Chapter 831: Blind Spot in the Rules
“But that argument is based on the premise that the 'Heavenly Dragon' has strong opinions and knows what he wants,” said Ground Snake.
“Yes,” Qi Xia nodded. “Anyone with half a brain can figure that out. The 'Heavenly Dragon' isn't a fool.”
“But there's a second person responsible for this matter,” Ground Snake said. “Qi Xia, you also know that this land has three madmen with powerful 'celestial arts'... They each have their own duties, are moody, irrational, and utterly insane. They follow the original rules. If anyone breaks the rules, not even the 'Heavenly Dragon' can stop them.”
“Right, I know those three,” Qi Xia nodded. “They really are mad as hell.”
“They weren't this crazy at the beginning...” Ground Snake said. “They used to be ordinary 'participants' too... Did you know?”
“What...?”
“But I heard that a long time ago, the teacher used three young people for his first experiment. I don't know what he did to them, only that he turned them into beings neither human nor ghost... Their power became immense, and their minds grew extremely deranged. Because their strength was so great, he directly named them after the 'Azure Dragon' titles. 'Black Tortoise' can only understand the simplest commands, 'Vermilion Bird' is addicted to killing, and 'White Tiger' cannot control his own power.”
“These three 'young people'...” Qi Xia's eyes slowly narrowed, as if he had spotted a strange point of doubt. Then he interrupted his train of thought and asked, “Do they also have 'eyes' on their bodies?”
“I don't know...” Ground Snake shook his head. “They were modified too early... I don't think it's a matter of 'eyes' at all, since their very thoughts have already been altered. They were among the earliest people to have 'multiple celestial arts coexist.' But 'Heavenly Snake' and 'Heavenly Dragon' never spoke of this modification method, and later chose not to replicate it. What's even more terrifying is that the teacher created them himself... but now even the teacher has to go out of his way to avoid them.”
“So your concern is... 'White Tiger'?” Qi Xia asked.
“Exactly,” Ground Snake said. “'White Tiger' is specifically in charge of 'Zodiac slaughter.' His presence keeps the 'Zodiacs' on the train at the level of mere 'fights.' If anyone dares to actually kill, regardless of whether the victim is a 'Heavenly,' 'Earthly,' or 'Human' level 'Zodiac,' the killer won't survive.”
“Alright,” Qi Xia nodded. “I understand your concern. But since 'Zodiacs' cannot move freely in the 'Land of the End' and can only move near the game venues, the probability of encountering another 'Zodiac' is zero. So the only place where 'Zodiac slaughter' can occur is on the train.”
“Of course,” Ground Snake nodded. “No matter how much 'Zodiacs' fight on the train, the 'natives' can restore the rooms. But once a fight between 'Zodiacs' results in death, it can't be restored by the 'natives'' celestial arts. So the 'Heavenly Dragon' set a strict rule: absolutely no 'Zodiac slaughter' is allowed to happen.”
“Then you can rest even more assured,” Qi Xia said. “I declare that rule null and void.”
“What...?” Qi Xia's words made Ground Snake's eyes go wide again.
“That young man called 'White Tiger' is no longer on the train,” Qi Xia said. “I forced him away with my scheme. If you don't believe me, you can try killing any 'Human-level' tonight and see what happens.”
Ground Snake pondered for a moment, then said, “Qi Xia, this isn't something to joke about... If 'White Tiger' really were still in the 'locomotive,' killing that 'Human-level' would be the end of me, let alone killing 'Heavenly Snake.'”
“Relax,” Qi Xia said. “You've never seen 'White Tiger' in all these years, have you?”
“The reason I've never seen 'White Tiger' is because no 'Zodiac' here has ever done such a stupid thing... it's a forbidden act,” Ground Snake said. “Otherwise, those 'Heavenlies' wouldn't have survived until now—they'd be assassinated every single day!”
“Rules only need to be set once,” Qi Xia said. “What's interesting is that aside from this one matter, everything else proceeds orderly according to the rules, with no exceptions. 'Fleeing Zodiacs' die, 'failed life gambles' die, even changing one's own game might attract the administrators. In such an atmosphere, no one would discover that 'White Tiger' is missing, so no one dares to try. After all, among these violations, 'Zodiac slaughter' seems the most severe.”
“Then how can you be sure 'White Tiger' isn't on the train...?” Ground Snake asked again.
At this moment, Qiao Jiajing was slightly stunned: “White Tiger...? Isn't that the old...”
Qi Xia turned his head and frowned at Qiao Jiajing, cutting him off.
Qiao Jiajing quickly swallowed his words and couldn't help but mutter to himself.
White Tiger was a young man...?
The old man they'd seen before looked at least seventy, if not eighty—how could he be a young man?
Meanwhile, Ground Snake, observing Qiao Jiajing's and Qi Xia's expressions, keenly caught something.
“You've seen him outside the train...?” Ground Snake was slightly taken aback, his voice involuntarily rising. “White Tiger was expelled from the train...?”
Qi Xia sighed and said, “Ground Snake, you yourself said that 'White Tiger' can't control his power. He could destroy the train at any moment. Such a ticking time bomb—not just I, but even the 'Heavenly Dragon' wanted to get rid of him.”
“But... isn't that too risky?” Ground Snake scratched his head. “It's like the train's 'security guard' is gone.”
“The 'Heavenly Dragon' thinks the same as I do,” Qi Xia said. “He knew none of you would dare do such a thing, because the seed of fear had already been planted in your hearts.”
Ground Snake fell into deep silence again.
After a long while, he spoke. “I said you're the person I trust most. Since you guarantee that killing 'Heavenly Snake' won't bring the 'Heavenly Dragon' or 'White Tiger' down on me, I'll give it a try as soon as possible.”
“Go ahead without fear,” Qi Xia said. “Now the only one who can interfere in this matter is 'Heavenly Snake' himself. I'm afraid you'll need to carefully plan your tactics. How do you kill someone who can read minds?”
“Relax,” Ground Snake said. “If I really get that chance, I'll decisively blind all the eyes on my body.”
Qi Xia wanted to say something more, but just swallowed his words and nodded.
“It's getting late,” Ground Snake said. “I won't keep you brats here to rest.”
“No need,” Qi Xia stood up and was about to leave with the others when he suddenly thought of something, stopped, and turned back.
“What?” Ground Snake asked.
Qi Xia stared into Ground Snake's eyes for a long time, then said, “Do you know what the flower language of the camel thorn flower is?”