Chapter 808: Trusted Person
Qi Xia pondered countless questions in his mind, but only this one could determine the direction of the conversation in the shortest time.
“Just as I thought,” Qi Xia nodded. “I’ll make it brief.”
He took out the map that Azure Dragon had given him from his pocket, spread it out in front of Earth Ox, and asked, “Do you know these people?”
Earth Ox glanced at Qi Xia, then reached out to take the map. After studying it for a long time, she asked, “What do these characters represent?”
“Zodiacs,” Qi Xia said. “Are these people as trustworthy as you?”
Earth Ox stared at the map for a long time, then slowly shook her head. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know...?”
“I only just arrived in this city, and I haven’t had the chance to fully understand the distribution of these ‘Zodiacs’,” Earth Ox sighed. “But I’ll be honest with you, Qi Xia...”
Hearing his name spoken by Earth Ox, Qi Xia inexplicably felt a bit sad.
“Ever since we put on our masks, we’ve basically lost contact,” Earth Ox said. “I’m not even sure what kind of masks they wear, and we have no way to confirm each other’s identity by announcing our names. So to anyone, we are lonely.”
Qi Xia frowned slightly after hearing this. “You mean, even if you come face to face with the remaining seven, there’s no way to confirm who they really are?”
“That’s exactly what I mean. If you can’t carry eight ‘Celestial Serpent’ beads and ask all eight people on this map, no one is truly trustworthy.” She refolded the map and stuffed it back into Qi Xia’s hands. “Even if they really are who they say they are, too many things have happened in these past ten-plus years. ‘Participants’ can fast-forward their time through death, but ‘Zodiacs’ cannot. We live every single day for real. Anyone could completely break down at any moment.”
Qi Xia knew Earth Ox wasn’t lying. In prolonged loneliness and doubt, even the tightest teammates could split apart.
Moreover, ‘Celestial Dragon’ and ‘Azure Dragon’ didn’t seem stupid. They not only had the wisdom to lure these ‘Zodiacs’ step by step into the abyss, but also possessed tough threatening methods. Under such double pressure, even the firmest resolve could waver.
“Besides, that’s not the most fatal point,” Earth Ox said.
“Oh?”
“The most fatal point is that each of us is independent. Even if we are sure we haven’t strayed, no one can guarantee that you are still staying true to your original intent,” Earth Ox said.
“Me...?” Qi Xia glanced at her.
“We’re like walking a tightrope ten thousand meters in the air,” Earth Ox replied. “The reason we aren’t afraid of this deadly height is precisely because there’s still a steel cable under our feet.”
“I understand...”
“But after walking that tightrope for over ten years... everyone is afraid it will break.” Earth Ox’s face darkened as she shook her head. “Qi Xia, after seeing you, I realize the steel cable is still sturdy, and I can let go of my lingering worries. I hope the same goes for the others.”
Seeing Qi Xia silent, Earth Ox stared at him for a while, then asked softly, “Your eyes... did it succeed? Did you injure ‘him’?”
Qi Xia nodded slightly after hearing this. “Possibly.”
“What do you mean ‘possibly’?” Earth Ox asked, puzzled. “Are you trying to tell me that the path you’ve been planning for so long... is now in a state of uncertainty?”
Qi Xia let out a deep sigh. “Yes, I’m not sure. My memory is stuck.”
“Memory stuck?”
“Plans that span too long always have some details that go wrong,” Qi Xia replied. “I’m working on solving it. My memory is very strange right now...”
“How strange?” Earth Ox asked.
Qi Xia slowly turned around, facing the dirt pit beside Earth Ox, then kicked a pile of sand into it.
The sand fell into the pit, but it was far from filling the huge hole.
“Even though many memories have been filled in, enough to fragmentedly form decades of life,” Qi Xia said, staring at the pit. “But the pit is far from full. I still feel like I’ve forgotten too many things.”
Qi Xia turned to look at Earth Ox and added, “I don’t have many ‘Zodiacs’ I can trust. I need someone to help me piece together my memories.”
“So you came to me.” Earth Ox smiled. “Then you might be overthinking.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have always adhered to your own principles,” Earth Ox said. “Each of us is a pawn in your plan. We only know what we need to do, and we know nothing about other matters. So I can’t tell you what exactly is missing from your memory.”
“Then you can tell me what your part of the plan is,” Qi Xia said.
“That’s a pity.” Earth Ox walked step by step in front of Qi Xia, her face serious. “You yourself once instructed that even if you yourself came to ask, I must never mention it.”
“Oh...?”
“Qi Xia, you can trust me one hundred percent, but that doesn’t mean I trust you,” Earth Ox said.
“I see.” Qi Xia squinted at her.
“You told me that if the current you can’t use your own efforts to join forces with the past you across time, it only proves that your level is nothing special,” Earth Ox said. “We can’t take risks. We’d rather postpone liberation than let anyone escape from here.”
Qi Xia nodded slightly after hearing this. “That’s even better.”
“Is it?”
“If you had easily given me the answer, I would even think it’s a trap left by the past me for the current me,” Qi Xia said. “That’s just like something I would do. Better to die early in the future than to let the plan have a flaw.”
“In that case, is there anything else you need to ask me?” Earth Ox asked again.
“I...” Qi Xia thought for a moment and replied, “Now I’ve found some like-minded new partners. Among the ‘Zodiacs’ besides you, they are the few I can trust. Find an opportunity to meet up tonight.”
“Which one?”
“The Earth Tiger whose game is called ‘Narrow Path Encounter’,” Qi Xia said. “He should be quite famous among Earth Grade ‘Zodiacs’ recently. You can go see him tonight.”
Earth Ox opened her mouth as if to say something, but still worried about being monitored, just nodded.
“One more question,” Qi Xia spoke again. “Can you tell me about the current ‘Earth Dragon’?”
“‘Earth Dragon’...” Earth Ox frowned slightly after hearing this. “You mean... one of us has become ‘Earth Dragon’?”