Listening to the knocking at the door, Ye Tiancheng felt a sense of familiarity.
Familiar?
What was familiar about a knocking sound?
He found himself inexplicably puzzled, but he felt this was something worth paying attention to. Thus, he didn't act rashly. Instead, he decided to wait with the little fox and Ye Wuji to see what the situation was.
The knocking outside continued for a long time. It was obvious that no response would be forthcoming.
Ye Wuji's mother, being deaf, naturally did not know that someone was knocking at her door. She remained focused, her head bowed as she wove cloth.
The sense of déjà vu grew stronger, and Ye Tiancheng and the others felt a slight jolt in their hearts.
They seemed to have a premonition.
They just waited for everything to be confirmed.
The person outside seemed to be losing patience. The force of the knocking became somewhat uncontrolled, followed by a strange sound, and the door was knocked open.
Ye Tiancheng's eyelids twitched slightly.
Yesterday, when they had visited, wasn't the situation much the same?
However, he could hardly imagine who the person knocking outside could be if the current situation was the same as yesterday. Could it be them again?
That was truly hard to fathom.
Wouldn't that mean that in this place, there was more than one of themselves?
Ye Tiancheng and the others realized this, their hearts beating faster as they awaited what would happen next.
However, no matter how unbelievable it was, they still witnessed this scene.
Ye Tiancheng and the others saw themselves from yesterday appear outside the main hall. Another "Ye Tiancheng" began to greet Ye Wuji's mother, with the "little fox" waiting beside "Ye Tiancheng."
Furthermore, another "Ye Wuji," also in bird form, stood on "Ye Tiancheng's" shoulder.
As his mother did not respond for a long time, "Ye Wuji," just like yesterday, flew up in a strange and anxious manner. He landed on the loom, finally drawing his mother's attention.
Everything that followed was like a copy-paste of yesterday.
Because of "Ye Wuji's" appearance, Ye Wuji's mother discovered the two strange men standing outside her home's main hall. This caused her panic. In her distress, she made some noises and caused a commotion, attracting nearby villagers.
Finally, Ye Wuji's mother was calmed down. "Ye Tiancheng" and the others left with the villagers and stayed at a nearby villager's home.
The real Ye Tiancheng and the others stared at the scene before them, dumbfounded.
The little fox stammered, "Wh-what, what exactly is going on?"
Why were there other versions of themselves appearing here?
When they experienced everything yesterday, did other versions of themselves also witness this scene?
It even made one doubt oneself.
Who was real, and who was fake?
As the little fox's thoughts ran wild, Ye Tiancheng patted the heads of the little fox and Ye Wuji one by one and said, "Don't overthink it. There must be a reason behind this situation. As long as we find that reason, we can solve the problem. Overthinking is useless."
The little fox and Ye Wuji calmed down slightly upon seeing Ye Tiancheng.
They considered him their pillar of strength, preventing them from completely losing their composure.
Ye Tiancheng pondered for a moment and then said, "So, this morning, when those villagers didn't recognize us, and those strange things happened, it was because of a time loop. At that time, they shouldn't have encountered us, which is why they acted that way?"
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's words, the little fox suddenly caught a word.
He suddenly repeated, "...Time?"
Ye Tiancheng blinked slightly.
"That's right, time."
He was the one holding the Kunlun Mirror. Facing such a situation, and in this place, could he really be stumped?
Ye Tiancheng immediately had a thought and summoned the artifact that had recognized him as its master, the Kunlun Mirror.
Since the Kunlun Mirror had already recognized him, although summoning it posed no significant problem and it responded very quickly, that was all.
They lacked considerable tacit understanding, and Ye Tiancheng was still exploring many of the Kunlun Mirror's uses. Therefore, when facing certain problems, Ye Tiancheng still had to find ways and research them himself. He couldn't know all the answers the moment he thought of them.
He held the Kunlun Mirror and studied it for a while.
With Ye Tiancheng's current strength, he clearly could not master the laws of time. Although he had been favored by time in the past and had an extraordinary opportunity, that was all. It did not allow him a shortcut to mastering the laws of time.
However, with the Kunlun Mirror now, Ye Tiancheng felt as if he had obtained a cheat code, allowing him to bypass innate conditions and prematurely access the laws of time.
After a long while, Ye Tiancheng finally reached a conclusion.
He fell into silent contemplation for a moment.
Only then did Ye Tiancheng say to the little fox and Ye Wuji, "The time in this place, like other places before, is problematic. It's just that the problem is slightly different. The other selves we see are not illusions."
Hearing Ye Tiancheng's latter sentence, the little fox blinked slightly.
