Chapter 33

Chapter 32: Mountains and Seas 10

Shi Zong and He Zhen each spent a considerable amount of time in the spaces beyond the three doors, yet back in the castle world, only ten minutes had passed.

The two of them silently climbed the stone stairs step by step, from the dim third floor of the castle, to the bright fourth-floor banquet hall, and then upward to the equally bright fifth floor.

Before parting ways, Shi Zong called out to He Zhen and said, “You are the hell path Liang Yuyan from the second timeline. Your character appeared at the very beginning of the game, which means the second timeline itself had already started, right?”

Cen Qianshan killed Liang Yuyan.

Later, Cen Qianshan from another spacetime found a way to save Liang Yuyan, initiating the second timeline.

In this new timeline, Liang Yuyan killed Cen Qianshan.

In the first timeline, it was Cen Qianshan who fell into the hell path.

In the second timeline, it became Liang Yuyan who fell into the hell path.

Since at the story’s start, the hell path Liang Yuyan played by He Zhen already existed, this means all these events had actually occurred before Shi Zong completed his side quest.

Shi Zong said, “So, the side quest I completed was just a mini-game that didn’t affect the logic or storyline of the dungeon itself. The system simply gave me an extra chance to earn points.

“If I had failed the side quest, it wouldn’t have affected the fact that Cen Qianshan saved Liang Yuyan and initiated the second timeline.

“Therefore, while doing the side quest, I was just the player Shi Zong, not Cen Qianshan. The mini-game I played had no impact on your fate.”

Standing in front of He Zhen, Shi Zong looked at him thoughtfully and said, “I’m not saying this to justify myself. I’ve never been a good person, nor do I understand kindness or compassion.

“Seeing that little girl just now, or many others die in front of me, I wouldn’t even blink. Others’ lives and deaths are none of my business. But…

“I never thought that completing a side quest and not killing you were mutually exclusive. I didn’t complete the side quest with the mindset of casually sending you to die.”

He smiled. “He Zhen, if I had to choose, your life is actually a bit more important to me than 120 points. You’re smart and have high utility to me.

“No matter what… see, I never actually thought of killing you.

“The one who hid their character information and drew a dagger to test me was you. So, the person who didn’t trust me from the start was you.”

After a pause, Shi Zong continued, “There are two possibilities behind this.

“First, you, like me, are naturally distrustful and don’t believe anyone. As for the second possibility—”

He Zhen quietly watched Shi Zong.

At this moment, standing before him was not the despondent, frustrated screenwriter.

Through Cen Qianshan’s worn-out shell, He Zhen saw a bright, dazzling person, elegant and commanding, someone whose gaze was impossible to look away from at first sight.

With long hair draped in a white robe, he stood quietly, like a sliver of moonlight fallen from the sky.

People often forget that the moon appears bright only because it reflects the sun’s light.

All its gentleness and clarity are illusions; it has no warmth of its own.

Yet it is still the moon.

Unique, irreplaceable, the moon of this world.

Next, He Zhen heard Shi Zong say, “The second possibility is, cause has effect. You were so wary of me, trying every way to test me, because you knew me.

“I’m curious, what did I do that made you feel I’m untrustworthy, that I disregard life and only use others?

“Do you want to tell me what kind of person I was before I lost my memory?”

Shi Zong asked, eyes fixed on He Zhen, unwilling to miss a single expression.

He speculated—

He Zhen knew him and hated him; that was why, at the start of Longevity Town, he refused to help Shi Zong and observed him from the sidelines when Shi Zong received the dead’s card.

Shi Zong asked again, “He Zhen, have I ever hurt you? Do you hate me?”

Unexpectedly, He Zhen quickly answered:

“I never hated you. You’ve never hurt me.

“Boss Shi, I met you in the pharmacy behind the Zhang family garden in Longevity Town. Before that, you and I… were complete strangers.”

Shi Zong wasn’t sure if it was just his impression, but He Zhen’s voice was slightly low when he said the last four words.

