Bengtie: My death fueled their madness.

On the other side of the hot spring bath, Yu Qingtu and Ruan Mei were.

"...Why did Amu call you 'Sister Qingtu' just now?"

"Do you think I'm happier to hear him call me 'teacher,' or 'Sister Qingtu'?"

"...That's true." Ruan Mei remained silent.

Yu Qingtu was extremely resistant to the fact that she had become her shadow, so how could she be happy about it? She would definitely make Amu change her mind.

A certain image resurfaced in my mind, accompanied by sound.

"Ah Ruan, as a friend, let me give you an extra reminder: don't continue to do things that you might regret in the future."

Years have passed, but whenever I recall Yu Qingtu's reminder, my heart still...

If we had listened to her then and paused our research and experiments to go find Amu, there would still have been a chance to salvage the situation.

They believe they did nothing wrong, and won't regret not going...

Ah, what a terrible price to pay...

Seeing that Ruan Mei uttered two words and then stopped responding, sitting blankly in the water in a daze, Yu Qingtu didn't care and focused on his own things.

Hei Ta had made it clear while on the space station that he did not intend to tell Ruan Mei the truth about Qi Zhimu remembering Ruan Mei.

Their reunion today, and the fact that Qi Zhimu did not take the initiative to acknowledge her, says something to some extent.

Before the banquet, Hei Ta sent Qi Zhimu and her away. She didn't take the opportunity to ask Qi Zhimu what he thought, as she could get a similar answer just by observing him.

Well, Qi Zhimu's attitude towards Ruan Mei is rather complicated right now.

I wouldn't say I resisted.

They say they don't resist, but they also don't seem to be actively trying to acknowledge each other, which is quite contradictory.

The term "quantum superposition" is most apt to describe it.

Qi Zhimu is a very opinionated person. Well... to be precise, Qi Zhimu has been very opinionated since his second life.

On the issue of Ruan Mei, he now seems to have entered the state of having no opinion in his first life, and he neither wants to nor dares to have his own opinion.

The fact that Ruan Mei developed this personality in her first life is inextricably linked to her.

Without her acting as a mediator, teaching Qi Zhimu how to conduct himself and telling him stories from all over the universe, he probably wouldn't just be indecisive; he would likely be more like a puppet.

Thinking of this, Yu Qingtu's thoughts stalled for a moment, and she felt a sense of helplessness.

Based on the timeline of their reunions—

There are seven people in total: Hei Ta, Ruan Mei, Ji Zi, Hei Tian'e, Jing Liu, and Xue Yi Han Ya.

When Qi Zhimu reunites with six of them, the corresponding memories will return, except for his own, where the part related to Ruan Mei is confused.

However, Qi Zhimu had no reservations about his attitude and followed his heart to continue their relationship.

Ruan Mei is truly the only one whose attitude is in a state of quantum superposition.

Qi Zhimu has normal opinions with everyone he interacts with, except for Ruan Mei.

So—can this be considered Ruan Mei reaping the bitter fruit of her own actions once again?

Qi Zhimu doesn't hate Ruan Mei, and Hei Ta has long been mentally prepared for the two to reconcile sooner or later, but when exactly will it be?

a year?

Two years?

ten years?

Or a hundred years?

None of them could draw a conclusion.

"Since leaving the space station, what have you done? And how did you meet Xiao Mu and the others today? Could you tell me?"

Finding that Ruan Mei was still in a daze, Yu Qingtu had no choice but to call her back.

"...Yes." Ruan Mei was silent for a moment, then nodded.

I briefly went over my experiences after leaving the space station.

It wasn't complicated, but the amount of information was enough to make Yu Qingtu's face turn serious, and she couldn't help but check the status of the space lock.

Most of the hot spring bath rooms at Qingxinju are private spaces.

However, if the space lock is not fully working, people with sensitive hearing can easily hear the conversations of people inside through the gaps between different spaces.

Ruan Mei's words, if spoken by the Immortal Boat Alliance, would be enough to cause a huge storm.

