TDU Chapter 525
Chapter 525 Simple Gesture
“You…” Qi Xia’s thoughts flashed through Wei Yang’s mind in an instant.
Wei Yang’s {Heart Insight} functioned without the need for eye contact. By that logic, he must have already known Qi Xia’s plan before Qi Xia cast him out.
“Wei Yang (未羊)…” Qi Xia said with a smile, “Do you really think a lie like that would hold up in front of me?”
“So you discerned even this…” Wei Yang said through clenched teeth, his expression sinking into shadow. “Qi Xia, I urge you to leave at once…or the consequences will be no small matter.”
Qi Xia’s brow furrowed, and a thought quietly surfaced in his mind.
Could there be more to Wei Yang’s expulsion…?
“Indeed,” Wei Yang nodded in confirmation. “Heh heh… now get lost…”
Seeing Wei Yang nod, Qi Xia found the situation growing far more intriguing. Could it be that Wei Yang’s departure had been arranged by him?
To deliberately send away someone with {Heart Insight}… and sustain that arrangement for ten years?
‘Wait a moment…’ Qi Xia paused slightly, two key phrases echoing persistently in his mind: ‘{Heart Insight}… {indigenous inhabitant}?’
“Enough…” Wei Yang’s voice cut through Qi Xia’s thoughts. “It’s dangerous.”
Dangerous…?
Qi Xia’s eyes gradually narrowed; he was fairly certain his deduction was correct.
“Wei Yang, I have only one question,” Qi Xia said.
“What is it?”
“Why do you {remain resolute}?” Qi Xia asked. “You understood I would lose my memories and forget many things…so why endure even so?”
At Qi Xia’s question, the madness in Wei Yang’s eyes noticeably dimmed.
“This is exactly the feeling…” he smiled broadly. “A capacity so acute that {Heart Insight} is not needed to penetrate the heart… this is why I {remain steadfast}… Qi Xia, the path you’ve laid is intoxicating… and your {deception} is equally captivating.”
“My… {deception}?”
“After you, I took on a few more apprentices…” Wei Yang said bitterly. “Except for my favorite pupil, Qin Dingdong…none could grasp the essence…”
“You mean I was your apprentice?” Qi Xia blinked. “I…learned {deception}...from you?”
“I keep forgetting… always forgetting!” Wei Yang’s {heh heh}-laughter was unsettlingly light, and Qi Xia felt a chill creep along his spine. “You have no recollection, yet every time I speak, it feels like ten years ago, and words escape of their own volition…”
Hearing their exchange, Chen Junnan’s face darkened, clearly unsettled.
“Hey! When did Dong jie pick up {trickery} from you? Don’t go spouting bullshit!”
“Oh…?” Wei Yang turned his gaze to Chen Junnan, then shook his head with a teasing lilt. “So Chen Junnan is here too? My favorite pupil asked me to never reveal it… unfortunate… I let it slip.”
Qi Xia recognized the depth of this middle-aged man’s guile, unable to tell truth from falsehood in his every phrase. “You’d better have genuinely let it slip.”
“Heh heh…” Wei Yang twisted his head toward Qi Xia, grinning with delight. “Exactly like old times! We’d try to outguess each other! You’d read my thoughts, I’d read yours! How thrilling is that? Who really is the {Heart Insight} between us?”
“I don’t want to guess,” Qi Xia shook his head. “Wei Yang… are you really a fraudster?”
“Of course…” Wei Yang nodded. “Laozi’s swindled massive sums… countless lives in my hands. That’s my talent, this is Ole Wei’s skill.”
Qi Xia studied Wei Yang’s eyes and sensed that this time, he wasn’t lying.
Not only was he truly a fraudster, he had also killed.
Wei Yang embodied the quintessential villain of {End Point}, meeting every criterion to belong…and the him (Qi Xia) from the past had sought him (Wei Yang) out to study {trickery}?
Had he been unable to discern morality from immorality?
“What do you mean…” Wei Yang continued as if speaking to no one in particular. “You did indeed learn from me, and I certainly did not lie. But you’re far superior to me… a natural-born swindler. And besides, this has nothing to do with {morality}; anyone more capable may serve as your teacher.”
Qi Xia remained unaccustomed to someone being able to hear his inner thoughts directly. He hadn’t even looked into Wei Yang’s eyes, how was this even accomplished?
“I don’t need to look into your eyes at all…” Wei Yang replied. “But I truly admire you… to be able to juggle so many calculations in your mind at once. Your inner world is even more splendid than a symphony.”
“Since you can hear everything anyway,” Qi Xia said, “have you considered returning to my team?”
“Oh…?” Wei Yang slowly raised a hand, rubbing his chin as he spoke. “Qi Xia, does this gesture look familiar to you?”
Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin both turned to look at him. Wei Yang was stroking his chin, his gaze sharp and severe, bearing an uncanny resemblance to Qi Xia.
“What are you trying to say?” Qi Xia asked.
“When I think, I touch my chin,” Wei Yang said. “Do you understand now?”
The remark came without context, leaving Qi Xia with no clear thread to follow.
“You stroke your chin, I do the same,” Qi Xia remarked. “Are you trying to claim this isn’t an instinctive coincidence?”
Qi Xia had expected an answer, but this time Wei Yang remained silent.
“It’s getting late…” Wei Yang murmured. “I suggest you head back early and prepare for {Celestial Horse's Hour}. Qi Xia, if you can fathom the question I just posed… perhaps you could grasp the full scope of your plan.”
Qi Xia knew Wei Yang’s words carried immense weight. He could not speak freely, for every utterance might be overheard.
But such an oblique clue, how was one supposed to grasp its true meaning?
Touching the chin?
That both he and Wei Yang did it… what did it indicate?
“Yes,” Wei Yang swayed his head theatrically, shrouding the matter in mystery. “What does it indicate? If you ever figure it out, you can come find me anytime. Whether it’s after {Celestial Horse's Hour}… or in the next cycle, I’ll be here at the {farm choir}, waiting for you, ready to share the most enchanting of songs.”
“I’ll pass on the songs.” Qi Xia shook his head. “Should I unravel this riddle, will you assist me?”
“If you can truly piece together the origin of this affair…then I would have no choice but to assist you..” Wei Yang replied, stepped forward and stopped directly in front of Qi Xia. The two now faced each other, their gazes nearly identical. “Qi Xia, whether you believe me or not, I still bear the task you once assigned me, though now I am at an impasse. If this single lead lets you reconstruct your entire past plan… then your intellect borders on the divine. Joining you would be my only way forward.”
TL Note: Rant goes here ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)
