But the moment he stepped inside, he sensed something uncanny. The furnishings in the room were impeccably neat and orderly, starkly contrasting with the scene outside—a chaotic mess of tattered sails and scattered debris that he had just witnessed. How could everything be so clean, so entirely free of dust, especially when household items were strewn everywhere?

He cautiously lifted his gaze to survey the surroundings. He was unwilling to accept that what he had seen moments before had vanished without a trace. Yet, everywhere he looked remained pristine, showing no sign of disruption, as if someone still resided there. This puzzled him further. If the environment could shift so easily, surely the fat man he saw outside wouldn't have simply disappeared. He quickly searched the room again, desperate to find any sign of the man, but was ultimately disappointed to find no trace of him whatsoever.

He shook his head in resignation and glanced back at Ma Xiong, who was trailing behind. Ma Xiong returned the look with an identical expression. It seemed their mental capacities were on the same low level; neither of their brains was functioning adequately at the moment.

Even if he couldn't find the fat man, so be it; after all, he didn't particularly care about the man’s fate. However, he distinctly remembered hearing Han Chong’s voice, which meant this tent had to be connected to Han Chong. Yet, there wasn't the slightest sign of her. Still, the room's perfect tidiness suggested that at least one young woman certainly lived here.

He called out softly, "Han Chong, is that you? Come out, quickly. It’s Lu Zong." The silence that followed caused his heart to sink a little. Encountering the person he loved right now would have been a stroke of luck, but reality quickly extinguished that small hope. Still, he persisted, unwilling to give up. Had everything he heard—including the fat man—been nothing more than an illusion? He shook his head, clearly reluctant to believe it. If it was just an illusion, why did both he and Ma Xiong share the exact same hallucination? He called out again, more gently this time: "Is anyone here? We are new arrivals; please excuse our intrusion, miss."

Still no response. Lu Zong's hope gradually faded. He looked around at the mirrored perfection with a touch of sorrow, feeling that everything was false—the people, the voices, even the sights his eyes perceived. If he were outside now, people would surely think he had gone mad. He lowered his head with a wry, self-mocking smile.

He looked at Ma Xiong, who mirrored his own confusion, and chuckled. "Forget it. That must have been an illusion. Let's leave this place quickly. For some reason, I have a bad feeling about this place; it feels utterly bizarre."

Ma Xiong looked at the disheartened Lu Zong and felt an unexpected pang of sympathy. He smiled and said, "Don't dismiss it just yet, Lu Zong. I have an idea that might work, something that could draw out the owner of this room."

Lu Zong immediately looked at Ma Xiong with gratitude, asking excitedly, "Tell me quickly, what is it?"

Ma Xiong's lips curled into a slight upward curve as he looked at Lu Zong. "Just follow me. I guarantee the owner of this room will show herself." With that, he walked to a corner of the room, picked up a large handful of things that glittered as if they were solid gold, and said, "Let's go."

The ploy worked perfectly. Before they could even step out the doorway, a voice called out from behind them: "Hold it! Who let you take my things?"

Lu Zong turned back excitedly. Standing there was indeed a young woman, wearing a white shirt and purple-and-white jeans, looking quite fashionable. Her delicate figure was especially captivating. To find such a picture of standard beauty in this desolate place was certainly enticing. But the most important realization struck him when he saw her face: it was Han Chong.

He grabbed Han Chong's hand with excitement, his voice trembling. "Han Chong, is that you? What are you doing here? I thought you were supposed to stay home with Lu Sha. Why did you run off?"

But the young woman looked at Lu Zong with utter bewilderment, trying to place who this man calling her Han Chong could be. She strained against the chains of her memory, unleashing her imagination, but ultimately recalled nothing. Finally, she shook her head helplessly and said, "I'm sorry, I truly don't know who you are. Please remove your hands."

Lu Zong’s excitement instantly evaporated. He scrutinized the woman before him. No mistake—she was identical to the Han Chong in his memory, even her voice was unchanged. Why, then, did she not recognize him now?

He pressed again, unwilling to accept the reality. "Han Chong, look again! You really don't recognize me? We spent so much time together; you even promised to marry me." Ma Xiong quickly chimed in from behind, "Not only that, but you two are already intimate! I saw it myself. Don't try to deny it just because Lu Zong looks pathetic now. I’m a witness."

