Wu Tianzhen and Fatty stood closer than ever before to the Bronze Gate.
Looking up from below, they felt the Bronze Gate was almost reaching the heavens and the earth, making those standing beneath it seem as fragile as ants in the dust.
From the opened gate, a strange pressure emanated, instilling fear in their hearts, much like the instinctive tremor one feels when facing a natural predator.
This was something that would cause nightmares with just a glance, yet Zhang Qiling was about to enter.
"...Xiao Ge," Wu Tianzhen suppressed his emotions for a long time. Though he knew all his efforts were futile, he couldn't control the pain in his heart. "You've recovered your memories, you remember everything."
He paused. "You've been inside once before. Can't you... can't you just not go in? What is it inside that attracts you so much, forcing you to go in again and again? Can't you just stay at Wu Shan Ju?"
His words were chaotic, even disjointed. Wu Tianzhen barely knew what he was saying. He had intended to make the conversation calm, but his increasingly rapid speech inevitably made the atmosphere tense.
When Zhang Qiling had entered the Bronze Gate at Changbai Mountain, Wu Tianzhen sometimes still dreamt of that scene.
Those dreams were inconsistent. Sometimes it was a vast expanse of white snow, where no matter how he shouted or cried out, there was no response. Other times, amidst the howling wind and snow, he would see that dark silhouette, turning his head slightly to say thank you.
Upon waking, he often thought:
...If only the Bronze Gate hadn't immobilized him then. If only he had had a chance to stop Zhang Qiling then. If only—
But now, it seemed, that was just his wishful thinking.
Today, his limbs were free, his voice still carried, but facing Zhang Qiling, he still felt a profound sense of powerlessness.
He had said so much, yet Zhang Qiling before him remained unresponsive.
He simply stood there, looking at him quietly, the Ghost Seal in his hand emitting an ever-brighter light, like the leading ghost fire in a procession of a hundred spirits, guiding the one who did not belong to the mortal realm back to where they came from.
...What could Wu Tianzhen do?
He felt like an audience member in a theater, unable to change any part of the plot no matter how anxious he was for the person on stage, only able to watch them play out their predetermined fate.
Even after acting together for so long, Zhang Qiling's world still seemed like a stage behind the curtain, separated from them by an intangible distance.
So, he could only sigh, suppress his emotions, and force a smile:
"...It's okay. We know now. You'll come out a few days after you go in..."
Wu Tianzhen felt a lump in his throat, as if a heavy stone were slowly descending, crushing his neck, tearing open his chest, and poking its head out from the bloody fissure to roar.
But he continued to smile, "Even if you're seriously injured, you'll heal. Even if you forget again... we're together, we'll remember. It's okay."
"It's okay, right, Xiao Ge? We'll be waiting right here."
The energy within the Bronze Gate's crevice churned violently, as if engaged in a fierce battle with something unknown. The surrounding snow remained, but in the distance, the sound of wind and sand could be heard. Amidst this roaring noise, all questions seemed etched in their hearts.
Then Wu Tianzhen clearly saw Zhang Qiling pause, then slowly shake his head.
"Don't wait anymore."
"...Don't wait, what do you mean?" Wu Tianzhen's words were interrupted. Fatty rubbed his face haphazardly. The snowflakes he had just smeared on were melted by his scalding heat into water, leaving his face wet.
"Xiao Ge, can you tell us what exactly you're going in there to do?!" Fatty, despite his rough appearance, was always meticulous. He rarely raised his voice with the two of them, but now, he almost wanted to curse them out, yet he managed to hold back.
"What haven't we brothers gone through together? I feel like our bond is strong enough, we're just missing a sworn brotherhood in the peach garden!"
"You can't possibly expect us to send you up here time and time again, and then you go in, your life or death unknown, leaving us to wait like statues of a longing wife, can you?!"
"If you're found, it's a happy reunion, a grand finale. If not, we go our separate ways. Is that how it is?!"
As Fatty spoke, he couldn't help but curse. His face turned red, emitting white steam in the cold weather, making him look like a boiling kettle. But Wu Tianzhen looked at him and couldn't smile at all.
"We're like idiots, like we're not involved in your life at all. If we just send you in with a smile, knowing nothing, and walk away blindly, we'd be the cream of the crop of idiots!"
Not only had Wu Tianzhen never seen Fatty like this, but Zhang Qiling was seeing it for the first time. He opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss for words.
...What was he doing? Even he couldn't explain it. He had wandered through life in a daze, and unknowingly, the Bronze Gate had truly become his obsession.
It was as if the meaning of his existence in this world was to follow this path step by step, and then seal the Bronze Gate.
...But what would happen to him after the sealing remained as unclear as a sea of fog.
Rustling sounds came from behind. Wu Tianzhen turned his head and saw a group of ragged, blood-soaked armed personnel, surrounding a white-haired old man. The old man's wrinkled face was flushed and pale, making him look more like something that had just crawled out of a coffin.
That face was familiar; it was the old man Pu, who had been chasing the Bronze Gate like a persistent fly.
"...The Bronze Gate, the Bronze Gate! Hahahaha!" Upon seeing the Bronze Gate, his withered body seemed to erupt with immense power. He shoved away the mercenaries supporting him. "I've finally found it, I've finally found it!!!"
He tried to approach, but a burst of bullets hitting the snow in front of him repelled him.
Fatty spat on the ground, the muzzle of his gun slowly emitting a wisp of white smoke, signaling its readiness. At this moment, his facial muscles bulged, like a ferocious demon.
"Who dares to come closer?!" he roared, interrupting the arm of someone about to shoot. A piercing scream echoed, and blood splattered on the ground.
"I'm in a terrible mood right now, don't force me to send you to hell!!"
If Old Man Pu could get in, Song Shuning and the others should not have been missing for so long, unless they were held up by rescue missions.
Zhang Qiling looked into the distance. The vaguely visible tall buildings in the distance were already buried by sand and wind.
...The power of the Bronze Gate was expanding outwards. There was no more time.
So he withdrew his gaze and looked at Wu Tianzhen, who was still staring at him, waiting for an answer. He said, as if stating a simple fact:
"When I go in, the Bronze Gate will close."
The final mission on the screen flashed, turning blood red, indicating urgency.