Chapter 1194: Stratagem
A few minutes ago.
Just as Song Qi and Ma Shier were about to arrive at the venue, an old man suddenly materialized before them.
The two nearly crashed into him, unable to brake in time.
"Hey?" Ma Shier stopped, staring in shock at the white-robed elder before him. "White Tiger... holy shit..."
Song Qi also furrowed his brows, asking cautiously, "What do you want...?"
"I..." White Tiger stood with his hands behind his back, as if he had something to say but couldn't bring himself to speak.
"Sorry," Song Qi said after waiting a few seconds. "We're in a hurry right now. If you want to avenge Black Tortoise, I can come find you afterward."
White Tiger chuckled at Song Qi's words. "I don't quite understand... come find you afterward?"
"Yes." Song Qi nodded. "Right now, I have places I must go and people I must save. If I survive, I'll definitely come and let you take your revenge. If I don't make it, that counts as indirectly fulfilling your wish for you. Is that acceptable?"
White Tiger eyed Song Qi with interest, then asked, "Why should I trust you?"
"Because my name is Song Qi," Song Qi replied. "That name guarantees a perfectly fair deal in the Land of Endings."
"Good lad." White Tiger nodded with a smile. "It seems I made the right choice coming here. You're worthy of sharing the 'Combustion' ability with me."
Seeing that he neither moved aside nor made a move to attack, Song Qi and Ma Shier exchanged glances. Though anxious beyond measure, they dared not act rashly.
"White Tiger..." Song Qi stepped forward, speaking earnestly. "If you can't make way for us here, then just end us quickly. Otherwise, we won't be able to face our teammates alive."
"No need to worry." White Tiger shook his head. "I'm not here to cause trouble."
"Oh...?"
"Before Xuanzi died, she kept reaching toward the direction you left." White Tiger sighed softly. "I worried that was her final wish, so I wanted to follow and see. Otherwise, I fear I'd regret it someday."
"So... you want to help us kill Vermilion Bird?" Song Qi hit the nail on the head.
"That I won't do." White Tiger said. "Vermilion Bird and I have been colleagues after all. I won't take the initiative this time. I can only offer you some indirect help."
"Haven't you already told us about Vermilion Bird's eyes?" Song Qi said. "We're grateful for that information. If you could get out of our way, we'd be even more grateful."
"Just knowing the location of his eyes... will that be enough for you to win?" White Tiger turned his head and asked.
"That's true enough, but standing here won't help me win either," Song Qi said. "Is there anything else you need to say?"
White Tiger pondered for a moment, then spoke, "Song Qi, three eyeballs—how do you master four abilities?"
"Hmm...?" Song Qi was slightly taken aback, then thought for a moment before asking, "'Mind Thief,' 'Warp,' and 'Hover.' What's the fourth?"
"I see... Good thing I came." White Tiger clasped his hands behind his back, slowly turning around. "I'm about to tell you Vermilion Bird's ultimate secret, but it will still be difficult for you. As to whether you can actually kill him... that depends on your wisdom."
Song Qi vaguely sensed that White Tiger wasn't stalling for time but truly had crucial information to share.
"Wisdom is something we've prepared," Song Qi said. "Killing a Sacred Beast has never been about brute force anyway. It can only be done through stratagem."
White Tiger nodded, then stepped forward, whispering a few words close to their faces. Both of them were greatly shocked upon hearing them.
What White Tiger had said was simply too abstract. Even knowing the truth, they couldn't grasp the principle behind it.
"Three eyes in the mouth represent three Echoes..." Song Qi muttered. "And his own two eyes represent a fourth ability...?"
"Exactly that."
Ma Shier scratched his head after hearing this. "What the fuck... Vermilion Bird doesn't have 'Hover,' but he has 'Puppet' and 'Soul Shift'... this..."
"'Soul Shift' is rare," Song Qi said. "What ability is that?"
Before White Tiger could answer, a dark object came into view at the corner of the street.
It was a women's blazer, empty inside, crawling on all fours. It had been crawling through the Land of Endings for who knew how long, covered in dust and bloodstains.
It looked like a monster, a ghost, an insect—anything but clothing.
White Tiger chuckled softly, slowly bent down, and reached out toward the black blazer. The blazer, as if sensing something, propped itself up with its hems and hopped over to White Tiger in a few bounds, then sniffed his palm with its collar.
"What a marvelous creature..." White Tiger laughed. "This is 'Soul Shift.'"
"This is... 'Soul Shift'?" Song Qi felt even more confused.
"The hell is this thing again...?" Ma Shier stared at the blazer in terror, feeling goosebumps spreading thickly across his skin. "The pets you Sacred Beasts keep are seriously weird..."
"I can only say this much," White Tiger said. "If this information is enough for you to kill Vermilion Bird, then it means he was fated to die."
Song Qi furrowed his brow, rapidly brainstorming strategies. But with so little information available, he couldn't immediately figure out a way to kill Vermilion Bird.
"Soul Shift"—going by the literal meaning, it was about transferring one's soul to another entity. So did Vermilion Bird possess this ability too?
Would he transfer his soul to...
"Song Qi." White Tiger interrupted Song Qi's train of thought. "Tell me... what do you think is your only advantage right now?"
"The only advantage..." Song Qi paused. "Should be that I know Vermilion Bird's weakness."
"No..." White Tiger stepped forward, a smile spreading across his cracked lips. "Your only advantage right now is that 'Vermilion Bird doesn't know that you know.'"
Song Qi was stunned. "That makes sense..."
"I've said all I can. May fortune favor you." White Tiger took a step back and vanished into the distance, leaving only the black blazer writhing on the ground.
"That old bastard..." Ma Shier said to Song Qi from behind. "Might as well have said nothing, right? Now we're even more lost on what to do... I..."
Song Qi lowered his head, staring at the bizarre blazer. His expression was heavy as he replayed White Tiger's words in his mind, and at that moment, a bold idea struck him.
"Shier... are you afraid of dying?" Song Qi asked.
"...?" Ma Shier was taken aback. "Brother Qi, what kind of talk is that...? We've fought side by side for so many years, and now you're asking me if I'm afraid of dying?"