"The coffin contains the remains of the Star God... Do you know his origins?"

"I don't know. The only thing I can confirm is that, from my perspective, their life frequency is similar to that of people who don't hide their Envoy-level Imaginary Energy," Ruan Mei said softly.

"Possessing strength comparable to a Commander, or perhaps being a Commander in person..." Yu Qingtu fell into deep thought.

Ruan Mei continued, "My purpose in coming to the Immortal Ship is twofold: first, to fulfill the agreement I made with it and rescue Tingyun, who has been tainted by the power of destruction."

"Secondly, we need to find Marshal Hua of the Immortal Ship. His whereabouts are unpredictable, and there are many rumors circulating outside. Hua is stationed on the first ship of the Immortal Ship, Luofu. Tingyun's hometown is also in Luofu, so we can kill two birds with one stone."

"The remains of the Star God... It seems that the Four Ends are probably not far off. No wonder you are making preparations for this."

Yu Qingtu's expression gradually turned serious, and after deep thought, he asked:

"Do you have any guesses about that fate?"

"Based on the conclusions of my long-term research, it may be between harmony and destruction, or... both."

…harmonious.

Upon hearing this fate, Yu Qingtu frowned.

Could it be a coincidence?

Qi Zhimu's next important trip was to Pinocchio, one of the important territories of the Tongxie faction, to participate in the Harmonious Music Ceremony.

In the past, the family had never invited representatives from various factions to participate in this grand event during the Amber Age.

The current situation, contrary to expectations, coupled with Ruan Mei's conclusion, makes it hard not to think things through.

In Ruan Mei's eyes, destiny possesses an alternative vitality; therefore, deconstructing destiny is an important topic in her research.

Her judgment at this time that Tongxie might be the first to realize the theory of the four ends was by no means unfounded.

"So what are your plans afterward? Will you secretly follow Xiao Mu to Pinocchio, or...?"

"I don't intend to go with him."

To Yu Qingtu's surprise, Ruan Mei shook her head without hesitation.

"Instead of conforming to fate, I want to focus my main energy on deconstructing destruction. You need to be mentally prepared for what I'm about to say."

"Go ahead," Yu Qingtu said, her face still serious.

"There is no less than an 87.42% probability that the birth of the star core is related to the Harmony, perhaps the destruction and pollution of the Harmony, or the other way around." Ruan Mei's tone was unusually solemn.

"...!"

Even though she was mentally prepared, Yu Qingtu was still surprised by this conclusion.

This is a bombshell.

Destroying pollution is one thing, but to say that harmonizing pollution with destruction is another; I doubt many people would believe that even if it were made public.

Regardless of the conclusion, it will inevitably attract the family's attention.

While Ruan Mei may have emotional flaws, setting aside her ill-fated relationship with Qi Zhimu, she is a genuine genius.

Geniuses can be all sorts of different kinds: human, non-human, good, bad, chaotic, or just looking for fun. I really appreciate diversity.

They have only one thing in common: wisdom.

If geniuses were to indulge in the restraint of exploring taboos, they could easily stir up turmoil throughout the universe.

Therefore, Yu Qingtu had no doubt about the credibility of Ruan Mei's conclusion.

Is there anything I can help you with?

Although geniuses' strengths and research directions may differ, Yu Qingtu still offered to help.

"Protect Amu, even though with his current abilities, he probably doesn't need us..."

When Qi Zhimu was mentioned, Ruan Mei's tone became noticeably affected.

Yu Qingtu sighed inwardly.

Without anyone reminding her, she wouldn't hesitate to speak to anyone once Qi Zhimu was on the verge of death; Ruan Mei's words were essentially meaningless.

One of the ways to show that someone cares about another person is by talking nonsense endlessly.

A typical example is parents reminding their children to wear more clothes when it's cold.

In her research, the vast majority of young people, upon hearing such instructions from their parents, would think to some extent, "I'm not a child or an idiot, why do you need to remind me of these things?"

"Ah Ruan, I have another question for you."

"Hmm?" Ruan Mei cast a probing glance at her.