Split Zone No.13

Volume 4

212 The Cause of Amnesia

Huo seemed to want to continue, but he retreated upon Li Qing’s interruption.

Li Qing said, “Ah Shen, I know it’s frustrating when you’re not given the truth about many things, and I’m not able to explain everything to you right now either. But please, just trust me no matter what happens. Everything will be made known someday. Before that, you have to wait and be patient. You’ll have to survive in order to do that. Stay alive.”

She touched a nerve in me. I looked up at her. “There’re many things that cannot be explained. Why is everyone being like this? Huan Qing, Si Luo, Gaoqin Jiuye, and even you?

“Don’t come looking for me if things cannot be explained. It’s my choice whatever path I choose to go on. Why are all of you trying to direct me while refusing to tell me a thing? There’s also Mr Blond. All of you were people I once trusted. Why is everyone treating me like this now?” I got a little emotional as I spoke.

However, Li Qing narrowed her eyes. “You’ve met Mr Blond?”

His words replayed themselves in my mind.

I answered coldly, “I haven’t seen him, and this is also why I want to know how long you guys plan on leaving me alone like this.”

Li Qing seemed to heave a sigh of relief. I was a little confused. Why did she look anxious when she thought I might have seen Mr Blond? It was rare to see her anxious over anything in the past.

“Ah Shen, many things are not as simple as you think.”

I cut her off. “I know that. It might be nothing like I imagine it to be, but I’m following my heart here. Before I know the truth, I can only act based on how I feel. What I’m seeing now is that all of you are lying to me, that you’ve all left me, and also made me lose many whom I cared about. I have you guys to thank for all the loneliness I’ve experienced in the Split Zone. Li Qing, do you know how important you were to me?”

I moved closer to her. “I’d rather you didn’t treat me that nicely in the past.”

I didn’t know why I said this. I shouldn’t have done so, I shouldn’t have blamed her.

No matter what she hid from me, it doesn’t change the fact that she was the one who gave me the courage to continue living here. Nobody can replace her in my heart.

Maybe it was because I cared about this too much, that I couldn’t stand even a little mistake. I couldn’t stand it when she turned her back against me, even if it was just for a little while.

Li Qing was still looking at me with that gentle gaze. “I don’t care what you might be thinking now. I’m here to tell you that you have to leave the Gate of Ghost. You’ll be in danger here.”

“Do you think that I’ll definitely listen to you? For you to tell me this in person, you must have had the impression that no one else would be able to convince me on this, isn’t it?”

Without giving her a chance to answer, I looked at the trio behind her. “Weren’t you guys always protecting Jiao S? She’s now in Du Yue’s Palace of Cold Blood in the Gate of Heaven. Aren’t you guys going to save her?”

None of them answered.

Li Qing sighed. “Jiao’er will be fine. I’m worried about her too, but I’m more worried about you now. You’re the only one who can change all this, and nothing can happen to you. Ah Shen, listen to me, go to the Gate of Heaven. No matter what, it’s safer for you as long as you are there.”

I smiled bitterly. “You’re remarkable, Li Qing. You know everything. You even know my whereabouts. You’ve been watching everything and you choose to appear only now?”

Li Qing shook her head. “No. I just found you.”

“Have you finished? I’m tired of listening. I want to leave.” Nie Zun’s lazy voice sounded behind me.

Li Qing frowned. “What’s wrong with him?” She didn’t seem to be aware of what happened to Nie Zun, so she probably found it funny that he would say something like this.

“I don’t know what’s wrong with him either. He lost his memories after coming out of that demon cave, and he’s working with some king of the Gate of Ghost now.”

Since she might be the only one who can save him now, I decided to tell her everything that happened to Nie Zun. What I didn’t expect was for her expression to turn sour after I finished.

Her voice seemed to have changed as well. “You mean to say… He entered that demon cave?”

I felt unease creeping up on me as I asked, “Yes… What’s wrong?”

Li Qing was silent as she walked past me to Nie Zun. “Huai Du, why are you making Nie Zun follow her? What’s your goal?”

I turned back in surprise.

Some of Nie Zun’s bangs covered his eyes as he answered, “I got caught. But it’s not him on me right now. Who are you?”

My palms turned cold. I grabbed Li Qing. “What’s the meaning of this?”

Li Qing took a deep breath before she started explaining. “Huai Du has the ability to move souls. Whoever has been to his demon cave and had their blood changed with that demon tablet would leave a part of their consciousness there. He can then attach a part of his consciousness to them.

