TDU Chapter 245
Chapter 245 Liberated
As dawn broke, Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin stepped outside.
Terrestrial Tiger wasn’t there—probably not on duty yet.
Nor were mole crickets—likely off shift.
The ochre sun climbed into the sky, rising with the stench of early morning, signaling the official start of the first day of this cycle.
Stretching lazily, Qiao Jiajin turned his head and asked, “Swindler lad, are we just going to wait here the whole time?”
"Yeah, let's wait a bit."
Neither of them knew what time it was, only that after about an hour of waiting—by which point Qiao Jiajin had grown bored enough to squat down and dig at the sand—Terrestrial Tiger finally emerged leisurely from a nearby portal.
He spotted the two immediately.
"Well, you're early," Terrestrial Tiger said nonchalantly as he walked over, finding a step to sit down on.
"Not early. We’ve been waiting for an hour," Qi Xia replied.
"Mm." Terrestrial Tiger nodded, then lifted his eyelids slightly and asked, "Did the delivery go through?"
Hearing this, Qi Xia pulled the bag of snacks from his pocket and tossed it to Terrestrial Tiger. "We couldn’t make the delivery."
That statement made Qiao Jiajin swallow hard—he hadn't expected Qi Xia to actually tell the truth. He was a bit afraid that the tiger-headed man before them would suddenly fly into a rage. If that happened, they would be doomed.
"Why not?" Terrestrial Tiger asked.
"That child is dead."
"Oh…?" Terrestrial Tiger's expression turned strange. "You’re saying she’s dead?"
"Yes." Qi Xia nodded.
"Heh..." Terrestrial Tiger let out a low chuckle, slowly rising to his feet. With a meaningful look, he said, "Smart of you, punk. If you had so much as suggested the delivery was made, you wouldn’t have gotten out of this in one piece."
Qi Xia slowly let out a breath. "You knew she was dead all along?"
A trace of sorrow flickered across Terrestrial Tiger’s face. "It’s been nearly a month… Every day after work, she never showed up like she used to…"
Neither knew what kind of relationship Terrestrial Tiger had with Mortal Mouse, so they remained silent, simply watching as he grieved.
"I really do miss her…" Terrestrial Tiger slowly lifted his head and asked, "She’s been gone for quite a while, hasn’t she?"
"Yeah, about twenty days?" Qiao Jiajin responded casually, yet Qi Xia felt an odd sense of unease.
Terrestrial Tiger’s expression darkened in an instant. "Then… if a body had already been rotting for over twenty days, why are you so certain it was a {child}?" His eyes turned ice-cold as he fixed his gaze on Qi Xia.
Qi Xia knew—there was no hiding the truth anymore.
"I killed her," Qi Xia said. "I staked her life away."
"Staked… her life away?" Terrestrial Tiger was momentarily stunned.
"Yes… I proposed a life-staking gamble with her."
"You motherfu—" Terrestrial Tiger slowly rose to his feet, his expression dark with fury, making Qiao Jiajin tense up.
But just a few seconds later, as if all the anger had drained out of him, Terrestrial Tiger deflated like a punctured balloon, his face gradually sinking into sorrow.
"Since you’ve {staked her life away}… Then when she died… she didn’t suffer, did she?" There seemed to be tears welling in his eyes.
Qi Xia thought for a moment before nodding. "No. She took her own life—one shot, quick and clean."
"Then… that’s good…" Terrestrial Tiger nodded, absentmindedly kneading the crumpled bag of snacks in his hands. "Little Mouse, you’re free now."
Hearing the words {You’re free now}, a sudden jolt, like an electric shock, jolted through Qi Xia’s head, leaving a strange, lingering pain. He quickly cut off his train of thought and asked Terrestrial Tiger, "So, about our {deal}?"
"I’ll safeguard your {Dào} for you. If one day you can bring me to that person… I’ll return every last {Dào}, not a single piece missing." Terrestrial Tiger paused for a moment before adding, "But if you dare deceive me—"
"I won’t." Qi Xia shook his head. "Those {Dào} are everything to me. I have no reason to use them to trick you."
