Chapter 56: Do Not Die

An incense stick of time ago.

Holding the stiff and cold body of "Qi Shaolin", Jiang Luan felt his heartbeat skip a beat.

Brother Lin was dead?

This realization plunged Jiang Luan into an icy abyss, filling him with overwhelming panic.

Trembling, he reached out to check "Qi Shaolin's" pulse, then leaned down with his ear pressed against his chest to listen for a heartbeat.

All physiological signs told him that the person before him was undeniably dead.

Jiang Luan stared blankly at "Qi Shaolin's" pale face, feeling his hands and feet turn ice-cold while his head buzzed.

He remembered the promise they had made to die together, and with a sorrowful heart, he raised a hand to stroke "Qi Shaolin's" cheek.

"Though, come to think of it," Jiang Luan muttered to himself, "isn't this 'corpse' a bit too fresh out of the oven?"

The massive emotional shock earlier had overwhelmed Jiang Luan's reason, leading him to entertain the thought of "following him in death" right on the spot.

Yet, a series of doubts pulled his rationality back.

Why would Qi Shaolin die? When did he die?

Jiang Luan narrowed his eyes, closely examining the "corpse" in his arms.

Although Jiang Luan was not trained in medicine, nor was he a coroner, he was half a chef!

Humans were, at best, just oversized animals.

Jiang Luan had plenty of experience slaughtering living creatures to cook meals. Now that he had calmed down, a touch of the corpse's state told his intuition that something was wrong.

Furthermore...

Jiang Luan dropped the body of "Qi Shaolin", stood up, and looked around.

The bustling crowds on the street had completely vanished, which clearly defied all reason.

The mysterious disappearance of the people on the street was the first anomaly.

Secondly, the surroundings were far too pristine; he could not even hear the sound of the wind rustling through the grass and leaves, as if he were inside some sort of vacuum space.

These unusual circumstances actually brought Jiang Luan a sense of relief.

It was as if he were situated inside a fake world, which meant that the corpse of "Qi Shaolin" must be fake as well.

As long as Brother Lin was safe and sound, no other problem was a problem.

Having figured out this crucial point, Jiang Luan grew even calmer and began to analyze when this bizarre phenomenon had started.

When they parted ways with the Jin family estate, there should have been nothing false about it.

When they stepped onto the long street, the bright moon hung high in the sky, and the cries of peddlers echoed continuously. Jiang Luan had simply walked along, talking to Qi Shaolin, and from the moment the topic of settling the Jin family's daughter began, he had received no response.

Or rather, Jiang Luan had not heard a response.

The surroundings were so quiet simply because his own ears could not hear.

Jiang Luan thought for a moment, looked around again, and walked over to a steaming soup cauldron.

The stove should have been hot, but when Jiang Luan dragged his fingers across its surface, he could not feel a trace of warmth.

Immediately after, he scooped up a bowl of noodle soup and casually tasted it; it had no flavor either.

His sense of touch and sense of taste had also vanished.

Something was wrong with his five senses.

What about his vision?

Jiang Luan surveyed the entire street, suspecting that everything his eyes beheld was also false.

It was not until his gaze swept over the "corpse" on the ground that Jiang Luan discovered a contradiction.

Since he had lost his sense of touch, why did he perceive the "corpse" as being "stiff and cold"?

Jiang Luan squatted in front of the corpse of "Qi Shaolin", stroking his chin in contemplation.

Although seeing Brother Lin lying so silently on the ground still made Jiang Luan feel inexplicably panicked, it was much better than before.

The moment he had seen Qi Shaolin standing with his back to him earlier, Jiang Luan had already felt a sense of impending doom...

Why had he felt that something was wrong? Was it a psychological suggestion brought on by the sudden disappearance of the people on the street, signaling "danger"?

Thus, the moment he saw "Qi Shaolin", Jiang Luan inexplicably felt that the two of them would meet with misfortune.

And it was precisely at the moment he generated this thought that "Qi Shaolin" had collapsed with a crash.

The collapse of "Qi Shaolin" further validated Jiang Luan's psychological suggestion that "something would go wrong," which in turn led to the further thought that "Qi Shaolin collapsed because he died."

According to common cognitive knowledge, dead people are stiff and cold, which gave rise to his so-called "sense of touch."

Therefore, all of this was a "deception" played on him by his own brain.

Yet, psychologically, Jiang Luan refused to accept the reality that "Qi Shaolin" had died, which left a tiny flaw and pulled his rationality back in time.

Through layer after layer of peeling back the cocoon, Jiang Luan came to his senses.

