TDU Chapter 138: To Take a Life
Chapter 138 To Take a Life
Qi Xia, Tian Tian, and Yun Yao all turned their faces away. The scene before them was truly too unbearable to watch. To put it mildly, it was a {one-on-one}; to put it harshly, it was a one-sided beating. The bald brute stood no chance before Qiao Jiajin, resembling a child just taking their first steps. With no referee present, all moves were permitted without interference.
Qi Xia found Qiao Jiajin very peculiar; it seemed as though he became a completely different person every time he fought. The first time he entered the {Passage to Heaven}, his gaze shifted in the same way, suddenly turning cold and unwavering.
"Da—Da ge..." A'Mu stammered, finally realizing just how far the gap in strength was between them. "Stop, please... If you keep going, he's really going to die..."
Qiao Jiajin stopped his movements. The bald man stood unsteadily, blood dripping from his mouth.
"Apologize."
The bald man dazedly extended his hands, as if offering a fist-and-palm[1], and with his completely swollen lips, mumbled, "I'm sorry..."
A'Mu and the blonde thug hurriedly stepped forward to support the bald man, their eyes filled with terror.
"Get lost. Don't let me see you people again." Qiao Jiajin waved them off.
A'Mu and the blonde thug nodded hastily and quickly turned, intending to take their comrade away.
"No, we can't let them go." With a darkening expression, Qi Xia called the three to a halt. Their true character was no mystery to him; should they walk away, they would undoubtedly shed blood again.
Qiao Jiajin turned to face him, puzzled. "What’s wrong, Swindler lad?"
"They are a menace," Qi Xia said coldly. "They must not be allowed to go." Without another word, he picked up a folding knife from the ground and slowly approached them.
Qiao Jiajin furrowed his brows, extending his hand to stop Qi Xia. "Swindler lad, put the knife down."
"What did you say?"
"I said ‘put the knife down’. A fight is a fight—there's no need for knives." Qiao Jiajin knew all too well that it was because he had used a knife to kill someone when he was eleven that his life had turned out the way it had.
A flicker of murderous intent flashed in Qi Xia’s eyes, but he maintained his composure and turned to Qiao Jiajin. "They are far more vicious and merciless than you imagine. They cannot be spared."
Qiao Jiajin's voice dropped low. "Are you sure about this? You’re about to take a life."
"They will be revived," Qi Xia stated flatly. "I’m killing them now just to keep the next nine days undisturbed."
"That’s no excuse to kill." Qiao Jiajin’s grip tightened on Qi Xia’s wrist. "Swindler lad, I’ve already taught them a lesson. If you’re still unsatisfied, you can kick them a few more times, but you can't kill them."
"You—" Qi Xia stopped, his words caught in his throat as he saw the genuine seriousness in Qiao Jiajin's eyes.
"No matter if they can come back to life or not, once you start killing, there's no turning back." Qiao Jiajin slowly took the weapon from Qi Xia’s hand. "{They’re dangerous, I have to kill them}, that very thought is already very dangerous. We are humans, not animals. If you get used to thinking this way, you’ll never be able to return to the world as it once was."
Qi Xia slowly closed his eyes after hearing this. How ironic. In the last cycle, he had used the question of if {the concept of killing others for Dào is viable} to test Qiao Jiajin. Only after learning that Qiao Jiajin refused to kill did he feel secure enough to accept him as an ally.
But in just a few days, his own mindset had undergone a dramatic shift. As Qiao Jiajin had said, once he became accustomed to the idea of {murder}, he had completely integrated into {End Point}, no different from those Earthly Branches.
If one day we return to reality, he’ll be forced to live with the weight of those lives he’s taken.
"Qiao Jiajin, even if we don’t kill, someone will eventually kill us," Qi Xia retorted, his voice cold. "You carry {morality} on your shoulders, but not everyone shares your {morality}. When everyone here considers {killing others} a normal act, what are we supposed to do?"
"Leave it to me, I can handle it," Qiao Jiajin replied firmly.
"How long do you think you can hold out?" Qi Xia’s expression darkened. "What if you die?"
"I…" Qiao Jiajin sighed, a look of helplessness crossing his face. "Swindler lad, I’m not as smart as you, so I can’t think that far ahead. What I do know is, you’re not killing anyone; I won’t stand for it."
The situation appeared to have reached a deadlock. The duo, once the most solid of partners, now found themselves in disagreement.
Tian Tian looked at the two of them, her eyes filled with sadness. She knew that neither of them was wrong; they were both simply being driven mad by this place. In a world like this, should they still consider themselves {human}? With that thought in mind, she slowly stepped forward and gently took the knife from Qiao Jiajin’s hand.
"I have an idea," she said.
The two men turned to look at her, uncertainty in their eyes.
"I’ll kill them," she said softly, her voice calm. "You don’t need to be conflicted anymore. I’ll do the killing."
"Wha—" Qiao Jiajin was taken aback. "Leng-mui, this ain’t about who kills! Do you want to become a murderer?"
"It doesn’t matter to me." Tian Tian shook her head. "This might be the only reason I exist. After all, even if I go back to the real world, I’ll still have to live a bleak life. Thinking about it, the best I can hope for is to die in a place where no one knows me. That way… there’ll be no one to pity me, and no one to laugh at me."
Qi Xia blinked, his sense of foreboding growing as he noticed things slipping toward an undesirable turn.
"So…" Tian Tian gave a bitter smile. "I really don’t care if I kill someone. You can have me kill whoever you want, just don’t take me with you when you leave this place." With that, she walked toward the three men.
A'Mu had injured his waist, the blonde thug had dislocated his arm, and the bald man was dizzy from the beating. They had no idea what Qi Xia and the others were discussing, and could only watch as the woman approached with a knife in hand.
"A—A'Mu, something’s not right…" The blonde man spoke up, his voice trembling. "Is she going to kill us?"
"No—No way…" A'Mu stammered, still dazed. "We apologized, we got beaten up… besides, we didn’t hurt anyone. There’s no reason for them… right?"
"Should we run…?"
"But..." A'Mu looked at Qiao Jiajin. If he truly wanted to end their lives, where could they go with their already-injured bodies?
Tian Tian had already arrived in front of them, holding the knife. Her hands were trembling, every inch of her demeanor betraying a profound sense of distress.
"Da—Da jie…" A'Mu swallowed hard, his voice shaky. "What are you doing?"
"I just want to contribute to those who trust me," Tian Tian said, choking on her words. "I'm sorry." Though her hand trembled, her strike was swift, showing no hesitation.
As the knife flew toward A'Mu’s abdomen, Qi Xia yanked her back just in time.
The knife fell to the ground, and A'Mu stumbled and fell, panic evident on his face.
"Enough, Tian Tian…" Qi Xia's heart was in turmoil. He supported Tian Tian in his arms and noticed that the girl was trembling all over, clearly terrified.
Indeed, this was murder. The eyes of the other person were fixed on you, and yet you had to stab a knife into their abdomen.
"This is enough," he remarked again. "There’s no need for this." He gently helped Tian Tian to one side, then looked at the three men in front of him. All of them were severely wounded, and they wouldn’t be capable of causing trouble in the days to come.
"This ends here for today. Make sure to act wisely from now on."
TL Note: I included a footnote to fist-and-palm, but for those who just want a visual:
Footnote:
[1] fist-and-palm (作揖) - also known as gongshou (拱手), or zuoyi (作揖) in Chinese, is a traditional Chinese ceremonial gesture or salute used for greeting or showing respect. It involves bringing together the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger of both hands, with the palms facing inward or downward and the thumbs of each hand interlocking.
