Chapter 288: Don't Say It

Qi Xia looked at the tiger-headed man in front of him with a cold gaze and asked in a low voice, "What do you mean 'you four' all saw...?"

"And what does that have to do with you?" Di Hu glanced at Qi Xia coldly. "Are we very familiar?"

"No," Qi Xia shook his head. "It's just that we're in a cooperative relationship right now. To better find the person you mentioned, I have to gather as many clues as possible."

After hearing this, Di Hu silently sighed and said, "We four... we're all Yang Ge's students..."

Qi Xia's eyes widened, feeling as if something in his mind had suddenly collapsed.

"Yang Ge?!" He slowly stepped forward, staring at Di Hu in shock. "What does 'Yang Ge' mean?! Is Tian Yang a man?!"

Di Hu looked at Qi Xia in confusion. "I was about to ask you what you mean. When did I ever say he was a woman?"

Qi Xia quickly reviewed all the details of his encounters with Di Hu.

Yes, he had never said that Tian Yang was a woman.

This changed the entire nature of the matter... It seemed everything was back to square one.

That meant neither Tian Yang nor Di Yang, nor Yu Nian An, had ever appeared in this area.

Based on Qi Xia's previous process of elimination... she was probably dead.

"I... Xiao Lao Shu... Si She... Lao Hei..." Di Hu held up four fingers and said, "For seven years, Yang Ge only had us four students..."

Qi Xia was a bit distracted and only turned to look at Di Hu after a moment.

It seemed another thread was faintly connecting.

Seven years?

But was this idea a bit too bold?

"You and 'Xiao Lao Shu' I already know who they are," Qi Xia asked. "But who are 'Si She' and 'Lao Hei'?"

"It's a frivolous and foolish snake, and that annoying sheep you saw today," Di Hu slowly held up four fingers. "The four of us, plus Yang Ge, used to sit at the same table for meals."

Qi Xia rapidly pondered the entire sequence of events, and in just over ten seconds, an unbelievable truth burst into his mind.

"The 'Yang Ge' you mentioned... took seven years to ascend and become 'Tian Yang'?" Qi Xia asked.

"That's right," Di Hu nodded. "He joined later than Lao Hei but advanced faster. He spent three years at Ren Ji level, four years at Di Ji level, and in seven years, he ascended to 'Tian'. If Lao Hei had half of Yang Ge's strength... why would he have taken thirteen years, only becoming 'Di' with Yang Ge's help?"

"So you're saying... he not only advanced quickly himself... but also helped all of you?" Qi Xia asked.

"That's right, Yang Ge is a natural fraudster," Di Hu nodded. "But now Lao Hei is swaggering in Yang Ge's old spot, pretending to take on dozens of 'students'. I hope he loses miserably... and thankfully, you showed up."

Qi Xia lowered his head and examined his own palm closely.

A strange thought kept swirling in his mind.

Am I Tian Yang?

In this Zhong Yan Zhi Di, forget about Shen Shou or Sheng Xiao—even an ordinary Can Yu Zhe with a knife can kill me.

What kind of Tian Yang is this?

It's more like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered.

How am I any different from the lowliest Can Yu Zhe?

"Have I got my thinking all wrong...?"

Qi Xia slowly furrowed his brow. If he was Tian Yang, why would he be here?

Why would he be here...?

As soon as this thought settled in his mind, Zhu Que's words echoed in his ears.

"Qi Xia, why are you here?"

"It seems you really don't know why you're here. How tragic."

"Tell me, who exactly did I offend?"

"Who did you offend? Offending Tian Long isn't enough?"

Qi Xia narrowed his eyes slowly, finally piecing together all these vague clues.

During the "disappearing seven years", he had always been "Yang", starting from Ren Yang and steadily reaching the peak.

But at the final moment, Tian Long played a trick on him.

Everyone thought he had become Tian Yang, but in reality, he had been stripped of all his memories and turned back into a Can Yu Zhe.

And for those seven years, for some reason, no one in the room had passed the interview.

It wasn't until he returned to the room that things started to turn around.

Lin Geng's words rang in his ears again: "Qi Xia, I haven't heard of anyone like you in Zhong Yan Zhi Di for at least seven years."

Qi Xia looked around the environment in alarm, then at the ground beneath his feet.

The situation seemed a bit dire.

Everything he was doing now... everything he had experienced... had he really not gone through it before?

He had been active in Zhong Yan Zhi Di since seven years ago!

And that was just the traceable time... could the actual time be even longer?!

In those years, he had tried almost every method, coming just one step short of becoming "Tian", only to be sent back to the beginning.

This was terrifying.

He was like a monkey in the "Infinite Monkey Theorem", randomly triggering countless possibilities on an infinite timeline.

No... this was different from the Infinite Monkey.

There was an extra Tian Long.

When a monkey was just one letter away from typing out the complete works of Shakespeare, he would restart the monkey's computer and make everything start over.

Why?

Perhaps this damned place doesn't even have a Tian Ji... Maybe anyone who reaches Tian Ji gets sent back to the prototype, their memories wiped, turning them back into a Can Yu Zhe?

"This does close the loopholes... but I still feel something's off..." Qi Xia stroked his chin, feeling his thoughts stuck again.

Qiao Jia Jin, who had been standing nearby for a long time, saw Qi Xia trailing off and patted him on the shoulder. "Deceiver, are you okay?"

Qi Xia snapped back and nodded at Qiao Jia Jin. "I'm fine. I might have found 'Tian Yang'."

"Eh?" Qiao Jia Jin was stunned. "You found him?"

Di Hu also looked up at Qi Xia. "You know where he is?!"

Qi Xia didn't answer directly and instead asked, "Di Hu, I want to know if what you said is true... No matter if he's 'Tian', 'Di', or 'Ren' Yang, or even if he's no longer 'Yang', do you still want to see him?"

Di Hu seemed a bit confused. "What do you mean by no longer 'Yang'? Did Yang Ge go through all that effort just to end up as some damn 'dog'?"

"What if he became an ordinary person?" Qi Xia asked.

This made Di Hu's heart skip a beat.

"An ordinary person?" Di Hu stared into Qi Xia's eyes, as if some idea had suddenly clicked.

"I'm just asking casually," Qi Xia said. "If he were an ordinary Can Yu Zhe, would you still want to see him?"

"I..." Di Hu hesitated.

"I get it." With that, Qi Xia grabbed Qiao Jia Jin and prepared to leave.

"Hey..." Di Hu called out in a trembling voice. "You..."

"Don't say it," Qi Xia said coldly. "Until I figure everything out, don't say a word."