TDU Chapter 291
Chapter 291 Differing Agendas
After sending off Celestial Horse and Celestial Tiger, the prison fell into a profound silence, and Qian Five once again found himself deep in thought.
"Five ge…" Song Seven approached Qian Five and, bending down, hesitated before speaking. "Is it really necessary to make this deal with them? Give the word and we will not hesitate to bear arms. Celestial Horse or not, we would—"
"There’s no need for that," Qian Five replied. "I want to know the details regarding that massive {Reverberation}. Since {Cats} was established, we’ve never heard anything like it. It’s important to understand their stance."
"Understood, Five ge," Song Seven nodded.
"By the way…" Qian Five narrowed his eyes and added, "It seems like Celestial Horse and the others aren’t aware of what happened at {Passage to Heaven}."
"{Passage to Heaven}...?" Song Seven furrowed his brow. "Five ge, are you saying that the massive {Reverberation} has something to do with our last deal?"
"It’s highly likely," Qian Five nodded. "Our large-scale attack may have very possibly triggered that individual's {Reverberation}. Moreover, the fact that this {Reverberation} occurred deep into the night... it’s hard to believe it’s unrelated to that incident."
"Understood, Five ge." Song Seven nodded. "I’ll see to Twenty-one’s pyre. I’ll have everyone rest tonight—tomorrow at dawn, we move for {Passage to Heaven}."
Qian Five nodded. "Deliver my orders: if they do track the individual down...make sure it stays quiet."
...
Terrestrial Tiger noticed the glowing portal brighten beside him and gradually rose to his feet.
At that moment, several participants were making their way toward him, seemingly wanting to partake in Terrestrial Tiger’s game before night fell completely.
"Get lost." Terrestrial Tiger shouted angrily, "Take one more step and I’ll f*cking kill you all."
The participants hesitated, then slowly began to retreat.
Another day without overtime.
Terrestrial Tiger strode through the glowing portal carrying a massive sack. At his entrance, several Mortal-grade {Earthly Branches} bowed to him before disappearing down the corridor without a backward glance.
In contrast, Terrestrial Tiger remained at leisure, slowly making his way to a certain wooden door, as if waiting for someone.
After a short while, a young man wearing a horse-headed mask approached, softly calling out, "Mentor, today—"
"Get lost," Terrestrial Tiger interrupted. "I’ll find you later."
"Oh…" The man with the horse mask nodded respectfully, seemingly familiar with Terrestrial Tiger’s temperament. He silently turned and left down the corridor.
Terrestrial Tiger waited silently, growing increasingly impatient until, just as he was about to leave in resignation, the wooden door before him finally creaked open.
On the other side of the door was a bar. Terrestrial Goat slowly stepped out, having deliberately arrived late. However, to his surprise, Terrestrial Tiger was standing right there. With no choice, he turned and walked away.
"Well, well..." A smile appeared on Terrestrial Tiger's face as he looked at Terrestrial Goat with eager anticipation.
However, Terrestrial Goat turned a blind eye, simply bypassing Terrestrial Tiger and continuing on his way.
Terrestrial Tiger shot him an angry glance, then quickly strode up to stand in front of him, repeating, "Well!"
Terrestrial Goat, realizing he couldn’t avoid this nuisance, could only shake his head in resignation and reply, "Well, what?"
"You're back pretty late today!" Terrestrial Tiger laughed. "So, how was it? Busy with work? Did you make a profit or loss?"
"What does it have to do with you?"
"As disciples of the same mentor," Terrestrial Tiger said with a cheerful expression. "We share the good and bad times, so if there’s trouble, you should tell me about it!"
"No need." Terrestrial Goat shook his head. "I’ll solve my problems myself."
"But I have a ready solution for you!" Terrestrial Tiger threw the large sack in front of Terrestrial Goat. "Take a look at these brand new {Dào}, it’s so troublesome... How did I end up with so many? What should I do with them?"
"Handle it however you see fit."
"You want them? I can lend them to you!" Terrestrial Tiger said with a grin. "The daily interest rate is 9.5%. You’ll never find such a cheap high-interest loan anywhere else."
Terrestrial Goat glanced at the sack on the ground expressionlessly before raising his head to ask, "Terrestrial Tiger…be straight with me— who exactly was that formidable character you sent today?"
"Formidable character?" Terrestrial Tiger furrowed his brow slightly. "What are you trying to say?"
“Tell me—are you genuinely that dim-witted, or have you long since grasped the truth?”
Terrestrial Tiger slowly lowered his head, falling silent.
Upon seeing this reaction, Terrestrial Goat naturally deduced the answer.
"The look in his eyes... the tactics he used..." Terrestrial Goat said with a tremor in his voice. “Doesn’t he strike you as… familiar?”
"I—I know what you mean, but is that possible?" Terrestrial Tiger gestured toward the space behind him. "He’s just a participant without any {Reverberation}... How could he possibly be..."
“Tiger, the role of {Celestial Goat} stands vacant.”
"What?!" Terrestrial Tiger froze for a moment. "Ole Black... What the f*ck did you just say...?"
"I’ve seen Celestial Dragon. He told me personally," Terrestrial Goat said. "I shouldn’t be disclosing this... but do you understand now?"
"You’re saying Goat ge never became {Celestial Goat}..." Terrestrial Tiger blinked in surprise. "He left more than a month ago...only to become a participant again?"
"Do you not grasp the sheer terror of what this means?" Terrestrial Goat turned to face Terrestrial Tiger. "You and I both know what Goat ge is capable of... If he wished, he could upend this entire place. How many {Earthly Branches} here could truly stand against him?"
As the tension between the two reached its peak, an idle voice drifted from behind, "That’s impossible."
They turned around to see the person who spoke—Mortal Snake.
"You little..." Terrestrial Tiger moved as if to slap him, but then suddenly remembered he had been promoted to {Terrestrial-grade}, so he only gave Mortal Snake a light push. "Who the f*ck told you to eavesdrop?"
Mortal Snake was pushed back a step by Terrestrial Tiger but just chuckled. "With the nature of our relationship, what’s wrong with me listening in?"
Terrestrial Tiger paused for a moment before asking Mortal Snake, "Why did you say {impossible}? With Goat ge’s abilities, he could easily clear all of our games."
"Oh Little Tiger, you're always so single-minded," Mortal Snake chuckled, giving him a push, but Terrestrial Tiger didn’t budge.
"How am I single-minded?"
"Do you still recall..." Mortal Snake said to Terrestrial Goat, "what Goat ge shared with us about why he joined the {Earthly Branches}?"
At those words, both Terrestrials suddenly recalled something.
"You’re right, Goat ge said..." Terrestrial Tiger lowered his gaze in thought. "Because he's one of the {Unfortunate Ones}... no matter what he did, he was never able to trigger his {Reverberation}. With no way to preserve his memories, he saw joining the {Earthly Branches} as his only option."
"In other words..." Terrestrial Tiger slowly bowed his head, "Even if Goat ge became a participant, he would be chasing shadows... because for him, a new incarnation would return him to square one."
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
