Volume 5
290 Those Who Died
What?!
Nie Zun"s older sister!
I looked towards the direction in which they were looking at, but I couldn"t see anyone!
There seemed to be a huge crowd when the figures rose up earlier, but upon a closer look, there were but a few of them!
"Old Man Fan…"
I realized quickly that everyone else was also staring at the figures that had just appeared! It was as if everyone had seen somebody they recognized in that crowd!
Guan Nie said coldly, "No need for doubt and worry. These figures you"re seeing aren"t real people, they"re just illusions!"
I heaved a sigh of relief, but I caught my breath halfway.
If these were illusions, doesn"t that mean Guan Nie was planning to use them against us? But why would anyone tell their opponents that these were illusions the very moment they were created?
I didn"t know what Guan Nie was planning at all!
"What do you have up your sleeve!" A cold voice asked Guan Nie.
Who is this? It wasn"t me!
Looking up at the source of the voice, I realized it was Du Yue. She was levitating in midair!
Du Yue looked uncomfortable. Did she also see someone she cared about?!
I looked towards the figures staring at me with blank faces.
Huan Qing, Mi Fu, Song Lu, Yu Liang, Old Man Fan, and…
My parents…
And…
Gao Qi and Pomelo were actually standing right at the very end!
"How could it, how could it be… Ah…!" I covered my mouth as I called out. What I saw was Gao Qi drenched entirely in blood!
Gaoqin Jiuye appeared beside me with Shen Qi supporting him. He was still pale and his gaze wavered as he asked, "You see him too?"
I turned to him. "You, you can see it too…?"
Gaoqin Jiuye continued, "You"re able to see others apart from him, right?"
I nodded.
Gaoqin Jiuye said, "I can"t though. He"s the only one I can see."
I was stunned.
Jie Pa spoke. "If that"s the case, this means that we are all seeing different people. We"re looking at those we fear meeting the most, so they"re all different."
So Gaoqin Jiuye and I actually feared the same person. Were we both afraid of Gao Qi…?
Gaoqin Jiuye couldn"t bear it any longer as he looked at Guan Nie with an upset expression. "What are you trying to do?"
There was a gentle light in Guan Nie"s eyes. "I"ve told you that none of them are real. Don"t forget that all of you are in my illusion now, and all you"re seeing is but a mere hallucination."
Then why did you even do this?!
I was at a loss for words. Why did you have to do this if it was a hallucination? Why did you have to do this and tell us they were illusions?
A thought struck me out of nowhere. Could it be… could it be that…
He wasn"t planning on using these illusions to attack us at all?
So he didn"t actually have to hide the fact that they were illusions?
I didn"t have to wonder for much longer as I quickly found out why he did so.
Gao Qi, who was drenched in blood, walked towards me unhurriedly. He did not rush to strangle me, nor did he look like he blamed me for anything. He simply looked at me with a blank expression.
Running away doesn"t solve anything, and even though my legs were trembling, I forced myself to move forward slowly. "Are you… Gao Qi…?"
That blank face bloomed as if woken up from years of slumber. He spoke with a slightly rigid expression. "Ah Shen, do you miss me?"
I swear this did not sound the least bit sweet in the current situation. It was, in fact, terrifying!
Just imagine a dead person asking you if you missed him.
Gao Qi was different from Old Man Fan and the rest. He was somebody who actually existed and lived in the real world, and he was also dead.
"How is it possible that I can see you…"
As I was muttering to myself, Gaoqin Jiuye spoke suddenly. "I get it now. This is definitely an illusion. But he"s not making use of these figures, of people whom we"re afraid of meeting, to attack us. It doesn"t seem to make any sense."
"Then why did he do this?"
"He"s waging a psychological battle. Everyone would end up being distracted with the appearance of these people."
Gaoqin Jiuye was absolutely right. Guan Nie resumed his battle with Si Luo immediately when these figures seemed to have worked their effectiveness!
There was a long sword in his hand this time around!