Shi Zong thought the phrase “complete strangers” was used cleverly.

It could mean two people didn’t understand each other, or that they had never known each other at all.

For this answer, expected yet unsatisfactory, Shi Zong raised a brow without comment.

Before leaving, he said to He Zhen, “Oh, so that explains why your personality is a bit odd. Go accept your torture, I’m going to sleep. Goodbye.”

After returning to his room, Shi Zong’s first action was to shower and change, washing away all the sweat.

Then he went out, planning to find Zuo Sanqiu to probe his side quest and real identity.

But the system blocked him.

Not only that, besides when he tried He Zhen’s door without warning, he couldn’t enter anyone else’s room.

—Have the others started their side quests too?

Shi Zong tried the second floor of the castle, but was still blocked.

After wandering around, he finally went to He Zhen’s room.

The long night was boring, so he reluctantly decided to observe He Zhen tearing himself apart.

[Player Shi Zong, congratulations on completing the side quest, 120 points have been credited.]

[By completing the side quest, you’ve learned that the seven characters in the castle world are not all Cen Qianshans from different cycles; Liang Yuyan is hidden among these characters.]

[You can’t help but wonder why the Cen Qianshan from the Heavenly God Path believed everyone he brought in was Cen Qianshan. And who told him that by killing you, he could escape the six paths and achieve transcendence?]

[As one of many Cen Qianshans, you worry that all of this is Liang Yuyan’s plot.]

[Therefore, you need to find your allies quickly. You decide to question others during breakfast to identify the Cen Qianshan among them.]

[Player Shi Zong, breakfast time has arrived. Please proceed to the fourth-floor banquet hall immediately.]

This was the message Shi Zong received early the next morning.

At 8:30 a.m., he arrived at the dining hall and saw Zuo Sanqiu, temporarily back in human form. The other players hadn’t arrived yet.

Seeing Shi Zong, Zuo Sanqiu raised both hands, showing a “1” with one and a “2” with the other.

Shi Zong understood immediately. “Completed the side quest and got 120 points?”

“Yes!” Zuo Sanqiu’s eyes lit up. “How did you know? Were we all doing side quests last night? You did too?”

“Yes,” Shi Zong said. “The side quest is a mini-game given by the system to earn points. Through it, we need to understand the stories tied to ourselves. Where did you do your side quest?”

Zuo Sanqiu said, “Third floor of the castle.”

Shi Zong: “Hmm, me too. I went at 1 a.m., you?”

Zuo Sanqiu: “2 a.m.”

Shi Zong asked again, “Did you see the three doors?”

Zuo Sanqiu nodded, told him the dates he visited those doors, and added, “I went to the Beast Path. That world is pretty scary, full of flying and walking beasts. I ran into a tiger as soon as I arrived and was terrified. Luckily, I can fly.”

The doors were still the same three, just that each player saw a different number and went to a different spacetime.

Shi Zong glanced back, saw the others hadn’t arrived, and sat next to Zuo Sanqiu, speaking directly but quietly: “Who are you? Cen Qianshan or Liang Yuyan?”

Hearing this, Zuo Sanqiu immediately looked alert. “Who are you?”

“I asked you first. If you tell the truth, I’ll tell you who I am,” Shi Zong said.

Zuo Sanqiu blinked three times. “I’d have to be crazy to believe you!”

“Then…” Shi Zong asked, “you didn’t go alone last night, right? Who went with you?”

Zuo Sanqiu gave him a look of “How do you know?” and answered, “Yes, there was someone. He…”

Shi Zong squinted. “One of the Asura Path? To deal with flying and walking beasts, they’d need some ability. So, the one who went with you through the three doors, was it the second male lead or the female lead?”

Zuo Sanqiu: “…”

Seeing his hesitation, Shi Zong said, “I spoke with He Zhen this morning. He told

“So now you not only know who Zhou Lü is, but also who I am. But I don’t know who you are! Because I don’t know who you explored with… damn you—!

“Boss Shi, you are really scary! You tricked me again!!”

