Frightening Joke: Above the Mist

In the Conscious Sea, everything suddenly seemed to come to a complete standstill.

Bai Yanliang quietly watched Bai Yanren opposite him, this other side of himself, or more precisely... another him.

Gray-white specks of light swirled around the two, as if speaking to them.

Clearly one body, so why are they worlds apart in the end?

Listening to Bai Yanren's words, half questioning, half introspective, Bai Yanliang did not answer.

Mistake?

Could he say what wrong Bai Yanren had committed...

His very birth was an accident caused by Zhou Tian and Meng Zhen, and during his growth, he was considered a "mother" role only to be murdered.

Though it didn't succeed ultimately, it's hard to say Bai Yanren was left untouched.

Perhaps if someone else had gone through what Bai Yanren had, they might do things more terrifying.

And what Bai Yanren wanted to do, needed to do, from his perspective, was merely to create a place for himself.

Neither the Fog Realm nor the human world could accommodate him, so if that's the case, why not simply create a new world.

Bai Yanren's form seemed somewhat off, as if rippling waves appeared layer upon layer on a windy water surface.

He also sensed this, looking down at his palm.

Clearly, this was the Conscious Sea shared by the two, why was it this way?

Could it be that Bai Yanren's consciousness was disappearing?

Bai Yanliang was confused; he hadn't made any attack on Bai Yanren. If possible, he'd rather persuade this only "kin" of his.

"What's happening?" Bai Yanliang asked.

"Isn't it you..." Bai Yanren glanced at Bai Yanliang, then completely calmed, lifting his head to say, "I somewhat regretted separating you before, but now it seems I was right; Zhou Tian indeed did something to me."

"Go, don't think about resisting Zhou Tian; he's not a madman. He's planned everything. The residual shed giant insect can't consume both worlds."

"Escape, try to get as far away as possible. When he finishes what he wants to do, he'll leave the human world on his own."

A turmoil named panic suddenly surged in Bai Yanliang's heart: "What did he do to you?"

"I don't know, but it seems I'm just like those residues. This is the state of the residue about to shatter and disappear. Although I have gained self-awareness, in essence, I'm still a residue from the Fog Realm."

"Perhaps he found a way to utterly eliminate the residue and kept this trigger hidden in my body all along."

At this point, Bai Yanren suddenly let out a self-mocking laugh: "All these years, I thought I was in control of him, and he willingly being driven by me, but looking back, the so-called resurrecting of a deceased wife was probably just a pretext he used to gain my trust."

"Bai Yanliang, do you see, how much humans lie?" He stared unwaveringly at Bai Yanliang.

Bai Yanliang was silent for a moment, staring at the seemingly about to shatter and disappear Bai Yanren, letting out a light sigh: "Perhaps you haven't noticed, the reason you thought you controlled Zhou Tian was precisely because you believed in human emotions."

"You believed Zhou Tian was willing to serve you for the sake of resurrecting his wife, and that's why you ended up making a wedding dress for him."

"You're actually just like me," Bai Yanliang's voice wasn't loud, but it shocked Bai Yanren, "You've long been tainted by human emotions."

"Nonsense!" Bai Yanren roared in anger, "I don't have such a lowly thing. What I want to do is something as great as creating a new world. I'm not like you, nor like him. I'm not human, nor residue!"

"I am..."

"Brother!" Suddenly, a child's voice sharply appeared in the Conscious Sea.

Bai Yanren was shocked all over, looking incredulously in Bai Yanliang's direction.

Only to see a child's phantom slowly taking shape, that was...

Bai Yanliang!

The real child of the Bai Family, Bai Yanliang!

"You lied, humans indeed are skilled at lying." Bai Yanliang looked at him calmly.

When did he realize that Bai Yanren had long begun to transform into a human?

It was the moment when the voice deep in his heart belonging to the real Bai Yanliang appeared.

The true memories of Bai Yanliang began the night after Bai Yanren died.

This child's memories were even earlier.

From the child's memories, Bai Yanliang saw everything.

The real Bai Yanliang was watched over by Bai Yanren as he grew up.

In Bai Yanliang's growth process, due to the death of his parents, Bai Yanren always played the role of the so-called father.

In the memories, he was not troublesome nor treated the child harshly.

Though bewildered and clueless about caring for a child, Bai Yanren still tried one step at a time, learning to raise Bai Yanliang.

"Why did you die ten years ago? Although you have your reasons and justifications, I know..." Bai Yanliang looked deeply at Bai Yanren.

"I am the other half of consciousness you separated, as you said I am blank, ignorant, but I also possess a part of your soul power."

"And the real Bai Yanliang, long influenced by the residue's abnormal powers during prolonged contact with you, always had poor health, ultimately dying on that night ten years ago."

"That night, you died, and I appeared."

Bai Yanliang's voice echoed in Bai Yanren's ears.

"Why? Because we were one, as long as your will existed, I could never come out. Why save this child? You ended the human body yourself, hid in the key space, and released me from Bai Yanliang's body."

"You wanted me to keep this body from dying, or rather... you used your other half blank soul to nourish the child's fading consciousness and body."

"Bai Yanren..."

"Brother."

"Am I right?"

Two Bai Yanliangs, one big and one small, stood together, looking at the rapidly disappearing Bai Yanren. The Conscious Sea seemed also agitated, wind arose, flattening the grass, and the sky filled with gray-white specks of light.

He had long become human...

Since the day when consciousness was born, his mind and soul began to turn towards the human form.

Residues, being born because of human, it's no surprise.

"Brother!"

Little Bai Yanliang shouted, wanting to run over.

"Don't come near!"

Bai Yanren gritted his teeth, suddenly erupting with a white light, which seemed alive, swirling Little Bai Yanliang, binding Big Bai Yanliang, lifting them high, posturing to throw.

"Get close to me... and you will disappear too."

Bai Yanren lowered his head, looked at his hazy hands, and chuckled softly:

"Humans certainly excel at deception."

"For so many years, I've always been deceiving myself; I'm not human, nor a residue, no place in this world shelters me... nor do I have a kind, I want to create a new world..."

He slowly looked up, his eyes as gentle as remembered: "Actually, I've long been accepted."

"Another me, you must protect him."

"Protect our younger brother."

His figure, like fractured bubbles, began to disappear from the ankle upwards.

"And yourself, brother."

Bai Yanren took one last look at Bai Yanliang, reluctantly closing his eyes, his voice growing smaller.

Just like that, he scattered into fragments, disappearing in a white glow, just like all residues before they vanished...

Exactly the same.