Chapter 20: Seeking the Dao
What do the twelve zodiacs represent?
What lies at the end of the corridor?
The underworld?
On this dim, endless corridor, everyone moved forward tremblingly.
After several rounds of high-intensity games earlier, everyone felt physically and mentally exhausted. Now, suddenly relaxing, the deathly aura that had clung to them began to fade.
Qi Xia casually turned his head and noticed Lin Qin standing beside him.
She had been covering her mouth and nose with her hand the entire time.
“Doesn’t that bother you?” Qi Xia imitated Lin Qin’s gesture, placing his hand over his own mouth and nose. “Even though the smell here is awful, doing this makes it hard to breathe.”
“Breathe?” Lin Qin froze for a moment, then revealed a smile. “I don’t feel like it’s hard to breathe, but not covering my mouth and nose just feels strange… like…”
“Like what?”
“Like not wearing clothes.” Lin Qin smiled sheepishly, then lowered her hand from her mouth and nose.
Her nose was very straight, and her lips were rosy—there was no need to cover them at all. Qi Xia didn’t understand what “like not wearing clothes” meant.
Lin Qin smiled slightly but still felt uncomfortable, so she raised her hand again to cover her mouth and nose.
“A bit shy… Don’t you find it awkward?” Lin Qin asked Qi Xia. “Just leaving your mouth and nose exposed like this.”
“Why would it be awkward?” Qi Xia thought it was strange.
“It’s the mask…” Lin Qin looked at Qi Xia, equally baffled, as if staring at an alien. “Without wearing a mask, how can you be so at ease?”
“M—
Before Qi Xia could react, a strange light appeared in the distance.
Everyone was drawn to the light and looked ahead.
It was an exit.
A glow like the sunset’s rays streamed in from the exit.
“We’re getting out!” Qiao Jiajin shouted excitedly. “I see the light of sunset!”
This shout was like a shot of adrenaline. Dr. Zhao helped Han Yimo, and they all quickened their pace.
“Sunset?” Qi Xia pondered briefly, then said to the group, “We woke up at twelve. After over an hour of games, it should be around two now. Whether it’s two in the morning or two in the afternoon, there’s no way we’d see a ‘sunset.’”
“I think you’re overthinking,” Officer Li shook his head. “The time in the room might not be accurate. Maybe the real time is actually evening.”
Qi Xia nodded slightly, knowing Officer Li had a point. Everything he knew about time came from the wall clock in the room, but no one could guarantee that clock was correct.
They walked a few more steps and noticed a shadow near the exit.
As they approached, the shadow gradually took human form. It was someone wearing an animal mask, but this mask made everyone feel nauseated.
Unlike all the other animal masks, this one wasn’t made from the head of a single animal. It was stitched together from various organs using yarn.
Its mouth resembled a crocodile’s, its nose like an ox’s, its cheeks covered in fish scales, and its neck in snakeskin. On top of that, it had sewn on a lion’s mane and a stag’s antlers.
This creature was almost like…
“Hello, I am the Human Dragon.” The stitched-up monster spoke slowly. “Everyone survived? How novel.”
“Dragon…?”
Everyone instinctively stopped, their nerves tensing.
It wasn’t because the dragon was scary, but because they were too familiar with this opening.
Every time someone introduced themselves like that, a terrifying game followed.
“Don’t be nervous, everyone. Your trials have come to an end.” The Human Dragon waved his hand, and the group noticed he was wearing gloves with eagle’s talons.
All the animal organs on his body were rotting and swollen, emitting a foul odor, but he acted as if nothing was wrong, speaking casually:
“I won’t give you new trials, just a little advice.”
The group stayed silent, huddling together, watching the Human Dragon warily.
“Ten days. You have ten days to change everything.” The Human Dragon said slowly. “If you can’t gather three thousand six hundred Dao within ten days, your world will be annihilated. Everything you see will be buried with it.”
These few words left everyone baffled.
“Three thousand six hundred Dao?” Qi Xia frowned. “What is Dao? And what do you mean by our world being annihilated?”
“Questions. Hehehe, good.” The Human Dragon nodded. “Questions mean you’re still clear-headed. As for Dao, it is…”
He reached into his black suit pocket, fumbled for a while, and pulled out four small golden spheres.
The spheres had white outer rings and golden inner cores, shimmering with a golden light—a strange sight.
“This is Dao.” The Human Dragon continued. “If you get three thousand six hundred Dao, you’ll be saved.”
Qi Xia pondered for a moment, then reached out to take one of the spheres. It wasn’t hard to the touch, even somewhat elastic.
“Take them. They were always yours.” The Human Dragon smiled.
Qi Xia thought for a moment, then accepted the four Dao.
“You passed four trials: Liar, Spring Bamboo Shoots After Rain, Heavenly Death, and Yes or No. These are your rewards and your chips.”
None of them had expected that risking their lives multiple times would earn them these insignificant little beads. For a moment, they didn’t know what to say.
“Dao…” Qi Xia frowned, looking helpless. “Are you saying that if we can’t find three thousand six hundred of these little beads, this place will be destroyed?”
“Hehehe, exactly. If this place is destroyed… you won’t be able to leave.” The Human Dragon nodded, the fish scales and lion’s mane on his face swaying with his head, looking quite awkward.
“It seems you have quite a few of these beads. Can’t you gather three thousand six hundred yourself?” Officer Li cut in decisively. “And you’re stronger than all of us. You could look for them yourself. Why choose us?”
“Me?” The Human Dragon sneered. “We are all guilty. The guilty cannot obtain Dao. Only chosen ones like you can find Dao and eventually become gods.”
“This is absurd!” Zhang Chenze interrupted, arms crossed, slightly angry. “Do you even know what you’re saying?”