It looked like an ordinary sword, but I"ve never seen Guan Nie use a sword!
Guan Nie kept his eyes on Si Luo as he raised his sword. "I"m curious, just who did you see?"
Si Luo"s expression remained rather indifferent as he simply scanned through the crowd of figures.
"What if I say that I can"t see anyone?" Si Luo answered with a smile.
A cold glint flashed past Guan Nie"s eyes. "You shouldn"t be able to see anyone, since you don"t care about anyone else but yourself. It"s an excuse when you say you"re trying to save the weak, because all you"ve ever thought about is yourself!"
Si Luo looked at him casually. "Do you hate me so because of Gaoqin?"
Guan Nie scoffed, "No. I hate you so because I just cannot stand the sight of people like you who say they"re protecting their residents when you"re actually doing nothing at all!"
Si Luo smiled. "You"re not being truthful."
Guan Nie narrowed his eyes. "You"ll know if I"m really speaking from my heart once we begin the fight!"
Raising his sword, he said, "Everyone in this illusion will see the ones they are most afraid to face. These people aren"t real, they"re all illusions, and they cannot attack anyone either. The reason I summoned them was to let you guys take a look at them while we fight! It won"t be an easy task if you"re being watched by someone you fear!"
Before I could grasp the entirety of the situation, Guan Nie had already launched his attack.
Both Nie Zun and Jie Pa were still staring into s.p.a.ce at the figure they referred to as Nie Zun"s sister.
Muscular Cang Ming and lanky Ta Lai were facing each other. Though they looked extremely different physically, they had the exact same look on their faces!
It sort of stunned me. They were both staring into s.p.a.ce, as if they had just been hit on the head with a hammer!
I then realized that the both of them must have seen Bian Ying!
Ta Lai lost his usual elegance when he spoke. "Even an illusion of Bian Ying can appear here. I guess this is really a test for us to try not to be distracted by the people we have in our hearts."
Cang Ming smirked. "But they are still illusions. I believe we"ve seen hundreds of thousands of them by now. But look at these, especially that of my woman. Don"t these illusions look too real?"
Ta Lai was not polite with Cang Ming as he stared at him, asking, "Bian Ying isn"t your woman."
Cang Ming cackled. "How do you know that?"
He swooped in closer to Ta Lai, blinking as he said, "Would you still want her if I said I already took her?"
Ta Lai paused his fiddling of that jade stone ring for a moment before answering, "Why would I not want something that belongs to me? It would still be mine even if it"s broken."
I found this rather interesting. Ta Lai, Cang Ming and Bian Ying seemed to have a complicated relations.h.i.+p, and as for Gaoqin Jiuye, Nie Zun and I…
Before my mind could go any further, I caught sight of the b.l.o.o.d.y Gao Qi. He no longer had a blank expression. He looked exactly like the Gao Qi I remembered when I was alive. "I miss you so much, Ah Shen."
Dear lord! This illusion could actually talk? What he just said made me weak in my knees!
I would have gone mad with happiness if I still thought that he was the one I loved, but I"m now aware that Gaoqin Jiuye was the one I actually loved. Furthermore, I didn"t forget that I was the very person who stabbed him in the chest!
I retreated hastily as he advanced towards me with an outstretched hand. "No, don"t come any closer!"
"Ah Shen, you"re not the one who killed me. I"m the one who deserved to die. Don"t be sad…" A smile appeared on Gao Qi"s b.l.o.o.d.y face. That enchanting look and voice were the exact same ones that made me fall for him!
"Ah!" I couldn"t bear the sight of Gao Qi"s b.l.o.o.d.y hands and that huge, bleeding wound on his chest. I backed away as quickly as I can, too afraid to take another look at him!
But running away doesn"t solve anything, and when I turned around in an attempt to run, I was met with Pomelo!
Pomelo looked like she was in agony as she reached out toward me, seemingly in an attempt to hug me. She said, "How are you doing, Ah Shen? I"m here to see you."