Chapter 267 Day of Harvest
Qi Xia blinked slightly, his gaze sharpening as he looked at Terrestrial Goat. "Terrestrial Goat, this conversation is no longer about the game. There is no need for you to lie."
"Lie?" Terrestrial Goat raised his eyes to meet Qi Xia's gaze. "The position of {Celestial Goat} is my path to promotion. If that position were occupied, it means I have no hope of advancement. How could I work so hard otherwise?"
"Mm...?" Qi Xia was momentarily stunned, his thoughts beginning to spiral.
If the position of {Celestial Goat} were vacant, did that not mean Terrestrial Goat was already the highest-ranking goat here?
But then...what of Yu Nian'An?
A sense of foreboding gnawed at Qi Xia. He had once speculated that the real Yu Nian'An either perished here or soared to the rank of {Earthly Branches}.
But now it seemed...she was more likely to have perished here.
"Qi Xia," Terrestrial Goat suddenly spoke, "Don't you want to become a {Goat}?"
"The path of collecting {Dào} is arduous. Have you considered becoming one of the {Earthly Branches}?" Terrestrial Goat asked further.
"Do you {Earthly Branches} still actively recruit?" Qi Xia inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"No... but there are far too few {Goats}," Terrestrial Goat sighed. "Right now, there are only five {Mortal Goats}, one {Terrestrial Goat}, and the {Celestial Goat} position is vacant. Among all the {Earthly Branches}, {Goats} are the rarest."
"How exactly is that my concern?" Qi Xia chuckled, finding the notion absurd. "Even if all the {Goats} were wiped out, what difference would it make?"
"I can only tell you..." Terrestrial Goat's voice lowered with a grave tone, "collecting {Dào} isn't a realistic path. One day, you'll realize that becoming one of the {Earthly Branches} is the fastest way to escape this place."
Qi Xia nodded in response to his words. "While what you say is true, I cannot become one of the {Earthly Branches} just yet. For me, right now... {collecting Dào} is the faster route."
With a sigh of resignation, Terrestrial Goat shook his head and, seeing his words had fallen on deaf ears, reached under the table to produce a large bundle—his entire reserve of {Dào}.
"Oh?" Qi Xia glanced at the bundle. "Then I suppose our deal is settled, then?"
"You tell me," Terrestrial Goat retorted tersely. "Do you really think I could kill you here?"
Qi Xia nodded, untying the bundle to take a look.
Indeed, there were a large number of gleaming orbs inside. Time was short, so he couldn't count them all individually, but thinking it through, Terrestrial Goat had given him such a large quantity. It seemed unlikely that he still had any tricks up his sleeve.
Qi Xia secured the bundle and slung it over his shoulder. He then requested two fans from Terrestrial Goat, and the two of them successfully paired up.
At this moment, with so many {Dào} in his possession, Qi Xia was both in danger and secure at the same time.
If anyone attempted to kill him for these {Dào}, Black Tortoise would intervene, so his situation was relatively safe. However, if someone killed him without taking the {Dào}, following the practices of {Judgment’s Domain}...
Qi Xia shook his head and made his way toward the exit. Yet after only a few steps, he paused, a strange sense of incongruity creeping over him.
Something didn’t sit right.
He slowly unshouldered his bundle, set it down, and reopened it, leaning in to take a careful sniff.
There was no stench of decay at all.
The {Dào} that Chu Tianqiu had given before would emit a sharp, pungent stench as soon as it was opened, rapidly spreading throughout the area. But the {Dào} in front of him—over a thousand of them—had no such smell?
Qi Xia felt a pang of confusion and bent down, carefully sniffing once more.
There was a faint, peculiar metallic scent.
But it was definitely not the stench of decay.
He picked up one of the {Dào} and squeezed it in his hand, then turned to Terrestrial Goat and asked, “Are you lying to me?”
“These {Dào}—why do they seem different from the ones I’ve seen before?”
“Different?” Terrestrial Goat furrowed his brow at once, “Qi Xia, are you really pulling this now? I’ve given you all my {Dào}... and now you’re saying they’re wrong?”
Qi Xia paused to think it through, and the more he considered it, the more the strangeness settled in. How could Terrestrial Goat have predicted his tactics in advance and then prepared over a thousand fake {Dào}?
Thinking it through, the possibility of Chu Tianqiu being the one lying seemed much greater. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ novel[f]ire.net
Could it be that the {Dào} he provided were the fake ones?
But why hadn’t Terrestrial Tiger noticed that the nearly three thousand {Dào} were fake?
Terrestrial Tiger had been handling {Dào} all the time, and if something were wrong with them, he would have pointed it out immediately. That meant... both types of {Dào} must be genuine?
As Qi Xia was lost in thought, Terrestrial Goat walked toward the exit.
“Time’s almost up, I’ll be leaving now,” he said, ascending the stairs without a care.
Qi Xia glanced at the electronic clock on the wall. It was indeed almost at the 120-minute mark. Without hesitation, he threw the bundle over his shoulder and followed Terrestrial Goat.
The two of them walked out of the casino, one trailing the other, and with that, the game came to an end.
Just as Terrestrial Goat was about to say something, Qi Xia turned and stepped back into the casino, closing the door behind him.
Terrestrial Goat paused, stunned for a moment, then felt a surge of anger.
Qi Xia’s little tricks were almost thrown right in his face.
He had originally planned to issue IOUs to the others, but this move would surely cause chaos. If the others noticed Qi Xia carrying a large bag of {Dào}, an uncontrollable incident might occur.
"Motherfu..." Terrestrial Goat muttered under his breath. "You really are a crafty one."
Qi Xia stood behind the door, chuckling to himself. He wondered how Terrestrial Goat, who appeared so rigid and formal, would fare in a verbal confrontation with the crowd. Would he even be able to handle it?
Sure enough, within less than a minute, the noise and chaos erupted outside the door.
What did {issuing an IOU} even mean? No one had ever thought that after everything they had been through, they would be handed a piece of paper.
And besides… could an IOU from an {Earthly Branch} really be trusted?
One auntie in the crowd shouted loudly, her voice filled with sarcasm. Ironically, before the game, no one had dared speak to Terrestrial Goat in such a way.
After a while, the crowd gradually quieted down, and Qi Xia cracked the door open just enough to spot Song Seven among them.
Song Seven quickly noticed Qi Xia, and their eyes met. Without a word, Song Seven made his way over.
"Well well, xiōngdì," Song Seven said with a grin, "I thought you were a goner."
Before Song Seven could say anything else, Qi Xia handed him five {Dào}.
“This is what we agreed upon,” Qi Xia said as he then pulled out another five and handed them over.
Song Seven stared at the ten {Dào} with some confusion. “What’s this?”