TDU Chapter 238
Chapter 238 Headache
"What...?" A brief tremor of surprise passed through Qi Xia’s hand, pausing his motion mid-action.
“What’s the matter?” Terrestrial Tiger glanced at Qi Xia with disdain. “You said you wanted to make a deal, but now you’re unwilling to do even this small favor for me?”
Maintaining his composure, Qi Xia placed the snacks into his pocket and responded, "No, it’s just that it’s too late. Moving now would be dangerous."
“Then go rest at laozi’s {game venue}. There are no {mole crickets} there.” Terrestrial Tiger impatiently pushed Qi Xia aside and strode toward the glowing portal.
“What about these 2,900 {Dào}…?”
Terrestrial Tiger stopped in his tracks, lowered his head, and thought for a moment. "I'll hold onto it for now. If you don’t settle this matter, I’ll make sure you’ll spend the rest of your life in regret."
With one hand, he effortlessly lifted the two heavy sacks of {Dào}, slung them over his shoulder like towels, and then turned and disappeared into the glowing portal.
And at that moment, the glowing portal abruptly closed.
Before Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin could utter a word, an identical portal materialized in the same location. In an instant, a horde of shadowy entities emerged, crawling forth with grotesque movements.
Each figure moved on all fours, their limbs contorted unnaturally, their mouths emitting an eerie {creak creak chirp chirp} sound. Their hollow, eyeless sockets stared vacantly into the void.
“This is bad…” Qi Xia grabbed Qiao Jiajin’s arm. “Let’s go.”
Qiao Jiajin was startled by the scene before him but quickly snapped out of it, following Qi Xia as they ran toward the building.
The duo hurriedly entered Terrestrial Tiger’s game venue, securing the door behind them before finally exhaling in relief.
“Swindler lad… what in the world were those?” Qiao Jiajin inquired, his voice tinged with bewilderment. “Are they…human?”
“Most likely…” Qi Xia responded in a somber tone. “I’ve encountered them once before. While they don’t actively attack, their presence exudes an unmistakable aura of danger.”
“Damn…” Qiao Jiajin slowly caught his breath, then shifted the topic. “Swindler lad, are you sure it’s safe to give all that {Dào} to that tiger?”
“For now, it’s our safest option,” Qi Xia replied after a moment of contemplation. “Haven’t you noticed? {Dào} mean nothing to {Terrestrial-grade} Earthly Branches.”
“What…?” Qiao Jiajin was taken aback.
“Think about it. In all the Terrestrial-grade games we’ve participated in, every {Earthly Branch} is operating at a loss. The {admission} they collect from the participants is nowhere near enough to cover the guerdon.”
Qiao Jiajin furrowed his brow, stroking his chin as he pondered for a long while. Finally, he spoke with a serious tone, “Swindler lad… I’ve only participated in one {Terrestrial-grade} 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 {End Point}, that bear you beat up was part of a {Terrestrial-grade} game.”
“Oh, I see…”
Qi Xia continued, “So I have an inkling that the true goal of the {Terrestrial-grade} isn’t to accumulate {Dào} but to use it as bait to lure us to our deaths. To them, {Dào} is trivial—they’re willing to operate at a loss.”
“But…” Qiao Jiajin still seemed unconvinced. “Isn’t it a bit risky to hand over all our {Dào} based on just an {inkling}?”
“Of course, it’s risky,” Qi Xia said. “As long as these 2,900 {Dào} are in my possession, no matter what choice I make, it’s a gamble. The {Adherents} would hunt us down to the ends of the earth for this amount of {Dào}. Comparatively, entrusting the {Dào} to a Terrestrial-grade {Earthly Branch} is actually the safer option.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded after hearing this, then asked, “Then…what about the {Celestial Goat} you mentioned earlier? Where do we find them?”
“I don’t know,” Qi Xia shook his head. “Forget about {Celestial Goat}—we won’t even be able to locate the {Mortal Mouse} that Terrestrial Tiger mentioned.”
