Chapter 237 Friendship Among the Earthly Branches
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin trudged through the night, each carrying one of the massive burlap sacks.
Throughout the journey, Qiao Jiajin seemed as if he were on a leisurely stroll, humming a Cantonese song under his breath.
Meanwhile, Qi Xia remained hyper-aware, his gaze darting across the surroundings with extreme caution.
The sheer volume of two thousand nine hundred {Dào} was unnerving, but fortunately, it was still the first night—no one could have predicted that such a large quantity of {Dào} would be carried by two individuals tonight.
As for Chu Tianqiu...
Qi Xia was certain that he would never send anyone to seize the {Dào}, as it would destroy the only bargaining chip they had in their fragile cooperation.
Upon deeper reflection, Qi Xia realized that when Chu Tianqiu had handed over the {Dào}, there was no hesitation, which made it clear that his true goal wasn’t to accumulate {Dào}, but rather to achieve what he called {Godhood}.
"Swindler lad," Qiao Jiajin suddenly asked, breaking Qi Xia's train of thought, "where exactly are we going?" He glanced around, as the twilight deepened, and the road ahead was becoming increasingly hard to distinguish.
Qiao Jiajin nodded and fell silent, quietly following behind Qi Xia.
After walking for a while, Qi Xia suddenly thought of something and turned to ask, "Fists, did you make it to the last day?"
"Me?" Qiao Jiajin thought for a moment. "You mean last time?"
"Yeah," Qiao Jiajin nodded. "I left {Passage to Heaven} with Kung Fu gal, and we stayed until the very last day."
"What was the {End} like?" Qi Xia asked, only to feel somewhat ridiculous right after speaking. Despite having spent so much time at {End Point}, all he could do was hear about what the {End} was like from others.
"That day..." Qiao Jiajin's expression slowly darkened. "I found a few cans of beans in an abandoned building. I was getting ready to start a fire and heat them up for Kung Fu gal when I saw her body begin to dissipate with my own eyes..."
"Yes..." Qiao Jiajin nodded. "It was terrifying. Kung Fu gal looked at me in panic, but her palm slowly turned into dark red dust and drifted into the air. Then it was her whole arm, her shoulder, and finally, her head."
Qi Xia could almost see that scene in front of him.
It was just as Chu Tianqiu described, when the {End} arrived, all the {Participants} would turn into dark red dust, and even {Endowing Life Without End} couldn’t reverse it.
"Swindler lad, you know... I couldn’t hold onto her at all..." Qiao Jiajin showed a vulnerable expression for the first time. He looked genuinely heartbroken. "Kung Fu gal was scattered all around me... She was everywhere! I could still feel her terrified gaze, but I had no idea how to save her..."
"And then?" Qi Xia asked.
"Then it was me..." Qiao Jiajin lifted his palm and looked at it, continuing, "I began to dissipate too. It felt very strange... It wasn’t painful or itchy, but I could clearly feel myself turning into sand. I could feel myself as every particle in the air, but I couldn’t stop it."
Qi Xia lowered his head in silence.
"I turned into dust floating in the air until I lost all consciousness. When I opened my eyes again, I was standing at the prison gates."
"Prison?" Qi Xia paused for a moment.
"Yeah... It was the day before I came here. I was standing at the prison gates back then." Qiao Jiajin revealed a wry smile. "I’m really pathetic... I returned to the real world, but in the end, nothing changed... Some things you don't do when you have the chance and once you miss that chance, there will never be another."
Qi Xia glanced at Qiao Jiajin with some sympathy. Whatever had caused him to show that expression had obviously hurt him deeply.
He once thought he could control everything, but in the end, he had been toyed with over and over.
As the night deepened and the sounds of insects filled the air, the two of them arrived at their destination.
It was a small building, about five or six stories tall. In front of it, a strange tiger-headed figure sat on the ground.
Hearing the footsteps drawing closer, Terrestrial Tiger looked up.
"Hmph..." The Terrestrial Tiger's gaze lingered on Qi Xia for a few seconds. "I’m clocking out for the day. Come back early tomorrow." With that, he stood up and slowly began walking into the darkness.
"Wait," Qi Xia called out. "Terrestrial Tiger, you can't clock out just yet. I have something to discuss with you."
"Scram." Terrestrial Tiger snarled coldly, continuing his walk.
Qi Xia hesitated for a moment but ultimately stepped forward and grabbed him.
"Terrestrial Tiger, I have a deal I'd like to make with you."
"A deal?" Terrestrial Tiger turned his head, the bright white fur on his head reflecting the faint light in the night. "What makes you think you have the right to talk business with me? Get lost."
At this point, Qi Xia had no choice but to take a gamble.
He dropped the large sack he had been carrying in front of the Terrestrial Tiger, then stepped forward to open the seal. The staggering number of {Dào} inside the sack emitted a putrid odor, illuminating the surrounding area.
"Terrestrial Tiger, I now have two thousand nine hundred {Dao}," Qi Xia said, "and I want to entrust them to you."
Terrestrial Tiger, who had been intent on leaving, paused slightly at the words, lowering his gaze to the burlap sack. "Two thousand nine hundred?"
"That's right..." Qi Xia nodded. "I want you to keep them safe for me."
Terrestrial Tiger pondered for a few seconds, his whiskers twitching before a derisive smile spread across his face.
"Keep them safe for you? Why don't you piss on yourself and see what you amount to?” His tiger paw resealed the sack, dimming the light around them. “What obligation do I have to help you?”
“I will find {Celestial Goat} and bring her to see you.”
"What...?" Terrestrial Tiger paused, his voice faltering. “Celestial Goat...?”
"Terrestrial Tiger, you want to meet Celestial Goat, don't you?" Qi Xia swallowed hard, his voice slow and deliberate. "I do too, so I will find her. Our positions are different, so I have more freedom to pursue this. You should know, I don’t mind dying over and over again, so it will be easier for me to find her.”
This sentence actually moved the tiger-headed figure in front of him.
Terrestrial Tiger thought for a moment, then turned his head and said, “Punk, you might not understand... I don’t actually want to meet {Celestial Goat}. I don’t care whether that person is a Celestial, Terrestrial, or Mortal now; I just want an explanation.”
As soon as his words fell, a faint circle suddenly lit up not far away. Qi Xia focused his gaze—the halo seemed to resemble the light gate they had encountered when they first arrived.
Terrestrial Tiger glanced at the light gate and said, “Punk, my shift’s over.”
Qi Xia furrowed his brows. This was the first time he had realized that {Earthly Branches} could actually {clock out}.