Embers Ad Infinitum

In the dark night, in the deserted Hedong, the broad-minded singing echoed, as if all dangers and difficulties would disappear with the water and the wind.

Jiang Baimian gently hummed the melody and adjusted his condition to the best.

After singing a section, she looked sideways at Shang Jianyao and asked with a smile:

"Why don't you use a small speaker?"

"In this current environment, this song has to be sung by myself to make it feel better." The answer was Shang Jianyao, who strives for excellence.

He even offered suggestions for improvement:

"Singing and tapping on your lap will make you feel better."

Jiang Baimian imagined it and said:

"I'll try it later."

In front of the shrine, Zhou Yue, who had mirrors on her head, waist, and hands, looked at them and felt that she seemed out of place.

"Is this really a good time to sing?"

"Forget it, forget it, it's all fantasy, why take it seriously?"

Such thoughts flashed through Zhou Yue's mind, and finally settled on the method she was most accustomed to.

Just when Shang Jianyao tapped his thigh again and was about to hum a melody, the entire Nan Keguan suddenly turned dark, and all the light bulbs seemed to have lost their current in an instant.

Soon, under a little light, Jiang Baimian and the others found themselves in a community shaded by green trees.

The buildings here are not too high, and the warm lights are reflected behind the glass windows, making the night no longer so quiet and deserted.

"The neighborhood where Jiang Xiaoyue jumped off the building?" Zhou Yue looked around and asked.

"It should be." Jiang Baimian gave an affirmative answer.

The three of them seemed to have been transferred out of thin air, and everything around them was so real.

"The information that the 'Higher Unintentional One' wants to provide is hidden in this illusion?" This is the question that Zhou Yue is most worried about.

Shang Jianyao nodded:

"Maybe, probably, maybe we need to explore it ourselves."

"The more you do, the more mistakes you make..." Zhou Yue still insisted on her own ideas.

Although they appear to be standing in the courtyard of the community, they are actually sitting cross-legged on the futon.

As soon as she finished speaking, the environment changed. Just like Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian and the others last time, the three of them entered the corresponding building and arrived outside Jiang Xiaoyue's residence without having to do anything.

People crowded at the door, scrambling to peek through the cracks inside.

Zhou Yue's ears faintly echoed with the sounds of panic, despair, and collapse:

"Are you going to force me to death...Are you going to force me to death..."

Then, she saw the interior layout of the house, the twisted faces clinging to the floor-to-ceiling windows, and Jiang Xiaoyue sitting on the railing.

The next second, Jiang Xiaoyue jumped out of the window.

In the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao and Zhou Yue all felt as if their thoughts were being swallowed by a whirlpool, and their reason was being submerged in darkness. Their entire consciousness was like falling catkins, shaky and unreal.

When they got rid of this feeling, they found that they were still in the community surrounded by green trees, no different from the beginning.

They were all familiar with the next process. They entered the room again and again, passed through the snooping crowd, and entered Jiang Xiaoyue's home. They witnessed her muttering to herself and committed suicide by jumping off the building. They experienced her consciousness turning into a candle in the wind, and her mind being torn into pieces. painful feelings.

They seemed to be trapped in this period of time, unable to break free or leave.

Repeating it over and over again, Jiang Baimian's consciousness gradually became blurred, and his whole person became more and more confused.

Suddenly, the chip in her left arm gave her a preset signal.

This is a reminder that her overall condition is not right!

What's wrong... Jiang Baimian's thoughts instantly returned from the chaos and found that he was repeating a sentence.

That sentence is:

"Are you going to force me to death...Are you going to force me to death..."

This... Jiang Baimian woke up for the most part in an instant, and found that he was standing on the handrail, with an open glass window in front of him, and the ground below where things had become much smaller.

She is about to jump off the building!

There is no bloody human body in the corresponding place.

I became Jiang Xiaoyue? Have you truly entered this fantasy? What would happen if you really jumped? A series of questions flashed through Jiang Baimian's mind, and a feeling of fear arose in his heart.

She quickly turned her head and looked at where Shang Jianyao should be.

Then, she discovered that Shang Jianyao, who was wearing a dark blue short down jacket, was also standing on the railing, with one hand reaching for her head.

During this process, Shang Jianyao endured the blowing of the night wind and kept looking at the ground at the bottom of the building, as if considering whether to jump down.

"I'm awake." Jiang Baimian saw this and said.

"That's good." Shang Jianyao retracted his right hand.

Jiang Baimian asked curiously:

"You were not affected? Didn't you become Jiang Xiaoyue?"

"The infected me has been dragged back, and now I am the calm and rational me." Shang Jianyao replied calmly.

Can it still be like this? Does mental illness have such benefits? Also, this is different from Qiao Chu's "forced charm". You don't get caught as soon as you encounter it. It requires repeated cycles to be infected. Switching personalities can indeed effectively get rid of it... Jiang Baimian nodded with understanding.

Then, she thought of another person:

Zhou Yue!

"Maybe we need to give Zhou Guanzhu a little stimulation." Shang Jianyao also pointed to the side and said.

