Chapter 1037: Dying for a Soulmate

"Qi Xia!"

Zhang Chenze saw Qi Xia rushing out of the river path and called out softly from behind him.

But Qi Xia just crouched on the ground, checking Qiao Ji Jin's injuries.

"What is it?" Qi Xia asked without looking up, his voice low.

Zhang Chenze left the doorway and approached the river path, looking puzzled as she said, "You're the zhu shuai... how can you leave the bei zhan qu?"

Qi Xia still didn't lift his head. He reached out and felt Qiao Ji Jin's neck, finding his pulse very weak and his face covered in wounds.

It was impossible to tell if he had fainted or was asleep—he had completely lost consciousness.

"The rules don't say the zhu shuai can't leave the bei zhan qu," Qi Xia said. "They only say the zhu shuai needs to score points. I have a zi on me, so I'm one of the pieces too."

"But it's too dangerous here..."

Zhang Chenze glanced at Qiao Ji Jin, then at Zhang Shan lying not far away, realizing a fierce battle had just taken place.

Before the game, she had worried about this very issue—the tall man's muscular build made him seem unstoppable in a fight.

Yet, the tattooed man had truly defeated him.

"Zhang Lv Shi, help me get the zi," Qi Xia said. "The opponent won't expect our zhu shuai to handle this personally. I need your help right now."

"Okay..."

Zhang Lv Shi didn't hesitate. She quickly ran to Zhang Shan's side, reached into his pocket, and found a zi. But as she pulled it out, her expression changed.

Qi Xia paid no attention to her reaction. He bent down, hoisted Qiao Ji Jin onto his back, and said over his shoulder, "Whatever zi it is, it doesn't matter. Let's go."

"Qi Xia... but this zi..." Zhang Chenze hesitated, her eyes flickering. "If Qiao Ji Jin fought for this zi... then what are we really fighting for?"

"I only know he won," Qi Xia said. "That zi is his spoils of war. We have to take it for him."

Zhang Chenze knew Qi Xia had already considered this possibility. She fell silent for a few seconds, then wordlessly tucked the zi into her pocket.

As she started to stand, she noticed blood foaming from Zhang Shan's mouth. On impulse, she reached out and felt his neck.

His pulse was nearly gone; he was in shock. Without medical help, he would die soon.

There were clear severe injuries on his throat and temple, which looked deformed—probably from Qiao Ji Jin's instinctive heavy blows during their exchange of punches.

But that was inevitable in a brutal fight that had stained the entire Chu He Han Jie with blood... Who would care where the fists landed?

In a life-or-death struggle like this, the two had fought down to their instincts and beliefs. Zhang Shan had lost to his own instincts.

In his dazed state, when he threw punches, he ultimately chose non-lethal attacks.

It was something even he couldn't control—a deep-seated restraint in his heart.

Zhang Chenze turned her head and looked at Qiao Ji Jin slumped on Qi Xia's back.

Did he really want to kill?

It could only be said that his body wanted to win, his fists wanted to win. In that final moment, every part of his body had taken on a mind of its own. They led and won the fight. They believed that even if it meant delivering a fatal blow and bearing the consequences, it was all worthwhile.

Now, Zhang Shan lay on the cold Chu He Han Jie, heading toward death, with no one to help him.

"Let's go," Qi Xia said. "Don't let anyone see us."

Zhang Chenze understood what Qi Xia meant. Taking Qiao Ji Jin away would leave the opponents with countless questions.

Zhang Shan was dead, but Qiao Ji Jin wasn't at the scene. So, how had he killed Zhang Shan? How had he escaped? Where was he now?

The enemy would think Qiao Ji Jin might have used some tactic to withdraw safely.

Even if Qiao Ji Jin stayed in the bei zhan qu resting from now on, it would create immense psychological pressure for the opponents.

They would always have to watch out for that man who could appear at any time—the one who had killed Zhang Shan.

The three of them quickly circled through several empty rooms. Along the way, they encountered Zheng Yingxiong and Tian Tian. Everyone was shocked to see Qiao Ji Jin's blood-covered face, but Qi Xia said nothing.

Back in the bei zhan qu, Qi Xia helped Qiao Ji Jin sit against the wall. Thinking twice, he decided it wasn't safe and laid him flat instead.

In a daze, Qi Xia thought he saw Qiao Ji Jin's mouth move slightly, so he leaned down and put his ear close.

What he said was now completely in Cantonese, but Qi Xia could still make out the gist—

"Big guy... very dangerous... go save him... quick..."

"Don't worry," Qi Xia whispered. "He won't face any more danger. Just rest easy."

After hearing that, Qiao Ji Jin's lips twitched, as if he understood, his expression blank for a moment before he quieted down.

His eyelids were swollen and purple; he hadn't opened them the whole time—who knew if he was awake or asleep again.

Only then did Zhang Chenze step forward. She pulled the zi that belonged to Zhang Shan from her pocket and slowly opened her hand in front of Qi Xia.

It was a blood-stained shi.

It was shi, not shi.

"Qiao Ji Jin almost gave his life for this shi," Zhang Chenze said sadly. "Zhang Shan died for this shi too... What is all this even for?"

"It doesn't matter. Give it to me." Qi Xia took the shi from Zhang Chenze's hand and turned toward the Feng Huang Xian Shu Tai.

"They were so scheming..." Zhang Chenze frowned. "Wasn't this supposed to be a fair duel...? The opponent's zhu shuai deliberately reduced their stakes. Qiao Ji Jin was fighting honestly with xiang, but the other side only had a shi... "

Qi Xia didn't answer the question. He simply used the shi and gan to score two points.

Total: fifteen points.

"The opponent didn't hide the ren," Qi Xia said. "They never had it from the start."

"What...?"

"My mistake," Qi Xia said. "I should have realized earlier. If they had the ren from the beginning, the game would have ended long ago."

Zhang Chenze was slightly stunned. She looked up at the walls of the entire bei zhan qu and noticed that Qi Xia had already written characters all over them.

Counting them, there were at least a hundred, including ones that didn't look like proper characters and others that could only be combined in strange ways.

"If they had the ren from the start, plus the jiang and zu parts, their characters could directly form twenty-eight."