Chapter 61 A Pig's Path
"You’re out of your fucking mind..." Ole Lu’s voice trembled as he struggled to stay on his feet. "I only won ten {Dào} from you! Is it really worth going this far?"
"Do you think I enjoy being stuck here, living like a pig, scraping by on luck every day?"
Mortal Pig reached up to touch the grotesque snout of his mask. Though the mask bore no expression, it exuded a dark, unsettling malice.
"None of you understand," Mortal Pig muttered, his voice low and unhinged. "The only way life holds any meaning here is by {staking my life}—by gambling everything—against those with true strength."
Mortal Pig’s gaze bore into Qi Xia, sending a shiver of realization through him. It was as if the man before him had been hiding behind a facade—he had been pretending to be a pig, merely biding his time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to prey on a tiger[1].
"A lunatic, through and through..." Ole Lu muttered, clearly unnerved. He glanced at Qi Xia, torn between guilt and sympathy. The situation had escalated beyond control—Mortal Pig had cornered them into a life-or-death challenge, and it was far too late to flee now.
"Mortal Pig," Qi Xia spoke up after a brief pause, his voice steady, "let’s alter the terms. I’ll remain here and stake my life with you, but it’s unnecessary for those two to help me."
"Huh?" Ole Lu and Lin Qin blinked in stunned unison.
Qi Xia’s gaze lingered on Ole Lu, noting the unexpected reliability he displayed in such a precarious moment. His initial impression of the man as reckless and self-serving began to soften. Still, the situation remained dire, and Qi Xia knew that every second counted.
"Mister," Qi Xia addressed Ole Lu, his tone calm but firm, "the more people remain here, the greater the danger. If I fall, it will be up to you to take my friend and find that man and woman."
Lin Qin shook her head, her voice steady but filled with resolve. "No, Qi Xia. Have you forgotten what I told you before? I’m not leaving you."
"I won't fucking leave either," Ole Lu interjected, shaking his head with determination. "Mortal Pig’s after you, punk, so by all logic, this girl and I should be safe. And don’t worry—if you die, I’ll make sure to bury your body myself."
Qi Xia scratched his head in exasperation. Ole Lu’s loyalty was a welcome surprise, but his way of expressing it... well, it left much to be desired.
"That’s quite a grim sentiment," Qi Xia said with a sigh. "But if that’s how you two feel, I won’t try to convince you otherwise." He turned his attention back to Mortal Pig, his expression sharpening. "You mentioned a new method of playing. What is it?"
Mortal Pig’s eyes lit up with twisted excitement as he slid two pairs of strange glasses across the table. “Come, put them on! Put them on!” he urged, his voice quivering with anticipation.
Lin Qin and Ole Lu hesitated for a brief moment, their instincts screaming caution. Yet, with the weight of the situation pressing on them, they reluctantly complied, sliding the peculiar glasses onto their faces. The moment the glasses were in place, a soft, mechanical whirring followed by an ominous {click} echoed in the room. Two mechanical arms had extended from the temple tips of the glasses, circling behind their heads and fastening with a metallic snap.
Lin Qin immediately felt an overwhelming sense of dread. She reached up instinctively, trying to remove the device, but quickly realized it was too late. The glasses were no longer just a tool—they had transformed into a contraption, tightly gripping her head as if mimicking the infamous Golden Headband that bound Wukong[2].
Lin Qin's confusion was evident as she began to speak, but Mortal Pig cut her off, his tone almost playful yet menacing. “Miss, I would advise against speaking too freely,” he said with a crooked smile. “From now on, your safety depends entirely on following my rules.”
"Your glasses have already begun to {take effect}," Mortal Pig continued, his words deliberate and menacing. "One of you will start to feel the glasses grow cold, while the other will sense warmth. During the game, the one who feels the cold will only be allowed to speak lies. Conversely, the one feeling warmth must only speak the truth."
Qi Xia's eyes narrowed, a growing sense of dread washing over him. This game felt eerily familiar, like a twisted echo of something he'd encountered before.
