Xia Xiao continued to practice on his own path to the top of the mountain as he did before.

Because everyone has a different way to the top of the mountain, he was very mysterious and said he would take Ah Zhu to a nice quiet place. Ah Zhu was looking forward to it, but his reaction at that time surprised Xia Xiao. There shouldn't be such a coincidence in the world. If there is, it shouldn't be him who encounters it. Or maybe it's just because of Ah Zhu and has little to do with him, but it doesn't make sense.

Xia Xiao was pushing aside a bush with his hands. Behind him was the road leading to the top of the mountain, paved with numerous large stone bricks. The road was extremely long and hidden in the pine forest. But he didn't expect Ah Zhu to see it, because everyone's road is different. He just wanted to take her to a place he often went to, but Ah Zhu said:

"How did you know my path to the top of the mountain is here?"

Before Xia Xiao could react, he found that Ah Zhu's feet had also left the ground and were actually stepping on the stone bricks. Her step was very real, not like a joke, and she did not rely on her vitality to support her. In Xia Xiao's eyes, she was walking on the same path as him.

"What do you mean, your path is also here?"

Ah Zhu nodded and said proudly:

"I found it a long time ago."

"That's great, but why are they together?"

Xia Xiao muttered to himself, full of doubts. He remembered that this road probably symbolized the general path of their lives. Although a person cannot be judged completely by the path, Shu Shuang's path was cut off halfway and she died in the darkness. The fact that Ah Zhu's path completely overlapped with his own should also have some meaning, at least it can no longer be defined as a coincidence.

Xia Xiao is quite stubborn and still thinks there are not so many coincidences in the world. Many coincidences, including chance encounters, are artificially created. Bai Suzhen is a good example. She took the initiative to come to her door to repay the favor a thousand years ago. Otherwise, how could they meet on the bridge? If she had such luck, Bai Suzhen would not have been discovered by Fahai, and Xia Xiao would have won the lottery and would not have to live in a damp and cheap rental house. Although he has never bought it and does not know whether he can win, that kind of thing is always someone else's winning, and it will never have anything to do with him.

Ah Zhu seemed to not know what this road represented, so she didn't react much. She walked in front of Xia Xiao, and wherever she walked, there were the stone bricks of Xia Xiao's road. To be precise, in Xia Xiao's eyes, the stone bricks Ah Zhu stepped on were his road, exactly the same, without the slightest difference. But he still felt that something was wrong in disbelief, and as to why and where it was wrong, he still couldn't comprehend it.

Maybe the brick was too big, so his right half was just Ah Zhu's left half, so they didn't completely overlap. But Ah Zhu's steps were light and fast, so Xia Xiao couldn't see the exact position of the brick. He kept staring at Ah Zhu's feet, and didn't notice it until he had already walked past the usual place for practice. He didn't react until he left the forest, and then returned the same way.

"here we go!"

Ah Zhu didn't care so much. She sat cross-legged on the stone brick with great interest, forming a "He" seal, absorbing the vitality of heaven and earth. In the past, she absorbed the vitality like breathing, but now it was like swallowing by a whale, with a very heavy and loud breathing sound, and the starry sky around her body was rendered into a mysterious state.

Doudou was curled up under a pine tree nearby. It was dry and had a lot of leaves, which was suitable for it to rest. But it looked at Xia Xiao, as if curious about why he didn't practice. Xia Xiao frowned and smiled bitterly. There were already enough mysteries in the world, and he and Azhu had a lot of them. This was probably something that even the seniors couldn't see through. Just like Shu Shuang's road, it was cut off halfway, but people didn't know that they also disappeared on the long road.

Feeling confused and tired, Xia Xiao still made a hand seal, because he knew it was useless to think too much. But there were some things he couldn't help thinking about.

At night, Ju Mang and Xiao Ran were still clinging to each other outside the window. They were like this 24 hours a day, either accompanying him not far away, or practicing, or turning into a tree like this, hugging tightly, extremely warm and elegant, much gentler than the way humans express love, and it was desirable. But Xia Xiao couldn't help but think of the road and Azhu in his mind after watching for a long time.

Since Ah Zhu signed the spiritual contract, she has one more thing she must do every day. For her, the companion in her body must be visited every day, and she cannot leave it alone in the spiritual contract space. So after the companionship every night, she can rest in bed.

Being valued so much by the spiritual contract subject, the little narwhal in the starry sea gradually felt that his choice was not wrong, and his speculation about humans gradually turned to the positive side, not all greedy and other derogatory words. More importantly, the secret of Ah Zhu's body was gradually discovered by him.

Ah Zhu's power is not only to conceal her breath, but this ability is only because she does not belong to this world, but is higher than this world, so she can completely conceal her breath. But her true identity is really as Hu Bugui and others guessed, not in the category of human, but above human, perhaps the god worshipped by mankind since ancient times!

The little narwhal didn't believe this bold guess before, because Hu Bugui and others were not sure, and he was very confused. But he gradually felt that it was very likely!

