Lan Tianyiqi ultimately left Lu Feng and the others on his own. He knew that urging the latter to abandon him and leave first was clearly impossible; only by being more resolute himself could he make it happen.
Not long after he vanished from everyone's sight.
Within his Sea of Consciousness, Cloud Eater's voice rang out again:
"Why did you lie to him? With me here, you clearly wouldn't die so easily."
A trace of helplessness surfaced in Lan Tianyiqi's eyes. With a bitter smile, he said, "Only this way could he leave without any lingering worries."
Cloud Eater sounded somewhat confused. "So you made up all those lies just to make him believe you were bound to die? Was that really necessary? Why not simply tell him outright that you couldn't leave this sea of sand?"
"You don't understand." Lan Tianyiqi gave a melancholy, bitter laugh. "With Brother Feng's temperament, if he learned that you had deceived me and that was why I couldn't leave this place, he would surely rack his brains to get rid of you."
Cloud Eater froze. "You were afraid that, if it came to that, I would kill him?"
Lan Tianyiqi shook his head and said firmly, "If it truly came to that, the one who died would definitely be you... us. Even if I die, I will never let you harm Brother Feng."
Feeling the chill in Lan Tianyiqi's words, Cloud Eater shuddered. After remaining silent for a long while, it spoke again. "You finally found the dear friend you had carried in your heart for so long. Can you really bear to part from him in death and never meet again?"
"You don't understand!" Lan Tianyiqi retorted once more, smiling openly yet mournfully. "As long as I know Brother Feng is still