Chapter 55 Insect Chorus
Lin Qin was startled by Qi Xia's sudden outburst and swiftly moved forward to restrain him. "Qi Xia... please, calm down..."
She couldn't fathom why someone usually so composed could become this agitated.
Despite her intervention, Qi Xia refused to release his hold. He clutched Doctor Zhao's collar tightly, his voice low and seething with anger. "How am I supposed to calm down? Do you have any idea how many people I've watched die right in front of me today?!"
Upon hearing this, Lin Qin bowed her head in silent acknowledgment.
Indeed, from the beginning with {Mortal Mouse} to the tragic end with Qiao Jiajin and Tian Tian, they had faced too many brushes with death in a single day.
“No wonder…” Qi Xia continued, his voice dripping with bitterness. “No wonder the moment you heard someone entering, your instinct was to fend them off with a wooden board... You knew, didn’t you? You knew that Officer Li and Lawyer Zhang were never coming back, right?”
A flicker of panic crossed Doctor Zhao’s face. “No… Qi Xia, listen to me… I was just as helpless. They were throwing their lives away…”
“Throwing their lives away?” Qi Xia scoffed. “You’ve never stepped out of this room, so you have no idea what’s really going on out there. Officer Li must have spoken to that ox-headed figure across the street and learned that the games here won’t kill, but might grant more {Dào}. That’s why he took Lawyer Zhang with him.”
At that moment, Xiao Ran, who had just risen from the ground, angrily wiped the black filth from her face. She spun around, her expression dark with fury. “Zhao Haibo(赵海博)! Why are you just standing there? They’re outright bullying us!”
“But—I…” Doctor Zhao’s face grew increasingly ashen, betraying his discomfort.
“Useless!” Xiao Ran snapped, her voice laced with frustration. “Why are you so useless?!”
Qi Xia glanced between Xiao Ran and Doctor Zhao, a wave of discouragement washing over him. Was it really worth his time to argue with these two? He silently released his grip on Doctor Zhao’s collar, his mind swirling with uncertainty.
He was completely at a loss.
Where could Officer Li and Lawyer Zhang have gone?
Had they encountered any of the {Earthly Branches} whose titles began with the word {Terrestrial}?
Have they staked their lives in any games?
"Creak creak chirp chirp— Creak creak chirp chirp—"
The incessant chorus of insects outside the door seemed to grow louder, as if a cricket was perched right outside, its ceaseless chirping gnawing at Qi Xia's focus. It made the already oppressive atmosphere even harder to bear.
"Qi Xia, what now?" Lin Qin's voice trembled slightly, her expression heavy with worry.
Qi Xia lifted his head, his gaze sharpening as he addressed Doctor Zhao. "Did they say anything about where they were headed?"
His words hung in the air, a final flicker of hope beneath his calm exterior. He knew Officer Li was a cautious man. If Li had ventured somewhere far, surely he would have left some trace, some small clue to their whereabouts.
"No..." Doctor Zhao shook his head, his tone uncertain. "But I did see them turn right after finishing the game with the ox-headed figure across the street..."
"Right?" Qi Xia repeated, his gaze drifting towards the pitch-black sky outside as he mulled over the possibilities.
It seemed unlikely that Officer Li would have gone far. Most likely, he just wanted to put some distance between himself and these two. After all, Li had expressed a desire to regroup at some point to share information.
With that in mind, it was reasonable to assume that he was still in the vicinity. Apart from the restaurant across the street, the most logical place for him to go would be the closest {game venue}.
Piecing together the clues, Qi Xia began to form a rough plan.
Despite the encroaching darkness, Qi Xia had no desire to remain in the company of Doctor Zhao and Xiao Ran any longer. He picked up a wooden stick from the room and approached Han Yimo's lifeless body, whispering softly, Xiōng dì[1], even in death, you find no peace. We’ve wronged you."
Xiao Ran, her tone laced with irritation, asked, "What are you planning now?"
Qi Xia ignored her question. Instead, he tore a long strip of cloth from Han Yimo's clothing and carefully wrapped it around one end of the wooden stick. He then rubbed the same end on the ground, letting it gather a layer of dry excrement.
