Replacing the Evil Way

Chapter 95: Find Brother

Amidst the misty mountains and forest, the fog was so thick that it almost congealed into a solid mass, too dense to dissipate. However, He Wei had anticipated this and calmly took out a flashlight. Now, facing the thick fog, he was no longer panicked; on the contrary, he was full of confidence. It was precisely because he knew what would happen that he had no fear in his heart. Let the storm come more violently.

Within the mist, there was no sense of the passage of time. He Wei didn’t know what time it was now or how much time remained until the incident occurred. But what he was clear about was that the case had not yet begun, and according to the planned route, he should reach the mansion shortly before 3 o’clock.

The flashlight’s beam of light was of little use in the dense fog, unable to penetrate further. However, it was sufficient to help He Wei see the path ahead. The terrain of Fulong Mountain was complex, and there was only one paved road that led up. He Wei was walking along that road, and as long as he kept going forward, he would eventually reach the mansion.

However, things didn’t go as planned. Gradually, He Wei noticed that the asphalt road beneath his feet had changed. With a “crack,” he looked down and realized he had stepped on a crushed soda can.

He Wei picked up the can, which turned out to be an empty Baishi Cola can with the Baishi logo transformed into a smiling face. What was more striking was that the ground beneath his feet had turned into a mix of mud and fallen leaves. He had long deviated from the normal path and had no idea where he had wandered deep into the mountains.

What the hell? He Wei tossed the can aside, unable to think of a better adjective. Even with his flashlight, he could get lost. This was more perplexing than getting lost in a maze.

Looking up, the sky was shrouded in thick fog, and even the tops of the trees were invisible. He Wei couldn’t find his direction, so he could only walk aimlessly, pushing through a thicket of waist-high shrubs. Not far ahead, he spotted a familiar figure, lost in the dense forest.

As he got closer, He Wei examined the man carefully and realized that the person wandering blindly in the woods was none other than himself.

The He Wei before him was circling within a small area in front of him, biting his lip, completely unaware of how peculiar his actions were. He Wei’s gaze shifted to his face and found that he was pale, his pupils unfocused, and there was a fine sweat on his forehead and nose, as if he had fallen into a nightmare.

Indeed, it was a nightmare that He Wei had experienced before, so he could empathize even more. He walked over and took out the Type 92 pistol from his pocket, handing it to the He Wei from the previous loop, saying, “Your gun; it’s here.”

One word awakened the dreamer. After he felt the gun in his hand, his eyes gradually focused, and he cautiously asked, “Who are you?”

“Go, you know what to do.”

With He Wei’s hand against his back, he pushed him forward, and he stumbled, disappearing into the thick fog.

In the end, He Wei had to do it all by himself. He stared at the spot where the other him had disappeared, his mind speculating about the scene in the mansion: there were now two He Weis plus this last one from the future, making three individuals coexisting.

His hand reached the hemp rope tied to his waist. Recalling the first loop, when he had been knocked unconscious by the gun butt, he had seen someone strangle the black-clothed man from behind. Presumably, it was the future him who had reached the end of the loop, killing He Wei with the gun, which was why there was a murder case in this scenario involving Cheng Zhesheng.

However, this loop was something he couldn’t cut off. If he went back now, he would only repeat the previous actions, which wouldn’t make much sense.

With this in mind, He Wei didn’t rush to the mansion. Time in the fog was frozen, and based on his experience, no matter how much time he wasted, the time he would arrive at the mansion after leaving would still be around 2:50.

He Wei turned around, flashlight in hand, and started walking in the opposite direction.

“Cheng Zhenqing!”

“Cheng Zhenqing!”

“Cheng Zhenqing!”

He shouted as he walked, calling out repeatedly, but unfortunately, there was no response. Getting tired, He Wei sat down on a rock to rest, unwilling to give up until he found Cheng Zhenqing.

If He Wei was the key to the labyrinth, then Cheng Zhenqing was like the map, guiding him in the right direction. Although Cheng Zhenqing might not have experienced the current situation, he might provide some insights that would help He Wei find a way to break the loop.