Xia Xiao didn't know this yet. He was still thinking and couldn't sleep all night. He wanted to know what kind of environment he was in. He felt a little uneasy. His body instinctively told him that all he had was just a piece of candy. Under the sweet coating was something poisonous enough to destroy it. Everything was like the endgame on the chessboard. There were so many of them that it was dazzling. It took a lot of effort to see clearly, not to mention how to solve it.

Xia Xiao was not good at chess, and he was extremely anxious in his dream. He wanted to know how to solve those multiple endgames and how to win. He felt that he was the white piece, and the black piece was the darkness that he hated. But the situation of the white piece was never as good as that of the black piece. In every endgame, the white piece was surrounded by enemies on all sides. Some white pieces were very far away from the game, seemingly not participating in it, and seemed to be thinking about how to join in. And some white pieces seemed to be white, but they blocked other white pieces, leaving the black pieces free from the encirclement.

In this game, the white and black pieces faced off for a long time, both actively attacking and trying every way to put the other side in trouble, but the winner was still undecided. In that game, the white and black pieces were both extremely paranoid, taking the path they thought was right, but they were all blocked, but they were still looking for a way out, but when the chessboard was filled, there was no result.

There is another chess game, which is bigger than all the games, because it is made up of all the endgames put together. The endgames are difficult to solve, and Xia Xiao looked at them for a long time without finding the answer. But when all the endgames were put together, he walked to a quiet path and found a way for the white pieces to win. As long as the piece blocking the white pieces is removed, the second game can be solved, and then the white pieces from the first game can be mobilized and added to the third game, so that the fourth game, which is stuck in a stalemate, can also be solved.

Everything has a traceable path, everything can be seen through. Xia Xiao seemed to have spent a lifetime to see through it, but his hand that wanted to lift the chess piece froze in the air. He couldn't lift the white piece, nor could he move the black piece, because he was already on the chessboard. The first time he saw all the games, there were only four endgames, but he was in them, and he was... the black piece!

Xia Xiao seemed to fall, and with a splash he entered the deep sea, falling continuously in countless bubbles. He saw the broken chessboard above his head, where the white and black pieces had never won or lost, but he was being pulled invisibly by the black pieces, and with the active help of the white pieces, he was sinking deeper and deeper, as if he was about to fall into the abyss of the sea.

There was nothing in the abyss, but it was like his end. When he saw through it, he realized that there was death in the abyss. He didn't have to be like this, and he didn't want to be like this. Xia Xiao struggled desperately, begging Bai Zi to reach out and pull him up. They did reach out, but they just pushed him into the water, just like the people who pulled him down, their intentions were unpredictable.

"You who have come from afar, use your power to destroy this abyss and darkness!"

Baizi's voice was full of expectation, it was righteous, it was the desire to save the world. But Xia Xiao couldn't deal with the darkness below him and it was difficult to face it. In the end, he stopped struggling, because there was no light on him and he couldn't struggle. His body was torn apart, and all the strength inside turned into part of the abyss, causing it to suddenly rise up, crushing all the black and white pieces when it rushed out.

The chessboard was completely broken, nothing existed, and this was the ideal of the abyss. Xia Xiao looked at everything, and his family seemed to be destroyed in it. Tears welled up in the corners of his eyes, blending with the water in the abyss. But his voice was hoarse, he couldn't make a sound, and couldn't say anything.

Gradually, when Xia Xiao was in despair, an extremely warm hand like the spring breeze and the sun wiped away his tears and gave him a strong sense of dependence, as if pulling him away from the abyss to the sea.

"What's wrong?"

Xia Xiao opened his sleepy eyes, and there was only a little light outside the half-open curtains. Ah Zhu was wearing loose old clothes, like pajamas, and curled up in his quilt. She held her face with both hands, which comforted Xia Xiao a little, but when Ah Zhu asked him what was wrong in a gentle voice, Xia Xiao could only smile.

"I forgot. I don't remember anything."

"It's okay, it might be a nightmare, go back to sleep."

Xia Xiao nodded, and was held in Ah Zhu's extremely warm and soft arms. There was no darkness that could intrude on the strong sunlight, and Xia Xiao was able to sleep peacefully for a long time.

After that, Xia Xiao would wait for her every night. He had that peace of mind a long time ago, but lost it again. Now he has it again, and is wrapped in light, as if he will never lose it again. But this light does not belong to him. It is with him temporarily, and will return to a distant place one day.

On an ordinary morning, just after dawn, Ah Zhu took advantage of Xia Xiao's sleepiness and asked her prince with full of expectation, like the heroine in a fairy tale.

“What if I’m gone one day?”

"Where are you going?"

"Being pissed off by you or being captured by someone."

"I will definitely find you back."

"It's not that simple. I was taken to a very far place, probably outside the Great Wilderness, a place that even the little narwhal can't reach."

Xia Xiao was silent for a long time, and Ah Zhu suspected that he had fallen asleep, but in the end, he still whispered:

"If it's really so far that I can't go, then I wouldn't have let you leave in the first place. I would never have let you go."

Xia Xiao's tone was very firm, as if he was reiterating his oath, which would never change. But how the ending would be, we would only know on that day, as the God of Time had no habit of coming down and spying on other people's future.