Chapter 1240: The Snake of Dilemma
The Sky Snake darted back and forth through the corridor, knocking on the doors of the "Sky-Tier" one after another.
Except for the Sky Ox, who wasn't present, he managed to notify all the remaining Sky-Tiers one by one.
Their expressions varied when they received the news. The Sky Snake stared into their eyes and read all their thoughts.
Just as the Sky Dog had said, the situation was truly growing dire. Among the few remaining Sky-Tiers, hardly any were genuinely willing to go and crush the "rebels." Invisible cracks had already begun spreading among them.
The Sky Rat had been injured, and his temper was now volatile. When the Sky Snake relayed the information to him, his mind was consumed with the desire to kill his own student just to vent his anger. The Sky Snake knew he had no way to intervene with this old man, so he simply explained the situation briefly and left, then went to find the Sky Tiger.
The Sky Tiger was wearing a bellyband, sitting on the floor of his room eating a corpse. His mouth was drenched in blood, and he seemed barely interested in the Sky Snake's arrival. After the Sky Snake briefly stated his purpose, the Sky Tiger only mumbled a vague "Got it."
Next came the Sky Horse and the Sky Rabbit. The old crone Sky Horse had a slightly firmer resolve than the others; her mind was genuinely considering how to expel the "rebels." But the Sky Rabbit, who had only recently woken up, was the complete opposite. Before the Sky Snake even began speaking, hesitation had already crept into her heart. By the time he finished describing the plan to lead a force to drive out the "rebels," her mind was already filled with thoughts of giving up.
Finally, there were the Sky Monkey and the Sky Rooster. The two of them were meditating in the same room. When the Sky Snake entered, neither opened their eyes. He had no choice but to speak as if talking to air, pouring out all the information at once. Yet, in the end, the two still gave no response.
Aside from the Sky Rat, Sky Tiger, Sky Horse, Sky Rabbit, Sky Monkey, and Sky Rooster, the Sky Snake had no one else to notify.
The Sky Dragon and the Sky Goat were out of the question. The Sky Pig was already dead. The Sky Dog knew the whole story. That left only himself.
The Sky Snake asked himself… if he had heard this news, would he lead people to resist at such a time?
It truly was a dilemma.
Because they would have to lead the "Earth-Tier" to suppress the "rebels." But every Earth-Tier hoped the Sky-Tiers would step down. That was like leading a pack of wild dogs to drive off wolves.
If they went, they risked getting hurt or dying. If they didn't go, they might anger the Azure Dragon, and they could still die.
So why couldn't those "participants" just accept their oppression peacefully and obediently?
Once they started to "rebel," all that was left for the Sky-Tiers was a life-or-death dilemma.
The Sky Snake closed the door to the Sky Monkey and Sky Rooster's room and came to his own door. Before he could enter, he spotted from a distance, on the other side of the Azure Dragon's room, a large group of people approaching.
The group was still far away, but they didn't seem to want to enter the Azure Dragon's room. Instead, after reaching his door, they turned left and entered the horizontal corridor opposite him.
Leading them was a black goat, guiding a crowd of "participants."
"The cargo hold…?" The Sky Snake furrowed his brows, pondering for a few seconds. He still found the situation hard to understand.
Why were these people who truly wanted to "rebel" going to the cargo hold?
Why not try to enter the Azure Dragon's room and kill him?
At least they should make an effort.
If the Azure Dragon died, not only would everything end, but he himself wouldn't have to face this dilemma anymore.
"No…" The Sky Snake shook his head. He felt that his thoughts were dangerous.
Once the thought "If only the Azure Dragon were dead" began lingering in his mind, his experience told him he would eventually pay a heavy price.
Countless rebellions, mutinies, and uprisings of all sizes had happened in this place, yet the Azure Dragon survived every single time.
Though the Sky Snake also wished the Azure Dragon dead, and he too wanted to lift his head, open his eyes, and walk through life looking straight ahead, he couldn't start planning for that now.
What had to be done still had to be done. The orders that had to be carried out still had to be carried out.
He could only pretend not to have seen the Black Goat's imposing procession, turn around, and open his own door.
Xiao Ran was sitting inside, in the same posture as when he had left—arms crossed, legs crossed.
The Sky Snake gave Xiao Ran a cold glance, then walked to a corner of the room, took a cup from a "human-shaped furniture," and poured himself a glass of water.
"Cat got your tongue?" Xiao Ran asked. "What did those Sky-Tiers say? Did they obey my orders?"
The Sky Snake did not answer. He just drank his water, contemplating the current situation.
From this trip out, he had only gained one useful piece of information—the Sky Dog had told him to kill this woman.
But reaching that point was still hard to push forward.
After all, this woman had been sent to his room by the Azure Dragon. If he killed her… wouldn't that be unilaterally choosing to resist the Azure Dragon?
But the Sky Dog hadn't let him look into his eyes, and the Sky Snake didn't know exactly what he was worried about. The only thing he could be sure of was that the Sky Dog wanted to stay out of this storm unscathed.
He neither joined the "participants" nor would he really step in to suppress them. He was just waiting for an outcome.
"Wait a minute…" The Sky Snake slowly tightened his grip on the water glass. After thinking things through to this point, he felt he had roughly figured it out.
Since the Sky Dog had chosen not to intervene at all and let things develop… then he had already placed himself on the opposite side.
After all, the Sky Snake couldn't let the situation continue to unfold. He wanted to survive—not just from the "participants," but also from the Azure Dragon.
So, at this moment, was the strategy given by the Sky Dog, who stood on the opposite side… really a strategy that benefited him?
The Sky Snake turned around, his gaze cold as he looked at Xiao Ran.
Killing her would be as simple as lifting a finger. The only reason she was still alive and well was because of a single word from the Azure Dragon.
If that was the case… could the Sky Dog be deliberately leading him into the abyss?
No matter how things developed from here, the Azure Dragon would only remember him as the one who had defied him, and would vent all his fury on him.
The Sky Snake nodded. This line of reasoning fit the Sky Dog's principle of "keeping himself clean." Only by doing this could he remain absolutely safe in the midst of this chaos.
Just "watching the fire from the other shore" wasn't enough—he had to set the fire himself on the opposite bank.
Xiao Ran saw that the Sky Snake hadn't spoken for a long time. She slowly walked over behind him, reached out, and patted him.
"Playing deaf and dumb, huh?" Xiao Ran said. "Slacking off on me is the same as slacking off on the Azure Dragon. Got it?"
The Sky Snake turned around, staring into Xiao Ran's eyes. That familiar and eerie feeling came over him again.
This woman was not lying. From the bottom of her heart, she believed she represented the Azure Dragon. Such powerful self-confidence made even the Sky Snake feel inferior.
He knew that even when he did things for the Azure Dragon, he never dared to claim he represented him.
So this woman… cannot be killed.