Chapter 267: Harvest Day
After hearing this, Qi Xia blinked slightly. "Earth Sheep, this conversation isn't part of the game right now. You don't need to lie."
"Lie?" Earth Sheep looked up at Qi Xia. "Heaven Sheep is my promotion path. If he were still here, it would mean I have no hope of advancing. How could I possibly work so hard?"
"Huh...?" Qi Xia paused, feeling a bit confused again.
If the position of Heaven Sheep was vacant... didn't that mean Earth Sheep was already the highest-ranking Sheep here?
Then what was Yu Nian'an?
Qi Xia had a vague sense of unease.
He had speculated before that the real Yu Nian'an had either died here or risen through the ranks to become a Zodiac.
But now it seemed more likely that she had died here.
"Qi Xia," Earth Sheep suddenly said. "Don't you want to become a Sheep?"
"What?"
"The path of collecting Dao is too difficult. Have you considered becoming a Zodiac?" Earth Sheep asked again.
"Do you Zodiac... actively recruit people?"
"No... but there are too few Sheep." Earth Sheep sighed. "Right now, there are five Human Sheep, one Earth Sheep, and Heaven Sheep is completely vacant. Our Sheep are the fewest among all the Zodiacs."
"What does that have to do with me?" Qi Xia found it somewhat amusing. "So what if all the Sheep die?"
"I can only tell you this... collecting Dao isn't realistic. One day, you'll realize that becoming a Zodiac is the fastest way to leave this place."
Qi Xia nodded silently after hearing this. "Although you're right, I can't become a Zodiac yet. Because right now, for me... collecting Dao is faster."
Seeing that he couldn't convince the man, Earth Sheep shook his head and pulled out a huge bundle from under the table—it was all the Dao he had prepared.
"Oh?" Qi Xia glanced at the bundle. "Then our deal is done, right?"
"What do you think?" Earth Sheep asked irritably. "Do you really think I would kill you here?"
Qi Xia nodded and opened the bundle to check.
It was indeed a large pile of shimmering spheres. There wasn't much time left, so he couldn't count them one by one, but considering Earth Sheep had handed over such a huge quantity, it was unlikely he would try any tricks.
Qi Xia tied the bundle back up, hoisted it onto his shoulder, and asked Earth Sheep for two fans—so the two of them could pair up successfully.
Now that he was carrying such a large number of Dao on him, the situation was both dangerous and safe.
If anyone killed him for these Dao, Xuanwu would step in, so Qi Xia's position was relatively safe. But what if the killer didn't take the Dao, but instead did something like the Jidao method...
Qi Xia shook his head and headed toward the exit.
After three steps, he stopped. Something felt off.
There was a strange sense of dissonance.
He slowly put down the bundle on his back, opened it again, and sniffed it carefully.
This entire bundle of Dao had no putrid smell at all.
What was going on?
When Chu Tianqiu had given him Dao earlier, even a small opening would release a sharp, pungent odor that spread quickly. But here was another thousand or so Dao... and there was no smell at all?
Qi Xia felt confused, so he lowered his head and sniffed even more closely.
There was a faint, odd fishy smell.
But it definitely wasn't the smell of decay.
He picked up one of the spheres and squeezed it, then turned around to ask, "Earth Sheep... are you lying to me?"
"What?"
"These Dao of yours—why are they different from the ones I've seen?"
"Different?" Earth Sheep frowned instantly. "Qi Xia, are you pulling that again? I've already given you the Dao... and now you're saying they're not right?"
Qi Xia thought carefully. It did seem strange.
How could Earth Sheep have predicted his strategy in advance and prepared over a thousand fake Dao?
If he thought about it that way... Chu Tianqiu was more likely to be lying.
But then why hadn't Earth Tiger noticed that his two thousand nine hundred Dao were fake?
Earth Tiger was in contact with Dao all the time. If there was something wrong with them, he would have pointed it out immediately. So that meant... both kinds of Dao were real?
While Qi Xia was pondering this, Earth Sheep had already started walking toward the exit on his own.
"Time is almost up. I won't keep you company." He said as he climbed up the stairs.
Qi Xia glanced at the electronic clock on the wall—it was indeed close to a hundred and twenty minutes. He didn't hesitate any longer. After slinging the bundle over his back, he followed Earth Sheep.
The two walked out of the gambling hall one after another. The time was up, and the game was over.
Earth Sheep was about to turn and say something, but Qi Xia immediately retreated back inside the gambling hall and shut the door behind him.
Earth Sheep was taken aback, then felt a bit annoyed.
Qi Xia's little scheme was practically thrown right in his face.
He was about to write IOUs for everyone, and that move would surely cause a commotion. If, at that moment, everyone noticed that Qi Xia was carrying a large bundle of Dao, an uncontrollable accident could easily occur.
"Damn it..." Earth Sheep cursed under his breath. "You're really sneaky."
Qi Xia stood behind the closed door, finding it amusing. He wondered how Earth Sheep, who seemed so rigid, would fare in a verbal battle against the crowd.
Sure enough, within less than a minute, chaos erupted outside.
What did "writing an IOU" even mean? None of the people had expected that after going through all this, they would end up with a blank piece of paper.
And besides, would an IOU from a Zodiac even be honored?
A middle-aged woman in the crowd was shouting especially loudly—ironic, considering that before the game, no one dared to speak to Earth Sheep like that.
After a while, the crowd gradually quieted down. Qi Xia cracked the door open a little and found Song Qi among the group.
Song Qi also spotted Qi Xia immediately. Their eyes met, and Song Qi walked over.
"Yo, brother," Song Qi said. "I thought you were dead."
Before he could say another word, Qi Xia handed him five Dao.
"This is what we agreed on earlier." After saying that, Qi Xia took out another five and handed them over as well.
"And this is?" Song Qi looked at the ten Dao, a bit puzzled.
"These five are a personal gift from me. I want you to help me with something."
"Help?" Song Qi found the man in front of him interesting. "Why choose me to help? Looks like you made a good haul here. Aren't you afraid I'll turn on you?"
"Because you said your name is Song Qi," Qi Xia said. "With your reputation, you're more than enough to make a fair deal in the Land of the End."
"Haha!" Song Qi couldn't help but smile upon hearing this. "Brother, you're a good guy. Alright, what do you need me to do?"
Qi Xia paused for a moment, then said, "I need you to go to Heaven's Gate and deliver a message. Find a man named Qiao Jiajin and tell him I need his help."
"Heaven's Gate...?" Song Qi was taken aback. "Are you from Heaven's Gate?"