Chapter 47: Escape
Just as the onlookers were panicking, Earth Ox slowly walked over.
"You two," he said flatly, "it doesn't matter to me if you kill each other, but please do it outside this room."
Neither of them paid him any attention. Both were gritting their teeth and straining against each other.
Earth Ox looked at the two men locked in struggle, then decided not to bother persuading them. Instead, he bent down, effortlessly pried Qiao Jiajin's arm away from Zhang Shan's neck, grabbed Zhang Shan by the collar with his left hand and Qiao Jiajin's arm with his right, and tossed them lightly. The two flew out like small pebbles, knocking over all the chairs.
"Damn..." Qiao Jiajin felt like his bones were about to break.
On the other side, Zhang Shan wasn't doing much better. He writhed on the ground in pain, blood flowing from all his wounds.
"Fuck... stinking ox, one day I'll skin you alive..."
The others quickly rushed over to check on them.
"Hey, Qiao Jiajin, you still alive?"
Qiao Jiajin let out a bitter laugh. "What do you think...?"
Tiantian and Lin Qin also came over, and together they helped Qiao Jiajin to his feet.
On the other side, Zhang Shan was being helped up by Little Glasses and Old Lyu.
"You alright, Zhang Shan?" Little Glasses asked.
"I'm fine." Zhang Shan scratched at his own wounds, feeling terrible, but he pulled himself together and said to Little Glasses, "Looks like you were right. Those two are interesting."
"Right?" Little Glasses smiled happily, as if he himself had been praised. "The Tattooed Arm Guy is incredibly strong, and that guy called 'Liar' is very smart. Those two definitely have what it takes."
Old Lyu stood off to the side, pursing his lips repeatedly, as if he didn't quite agree with Little Glasses.
"Come on, let's go talk to them again." Zhang Shan laughed heartily and led the two forward once more.
Before they had taken three steps, Earth Ox extended a black hand and pressed it onto Zhang Shan's shoulder.
"Looking for more trouble?"
Zhang Shan looked at Earth Ox and said, "Relax. Just a simple conversation."
Earth Ox thought for a moment, then withdrew his hand.
"Be careful. I'm watching you."
In a few steps, Zhang Shan was face to face with Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin again.
Qiao Jiajin stepped forward, blocking Qi Xia. "Big Guy, are you planning to settle the score with me after we get out of here?"
"Forget it." Zhang Shan scratched at the shocking wound on his chest. "I'm out of strength today. We'll have a rematch another time."
"Ha." Qiao Jiajin was amused. "If you're not here to fight, then what do you want with us?"
"That's unreasonable of you." Zhang Shan shook his head helplessly. "I wasn't looking for a fight with you from the start. It was your buddy who suddenly attacked me."
Qiao Jiajin thought about it and realized that was true.
"Not here to fight?" Qi Xia found this guy strange. "Then what did you come to us for?"
Zhang Shan turned around and waved at Little Glasses and Old Lyu. They took cloth bags from their waists and handed them to him. Old Lyu looked very reluctant, but seemed afraid of Zhang Shan, so he did as told.
Zhang Shan weighed the two bags in his hand, then tossed them to Qi Xia.
"Thirty-eight Dao in total. Take them."
Qi Xia took the bags in disbelief. He opened them and saw the gleaming golden pellets inside.
"What's this supposed to mean?" Qiao Jiajin looked suspiciously at Zhang Shan. "We haven't settled the score yet. Why are you giving us the Dao?"
"Because that was the agreement in the game. You gamble, you pay up." Zhang Shan looked back at Little Glasses and continued, "Besides, Little Glasses kept praising you in front of me, saying you two are really good."
"Really good?" Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances, unsure of what he was up to.
"I didn't come looking for trouble in the first place." Zhang Shan tapped his temple with a finger and said to Qi Xia, "Little Glasses told me you beat that Black Bear using this. Is that true?"
Qi Xia didn't answer. He looked at Zhang Shan cautiously.
"Don't overthink it." Zhang Shan said. "We're gathering some powerful people to get out of this place together. Are you two interested in joining?"
"No," Qi Xia replied.
"Don't reject so quickly..." Zhang Shan grinned foolishly and patted Qi Xia on the shoulder. "You can think it over."
"Yeah!" Little Glasses also stepped forward and said to Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin, "Mr. Qiao, Mr. Liar, both of you are exceptionally capable. There's a good chance we can get out of here."
"Mr. Liar?" Qi Xia thought he had misheard. "You mean me?"
"Yeah..." Little Glasses thought he had said something wrong. "Isn't Mr. Qiao always calling you 'Liar'...?"
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly. "Never mind. A name is just a label. Call me whatever you want, but I'm not joining you."
"Why so stubborn?" Little Glasses didn't understand. "As the saying goes, many hands make light work. Besides, I've played games with you before. I know you're a trustworthy teammate. If we work together..."
"But I don't trust you." Qi Xia cut him off. "Besides, only one person can leave this place. So what if you gather more people? In the end, they'll just be cannon fodder."
"Only... only one person can leave?" Little Glasses was taken aback. "What nonsense are you talking? Why would only one person be able to leave?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Qi Xia retorted. "Those animal masks said..."
Qi Xia was about to say something, but suddenly stopped.
Wait.
Why did he believe only one person could leave?
Had anyone ever said that?
No. They hadn't.
Human Sheep had told Qi Xia that if they won the game, one of them would become a "god."
At the time, Qiao Jiajin had clearly asked Human Sheep, "What happens if we can't win?"
Human Sheep's answer was—"If you can't win, that's such a pity."
He had never said anything about escaping.
"Did I misunderstand...?"
The word "pity" was highly ambiguous.
Who was Human Sheep feeling sorry for at that moment?
For himself... or for the participants?
Qi Xia blinked, feeling like he had figured something out.
In this hellish place, besides "becoming a god" and "being destroyed," was there also an option to "escape"...
"Why... do you think you can escape together?" Qi Xia asked.
"Because we've seen people who escaped from here," Zhang Shan replied.