You're my wife, don't doubt it!

"What request?" Xiao Yao asked.

Zhou Qi's request was to be able to lean on Xiao Yao's shoulder.

This request made Xiao Yao begin to doubt whether Zhou Qi had truly recovered from the spiritual impact of the hall.

Goodness, so everyone is Zhao Xiaomei, right?

Fortunately, seeing Xiao Yao's troubled expression, Zhou Qi eventually gave up.

"When I came in, you said to the window, 'They're here.' Who are they?" Xiao Yao asked the first question.

“Shadow,” Zhou Qi said calmly.

"Where do we come from? Where are we going?" Xiao Yao asked these two ultimate philosophical questions.

“Xiao Yao, when you gaze at yourself in the mirror,” Zhou Qi looked out the window again, “have you ever thought that the person in the mirror is also gazing back at you?”

"You mean...?" Xiao Yao frowned slightly.

“Teacher Yao’s shadow tells me,” Zhou Qi turned back and looked calmly at Xiao Yao, “that as long as you keep increasing your strength and expanding your territory, there is no fixed rule as to who is the form and who is the shadow on both sides of the mirror.”

"Expand territory?" Xiao Yao was overwhelmed by the amount of information he received all at once: "Who is the form and who is the shadow?"

"Was it Zhuangzi who dreamed of being a butterfly, or was it the butterfly who dreamed of being Zhuangzi?" Zhou Qi prompted him.

“I think I understand,” Xiao Yao nodded. “You mean, the Shadow World has invaded the human world?”

“You can understand it that way, and that’s not entirely wrong,” Zhou Qi replied.

This possibility sent chills down Xiao Yao's spine.

"Has the invasion already begun?" Xiao Yao asked Zhou Qi.

“I don’t know,” Zhou Qi shook his head. “Teacher Yao’s temple has been destroyed, but I can vaguely sense that it was just one of the three thousand minor worlds.”

“So,” Xiao Yao stared into Zhou Qi’s eyes, “how exactly did you get into Professor Yao’s tutelage? Can you tell me now?”

"You know, Xiao Yao, I was infatuated with Teacher Yao back then, but Teacher Yao always avoided me." Zhou Qi said this with a frank expression, without any sense of shame.

"Ah, that's probably what happened," Xiao Yao replied.

“One day, when I was lingering outside Teacher Yao’s office again, that ‘Teacher Yao’ appeared and invited me to go with him. So I followed him into the mirror and entered Teacher Yao’s ‘temple’.”

"It's that simple?" Xiao Yao was somewhat surprised.

“It’s that simple,” Zhou Qi said.

"He just appeared in real life in broad daylight?" Xiao Yao was somewhat incredulous.

“That’s right,” Zhou Qi replied confidently.

"Do you know he's an imposter?" Xiao Yao asked Zhou Qi.

"Who? Him?" Zhou Qi smiled. "Before I went into the mirror, I didn't know; after I went into the mirror, I 'believed' that he was the real Teacher Yao."

"You mean, you've been hypnotized and brainwashed?" Xiao Yao guessed.

"Hmm~" Zhou Qi made a denial sound through his nose: "I chose to 'believe' voluntarily."

Chapter 200 Don't Talk to Strangers

2023-05-21

"You mean, you've been hypnotized and brainwashed?" Xiao Yao guessed.

"Hmm~" Zhou Qi made a denial sound through his nose: "I voluntarily chose to 'believe'."

Xiao Yao was a little confused and wanted to ask Zhou Qi what he meant, but then he thought about it again and realized that he could actually understand.

People tend to believe what they "want" to believe, whether it's religious beliefs, political stances, historical views, or the people and events in their lives.

"Ah, I think I understand," Xiao Yao nodded.

“Back then, I felt that I was only free and happy in the world of movies, while my life in the real world, where I had to pretend all day long, was utterly boring,” Zhou Qi told Xiao Yao.

“Ah,” Xiao Yao echoed, “Actually, I can somewhat understand why you think that way.”

"Is there anything else you want to know?" Zhou Qi asked Xiao Yao.

"What's the deal with Qian Gui?" Xiao Yao had been wondering about this for a long time: "Why is the entrance to Teacher Yao's hall of fame at Qian Gui? Shouldn't it be at the school?"

“There can be more than one entrance to the palace, and the space inside the palace doesn’t have to be continuous,” Zhou Qi explained to Xiao Yao. “Didn’t I just say that? As long as you keep expanding your territory, the inside and outside of the mirror can be interchanged sooner or later?”

"The reason I was at Qian Gui KTV was because I was following the instructions of 'that' Teacher Yao to secure land for his 'hall'."

"Land grabbing." Xiao Yao smacked his chin with his fist and repeated the word.

“As long as we find a place with the right atmosphere, we can then establish a ‘micro-continuity’ spatial link with the hall,” Zhou Qi explained.

“Micro-continuity.” Xiao Yao’s eyes began to form “@@” shapes, and he became more and more confused as he listened.

"Increasing the number of members in the hall can also increase the efficiency of expansion." Zhou Qi continued speaking without caring how much Xiao Yao understood: "Therefore, Yu Luying and Xiong Ji have, in fact, expanded a new territory for Teacher Yao."