“Shh, keep it down.”

Shi Zong made a shushing gesture, then gave a slightly reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. We’re on the same team.”

Knowing Zuo Sanqiu didn’t trust him, Shi Zong briefly explained his side quest.

This was also for the smooth progress of the subsequent tasks.

In his view, it was best for the three Cen Qianshans to fully understand each other’s stories.

Shi Zong then said to Zuo Sanqiu, “You and I are Cen Qianshan. He Zhen and Zhou Lü are Liang Yuyan. Next, it depends on Zhang Qijun and Zhu Shuangyun, who among them is on our team.

“Actually, Zhang Qijun and Zhou Lü are both from the Asura Path… I lean toward thinking they belong to different teams. So Zhang Qijun is probably on our team.”

“Damn. I’m on the same team as you? That’s not bad.”

Zuo Sanqiu blinked a few times. “Hiss… but this He Zhen seems tricky.”

“Don’t worry about him. I’ll make sure you win.”

“Alright, I’ll follow your lead.”

Zuo Sanqiu thought for a moment, looked around, then quietly asked Shi Zong, “By the way, which spacetime is your Cen Qianshan from?”

Shi Zong: “Actually, it doesn’t matter. I’m Cen Qianshan from two spacetimes.”

Zuo Sanqiu: “???”

Shi Zong explained: “I consider myself a very young Cen Qianshan. At that time, it had been a while since I created my first work, The Puzzle.

“Because I couldn’t come up with new ideas or write good material, I was a bit decadent, scruffy, but I hadn’t started writing bad films yet.”

As Cen Qianshan, Shi Zong’s memory of the Mountains and Seas script, and of killing Liang Yuyan, was actually implanted by the director upon entering the castle world.

That night, after the director confessed everything, Shi Zong returned to his room alone and finally retrieved the true memories of his character.

In these true memories, there was only the Puzzle script, and the persona of a creator focused on his craft, unafraid of hardship, not corrupted by money in the entertainment industry, and not writing bad films for profit.

At that time, his memory had no Mountains and Seas, no bad films.

Indeed, the later Cen Qianshan’s misunderstanding of his persona was self-deception.

He wanted to establish a persona before going to prison, so he wrote a highly deceptive blog.

The blog actually depicted the person he never became, reflecting his deepest desires.

Cen Qianshan genuinely hoped to be an artist uninterested in fame or fortune.

He truly once tried to be that person.

The young Cen Qianshan, who had just created The Puzzle, was proud and confident, believing in his talent, believing he would never bow to money or fame.

He genuinely thought his life’s goal was to pursue creation, caring for nothing else.

Later, when he really couldn’t come up with good ideas, and ran out of money, unable even to afford food, he took his first bad film for living expenses.

Then a second, third…

He never expected his gradual downfall.

“In the first timeline, Cen Qianshan went to prison and might have been executed, thus falling into the hell path. In the second timeline, he was killed by Liang Yuyan.

“My memory has no prison, no bad films, no women, no jealousy, no discovery of a lover’s affair, not even cynicism… I should be a very early-stage Cen Qianshan.

“At that time, my character hadn’t saved Liang Yuyan yet, and the timeline hadn’t split, so I am Cen Qianshan from both the first and second timelines.

“I was still young then, with a pure heart, not fallen, not twisted.”

Zuo Sanqiu took some time to piece together all the logic.

Thinking about the different periods of Cen Qianshan, he felt somewhat emotional.

“Life is unpredictable. I remember a poem that really hits me—‘Want to buy osmanthus and share wine, but it never feels like youthful outings.

“When young, who isn’t spirited? All worn down by life.’”

Shi Zong laughed. “You’re only 19 and already feel like this? Truly worn down by life, or pretending to lament to write new words?”

Zuo Sanqiu: “…”

Shi Zong said, “Cen Qianshan was simply killed by the words that flattered him. In life, it’s important to recognize your abilities. Handle what you can handle. Otherwise, like Cen Qianshan, you get trapped in mental exhaustion, end up mentally ill, kill Liang Yuyan, and become a murderer yourself.”

