TDU Chapter 415
Chapter 415 Whose Design
“Aftermath…?” Qian Five’s expression darkened. “The aftermath doesn't matter. We {Cats}... only follow orders; we don’t question the reason nor think about the future—”
“Lies.” Qi Xia interrupted. “From what I’ve heard, {Black Tortoise} governs matters of {killing for Dào} and {Life-stakes against Earthly Branches}. Once she perishes, the balance of the entire {End Point} will completely collapse.”
Qian Five’s countenance remained grim.
Qi Xia knew he had already considered this issue long ago.
“So you really intend to kill {Black Tortoise}?” Qi Xia regarded Qian Five somewhat skeptically as he questioned, “Once she dies, all the {participants} could unhesitantly kill for a single {Dào}. And how are we supposed to manage when life-staking wagers against the {Earthly Branches} would no longer have an umpire. By endlessly slaughtering our way through?”
“Well… it’s not impossible…” Qian Five answered.
“That’s just the first scenario,” Qi Xia said. “What if there’s a second scenario?”
Qian Five lifted his head to look at him. “Second scenario?”
“What if {Sacred Guardians} are like the {Earthly Branches} and can be replaced anytime? What if the moment we slay this {Black Tortoise}, another takes her place the following day?”
“This…”
“Our intelligence is too limited,” Qi Xia shook his head. “To execute such a grand plan… we alone won’t be enough.”
“But who else can you rely on besides {Cats}?” Qian Five retorted. “{Judgment’s Domain}? {Passage to Heaven}? Sure, the more {Reverberatees} the better, but the reality is everyone has their own agenda. In the entire {End Point}, no organization is more reliable than {Cats}.”
“There is one,” Qi Xia nodded. “Theoretically, there’s a team that can rival a thousand troops. They may be full of guile, but their purpose aligns. What we lack is the means to unite them.”
“Where exactly is this so-called team?!” Qian Five queried, bewildered. “If such strength exists, why has it never reached my ears?”
“{Terrestrial-grade Earthly Branches},” Qi Xia said.
“What?!”
“The {Terrestrial-grade Earthly Branches} want to escape even more than any {participant}. They possess both the will and the long struggle behind it—think of it as the final sift: they are {End Point}’s chosen elite; {Earthly Branches} that didn’t meet the standard were eliminated back when they were {Mortals}.” Qi Xia paused, then looked at Qian Five. “Should this group choose to help, we can attempt to break apart the entire {End Point}.”
“Isn’t this a bit too bold an idea?” Qian Five gazed into Qi Xia’s eyes, feeling as if he were staring at a madman. “As you said, {Terrestrial-grade Earthly Branches} value their lives more than anyone. They’ve spent so long ascending to {Terrestrial-grade}—how could they possibly help you destroy this place? If there are two paths to choose from… clearly, {becoming Celestial} would be safer.”
“Becoming {Celestial}…?” Qi Xia slightly lifted the corner of his mouth. “Can they really become {Celestial}…?”
Everyone present suddenly realized something—according to Qi Xia, just as he was about to ascend to a {Celestial}, he was knocked back to his original form, becoming a {participant} again.
If all the {Terrestrial-grades} hear and believe this, it would without a doubt strike them hard.
But as opposing camps, how could they make those {Terrestrial-grade} believe the words of an ordinary participant?
“I believe…” Qi Xia, aware of everyone’s doubts, immediately continued, “I planted a {mole} within the {Earthly Branches}.”
Chen Junnan nodded upon hearing this, but then realized something was off. “Wait a moment, Ole Qi, you planted a {mole} in the {Earthly Branches}? How were you able to do that!?”
Qi Xia suddenly realized he hadn’t revealed this matter to Chen Junnan yet, so he quickly explained his speculation about having once been an {Earthly Branch}.
Chen Junnan, who had never really taken things seriously, was now completely shocked. “Ole Qi, you were once a {Earthly Branch}!?”
“This is just a reasonable conjecture,” Qi Xia said. “Knowing myself, I couldn’t act without preparation or a plan… I’ve mulled over the question as to why some {Earthly Branches} have such a deep impression of me? What could I have done to them…?”
“You mean…” Qian Five felt that Qi Xia now reminded him of the first time they met—one person, one mind, daring to try to steer the entire course of the {End Point}.
“I should have set up contingencies for myself in advance,” Qi Xia said. “If I fail to reach {Celestial-grade}, the {mole} I embedded will act, allowing the present me to piece it together…and coordinate with my past self {unsupported}.”
What a masterful ‘{unsupported} coordination’.
If Qian Five were a stranger to Qi Xia, he’d have assumed the person in front of him was completely deranged.
After all, all of this was mere speculation! Even Qi Xia’s own stint as a {Earthly Branch} was based on assumption!
Qi Xia not only fully believed that he had once been an {Earthly Branch}, he also mentally replayed everything that happened after that, attempting—despite having no actual memory—to coordinate a long-term plan with his past self.
Isn’t that madness?
Any single slip in this plan would cause it to completely collapse.
“There is no need for such scrutiny,” Qi Xia remarked. “I have no other choice.”
“What…?”
“I can only trust my former self,” Qi Xia explained. “This is a plan that requires coordination; if {I} cannot trust {myself}, failure is inevitable.”
“Are you really that certain…?” Qian Five asked. “Are you certain your former self truly laid out the path for your present self?”
Before Qi Xia could answer, Chen Junnan spoke up, “It should be true.”
“Hm?”
Everyone turned to look at him.
“Ole Qi has always been a monster. I believe he really did lay out the path,” Chen Junnan declared, lowering his head in thought. “This path is far longer than we ever imagined…”
“What?” The meaning of Chen Junnan’s words was lost even on Qi Xia.
Chen Junnan turned to face Qi Xia, his expression solemn. “Ole Qi, My guts tell me that even before you became an {Earthly Branch}, you had already anticipated your return.”
“What…?”
Chen Junnan let out a wry smile. “Do you still remember questioning me yesterday about why I kept our entire probation room locked for seven years…thinking I had an ulterior motive?”
“Yes,” Qi Xia nodded. “Is that not true?”
“Ole Qi, it was no ‘motive’ of this young master,” Chen Junnan’s eyes flickered. “But something you planned!”
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