Once completed, Qi Xia moved to the fire and ignited the cloth-wrapped end. The flame caught quickly, casting a flickering light as the simple makeshift torch came to life.
"Lin Qin, I'm going to search for them outside," Qi Xia said. "I can't be sure of the dangers that await, but I refuse to remain here. If you prefer, you can stay until dawn. Regardless of whether I find them or not, I'll return to pick you up."
Lin Qin glanced at Xiao Ran and Doctor Zhao, then shook her head. "No, I'll accompany you."
With that, she grabbed the pot containing the bear meat and positioned herself beside Qi Xia.
"What is that..." Doctor Zhao's gaze fixed on the worn aluminum pot, his eyes lighting up with an oppressive interest.
"This is..." Lin Qin hesitated, then shook her head. "It's nothing."
"Is it food?!" Doctor Zhao stepped forward eagerly. "Did you find something to eat?"
Xiao Ran's expression also shifted as she noticed the pot. "Food?"
Their eyes gleamed with an almost feral hunger. Qi Xia stepped in front of Lin Qin, shielding her from view, and said calmly, "I'm afraid this isn't for either of you."
"Qi—Qi Xia..." Doctor Zhao stammered, "No, Xia ge[2]... We were out of line earlier. Please don't hold it against us."
"Yeah..." Xiao Ran also tried her hardest to squeeze out a smile, "Who doesn’t quarrel once in a while... Besides, as a grown man, do you really want to be upset with a woman like me? I was just messing with you..."
"Exactly! Exactly!..." Doctor Zhao continued to chime along, "There looks to be quite a bit of food in your pot. We'll only take a small portion; it’s not as if we’ll consume it all..."
Qi Xia's face darkened again, and he said, "The food in this pot was obtained at the cost of Qiao Jiajin's life. You can ask him yourself; if he agrees, then I have no objections."
Xiao Ran’s demeanor shifted abruptly upon hearing this, and she immediately lunged toward the pot.
Anticipating this reaction, Qi Xia sighed in resignation and reached out to prevent her.
"What, you've stopped {swindling} and moved on to {robbery}?" Qi Xia said with a hint of sarcasm, "There's no place in this world that is {above the law}. I suggest you reconsider.Your team {originally} had a police officer!"
Qi Xia gave a derisive snort, pushed Xiao Ran aside, and, with the torch in hand, stepped out of the door, Lin Qin closely trailing behind.
At that moment, Xiao Ran and Doctor Zhao finally understood the bitterness of watching something {slip right through their fingers}. The pot, emitting a tantalizing aroma, lay just within reach, yet remained beyond their touch.
"You can’t leave!" Xiao Ran shouted, charging toward the door after Qi Xia.
The outside world was cloaked in darkness, save for the faint glow of the firelight and the incessant chirping of insects.
To Xiao Ran’s surprise, Qi Xia and Lin Qin stood motionless just a few steps from the door, their backs turned towards her.
Then, almost in unison, Qi Xia and Lin Qin took a slow, deliberate step back.
"Hey, what's wrong with you two?" Xiao Ran asked with irritation.
Lin Qin turned around slowly, her movements mechanical, her eyes wide with fear. She raised a trembling finger to her lips, signaling for silence.
"Have you lost your minds?" Xiao Ran snapped. "Fine! You can go, just leave the pot behind!"
But as the words left her mouth, an unsettling feeling crept over her. Something was off—terribly off.
The torch in Qi Xia's hand cast a faint glow, revealing something moving just beyond the firelight's reach.
In the next moment, Xiao Ran's eyes widened in horror as she finally saw what was lurking in the shadows.
There, crouched before Qi Xia, was a figure that barely resembled a man. His emaciated form was ghostly pale, and his naked body crawled on the ground with a grotesque, jerking motion, as if each movement was a struggle against his own limbs.
A nightmare of a face confronted them—shriveled and hollow, with empty eye sockets where his eyes should have been. His tightly pursed lips emitted an eerie, unnatural sound:
"Creak creak chirp chirp—"
"Creak creak chirp chirp—"