Chapter 26: The Key

How could this happen?

Having witnessed the death of Xi Fenglie with his own eyes, Qin Changsheng felt his strength drain away. He doubled over, a wave of intense nausea rising from his stomach, nearly forcing him to retch.

Xi Fenglie’s Shanhai Beast, Long Yuan, was vastly superior to Qin Changsheng in combat ability. Yet, no matter how great that combat power was, it was like a drop in the ocean against a Mountain of Corpses that could regenerate infinitely.

If even Xi Fenglie had lost, what hope was left for them?

Down below, the massive maw on the Mountain of Corpses’ belly opened, exhaling a plume of murky green gas, as if it were letting out a satisfied belch. Having consumed Xi Fenglie, it seemed sated for the moment—or perhaps it simply hadn't noticed Qin Changsheng and the others hiding on the roof. It turned and began to crawl slowly and aimlessly in another direction.

Watching the creature depart, Qin Changsheng let out an involuntary sigh of relief, but was immediately overcome by self-loathing.

How could he be relieved that the Mountain of Corpses hadn't eaten him? What kind of person was he?

Qin Changsheng stood up, stumbling back from the edge of the roof, looking at his trembling hands in disbelief. He had felt relief that the creature had devoured Xi Fenglie—to him, this was fundamentally wrong.

"What have I become..." he muttered to himself. Suddenly, he heard a rustling sound behind him. Turning around, he saw Cao Mengmeng smoothing out her clothes, which had become disheveled during their frantic escape. Her expression was no longer bitter; she had reverted to her usual mask, betraying no inner thoughts.

"Let's go. We can't stay here any longer," she said, her voice flat, as if she had already forgotten what they had just witnessed. "We need to find a new stronghold and hide properly."

"How can you be like this?" Cao Mengmeng’s reaction caused a suffocating pressure in Qin Changsheng’s chest, an inexpressible emotion hammering against his heart. "Your friends—they are dead! How can you be so calm?"

"Because I don't want to die with them," Cao Mengmeng replied, her gaze cold. "Let me say this again: they weren't my friends. We were just a group of people who wanted to survive, so we stuck together."

"My goal has never changed from the very beginning: I want to survive. Even if it means hiding until the very end, I absolutely cannot die."

"The plan may have deviated slightly, but fortunately, we escaped. Thanks to A-Lie, the Mountain of Corpses isn't targeting us anymore. This is a golden opportunity. Now, we just need to find a place where no one can find us, hide for a day, and everything will be over."

"This is the only correct choice. With just you and me, we can neither defeat the Mifa Hero nor handle the Mountain of Corpses."

"The weak must live like the weak: tuck tail, hide, and survive."

"Otherwise, you deserve to die just like A-Lie."

Cao Mengmeng said a great deal, but to Qin Changsheng, it all sounded like a dull buzzing.

Her words only made his heart more agitated. Part of his brain told him she was right—to survive, one had to know their own limits. But another part kept insisting that he couldn't go on like this. Not everything could be avoided.

Hadn't he spent his whole life avoiding things?

These two conflicting thoughts collided in his mind like shockwaves of fire and ice; his instinct for survival and his conscience were at war, neither willing to yield. This mental turmoil began to swell, as if it were going to crack his skull open. This inner agony was more unbearable than any physical pain.

He looked at the icy, emotionless face of Cao Mengmeng and felt a sudden, violent urge to punch that expressionless face.

Why was she so calm and composed? Why was she so unconflicted? Why did the death of her friends seem to mean nothing to her?

The urge grew stronger, turning into a darkness in his eyes. Qin Changsheng stared fixedly at Cao Mengmeng, his fists tightening until his knuckles turned white, while a vicious voice whispered in his ear: "Kill her!"

This evil impulse was on the verge of consuming his mind when, at that very moment, he suddenly saw something on Cao Mengmeng’s face.

There were two tear tracks on her cheeks, and the crystallized salt from her tears glittered faintly like diamonds.

In an instant, all the dark thoughts were swept from his mind. What was he thinking?!

Cao Mengmeng wasn't indifferent. Even though she was putting on a brave front, her attitude toward Xi Fenglie was not as heartless as he had assumed.

Thinking about it, she hadn't just lost a friend; there was Xi Fenglie, Yugong Lian, and now Dong Huan and Wu Yutong, whose fates were unknown. She had personally experienced the betrayal between friends and the helplessness of watching them die. From any perspective, the burden on Cao Mengmeng was far heavier than the one on Qin Changsheng.

Her heart was just as torn as his; it was simply that reality afforded her no luxury for hesitation. To survive, she had to be strong.

Just then, an explosion echoed from the distance, pulling Qin Changsheng back to the present.

That explosion was surely the work of the Mifa Hero again. The Mountain of Corpses below, hearing the blast, immediately found a new objective, turning its path toward the source of the noise.

Was someone else going to die because of this? Was everyone like this—willing to take others' lives for the sake of their own, without a shred of guilt?

No! This was absolutely wrong!

A flash of light cut through the chaotic entanglement in Qin Changsheng’s mind. The tightness in his chest dissipated, and he suddenly understood what he had to do.

"I'm sorry, I can't leave," Qin Changsheng said to Cao Mengmeng, his voice filled with newfound resolution. "People slaughtering each other—this cannot go on!"

"What do you mean?" Cao Mengmeng’s cold expression shattered, startled by his sudden change. "What are you trying to do? Don't do anything stupid!"

"What is wrong with doing whatever it takes to survive?"

"Perhaps nothing, but I cannot accept it." Faced with her questioning and obstruction, Qin Changsheng was calm. He had made up his mind. "I don't believe that this pure malice is human nature. To believe that would be to betray A-Lie, who sacrificed himself to save us."

Indeed, even in the darkest of circumstances, the most noble aspects of humanity could shine through.

All of Qin Changsheng’s inner conflict vanished at the thought of Xi Fenglie’s death. Someone had sacrificed themselves to let him live; how could he continue to survive by cowering in fear?

Qin Changsheng had been running away his whole life. He had abandoned his love for calligraphy to escape a bleak life; he had entered this terrifying world to escape failing his college entrance exams; and he had followed Cao Mengmeng this far to escape the responsibility for Chen Yuanyuan’s death.

Now, he didn't want to run anymore!

He knew that Xi Fenglie’s death would not be redeemed by the life of a coward. He would make this life shine!

"You're crazy! You've truly lost your mind!" Cao Mengmeng could no longer hold back, her composure completely gone. "You're just throwing your life away! You cannot defeat the Mountain of Corpses!"

"It's possible!" Qin Changsheng said firmly. "You might not have noticed, but A-Lie already communicated that possibility to us."

Cao Mengmeng froze, then realized something: "You mean..."

"Exactly," Qin Changsheng nodded. "I have found it—the weakness of the Mountain of Corpses!"