After a short break, He Wei stood up, continued walking with the flashlight, and continued calling Cheng Zhenqing’s name persistently. During this time period, Cheng Zhenqing should have existed, and they should have been far from the mansion by now, which was a place Cheng Zhenqing could access. He believed that, as long as he persevered, he would find Cheng Zhenqing.

After walking for what seemed like an hour, He Wei accidentally kicked something with his foot, and when he shone the light down, he saw another blue and white soda can.

Do people who come here to hike all like to drink canned Pepsi?

He Wei picked up the can and noticed the smiley face drawn on it with a black marker, which left him stunned.

He shined the flashlight carefully and confirmed that he wasn’t mistaken. Then he looked at the road around him and couldn’t decide which way to go.

This was clearly the same can he had stepped on earlier, but now it appeared intact. Could it be that by choosing to walk in the opposite direction, he was moving backward in time?

He Wei couldn’t help but furrow his brow and instinctively reach for the gun in his pocket. Confirming that the gun was not on him, he wondered if he walked back, would he encounter his previous self in the loop?

If he walked back, he didn’t know how much more time he would waste. He Wei was already feeling parched. He held the flashlight and hesitated left and right. In the end, he decided to continue walking in the opposite direction to see how far back in time he could go.

After estimating that about two hours had passed—

“Cheng Zhenqing!”

“Cheng Zhenqing, can you hear me?”

“Cheng—”

“He Wei!”

He Wei’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately turned and ran in the direction of the voice. He ran while shining the flashlight and kept asking, “Is that you, Cheng Zhenqing?! Say something!”

“It’s me; be careful, there’s a pit here!”

He Wei slowed down his steps, treading cautiously. The flashlight illuminated a dark patch ahead, and he let out a sigh of relief when he saw Cheng Zhenqing.

“I’ve been looking for you for ages! I didn’t expect to find you here resting.”

“Resting? You call this resting?” Cheng Zhenqing, covered in dirt, stood in the pit. The hole was about three meters deep and lined with straw on the surface. Cheng Zhenqing had accidentally fallen in, and when he tried to climb out, he couldn’t find a foothold. Plus, it was dark and the fog was thick, so he was completely disoriented inside the hole, as if he had his eyes closed. He couldn’t use any of his skills in this situation.

“Is this a trap dug by local hunters to catch animals?” He Wei asked, “Are there any other animal traps here?”

Cheng Zhenqing shook his head. If there were traps, how could he still be standing here? He would have been caught already. Ignoring the snakes, insects, rodents, and ants in the hole, it was relatively clean; at least there were no animal carcasses.

“I see you’re pretty comfortable.”

“If you think it’s comfortable, why don’t you come down?”

“It’s so small, just enough for one person.”

“No problem, I’ll make room. We can both fit.”

The two bantered back and forth, but after the teasing, He Wei took out the hemp rope and shook it, saying, “Is our equipment complete enough?”

Cheng Zhenqing was surprised. “Damn, when did you have this on you? Did you find it in the mountains?”

He Wei smiled and thought of a poetic phrase—Nostalgia reverberates in empty verses, hearing the flute, writing essays by the village pond.

Cheng Zhenqing was unaware of what He Wei had experienced during the time he was trapped here. He was no longer the He Wei who had gone missing with him in the forest. Time outside the mountains passed swiftly, but within the mist, everything still maintained the appearance of the previous loop.

He Wei hadn’t expected that the rope given to him by Lian Jingyuan would have this function. It was an unexpected benefit. After he helped Cheng Zhenqing climb out of the hole, both of them were covered in sweat. Cheng Zhenqing shook his head. “Finally, we’re out! If you hadn’t come, I would have screamed my lungs out here in the deep mountains, and no one would have heard me.”

“That’s right, you didn’t even bother to check if there was anyone here. It took me forever to find you.”

Cheng Zhenqing took out his phone, and indeed, the time was still 2 o’clock. It hadn’t moved since they got separated from He Wei. He Wei recalled the time they got lost with Cheng Zhenqing last time and estimated that it was about the same. So, it seemed that this misty area was like a horizontal timeline. If he kept moving forward, he would progress through forward-flowing time, but if he walked in the opposite direction, he would constantly backtrack.

