Ling Cage: Twelve Talismans? I have everything I need.

Chapter 77 Feasibility

“Yuekui…” Bai Yuetian opened his mouth.

The nonchalance on his face faded, revealing a rare hint of seriousness.

He leaned forward slightly, lowered his voice, and asked with a hint of inquiry, "Okay, even if... even if the person you met when you were a child really was Orange, does that mean the plan succeeded?"

Bai Yuekui did not answer directly, but just looked at him quietly with deep eyes, as if he had tacitly agreed to the conclusion.

Bai Yuetian frowned, logic racing through his mind, and he instantly grasped a point of contradiction.

He slammed his hand on the table, his body almost leaning over the surface, staring directly into Bai Yuekui's eyes.

“Wait a minute! What if! I mean, what if!” he emphasized, “What if your plan really succeeds! What if at some point in the future, Orange really does travel back in time and appear when you were a child… then why are we still in this mess?!”

He spread his hands and pointed forcefully around.

“Logically speaking,” Bai Yuetian said, his speech quickening and his logic becoming clear.

“Since Yang Chen from the future has returned to the past, he knows everything about us! He knows about the outbreak of the Mana ecosystem, so why didn’t he stop it? If he had just told you or me a little bit in advance, or done something else, our situation would be completely different now!”

His voice carried an almost cruel clarity.

"But look at us! Look at this world! The lighthouse is still floating in the sky, the Mana ecosystem is still expanding, and Gray even stole my body to become the lord of the lighthouse, and then he even had a grandson to annoy me!"

Bai Yuetian leaned back in his chair, staring intently at Bai Yuekui, and posed the most crucial question.

"So, Yue Kui, this can only mean one thing: either the person you met when you were a child was not Yang Chen at all, but just looked very similar, or it was a coincidence or your illusion."

"Either... this plan didn't succeed at all, it failed! Or it has a huge paradox in theory, making it simply unworkable!"

Bai Yuetian crossed his arms and looked at Bai Yuekui: "I still think the plan to conquer the succubus is feasible."

The sound of running water in the kitchen had stopped sometime ago.

Yang Chen stood at the kitchen doorway, holding a dishcloth in his hand, clearly having heard Bai Yuetian's intense reasoning.

His gaze shifted between Bai Yuekui and Bai Yuetian, finally settling on Bai Yuekui.

A brief silence fell over the living room. Bai Yuekui's expression remained calm; she was not angered by Bai Yuetian's question, but rather seemed to have been waiting for it.

She slowly picked up the slightly cooled water glass in front of her, her fingertips gently stroking the inside of the glass, and finally spoke.

"There are too many uncertainties in the anti-corruption plan."

“Brother, your question is very reasonable. This is precisely the dilemma faced by the most core ‘grandfather paradox’ in time theory.”

She looked up, her gaze sweeping over the still-excited Bai Yuetian, then towards Yang Chen at the door.

“However, our theory based on Tasia’s potential points to another possibility.” Her voice carried the calm analytical quality characteristic of a researcher.

"A possibility that does not depend on a single, linear timeline."

Bai Yuekui paused for a moment: "We speculate that even if the plan succeeds, Chengzi really did go back to the past."

"For example, if he went back to the time when I was a child, what he entered might not be the past of our timeline."

Bai Yuetian frowned even more deeply: "What do you mean?"

“It means,” Bai Yuekui’s voice was clear and strong, “that he may have entered a parallel world that is branched off from our current timeline. In that world, he met me when I was a child. He may have done something, or he may have done nothing. But from that branching point, that world has already embarked on a completely different path from ours.”

"In other words, the timeline branched out after he went back in time."

She looked at Yang Chen, her eyes deep: "The existence of Orange itself... is a huge variable."

"You also know that he is not from our world, perhaps from another universe, or more likely from a different dimension."

"So," Bai Yuekui concluded, his gaze returning to Bai Yuetian.

“Even if he goes back, even if he sees my past self, or even tries to change something… what he changes is only the historical process of that parallel world, while the timeline we are on…” Bai Yuekui paused slightly.

It continues to glide along its predetermined path, without changing in the slightest.

Bai Yuetian fell completely silent. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table as he processed his sister's explanation about parallel worlds.

"As long as this possibility is realized, there will be countless opportunities. Even if this plan still fails, we can try the attack plan again."

Yang Chen also fell into deep thought, as the magic of the talisman had now completely merged with his own.

He tried it, but nothing changed except for reaching the maximum speed.

