Chapter 28: Parting Ways

Dr. Zhao came out at this time, his face looking evasive.

From his appearance, it didn't seem like he was here to stop them; instead, it looked like he was here to lend support.

"No four *Dao*, only three now," Qi Xia said.

"Three?!" Xiao Ran furrowed her brow. "Did you lose one?"

Qi Xia glanced at Dr. Zhao behind Xiao Ran, his eyes carrying a hint of menace.

Dr. Zhao seemed to notice Qi Xia's gaze and had no choice but to speak up:

"Xiao Ran, it wasn't Qi Xia who lost it. He used one *Dao* to trade with that female shop assistant for a fishhook and fishing line."

"What..." Xiao Ran's eyes flickered slightly, and she sighed before turning to Qi Xia. "Fine, using the *Dao* for a trade is your own business. Now, I want you to give back the two that belong to our team."

"The two that belong to you...?" Qi Xia's face turned cold.

"Xiao Ran..." Tian Tian, who had been quiet for a while, suddenly interjected. "We can't say it like that. If we're being precise, the lost *Dao* was used to save Han Yimo from your team, so it has nothing to do with us."

"I already said, that was Qi Xia's decision to make the trade, and it's unrelated to our team."

"You old mother..." Qiao Jiajin stepped forward, his face fierce, his originally imperfect Mandarin now fully switching to Cantonese. "I never hit women, but you're really shameless!"

"Hey... calm down!" Lin Geng stepped up and held Qiao Jiajin back. "Those *Dao* were won by Qi Xia, so let him decide how to distribute them."

Qiao Jiajin pursed his lips in resentment and barely suppressed his anger.

Qi Xia slowly reached up and touched his nose, then said:

"*Ren Long* said that these *Dao* are both our prizes and our stakes in the game. You're all planning to wait here and die, so I'm not giving you any."

"So, you're switching from 'deception' to 'robbery' now?" Xiao Ran said with an angry laugh. "There's no place in this world that's above the law. I advise you to think carefully—is this the right thing to do? We have a police officer here!"

Officer Li came out at that moment, having heard the argument outside.

The two teams had no prior rift, but now, because of this preschool teacher named Xiao Ran, the atmosphere was tense and confrontational.

"What's going on?" Officer Li asked Dr. Zhao. "I could hear a lot of commotion out here from inside the house."

"It's nothing... Xiao Ran just has something to say to Qi Xia," Dr. Zhao replied with an awkward smile.

"She 'has something to say to me'?" Qi Xia's face turned cold. "Dr. Zhao, you're quite something... Are you sure it's Xiao Ran who has something to say to me?"

Qi Xia knew that Xiao Ran was just a pawn, and Dr. Zhao was the real instigator. After all, with Xiao Ran's level of intelligence and courage, she wouldn't have come out to confront Qi Xia and his group without someone egging her on.

Knocking out the pawn might stop the attack, but taking down the mastermind would end it once and for all.

"I..." Dr. Zhao was taken aback, then said to Qi Xia with some embarrassment, "Qi Xia, you might be unhappy about this... Those *Dao* were indeed won with your help... But they belong to all of us; we've all made sacrifices too... You should give us half."

"Is that so?" Qi Xia nodded seriously in response. "But Dr. Zhao, when we killed Han Yimo together last night, you didn't say that."

"What?!" Dr. Zhao's eyes widened in shock. "You... you freak, what nonsense are you spouting?! When did I ever kill Han Yimo with you?!"

Officer Li and Xiao Ran's faces changed instantly.

"Wasn't it you who said it?" Qi Xia said casually while rubbing his hands. "You told me, 'That person's wound isn't even stitched up, so he's probably not going to make it. With one less person, we're less of a burden, and the rest of us have a better chance of getting out.'"

"Nonsense!!" Dr. Zhao was completely enraged, veins bulging on his forehead. "Are you trying to slander me?! Although Han Yimo's wound was hard to treat, I stopped the bleeding for him... You... you..."

"Why get so worked up?" Qi Xia stepped forward and patted Dr. Zhao on the shoulder, then said to Xiao Ran and Officer Li, "Don't mind it, I'm a con artist—everything I just said was made up."

"You...!" Dr. Zhao was so angry his mouth twisted.

"Do you hate being falsely accused?" Qi Xia whispered. "I hate it just as much. If you and that woman keep pestering me and demanding things that aren't yours, I'll make sure you get a lesson."

Dr. Zhao was thoroughly intimidated by those words and finally realized that the man in front of him was no pushover.

In previous games, Qi Xia had helped out multiple times, but that didn't mean he could be taken advantage of.

Xiao Ran seemed to piece something together at that moment and muttered to herself, "So that's how it is... Because you're a doctor... If someone gets injured, you have to take care of them, so you killed him to get rid of the burden..."

"I..."

"How could that be?" Before Dr. Zhao could respond, Qi Xia shook his head and denied it. "Xiao Ran, what I said earlier was totally made up—don't believe it."

But the seed of doubt had already taken root in Xiao Ran's heart—how could it be easily uprooted?

"Qi Xia... What's this all about? What exactly happened?" Officer Li asked with a furrowed brow.

Qi Xia looked at the sturdy man in front of him. His impression of this officer was fairly positive, and he hoped they weren't colluding to covet his *Dao*.

"Xiao Ran says I should divide the *Dao* with you two. What do you think?" Qi Xia asked.

Officer Li was stunned for a moment, then shook his head. "We've already tested it—the *Dao* can't be used as currency here, so it's not much use to keep them. Besides, you won them fair and square, so you should hold onto them."

"How can that be?!" Xiao Ran said excitedly. "Those *Dao* were earned with our lives!"

Officer Li gave a bitter smile. "Since you know they were earned with your life, you should be even more grateful that Qi Xia saved your life once."

"I..."

Xiao Ran was at a loss for words.

What Officer Li said made sense—if it hadn't been for Qi Xia, she would have died in that terrifying room long ago.

Qi Xia nodded silently, pulled a small ball from his pocket, and tossed it to Officer Li.

Officer Li caught it and turned it over in his hand—it was clearly a *Dao*.

"Hmm?" He looked at Qi Xia with confusion. "What are you doing? I'm not going to join the game, so giving me a *Dao* is pointless."

"Consider it stored with you for now," Qi Xia waved his hand. "It's like laundering money—that one goes to you, and my remaining two are 'clean.' Then you can all stop bothering me."

"This..." Officer Li was still puzzled but didn't know what else to say.

Dr. Zhao and Xiao Ran's expressions grew even more complicated, their minds in turmoil.

The group waited for a while, but Officer Li still stood there without leaving.

"Officer? Anything else?" Qiao Jiajin asked.