"It seems we've entered an illusion again, what is going on?"
"Does it all have to be an illusion?"
Zhang Tian frowned slightly, but since it had come to this, he had no choice but to face it.
"Boss, what's happening?"
Suddenly, a voice came from behind.
Fatty groggily opened his eyes.
His gaze fell on Zhang Tian.
"Weren't we just… confused? Have we already gotten past the chains?"
Hu Bayi also spoke up.
His hoarse voice was very recognizable.
"Huh? Isn't this young master Zhang's home? How could you be here? Are we still dreaming?"
Next to him, Wu Tianzhen also chimed in.
Looking at the companions who had woken up before him, Zhang Tian glanced at the small hut in front of them.
"This hut must be part of the demon tower. Let's not go near it."
Zhang Tian said calmly.
His gaze flickered to Zhang Qilin, who stood silently to the side.
"Then where should we go? There's no path here."
Fatty mumbled. Zhang Tian surveyed their surroundings.
Besides the hut before them, there seemed to be no exit.
"It seems we'll have to break through the illusions to move forward."
"Old Hu, do you have any ideas?"
Zhang Tian looked at Hu Bayi.
Hu Bayi shook his head.
"This is my first time encountering something like this. My compass is useless too."
Hu Bayi said, a hint of regret on his face.
"Boss, according to Fatty, we should just charge through, right?"
Fatty said. Zhang Tian eyed him.
Something felt a little off.
Before Zhang Tian could ponder further, the door of the hut suddenly swung open.
Li Xueqin and Zhang Xiangtian slowly emerged from within.
"Xiao Tian, why are you here? Quick, quick, come home. I've made your favorite Big Plate Chicken."
Li Xueqin looked at Zhang Tian, a gentle smile on her face.
Zhang Tian took a breath, unmoved.
"Xiao Tian, you brat, what's going on? You're home but you won't come in? Your mother's already cooked dinner."
Zhang Xiangtian's voice joined in.
Zhang Tian knew it was an illusion and paid it no mind.
But in the next moment, a figure charged forward.
"How dare you disturb the boss's mind! Fatty will take care of you first!"
Fatty declared, rushing forward.
Before Zhang Tian could react, two flashes of light appeared, and the heads of Li Xueqin and Zhang Xiangtian lay on the ground.
Yet, the illusion around them remained completely unchanged.
Looking at the rolling heads on the ground, Zhang Tian's heart ached, and intense pain struck him simultaneously.
His head began to spin, and finally, it rolled to Zhang Tian's feet.
Gazing at his parents' faces, Zhang Tian's eyes couldn't help but well up with tears.
This illusion was beginning to affect his mind.
"Fatty! What the hell are you doing? Did I tell you to do that?"
Zhang Tian roared.
Given the situation, anyone would have lost their temper.
Even though he knew it was an illusion, could he tolerate his good brother killing his parents?
Seeing Zhang Tian's fury, everyone else seemed stunned, no one spoke.
A suffocating atmosphere hung in the air.
"Boss, it's just an illusion. Don't take it too seriously."
"Besides, Fatty did it for your own good."
Fatty wore a strange smile.
Where Zhang Tian couldn't see, the corner of Fatty's mouth curved eerily.
"Fatty! What are you doing! Don't go too far!"
Hu Bayi yelled.
While these words might have sounded normal before, they held a different weight now.
"Young Master Zhang, Brother Kaixuan is going too far. I suggest we teach him a lesson."
"Yes, Brother Kaixuan, I, Wang Banyue, considered you a brother, and this is how you are?"
The people around Zhang Tian chattered incessantly.
Anger flickered in Zhang Tian's eyes.
"Shall I handle it?"
Suddenly, Zhang Qilin spoke from beside him.
Zhang Tian's heart jolted.
His anger seemed to subside slightly.
Why would Zhang Qilin say something like that?
If it were in the past, before his amnesia, Zhang Tian would have understood. After all, his relationship with Zhang Qilin was definitely closer than with Fatty.
But now, Zhang Qilin had lost his memory. Even if he and Fatty had fallen out, Zhang Qilin shouldn't have spoken up.
Yet, he had.
This proved that everything that was happening was highly unusual.
"It seems this is another layer of illusion, two layers superimposed."
"This demon tower must extract people's memories to recreate individuals from their deepest desires, even their expressions, mannerisms, and speech patterns."
"It's fortunate Zhang Qilin lost his memory, otherwise, this would have been truly difficult to handle."
Zhang Tian's heart pounded.
The illusions of this demon tower were, frankly, the most terrifying Zhang Tian had ever encountered.
It could not only absorb the memories of those who entered but also extract figures from those memories to induce hallucinations.
"Young Master Zhang, have you forgiven Brother Wang?"
Wu Tianzhen asked from the side.
Zhang Tian curled his lips.
"Quake!"
Zhang Tian flung out a talisman, making a hand seal.
A golden light erupted.
The next instant, everyone around them vanished.
And around the golden light, arcs of lightning flickered.
The surroundings returned to their original state.
On a chain, Zhang Tian looked around with a bewildered expression.
"How did I get back here?"
Looking at the chain beneath his feet, and Hu Bayi and the others still lined up behind him, Zhang Tian's confusion was profound.
Was this a dream within a dream?
"You're awake."
Zhang Qilin stood in front, uttering the same words.
Zhang Tian became even more wary.
He directly took out his horsetail whisk.
"You're still an illusion, right?"
Zhang Tian's expression was grave.
He clutched the horsetail whisk tightly.
Zhang Tian was having trouble distinguishing between illusion and reality.
These three awakenings and relapses were very similar to some people's dreams, except that Zhang Tian could break through them.
But he wasn't sure which layer was real and which was fake.
"No."
Zhang Qilin uttered two words.
Zhang Tian frowned slightly.
"What's my name? When did we meet?"
Zhang Tian asked.
If his guess was correct, the demon tower could absorb people's memories, even Zhang Qilin's, but only the memories of Zhang Qilin's time with Zhang Tian.
"At the auction."
As Zhang Qilin spoke, Zhang Tian's horsetail whisk lashed out.
The next moment, the world turned black.
Zhang Tian opened his eyes again.
In front of the demon tower.
Zhang Tian looked at the scene before him, trying his best to remain calm.
Around him, on a stone platform, Hu Bayi, Shirley Yang, Wu Tianzhen, and others lay prostrate.
Only Zhang Qilin stood on the platform, staring at the demon tower without moving.
"Another illusion?"
Zhang Tian, holding his horsetail whisk, stood up.
"You're awake."
Zhang Qilin spoke.
Zhang Tian took a deep breath.
"When did we meet?"
"I don't know, but I first saw you at an antique shop."
Zhang Qilin replied.
"What is our purpose here?"
"To find Motuo, my mother, my memories."
Zhang Qilin continued.
Looking at the person before him, Zhang Tian finally confirmed that this time, he was not in an illusion.
He had truly returned!