Chapter 1240: A Dilemma of Snakes

Tian She paced back and forth through the corridor, constantly knocking on the doors of the "Tian Ji" rooms.

Apart from Tian Niu, who was absent, all the other "Tian Ji" members were notified one by one.

Upon hearing the news, their expressions varied. Tian She stared into their eyes, reading all their thoughts.

Indeed, the situation was precarious. Among the remaining "Tian Ji," few genuinely wanted to suppress the "rebels." Invisible cracks had already spread among the "Tian Ji."

Tian Shu was injured and in a foul mood. When Tian She conveyed the information to him, his mind was filled with thoughts of killing his own student to vent his anger. Tian She knew he had no way to intervene with this old man, so he simply explained the situation and left, then went to find Tian Hu.

Tian Hu was wearing a belly band and sitting on the floor in his room, eating a corpse with blood all over his mouth. He seemed uninterested in Tian She's arrival. After Tian She briefly stated his purpose, Tian Hu merely mumbled, "Got it."

Next were Tian Ma and Tian Tu. Tian Ma, an old woman, had a slightly firmer resolve than the others; she was truly thinking about how to drive out the "rebels." But Tian Tu, who had just awakened, was the complete opposite. Before Tian She even began speaking, Tian Tu's mind was already filled with hesitation, and by the time they discussed leading people to suppress the "rebels," she was consumed with thoughts of giving up.

Finally, there were Tian Hou and Tian Ji, who were meditating in the same room. When Tian She entered, neither of them opened their eyes. Tian She had to speak as if to thin air, blurting out everything at once, but in the end, they gave no response.

Besides Tian Shu, Tian Hu, Tian Ma, Tian Tu, Tian Hou, and Tian Ji, Tian She had no one else to notify.

He didn't mention Tian Long and Tian Yang, Tian Zhu was already dead, Tian Gou knew the whole story, and the last one left was himself.

Tian She asked himself... if he heard this news, would he lead people to resist at a time like this?

It was truly a difficult choice.

Because they had to bring the "Di Ji" to suppress the "rebels," but all the "Di Ji" hoped the "Tian Ji" would step down. It was like asking people to take wild dogs to drive away wolves.

If they went, they might get injured or die; if they didn't, they might anger Qing Long and still die.

So why couldn't those "participants" just quietly and obediently accept the oppression?

Once they started "rebelling," it left the many "Tian Ji" with a dilemma that could mean their doom.

Tian She closed the door to Tian Hou and Tian Ji's room and walked to his own door. Before he could enter, he spotted a large group of people approaching from the other side of Qing Long's room in the distance.

The group was far from him, but they didn't seem to want to enter Qing Long's room. Instead, after reaching it, they turned left and entered the transverse corridor opposite.

Leading them was a black sheep, guiding a crowd of "participants."

"'Huo Cang'...?" Tian She frowned and pondered for a few seconds, still finding the situation hard to understand.

Why were these people who truly wanted to "rebel" going to the Huo Cang?

Why not try to enter Qing Long's room and kill Qing Long?

At the very least, they should make an effort.

If Qing Long died, everything could end, and even he wouldn't have to face this dilemma.

"No..." Tian She shook his head, feeling his thoughts were dangerous.

Once the idea of "it would be good if Qing Long died" lingered in his mind, based on his experience, he would eventually suffer greatly.

This place had seen countless acts of resistance, rebellion, and riots, big and small, but Qing Long had survived them all.

Although Tian She wanted Qing Long dead and yearned to hold his head high, open his eyes, and live his life looking straight ahead, he couldn't plan for that now.

He still had to do what needed to be done and carry out the orders.

So, he pretended not to see the massive procession led by the black sheep, turned around, and opened his own door.

Xiao Ran was sitting inside, in the same pose as when he left: arms crossed and legs crossed.

Tian She glanced at Xiao Ran indifferently, then walked to a corner of the room and took a water cup from the hands of a "human-shaped furniture," pouring himself a glass of water.

"Dumb now?" Xiao Ran asked. "What did those 'Tian Ji' say? Are they following my orders?"

Tian She didn't answer, just sipped his water while pondering the situation.

His entire outing had yielded only one useful piece of information: Tian Gou had told him to kill this woman.

But things were still hard to move forward at this point.

After all, this woman was placed in his room by Qing Long. If he killed her... wouldn't that be openly defying Qing Long?

However, Tian Gou wouldn't let him look into his eyes, so Tian She didn't know what he was worried about. The only thing he could be sure of was that Tian Gou wanted to stay out of this storm entirely.

He wouldn't join the "participants," nor would he truly step up to suppress them. He was just waiting for the outcome.

"Wait a minute..." Tian She slowly tightened his grip on the water cup, feeling that he had some clarity on the matter.

Since Tian Gou chose to do nothing and let events unfold... that meant he was already on the opposing side.

After all, Tian She couldn't allow things to keep developing; he wanted to live, not just survive the "participants," but also escape Qing Long's grasp.

So, was the strategy from Tian Gou, who was now his opponent, really beneficial to him?

Tian She turned around, his gaze cold as he looked at Xiao Ran.

Killing her would be as easy as lifting a finger. The only reason she was still alive was because of Qing Long's word.

In that case... was it possible that Tian Gou was deliberately leading him into a trap?

No matter how events unfolded next, Qing Long would only remember him as the one who defied him and direct all his fury at him.

Tian She nodded to himself, feeling this line of thinking aligned with Tian Gou's desire to "protect himself." Only by doing this could Tian Gou remain absolutely safe in the chaos.

It wasn't enough for him to just watch from the sidelines; he had to set the fire himself on the other shore.

Seeing Tian She remain silent, Xiao Ran slowly walked up behind him and patted his shoulder.

"Playing deaf and dumb, huh?" Xiao Ran said. "Disrespecting me is the same as disrespecting Qing Long, you know?"

Tian She turned around and stared into Xiao Ran's eyes. That familiar, eerie feeling returned.

This woman wasn't lying; deep down, she truly believed she represented Qing Long. Her unshakeable confidence made even Tian She feel inferior.

He knew that even when he worked for Qing Long, he never dared claim to represent him.

So, this woman... couldn't be killed.