Chapter 195: Meeting Tian Yang

Qi Xia slowly stood up and looked at the wooden door.

With a slight creaking sound, Qiao Jiajin and Li Xiangling slipped out.

"I say...?" Qiao Jiajin laughed carelessly. "What a coincidence, Deceitful Kid, and... that one."

Seeing Li Xiangling's injury, Qi Xia's face darkened, and he hurried over. "How are you?"

"I'm fine..." Li Xiangling smiled. "I should be okay now."

Qi Xia examined Li Xiangling's wound. The wooden stick had pierced her arm but hadn't hit the bone.

In theory, it wasn't a fatal injury, but in Zhongyan Zhidi... she would likely spend the next few days in considerable pain.

"When I used to practice with spears, I got stabbed too, and it healed quickly..." Li Xiangling smiled lightly, her expression relaxed.

Jiang Ruoxue crossed her arms and slowly stood up. A moment later, she stroked her chin.

"Dong!"

A bell rang in the distance, startling Qi Xia and the other two.

Qi Xia turned back, eyeing Jiang Ruoxue warily. "What are you up to?"

"Mind your own business?" Jiang Ruoxue smiled, stepped forward, and gently took Li Xiangling's arm. "Little sister, you need to sort out the logic in this situation."

"Logic... logic?"

"This piece of wood didn't hit your bone, just your skin, and besides, you've had similar injuries before, so this one will heal quickly too." Jiang Ruoxue finished speaking and patted Li Xiangling's head. "So don't worry, just rest up."

"Huh?" Li Xiangling's eyes widened slowly; she felt her right arm suddenly hurt less.

Jiang Ruoxue quickly placed her hand on the wooden stick and pulled it out.

A trickle of blood flowed from Li Xiangling's arm, but the wound wasn't deep—it looked like a superficial injury that would heal in a few days.

"You're... you're from Jidao, right?" Li Xiangling asked, puzzled.

"Yeah." Jiang Ruoxue nodded.

"I don't get it..." Li Xiangling glanced at Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin, then said to Jiang Ruoxue, "Aren't we enemies? Why are you helping me?"

"You don't need to get it." Jiang Ruoxue tossed the wooden stick aside and chuckled. "When has Jidao ever needed you to understand what we do?"

Qiao Jiajin checked Li Xiangling's arm at that moment and saw that the injury had improved significantly.

"That one, you're pretty sharp," Qiao Jiajin said happily.

Jiang Ruoxue sighed helplessly. "Alright, now I've completely lost track of those three. If there's nothing else, I'll be on my way."

She stretched again and turned to leave.

"Hold on..." Qiao Jiajin said. "That big guy and the leather-jacket man are probably done for, but the stone man bailed out midway, so you might still find him."

"Stone man?" Jiang Ruoxue nodded. "Okay, got it."

She waved goodbye to the group with her back turned, then disappeared down the street.

Qi Xia snapped back to attention and looked at Qiao Jiajin and Li Xiangling. Both of them were covered in bloodstains and had suffered several superficial wounds.

"So, how did it go? Did we win?" Qi Xia asked.

"Ah!" Qiao Jiajin suddenly exclaimed. "I almost forgot if you didn't say! We haven't won yet!"

He quickly led Li Xiangling back to the elevator. "That big guy is still upstairs waiting like an idiot. Kung Fu Girl, come with me!"

Zhang Shan was sitting next to the blue flag, looking worried.

"Big guy!" Qiao Jiajin called out happily after getting off the elevator. "I brought Kung Fu Girl!"

Zhang Shan quickly stood up. "Great!"

Qi Xia followed them out of the elevator. The game was about to end, and he still had questions he wanted to ask Di Hu.

Following the rules, Qiao Jiajin and Li Xiangling crossed the plank bridge one after the other, then touched the flag together with Zhang Shan.

The game ended.

Di Hu, who had been standing nearby the whole time, finally moved.

"The red team has all touched the blue team's flag. Game over." He pulled a cloth bundle from his pocket and tossed it to the three of them. "Take that one who didn't pay the entry fee and get out."

"What an unpleasant attitude." Zhang Shan shook his head helplessly, then turned to Li Xiangling. "Xiao Li, you're hurt?"

"Yeah... but not badly." Li Xiangling smiled. "It's really unbelievable—someone from Jidao helped us."

"Oh?"

Li Xiangling recounted her encounter with Jiang Ruoxue to Zhang Shan in detail.

Meanwhile, Qi Xia slowly approached Di Hu.

"What do you want?" Di Hu snapped irritably.

"How can I see her?"

"Who?"

"Tian Yang."

"How should I know?!" Di Hu shoved Qi Xia aside and headed straight for the elevator.

"Hey!" Qi Xia grabbed Di Hu's thick arm, feeling like he was holding onto a rock. "This is really important to me... I'd trade anything for it..."

Di Hu paused at those words.

He stared intently into Qi Xia's eyes, wanting to lash out, but the words Qi Xia had said earlier echoed in his mind.

There are many paths in this world, and everyone can find their own.

After a long silence, Di Hu spoke. "They say that becoming a 'Shengxiao' of 'Tian' lets you come and go freely in Zhongyan Zhidi, so I don't know where Tian Yang is."

Qi Xia's eyes dimmed slowly.

"So that's how it is... So... she really lied to me...?"

"Hmph." Di Hu snorted coldly. "And haven't I been lied to?"

His tiger claw slowly clenched into a fist as he muttered to himself, "It was all agreed upon before... but nothing was fulfilled... I was a fool to believe 'Yang'..."

"What...?" Qi Xia was stunned. "She lied to you too?"

"Hmph." Di Hu snorted again. "Being lied to is my own problem. What's it got to do with you?"

Qi Xia furrowed his brow, suddenly struck by an idea.

"Look... since she lied to both of us, why don't we team up?"

Qi Xia felt like he was going mad—he was trying to ally with a tiger-headed man.

Di Hu grabbed Qi Xia's collar.

"Who do you think you are?" He looked Qi Xia up and down. "A regular person without 'Hui Xiang' thinking of teaming up with a 'Di Ji'? On what grounds?!"

A massive killing intent burst forth, Di Hu's gaze as if he wanted to devour Qi Xia.

"Okay..." Qi Xia slowly extended his hand, trying to calm Di Hu. "You're right, it was foolish of me..."

Di Hu's expression suddenly turned despondent. He released his grip and slowly turned away, his voice low. "Get out."