Chapter 153: Distractions

"I want to control Qian Yi Shi," Qi Xia said in a low voice. "I need to make Han Yi Mo not think about certain things."

Lin Geng thought for a moment and said, "Qi Xia, close your eyes, and I'll do an experiment with you."

"Okay." Qi Xia nodded and closed his eyes.

"Qi Xia, please don't imagine a black cat," Lin Geng said.

After hearing this, Qi Xia furrowed his brow silently with his eyes closed.

"Now, don't imagine that black cat looking at you."

"And don't imagine it having a pair of brown, beautiful pupils."

Qi Xia remained silent.

"Now, don't imagine that black cat slowly walking toward you."

"I..." Qi Xia's brow gradually relaxed as he quietly listened to Lin Geng.

"And absolutely don't imagine that black cat rubbing against your leg, as if it's hungry."

"You haven't realized that the black cat's fur is very soft."

"You also don't know that it actually likes you very much."

Seeing that Qi Xia's expression had become completely calm, Lin Geng slowly asked, "So, Qi Xia... look around you. Where are you standing right now?"

After hearing this, Qi Xia furrowed his brow slightly. He looked around and found himself standing in his own home.

"If you're very tired, you can rest on the bed for a while," Lin Geng said.

Qi Xia slowly turned around and saw a bed behind him.

But he never slept on the bed.

He paused for a moment and suddenly opened his eyes.

The calm expression on his face vanished completely, replaced by ice-cold despair.

"Lin Geng, are you hypnotizing me?"

"It's not exactly hypnosis, just a mental relaxation," Lin Geng said with a smile and nodded. "Qi Xia, you look extremely tired, and your heart is very suppressed. You won't be able to hold up like this."

"There's no need." Qi Xia shook his head. "Let's discuss something more important instead."

"Um." Lin Geng nodded. "Actually, I've already given you an example."

"An example...?"

Lin Geng nodded. "Have you noticed? Humans don't understand 'negation words'."

Just as Lin Geng said, while she kept advising herself not to think about certain things, Qi Xia's mind would shape them into something extraordinarily clear.

"This is a very typical psychological phenomenon. People love to use phrases like 'don't do something' to advise others, for example, 'don't get too tired' or 'don't care too much about others' opinions.' But in the listener's ears, it turns into 'you're very tired' or 'you care a lot about others' opinions,' and the advice ends up having the opposite effect."

Qi Xia nodded after listening, looking melancholic as he said, "So, we can't interfere with other people's thoughts?"

"Truthfully, we can't even control our own thoughts, so how could we interfere with others'?"

The problem was indeed tricky. The path with Han Yi Mo was hard to break through, and the key might still lie with Officer Li.

Qi Xia asked again, "Then, suppose I want to make someone's Qian Yi Shi believe in something impossible, can that be done?"

After hearing this, Lin Geng blinked and asked, "Do you know the Hui Xiang Zhe that the old lady mentioned?"

"Yes." Qi Xia nodded. "Officer Li."

"He's the one who can pull out banknotes?" Lin Geng asked again.

"More or less."

"That would be very difficult..." Lin Geng said. "The reason humans are called 'humans' is because we all have basic cognitive abilities. Moreover, when someone isn't sure if they have cash in their pocket, their first thought is 'I might have banknotes in my pocket' rather than 'I definitely have a stack of banknotes in my pocket.' According to the old lady's explanation, the first situation would fail."

Qi Xia nodded. "So, is there no way to influence him?"

"There are two methods you could try," Lin Geng said. "The first is long-term brainwashing, similar to hypnosis. It would waste a lot of time, but it would make the person forever believe that their pocket is full of banknotes. However, there are drawbacks—it might affect their normal logical thinking. They could end up believing that nothing exists in their pocket except banknotes."

Qi Xia nodded again. "And the second?"

"The second is..." Lin Geng hesitated and swallowed, saying, "To make that person completely lose their normal cognitive abilities, falling into a state of mental confusion or disordered thinking... That way, they would always believe in themselves."

"In other words, turn them into a madman?" Qi Xia asked.

"That's right." Lin Geng nodded. "You'll find that all the people in the world called 'madmen' are very pure, including those with mental illnesses. Their sense of belief is extremely strong, and they'll have unwavering faith in some strange things."

If looked at that way, weren't the people of Ji Dao just a group of madmen?

They had a high probability of triggering Hui Xiang precisely because they were mad enough to be pure.

And the Aunt Tong in front of them, who deeply believed in Mu Shen, didn't seem quite normal either.

But why did Lin Geng know so much about this?

"Lin Geng, you..."

Qi Xia had something to say, but after thinking for a while, he didn't say it out loud.

Some words weren't convenient to say in public; it would be better to discuss them when the two of them were alone.

When the group came back to their senses, Aunt Tong had finished explaining the concept of Hui Xiang and started talking about its triggers.

According to her, Hui Xiang usually only needed a trigger in the "initial stage." Once someone experienced Hui Xiang multiple times, it meant they had fully gained the favor of Mu Shen and could then actively produce Hui Xiang, gaining supreme abilities. Of course, some people's Hui Xiang was too special, and they always needed a trigger.

"Then how do you turn off Hui Xiang?" Qi Xia raised his hand and asked.

"Turn it off?" Aunt Tong stared at Qi Xia for a moment. "Why would you turn it off? Who in the world would voluntarily give up the gift of Mu Shen?"

"It's possible that your Mu Shen gives a curse instead of a gift," Qi Xia said. "There will always be people who want to turn off their Hui Xiang."

"Child, you can think of Hui Xiang as a kind of sound wave. You can only hear it when it covers you, but sound waves will dissipate."

Qi Xia paused after hearing this and asked, "Are you saying Hui Xiang is always temporary?"

"That's right." Aunt Tong nodded. "We never need to actively turn off Hui Xiang; we just wait for it to dissipate slowly."

Qi Xia glanced absentmindedly at Han Yi Mo.

He had been in Hui Xiang for a whole day.

So... how long would his Hui Xiang last?

Could it be ten days?

Next, Aunt Tong began to proclaim the greatness of Mu Shen again.

Since she had demonstrated such a strange Hui Xiang, several people were convinced by her words.

For some reason, in Aunt Tong's proclamations, Qi Xia felt an even deeper despair.

When a world can only rely on praying to a "god" for salvation, it proves that the "people" living in that world have completely run out of options.

Could they really escape from here?

Could he really ask this "god" to get Yu Nian An back and hold her in his arms again?

"I was just about to give her a better life..."

Qi Xia's eyes grew desolate, his heart in extreme pain.

Aunt Tong continued to the crowd, "As long as we eliminate the Yu Nian in our hearts, we will surely gain the favor of Mu Shen and ultimately obtain the power of Mu Shen!"

Qi Xia frowned, feeling very uncomfortable, and couldn't help but ask, "Auntie, people usually say 'eliminate distractions,' but why do you always say 'eliminate Yu Nian'?"

"Child, don't you understand? Yu Nian is 'distractions,'" Aunt Tong said slowly.