TDU Chapter 409
Chapter 409 The Once King
“Even if he becomes a {God}, he still can’t leave…?” Yun Yao pressed for confirmation.
White Tiger nodded. “On the day Qi Xia becomes {God}, the four Sacred Guardians will lead all the {Earthly Branches}, together with every {participant} here, to meet destruction. That is the fate destined for us.”
“Isn’t that far too selfish?” Zhang Chenze said. “All of us struggle endlessly here—when you want us to come, we come; when you want us destroyed, we are destroyed. Isn’t that unfair to Qi Xia as well? He longs to return to real life, yet you force him into becoming a {God} with no choice at all?”
“You think we brought you here…? That we are selfish…?” White Tiger let out a cold laugh. “Am I not kindly reminding you to willingly forget all of this? You mere mortals… how could you possibly comprehend our burdens? Qi Xia’s obsession—how could it outweigh ours?”
Zhang Chenze found his words absurd. Everyone carried their own obsessions, yet these high beings cared only for their own.
“You think we’ll just give up like that?” Yun Yao frowned. “You and the {Earthly Branches} stand together. Everything you say comes from their perspective. The more we forget, the more chances the {Earthly Branches} have to kill us. That’s why I can’t trust you.”
White Tiger gave a small nod. “What you say has its reasoning.”
“Then we will continue.” Yun Yao said. “I will keep killing every {Earthly Branch}, until this cursed place is utterly paralyzed. When you can no longer even create {Gods}, what meaning will this place hold for you?”
White Tiger let out a long sigh. “It’s been ages since I spoke with {Participants}… I didn’t expect you to be so radical now… your current state reminds me a little of that woman from back then…”
“What?”
“What was her name…?” White Tiger rubbed his chin. “She made a scene here long ago and was rightly punished for it. What was her name again…”
After everyone waited in silence for a while, White Tiger finally spoke the name slowly.
“I think it was something-Qiaoyun…” He tapped his forehead. “Alas, it’s been too long ago. How many years has it been…? You can see for yourselves.”
“See for ourselves…?”
White Tiger extended a finger and pointed to a street not far off. “There’s a convenience store over there. Push the door open and you’ll see that once-radiant {leader}. She’s worse off than dead now, forced to live among rotting food and her own filth, like a walking corpse.”
“What!?” Lin Qin murmured, startled.
“What better example could there be?” White Tiger remarked. “You are all mere mortals, yet you dare to pit yourselves against the dieties… Would it not be better to live quietly here? That woman, Qiaoyun—was she not your forerunner? She slew {Earthly Branches}, even became one herself, and in the end met such a fate… proof enough that every path ends in ruin.”
The women stared at White Tiger in silence, saying nothing, though inside their hearts were already in turmoil.
“Qi Xia is walking the very same road Qiaoyun once trod…” White Tiger sighed. “In every generation, one among you awakens as a {leader}. Qi Xia vanished for several years—he must have passed through the second stage… and now he is about to find his own ending.”
White Tiger then turned his gaze upon them once more. “So… all you can do is wait. If you insist on taking risks, remember—every walking corpse here is your example.”
As his words fell, White Tiger’s figure slowly drifted into the air, and in an instant, vanished.
Such is the way in which {End Point} unfolds.
They come and go as they please. If they wish to kill, they kill; if they wish to save, they save.
Qin Dingdong had been crushed to death in Celestial Snake’s grasp for an utterly absurd reason. No matter what unfulfilled wishes she had, she could only wait for her next rebirth.
Zhang Chenze too felt something was amiss. Two of her teammates had died in quick succession, yet because she knew they could revive, she felt no concern at all. This kind of mindset was, without question, abnormal.
If one day they were to return to the real world carrying such a mentality, they would surely fall into the subconscious belief that {death could solve everything}.
But humanity has never been like a computer awaiting reboot—death solves nothing.
“What are we to do now…?” Li Xiangling asked softly from behind.
“Xiangling…” Yun Yao turned to her. “Take Lin Qin to have her injuries treated first. Let Tian Tian and Lawyer Zhang go with you as well. I want to check on that female shop assistant.”
“No… I want to see her too,” Lin Qin said. “Take me along… Even if these wounds go untreated, it doesn’t matter. I won’t live for long anyway.”
Hearing this, Yun Yao hesitated for a moment, then finally nodded, leading the group toward the convenience store.
The great bell’s location was not far from it. Though Lin Qin’s legs faltered, it took them only a few minutes to reach the entrance.
Before they even stepped inside, the stench of rot and decay had already drifted out, so foul that one whiff made them frown.
Lin Qin was pulled back into memory—her first day teaming with Qi Xia. Back then, they had stumbled into this very convenience store, only to find the woman inside cooking her own child.
‘I should have realized it…’ Lin Qin muttered to herself. “Back then, when she pulled Qi Xia into the room, not even three grown men could stop her… her body had been enhanced…”
“Has your team encountered her before?” Yun Yao asked, glancing at Zhang Chenze and Tian Tian.
“I don’t remember,” Tian Tian shook her head.
“Me neither…” Zhang Chenze sighed.
Yun Yao didn’t press further. She pushed the door open, and the four women behind her cautiously peeked inside.
The room was empty, yet the stench was overwhelming.
On the floor lay a corpse, shriveled and blackened, crawling with maggots.
“Is anyone here…?” Yun Yao asked, gathering her courage.
Almost immediately, rustling sounds came from the inner room. Within seconds, an extremely emaciated woman pushed open the door and stepped out. She appeared severely malnourished. Her cheeks were deeply hollowed, and her skin hung on her bones like the bark of a withered tree.
“Mm…?” She stared blankly at them for a moment, then forced a smile, revealing yellowed, blackened teeth. “Welcome… Please feel free to peruse around.…”
Yun Yao glanced around the store, blinking helplessly, before walking straight toward the shop assistant.
“Qiaoyun…?” Yun Yao called out.
The attendant showed no reaction at all to the name, staring blankly at her before finally speaking. “Please select your goods yourself.”
“We’re not here for goods. We’re looking for Qiaoyun. Are you Qiaoyun?” Yun Yao asked.
She had interacted with indigenous inhabitants before; most of the time, they could remember their own names. But the woman before her seemed to have been insane for too long, showing no response to the name {Qiaoyun}.
Or perhaps… White Tiger had been lying?
“There’s no such thing as ‘Qiaoyun’ here…” the shop assistant said, opening her mouth. “All the goods are on the shelves. If you can’t find what you need, you can try another store…”
TL Note: Ahaha, I guess even the shopkeeper couldn’t be bothered to clean Han Yimo’s dead body from the first few chapters xD
