absurd deduction game.

The stars, and even the entire city of terror itself, are a manifestation and reflection of the will of the ancient gods.

Fortunately, they do not possess complete thought like the original form of the ancient gods—although the indescribable original form of the ancient gods may not actually have it either, but Yu Xing has seen [Him], so let's assume that the ancient gods can think like humans for now—in any case, after confirming that the coordinates have been lost and the troublemakers have not been found, those gazes from deep space withdrew and did not project downwards again.

It seems that since the target wasn't caught immediately, the matter simply passed by.

After all, they don't have a brain, so they won't suddenly remember that there's a target they haven't caught and then decide to go for another round.

Therefore, Yu Xing and the other two are safe for the time being.

The moss protected them for a while according to its owner's wishes, then blinked its unsettling eyes, accompanied by childlike laughter, and silently disappeared into the walls and ground it was attached to.

In Yu Xing's perception, he could clearly sense that the moss had completely disappeared in this dimension. In this respect, the moss of the performer seemed to be like his own branches, able to switch back and forth between the two dimensions of reality and nothingness.

Over there, the actor finally opened his eyes and looked up.

The spherical, enclosed space returned to its original state, except for the enormous heart in the very center, which was now just a thin, withered skin hanging down, its flesh and blood completely gone.

Edgar said that getting rid of it was a prerequisite for leaving, but after the heart was gone, no door suddenly opened and the light of the real world shone through.

So they have to find their own outlets.

The badge given by the Church of the Harvest Mother Goddess was completely destroyed after it shattered. Now it's no different from two pieces of silver broken in two, offering no guidance whatsoever. Otherwise, Yu Xing really wanted to hold the badge and recite the Mother Goddess's prayer to see if this true god, who has yet to make a real appearance, could actually infiltrate the City of Terror with her power.

In the world of Kelvin, the presence of the good gods is never as strong as that of the evil gods. They are clearly able to break through the encirclement of a host of indescribable beings and gain the recognition of order, so they should be the strongest... at least among the strongest on the earth where humans live.

But perhaps it's for the sake of the plot. The evil gods and ancient gods fight to the death, tormenting humans to the point of madness, while the righteous gods are too lazy to issue a single divine decree, relying entirely on the initiative of the people under the church.

Is it because the true gods have other limitations?

Or is it that maintaining their "non-polluting" nature is already very difficult for them?
After all, this is just a dungeon. There are so many different planes, big and small, in the absurd deduction. Yu Xing felt that it would be difficult to match with other dungeons under the same worldview again. Therefore, he just let his thoughts wander a little and did not intend to delve into these settings.

He crossed his arms and leaned against the no longer moving wall, his gaze falling on the actor's not-so-broad shoulders.

The performer had somehow acquired a sacrificial offering that resembled a scalpel, and he remained with his back to them.

Qu Xianqing looked warily at the scalpel in his hand that exuded an eerie aura, and said expressionlessly, "We should go."

We need to go down and ask Edgar if he knows what to do next. If we can get some new clues, it will be easier for them to find a way out.

The actor didn't move. He raised the hand holding the scalpel and gestured towards the shriveled heart skin.

"Please wait for me a little longer."

Perhaps he had just received some pleasant information, for the actor's tone was filled with a faint joy, and his voice became gentler, which actually lessened the sense of danger around him.

He said, "I'm going to cut it up and take it with me. Don't worry, I'll be quick and it won't take long."

Qu Xianqing: "..."

Alright, judging from Yu Xing's calm demeanor, it's clear that the actor's actions didn't surprise her. Although she disliked the actor—after all, she herself had a very imperfect childhood thanks to the actor, which led to her developing a twisted personality, and her parents were also involved, causing them to suffer undeserved misfortune—since Yu Xing had tacitly approved of the actor's actions, she was too lazy to always show vigilance.

Ironically, the delicate peace along the way was due to her personality flaws, which made her less concerned about her parents and less inclined to immediately turn against the actor, the enemy who had reshaped her personality.

Her body was agile and powerful, but her soul was languid.

But now she was genuinely curious, so she leaned close to Yu Xing and whispered, "Is he going to cut this thing back to study it?"

