Chapter 1259: The Dead Man

"Fuck, then what do you say we do?" Di Hou put his hands in his pockets and asked with a cigarette in his mouth, "Are we really going to go up and help?"

Di Ji paused for a moment after hearing this: "Lao Pang Hou, what is your task?"

"Can you stop calling me Lao Pang Hou? Don't you know who I am?" Di Hou asked again.

"Ha... Weren't you just pretending not to know me?"

"There are too many outsiders around—what can I do?"

"Quick, tell me—what task did Qi Xia assign you?"

"My task is to go to Che Tou and sabotage a door." Di Hou shook his head and said, "What about you, Di Ji? Besides Dui Wei Ji Sha, what else is your task?"

"My task is already completed." Di Ji said, "My only task was to convey the Zao Fan Ji Hua for the Sheng Xiao next door and rally them together."

"So, that means you're just here to see me off?" Di Hou asked.

"No." Di Ji shook his head, "I'm just killing time, and I want to do something for Qi Xia."

"This could be life-threatening, you know." Di Hou said again.

"Life-threatening?" Di Ji laughed and covered his mouth, "Lao Pang Hou, we all died at that Lao Si de Ju Hui a long time ago. I have no fear of death now, only joy at reuniting with an old friend like you. Is your Ling Shi still active?"

"Of course." Di Hou said, "What about the others? Are they all still alive?"

"It's hard to say." Di Ji shook his head, "I haven't fully recognized them. Di Niu is my close sister, so I'm one hundred percent sure about her identity. I can mostly confirm Di Zhu and Di Tu, but their survival is uncertain. As for Zhuang Jie, she's definitely dead, and Ding Ding, who became Di Long, probably..."

"How tragic." Di Hou said with a bitter smile, "Everyone thinks the war starts today, but little do they know we've been losing people for a while."

"Yeah, I'm still worried that I'm acting too calm today." Di Ji shook his head, "Will it seem strange if I chat gossip with the other Sheng Xiao?"

"Not really." Di Hou said as he walked forward, "I was just pretending to be a Can Yu Zhe and wandering around in the crowd."

"That's good."

As the two talked, they arrived not far behind Di Shu, who was humbly bowing and scraping before two Tian Ji.

"Are they on our side?" Di Hou whispered.

"Yes, but I didn't expect him to be standing here on his own." Di Ji whispered back, "What do we do now?"

"We'll play it by ear." Di Hou said, "Put away the Hui Xiang and be careful not to give ourselves away."

As they continued forward, Di Shu's voice reached their ears:

"...Yes, I really did receive the message. As soon as I heard about the Zhao Ji, I rushed over. It was a real bloodbath along the way... So, what are your arrangements, leaders?"

"What do you mean by 'two leaders'?" Tian Shu said with a displeased face, "Who is actually your superior?"

"Come on, look what you're saying..." Di Shu laughed and shook his head, "Both of you are Tian Ji, and I'm just a lowly one—I wouldn't dare offend either. I don't know which of you is stronger, so I'll just follow orders and not ask anything else."

"You dead beast... What do you mean by 'not knowing who's stronger'? Is that even a question?" said the other, "Who makes you live in fear every day? Have you forgotten?"

"Ha." Tian Ma, the old woman, chuckled lightly after hearing this, "What an interesting young one you are, Tian Shu. You've gone to great lengths to make the Di Ji obey you, but I just need to stand here."

"Are you crazy?" Tian Shu scolded angrily, "If I weren't here, would he show you this much respect?"

"I advise you to watch your mouth!"

While the two were arguing, they noticed Di Hou and Di Ji slowly approaching.

The two walked on either side, as if they hadn't seen the two Tian Ji at all, and just continued on their way.

Di Shu, who was bowing humbly, furrowed his brow when he saw Di Ji and quickly calculated the current tactics in his mind.

Three against two?

No, he felt he was being too optimistic—the direction these two were heading was clearly not toward Tian Ma and Tian Shu; they were looking for their Dui Wei.

"Stop right there!" Tian Shu stared at the two and shouted coldly, "Any further and you'll be at Che Tou. What are you up to?"

Di Ji furrowed his brow upon hearing this and looked at Di Hou opposite him.

Di Hou knew that at this moment, they had to take another gamble. He paused, recalled what Di Shu had said earlier, and followed his lead as he spoke:

"Greetings, two Tian Ji. We've also received the Zhao Ji and are now heading to the rooms of Tian Ji and Tian Hou to receive orders."

After Di Hou finished speaking, Tian Shu clearly didn't believe it. He slowly opened his mouth, revealing only a few remaining teeth. He believed Di Ji was probably really under Tian Ji, but this monkey in front of him...

"Does that little girl Tian Hou have a Di Ji like you under her command?"

"Yes, hasn't she told you?" Di Hou asked in return.

Tian Shu felt that Di Hou was speaking so confidently that he didn't seem to be lying. Besides, the people heading to Che Tou now were either summoned or rebels.

But how could rebels just stroll across the Lie Che with only two people?

To be safe, he sniffed the air but didn't detect any Xian Fa on them.

"Alright, go ahead."

He waved his hand behind him as if shooing away flies.

The two let out a sigh of relief and continued walking, as clashing with these two Tian Ji at once would ruin the entire plan ahead.

Just as they were about to pass the two Tian Ji, Di Hou's faint trace of Jiao Yun was sharply caught by Di Shu.

"Halt!" Di Shu shouted, stopping the two on the spot. But as he leaned in closer, that scent was gone.

"Is there something else?" Di Hou asked expressionlessly.

The two had been through storms with Qi Xia, winning and losing, even facing death, so their hearts were calm now. This emptiness made Tian Shu unable to figure them out for a moment.

After thinking carefully, Tian Shu said: "Better to kill by mistake than to let one go... I can't afford to provoke Qing Long."

"Oh?" Tian Ma raised an eyebrow, the wrinkles on her forehead bunching up, "Is there something wrong with these two?"

"It's possible." Tian Shu nodded, "If I kill them by mistake, I'll just say I smelled wrong. Though I'm a bit injured, with you and I teaming up, plus this dead beast beside me, even two Di Ji would have to kneel."

"Alright then..." Tian Ma reached back to rub her waist, "I'm getting old anyway—time to loosen up these bones."

Di Hou furrowed his brow, preparing to fight with all his might, when he heard footsteps approaching from behind.

A limping female Di Ma slowly walked toward them: "Tian Ma! I've finally found you... I just saw Tian Hu surrounded by several Fan Pan Zhe!"

"What?!" Tian Ma turned pale with shock and quickly examined Di Ma's injuries, "Are there many of them?!"

"Yes... too many..." Di Ma leaned against the wall and said, "They've already hurt me. You need to come with me quickly."