"Mom!" Zhang Tian looked at Jiang Cheng, murmuring softly, and Jiang Cheng, seeing Zhang Tian had returned to normal, quickly pulled him out of the Door of Illusion.
With a flash before his eyes, Jiang Cheng found himself still in the previously mentioned tunnel, and Zhang Tian was back to normal, standing up from the ground. Zhang Tian didn’t speak, and Jiang Cheng felt a bit uneasy. Having witnessed Zhang Tian’s past story left Jiang Cheng with a heavy heart, especially since he had just used Zhang Tian’s mother’s name to call him. He wondered what the outcome would be if this madman found out.
Zhang Tian stood there with Jiang Cheng, neither of them saying a word. Zhang Tian was clearly awake, yet he remained motionless, staring at Jiang Cheng without speaking.
After a while, Zhang Tian smiled—a smile that Jiang Cheng had never seen before. Zhang Tian always seemed to smile, but those were hollow smiles that never reached his eyes. Now, though, he really smiled, and he appeared very weary.
"I didn’t expect it to be you who pulled me out. Why didn’t you leave?" Zhang Tian asked.
"No particular reason," Jiang Cheng intended to say he simply didn’t want him to die. Zhang Tian didn’t expect Jiang Cheng to come up with an explanation, so he sat down on the ground. "You saw it all, right? My background."
At this moment, Zhang Tian didn’t look at Jiang Cheng but gazed into the distance, seemingly lost in memories.
"My mother was from Li Country. She was a kind person and very beautiful. In my memory, she always spoke gently. I never met my father growing up; I only heard later that he was from Kai Ao Country. Whenever I was bullied, I wondered where my father was and why he didn’t come to me. Until later, when my mother fell seriously ill and died with no money for treatment, I realized I had no father."
Jiang Cheng saw Zhang Tian’s eyes slightly red, looking fragile. "Then I came to Kai Ao Country. Initially, I wanted to find that person and ask why he abandoned my mother and me. But the longer I stayed, the less I wanted to find him. I was afraid that if I really found him, I wouldn’t be able to resist killing him." Zhang Tian finished with a bitter smile.
Jiang Cheng didn’t know what to say. He just watched this suddenly vulnerable Zhang Tian and found him pitiful at least, that he initially did not intend to harm others. "But your body is not suitable for physical cultivation." Jiang Cheng realized that entering the Illusion Realm indicated the gold stone cultivation method was not for everyone—it was certainly not for him. His system and resistance to gold stone absorption only allowed for basic physical cultivation, never reaching the ten-layered state. Zhang Tian’s situation was probably similar; he forcefully cultivated, leading to a mental break and falling into the Illusion Realm.
"Ha, I know, but I’m not reconciled. Actually, since my mother’s death, there’s nothing I’m attached to in this world. I just want to become strong, so one day I can stand in front of that person and make him regret abandoning me." As Zhang Tian spoke, he suddenly started coughing.
Jiang Cheng took out a bottle of intermediate medicine from the Jiezhi Bracelet, handing it to Zhang Tian. "Here, take some medicine. You’ve damaged your internal organs by force-training. Surviving the Illusion Realm wasn’t easy."
Zhang Tian didn’t take the medicine. "Why are you helping me? Wouldn’t you be happier if I died? Aren’t you always afraid I’ll do something to harm others?" Zhang Tian shook his head, "Or do you... pity me?" Zhang Tian’s gaze suddenly turned sharp.
"Your choice. If you don’t take this medicine, you might not even make it out of this tunnel alive," Jiang Cheng said, placing the medicine on the ground beside Zhang Tian.
"I’m leaving. In your current state, you can’t trap me." Jiang Cheng said and headed towards the tunnel exit. After taking a few steps, Jiang Cheng suddenly stopped but didn’t look back. "We live for ourselves." With that, Jiang Cheng left.
Sitting on the ground, Zhang Tian remained motionless, as if pondering something.
When Jiang Cheng exited the tunnel, he saw Zhao Shuai and Qi Rongfeng guarding the entrance. Their excitement at seeing him emerge was evident.
"Jiang, are you okay? Did that lunatic harm you?" Zhao Shuai hurriedly stepped forward to touch Jiang Cheng’s arm, looking at him with concern.
"Yes, Jiang, are you alright?" Qi Rongfeng also asked with concern.
"I’m fine," Jiang Cheng smiled.
"You were in there for two hours! If you hadn’t come out soon, Rongfeng and I were going to go back in and pull you out," Zhao Shuai said with determination.
Jiang Cheng hadn’t realized that so much time had passed, and it surprised him how easily he could get out. Zhang Tian wasn’t as bad as he had imagined.
"Jiang, should we seal this tunnel entrance? That way, Zhang Tian can never come out and harm anyone," Zhao Shuai suggested, recalling Zhang Tian’s infuriating behavior.
"Let it go, not now. Let’s just leave." For some reason, when Jiang Cheng thought of the frail little boy he saw in Zhang Tian’s dream, he couldn’t bring himself to harden his heart.
Zhao Shuai was about to say more but was stopped by Qi Rongfeng, "Let’s leave it, Shuai. Think about it, if Zhang Tian was truly beyond redemption, we wouldn’t have been able to get out first anyway."
Zhao Shuai thought for a moment and didn’t insist, "Alright, but if it happens again, I definitely won’t let him go."
"Jiang, let’s head to my place today," Zhao Shuai suggested to Jiang Cheng.
"Alright," Jiang Cheng didn’t want to stay here any longer. Previously, it was to find Cloud, but major family affairs are numerous, and as an outsider, he’s not privy to many things, nor is it proper to stay here anymore.
Qi Rongfeng didn’t try to persuade them to stay, as his family had its issues, and the tunnel situation wasn’t fully resolved. From Jiang Cheng’s words, he gathered that he didn’t want to linger either.
"Jiang, Shuai, you’ve been unsettled these past few days, and it’s my fault for not taking better care of you. Jiang, go stay with Shuai, and reach out if you need anything," Qi Rongfeng said, regretful.
"No need to apologize. I’ve been quite comfortable; it’s just that too much has been happening lately. It’s not your fault," Jiang Cheng replied.
"Exactly, Rongfeng, there’s no need to be so formal with us. Let’s hang out the day after tomorrow, okay? I’ll head back first with Jiang. Jiang, you must be tired now," Zhao Shuai said, then looked at Jiang Cheng.
"It’s manageable," Jiang Cheng felt alright, though entering Zhang Tian’s dream realm had indeed been draining. Now he really just wanted some rest.
"Let’s go, Rongfeng, call us if anything comes up," Jiang Cheng said to Qi Rongfeng.
And with that, the three parted ways.
Zhao Shuai led Jiang Cheng to his home, which was in an upscale neighborhood. Zhou Country had many restaurants and entertainment venues, which Zhao Shuai seemed to enjoy residing in, Jiang Cheng noted.