Hearing this, Terrestrial Tiger gave a slight nod.
"So now, all I need to do… is find {Celestial Goat} for you, right?"
"What kind of nonsense are you thinking?" Terrestrial Tiger let out an irritated laugh. "I told you to deliver the snacks, and you failed. Isn't it only fair that I adjust the conditions?"
Qi Xia wasn’t surprised by this and simply nodded. "That’s right. Go ahead, I’m listening."
Terrestrial Tiger slowly extended his hand and pointed in a direction. "Walk half an hour forward, and you’ll see a bar. Below the bar is a casino, the game venue of {Terrestrial Goat}. I want his life."
"What...?" Qi Xia froze for a moment. "His life?"
"You go kill him for me, and I’ll grant any request you have after that."
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances—this condition was too harsh.
"Terrestrial Tiger, you should know... As a {participant}, I can only kill an {Earthly Branch} through a mutual stake."
"Yes, I know."
"How could I possibly risk my life against {Terrestrial Goat} without knowing anything about him?" Qi Xia furrowed his brows. "If I die, everything ends. How will you ever meet {Celestial Goat} then?"
After hearing this, Terrestrial Tiger slowly pressed his lips together, as if realizing his demand might be a bit too much. "Then, I want to teach him a lesson... What do you think I should do?"
After a moment of thought, Qi Xia asked, "Terrestrial Tiger, although {Dào} doesn’t hold much value for you all, what if I win all of Terrestrial Goat’s {Dào}? Would that count as teaching him a lesson?"
"You want to win all of {Terrestrial Goat}’s {Dào}...?" Terrestrial Tiger found the man before him somewhat amusing. "Do you even know what {Goat} represents?"
"Of course I do." Qi Xia nodded. "When it comes to this specialty, I doubt I’m any worse than him."
Terrestrial Tiger began to reassess Qi Xia—this man gave off a different vibe.
"Then, since that’s the case… I’ll change my request," Terrestrial Tiger said. "I want you to participate in Terrestrial Goat’s game on your own and win all of the {Dào} he holds. That way, I can mock him to my heart’s content tonight."
Qi Xia mulled over the proposition before asking, "Must I undertake this task alone…?"
"That’s right." Terrestrial Tiger grinned. "Laozi wants to confirm whether you’re a worthy partner."
"Very well, we have a deal." Qi Xia lifted his gaze to the sky. "You will have my report before you {clock out} tonight."
Terrestrial Tiger nodded and, pretending to be polite, asked, "It’s rare to have a return customer. Would you two like to experience my game again?"
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin both shook their heads. It seemed that Terrestrial Tiger was in a good mood—once someone who had refused to kill, he was now actively trying to attract customers.
They bade farewell to Terrestrial Tiger and made their way back, facing the rising sun.
"Fists…" Qi Xia said, "You go back and tell them about this, I’ll go take a look at {Terrestrial Goat}'s venue."
"But do you have enough for the admission?" Qiao Jiajin paused for a moment.
"Ah…" Qi Xia had overlooked this issue. He had just handed over all of his {Dào} to Terrestrial Tiger.
"Look!" Qiao Jiajin suddenly pulled five {Dào} out of his pants pocket. "I stole them last night!"
Qi Xia’s expression betrayed a deep sense of resignation.
"By definition, {stealing} necessitates that I remain unaware of it." Qi Xia exhaled slowly, struggling to explain. "These five {Dao} were supposed to remain hidden, yet you’re willingly presenting them to me—this act hardly fits the definition of {stealing} anymore."
"Swindler lad, I was just afraid that Terrestrial Tiger would go back on his word and we’d lose everything, that’s why I took these five!" Qiao Jiajin said with righteous indignation.
"Alright..." Qi Xia nodded and took the {Dào}.