“Why?” Qiao Jiajin looked at Qi Xia, puzzled. “He gave us the address. How could we not find ‘em?”
“That child is dead,” Qi Xia said with a hint of regret. “The corpse we saw together when we first arrived here… do you remember it?”
“Damn… a child?” Qiao Jiajin suddenly recalled the scene. “I only remember that the corpse was very thin and small—it was actually a child?”
“Yes.”
“Who could be so cruel and ruthless?!” Qiao Jiajin’s anger flared. "Even a child wasn't spared—what kind of monster would do that…”
“It was me,” Qi Xia admitted bluntly.
“Huh…?”
“Back then, I heard that in {End Point}, you could participate in games without paying admission—instead, you could stake your own life. So, I tried it in that child’s game,” Qi Xia said with a heavy sigh. “But I didn’t expect…the {Umpire} here are also {participants} of a different kind. If I staked my life and won, it would cost them theirs.”
Qiao Jiajin listened, then let out a sigh tinged with regret.
When completely unaware of the rules, how can one possibly consider whether one’s choices might spare the life of an {Earthly Branch}?
“Then what should we do…?” Qiao Jiajin asked. “It seems that Tiger lad doesn’t know about this yet…”
He glanced at Qi Xia. Based on Qi Xia’s usual approach, he felt it was highly likely that Qi Xia would choose to deceive Terrestrial Tiger.
“I plan to explain everything to him tomorrow,” Qi Xia said. “I did it, and I’ll admit it.”
“Damn… explain?! What if he tries to kill you?” Qiao Jiajin sounded uneasy. “I don’t think I could last more than a couple of moves against him…”
“He probably won’t,” Qi Xia shook his head. “As an {Earthly Branch}, he shouldn’t be able to kill anyone outright, but he’ll definitely be furious. Since I’ve decided to cooperate with him, I’ll try to be honest and see how it goes.”
After speaking, Qi Xia found a corner to lean against and sit down. “Fists, get some rest early. We have a lot to do tomorrow.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded, still visibly uneasy, then found a wooden plank to lie down on.
Though he had plainly laid out his plans…how could Qi Xia possibly fall asleep?
The events of the day kept swirling in his mind.
Yu Nian'An had taken her own life.
Qi Xia wasn’t surprised—it was almost within his expectations.
He had originally planned to search for {Celestial Goat} during this cycle, but then a copy of Yu Nian'An appeared. So, he changed his plan and instead brought Yu Nian'An into {Passage to Heaven}.
This way, no matter what happened to a copy of Yu Nian'An, he could openly point the finger at Chu Tianqiu.
What Qi Xia hadn’t expected was for this day to come so soon.
These {replica} versions of Yu Nian'An always seemed a bit strange—Deep down, they knew they weren’t real. They would doubt themselves, and some might even spiral into confusion.
The {knock knock knock} from the last cycle and this time’s suicide both proved this point.
So, by ‘curious coincidence’, Qi Xia had left behind a fruit knife.
The dead of night, a lonely classroom, the stench of decay, a playground filled with corpses, and Yu Nian'An’s self-doubt—how perfect a setup for suicide, no?
Qi Xia felt he could use this trait to identify the real Yu Nian'An. The real Yu Nian'An wouldn’t doubt herself, but the fake one would.
Besides that…
Qi Xia reached up and touched his forehead.
In the past, whenever he was about to feel sadness, an overwhelming pain would strike. But today, even after witnessing Yu Nian'An die before his eyes, his head didn’t hurt.
This, too, was undeniable proof.
It seemed the {replicas} had no effect on him whatsoever.
‘Headache…’ Qi Xia squinted his eyes, thinking for a moment. The first time he felt a headache in {End Point} was when {Mortal Mouse} died.
Logically, he had no connection to that child, so why did it cause him pain?
A stranger he had only met once—why would her death make him feel sorrow?
‘Is it because it was a child who died…?’
Qi Xia took the bag of snacks that Terrestrial Tiger had given him from his pocket and shook his head with a slight sense of regret.
