Chapter 1571

"Of course I understand the reasoning, but doing this is essentially 'killing' Bai E completely, right?" Wei Si Na shook the fork in her hand, "I still hoped that Xilian would use the miraculous power of the Memory Envoy to bring Bai E back to the battlefield, so he could continue fighting alongside Xing."

"... It's clearly you who poured too many unrealistic fantasies into Xilian, isn't it?" Danika sighed helplessly, "She's a Memory Envoy, not the Divine Authority of Life—she doesn't have the power to make a dying person jump up and down the next second. Bai E turned himself into the shackles of the Iron Tomb; defeating the Iron Tomb after breaking those shackles is the best response to his thirty million years of perseverance."

—

"He believes we will surely come."

"Of course, I had a premonition and greeted you in advance. He was happy, even laughing in his dreams… After all, the dead cannot hear the lies of 'Deception'."

Sai Feier placed her hands on her hips and shouted loudly toward the sky:

"Hey, little savior—! Sorry, this time the heroes you've been longing for day and night have really arrived—!"

Before the words faded, the ground beneath their feet trembled.

"So, hold on a little longer—! You've kept us waiting all this way—!"

Dan Heng gazed at Sai Feier's back: "Please walk with us, Sai Feier, and strive for tomorrow's sunrise for the world."

Xilian stepped forward: "This time, its light no longer needs to be sustained by lies."

"I never imagined that, in the end, I too would become one of the heroes?" Sai Feier turned around, a sly smile touching her lips, "Well then, let's write it this way—'The Bound Guest of Deception, Sai Feier'—she only wished for the desert to always have water, the fertile soil to always hold gold, and for thieves to become heroes too!"

A coin fell into Xing's palm.

"Here, the Fan Fei Qian—take it. When you need to flee, just toss it high into the sky." Sai Feier's voice echoed in the wind and sand, "And to the later audience, remember this: though she may be a bit greedy and fond of lying, she has never gone back on her word!"

However, just as Xing was about to place the Fan Fei Qian and Wandi's seal ring together, Sai Feier suddenly let out a "Huh?"

"Oh dear, little prince, you're here too?"

"Long time no see, Miss Sai Feier."

"It's rare for us to travel together like this. One missing, two present—when will the hermit princess arrive?"

—

Huiye Da Xiaojie wants me to confess.

"Doesn't it feel a bit like riding a bus? I wonder if seven more people will be waiting to board later?" Baiyin Yuxing couldn't help but wonder.

"I sensed the president was right, but…" Fujiwara Qian Hua clasped her hands, resting her chin on them, "Could this matter be resolved with a different ending instead?"

The student council room fell silent for a moment.

"Another ending?" Shi Shang raised his head, "The kind Xue Yuan is referring to? Currently, Xing and the others are advancing toward the 'best ending,' aren't they?"

"What I mean is, since Xilian is the Heart of Wengfaluo Si, couldn't she alter the Iron Tomb's calculations—for instance, changing the final answer derived from the solution from 'Destruction' to something like 'Love'? Stop the Iron Tomb in a gentler… uh, 'soft' way."

"Xue Yuan, you're not thinking of resolving the Iron Tomb through 'Kou Dun,' are you?"

"What does 'Kou Dun' mean?"

"It's that trope that only appears in anime and novels, where the final boss is persuaded by reasoning." Shi Shang spread his hands, tone flat, "But in reality, an existence like the Iron Tomb cannot be convinced by mere words. Fundamentally, the Iron Tomb is still a robot, modeled after the Heichi, executing a program preset by Zandal for it. You can reason with people, but if you reason with a program, it will only reply with 'error' (mistake)."

"So, is fighting it the only option?" Fujiwara Hua slumped over the table, looking dejected, "But that Iron Tomb—you've all seen it, felt it—it doesn't seem like something humanity can handle."

If the feeling given by Shen Zhu Ri initially was "sacred," then the Iron Tomb gives the feeling of utter "distortion" and "chaos"—but while the train group could still collide with trains using the former… the latter… probably couldn't even inflict a single point of damage?

—

"Even this body—have you forged it into shackles too?"

The sound of Xia Die's voice came from ahead on the road, before her stood a motionless Fire Stealer.

"I'm truly glad to meet you again…" Xia Die turned around, "Your Excellency, Star Pavilion."

"Xia Die…"

"Looking back on the past, my 'salvation' belonged to me only once, and I saved only one life. To bring hope to a vaster world with these hands… even in a dream, it's an unimaginable luxury."

"We will walk together toward the vast starry sky."

"Mm. I… will not forget."

Dan Heng's attention was entirely on the Fire Stealer behind Xia Die—at this moment, that body had already been half-buried in the Huang Tu, only the upper half and two hands gripping swords exposed. Yellow sand piled up along the crevices of the cloak, layer upon layer, as if it had just been dug out.

"Fire Stealer? Why is it here?"

"This is the original 'Kaesulana,' and also the deepest wound of His Excellency Bai E." Xia Die explained, "He etched everything into his memory with fury, but when the warmth faded, only cold regret remained. The same shell—I have gathered countless such shells in reincarnation. Only this one, his wound… is bottomless."

Sai Feier's silhouette appeared beside Xia Die: "He's guarding this place—perhaps he's waiting for us."

Wandi also emerged from the side: "Waiting for the return of the former 'enemy,' to come before him once again."

"... What response does he hope we will make?"

"It's obvious—even if we must reincarnate a hundred billion times, I will still entrust my weakness to you. So, cast away regret, new recruit. You have already served your purpose; you no longer need it." Having said that, Wandi's silhouette vanished once more.

"……" Sai Feier then pursed her lips, let out a light hum: "Hey, I'm not that easy to talk to. Every time you hit me, you throw heavy punches—don't you know how to cherish and protect beauty? Suit yourself! If you're all yes-man during the decisive battle, you'll let the whole galaxy laugh at you."

—

Ling Neng Bai Bai.

"The original Kaesulana… that should be from the first few cycles of eternal reincarnation, right?" Ling Huan sighed deeply, "Indeed, Bai E still can't forget the guilt he felt when he first killed his comrades."