# Chapter 819: Do Whatever One Wants
Thinking that if he didn't pull them apart soon they really would sit down and cry on the spot, Qi Xia had no choice but to walk over and drag the two of them away.
Qin Dingdong pulled the grief-stricken pair over to chairs and made them sit down to calm their emotions.
"Hanging is fine," Qi Xia said to Ground Serpent. "I'll help you. I can make the noose tighter, so you can better experience 'near-death.'"
"Sure, sure," Ground Serpent nodded. "You're the only one who can touch me anyway, so please, just remember not to tie a dead knot, otherwise I'll really die."
"Don't worry. Since I'm helping you hang, I definitely won't let you die."
"Right, right, right. Who ever died from hanging themselves anyway?"
Watching the two of them walk out the door with the rope, the three people left in the room were all frozen in place.
Qiao Jiajin and Chen Junnan had already recovered their composure, but their faces showed even more confusion.
"Um..." Qiao Jiajin turned to look at Chen Junnan. "Should we go help them or stop them at a time like this...? I'm a bit confused..."
Chen Junnan shook his head with a laugh after hearing that. "I really envy that kind of mutually reciprocated insanity."
Qin Dingdong immediately swung a kick at Chen Junnan again, but he dodged it nimbly.
The three of them waited idly in the room for Qi Xia and Ground Serpent to return from hanging themselves.
Chen Junnan couldn't sit still. Before even a minute had passed, he stood up and started wandering around the room.
He walked to a corner and looked at the books piled there, finding them quite interesting.
Each of the four corners had different themes. The northwest corner was filled with tragic classics—"The Butterfly Lovers," "To Live," "Rickshaw Boy," and other well-known works were all there. The northeast corner was filled with comedy works, even including four-panel comics. The remaining southeast and southwest corners had one pile of popular science books and the other filled entirely with psychology books.
However, all the books looked very old, as if they had been flipped through countless times.
"I'm a bit curious about this old bastard's game now," Chen Junnan said. "What the hell is all this?"
Qin Dingdong followed Chen Junnan's gaze for a while, then said, "I think 'books' are the rarest treasures in this godforsaken place."
"How so?"
"There's no entertainment whatsoever in this damn place. At times like this, 'books' are what keep people from going insane," Qin Dingdong replied. "Wei Yang told me that as long as you keep reading, those knowledge will become your flesh and blood, a part of your body. Even if one day we lose our memories, our subconscious will still remember that content."
Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances. They had heard this theory from Wei Yang before, and Qi Xia also seemed to be putting it into practice.
"But for someone like me..." Chen Junnan said, "Even if I read books, I'm just reading for entertainment. If I could read like Old Qi, this young master would have had a master's degree by now."
"Hah." Chen Junnan's words hit Qiao Jiajin right in the heart. "When I was studying as a kid, my favorite part was looking at the pictures in the books!"
"And who the hell wasn't like that?" Chen Junnan laughed. "I even drew little figures on Du Fu's face."
"Blasphemy, blasphemy," Qiao Jiajin chuckled. "Next time draw a foreign devil."
"There's no next time," Chen Junnan said. "Who the hell goes back to school after graduating?"
Seeing the two of them chatting and laughing, Qin Dingdong sighed helplessly. "If only you two could have half of Classmate Qi's dedication."
Chen Junnan shook his head. "It's precisely because I know that no matter how long I spend, I can never catch up to Old Qi that I don't even bother trying to surpass him. I just need to follow him. I can shine in other ways naturally."
Just then, the two who had gone to hang themselves walked back. It seemed that Qi Xia had indeed tied the rope very tightly, as Ground Serpent was dry heaving while walking into the room.
Qi Xia kept reaching out to pat Ground Serpent on the back. "Didn't you say a snake's neck isn't a weak point? Why can't you handle this?"
"You little brat..." Ground Serpent said between heaves. "You nearly strangled an 'Earth rank' just now... Are you fucking insane?! What kind of damn knot was that?"
"If you hadn't called out my name from the start, I definitely would have strangled you to death here. After all, killing an 'Earth rank' is no small achievement," Qi Xia said. "Because the knot I tied was impossible for you to undo with your backhand, so you should thank me for being merciful."
"Fine... you little brat..." Ground Serpent coughed a few more times. "After learning about my ability, no one has dared touch me for years..."
Hearing Ground Serpent's verbal tic, Chen Junnan felt extremely uncomfortable. "You don't sound that old, yet you call Old Qi 'little brat'? What's your problem?"
"Then do you look very old?" Ground Serpent retorted. "Don't you call yourself 'this young master'? What's the difference?"
"Mind your own fucking business!" Chen Junnan said. "I live toward the damn sun, unlike you, you shady snake!"
"Then why do you care what I do?!" Ground Serpent said. "I live toward the damn shadows, and I love calling people 'little brat.' I like it. What are you going to do about it?"
"You fucking..." Chen Junnan frowned. "Fine, call me whatever you want. But wasn't hanging yourself your own idea? And now you're complaining that Old Qi tied the rope too tight?"
Ground Serpent nodded with a calm expression. "I wanted to hang myself just now, and I want to blame him right now. I do whatever I want. Who the hell are you to tell me what to do?"
"I really want to skin your snake alive."
The two immediately started quarreling nonstop, and Qi Xia pulled Ground Serpent aside to sit down.
"Anyway, you don't need to worry about my affairs," Ground Serpent said, steadying his breathing. "My life motto is 'Not seeking perfection, just doing whatever I want.'"
"Hah!" Chen Junnan let out a cold laugh. "This young master's life motto is 'When the cart—'"
"Who the hell asked you?!" Qin Dingdong kicked Chen Junnan again, cutting him off. "Are you two introducing yourselves here?"
"This young master just can't stand it," Chen Junnan said. "Old Qi! Is this punk really the person you're looking for?"
Qi Xia didn't answer. He just looked down at Ground Serpent, who was still shaken, and asked, "Are you the person I'm looking for?"
Ground Serpent's golden eyes shifted, and he spoke, "That depends on my mood... Like I said, I do whatever I want... If I'm in a bad mood, I might not even remember who you are..."
"I've heard that line enough," Qi Xia said. "You don't need to think anymore. I'll do the thinking. You don't need to consider whether you want to—just tell me whether you'll do it or not."
"You...?" Ground Serpent was stunned. "What do you want me to do?"
"Do what I once asked you to do," Qi Xia said. "I can tolerate you doing whatever you want, but if you still dare to do whatever you want now, I'll make you get off the boat."