The place he currently inhabited was not the real world, but something akin to his deep subconscious?

It was just like an intense dream, with the only difference being that he could not wake up.

But how was this achieved?

Jiang Luan could not help connecting this to the strange spectacle earlier, when Bai Xihe had danced upon the stage and made characters float in the air.

Having his five senses blinded... perhaps it was the same principle.

"Bai Xihe..."

Jiang Luan guessed that this matter must be inseparable from that charlatan; he had probably been poisoned or subjected to some form of hypnosis.

However, how could he break this state?

Jiang Luan plopped down beside the corpse, feeling rather helpless.

"Brother Lin, oh Brother Lin," Jiang Luan muttered to the corpse, "since your 'spirit is still in heaven', display some divine majesty and give me a hint. Otherwise, given my wild imagination later on, God knows what bizarre changes your corpse might undergo..."

Since he was within his own world of thought, Jiang Luan's rambling to the corpse was essentially talking to himself.

He shook his head, finding himself quite ridiculous.

At that moment, a fallen leaf drifted down abruptly from mid-air and landed in Jiang Luan's hair.

Jiang Luan plucked the leaf off, just about to toss it away, when he suddenly froze, holding the leaf and examining it closely.

A willow leaf?

Jiang Luan found it strange, as there were no willow trees on this street.

Moreover, as Jiang Luan pinched the leaf, its texture felt remarkably real; this did not seem like something conjured up by his own imagination...

A willow leaf... Jiang Luan remembered a certain night on the road when Qi Shaolin had played a tune using just such a leaf.

Thinking of the Phoenix Seeks His Mate melody that Qi Shaolin had played for him, Jiang Luan placed the leaf against his lips and, without a teacher, began to play it.

A melodious and lingering leaf-tune rang out within the quiet space.

Jiang Luan knew that the leaf in his hand was real, and the tune he was playing was also real.

Although his playing left a bit to be desired, Jiang Luan still immersed himself in it, slowly closing his eyes.

The melody of Phoenix Seeks His Mate swirled endlessly in his mind.

The male and female phoenixes fly together, their harmonious calls ringing clear and strong.

Jiang Luan felt he finally understood the emotion the piece was meant to convey.

The song came to an end.

Hearing the bustling sounds of the crowd return to his ears, Jiang Luan knew he had broken the illusion.

He slowly opened his eyes, looking dazedly at the people passing by on the street.

The passersby were likewise eyeing him with strange expressions.

With a thoughtful look, Jiang Luan lowered his head to gaze at the willow leaf in his hand, only to hear someone behind him ask, "Wife, when did you learn to play that?"

Startled, Jiang Luan whipped his head around and saw Qi Shaolin standing right behind him, sizing him up with a puzzled expression.

A healthy, living Brother Lin... not a corpse.

Seeing Jiang Luan stare fixedly at him, Qi Shaolin could not help pressing further, "Wife, are you alright?"

Jiang Luan took a deep breath, stepped in front of Qi Shaolin, and locked eyes with him.

Qi Shaolin: "??"

Jiang Luan reached out, pinched Qi Shaolin's shoulder, and then moved all the way up... grabbing Qi Shaolin's face and giving it a tug.

Qi Shaolin: "..."

"I'm telling you," Jiang Luan released his grip and said calmly, "don't go dying on me so easily."

Qi Shaolin knew that Jiang Luan had also experienced the illusion art, though he did not know what Jiang Luan had seen.

Yet, such a sudden remark, coupled with Jiang Luan's dazed expression, told Qi Shaolin that it certainly had not been anything pleasant.

Qi Shaolin lowered his eyelids halfway, firming up a single thought—Bai Xihe deserved to die.

"I won't anything happen to me," Qi Shaolin grasped Jiang Luan's hands in his palms, looking at him earnestly, "and I won't let anything happen to you either."

Jiang Luan nodded absentmindedly.

His mind was currently consumed with the desire to verify Qi Shaolin's existence... so he blurted out, "Let's head back and rest. Tonight, we can have a go at..."

"..."

Such a wonderful thing was actually on the table?

Without another word, Qi Shaolin hoisted Jiang Luan over his shoulder and broke into a run.

Before he could fully react, Jiang Luan hammered on his shoulder, cursing, "What the hell, are you a bandit chieftain?!"

Qi Shaolin replied, "Great idea! Wife, you can play the young master, and I'll play the bandit."

Jiang Luan: "..."

What the hell kind of roleplay was this?

...They certainly knew how to play.