Chapter 236: Secured
"Who the hell are you...?" Chu Tianqiu frowned as he stared at Chen Junnan.
"You little shit..." Chen Junnan looked furious. "I should've killed you back then... Just looking at your pathetic face now pisses me off."
The Echoers present at the scene began to exchange puzzled glances upon hearing his tone.
"Hey... handsome..." Qiao Jiajin said.
"Call me Junnan."
"Jun Nan...?" Qiao Jiajin scratched his head, confused. "What's the difference between 'handsome' and 'Junnan'?"
"Uh..." Chen Junnan froze for a moment. "There is a difference, right?"
"So is 'Junnan' better looking than 'handsome'?" Qiao Jiajin humbly inquired.
"No... what the hell are you on about..." Chen Junnan frowned. "What does it have to do with 'handsome'? I've always been 'Junnan'!"
Chen Junnan vaguely recalled that this conversation had happened many times before.
"Oh... fine..." Qiao Jiajin nodded. "So, this Junnan fella... do you know Tianqiu?"
Qi Xia, who had originally thought Chen Junnan was a deep and brooding person, now found him a bit dim-witted as well—strangely in sync with Qiao Jiajin.
"How could I not know? Not only do I know him, but you all know him too." Chen Junnan crouched down, staring at Chu Tianqiu with a contemptuous smile. "Seven years ago, he was crying and begging to shine our shoes. Now that we meet today, the bastard's putting on airs."
"Seven... seven years ago?" Chu Tianqiu was taken aback. "What nonsense are you spouting... How can you retain memories from seven years ago?"
"Why?" Chen Junnan reached out and patted Chu Tianqiu's face again, enunciating each word, "Be-cause-I-damn-well-feel-like-it."
Qi Xia watched Chen Junnan's actions and found the man interesting.
He was completely different from Qiao Jiajin.
Qiao Jiajin seemed devil-may-care on the surface but was upright at heart. Chen Junnan, on the other hand, appeared harmless but harbored a deep cunning.
He was exactly the kind of person Qi Xia needed.
Before long, Jin Yuanxun returned, carrying two huge hemp sacks, and pushed open the door, panting heavily.
"Alright, let him go. I've brought the stuff."
"Show me the stuff first," Qi Xia said.
"You let him go first."
Qi Xia shook his head helplessly, then lowered his head to speak. "Chu Tianqiu, your man is bargaining with me. What should I say?"
Chu Tianqiu thought for a moment and said, "Jin Yuanxun, give it to him."
"What? Brother! What if he kills you?"
"If he kills me, he'll become a 'murderer for the Dao,'" Chu Tianqiu said. "If you don't give it to him, that's when I'm in real danger."
Jin Yuanxun's face darkened as he pondered for a moment, then finally set the two sacks on the ground.
"Fist, check them," Qi Xia said.
"Yeah..." Qiao Jiajin nodded and opened one of the sacks.
The next second, a stench that burned straight into the brain wafted out from the sack, making everyone in the room take a step back.
"Ugh!"
Qiao Jiajin, standing closest to the sack, got the full brunt of it, repeatedly wretching.
"What the hell... What is this... It stinks that bad?!"
Qi Xia also frowned and looked up. The sack was indeed emitting a faint glow—it was the Dao.
But why did the Dao smell so awful?
The most Dao Qi Xia had ever held at once was about seventy or so, and he had never paid attention to their smell. Did they naturally reek of rot?
Qiao Jiajin, enduring the stench, pulled out a few small orbs from the sack.
The orbs had white outer rings and yellow centers, shaped like three-dimensional sunny-side-up eggs, emitting a faint radiance. They were indeed Dao.
Then Qiao Jiajin opened the other sack, also filled to the brim with Dao, like a bag of walnuts.
No one in the room had ever seen such a quantity of Dao, but they had no time to be amazed—the smell was simply unbearable.
"Qi Xia..." Chu Tianqiu said with a smile. "Want to count them? No refunds once you leave the counter."
"No need," Qi Xia sneered. "If I find out the number is short, I'll find a way to kill you, no matter what it takes."
"Haha..." Chu Tianqiu chuckled dryly. "Alright, then... shall I take my leave?"
"Of course, of course." Qi Xia nodded, had Chen Junnan withdraw the dagger from Chu Tianqiu's neck, and politely helped him up. "We're partners. I wouldn't really kill you, would I?"
"Right." Chu Tianqiu slowly stood up. "Qi Xia, I look forward to working with you in the future."
Jin Yuanxun immediately stepped forward and stayed close to Chu Tianqiu.
"Yeah, happy cooperation," Qi Xia replied.
After watching the two leave the room, Qi Xia's expression darkened.
Qiao Jiajin sealed the mouth of the sack, and the smell in the room improved slightly.
"Cheater... what do we do now?" Qiao Jiajin asked. "Should we count the number together?"
"No need," Qi Xia shook his head. "No matter how many there are, getting them is already a win."
Chen Junnan pondered for a moment. "So what next? Old Qi, are you planning to move around with these two thousand nine hundred Dao from now on?"
"No..." Qi Xia slowly stood up and addressed the group. "Everyone, do you trust me?"
The others exchanged glances. Compared to Chu Tianqiu, Qi Xia was naturally more trustworthy.
"What do you want to do?" Lin Qin asked. "You should know that there are 'Jidao' among us. Some of them will try everything to destroy your Dao."
"I know that very well," Qi Xia nodded. "If you all trust me, I'll keep these Dao in my custody for now. No one will see them until we've collected all three thousand six hundred."
The group fell silent.
They all knew that the Dao was the key to escaping this place, but Qi Xia was now asking to keep them alone.
Seeing everyone hesitate, Qi Xia continued, "Of course, there's a second option. Since Tiantian isn't here, there are nine of us. We can split the Dao right now, on the spot. After that, it's every man for himself, no interference."
This plan sounded more reasonable than the first, but it made everyone more uneasy.
"Let's take a vote," Officer Li said from the side. "Majority rules. Let's keep it democratic."
"Fine," Qi Xia said. "Raise your hand if you want to split the Dao now."
After a moment of silence, Dr. Zhao and Su Shan raised their hands.
Qi Xia glanced at them, not surprised by their choice.
"Raise your hand if you trust me to keep them."
Qiao Jiajin, Chen Junnan, Officer Li, and Han Yimo raised their hands.
Qi Xia then looked at Lawyer Zhang and Lin Qin, who had yet to raise their hands. "What about you two?"
"I abstain," Lawyer Zhang shook his head. "I don't know enough about the situation to make a judgment."
Lin Qin's expression was heavy. "I just don't want you to die because of these Dao."
"Then I understand," Qi Xia turned to the others. "Majority rules. I'll keep the Dao."
With that, he hoisted one hemp sack onto his back and turned to Qiao Jiajin. "Fist, carry the other one and follow me."
Just as they were about to leave with the sacks, Qi Xia looked back at Yu Nian'an's corpse.
He felt a pang of grief, but not entirely.
"Bury her for me, please."