However, Han Chong glared at the two men, regarding them as typical hooligans. She eyed her hands disdainfully before snapping, "No matter what, first, take your hands off me. I don't know either of you ruffians. Hurry up, or my husband will take care of you when he gets back. My husband is tall and big; neither of you stands a chance."

"What? Your husband? Tall and big?" Lu Zong staggered backward as if struck by a series of blows, releasing Han Chong's hand. He looked at the girl, so lovely and gentle, and felt a wave of disbelief wash over him, desperate to confirm the situation. "Han Chong, when did you marry him? When we parted, didn't we promise eternal devotion, till the seas run dry and the mountains crumble? How could you change your mind so fast?" He studied her face again. This had to be Han Chong, but why didn't her demeanor feel like his Han Chong?

He kept examining her, until Han Chong grew self-conscious. She shook her head and said, "Hey, who exactly are you, and what are you doing here? If you have nothing important, please leave; I'm busy."

Lu Zong glared furiously at the person he loved most, now constantly urging him to leave. Grief and indignation swelled within him. In a burst of emotion, he shouted, "Fine! We'll go. We'll leave right now and won't bother you anymore. Han Chong, I never thought you could be so heartless." With that, he turned, wanting to flee before he had to look at the woman who haunted his thoughts, now someone who had betrayed him.

He had only taken a few steps when Han Chong's voice called after him: "I really don't know anyone named Han Chong. Perhaps we just look very much alike."

He didn't want to hear another word. Regarding this woman, Lu Zong felt only one emotion: hatred.

He took a couple more steps, but Ma Xiong suddenly stopped him as he was about to cross the threshold. Ma Xiong coughed, winked at Lu Zong, and said, "Perhaps we truly were mistaken. However, miss, you do strongly resemble my brother's girlfriend. We might have been impulsive just now. Please accept our apologies for upsetting you. But I would still like to ask, where exactly are we, and how can we get back?"

The girl turned to look at them. "You really don't know where you are right now? That's truly pitiful, hehe."

Upon hearing this, Ma Xiong’s spirit immediately revived. Her response indicated she knew this place well. He quickly asked, "Please enlighten us, miss, and show us a way out." Lu Zong, who had been so eager to flee moments before, now eagerly turned to Han Chong for an answer, intensely watching her, wondering exactly where they were.

The girl looked at the two men and pointed toward a stool in the corner of the room. "You two should sit here for a while. When my husband returns, you will naturally find out where you are." As she said this, she deliberately assessed them both.

Ma Xiong suddenly recalled Han Chong mentioning her husband was a fat man, and Lu Zong had also seen a bulky figure inside the tent. He made a connection: could her husband be the fat man? He asked, "Miss, what is your husband's name? If it’s not inconvenient, could you tell us? We can greet him when he returns; perhaps we already know each other?"

The girl paused in her housework, wiped the sweat from her brow, and replied, "Oh, I don't really know his name. People usually just call him Fatty. I just call him Husband."

Hearing the name "Fatty," Lu Zong's expression grew tense, mixed with a layer of grief and anger. If his husband truly was his good friend Fatty, didn't that mean he was wearing a cuckold's hat? That was hard to take off. Fatty knew Han Chong was his woman, yet Han Chong pretended not to recognize him now. This left only two possibilities: first, Han Chong’s heart had been poisoned by Fatty, effectively cutting Lu Zong out of her mind; or, Han Chong was suffering from amnesia, her memories completely gone.

He looked at Han Chong again and noticed she was staring at him with surprise. A shock went through him; he seemed to have realized a third possibility: Han Chong was being coerced, forced by someone behind the scenes to pretend she didn't know him. This feeling became incredibly strong when he saw the ambiguous look in her eyes—he was certain she was being forced.

However, the moment Han Chong’s gaze met his, it immediately shifted away. It seemed Han Chong desperately wanted to tell him something but couldn't speak because someone was pulling the strings, threatening her. A glimmer of happiness began to bloom in his heart; at least this proved Han Chong wasn't deliberately betraying him.