“If I’m correct in my guess, Huai Du has already attached a part of his consciousness in Nie Zun. Such attachment isn’t permanent, which means that Nie Zun would only listen to Huai Du whenever Huai Du’s consciousness is awoken within him. Huai Du will also be aware of whoever Nie Zun meets and whatever he does. Simply put, Huai Du will be able to see everything that has happened when his consciousness is being activated in Nie Zun.”

“So, you mean Huai Du will know Nie Zun’s every move whenever his consciousness is being activated?”

Li Qing nodded gravely. “Apart from that, he’s able to get Nie Zun to do anything. Nie Zun will feel that there’s something relying on him deep within his consciousness, and this is why he’ll listen.”

Yes, Nie Zun mentioned this before, that he’ll listen to Huai Du because Huai Du promised to help him regain those memories with his sister.

Seems like some form of mind control.

Nie Zun smiled at this. “What are you guys talking about?”

I hastily asked Li Qing, “Is there any way to solve this? When would Huai Du’s consciousness be activated then?”

“Under normal circumstances, it will be activated once per day after leaving the demon cave. It lasts for about ten minutes every time it happens. In those ten minutes, Huai Du will use his attached consciousness to look into Nie Zun’s memories and tell him what to do.”

So this means that when Nie Zun took Piercer last night, it was highly likely that Huai Du’s consciousness was active.

“Does this mean that whatever he does in that ten minutes are all under Huai Du’s orders?”

“He’s still able to make his own decisions, it’s just that Huai Du can see everything. This will give Huai Du some clue to what he’s like as a person. Since that tablet changed his blood, he’ll simply return to what he’s originally like as a person. Huai Du can then make use of this information to make him complete certain tasks, which can also benefit Huai Du at the same time.

“This is the secret of the demon cave, but the tablet has rarely been used in thousands of years. Huai Du has cut down on his activities in recent years, up until Du Yue turned rather active. This is why we have reason to suspect that Huai Du might be planning something big.”

“We?” I raised a brow. Li Qing knew she had accidentally revealed a minor bit of information, so she chose to ignore my question instead.

I then posed her a different question. “Li Wen said Huai Du has feelings for you. I was in the demon cave too, and Huai Du asked me for Scorpion Ray.” I waved my left wrist, showing her the ‘bow’ she gave me.

Upon seeing the Scorpion Ray on my wrist, Li Qing’s gaze darkened. “It doesn’t matter what I say now. Since Nie Zun is under his control, the situation is totally different from what I initially anticipated. We have to tweak the plan.”

Li Qing’s eyes shone brightly.

The weight in my heart was gone instantly.

I knew that the Li Qing in front of me right now was the Li Qing of the past.

As long as she had this determination in her, she would always be able to find a new solution no matter what happened. She never complained and she never gave up. She was someone who was exceptionally strong.

She was my role model.

Apart from the fact that she had left me, she could do no wrong in my eyes.

But it wasn’t the time to think about all this now. After my rant was over, my heart returned to Li Qing once again. I trusted her. I believed she was kind. I believed that she would never disappoint those heirs that she had once protected.

Li Qing looked at Nie Zun. “Huai Du, I knew you’d learn of all this someday. I just want to tell you that, yes, I’m here in the Gate of Ghost now. You can come directly at me, don’t hurt Ah Shen. I’ll never let you go if you hurt her.”

A mysterious smile hung on Nie Zun’s face, but he remained silent.

Li Qing turned to me. “Since it’s like this now, I’m sure you wouldn’t leave Nie Zun alone here in the Gate of Ghost even though I really don’t want you to stay and put yourself in danger here. How about this then? Go look for Nie Zun’s blood and his memories first before you head to the Gate of Heaven to look for Jiao S.”

My head snapped up in surprise. “Nie Zun’s memories? Can we get them back? How?”

Li Qing nodded. “The reason Nie Zun lost his memories is because that demon tablet changed his blood. You said you’ve been in that cave too. Have you seen that tablet?”

I nodded in quick succession. “I’ve seen it. I was there when Nie Zun woke up.”

Li Qing continued, “Was the word ‘demon’ on the back of the tablet?”

“Yes.”

“Was it a blood-red color?”

“Yes.”

“That’s it then. That word was engraved there by a technique, and that blood-red is Nie Zun’s blood. It’s the blood that the tablet absorbed from him when he was embedded in there.”

“Then what should I do to get Nie Zun’s blood back?”