Zuo Sanqiu: “You make so much sense, I can’t argue.”

Shi Zong nodded confidently. “So, those with lofty ambitions but low skills will turn life into tragedy and push themselves into depression.”

Zuo Sanqiu agreed. “Although most of the time, I think your worldview is twisted. But you’re right. We can’t push ourselves too hard.

“If I were Cen Qianshan from the Human Path, even if I only wrote bad films, so what? Let them scold me! If I can’t write well, then I just want money, not fame, right? Not illegal!

“Yeah, I wouldn’t pressure myself too much for something I can’t accomplish. Just lie flat! Happiness comes first!”

Shi Zong teased him, “Exactly. So in the game, you don’t need to care about always being tricked by me or failing to surpass me. You can lie flat too.”

Zuo Sanqiu: “…………”

He knew Shi Zong wasn’t really lecturing on life philosophy.

9:30 a.m. Players gathered in the banquet hall.

Breakfast was still served by the two chefs.

They acted like controlled automatons, likely transformed by the director’s magic.

Players were mostly not in the mood to eat, finishing quickly just to fill their stomachs.

The only one who couldn’t stop eating was Zhu Shuangyun, the female second lead from the Hungry Ghost Path.

She shyly smiled at everyone while continuously eating under a debuff.

After two roasted lamb legs, a whole roasted chicken, and a roasted suckling pig, she joked, “After returning to reality, I probably won’t want to smell meat again.”

After breakfast, all players simultaneously received a prompt to go to the castle’s second floor.

While descending the stairs, the system kept sending information:

[The Cen Qianshan from the Heavenly God Path, in order to escape the six paths, decided to pull his other reincarnations into the castle world, intending to kill himself.]

[What he didn’t know was that Liang Yuyan, also ascending to the Heavenly God Path, secretly interfered.]

[Liang Yuyan used illusions to make Cen Qianshan think everyone he brought in was himself, while hiding other reincarnations of Liang Yuyan.]

[Mountains and seas once embraced, but later the mountain killed the sea, and the sea drowned the mountain.]

[Cen Qianshan and Liang Yuyan were entangled for lifetimes, their resentment deepening to the bone. Even ascending to the Heavenly God Path, they couldn’t escape each other’s shadow.]

[Both wished to escape the six paths, not just because of weariness from reincarnation, but also exhaustion from their entanglement over lifetimes.]

[Cen Qianshan and Liang Yuyan, fight for your wishes.]

[The true controllers of the castle world designed a mini-game: three Cen Qianshans are one team, three Liang Yuyans are another.]

[Team battles will begin. The winning side receives important information helpful for escaping the six paths, plus extra points.]

[The losing side’s members will get a debuff, increasing the risk of death in subsequent game stages.]

Players received this message on the castle’s second floor.

The second floor layout was completely different from the other three floors.

Directly facing the staircase was a straight, deep-black stone wall, with six evenly spaced doors labeled “1” to “6.”

The distance from the stairs to the wall was about half a meter, like a corridor.

The corridor had walls on both sides with no doors.

Thus, after descending and passing the corridor, players would need to choose a door.

At that moment, the system sent another prompt:

[Castle Maze is about to begin. The system will randomly assign numbers to players. Go to the corresponding door according to your number.]

[Place your right palm on the door and count silently for ten seconds; then the door will open. A tag will appear on your chest showing “60.”]

[Behind the door lies a complex maze.]

[Players must explore the maze to find the exit.]

[The number “60” indicates you have 60 minutes left; those who exceed the time limit will die in the mini-game.]

[If only one person exits, their team wins, and all team members

Shi Zong drew number “5.”

Walking to door number 5, he noticed that number “6” was He Zhen.

“Aren’t we supposed to compete for points?”

Shi Zong walked up to He Zhen and whispered in his ear, “After leaving the game and returning to the guild, remember to acknowledge me as the boss.”