As for the feeling that time was standing still here, it might be because the flow of time in this place was so slow that they couldn’t perceive it. The main thing was that He Wei felt like he had been walking for at least four or five hours, but when he found Cheng Zhenqing, the time had only gone from 2:50 to 2:00.

“How is it at the mansion?” 

He Wei shook his head, “I don’t know; I haven’t been there yet. I’ve been looking for you, remember?”

Cheng Zhenqing was anxious. Why was He Wei looking for him? He should have gone to save Cheng Zesheng first. What if his brother died again? Wouldn’t this be a waste of time?

He Wei urged him to stay calm, “Don’t worry. Time inside and outside the fog is relatively stagnant. When we get out, it will still be 2:50. No matter how long we stay here, it will still be 2:50 outside.”

Cheng Zhenqing looked puzzled, “…How do you know that?”

He Wei smiled faintly, “I’ve been through it.”

Cheng Zhenqing was skeptical, studying his expression. He suddenly noticed the slight differences in He Wei’s clothing—his shirt, pants, and shoes. Cheng Zhenqing became cautious, taking a step back and increasing the distance between them, his hand in his pocket, regretting not having brought a weapon for self-defense. Later, he simply picked up a brick from the ground. “What happened to that He Wei? Which version of him are you?”

He Wei couldn’t help but sigh softly as he glanced at the brick in Cheng Zhenqing’s hand. Finally, he decided to tell him the truth.

“…It’s probably something like that. I don’t know if this can be considered going back in time, but I found you in your original world. Maybe you couldn’t get close to the crime scene because you’ve been wandering around Fulong Mountain all along.”

Cheng Zhenqing, who had experienced countless battles and was immune to a hundred poisons, had his worldview shattered and was forced to reassemble it. He pondered, “So, according to what you’re saying, I’m in my own world right now. Does that mean I can be reborn here?! Is it possible that if this loop can be broken, it doesn’t matter to me anymore?”

He Wei wasn’t sure, but he had a feeling it wasn’t that simple. Cheng Zhenqing was already dead in this world, so if he were to be reborn, wouldn’t it shock everyone? Unless time could be rewound to three years ago, giving him a chance to survive, it would only be feasible in He Wei’s world.

Cheng Zhenqing composed his expression, patting He Wei on the shoulder, “Let’s go, no matter what; let’s first save my brother. As long as we can break this loop, I don’t really care about the rest.”

The two of them continued to walk in the direction of normal time flow. For some reason, He Wei suddenly felt that the thick fog around him was moving slightly faster, unlike when he was moving backward, where the fog seemed like a tangible barrier preventing him from progressing. Could it be that time, like a river, encountered significant resistance when moving in reverse?

The journey this time was still long, but Cheng Zhenqing didn’t get separated from He Wei. They walked side by side, tightly holding onto each other’s arms. Gradually, the fog started to thin, and the overcast sky cleared, revealing the bright moon.

Not far away, the silhouette of a pointed-roof building emerged from the mist. He Wei instinctively held his breath; they were almost at the mansion.

Cheng Zhenqing became nervous too, whispering, “This is the first time in so many loops that I’ve walked all the way to the mansion with you.”

“An unexpected development, right?” He Wei smiled and said, “That’s exactly what I wanted.”

“According to what you said, if you came straight here, you would have strangled the He Wei with the rifle and turned it into a murder in this world, right?” Cheng Zhenqing suddenly realized something, “But this time you’ve changed too much. At the very least, I won’t let you do it. Or…”

“You’ll help me kill him or them.”

He Wei gazed at the mansion. Perhaps the previous versions of him had never tried to find a way to bring Cheng Zhenqing here. This time, he had broken the pattern. He wondered if this Möbius loop was ready to accept the unexpected punches he was throwing.

The fog had completely dissipated, and the two of them stood under a tree on the side of the mansion. Cheng Zhenqing cracked his knuckles and said, “Let’s do it.”

He Wei nodded, “Let’s do it.”

They were now embracing their final destiny.