Chapter 440: The Deception

"With a gun pointed at my head?" Di Shu asked with a laugh.

"Yes," Qi Xia replied, smiling as well. "Isn't that the case?"

"As men, there are many things in this world that can make us bow our heads," Di Shu said. "We can bow for our livelihood, for our families, for money. We can humble ourselves over trivial matters, even shed tears for a stray child on the street. But we never bow or submit to force—that's what defines us as men."

Qi Xia nodded after listening. "I'm becoming more and more interested in you."

"But this is the last time," Di Shu said. "I've given up. Even with a gun to my head, I won't struggle anymore."

Qi Xia was momentarily at a loss for words.

If Di Shu was truly seeking death, was there still a point in trying to win him over?

"Now that things have come to this... I have just one last thing to say," Qi Xia said.

"What is it?"

"Behind the first room, I've placed a Jin Ju," Qi Xia said. "You won't die in this round. Surrender now, let us go, and no one has to die."

"You...?"

Although there was a door between them, Di Shu's expression had turned utterly grim.

He felt like he had been led by the nose by this cold man right up to the end. When you desperately wanted to live, someone told you your time was up. When you decided to die, they handed the choice back to you.

"Why are you toying with my life...?" Di Shu gritted his teeth and asked. "Is this amusing to you?"

"No, no..." Qi Xia shook his head. "I'm just a con artist—nothing I say is necessarily true. But right now... that Jin Ju is real, and so is your chance to survive."

Qi Xia paused before continuing: "Since you're not afraid of death, there's no need for me to kill you. Let's end this here."

Luo Shiyi was slightly stunned by Qi Xia's words: "End it here?"

Everyone in the room looked at Qi Xia in confusion, feeling like he might have forgotten something.

Di Shu sighed from outside the door and said, "You and I... can we really end it here?"

"The decision is yours," Qi Xia replied. "I don't want to lose a teammate, and you don't want to die. But the food isn't enough for all six of us to survive, so let's both back down and call it quits."

After thinking for a long time, Di Shu slowly walked toward the exit and pulled the handle on the wall.

At that moment, all the doors in the house opened, and the collars around everyone's necks fell off.

Qi Xia led the four others out of the house and stood face-to-face with Di Shu.

"I surrender," Di Shu said. "I'll give you the Dao and the fruits. You can go."

Qi Xia found Di Shu's state quite intriguing: "Di Shu... I have something I want to ask you."

"What?"

Qi Xia pointed toward the door of the first room and said, "Guess if there's really a Jin Ju in there?"

Di Shu slowly furrowed his brow after hearing this, then looked through the gap between the people toward the table in the Shu Wu. There wasn't a single fruit in sight.

"You..."

Di Shu now found the man in front of him terrifyingly ruthless. Even in that situation earlier, could he still lie without batting an eye?

Seeing Di Shu's expression, Qi Xia slowly stepped closer and whispered in his ear: "Remember, I'm a con artist."

"Heh..." Di Shu let out a cold laugh, as if putting his mask back on. "Leader, your visit today is over."

He walked to the exit, pulled a bag of Dao from under a table, and took another bag of fruits from a box on the wall, handing them both to Qi Xia.

"Take care, leaders. I won't see you off."

Qi Xia took the two bags and handed them to Zhou Liu, then gave Di Shu a meaningful look and said, "I'll remember you."

"I'm honored," Di Shu said. "It's best if you leaders die out there and forget all about me."

Qi Xia said no more, signaled to the others, and slowly walked out of the house.

"Hey... wait, hold on!" Luo Shiyi felt like Qi Xia had really forgotten something. "You're just leaving like this?"

Qi Xia ignored Luo Shiyi, opened the wooden door, and stepped out onto the street. The others had no choice but to follow.

Di Shu watched them walk away, then turned back to glance at the door of Room One, his expression complex.

...

Qi Xia walked down the street on his own, glanced up at the sun, and estimated the time. The game had probably lasted over an hour, which was still manageable.

"Hey..." Luo Shiyi circled around Zhou Liu, Wang Ba, and Qiu Shiliu to stand in front of Qi Xia.

"What?" Qi Xia frowned at Luo Shiyi.

"Haven't you forgotten something?" Luo Shiyi asked.

"Me?" Qi Xia put on a puzzled expression. "What did I forget?"

For a moment, Luo Shiyi couldn't tell if Qi Xia had genuinely forgotten or was just playing dumb, so he hinted: "My Hui Xiang! Weren't you going to let me Hui Xiang?"

"Did I say that?" Qi Xia blinked. "Did I promise you?"

"You..." Luo Shiyi was speechless for a second. "You're not serious, are you? Didn't you bring us out here for training? And for training, don't I need to Hui Xiang?"

"You're right," Qi Xia nodded. "It is for training. Wang Ba and Qiu Shiliu have already Hui Xianged, so that should be enough."

"What do you mean, enough?" Luo Shiyi raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying they're more useful than me? I thought you were someone worth following... but you don't even take me seriously?"

After hearing this, Qi Xia's lips curved into a slight smile: "I didn't want to say it... but you brought it up yourself."

"What...?"

"I really do look down on you, Wang You Luo Shiyi," Qi Xia said. "You lost to us once before. I don't see the point in letting you Hui Xiang... Do you really have the nerve to say you want to follow me?"

"You... you..."

Qi Xia stepped closer to Luo Shiyi and said, word by word: "There was once someone who followed me and just by speaking, made you suffer to death. Tell me yourself—what use are you to me?"

Clang!!

Everyone on the street clearly heard the bell of "Wang You" ring out due to the "defeat."

...

Di Shu looked up at the distant, echoing bell toll and took a deep breath. He walked into Room One, moved the door aside, and looked behind it with some trepidation.

There were three Jin Ju there.