Ye Tiancheng's words sent a jolt of alarm through the little fox. He was a sensitive and sharp-witted individual, and Ye Tiancheng's statement allowed him to connect many dots.
However, he hadn't truly considered the possibility, unlike Ye Tiancheng. Being young and less experienced, and subconsciously not wishing it to be true, the little fox hadn't considered whether Ye Tiancheng and Fatty standing beside him were illusions or reality.
Fatty's thoughts were less intricate, but he wasn't dense enough not to understand. His interpretation was more superficial. "Brother Ye, so you mean we might be in some kind of illusion right now?"
"It's not entirely certain. We still need some evidence to prove it. Our current evidence is insufficient to confirm this is an illusion, nor can we verify if everything we're experiencing is related to our own thoughts. To prove this, we need to do some other things."
The little fox mused, "Then what should we do? Should we form a hypothesis in our minds and see if it is confirmed?"
Ye Tiancheng hesitated. He wasn't entirely sure how they should proceed. He had some ideas, but they might need further refinement before they could be truly implemented.
It was difficult to say. He wasn't entirely confident that his guess was correct, and it was possible their efforts would be in vain.
"It seems that's all we can do now. Or perhaps, what we should do is carefully consider which of our previous hypotheses might be confirmed next, and which ones haven't materialized, to draw a conclusion."
"Because even I am not sure now. If this truly is an illusion, and our illusions are determined by our inner thoughts, then are those imagined scenarios that we unconsciously conceive from our hearts being realized, or will deliberately created scenarios also be confirmed one by one?"
After hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, Fatty first recalled what he had thought about. He hadn't thought of much, nor had he made many negative assumptions. He was a person who didn't overthink things.
"Brother Ye, I'm not sure. You know me, I can't think of that much. You probably can't rely on me for this."
Fatty had a rather go-with-the-flow attitude, facing challenges as they came. He was speaking the honest truth, without any pretense. He was simply the type of person who didn't dwell on things, not as sensitive as the little fox, nor as strategic as Ye Tiancheng.
Ye Tiancheng knew Fatty's nature well, so he didn't say much more. The little fox's expression flickered slightly. He knew he had had some less-than-ideal thoughts earlier, but his expression only changed for a moment before returning to normal, unnoticed by Ye Tiancheng and Fatty.
It wasn't that he intended to hide anything. He just knew that his thoughts weren't good to voice. However, he also knew that this wasn't the time for him to conceal things. If he hid them too obviously, Ye Tiancheng and Fatty would surely notice. If he were to hide something, it wouldn't be hidden well.
The little fox was fundamentally good-hearted but didn't want Ye Tiancheng and Fatty to misunderstand him further. Therefore, he didn't completely conceal his thoughts. By revealing only a portion of the truth, it would be less likely for them to suspect him of having ulterior motives.
Thus, after some thought, when it was his turn, the little fox said to Ye Tiancheng, "As for me, I have considered some things. Not particularly detailed thoughts, just a guess about whether we might encounter some danger. Nothing much else."
"If I had to say my most recent thoughts, it would probably be that I don't know what dangers the three of us will encounter together next. It would be best if we could stay together. I'm a bit worried about what might happen to Brother Ye and Brother Fatty. I haven't thought of much else."
The little fox's thoughts were indeed quite childlike, given his age. Therefore, Ye Tiancheng and Fatty didn't suspect him much. The little fox could be said to have revealed all that he could disclose.
Ye Tiancheng nodded, saying no more. Currently, they didn't have any better ideas to implement.
"Then, we can only wait. We don't have any better ideas. There's nothing we can do about it. We can only hope everything goes smoothly. It's best not to delay here for too long, otherwise, it would be too terrible."
Fatty and the little fox also nodded. They didn't have much to be particularly concerned about. If Fatty had any personal attachments, he wouldn't have followed Ye Tiancheng so closely, braving hardships and weathering storms, never settling down.
