Chapter 245: The Liberated
When dawn broke, Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin walked outside.
Ground Tiger wasn't there yet, probably not on shift yet.
Rat wasn't there either—must have already clocked out.
A dirty yellow sun climbed into the sky, greeting the stench of morning, signaling that the first day of this cycle had officially begun.
Qiao Jiajin stretched his arms and turned his head to ask, "Swindler, are we just gonna wait here?"
"Yeah. Let's wait a bit."
Neither of them knew what time it was. They'd been waiting for about an hour. Qiao Jiajin was so bored he was squatting on the ground, digging in the sand, when Ground Tiger finally appeared lazily from a nearby portal.
He spotted them immediately.
"Oh? Pretty early." Ground Tiger sauntered over casually and took a seat on a step.
"Not that early. We've been waiting for an hour," Qi Xia said.
"Mm." Ground Tiger nodded, then lifted his eyelids and asked, "Did you deliver the stuff?"
Qi Xia pulled the bag of snacks out of his pocket and tossed it to Ground Tiger.
"We couldn't deliver it."
Hearing this, Qiao Jiajin swallowed hard. He hadn't expected Qi Xia to actually tell the truth.
He was a little afraid the tiger-headed man in front of them would suddenly fly into a rage. If that happened, neither of them would escape unscathed.
"Why couldn't you deliver it?" Ground Tiger asked.
"That kid is dead."
"Oh...?" Ground Tiger's expression turned strange. "You're saying she's dead?"
"Yeah." Qi Xia nodded.
"Hmph..." Ground Tiger slowly stood up and said meaningfully, "Kid, you're smart. If you'd dared to tell me you delivered it, I would've made you regret it."
Qi Xia let out a slow breath of relief. "You already knew she was dead?"
A trace of sorrow flickered across Ground Tiger's face.
"It's been almost a month... Every day after work, she never came to see me..."
The two of them had no idea what kind of relationship Ground Tiger and Rat had, so naturally they had nothing to say. They could only silently watch him grieve.
"I really do miss her..." Ground Tiger slowly lifted his head. "Has she been dead long?"
"Yeah... About twenty days?" Qiao Jiajin nodded, but Qi Xia felt something was off.
Ground Tiger's expression instantly darkened.
"Then... if she's been dead and rotting for over twenty days, how did you know she was a 'kid'?" Ground Tiger asked Qi Xia with icy eyes.
Qi Xia knew he couldn't hide this.
"I killed her," Qi Xia said. "I gambled her to death."
"Gambled her to death...?" Ground Tiger was stunned.
"Yeah... We gambled for our lives."
"You son of a..."
Ground Tiger slowly stood up, clearly furious, making Qiao Jiajin tense up nervously.
But just a few seconds later, Ground Tiger's anger deflated like a punctured balloon. His expression gradually crumpled with disappointment.
"You said 'gambled to death'... She... she didn't suffer, did she?" Ground Tiger's eyes seemed to glisten with tears.
Qi Xia thought for a moment, then nodded. "No. She killed herself. One shot to the head—instant death."
"Th-that's good then..." Ground Tiger nodded, his hands fiddling with the crumpled bag of snacks. "Little mouse, you're finally free."
When he heard the words "finally free," something like an electric shock shot through Qi Xia's head. A vague ache stirred again.
He quickly cut off that train of thought and asked Ground Tiger, "So what about our 'deal'?"
"I'll keep your 'Tao' safe for you. If one day you can bring that person to see me... I'll return every single one of your 'Tao,' not a single one missing." Ground Tiger paused, then added, "But if you're lying to me..."
"I'm not." Qi Xia shook his head. "Those 'Tao' are everything I have. There's no way I'd gamble them on a lie."
Ground Tiger listened and gave a slight nod.
"So... from now on, I just need to help you find 'Heavenly Sheep'?"
"What the hell are you thinking?" Ground Tiger scoffed angrily. "I asked you to deliver snacks for me, and you didn't get it done. Logically speaking, shouldn't I change the terms?"
Qi Xia wasn't surprised. He just nodded. "Fair enough. Name it. I'm listening."
Ground Tiger slowly raised a hand and pointed in a direction. "Walk that way for half an hour, and you'll find a bar. There's a casino underneath. That's 'Earth Sheep's' game venue. I want his life."
"What...?" Qi Xia was stunned. "You want his life?"
"You go kill him for me. After that, I'll agree to whatever you ask."
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances. That condition was way too harsh.
"Ground Tiger, you should know... as a 'Participant,' if I want to kill a 'Zodiac,' I have to gamble with him."
"Yeah. I know."
"How can I gamble my life with 'Earth Sheep' without knowing anything about him first?" Qi Xia frowned. "If I die, everything's over, and you'll never get to see 'Heavenly Sheep.'"
Ground Tiger pursed his lips, seeming to realize his request was a bit excessive.
"Then what do you suggest I do to teach him a lesson?"
Qi Xia thought for a moment, then asked, "Ground Tiger, even though 'Tao' is useless to you guys, if I win all of Earth Sheep's 'Tao,' would that count as teaching him a lesson?"
"You're gonna win all of Earth Sheep's 'Tao'...?" Ground Tiger found this man's idea laughable. "Do you even know what 'Sheep' represents?"
"Of course I do." Qi Xia nodded. "When it comes to that specialty, I doubt I'm any worse than him."
Ground Tiger began to reassess this man. Something about him felt different.
"Well then... I'll change my conditions." Ground Tiger said. "I want you to go to Earth Sheep's game alone and win every single 'Tao' he has. That way, I can go mock him tonight."
Qi Xia thought it over for a moment, then asked, "It has to be me going alone...?"
"That's right." Ground Tiger grinned stupidly. "I need to make sure you're a worthy partner."
"Fine. Deal." Qi Xia looked up at the sky. "Before you 'clock out' today, I'll come back and report my results."
Ground Tiger nodded, then asked with fake politeness, "Rare to have return customers. Care to experience my game again?"
Both of them immediately shook their heads and waved their hands.
Ground Tiger seemed pretty pleased. The same guy who'd refused to kill earlier was now actively soliciting customers.
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin said goodbye to Ground Tiger and headed back under the rising sun.
"Fist..." Qi Xia said. "Go back first and tell the others about this. I'm going to check out Earth Sheep's venue."
"But do you have enough Tao for the entry fee?" Qiao Jiajin was caught off guard.
"Ah..." Qi Xia had overlooked that problem. He'd just handed over all his 'Tao' to Ground Tiger.
"Look!" Qiao Jiajin suddenly pulled five 'Tao' out of his pants pocket. "I swiped these last night!"
Qi Xia gave him a helpless look.
"I mean... isn't 'swiping' supposed to be done without my knowledge?" Qi Xia didn't even know how to lecture him anymore. "You were supposed to keep these five for yourself. Pulling them out now to bail me out... that's not 'swiping'..."
"Swindler, I was just afraid that Ground Tiger might screw us over and we'd lose everything. That's why I swiped these five!" Qiao Jiajin declared righteously.
"Fine..." Qi Xia nodded and took the five 'Tao.'