Xiaoyu once used a rabbit talisman to travel back in time, but the reason is unclear.

Is there any prerequisite for this?

I should have just followed my father and learned magic instead of practicing kung fu.

Silence filled the living room.

Bai Yuetian's fingers tapped on the table at a slower and slower pace until they finally stopped.

He leaned back abruptly, and the seriousness on his face vanished instantly.

"Alright, alright!" He waved his hand and his loud voice broke the silence.

"Why think so much! It's not easy for the whole family to get together for a meal, and all this talk about plans and theories is just overwhelming!"

He leaned forward, picked up an empty glass from the table, and was about to pour himself some water.

"Anyway, even if things go badly, it'll just be like this now, continuing to live here. I have food and drink, a capable brother-in-law like Orange, oh, and my incomparably beautiful younger sister!" He winked at Bai Yuekui: "Life's pretty good, isn't it?"

Bai Yuekui paused almost imperceptibly in the water glass he was holding.

She slowly raised her eyes, her gaze falling on Bai Yuetian's grinning face.

She paused for two seconds before speaking in a completely flat tone.

"This topic," she tilted her head slightly, "...wasn't it you who brought it up?"

"..."

Bai Yuetian's smile froze instantly, and the hand holding the empty cup stopped in mid-air.

"Ahem!" He coughed lightly, put down the empty cup, straightened his back, and tried to regain his composure.

"So what? I'm just concerned about my dear sister's great scientific research! As an older brother, isn't it normal to care about your sister?"

His voice trailed off as he spoke, clearly realizing how lame his excuse was.

Bai Yuekui watched his performance expressionlessly, without even raising an eyebrow.

She put down her water glass, stood up, and did so with swift and decisive movements.

"I'm full, I'm going out for a walk." After saying that, she turned around and walked straight out of the room.

"boom."

The door was closed gently, without making a sound.

Bai Yuetian looked at the closed door, then at Yang Chen beside her, who still had a smile on his lips.

Finally, I looked down at the empty table in front of me and the empty glass that hadn't been filled with water.

He touched his nose and muttered sullenly, "...I was just showing concern."

Yang Chen walked over, patted Bai Yuetian on the shoulder, and sat down next to him.

"Alright, these are all unknowns, we can only take it one step at a time."

Bai Yuetian pouted: "I now suspect that you went back a long time ago and then kidnapped my sister, otherwise why would you treat me like this?"

Yang Chen sighed, "I don't even know how I got here. If I were to go back to the past, it would be my future self."

Bai Yuetian then seemed to have thought of something, her eyes lit up, and she looked at Yang Chen.

"You have to make it up to me, Orange!"

Yang Chen asked in confusion, "What kind of compensation?"

He grabbed Yang Chen's arms with both hands: "Let me borrow your talisman to play with."

"No."

Bai Yuetian continued to plead, "I'm your brother-in-law, why can't I play with the one you lend to Yuekui?"

Yang Chen looked at Bai Yuetian, who had a pitiful expression, and sighed helplessly.

"What kind of talisman?"

"I want a little snake."

"."

A flash of blue light appeared in Yang Chen's palm, and a talisman engraved with a small green snake pattern appeared.

My father once said: The talisman is not important; what matters is the magic within it.

Let's see what tricks this empty shell of a stone, Bai Yuetian, can pull off.

"Here, for you." Yang Chen held out his hand to Bai Yuetian.

Bai Yuetian snatched the talisman engraved with a small green snake from Yang Chen's palm. It was icy cold to the touch and had a strange feel to it.

His eyes lit up instantly, like a hungry wolf spotting a piece of meat.

"Thanks, Orange! I knew you were the best! My brother-in-law is the most handsome in the universe!" He grinned, revealing a set of white teeth, his smile so bright it was almost blinding.

Before he could finish speaking, he gave Yang Chen no chance to back out or give him any instructions. He suddenly lunged backward and rushed to the door in a few steps.

"I'll return it to you in a bit, I promise!" he shouted without turning his head, his voice fading into the distance as he opened the door and rushed out.

"boom!"

The door was slammed shut, making the door frame rattle.

Yang Chen remained in the outstretched position, his palm still tinged with the sensation of the talisman being taken away, and a hint of speechlessness.

He stared at the empty doorway, as if he could still see Bai Yuetian's excited, blurry figure.

He sighed helplessly and rubbed his temples.

"So excited about getting the snake charm? Luckily it's just a stone without magic power."

　In the original novel, Lusheng might not have died at this point in time, but he definitely dies in this book. Please understand.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)