The Time Paradox

The system diligently provided prompts.

[Complete a total of 4 optional tasks in the second stage. You will receive a special reward at the end of the session.]

Footsteps sounded behind her. Yu Xing glanced at them out of the Fang Xiao of her eye and saw Yu Xing lagging behind.

"She doesn't want to hear my apology." Fang Xiao gazed absently at the mountains and forests. "She'll probably be very happy from now on."

"At least I'm happier than you," Yu Xing said truthfully.

"You might die in some dungeon you don't even know, but she should be able to live for a long time."

Fang Xiao: "... That works too."

The older brother composed himself and began to ask curiously, "This Absurd Deduction Game... is it a team Yugi? Do you have a team too?"

Yu Xing: "Mm."

Fang Xiao: "Can I come in?"

"Cannot."

Fang Xiao: "Oh."

He didn't ask why; the answer was always that the newcomers were too inexperienced. In short, he would never admit that his "little brother" didn't want to be on the same team as him at all.

"After that, can I continue to treat you like a younger brother?" Fang Xiao asked again.

He explained, "I... can't change my mindset right now. No matter who you are, in my world, you are my brother."

The system has already transmitted the relevant concepts to him; he needs time to understand them, but overall, he is no longer completely confused.

Yu Xing had already changed his clothes. He put his hands in his pockets and turned his head with a half-smile.

I have something to tell you.

Fang Xiao's heart skipped a beat; a strange sense of unease crept in, but she managed to maintain her composure. "Go on."

Yu Xing smiled and said, "I'm older than you."

Fang Xiao was taken aback. From his appearance, Yu Xing didn't look older at all. "How many years older?"

Fang Xiao returned to the Fang Mansion with an expression of utter devastation.

After a while, they will be teleported away by the system together. As for Fang Xiao's identity after he leaves and where he will land, that will be arranged by the system.

Yi Qing, who had arrived earlier, witnessed the whole thing and felt that Yu Xing was a contradictory being, both gentle and ruthless.

Ah, but these kinds of people just happen to have a lot of personal charm, Yiqing gradually saw through everything.

Humans are truly amazing creatures; it seems the more they learn, the less they know.

For him, this was good news, meaning he would never lose his fun.

Just then, he suddenly heard Yu Xing ask him, "Did you feel that some kind of restraint on my body has disappeared?"

Yi Qing stared at Yu Xing for a while, puzzled.

It seems nothing has disappeared.

He was Yu Xing's contracted ghost, and was already extremely close to Yu Xing's soul, but he didn't feel anything special.

What happened? Is this a lingering effect?

Yu Xing discovered some differences that only he himself had the opportunity to realize?

Yi Qing moved closer and observed Yu Xing even more carefully.

Then Yu Xing said, "I suddenly remembered something, but I have no recollection of it before this."

Yi Qing warned, "Don't be a riddle solver."

Yu Xing shrugged. Although the matter was a bit strange, he had gradually gotten used to it. "I remembered the initial character design when I created this character."

Yiqing wasn't there at the time, and upon hearing this, she was also somewhat curious. "Could it be that it conflicts with the present?"

Yu Xing nodded.

"It's not just a conflict, it's a fundamental conflict."

When he created the character, he set some conditions, which were then merged by the system, resulting in some settings that now seem quite selfish.

Excluding the influence of time progression in the investigator-type deduction instance, his initial character design was that of a painter born into a wealthy family who often used "San" as the name to sell his paintings, attracting a specific group of fans.

Here comes the important part.

Only now did he remember that the system had added a very special setting for him.

[In reality, it was all a facade. As a young man, you accidentally discovered you weren't your parents' biological child and uncovered a terrifying conspiracy deeply hidden within your family. From that moment on, you decided to investigate the truth. You taught yourself detective work, combat, shooting, and other skills, developing a cold and aloof personality. You didn't want others to know, and you remained on guard, so everything was done secretly.]

