I instinctively wanted to tell Lu Ziye who I was, but the words got stuck in my throat.
Who was I?
The memories in my mind were like an oil painting washed with water, gradually fading.
All recollections of my parents, my upbringing, and everything that happened between them and me after arriving on this island had vanished.
I suddenly discovered a terrifying truth: I seemed to have no name, and my memory held no information about my identity.
"Who am I?"
I murmured in confusion, looking at Lu Ziye helplessly, hoping to get an answer from him.
Lu Ziye sighed, his eyes filled with pity.
"Do you feel like you don't exist right now, unable to recall any memories about your identity?"
Lu Ziye slowly walked towards me, revealing a truth I could not accept.
"You never existed, or to put it another way, you are merely an imagined person."
I didn't exist?
"What are you talking about!!!"
I instinctively denied Lu Ziye's statement, but my body involuntarily retreated, as if this could help me escape the reality I refused to face.
"Still unwilling to face reality?"
"Li Degui!"
I am Li Degui?!
I opened my mouth, and a memory suddenly surged into my mind.
After arriving on the island, there were only six people in the camp. I was Li Degui, whom I had subconsciously ignored.
That day, after witnessing Pan Lili's body, I was heartbroken. To escape the reality of Pan Lili's death, after burying her with my own hands, I subconsciously created this current personality, hiding my true self.
"No, no. I am not Li Degui!"
The most terrifying thing in the world is to be told that you don't actually exist, that you were artificially created.
I kept backing away until my back hit the tombstone, and I stopped.
"Do you remember now?"
Lu Ziye's words were relentless, like a barrage of knives cutting into my heart.
"How long will you keep hiding? Are you going to live the rest of your life without a name? Li Degui, wake up!"
I clutched my head in pain and lowered it. Countless memories belonging to Li Degui flooded my mind.
The confrontations with Lu Ziye, the desperate attempts to please Shangguan Yao, and the feeling of powerlessness upon seeing my girlfriend's corpse all rushed back!
Who am I really!
"No, I am not Li Degui!"
I suddenly looked up, my eyes bloodshot, staring at Lu Ziye and yelling at him.
"You wouldn't tell me all this out of the goodness of your heart. You must have drugged my food to make me forget my own memories. Did you do this?!"
As I said this, I lunged towards Lu Ziye to fight him, but before I could make a move, Lu Ziye's expression turned fierce, and he shoved me to the ground.
"I'm increasingly looking down on you. You're such a coward. But it's fine, look behind you."
At some point, the flashlight that had been providing light stopped working, making the entire cemetery eerily dark. Lu Ziye's face was hidden in the shadows, and I could only vaguely see him smiling in the bright moonlight.
Why was he smiling?
He wanted me to look behind me. Had another grave appeared behind me?
I instinctively looked back and found that the previously unmarked tombstone now had a few words etched on it.
"Tomb of Li Degui"
This is Li Degui's grave?!
"Hahahaha, you're still saying you didn't do it! I clearly saw no markings on this tomb just now, and now there are words on it after I turned my head. You can't fool me!"
I burst into laughter, tears streaming down my face.
Lu Ziye was treating me like an ignorant child to be tricked. Anyone with an IQ above 80 would not believe such an obvious flaw.
Facing my manic reaction, Lu Ziye remained motionless, simply watching me.
Gradually, I ran out of breath from laughing, and my arms slumped powerlessly onto the tombstone.
"Had enough of venting?"
Luo Yaqin, who had been standing by without speaking, suddenly interjected.
"There have always been words on that tombstone, but you were unwilling to believe it. In fact, you carved those words yourself."
Heh.
I sneered, looking at Luo Yaqin with utter mockery.
"I knew you weren't any good either. Now you've teamed up with Lu Ziye to deceive me. You truly are a pair of despicable lovers."
Luo Yaqin remained unperturbed by my insults, calmly tapping her fingers.
"Li Degui, your time is running out. Why can't you face your true identity before you die?"