession.
Xiao Ya put down the firewood, dusting her hands, her voice tinged with lingering fear and relief. “It’s really strange, Lord Aoki. While you were ‘resting’ these past days, we got good news from the front! For some reason, the Demon King’s Army suddenly weakened their attack a lot, and there’s chaos in their ranks! The Alliance seized the chance to stabilize the front lines, and even took back some lost ground!”
She paused, a look of puzzlement on her face. “And about that Yueqi you mentioned? Didn’t she leave a long time ago…”
“I meant Yuelan,” Aoki corrected himself, suddenly realizing that, due to his efforts in the simulation world, Yueqi didn’t appear now?
So the Saintess was still Yuelan?
“Oh! Thanks to Saintess Yuelan appointing Lin as the Hero, the Demon King’s Army can’t withstand her ferocious assault.”
“I see.” Aoki’s heart stirred. “Then, what about Nongli?”
“You mean that foreign noble? She’s been supplying materials to the Allied Forces.”
As expected! They were all back!
Reality had been rewritten, and Yueqi was gone?
Was it all this simple?
“Where’s Lin Qiyou?” Aoki asked, already thinking about how to use this power.
“No idea at the moment. She used to be stationed at the Alliance front camp just east of the tribe,” Xiao Ya pointed out the direction, “Lin was ambushed by the demon general in battle a few days ago and got hurt.”
Lin Qiyou was injured?
He had no memory of it at all. Every time he changed history, he felt like a latecomer meddling in events; he had to ask others for information.
He was about to ask Xiao Ya to lead the way to the camp when suddenly, the simulation system in his sea of consciousness lit up again, its gentle yet undeniable light pulsing.
[New Simulation is loading……]
[Simulated World: Magic World……]
Suddenly, a rush of images poured into his mind, hitting him like a thunderclap.
They were exactly the scenes from when he first arrived in this world!
What did this mean? Simulation… Reality?
A chill ran down his spine.
What if this so-called “reality” was itself just a result of a simulation based on an even earlier “reality”? What if all his struggles, all his calculations, were just boxes within boxes?
Where was the real reality? Or, was there even such a thing as “real reality”?
He suddenly recalled what Yueqi had said—that “otherworlders,” “world viruses,” “purges,” and that strange worldline correction; Lin Qiyou and Nongli’s “disappearance” and “return”…
Could it be that all this, including Yueqi’s pursuit, was part of some massive, endlessly repeating “simulation system,” meant to “test” or “filter” them, the “otherworlders”?
A huge sense of absurdity and a deep, unspeakable fear seized him. The trump cards he’d relied on to survive and turn the tables now seemed to point toward an even deeper, bottomless puzzle and trap.
“Lord Aoki? Are you alright? Your face looks terrible.” Xiao Ya’s worried voice pulled him back from his swirling thoughts.
Aoki took a deep breath, forcibly calming the storm inside him. Now was not the time to get tangled up in this.
This new simulation… might also be an opportunity—a chance to understand more about how this world truly worked.
He glanced at the system interface, but did not immediately activate the simulation.
He needed to settle matters in “reality” first. He had to see Lin Qiyou and Nongli, confirm their condition, and consolidate his power.
“I’m fine.” Aoki shook his head at Xiao Ya, his gaze becoming resolute again, “Take me to the Alliance camp.”
He wanted to see, beneath this seemingly changed reality, what had become of the two women whose destinies he’d twisted.
And that terrifying speculation about “simulated reality,” he buried deep in his heart—a secret he had to pursue, yet dared not touch lightly.
*****
Lin Qiyou awoke from a deep coma, a fierce headache and a tight pain in her chest making her frown instantly.
She snapped her eyes open, scanning her surroundings with vigilance—this was a simple yet clean military tent, the air full of the scent of herbs.
Then her gaze fixed on the tall figure by her bed.
Nongli.