Mortal Pig’s smirk deepened as he pointed to the center of his forehead. “If you harbor any treachery or speak out of turn before the game begins...” His finger lingered ominously. “This will be pierced. Understand?”
The threat wasn’t lost on Lin Qin. Her mouth snapped shut as the gravity of the situation settled in. She could feel a subtle tension behind her brows—an ominous sign that something inside the glasses was primed and ready to activate. Whether it was a hidden bowstring or a laser mechanism, she couldn’t tell. But the deadly potential was palpable.
Ole Lu’s complexion turned ashen, realizing the stakes had just escalated. He understood all too well that {the more one speaks, the more likely they are to err}. One slip of the tongue could trigger the device, and he had no way of knowing which words would push them over the edge.
Seeing the two of them fall silent, Mortal Pig turned his attention back to Qi Xia and said, “The rules for our game will be similar to last time, but with a twist. This time, I will handle the allocation.”
Qi Xia studied the stone pieces on the table, a thoughtful frown creasing his brow. “So, after you make your allocation, I will then make my choice?”
“Precisely.” Mortal Pig nodded with a smirk. “Does that seem unfair to you?”
“Unfair, without a doubt.” Qi Xia acknowledged, though he remained wary, recognizing that the game’s {rules} were far from complete. He knew better than to assume that the only twist would be the allocation. The rules involving {truth} and {deception} were still to be revealed, and they would likely add another layer of complexity to the game.
“So, in a gesture of supposed mercy,” Mortal Pig said, his voice dripping with satisfaction, “I’ve added an additional rule for you. After you make your choice, you must ask one of these two individuals to confirm the color of the piece. However, you are permitted to ask a single question.”
After speaking, he addressed Lin Qin and Ole Lu. “To ensure fairness, you two may only respond with {black} or {white}. Do you have any objections?”
Both Lin Qin and Ole Lu shook their heads vehemently, their faces etched with anxiety.
Qi Xia, observing the new rule, realized its inherent complexity. Now, discerning the truth would be even more challenging. He would have to navigate the uncertainty of whether Lin Qin or Ole Lu would tell the truth or lie, complicating his strategy further.
‘Segal's law…’ Qi Xia closed his eyes, murmuring to himself, ‘When a person has only one watch, they know the time precisely. But with two watches showing different times, uncertainty reigns…’
“Are you ready, Qi Xia?” Mortal Pig asked with a chilling calmness.
Qi Xia took a deep breath, meeting Mortal Pig's gaze steadily. “I would pose the same question to you. This is a matter of life and death—are you ready?”
“Life and death?” Mortal Pig's lips curled into a mocking smile, and he soon erupted into a fit of laughter. “Life? Hah! We exist here, but this is hardly living... It is only in {death} that I truly feel alive.”
Qi Xia nodded, understanding that Mortal Pig’s long tenure in this place had warped his sense of reality beyond conventional reasoning.
With that, Qi Xia reached for the blindfold, placing it over his eyes.
Mortal Pig continued to methodically arrange the stone pieces.
Lin Qin and Ole Lu, observing from the sidelines, found themselves gripped with anxiety. Despite the gravity of the situation, Qi Xia and Mortal Pig remained poised, their composure a stark contrast to the trembling of their own legs.
"Do you ever think about escape?" Qi Xia's voice cut through the tension.
Mortal Pig, still engrossed in his task, responded without looking up. "What are you implying?"
"Beyond the prospect of dying here," Qi Xia pressed, "have you ever considered escaping this place?"
Mortal Pig's hand hovered in the air momentarily before he responded, "Escape to where?"
"To where you came from," Qi Xia, still blindfolded, replied with a measured seriousness. "Don’t you want to go back?"
Mortal Pig hesitated, his thoughts visibly stirring. "If I didn’t want to go back, why would I be willing to become a {pig}?"
Qi Xia stiffened. This revelation felt like a significant clue.
"But I don't intend to {escape}, Qi Xia," Mortal Pig continued, his tone growing more somber. He finished allocating the stone pieces, straightening with a quiet resolve. "I plan to depart from here justly, and with honor."