Chapter 66 The Unsettling Passage to Heaven
“How could he be dead?!” Qi Xia exclaimed, his disbelief palpable. “He seemed perfectly well when we parted ways yesterday.”
"I find it strange too," Ole Lu replied. "Perhaps it was due to excessive blood loss? We were chatting and laughing before going to bed, but he didn’t wake up this morning."
Qi Xia’s eyes narrowed, a chill running down his spine. The situation felt disturbingly unnatural.
Despite Zhang Shan’s injuries, they had appeared to be non-lethal. Lin Qin and Tian Tian’s accounts indicated that the black bear had only inflicted superficial wounds, leaving internal organs unharmed.
So how could he have perished in his sleep?
“Did he suffer any other injuries?” Lin Qin inquired, her voice steady. “For example, was he stabbed by a sword at dawn?”
"No," Ole Lu shook his head, a look of sorrow etched on his face. "But it’s hard to say for sure; after all, we’re not medical experts. All we know is that Zhang Shan stopped moving, stopped breathing, and his chest no longer rose and fell."
Qi Xia stroked his chin thoughtfully, a sense of unease settling over him. The situation seemed eerily linked to {Xiao Xiao}.
Yet, within the span of a single night, both had met their untimely ends.
If it wasn’t the work of Xiao Xiao, then it must have been Terrestrial Ox’s doing.
"How dare you act shamelessly..." Qi Xia murmured through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowing with cold fury.
“Who? Me?” Ole Lu looked genuinely puzzled.
“No,” Qi Xia replied, his expression darkening with the weight of his realization. If the current trajectory continued, the number of people with any hope of escape would dwindle even further.
Understanding the gravity of the situation, Qi Xia turned to Ole Lu and asked, “Now that your {organization} is no longer around, can you provide any insights into the way out?”
"No longer around?" Ole Lu scratched his head awkwardly. "I wouldn’t say it’s ‘no longer around’... It’s just that with Zhang Shan dead, I can’t stay there any longer..."
"Hmm?" Qi Xia was confused. "Wasn’t Zhang Shan your leader?"
"Not exactly," Ole Lu shook his head. "Zhang Shan isn’t our leader, he’s third-in-command."
"Mhm," Ole Lu continued. "Our organization is called {Passage to Heaven}, with about twenty members. The leader is {Chu Tianqiu}, a very smart man. Second-in-command is {Yun Yao}, who is incredibly lucky, and can win almost every wager. She’s very pretty—apparently, she was a star before coming here. As for Zhang Shan, since he had served in the military, he mostly dealt with {Ox Category}—"
"W—Wait a moment..." Qi Xia, realizing he had stumbled upon something important, quickly interrupted Ole Lu. "You mentioned your organization has about twenty members?"
“Well, it’s probably less than twenty now…. With Zhang Shan’s death, {useless} folks like me have been cast out…”
"That’s not what I’m asking!" Qi Xia said, puzzled. “Ole Lu, when did your group arrive in this place?”
“Two days ago,” Ole Lu answered promptly. “Didn’t you all arrive around the same time?”
Qi Xia’s perplexity only increased. “We did indeed arrive two days ago, but I’m still struggling to understand… How could your group establish an organization in just two days and appoint three people in command? Could you really trust each other so quickly?”
He shook his head, adjusting his query. “No, you mentioned the organization’s establishment yesterday. In other words, {Passage to Heaven} was set up on the very first day?!”
"Yeah," Ole Lu nodded solemnly. "It was all Chu Tianqiu’s idea. On the first day, he didn’t participate in any games but instead scoured the city for strong individuals. Since Specs, Zhang Shan, and I all came out of the same room, we joined him. But now that Zhang Shan is dead, I—"
“Hold on a moment,” Qi Xia interjected again. “Are you saying that Chu Tianqiu managed to gather twenty people in just one day?”
“Yes,” Ole Lu affirmed earnestly, meeting Qi Xia's gaze. “That’s why I said Chu Tianqiu is very smart."
"But why did you all trust him?" Qi Xia inquired, his confusion evident. "When meeting a stranger who proposes forming a team, shouldn’t you exercise caution?"
"Because Zhang Shan trusted him," Ole Lu explained. "I don’t know what Chu Tianqiu said to Zhang Shan in private, but after thinking for a few minutes, Zhang Shan decided to join {Passage to Heaven} along with Specs and I. But I have to admit, the people there were quite impressive; compared to them, I was the least capable."
Qi Xia looked at Ole Lu with disbelief, as if assessing the veracity of his words.
If {Passage to Heaven} really existed and if there was such a formidable figure as Chu Tianqiu, why was he still unharmed?
If the {Earthly Branches} truly aimed to eliminate formidable participants, the leader, Chu Tianqiu, would logically be the primary target.
"Why isn’t Specs with you?" Qi Xia asked.
"Specs is stronger than I am," Ole Lu responded, his tone tinged with resignation. "He stayed with {Passage to Heaven}. He’s always been academically exceptional, unlike me—I’ve spent over twenty years merely selling socks."
Qi Xia acknowledged Ole Lu's statement, realizing that despite Zhang Shan's death, the situation remained fundamentally unchanged.
The organization known as {Passage to Heaven} still possessed crucial information about escaping this place. The {diary of an escapee} Zhang Shan had mentioned was likely in the possession of the leader. As a mere member, Ole Lu wouldn’t have access to such vital details.
With this in mind, Qi Xia began to solidify his goal.
Once Qi Xia located Officer Li, his plan was to join forces with him, given that Officer Li was one of the few individuals Qi Xia could trust.
From there, they could offer their services to {Passage to Heaven}, pursuing both the means of escape and the opportunity to collaborate with formidable individuals if such a group existed. Qi Xia was prepared to face these perilous games alongside them.
As Qi Xia contemplated this, the three of them passed the street corner marked with {S} and {Z}, and Ole Lu guided them in the opposite direction.
Lin Qin was taken aback and turned to Qi Xia. "So, did we take the wrong direction? Weren’t {S} and {Z} markers left by them?"
"I’m not sure," Qi Xia replied, shaking his head.
Ole Lu, having overheard their conversation, glanced back at the ambiguous markings that resembled both letters and numbers.
"{S} and {Z}?" Ole Lu hesitated. "Isn’t that {52}?"
"You know what they mean?" Qi Xia asked.
"I don’t know, but I’ve seen similar numbers in many places," Ole Lu said. "Perhaps they’re just markers to help people remember directions, like naming a street {52nd Street} or something similar."
Once Qi Xia discerned that these symbols bore no relevance to Officer Li, he lost any further interest in their interpretation.
Given the multitude of enigmas that required attention, it was impractical to delve into every detail.
"We're almost there," Ole Lu announced, increasing his pace. "Just up ahead."