Chapter 126 Be wary of Mu Qingtong
"Doctor He?"
"Yes. Although First Harmony Orphanage has become a disaster zone and is isolated from the outside world, orphans have been continuously sent in. There are also people who come here to apply for jobs without knowing the situation. Once they enter, they discover this is a hell on earth."
"Doctor He arrived after applying to work here ten years ago."
The old man's expression grew nostalgic. "A few days after she arrived, she discovered a loophole in the disaster zone's rules—if no orphans remain in the disaster zone, it will collapse and disappear."
"So, she secretly gathered everyone in the orphanage and proposed they acknowledge each other as family—another loophole in the disaster zone's rules. As long as one person admits another is their father, and the other agrees, they are no longer considered orphans."
"Doctor He was a good person."
"But unfortunately, a traitor emerged within the orphanage. Someone wanted to enter the Garden of God and obtain eternal life and happiness."
"The plan had barely begun when it was exposed. Doctor He not only enraged the gods but also angered the Sky God and was punished by them."
The woman in the black dress frowned slightly. "Oh? So… is she dead?"
"Dead? I don't know if she can even be considered dead in this state." The old woman stood and pulled back the curtains, her clouded eyes gazing into the gray fog beyond the darkness.
"Do you see that enormous shadow in the sky? That is Doctor He."
The two looked up. In the dark sky loomed a towering shadow, easily a hundred stories tall. Countless tentacles swayed from its form, drifting like seaweed in the wind.
Xia Feng's pupils contracted slightly. Just who the hell is He Jianzhu?
He had sensed an immensely terrifying evil presence wandering the skies earlier but dismissed it as just another monster of the disaster zone.
"So that's what it is?" Xia Feng frowned. "Then she isn't truly dead yet?"
Mu Qingtong remained expressionless, his gaze slightly lowered, lost in thought.
"This is the gods' punishment for Doctor He. She wanted to be a good person, so they forced her to kill everyone she sought to save—with her own hands."
The old woman's hoarse voice was steady, her murky eyes fixed on the distant tentacled monstrosity with a complicated gaze. After a moment of silence, she turned back.
"It's almost midnight. If you don't worship the gods by then, Doctor He's tentacles will come for you. You'll be dragged from this house and taken to the playground—the execution ground for those who disrespect the gods."
Xia Feng checked the clock. It was already half past eleven. They didn't have much time left.
"Do you have any other questions?"
"Actually, yes." Xia Feng studied the old woman intently before suddenly asking, "Are you Number Sixteen?"
The old woman's calm expression faltered for a brief moment.
"Damn, that's insane." Xia Feng rubbed his temples. He'd suspected as much for a while now.
Number Sixteen—the one who had claimed to be a wife and begged for his help in the Wheel of Life—hadn't given him an address. But Number Seventeen's notes had recorded Number Sixteen's location: Children's playground, inside a house surrounded by jasmine flowers.
This orphanage had once been a children's playground. He'd noticed several times that the exterior of this house was indeed covered in jasmine flowers, though they'd withered as night fell.
And when he had replicated Uncle Yun's spirit weapon earlier, he hadn't detected the Wheel of Life's transmission mark.
That left only the old woman and the little girl upstairs—who still hadn't come down.
He'd thought he was overthinking it. After all, the world didn't work on such coincidences.
But now, it seemed he'd stumbled right into it.
But what was this old woman's goal? Lure Number Seventeen in, then ambush him and turn him into a gift fruit?
If that were true, then everything she'd just told them was questionable.
Mu Qingtong didn't seem overly suspicious. She knew Xia Feng was involved in a killing game with numbered players.
Seeing the cold glint in Xia Feng and Mu Qingtong's eyes—the rising murderous intent—the old woman remained unshaken. She merely shook her head.
"My lords, don't misunderstand. I mean no harm."
"Oh?" Xia Feng wasn't in a hurry. "Then explain what you do want."
"Truthfully, Doctor He was the one who instructed me to join the Wheel of Life." The old woman's words were startling.
Xia Feng: "…What?"
Mu Qingtong's eyes narrowed slightly. "Elaborate."
The old woman hunched further, turning once more to gaze at the shadow in the sky, her wrinkled face solemn.
"Ten years ago, just before the gods punished her, Doctor He told me that if we ever entered something called the 'Wheel of Life,' I should pull a player inside. That player would be the one to free us from this cage."
"What kind of nonsense is this?" Xia Feng took a step back. Why were the old woman's words getting more absurd by the minute?
"You're messing with me, right? You're saying He Jianzhu could predict the future?" Xia Feng found her claims riddled with holes. "If she could foresee the future, how did she not know she'd be betrayed?"
The old woman shook her head helplessly. "Sir, there's no reason for me to lie to you."
Xia Feng opened his mouth to retort, but Mu Qingtong suddenly placed a hand on his shoulder.
"What she's saying is true."
Xia Feng blinked, turning to the woman in the black dress as if silently asking for clarification. "So your mother's spirit weapon can predict the future?"
"No. This isn't prophecy." Mu Qingtong shook his head, explaining softly, "There are few causal-type spirit weapons in existence. Most can only perceive cause and effect—but He Jianzhu could manipulate it."
His dim eyes locked onto Xia Feng. "He Jianzhu wanted you to come here. So you did."
As she spoke, the corners of her lips curled upward, and the look in her eyes as she stared at Xia Feng grew increasingly peculiar. "Interesting. What does this woman want to do?"
"..."
Oh my god, stop looking at me like that! Xia Feng felt his scalp prickle. What the hell is going on? Mu Qingtong is terrifying enough—why does it feel like her mother is even worse?
What does she mean, 'she wanted me to come, so I came'?
"Wait a minute." Xia Feng turned to the old woman. "You just said that if you pull any player into this place, that player will save you from the cage. If it's random, why are you so sure it would be me?"
Mu Qingtong shook his head slightly and transmitted his voice: "Mr. Xia, don't you understand? This is He Jianzhu's causal ability. As long as Number Sixteen acts, you will appear here and learn the truth. The steps in between don't matter. Of course, 'Number Sixteen's action' may not be the only cause. After all, the reason you're here is because I brought you."
"..."
After Mu Qingtong's explanation, Xia Feng had even more questions—and a growing headache.
But he quickly realized the how didn't matter. The real question was: What does He Jianzhu want?
After all, if she had such an overpowered causal spirit weapon, how was she trapped here for so long by these so-called gods who turned into monsters? The more he thought about it, the less sense it made.
When Xia Feng finally looked up, the old woman met his gaze calmly. "Sir, it seems you believe me now?"
"Fine, I'll reluctantly buy it," Xia Feng said skeptically. "So what else did He Jianzhu say?"
"The Candlelight of Cause and Effect told her that 'life is the origin of all things.' That was her final message before she left. And she asked me to tell you—"
The old woman lifted her head, her aged face half-shrouded in the dim light, her eyes dull and unfocused:
"Be wary of Mu Qingtong."
Xia Feng: "..."
Mu Qingtong: "..."
Xia Feng glanced sideways at the woman in the black dress.
The woman in the black dress remained expressionless.
(End of this chapter)