Jiang Baimian looked closely and found Zhou Yue in another similar room, also standing on the railing, holding the window open, ready to jump off.

Her black hair was disheveled, and her eyes were dull as she murmured two words to herself:

"Are you trying to force me to death... I'm always dreaming, why should I take it seriously... Are you trying to force me to death... I'm always dreaming, why should I be serious..."

She looked like she was struggling, and for a while she couldn't make up her mind to jump off the building.

When Jiang Baimian saw this, he didn't care whether the other party's correct position was distorted by the illusion. He directly stretched out his left hand and spread his fingers in the direction of Zhou Yue.

A silver arc jumped out, crackling and lighting up the surrounding area.

In an instant, the arc of electricity fell on Zhou Yue, causing her body to tremble.

The next second, the open window, the face stuck to the glass, the lighted room, and the community shaded by green trees became extremely unreal and soon disappeared without a trace.

Shang Jianyao, Jiang Baimian, and Zhou Yue were still sitting on the futon, surrounded by shrines and pillars.

"The hallucination just now was a bit strange..." Zhou Yue shook off his numb hand, "I still have the feeling of being electrocuted."

"Everything is a fantasy, why take it seriously?" Shang Jianyao replied to her.

Jiang Baimian discovered a problem from Zhou Yue's sigh just now:

“It’s a little strange indeed.

"Why is our consciousness affected and we feel like we have become Jiang Xiaoyue?"

Shouldn't the hallucination ability of the "Higher Heartless One" focus on distorting environmental information, replicating target states and other external fields?

When could he directly influence the target's consciousness?

Hearing Jiang Baimian's question, Zhou Yue opened her eyes wide:

"Yes, the 'illusion' in our field cannot do this, at least not at the 'soul corridor' level..."

As she spoke, she stopped and showed a slightly embarrassed smile.

She spilled the beans again!

Jiang Baimian politely ignored this point and said thoughtfully:

"He got magical items from other realms from the 'Soul Corridor'?"

"It's possible." Zhou Yue agreed.

"There is another possibility." Jiang Baimian continued.

Her expression became quite serious:

"What affects our consciousness is not the 'Higher Heartless One', but the illusion itself."

"The illusion itself?" Zhou Yue was a little confused.

Jiang Baimian explained:

“He should have recreated the experience at that time and created this illusion.

"And since it's a re-enactment, maybe some of the weird aspects of Jiang Xiaoyue's spiritual world have been copied over, and it has produced effects."

"That is to say." Shang Jianyao helped Jiang Baimian make a concluding speech, "What affects our consciousness is not the 'higher unintentional person', but Jiang Xiaoyue's spiritual world."

Zhou Yue shrank her body:

"It sounds a bit scary..."

Then, she nodded gently and said:

"Theoretically, this is possible."

"Jiang Xiaoyue's spiritual world is really a strange place..." Shang Jianyao helped the two ladies present to express his inner feelings, "No wonder the 'Higher Unintentional One' developed an obsession."

Zhou Yue secretly agreed while raising questions:

"Didn't you say that he wanted to enter Nankeyuan and tell us important information?

"Why don't you come in all the time and just create illusions for us?"

"This is just a guess." Jiang Baimian was a little speechless.

At this time, Shang Jianyao shook his head and said:

"Because you are not polite enough."

"Huh?" Zhou Yue looked at this tall young man in confusion, "Do you want to stand up to greet him?"

Shang Jianyao pointed to the mirror in front of him:

"There are too many mirrors here, how do you let him in?"

"Yes!" Zhou Yue suddenly realized.

Jiang Baimian also figured out the key.

She and Zhou Yue looked at each other, took a breath, and turned the mirrors around them one by one, with their backs facing outward.

In the howling wind, the branches in the Taoist temple courtyard were swaying in the night.

Only two or three minutes passed, Jiang Baimian, Shang Jianyao, and Zhou Yue all turned their attention to the entrance of the hall at the same time.

In the darkness, a figure stumbled out. He was an old man in his sixties, with messy long gray hair and various clothes on his body. His eyes were cloudy and bloodshot.

As he walked, he looked back, and in the void, faces stood out, with distorted expressions and red eyes.

This "high-level careless man" walked faster and faster, and finally started running, but he couldn't get rid of the countless faces in the night around him.

Gradually, a half-height railing and an open glass window appeared in front of him.

This "high-level careless person" climbed up the railing and muttered to himself in a daze:

"Are you going to force me to death...Are you going to force me to death..."

The voice was soft and erratic, not like it came from a man at all, but from a woman somewhere far away.

At this moment, the pupils of the "high-level unintentional person" reflected the shrine of Nankeguan, reflecting the dragon symbol inlaid with pieces of broken mirror.

He suddenly stretched out his hand and made a roaring sound in his throat, as if a dying beast was struggling.

Shang Jianyao, Zhou Yue and Jiang Baimian each took a few steps towards this illusion, and finally heard clearly the words that the "Higher Unintentional One" seemed to squeeze out of his chest:

"Five, zero, three."