Chapter 731: The Liar
Qi Xia looked at the young boy kneeling on one knee before him, his face completely expressionless.
The others around him were equally puzzled by the scene. Zheng Yingxiong was currently holding his own crown against his chest, appearing to be pledging allegiance to Qi Xia.
Chen Junnan was clearly still furious, his expression making it obvious he wanted to curse someone out. Qiao Jiajin kept tugging at his arm from the side.
"Why are you kneeling?" Qi Xia asked.
Zheng Yingxiong slowly raised his head, his eyes extremely complex. At some moment just now, he had felt that the scent emanating from the man before him didn't seem human.
"I... I want you to help me save someone."
"What's the point of me helping you?" Qi Xia asked again.
"I don't know if I'm useful to you, but I'll do my best to help you however I can," Zheng Yingxiong said earnestly.
"You're useless to me," Qi Xia said coldly, his gray-white eyes piercing into Zheng Yingxiong like needles. "Go back to where you came from."
"You're the one who called me here!" Zheng Yingxiong sprang to his feet with a "clatter." "Why do you have to lie?"
"What...?"
"The scent on you is so heavy, it's almost drowning this entire city..." Zheng Yingxiong said anxiously. "Do you really not need us?"
"I called you here...?" Qi Xia frowned slightly, reaching up to touch his forehead. "It seems my memory is still somewhat incomplete... Strange... How did Chu Tianqiu manage that...?"
Seeing Qi Xia acting so strangely, the others were momentarily at a loss.
"Ha..." Qi Xia suddenly broke into a smile. "No matter... I'll just go ask him..."
He turned his head to look at Ground Monkey, who was hiding not far away. A single glance made Ground Monkey shudder.
"I'm leaving," Qi Xia said.
"Oh..." Ground Monkey chewed on his cigarette, sizing up Qi Xia.
"Stop them," Qi Xia said in a tone that brooked no refusal.
Ground Monkey held his cigarette, swallowed stiffly, then nodded.
Qi Xia turned around and walked out the door on his own, the others simply staring blankly after him.
"The hell, Old Qi... you hold it right there..." Chen Junnan rolled up his sleeves and took a few steps forward. "Clear things up before you leave..."
Ground Monkey snapped back to reality, quickly stood up, ran forward a few steps, and grabbed Chen Junnan.
"Hey..." Ground Monkey said hoarsely. "Let him go."
"Old Monkey, this is between him and me now..." Chen Junnan looked extremely agitated. "At first I thought I was being played, then I found out I wasn't... This happiness of mine hadn't even fucking settled yet... and now you're telling me I've been played again? What does this kid take me for? A damn fool?"
"I don't know about what's between you two." Ground Monkey scratched at the stubble on his face. "But he told me to stop you... that's between him and me."
"What the hell..." Chen Junnan gritted his teeth. He couldn't break free from Ground Monkey's grip at all. "Old Monkey... you saw it all... I worked my ass off for that kid, and he sold me out... You really want to do his dirty work?!"
Ground Monkey listened and nodded silently, as if deep in thought, but his hand still didn't let go.
Qi Xia pondered for a moment, then pushed open the door and walked out of the gambling den.
"You..." Chen Junnan nodded. "Fine, fine, fine... Old Monkey, I don't blame you. Just let go now. What happens outside this gambling den is none of your business. This kid has been lying to me the whole time, and I need him to give me an explanation..."
Qiao Jiajin took a step forward and said, "Jun Nan Zai... Maybe you should cool down a bit?"
"Old Qiao! Cool down my ass!" Chen Junnan shouted. "Are you blinded by this monkey? It's not just me, he's been lying to you too!"
"Jun Nan Zai... think about it carefully..." Qiao Jiajin said with confusion. "What exactly did Liar Boy lie to you about?"
"Isn't that enough?!" Chen Junnan held up one finger. "First, seven years ago he told me he'd found a way out, made me trap everyone in the room for seven years, and then he fucking disappeared. What do you think that means?"
"Well..." Qiao Jiajin scratched his head. "Look... what Liar Boy said was 'I've found a way out,' not 'I'm leaving right now'... So the fact is, he never left either..."
"Yeah! He didn't leave! He went to..." Chen Junnan started to say, then turned and glanced at Ground Monkey before changing his words. "But so what? No matter what he went to do, he didn't take you with him! This kid fucking promised me! Even if he was just asking for directions, he should have dragged your ass along..."
"But didn't he come back after asking for directions?" Qiao Jiajin smiled. "Jun Nan Zai, maybe this was all part of Liar Boy's plan. He didn't lie to us."
"You're way too optimistic..." Chen Junnan exhaled. "But Old Qi has always been an 'Unfortunate'... He had no memory when he came back. None of us know where the path he took these past few years has led..."
"Jun Nan Zai, haven't you always known that Liar Boy is an 'Unfortunate'?" Qiao Jiajin said with a smile. "So we still don't know exactly what happened. You can't just decide he lied to you."
"Fine, fine, fine..." Chen Junnan was about to be convinced by Qiao Jiajin. He tried to be patient. "Let's drop that for now. But just now? He clearly said everything would start over. I was playing my heart out to help him... and you heard what he said just now?"
"Just now..." Qiao Jiajin paused too, then smiled in relief. "No matter what Liar Boy said just now, didn't this little brother say he was lying? So we shouldn't listen to him. We'll just stay here."
"You..." Chen Junnan looked into Qiao Jiajin's clear eyes and was at a loss for words.
Tiantian walked over to Zheng Yingxiong, reached out and patted his head, and asked, "Yingxiong, why did you say Qi Xia was lying?"
"I can smell it," Zheng Yingxiong replied expressionlessly. "Whenever anyone lies, the scent on them gets heavier. And Qi Xia's scent has always been abnormally heavy, spreading across the entire city. He was obviously lying just now."
Everyone looked at Zheng Yingxiong, noticing that even the child's way of addressing Qi Xia had changed.
"A heavy scent spreading across the entire city?"
They exchanged glances. If they were talking about a heavy scent... the air in this city had indeed deteriorated to an extreme degree. But that was because Qi Xia was lying?
Or... was this from the child's "Spiritual Scent"?
"Kid..." Chen Junnan frowned and asked, "Your nose... has it ever been wrong?"
"No," Zheng Yingxiong said. "The person must be lying. I just don't know exactly what part of what he said was a lie."
Chen Junnan listened and thought for a moment, then suddenly broke into a smile. "If that's the case... then I definitely need to go see what happens."