Chapter 146: Two Liars?

"Tan Nang is still Tan Nang, after all. Even if Officer Li's beliefs are strong, he can't become the creator."

Qi Xia picked up a few Dao from the ground, but the next second, he was in excruciating pain, and the Dao rolled back onto the floor.

"You little liar..." Qiao Jia Jin stepped forward to support Qi Xia, looking utterly confused.

He had no idea what was wrong with Qi Xia; he could only see him curled up and trembling all over.

Yun Yao ignored Qi Xia and stared blankly at the two corpses beside Officer Li.

Although their faces were unrecognizable, and their hair and clothes had been burned away, the two bodies were too distinctive.

One appeared to be a teenager, while the other was lean and wiry.

"There's no way..." Yun Yao's lips trembled slightly. "Were we just... killing each other the whole time?"

"Idol, stop talking..." Qiao Jia Jin said quietly.

"So that means Tian Tian risked her life to drain her own blood... just to kill our own teammates..." Yun Yao's eyes widened, her mind racing like a stampede.

"Don't say another word..." Qiao Jia Jin glanced at Qi Xia and Yun Yao, who were both on the verge of losing control, feeling helpless. "Both of you, calm down..."

"If Long is a game like this... how can we lead everyone out?" Yun Yao's eyes dimmed. "Chu Tian Qiu never told me anything about it."

Qi Xia finally came to his senses and slowly stood up, his face expressionless.

"You little liar... you..." Qiao Jia Jin looked at Qi Xia, feeling as though he were worlds apart, not from the same reality at all.

"Qiao Jia Jin, do you see it?" Qi Xia said. "Even if we don't kill, we'll be killed eventually."

Qiao Jia Jin's gaze turned icy as he replied, "You little liar, I don't get all that big talk. I just know you didn't do anything wrong, and that's enough."

"You think I didn't do anything wrong...?" Qi Xia slowly picked up the Dao one by one from the ground. "One day you'll regret it, Qiao Jia Jin. You'll regret standing on my side."

"That won't happen..." Qiao Jia Jin said. "You little liar, stay calm. This place is getting to you."

Qi Xia didn't respond. He coldly pushed past the two people and left the house.

Qiao Jia Jin had no choice but to follow.

After thinking for a while, Yun Yao went with them.

"Hey, you haven't taken your rewards yet." The man from Long tossed over a cloth bundle with a laugh. "Thirty Dao—you still came out ahead."

Qi Xia caught the cloth bundle, feeling a deep sense of irony.

Came out ahead?

Were five lives worth less than thirty Dao?

Then what about three thousand six hundred Dao—what would that be worth?

Qi Xia had no interest in continuing the game. After all, he had learned about Long at the cost of five lives.

But if he searched his heart, was this feeling 'sorrow'?

No, he just felt empty inside, without any real sadness.

The three of them carried Tian Tian's body back to Tian Tang Kou.

Chu Tian Qiu was standing in front of the school building. When he saw the three approaching, his face registered shock, and he hurried over.

"What happened?" He frowned and asked, "How did someone die on the first day?"

Qi Xia and Qiao Jia Jin exchanged glances. Qiao Jia Jin nodded and handed Tian Tian's body to Qi Xia.

Tian Tian's body was extraordinarily light and ice-cold all over.

"You, Fen Chang, come out here." Qiao Jia Jin waved at Chu Tian Qiu and rolled up his sleeves.

"What are you doing...?" Chu Tian Qiu slowly stepped back.

"I have something to ask you. Come out here."

Seeing that Chu Tian Qiu still wasn't moving, Qiao Jia Jin had to approach him.

"What exactly are you planning?" Chu Tian Qiu nervously eyed Qiao Jia Jin. "Are you going to start something here?"

"Why did the map you gave us lead to Ren Long?" Qiao Jia Jin asked bluntly. "What's your motive?"

"What?" Chu Tian Qiu was startled. "Ren Long...?"

Qi Xia stared seriously into Chu Tian Qiu's eyes. The man had too many suspicious points.

"The map I gave you was for Hu! How could it be Long?"

His expression suggested he really knew nothing about it.

Just then, Qi Xia turned and saw four more people approaching: Lin Qing, Han Yi Mo, Lao Lv, and Zhang Shan.

They seemed to be from the same team.

From that, it could be inferred that the person who died beside Officer Li was Lawyer Zhang.

The four of them had apparently participated in the game and were returning with a cloth bundle.

"Lin Qing, you came at the right time." Qi Xia said. "Help me detect a lie."

"Detect a lie...?"

Lin Qing hadn't processed it yet when she glanced and saw Tian Tian in Qi Xia's arms.

She was shocked and quickly stepped forward to check Tian Tian's condition.

But Tian Tian's skin was pale and purplish, clearly not that of a living person.

"What happened?"

"This scum Chu Tian Qiu played some tricks again." Qi Xia said quietly. "I suspect he planned this. Help me judge if he's lying."

"Okay." Lin Qing nodded, stood up, and went to stand beside Qiao Jia Jin, facing Chu Tian Qiu together.

Zhang Shan sensed the tension and strode over to Chu Tian Qiu's side.

"What the hell... Swords drawn and all, what's going on?"

"Big guy, I don't have time to mess with you." Qiao Jia Jin said. "Your boss got people killed. I want an explanation from him."

"Explanation?" Zhang Shan furrowed his brow and snorted. "The rules of Tian Tang Kou are to follow Chu Tian Qiu's arrangements. Besides, people die in games anyway—what's there to explain?"

Qi Xia sighed and said, "Everyone's game assignments were arranged by Chu Tian Qiu. In this one, he got Xiao Yan Jing and Jin Yuan Xun killed. And it's only the first day—don't any of you have questions about that?"

"Wha..." Chu Tian Qiu was clearly stunned. "Xiao Yan Jing and Jin Yuan Xun are dead?"

Zhang Shan looked at Chu Tian Qiu with some doubt. After all, Xiao Yan Jing was from the same interview room as him—always upright and polite to everyone. How could such a good person just die like that?

Lao Lv was instantly floored. "What the heck?! Who the hell killed Xiao Yan Jing?!"

But Chu Tian Qiu still looked aggrieved.

"What are you pretending for?" Qi Xia said coldly. "Didn't I tell you to drop your schemes?"

"There must be some misunderstanding!" Chu Tian Qiu waved his hands. "The maps I gave you were all for Hu. There's no way it was Long. Think about it—why would I have any reason to get Jin Yuan Xun and Xiao Yan Jing killed?"

Lin Qing stared intently at Chu Tian Qiu's expression, looking puzzled.

He didn't seem to be lying.

This indicated two possibilities: first, he was completely unaware; second, he had trained his micro-expressions.

His eyes, lips, nostrils, and the positioning of his hands and feet all didn't suggest he was lying.

"Qi Xia, this is strange." Lin Qing said. "It's more likely he's telling the truth."

"Is that so?" Qi Xia nodded slightly. Chu Tian Qiu was indeed no ordinary person.

Could it be that Chu Tian Qiu really gave them Hu maps, but Long had taken over the Hu game area?

But if that was the case...

Why did Officer Li and Jin Yuan Xun's team end up killing each other?

Qi Xia pondered for a long time and suddenly wore a meaningful expression, thinking to himself, Chu Tian Qiu, are you the same kind of person as me?

Are you a fraud?

"I know you've always suspected me." Chu Tian Qiu said to Qi Xia. "But I really mean no harm. Our goal is to escape this place, and the more people we have, the better. Jin Yuan Xun and Xiao Yan Jing were both promising Hui Xiang Zhe. Think carefully—before their Hui Xiang, what reason would I have to let them die?"