He learned the skills on his own, his cold personality, and the family's conspiracy—all of these fit together.

But.

And here's the most abrupt sentence.

I learned by chance when I was young that I was not my parents' biological child.

His character is not Fang Deming and Xu Wan's biological son.

Then he wasn't a true Fang family at all, and therefore didn't have the Fang family bloodline.

Therefore, the motivation for the Nanshui Town instance was flawed from the very beginning.

What's the point of the Fang family searching for their youngest son all these years under the Snake Woman's control?

Moreover, the Snake Woman can sense bloodlines, and she believes that "Fang Xing" is the real youngest son of the Fang family, which is absolutely true.

Besides, does Xu Wan not know whether he's her biological son or not?

After hearing Yu Xing said, Yi Qing was also stunned for a moment.

He found it somewhat absurd and retorted, "How could you possibly forget such a premise?"

"Yes, that's the problem. Before this, I had absolutely no recollection of this condition." Yu Xing tilted her head. "You really have to ask me how I feel, it's like..."

"In my memory, my persona was originally that of a biological child, but after I talked to Fang Xiao about it, my persona suddenly changed. My current actions are affecting my past, adding this process of reshaping my past self."

"I'm not sure whether the condition of not being biologically related existed from the beginning and was simply blocked in my memory, or whether it never existed and has inexplicably appeared now."

This memory conflicts greatly with the original story, yet it corresponds to the ending after the original story concludes.

Now that Fang Xiao knows his true identity, he can't possibly be the Fang family's biological son.

The past and the present, like two winding curves, clash with each other, yet converge at this moment.

Yu Xing was no stranger to this feeling.

The feeling of uncontrollable memories is like the inexplicable blackout he experienced in the Yin Yang Corridor. From the moment he entered Qianjie's offering room until he came out, a very long period of his memory was completely erased from his mind, and he still doesn't know what he did during that time.

He knew that the evil god could tamper with his memories.

So this time should be the same.

Yu Xing could be said to be asking Yi Qing, or he could be said to be muttering to himself. Finally, he tried poking at the system.

Changing memories doesn't seem to be a function of the system.

But since the system is at least a god-level entity, it might be able to detect when the other gods made their moves.

The system remained silent for a long time regarding this issue.

Finally, the woman's voice sounded somewhat hesitant.

[According to my records, "San" was not a biological child when the character design was finalized.]

[However, as you know, my initial plan was for you to take over the Fang family bloodline and enter Nanshui Town to help me retrieve the book. That was my initial arrangement. Therefore, I cannot allow your role to be adopted.]

Judging from his motives, Fang Xing must be his biological son.

Based on my memory, he was adopted.

Even the system cannot find the starting point of this conflict, but after eliminating all illogical chains, there is only one possibility.

The system restored the stability of the tone.

[The outcome influences the cause; this is the power of time. Your present, in turn, changes the past, while the original past timeline is erased.]

The adoption timeline overlapped with the biological timeline, thus creating a conflict in memories.

Yu Xing frowned slightly.

Just when everyone thought the matter in Nanshui Town was over, another strange thing came to light.

This ability is insufficient to contend with any of the evil gods he knows.

Even Qianjie, who can erase his memories, couldn't do that. Qianjie only targets his perception, but in this case, even the system's records were altered.

This is more like a complete reversal of Karma.

"Was it done by an evil god?" Yu Xing asked, but her tone was very certain.

There are seven evil gods in Yin Yang Town. The ones he knows so far are [He], [Book], [Qianjie], and Ghost Tree.

If we consider Yi Qing's power origin as one, then the only ones whose abilities are roughly unknown are the two evil gods.

But there's no way he'd unknowingly provoked another one, right? What are that evil god's abilities? Karma?

[... I can't be any more explicit, but I've already told you His name, and you've had contact with people associated with Him.]

Due to the system's rules, this is the only way to put it.

They could communicate without any problems regarding the information that Yu Xing already knew.

However, if it's something Yu Xing doesn't know, as a system, it can't directly tell her.

