Chapter 1011: Old Age

Di Long was silent for a long time before slowly saying:

"I really don't know..."

Qing Long said, "Qi Xia has split a plan into countless parts, and even he himself can't know the full picture now. I find it hard to understand... that the reason for all this is to go to that blood-red world. Would you be willing to go with him?"

Seeing that Di Long didn't respond, Qing Long looked her up and down and added, "With your current appearance... covered in scales and with a face like a lizard's, you're going to walk with him?"

"Your meaning is..."

"I don't know what's in that world, but now 'Tian Long' and Qi Xia both want to explore it, yet I don't. I don't want to create a whole new world anymore..."

Di Long's expression grew somber again, and she remained silent.

"Di Long," Qing Long continued, "Even if the other 'Di Ji Sheng Xiao' aren't prepared for this, you should be."

"I... prepared?"

"All the 'Di Ji Sheng Xiao' hope for the day they can ascend to 'Tian Ji' and shed their monstrous skins, but only the 'Di Long' know they can never rise to 'Tian Long' no matter what." Qing Long smiled and added, "You must have prepared yourself when you chose this path."

"Yes, at first I didn't quite understand..." Di Long gave a bitter smile and said, "'Long' could clearly be the manager of the 'Sheng Xiao,' yet no one wants the position... Later, I figured it out, because everyone who joins the 'Sheng Xiao' wants to get out, but 'Long' can't. Once you choose to become 'Long,' you become a slave forever."

"So, you're admitting it," Qing Long said. "Your reason for joining the 'Sheng Xiao' is different from theirs."

"Yes." Di Long replied, "At this point, there's no need to hide it anymore. Maybe I'll die, but it's been worth it."

After Di Long finished speaking, she wore an expression of resolute acceptance, but Qing Long didn't move.

"You're not going to kill me...?" Di Long asked after a moment.

"I quite like your straightforwardness," Qing Long turned back and continued watching below. "If you'd tried to deny or argue, you'd be dead by now."

"You call this straightforwardness..."

Di Long let out another bitter laugh, then simply squatted down and sat beside Qing Long.

She had a petite build, with small horns and scales on the sides of her face, making her look like a spirit pet next to Qing Long.

"I'm a bit confused too," Di Long said. "If you know everything... why did you let Qi Xia go this far?"

"I've said it before... I'm a little curious," Qing Long replied. "When you see ants at your doorstep starting to think for themselves and mobilizing for a big plan, you'd want to see the outcome too."

"What a way to put it... 'ants'..."

Qing Long chuckled lightly. "How many people would bother to single out and kill one ant right when they start acting..."

"But you didn't expect the ants to turn into humans and stand before you, almost as powerful as you, so now neither of you can kill the other," Di Long said, gazing downward. "That must have been unexpected for you too, right?"

"Oh...?" Qing Long glanced at Di Long with interest. "I never realized you were such a talkative person."

"Ever since I knew you'd seen through me, I don't know why... I've felt a lot more relaxed." Di Long let out a few "hei hei" laughs. "For so long, even my nightmares were about you finding out my identity and twisting my head off."

"So, what's the source of this sudden openness?" Qing Long asked. "Do you think I won't kill you?"

"No." Di Long shook her head. "It's just that I know I'm done for, so there's no point pretending anymore. I just want to sit and rest for a bit."

"Ha, that's interesting." Qing Long rested her chin in her hand and looked down at the people coming and going. "I have no intention of killing you, yet you think you're doomed."

"Yes, ever since I became part of the 'Sheng Xiao,' I've had a lot of time to think on my own," Di Long said. "And I've figured out a lot of things because of that."

"Like what?"

"Like in this game, even if you don't kill me, I'll still die." Di Long laughed as she watched the people below, completely indifferent. "I have a feeling someone's going to 'gamble their life' against me."

Qing Long asked expressionlessly, "Then Qi Xia won't save you?"

"Qi Xia is one of the options," Di Long answered. "He might end up killing me himself."

"Then I really don't get it," Qing Long sighed. "How can there be relationships like this in the world? You're willing to die for his plan, even if he knows nothing about it, even if he might kill you... and you think it's fine?"

"Honestly..." Di Long wrinkled her brow and smiled, "I'm afraid of pain and afraid of death. But some things are like that—you keep fearing them until you don't anymore. Pain is the same; you keep feeling it until you get used to it."

"I guess I just can't understand these 'human' things," Qing Long said.

"Qi Xia let us live for a few more decades," Di Long said. "Isn't that enough? We came here in our twenties and have been struggling through for fifty or sixty years. Everyone's at an age where we could have died of old age already."

"Died of old age...?"

"Yeah!" Di Long smiled brightly, staring at Qing Long. "You have no idea how much I miss that gathering to commemorate our 'old age'... Qi Xia said that after we drank our fill and woke up, each of us would be considered 'dead of old age'."

Qing Long turned to look at Di Long, who was speaking animatedly, and seemed intrigued.

"That year, we calculated—some were over ninety, some in their eighties, others in their seventies. No one in the world can choose when they 'die of old age,' but we could. I and my companions, who were like family, chose to 'die of old age' on the same day. After that, we threw ourselves into the 'Sheng Xiao' ranks. You ask why we're so resigned to death, but for us, we'd already died of old age long ago."

"Interesting." Qing Long nodded. "I've never heard such a perspective. Not only did you each choose your own 'death,' but you did it in a way unique to mortals, like 'dying of old age'."

"What's so hard to understand about that?" Di Long was still smiling. "Our bodies haven't changed, but our minds and memories have grown old enough. For true 'monsters' like us, even without this skin, we couldn't fit back into the real world anymore."