Chapter 154: The Irritable Person

“What did you say…?” Qi Xia slowly stood up, looking extremely agitated. “Don’t talk nonsense with me… Other people’s Yu Nian is just a trivial thought, but my Yu Nian is everything to me…!”

“Hey… Kid, calm down…” Qiao Jia Jin reached out and pulled at Qi Xia. “What’s suddenly gotten into you?”

Lin Geng noticed it too—Qi Xia was acting strangely.

His emotions were unstable.

His mental state was always one of pain, suppression, and anxiety.

“My wife is called Yu Nian An,” Qi Xia said to the old aunt. “When I returned home this time, she had disappeared.”

Tong Yi thought for a moment after hearing this and asked, “Child, what do you mean by ‘disappeared’?”

“All traces of her existence have been erased,” Qi Xia replied. “This method sounds just like the one used by that pervert you mentioned, ‘Mu Shen.’ If you can sense her, could you let me talk to her directly? I have a lot of things I want to ask her.”

Tong Yi shook her head slightly. “Child, although your situation is pitiful, even I can’t communicate with ‘Mu Shen,’ so how could I help you establish a connection? Besides… this is the first time I’ve heard of a case where ‘traces of existence are erased.’”

“What…?” Qi Xia furrowed his brow.

“Generally speaking, when a ‘Hui Xiang Zhe’ returns to the day before their death, it’s a very clear ‘divine gift.’ They can enjoy a day of godly experience with the power of ‘Mu Shen.’ But unexpectedly, you’re feeling pain instead.” Tong Yi gave Qi Xia a meaningful look. “Child, you have memories, which means you’ve received the ‘divine gift’ too. So, the one who erased your wife’s traces… could it be you yourself?”

Qi Xia was about to say something, but his eyes gradually widened.

The information in that statement was overwhelming, leaving him momentarily unable to process it.

So, “Hui Xiang” wasn’t exclusive to “Zhong Yan Zhi Di”?

They could even bring “Hui Xiang” back to the real world for a day?

But that still didn’t explain why Yu Nian An had vanished.

“Even if my ‘Hui Xiang’ really is about ‘erasing someone,’ how could I possibly erase my own wife? I still can’t believe my wife has disappeared!” Qi Xia said through gritted teeth. “I would never get rid of my ‘Yu Nian.’”

“What if there’s another possibility…?” Tong Yi looked up at Qi Xia, her gaze unusually deep. “Child, what if you never had a wife in the first place?”

“You!” Qi Xia instantly became furious. “What nonsense are you spouting? Do I not know whether I have a wife or not? What gives you the right to say she doesn’t exist?!”

Lin Geng and Qiao Jia Jin quickly stood up and held Qi Xia back.

“Qi Xia… you…” Lin Geng trailed off, unable to finish his sentence.

He really was acting strangely.

When normal people talk about their wives, they usually feel proud, longing, or affectionate.

But whenever “Yu Nian An” was mentioned, it made Qi Xia instantly sensitive, vulnerable, and irritable.

The two of them pulled Qi Xia back into his seat and noticed he was trembling slightly.

Tong Yi stared at Qi Xia for a moment longer in thought, then said, “Child, why don’t you ask others about it?”

“Ask others?” Qi Xia was stunned.

“When you return to the real world, ask your mutual friends about you and your wife.” Tong Yi picked up her teacup and took a small sip. “If they remember your wife, then her disappearance was indeed caused by someone’s interference—it could be ‘Mu Shen’ or another ‘Hui Xiang Zhe.’ But if they don’t remember her, then it can only mean…”

“Stop!” Qi Xia interrupted. “I’ll go back and figure it out myself.”

Even as he said that, he couldn’t recall any mutual friends with Yu Nian An.

Did Yu Nian An… have any friends?

“Wait… no…” Qi Xia’s lips moved slightly as a more unsettling thought began to swirl in his mind. “Do I… even have friends?”

Tong Yi ignored this aside and gave the group a few more words about the greatness of “Mu Shen” before announcing the end of the session.

As everyone slowly left the classroom, Qi Xia remained seated.

“Qi Xia… are you okay?” Lin Geng gently patted his shoulder.

Qi Xia turned around. “I’m… fine, just a lot of things I can’t figure out.”

“What’s there to worry about?” Han Yi Mo suddenly chimed in. “Isn’t there that all-knowing old aunt here?”

Qi Xia sighed and asked, “Han Yi Mo, do you really believe what that old aunt said?”

“Well…” Han Yi Mo stroked his chin and thought for a moment. “Qi Xia, in situations like ours—I mean, suddenly ending up in a place like this—there’s usually a ‘senior’ to guide us. As long as we follow what they say, we should get a good ending in the end. I think that old aunt is playing that role.”

If Qi Xia had guessed right, Han Yi Mo was trying to explain the current situation using plot tropes from novels.

“You died early last time, so you might not know…” Qi Xia shook his head. “We wandered in ‘Zhong Yan Zhi Di’ for four days with no guides or leaders. Not just us—even the ‘Sheng Xiao’ here were the same; they were all fumbling their way forward, desperately fighting in the dark. That’s what I find most terrifying.”

“Ah…?” Han Yi Mo paused briefly, then fell into thought again. He muttered to himself, “Maybe it’s because I’m the ‘protagonist’…?”

“What?”

“Last time, because ‘I’ hadn’t appeared, you all didn’t get any guidance…” Han Yi Mo organized his thoughts, trying to make his point clearer. “I mean, now that the ‘protagonist’ has shown up, the ‘guidance’ has come with it.”

Qi Xia shook his head and stood up without a word.

He had never realized a writer’s ideas could be so bizarre.

“Han Yi Mo, although I don’t know much about this place, I know that most of what that old aunt said is false. I suggest you don’t follow her path, or you might go crazy.”

With that, he slowly walked out of the classroom.

The other three exchanged glances and followed him.

By now, the sky was nearing evening, and the first day was coming to an end.

The good news was that Qi Xia had learned a lot of information he hadn’t gotten last time, bringing him one step closer to that elusive “escape.”

The bad news was that they had lost three teammates in a single day: Tian Tian, Li Jing Guan, and Zhang Lü Shi.

When the four returned to the classroom, Zhao Yi Sheng was sitting inside eating canned food, with Xiao Ran nowhere in sight.

He saw Qi Xia and Qiao Jia Jin and looked a bit awkward, not greeting them.

Han Yi Mo and Lin Geng, not understanding the situation, just found places to sit down.

Qi Xia and Qiao Jia Jin got food for the two of them, and the four sat together.

Before long, Yun Yao came in from outside. She glanced around and said, “Qi Xia… I know this might be a bit forward, but there’s a ‘welcome party’ tonight. Do you want to join?”