Yu Xing fell into thought.

Yi Qing, who was standing nearby, could hear the conversation between the two people and the system. After a brief moment of confusion, she guessed the answer before Yu Xing.

He actually knew the names of the seven evil gods, but for the same reason as the system, he couldn't say it aloud.

"To influence the past from the present, to reverse the outcome and the cause—that is the power of time," Yu Xing murmured, a dark glint in his eyes.

"The evil god who manipulated me is called 'Time'?"

This is the only answer.

And he did indeed come into contact with people related to time.

A name that hadn't been heard from for a while came to mind.

Witch.

The system did not deny what he said.

In loopholes in the rules, not denying something can be considered as affirming it.

Yu Xing paused, then fell silent.

He began to recall in his mind.

That woman, shrouded in the aura of time, secretly engaged in numerous underhanded schemes, including those against the Wizard Cult. Now that I think about it, she seems to be just like the Snake Woman, stealing abilities that didn't belong to her.

The Ghost Tree beneath Dead Silent Island serves as a medium for the Wizard Cult to travel to various worlds. The Witch are even attempting to replicate a "system," and have already achieved some success.

Hiss.

Yu Xing inwardly gasped for breath.

Before he destroyed the Wizard Cult, he was the mastermind behind various dungeons. Now, comparing the Witch's actions with those of the Snake Woman, he suddenly realized that the Snake Woman was merely repeating the Witch's deeds.

But the Witch had bigger ambitions.

Could it be that the Snake Woman's obsession with having her own world and being in complete control is also being orchestrated by Witch?

Two seemingly unrelated events were suddenly linked together, and upon closer examination, they became quite unsettling.

The Witch's power allows her to travel through time, so theoretically, she could also alter the past and future—like this conflict in his memory.

They were not strangers; Yu Xing was certain the Witch was an enemy.

The Witch is Yu Fengchen's enemy, but also his; therefore, it's reasonable to say that he has always been under Witch watchful eye.

Thinking a little deeper, how many key moments in his life, from his past to the present, have been altered?

Is it possible that the Witch manipulated more than one timeline, but he simply hasn't recalled the points of conflict and therefore hasn't realized it?

The more he thought about it, the more terrifying it became, because even if he knew of its existence, he had no way to counter it for the time being.

Etc!

Yu Xing suddenly looked at Yi Qing.

In the Yin Yang Corridor, what exactly is in the well that Yi Qing calls "mistake" and forbids him from approaching?

The "isolated cabin" itself has no flow of time; stillness is a form of control. Therefore, the cabin contains the power of an evil god [time].

So, is the so-called error an error of timing?

If the timing is wrong, it will affect Karma, lead to errors, and have serious consequences.

The famous grandmother paradox is a hypothesis about time.

Yu Xing's breathing became a little heavier. Once some things are understood, everything becomes clear.

Conversely, this means that the Witch might have been watching him in the Yin Yang Corridor.

The information provided by the Lingren also stated that time does not flow in Yin Yang City, so the humans inside are gradually being divided and mutated by the evil god. Without the addition of fresh blood, the situation is becoming increasingly bizarre.

Yu Xing had thought time was a noun, but it turned out to be a name.

A chill ran up his spine, and he glanced at the sky instinctively.

Time is invisible and colorless, more abstract than curses and cognition, and it envelops him at all times.

[Time's up, Yu Xing, I'm going to teleport you away.]

The system interrupted his thoughts.

However, now even Yu Xing has to think twice when she hears the words "time's up".

Yi Qing whispered, "He came faster than I expected, or rather, He may have been interfering with you all along, Yu Xing."

A cloud of smoke billowed as Yi Qing returned the dagger to Yu Xing and then slipped back into it.

Before going in, his voice was ethereal and otherworldly. "After you get back, thoroughly examine your memories. Find as many loopholes as you can, especially... the experience in the tomb."

"That time, even I couldn't stop the tide of time."