"Wait a minute, let me think about this." Xiao Yao raised his right hand and said, "Does that mean there could be multiple owners of the hall?"

“Of course it’s possible,” Zhou Qi nodded.

"Then... is Xiongji's Great Pyramid still there?" Xiao Yao asked.

"Of course, all of these were eventually wiped out along with Teacher Yao's shadow, and everything returned to zero." Zhou Qi told Xiao Yao, "No matter what, there will always be a Master in the Hall of Fame."

"Then who is the Master of the 'Hall of the People'?" Xiao Yao asked Zhou Qi.

"A temple for all?" Zhou Qi asked.

Xiao Yao and Zhou Qi introduced the entrance located under the bridge, the place where they went every day to hone their skills.

"There really is such a place?" Zhou Qi muttered to himself, "'A temple for all people'? Sorry, I don't know about that. I don't actually know much about it."

“I understand…” Xiao Yao said, “So, so…”

My mind went blank for a moment, and I couldn't come up with anything for a long time.

Zhou Qi wasn't in a hurry; he just looked at Xiao Yao and waited.

"So why did Teacher Yao's shadow suddenly appear at the office door in reality?" Xiao Yao finally figured it out: "Or rather, why 'Teacher Yao'?"

"Teacher Yao mentioned to me that he is not alone, but has a 'partner'," Zhou Qi told Xiao Yao. "It was that 'partner' who awakened and strengthened him, and it was also that 'partner' who taught Teacher Yao these things."

"Is that partner you mentioned a human or something else?" Xiao Yao asked. "Have you ever seen it?"

Zhou Qi shook his head and said, "I've never met him. 'Teacher Yao' seems to be deliberately avoiding mentioning him, only referring to him as 'the white guy' in a few words."

"The white one?" Xiao Yao was taken aback.

“He seemed to have a particular fondness for white,” Zhou Qi recalled. “‘Teacher Yao’ said he was pretentious, dazzlingly white, and very annoying.”

"A person in white clothes? Or armor?" Xiao Yao asked.

"Well... I haven't seen it with my own eyes either, so how can I answer you?" Zhou Qi gave a wry smile.

"So, one last question." Xiao Yao, whose buttocks were aching from sitting for so long, stood up: "Why did 'Teacher Yao' steal Yu Luying's underwear? Was it merely driven by an instinctive desire with nowhere to go?"

Zhou Qi frowned: "He claims that he wants to have a piece of evidence to prove to me the possibility of the two worlds being interchangeable, but I think... I always feel that the main reason is the one you mentioned."

Just then, a girl in a royal blue dress walked in from the ward door, carrying a plastic bag containing three stacked disposable lunch boxes.

Her expression looked...not very happy.

"Why did you buy mine?" Xiao Yao took the lunchbox and weighed it in his hand. "Zhou Qi hasn't eaten yet, has he?"

“When you and your uncle attacked the police, Zhou Qi had already eaten the hospital meal,” Yu Luying told Xiao Yao coldly.

"Assaulting a police officer?" Zhou Qi was somewhat surprised.

While Xiao Yao ate dinner, the three of them chatted for a while.

“When I came up here, I saw a middle-aged couple arguing in the hallway, and they were making a lot of noise,” Yu Luying said. “Making a scene in a hospital is really inconsiderate. By the way, Zhou Qi, where are your parents?”

“Hey,” Zhou Qi said casually, “My mom was with me this morning, but she had to go back home this afternoon because of some family matters. I’m all grown up now, and I don’t need 24-hour care anymore.”

“Oh~” Yu Luying said.

“Besides, I have so many people coming and going,” Zhou Qi laughed. “Just before Sister Liang came, the nurse was complaining to me, saying that I get visitors every two days, making it as noisy as a market, which is not good for my rest.”

Yu Luying was somewhat surprised: "Besides the few of us and that policewoman, who else came to see you?"

Zhou Qi hesitated slightly: "Zhao Xiaomei, Ouyang Qianqian, Teacher Yao has been here, and there are others you don't know."

"Zhao Xiaomei?" Xiao Yao's voice unconsciously rose a little: "No, do you know Zhao Xiaomei?"

"I'd say we know each other, but we're more like acquaintances," Zhou Qi said. "We just nod to each other when we meet, so I was quite surprised that she came to see me."

“Ouyang…” Yu Luying silently pondered the surname.

"And Teacher Yao," Xiao Yao rubbed his hands together on his thighs, "has your Teacher Yao regained her senses now?"

“No,” Zhou Qi said sadly, “Kang Qianshui brought him here.”

"Why would your teacher's wife do this?" Xiao Yao asked, somewhat bewildered.

“Because Teacher Yao told her that he wanted to come,” Zhou Qi said. “Although his speech has deteriorated to the point of being unrecognizable, he still has the ability to speak.”

Xiao Yao looked at Yu Luying and said, "Since you 'want' to come, 'want' is 'desire'."

Zhou Qi and Yu Luying didn't understand what Xiao Yao was trying to say.