If it's a whisper, who among us can't hear it?
The actor paused, then ignored the woman who was trying to find out his intentions from the young master. With a swift stroke of the sharp blade, without even jumping up to cut, his heart and spleen fell to the ground.

It landed on the ground with a soft thud, quite heavy.

He half-squatted down and began to process the pieces. His skillful technique left no doubt as to how many similar objects he had cut before.

When he does this kind of work, the ethereal quality that belongs to Peking Opera actors disappears, as if he suddenly falls to the ground and becomes even sharper.

Seeing him like this, Yu Xing also let out a soft snort.

Qu Xianqing's curious face was right next to his face; she had to stand on tiptoe to get close enough that he might bump into her if he wasn't careful and turned his head.

Those seemingly calm but actually extremely gossipy eyes stared intently at him, reminding him of when this woman and Zhu Yan used to huddle together and chatter about something when they were kids.

They would also talk behind his back, not letting him hear, and if asked, they would say, "Dad...brother, don't pry into girls' affairs."

The return of memories triggered the resurgence of his personality, bringing Yu Xingli one step closer to completely regaining his senses. He chuckled, thinking that this wasn't information he couldn't share with Qu Xianqing. If she wanted to know, he would tell her; after all, it was safe here now.

But one cannot cricket in front of the actors.

Then, a branch-like tentacle stretched out.

It's not without its advantages that cognition is distorted into a tree. At least in the process, he has a stronger control over his branches and has learned to use these branches and tentacles to absorb or guide some abstract things, such as emotions and memories.

He deliberately chose a branch with a not-too-sharp tip and a moderate thickness, which looked relatively harmless, and slowly climbed up to Qu Xianqing's forehead.

Qu Xianqing offered no resistance, simply watching as the tendrils, unknowingly feeling a tingling sensation, climbed up her legs and stopped in front of her.

Yu Xing said, "Relax, let me show you a movie."

The tentacles began to approach her forehead, and Qu Xianqing obediently closed her eyes.

Just as it was about to touch her skin, the tentacle began to etherealize, silkily merging into her body. In an instant, a strange memory that did not belong to her appeared in her mind like a movie playing.

……

Even as an observer, Qu Xianqing could immediately sense that the underlying tone of this memory wasn't heavy; it was like... like a plate of fruity cakes placed on a windowsill on a sunny spring day. Perhaps that was why Yu Xing was willing to let her see it. This was the first time she had seen Yu Xing since she was a child. In the past, Yu Xing always treated the past as a shameful secret, tightly sealed in her soul, unwilling to let anyone uncover it.

The memories started to stir.

Qu Xianqing saw the antique window lattices, the entire house was decorated with wood, and the display cabinet was filled with blue and white porcelain and various antique collections, which were valuable but only flashed by in the picture.

Because the perspective she was following was so familiar with those things that she disdained them, she only glanced at them out of the corner of her eye and then ignored them as if they were air.

She heard slightly hurried footsteps, then the image began to shake, along with faint, almost breathless breathing sounds.

Qu Xianqing realized that she was now "Yu Xing".

What I am seeing now is the scene captured by Yu Xing's eyes back then.

Yu Xing walked out of the somewhat old-fashioned room. Qu Xianqing saw a middle-aged woman dressed in the clothes of a servant from the Republican era standing at the door. The woman had a smile on her face and her tone was as familiar as possible, but upon closer listening, it was still very polite: "Young Master, did you quarrel with Master again? What was it about this time?"

This person is also called Young Master Yu Xing!

Aside from hearing this title from actors, which currently only circulates among wealthy young men, Qu Xianqing had never seen anyone else call him that.

She savored the era in which this memory took place. Yu Xing wouldn't have told her and Zhu Yanming about these things before, but they were, after all, Yu Xing's two closest people, and they knew quite a bit about it indirectly. They had already half guessed and half deduced some information.

After joining Broken Mirror, Yu Xing seemed to be more and more at peace with the past. She and Zhao Mou and others had access to more information, so Qu Xianqing was not surprised at all. She was just a little curious because it was the first time she had seen such a vivid Republican-era mansion.

Then, she heard her own voice, that of "Yu Xing," clear and bright, carrying an arrogance and youthful spirit she had never heard before, yet it was low and restrained as she spoke to the middle-aged woman in a tone of suppressed resentment: "It's nothing, we just didn't see eye to eye."