As for the little fox, he did indeed have feelings for Su Muxian. However, it was merely a liking. If he had to say, the little fox cared more about Ye Tiancheng. If he had to choose, he would choose to stay with Ye Tiancheng and Fatty, even if it meant fewer opportunities to interact with Su Muxian. The little fox would rather it be this way and wouldn't change his mind.
Everyone has someone who is relatively more important to them. Therefore, sacrificing other things they care about for that person is quite normal. Both Fatty and the little fox simply wanted to follow Ye Tiancheng.
Fatty and the little fox also knew Ye Tiancheng. If it were in the past, it would have been much better. Even if Ye Tiancheng had attachments, there was nothing that could be done. Ye Tiancheng cared about quite a few things, and both Fatty and the little fox completely understood, as they themselves were part of what Ye Tiancheng cared about.
It didn't matter if those attachments existed before. At least there were no particularly urgent matters. Occasionally missing them and then contacting them for a period of time was also fine.
However, the current situation was different. Ye Tiancheng's daughter, Ye Qingcheng, was in a precarious situation. Ye Qingcheng now couldn't do without Ye Tiancheng. Even if Ye Tiancheng left, he couldn't be away for too long. Ye Tiancheng couldn't let go of his daughter Ye Qingcheng, nor could he let go of the child's mother, Hou Mingzhu.
Conversely, if Ye Tiancheng encountered something and couldn't return, nor could he send word back, and no message could be sent from the other side, then Hou Mingzhu would definitely worry about Ye Tiancheng. This was unavoidable.
Ye Tiancheng didn't say anything more. He didn't voice his terrible suspicions, such as his deep concern that Fatty and the little fox in front of him were merely illusions.
This would make him uncontrollably anxious and worried. If the two people in front of him were indeed fake, then where were the real Fatty and the real little fox? What were they facing?
Ye Tiancheng was very worried they might encounter misfortune, or be deceived by something strange. This was highly possible, given what he himself had experienced. If Fatty and the little fox were likely experiencing similar things, how could he not feel worried?
No matter how much difficulty Ye Tiancheng felt in his heart, he could only suppress all these matters and dare not speak of them further.
In fact, he was more inclined to believe that this was an illusion. After all, it would be very difficult, almost impossible, to find such a beautiful, desolate, and uninhabited paradise in the present day. When something is abnormal, it is often a sign of trouble. Having experienced so much, Ye Tiancheng naturally wouldn't harbor overly optimistic thoughts.
Moreover, if this were just an illusion, it would actually be a good thing. Because if it were an illusion, it would further indicate that everything happening now had a correct solution. It was much better than blindly stumbling around like a headless fly.
With this thought, Ye Tiancheng secretly made a decision in his heart and temporarily suppressed some of his thoughts, waiting for the moment when they would be confirmed.
He indeed placed his bets on everything being illusory. However, because he couldn't take risks and wasn't entirely sure that Fatty and the little fox beside him were fake, mere figments of his imagination, he couldn't gamble with his brothers' lives. Even if this truly were an illusion, it would actually accelerate the process of breaking free from it.
Thinking of this, Ye Tiancheng had some ominous thoughts. He recalled the events when he activated the Nuwa Stone and thought of Hou Qing'er, which made him unable to calm down.
If, at that time, the Nuwa Stone required Hou Qing'er's blood as a sacrifice to be activated, then in this place, where he was now, the only people he cared about were... Fatty and the little fox.
After all, Hou Mingzhu and his daughter Ye Qingcheng couldn't possibly be in such a place. If either of them appeared here, even just one of them, it would be enough to prove the abnormality of this place. This illusion shouldn't be so foolish.
Comparatively, Ye Tiancheng was more worried that if he couldn't return quickly and couldn't contact Hou Mingzhu, she would soon learn that something had happened to him.
If Hou Mingzhu learned that something had happened to him and went to the construction site, what would happen? If that were the case, it would be terrible.
Already, due to the news of the Nuwa Stone's appearance, various forces had gathered at the construction site, making it a mixed bag. If Hou Mingzhu were to barge in, and she had a relationship with him, and something happened to her because of it, Ye Tiancheng would never forgive himself.