Chapter 776: A Dog
"Oh?"
Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brow, then reached out and grabbed Wei Yang's wrist. With a firm tug, he pried Wei Yang's hand off his collar.
"Whatever I might have lied to you about, you seem to be taking liberties."
Qi Yang clenched Wei Yang's wrist and gave it a sharp shove, sending him tumbling to the ground.
Wei Yang's body didn't seem particularly strong to begin with. After being knocked down by Qi Xia, he struggled to get up for a long while.
"Damn it..." Wei Yang scrambled to steady himself, looking utterly disheveled. "Qi Xia... are you insane or are you a liar? You even deceived me..."
"I don't understand," Qi Xia said again. "In my eyes, you're just as crazy. I've seen your farm."
"No... this isn't right..." Wei Yang stepped forward again and grabbed Qi Xia's arm. "Ask me! Qi Xia, ask me why! About the farm, about me! Isn't this a good opportunity?!"
Hearing this, Qi Xia looked up at the black bead floating above his head, then let out a manic laugh. "No. I have other uses for this bead. Using it on you would be a complete waste."
"Damn it! You can't abandon me..." Wei Yang insisted. "I brought you out... I gave up too much for you!"
"I'm choosing to abandon you," Qi Xia said. "To be honest, I've abandoned too many people already. One more won't make a difference."
Wei Yang's eyes slowly widened at those words, then went hollow.
"Qi Xia..." he said hoarsely. "You know... no matter how many years pass here, our appearances never change."
"Yes. We resurrect every ten days," Qi Xia nodded. "It's impossible to even exercise here."
"But... our 'eyes' do change." Wei Yang took a step back, his tone turning strange. "The only thing about us that can change is our eyes. If someone stays here long enough, just looking into their eyes tells you what kind of person they are."
"Interesting."
"Everyone who comes here has clear, frightened eyes." Wei Yang slowly reached one hand behind his back, groping for something. "But after a long period of time, you'll notice those 'eyes' hatch into different lights—'murderer,' 'pervert,' or 'madman.' All kinds of different lights radiate from each person's gaze."
As he finished speaking, Wei Yang pulled a gleaming dagger from behind his back.
"Ha... haha!" Qi Xia couldn't help but laugh when he saw the dagger. "So this is the plan you came up with as a 'mind reader.' How pathetic."
"Qi Xia... what do my eyes look like to you?" Wei Yang asked again.
Qi Xia stepped forward a few paces, stared directly into Wei Yang's eyes, and said slowly, each word deliberate: "To me, you look like a dog that's been thrown away."
"What...?" The hand holding the dagger began to tremble. "You bastard..."
"You should be able to read it," Qi Xia said. "I've already 'Echoed.' And yet you want to kill me with a single dagger."
"You... are 'Endless Life'..."
"That's right, I'm 'Endless Life.' If you want to kill me, you'll need a hundred daggers." Qi Xia added, "If they get dull, remember to sharpen them."
Hearing this, Wei Yang's hands slowly dropped, and he let out a deep sigh. "Qi Xia... when exactly did you decide to abandon everyone?"
"I don't know. Maybe from the very beginning," Qi Xia replied.
"I thought my 'mind reading' had weakened. Who would have guessed you never wanted to leave..." Wei Yang lifted his murky eyes. "Qi Xia, you've fooled everyone... You don't actually want to get out. You want to become—"
Qi Xia's eyes went cold. In an instant, he reached out and clamped Wei Yang's cheeks, cutting off his words.
Wei Yang's jaw couldn't close; he could only make gurgling sounds. He felt like this scene had happened a long time ago.
"Don't be ungrateful," Qi Xia said.
The look in his eyes made the back of Wei Yang's shirt instantly damp with sweat.
Wei Yang felt there was something indescribably strange about Qi Xia's gaze—as if angering him would lead to a fate worse than death.
Unfortunately, he couldn't say anything now, only able to make incoherent sounds.
"I never mistreat those who've done me favors. But if you choose to make an enemy of me here, don't blame me for being ruthless."
When Wei Yang heard Qi Xia's words, his eyes gradually steadied, but his thoughts grew more chaotic. He couldn't figure out what Qi Xia was really trying to do.
Though the situation was unclear, no matter how he looked at it, Qi Xia was closer to a 'god' than anyone else.
Offending him would lead to no good outcome. And he certainly couldn't kill 'Endless Life' with a tiny dagger.
Qi Xia seemed to read his thoughts. He reached out, grabbed Wei Yang's wrist, and disarmed him of the dagger.
It was then that Wei Yang realized Qi Xia's ruthlessness far exceeded his own. The hand that had taken the dagger—every knuckle was bruised purple and red, with blood seeping from under the nails, as if it had been brutally broken. Yet right now, Qi Xia showed no sign of pain as he calmly held the dagger.
"Wei Yang, I'm giving you this one chance. Know what you should and shouldn't say. If you understand, blink," Qi Xia said. "Otherwise, see you in the next cycle."
Wei Yang quickly blinked twice.
Qi Xia nodded, tossed the dagger aside, and released his grip on Wei Yang's face.
Wei Yang felt as if he had narrowly escaped death, nearly collapsing. After steadying himself, he lowered his head, took a few deep breaths, and slowly came back to his senses.
"What's your real plan...?" Wei Yang asked. "Are you walking a path different from everyone else?"
"Yes," Qi Xia said. "Please keep it a secret."
Hearing Qi Xia's words, Wei Yang felt a chill run through him again. For a moment, he couldn't tell if Qi Xia was lying.
Wei Yang realized that the thoughts swirling in Qi Xia's mind were eerily strange. Everything he currently held in his head were mere speculations—not a single definitive conclusion.
Among countless conjectures, even Wei Yang, who was skilled at 'mind reading,' had no idea which statement was true.
The tangled threads of thought made Wei Yang wonder: Was Qi Xia reasoning to hide something, or reasoning to find the truth?
"Wei Yang, you're still useful to me," Qi Xia said again. "You should know that everyone in this place will die, without exception."
"Yes..." Wei Yang's eyes dimmed for a moment. "But so what? I can choose the way I want to live before I die."
"I'll find a place for you and arrange a new way to die," Qi Xia added.