Chapter 585: Severing the Connection
"Earth Tiger." Qi Xia called out. "As agreed before... I've come back to find you."
"Sheep..."
Just as Earth Tiger was about to speak, Qi Xia raised his hand to stop him and said, "Qi Xia."
"Oh... oh... Qi Xia." Earth Tiger nodded. "Now is...?"
"There shouldn't be any other 'Participants' coming to play your game today, right? I need a place to talk." Qi Xia gestured to Earth Tiger with his eyes, then glanced at the building behind him.
"Alright." Earth Tiger thought for a moment and nodded. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Xu Liunian also getting out of the taxi.
"Sheep... Brother Qi..." Earth Tiger called out.
"Qi Xia." Qi Xia corrected.
"Alright, alright, Qi Xia..." Earth Tiger scratched his head. "And this is?"
"Consider her a teammate on the same front for now." Qi Xia said. "Let her come in too."
Xu Liunian looked at Earth Tiger before her, then at Qi Xia, feeling that things had completely exceeded her expectations.
Why would an 'Earth-level' be so polite to a 'Participant'?
"Got it, let me clean up a bit!" Earth Tiger respectfully turned back to open the house door, then led the two into the building.
This time, he didn't go straight to the elevator. Instead, he pulled out a key and opened the wooden door next to the elevator, revealing a staircase leading downward.
Holding his leg, he limped as he led the two down. Below was the 'hidden area' of this game, also the pitch-black place where everyone who fell from the single-plank bridge would end up.
The venue still bore traces from the last time Qiao Jiajin and Luo Shiyi participated in the game. Although Earth Tiger had cleaned it carefully, the scars left by the battle of multiple 'Echoers' were still vivid.
In the center of the venue was a square table with a single candle burning on it.
Earth Tiger moved a few chairs from a hidden corner and placed them beside the table, then motioned for them to sit.
"Qi Xia, I don't have much of a place to sit here." Earth Tiger scratched his head. "But it's relatively quiet here. I won't open for business today either. Whatever you need, just say it."
"I wouldn't presume to give orders." Qi Xia said. "I just need your help with something."
"Good! No problem! If there's anything, just leave it to me!" Earth Tiger said boisterously, then reached up to scratch the wound on his face.
The wound looked very fresh. The blood had scabbed now, forming a clump on his hairy face.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
Qi Xia frowned, using the candlelight to carefully examine Earth Tiger. He realized that the man was indeed seriously injured—not only was his large tiger face battered, but his leg also seemed unsteady.
"What problems could I have?!"
Earth Tiger slammed the table, his expression unusually excited, but his body looked very weak. He seemed to want to cough a few times but ultimately gritted his teeth and held it back.
"Then tell me first." Qi Xia leaned back in his chair and tapped lightly on the table. "How did you end up like this? Did something happen?"
"I..." Earth Tiger's eyes wandered for a moment, hesitant to speak. "Qi Xia... I... are we talking here?"
Xu Liunian, who was beside them, looked at the two and whispered, "I also think this isn't right... Are we just going to say it out in the open like this?"
"Heh..." Qi Xia let out a cold laugh. "If we didn't hide it before, there's no need to hide it now... The one listening to us is 'Qing Long' anyway. If something was going to go wrong, it would have gone wrong already. He needs me right now; he won't let anything happen to me."
"Qing Long...?" Earth Tiger was taken aback.
"But 'Soul Hearing' might not be the only one!" Xu Liunian whispered. She looked at Qi Xia, then glanced at Earth Tiger. "'Zodiacs' should know better than I do..."
"It's the Dog." Earth Tiger nodded. "The superior of the Lazy Dog is the ears of the entire 'Heaven-level'."
"So we don't need to be careful?" Xu Liunian asked.
"Probably not." Qi Xia said. "Whatever happens next can just be said directly to him."
"What...?" Xu Liunian and Earth Tiger exchanged a glance. "You think that... the 'Heaven Dog' is one of us too?"
"How would I know?" Qi Xia said. "Whether he's one of us or not, what does that have to do with me?"
"This..."
Xu Liunian and Earth Tiger still looked confused. "If he's not one of us, then shouldn't we be even more careful..."
"I told you." Qi Xia explained. "Right now, 'Qing Long' needs me to do things for him. Even if 'Heaven Dog' hears it, if anything goes wrong, Qing Long will deal with it. It has nothing to do with me."
Xu Liunian felt a chill run down her spine. After a few seconds, she asked, "Qi Xia, the first time you met Qing Long, you were already using him?"
"Qing Long should have expected this." Qi Xia said. "If he dared to appear right in front of me, he should have anticipated this outcome. When you want to wield an extremely destructive weapon, you should be familiar with its side effects."
"But aren't you afraid Qing Long might change his mind...?" Xu Liunian asked. "If he gets tired of you as a 'pawn,' is it possible he'll just abandon you?"
"He has no choice." Qi Xia shook his head, his expression indifferent. "He can't find a substitute besides me. After all, I alone have 'Everlasting Life.'"
"'Everlasting Life'...?" Earth Tiger frowned after hearing this. "What is that...?"
"My 'Echo'." Qi Xia said to Earth Tiger. "I suspect I'm walking along the path I once laid down. Now I'm halfway there... The next step depends on you."
"So you really do have an 'Echo'?" Earth Tiger was stunned. "Four characters? Are you kidding me?"
Hearing Earth Tiger's words, Qi Xia turned to look at him and said, "Earth Tiger, let me guess... When you knew me, I was an 'Unfortunate,' wasn't I?"
Earth Tiger froze. "You... have memories?"
"No." Qi Xia shook his head. "Logically speaking, the reason I became a 'Zodiac' was precisely because I couldn't 'Echo.' At that time, this was the only path left for me."
Xu Liunian slowly furrowed her brow as she listened. "But Qing Long said you had 'Soul Hearing'..."
"If I'm not mistaken... I severed the 'trigger' for 'Soul Hearing.'" Qi Xia said decisively. "The awakening trigger for 'Soul Hearing' is 'Sorrow.'"
"Severed...?" Xu Liunian squinted, pondering the coldness in Qi Xia's words. "How could you possibly sever 'Sorrow'...?"
"I still can't confirm the specifics... Either I used unscientific methods back then, asking 'Forget Worry' to do something to me..." Qi Xia tapped his temple as he spoke. "Or I used scientific methods, forcibly planting a tumor in my frontal lobe to interfere with my emotions."