Chapter 238: Headache

“What…?” Qi Xia's hand holding the snacks paused slightly.

“How about it?” Di Hu glanced at Qi Xia with contempt. “You said you wanted to make a deal, but now you won't even handle this small matter for me?”

Qi Xia calmly put the snacks back into his pocket and said, “No, it's just that it's too late today, and our actions would be dangerous.”

“Then go rest at my game arena. There are no 'Lou Yi' there.” Di Hu impatiently shoved Qi Xia aside and headed toward the light gate.

“What about those two thousand nine hundred 'Dao'…?”

Di Hu stopped in his tracks, thought for a moment with his head down, and said, “I'll hold onto them for now. If you don't get this done for me, you'll regret it for the rest of your life.”

He grabbed the heavy two bags of 'Dao' with one hand, slung them over his shoulder like a towel, then turned and stepped into the light gate.

The light gate suddenly closed at that moment.

Before Qi Xia and Qiao Jia Jin could say anything, another light gate appeared in the same spot, and in the next second, a swarm of dark shadows crawled out from it.

Each shadow moved on all fours, their limbs twisted, emitting a “rustling” sound from their mouths, and staring with empty, eyeless sockets.

“Oh no…” Qi Xia pulled Qiao Jia Jin. “Quick, let's go.”

Qiao Jia Jin was startled by the scene but quickly snapped out of it and followed Qi Xia toward the building.

The two entered Di Hu's arena and barricaded the door behind them, finally letting out a sigh of relief.

“Deceiver… what were those things?” Qiao Jia Jin asked, puzzled. “Were they… people?”

“They should be…” Qi Xia said gravely. “I've seen them once before. They don't attack people, but they still feel dangerous.”

“Dang it…” Qiao Jia Jin gradually calmed his breathing, then changed the subject. “Deceiver, is it really safe to give those 'Dao' to that tiger guy?”

“For now, it's the safest option.” Qi Xia thought for a moment and continued, “Didn't you notice? 'Dao' is completely useless to 'Di Ji' Sheng Xiao.”

“What…?” Qiao Jia Jin was stunned.

“Think about the 'Di Ji' games we've been in. All the 'Sheng Xiao' are operating at a loss. The entry fees they collect are far less than the rewards we win.”

Qiao Jia Jin stroked his chin and pondered for a long time before saying seriously, “Deceiver… I've only participated in one 'Di Ji' game.”

“Uh…” Qi Xia shook his head. “It's not that you haven't participated; it's that you've lost your memory. When we first arrived at 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di', the bear you beat up was from a 'Di Ji' game.”

“Oh, I see…”

Qi Xia went on, “So I suspect that the real purpose of 'Di Ji' isn't to win 'Dao'; it's to use 'Dao' to lure us into risking our lives. 'Dao' means nothing to them—they can even afford to lose money.”

“But…” Qiao Jia Jin still looked confused, “You're basing this on just a guess and handing over all the 'Dao' to him. Isn't that a bit risky?”

“Of course it's risky.” Qi Xia said, “As long as those two thousand nine hundred 'Dao' are in my hands, whatever choice I make is risky, and 'Ji Dao' will hunt us down because of them. In comparison, entrusting the 'Dao' to a 'Di Ji' Sheng Xiao is actually the safer move.”

Qiao Jia Jin nodded after listening, then asked, “So… where do we find 'Tian Yang' like you mentioned before?”

“I don't know.” Qi Xia shook his head. “Forget about 'Tian Yang'; we can't even find the 'Ren Shu' that Di Hu mentioned.”

“What?” Qiao Jia Jin looked at Qi Xia in confusion. “He already told us the location, so how could we not find it?”

“That child is dead.” Qi Xia said with a hint of regret. “The body we saw when we first arrived here—you and I saw it together. Do you remember?”

“Dang it… a child?” Qiao Jia Jin suddenly recalled the scene. “I only remember the body was really small. It was actually a child?”

“Yes.”

“Who could be so heartless to kill her?!” Qiao Jia Jin looked furious. “Killing a kid— that's not even human…”

“It was me.” Qi Xia admitted bluntly.

“Huh…?”

“At the time, I heard that in 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di', you can play games without staking chips and just bet your life instead. So I tried it in that child's game.” Qi Xia sighed wistfully. “But I didn't expect that the 'referee' here is also some kind of 'participant'. If I bet my life and win, it costs them theirs.”

Qiao Jia Jin sighed with a touch of regret after hearing this.

Under those circumstances, who could think about whether their choice would spare the 'Sheng Xiao's life?

“So what should we do…?” Qiao Jia Jin asked. “It seems like that tiger guy doesn't know about this yet…”

Qiao Jia Jin glanced at Qi Xia, feeling that Qi Xia would probably choose to deceive Di Hu.

“I plan to tell him about it tomorrow.” Qi Xia said. “I did it, so I'll own up to it.”

“Dang it… tell him?! What if he kills you?” Qiao Jia Jin sounded worried. “I don't think I could last two rounds against him…”

“He probably won't.” Qi Xia shook his head. “As a 'Sheng Xiao', he shouldn't kill people outright, but he'll definitely be angry. Since I've decided to cooperate with him, I'll give it my all with sincerity.”

Qi Xia finished speaking and leaned against a corner of the wall to sit down. “Fist, get some rest early. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”

Qiao Jia Jin nodded uneasily and lay down on a wooden board.

Even though he said that, how could Qi Xia possibly fall asleep?

The events of the day kept swirling in his mind.

Yu Nian An had committed suicide.

Qi Xia wasn't surprised; it was even within his expectations.

He had originally planned to search for 'Tian Yang' in this cycle, but then Yu Nian An's double appeared. So he changed his plans and brought her into 'Tian Tang Kou' instead.

That way, no matter what problems arose with Yu Nian An's double, he could openly point the finger at Chu Tian Qiu.

But Qi Xia hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

These “created” versions of Yu Nian An always seemed a bit off—

They subconsciously knew they were fakes, leading to self-doubt and even confusion.

The previous “knock knock knock” and this suicide proved it.

So Qi Xia had instinctively left a fruit knife behind.

In the dead of night, in a lonely classroom with foul air and a field full of corpses, plus Yu Nian An's self-doubt—it all sounded perfect for suicide.

Qi Xia felt he could use this trait to distinguish the real Yu Nian An. The real one wouldn't doubt herself, but the fake one would.

Besides that…

Qi Xia reached up and touched his forehead.

Usually, whenever he felt sadness, that intense pain would hit him. But today, seeing Yu Nian An die right in front of him, his head didn't hurt.

That was solid evidence too.

Apparently, the “double” had no effect on him at all.

“Headache…” Qi Xia narrowed his eyes and thought for a moment.

The first time he felt a headache in 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di' was when 'Ren Shu' died.

Logically, he didn't even know that child, so why did it hurt?

A stranger he'd only met once actually made him feel sad?

“Was it because it was a child…?”

Qi Xia pulled out the bag of snacks that Di Hu had given him and shook his head slightly with regret.