He couldn't help but ask Ye Tiancheng, "Not illusions? What does that mean?"
"Could it be that we are the fake ones?"
Upon hearing the little fox's words, Ye Tiancheng immediately shook his head and replied, "No, we are not fake either. To be precise, whether it is us standing here now, or the other us who are experiencing what we experienced yesterday, all of us are real."
The little fox and Ye Wuji were both getting confused.
Ye Wuji also couldn't help but ask, "I don't quite understand. Why are we all real? How can there be two of us?"
Ye Tiancheng explained to them, "It has to do with the time here."
"In fact, it's not just two of us here. To be precise, there should be many of us."
This statement sent a shiver down the spines of both the little fox and Ye Wuji.
Seeing their reaction, Ye Tiancheng continued to explain in more detail, "There's a problem with the time here. There's only one day here, a repeated day. Every day is the same day. There is only 'today,' no 'yesterday' or 'tomorrow.'"
"It is because of this strange time that as long as this day keeps repeating, the events that happen on this day will also keep repeating. Thus, as this cycle continues, there will always be other selves arriving at this village, and other selves watching this scene unfold, in an endless cycle."
The little fox rubbed his arms and said in horror, "Even with that explanation, it doesn't make me feel any better. So, how many 'ourselves' are there here, and where have all these 'ourselves' gone?"
Ye Tiancheng thought silently for a moment before speaking again, "It's Luo Qi Mountain!"
The little fox took a moment to react before realizing that "Luo Qi Mountain" that Ye Tiancheng mentioned was the clue they had found behind the secret door regarding the whereabouts of the fragments of the Fuxi Qin.
He asked Ye Tiancheng hesitantly, "But big brother, how can you be so sure that this is the outcome?"
Ye Tiancheng replied, "It's actually quite simple to figure out. Just put yourself in their shoes. Think about what we would do after discovering these things. Moreover, there couldn't possibly be an infinite number of 'ourselves' gathered in the same place."
"Therefore, if we were to go to any place, the most likely place would be where we saw the clue before, the possible location of the Fuxi Qin fragments, Luo Qi Mountain."
After Ye Tiancheng's analysis, the little fox thought about it and felt it made a lot of sense.
Because at that time, if Ye Tiancheng thought this way, they themselves would likely have similar inclinations. Then, since Ye Tiancheng had expressed his intention, neither the little fox nor Ye Wuji would have any objections. They would only fully support Ye Tiancheng.
Therefore, it was highly probable that they would eventually set out for Luo Qi Mountain.
This was almost the most likely outcome.
The little fox pondered for a moment and said curiously, "Then, if we don't leave and continue to stay here, will we meet other versions of ourselves? Will they also be able to see us now?"
Ye Tiancheng raised an eyebrow slightly and replied, "It's highly unlikely."
The little fox asked in confusion, "Why do you say that? Wouldn't there be any group of ourselves with different ideas?"
Ye Tiancheng shook his head slightly.
He replied to the little fox, "Time is strictly repetitive. Moreover, if there are too many of us overlapping twice or more in close proximity, it will trigger some very troublesome and difficult-to-handle accidents."
"I didn't have time to say it earlier, but now you know."
"We will definitely leave."
Hearing this explanation, the little fox understood. If that were the case, they would definitely leave as soon as possible and not linger there.
The little fox said, "Alright, then, several 'ourselves' that might have existed before have probably already headed to Luo Qi Mountain now."
Ye Tiancheng and the others didn't actually know what kind of place this Luo Qi Mountain was, but according to the books, it was likely not an ordinary place. It might be a different realm.
It was somewhat similar to a special place like a pure land.
Even knowing its existence, finding it was another matter. Without finding the correct entrance, even if they reached the location, they would only be unable to enter and would be blocked from the outside.
The books they had read stated that the person who recorded this matter had never found the true location of Luo Qi Mountain in their lifetime, nor did they know where the entrance was. They even doubted that it might just be a magical legend.
The recorder themselves could not be sure whether Luo Qi Mountain actually existed.
However, seeing that there might be clues and information about the fragments of the Fuxi Qin, Ye Tiancheng and the others had to go there personally, regardless of whether the information was true or false. They had to verify it to be at ease and draw a conclusion.
Therefore, they would definitely go there.
The little fox asked Ye Tiancheng, "Then what do we do now? When should we arrive at Luo Qi Mountain?"
Ye Wuji already had an idea about this question.
Ye Wuji stood on Ye Tiancheng's shoulder and said, "We definitely have to leave today, right? I remember big brother saying that if there are more than two close contacts, very troublesome and difficult matters will arise."
"If we linger too long, we'll be in trouble, won't we?"