The tall woman was holding a steaming bowl of medicinal soup. Her red eyes were cast down, emotion unreadable, but that familiar, slightly bewitching and commanding foxfolk silhouette instantly ignited a long-buried, blazing memory in Lin Qiyou’s mind—
Falling Star Lake! The blood-red formation! Aoki’s withered body! And this fox, whom she considered gravely guilty!
“Wretch!”
Almost by instinct, Lin Qiyou shouted sharply, forcing herself upright through the pain, sword energy bursting from her in an instant. Though weak, her aura was still fierce, directed straight at Nongli! Her free hand shaped like a sword, about to strike.
“Where is Aoki?!” Her voice was hoarse with injury and emotion, but her gaze was as deadly as poisoned ice, fixed on Nongli.
Startled by the sudden killing intent, Nongli’s hand trembled and spilled some of the soup. Yet she neither dodged nor grew angry. Instead, she raised those red eyes, looking at Lin Qiyou calmly, even wearily.
“Lin Qiyou,” her voice was soft and raspy with the weariness of many hardships, “put away your sword. We’ve already come to this world—are you still not finished?”
Lin Qiyou sneered, her sword aura growing fiercer, “It’s not up to you! Speak! Where is Aoki? Even here, you still hide him!”
“Hide?” Nongli’s lips curled into a deeply bitter smile, one sadder than tears, “There’s no need. Why would I hide Master?”
She paused, pain flickering deep in her red eyes, her voice dropping, full of near-collapsing self-mockery: “It was him… Master himself… He forced all that on me… the power.”
Lin Qiyou’s sword aura faltered for a moment.
Nongli looked at her, gaze complicated, “Do you think I wanted this? Do you think I wanted to break through using Master’s life?! I would rather forever be that clueless little fox trailing behind him! It was him… he planned everything, including me, including you!”
“He planned…” Lin Qiyou echoed, but another memory, one she’d buried for a hundred years, surfaced unbidden.
Not Falling Star Lake, but much earlier—the day of the spiritual vein transplant.
She remembered her madness and greed then, her thirst for power. She remembered Aoki’s pale face, the fleeting… perhaps disappointment, or something else, in his eyes. But back then, drunk on the joy of gaining a powerful spiritual vein, she never thought more.
She’d always told herself it was for the sect, for resisting the enemy, that she had no choice. She’d buried her guilt deep, covering it up with a century of searching and obsession.
But now, hearing Nongli’s voice, equally pained, equally forced, blaming Aoki’s “scheming,” she was suddenly shocked awake.
She hadn’t meant it. And Nongli… Nongli didn’t seem entirely willing, either.
The gathered, razor-sharp sword energy dissipated without her noticing. Lin Qiyou slumped, face even paler than before. She leaned against the crude bed, closing her eyes, her chest heaving violently.
The tent fell into a heavy silence, only their labored, suppressed breathing filling the air.
After a long while, Lin Qiyou slowly opened her eyes, the madness and killing intent gone, replaced by a deep, soul-weariness and confusion.
“What exactly… does he want to do?” she asked, as if questioning Nongli, or perhaps herself.
Nongli shook her head, placing the medicine bowl on a small table, her tone hollow, “I don’t know. I only know he gave me this strength, and also an unbreakable shackle. Lin Qiyou, what meaning is there in us fighting and killing each other now? Maybe… we are all just chess pieces on his board.”
She stood, her tall shadow casting darkness in the tent. Without looking at Lin Qiyou again, she turned and quietly left.
Lin Qiyou sat alone, staring at the fluttering tent flap, then at the now-cool bowl of soup, her heart a tangled mess.
The object of her hatred suddenly blurred, and that person whom they both searched for, both resented, and perhaps… both owed, his true motives seemed shrouded in fog, growing ever more mysterious.
Since arriving in this world, she’d been searching for Aoki’s traces. After negotiating with Yuelan and sneaking into the Deepwood area, Nongli had moved Aoki elsewhere first, forcing her to leave and fulfill her duties as Hero. She never expected to encounter Nongli here.
Perhaps, it truly was as Nongli said…