The middle-aged woman exclaimed in surprise, "Young master, you're quite the joker. You're the master's own child, sharing the same blood. How could you not get along?"

The head of the Yu family was particular, even the servants had to be good-looking. This memory was from a long time ago, and the middle-aged woman's face was actually blurry, but Qu Xianqing could feel from the source of the memory that this woman was quite good-looking.

But this perception, combined with the smeared face in front of him, seemed strangely eerie, especially since the woman's tone of voice was also inexplicably uncomfortable.

"You should try to understand your father more. He poured so much effort into sending you abroad to study! You always make him angry and argue with him as soon as you come back. It breaks my heart to see you like this!"

Yu Xing snorted coldly, clearly displeased: "Are you saying I'm ignorant? Are you saying I'm ignorant as a servant?"

The woman was shocked, but then forced a smile: "No, no, young master is so magnanimous, please don't take my words to heart. I just felt that the master..."

"Disgusting." The young master's voice interrupted the woman. "If you really care, go in and comfort your master. You're very 'sensible' anyway."

The woman's response was left behind. Qu Xianqing's perspective followed the young master all the way out of the mansion.

She was thinking.

Yu Xing was clearly suppressing his anger. If it were him now, he would have silenced everyone around him. But as a young man, he didn't have the aura he has now. Even when he put on a stern face, the servants showed no fear whatsoever.

The flattery and politeness were all fake. You could tell from the servants' words that she wasn't very familiar with Yu Xing and had no respect for her master at all.

There's probably no respect involved; it's just a perfunctory gesture.

It seems that the people serving the "master" are not very good to the "young master".

Qu Xianqing's consciousness pursed her lips. As someone with the alienated line, she didn't have much of a sense of justice. In her mind, she chopped the woman who had offended Yu Xing into eighteen pieces.

Even the "Master," whose name was only known but whose face was never seen, was cut into eighteen pieces, even though he was most likely Yu Xing's biological father.

She watched as "Yu Xing" walked quickly, finally stopping in front of a rather abrupt, very stylish-looking Western-style house.

This is probably the young master's territory. He studied abroad and was greatly influenced by his architectural aesthetics.

Once they arrived at their "home," the young master was noticeably more relaxed, and Qu Xianqing could hear the change in his breathing.

Suddenly, someone turned around from a corner. When Qu Xianqing saw him, his pupils shrank. The "Yu Xing" in his memory seemed a little happy and waved: "You're here."

Those were entertainers.

The long-haired, original version of the performer.

The performer was still wearing his opera costume, perhaps because he had just finished a performance, removed his makeup but hadn't changed his clothes.

The man had a particularly gentle smile on his face, and he was very good at pretending. He seemed to have noticed the young master's angry expression, so he stepped forward and gave the young master a very cheap straw puppy.

Then he asked, "What's wrong? Did you get upset with Master Yu again?"

It was almost the same question as the servant's, but his answer was much more pleasant, clearly siding with Yu Xing.

The young master clearly enjoyed it and really liked the straw-woven puppy. He played with it for a bit, clearly trusting the performer quite a bit. He was no longer the quiet boy he was in front of the servants, and started chattering away while pulling the performer along:
"Let me tell you, all the old man does these days is make me go on blind dates with girls!"

"Does he think I'm like him? Bringing two women home at once, the last one was even younger than me!"

"At first he kept it from me, but now he doesn't even try to hide it anymore. Is that the only thing on his mind? It's one thing for him to act like that, but as long as it's something that can help his business, he wants me to date that girl. Is he selling his son?"

The actor comforted her, saying, "Yes, this is too much. Although Master Yu is your father, it doesn't mean you have to listen to him in everything. If you don't want to, then just refuse."

The young master raised his voice eight octaves: "Of course I refused them all, and we even had a fight!"

"Hey, you're not performing today, are you? Come on, let's go upstairs. I want to have a good talk with you and I'll treat you to some pastries."

Qu Xianqing watched this scene unfold, a profound sense of absurdity rising within her. Knowing the true nature of the entertainer and understanding Yu Xing's later hatred towards him, a hidden sense of dread crept in amidst the absurdity. (End of Chapter)