Chapter 51: Xiao Xiao

Several people ate a small portion of the bear meat and then finished off the meat soup.

It had to be said, the soup tasted a bit better than the bear meat.

Or perhaps it was because everyone was so thirsty that anything they drank felt sweet and delicious.

"Leave the remaining bear meat here," Qi Xia said as he stretched his muscles and addressed the group. "If we make it back alive tonight, we can have another meal."

Xiao Xiao suddenly spoke up: "I want another bowl."

With that, she took her bowl and added more bear meat to it.

"Suit yourself," Qi Xia said slowly as he stood up and checked the sky. It was probably afternoon by now.

"We need to hurry," Qi Xia continued. "The four of us have only earned ninety-five 'Dao' so far, which is far short of the pace we need. Today's goal is three hundred and sixty."

"You're right," Qiao Jia Jin said, standing up as well. "Let's get going."

Tian Tian and Lin Geng packed up their things, dusted off their clothes, and turned around. They saw that Xiao Xiao still hadn't gotten up; she was eating the meat in her bowl as if she hadn't heard a word.

"Xiao Xiao, aren't you coming?" Tian Tian asked.

Xiao Xiao tossed a large, greasy piece of meat into her mouth and licked her fingers, but she didn't respond.

"Don't worry about her," Qi Xia said, knowing this woman had ulterior motives. It was better for them to part ways. "Let's go."

Qiao Jia Jin nodded and turned to walk toward Qi Xia.

Just then, a massive bell toll sounded from afar.

"Dong!!!"

Everyone looked puzzled.

Qi Xia was about to say something when he suddenly saw what looked like a "wall" flying toward him.

"What?"

Before he could react, he slammed hard into it.

It took him several seconds to make sense of what was happening.

It wasn't a flying wall at all; he had face-planted onto the floor.

He had never experienced such a bizarre sensation, as if all his senses were completely jumbled.

Qi Xia struggled to turn his head and saw that Qiao Jia Jin, Lin Geng, and Tian Tian had all fallen sprawled on the ground, their eyes closed as if they'd lost consciousness.

"What is this..."

Qi Xia felt the situation was incredibly strange, so he shook his head in disbelief. He tried to extend his left hand but ended up using his right.

He attempted to stand up but ended up falling again.

It felt just like being drunk, yet his mind was unexpectedly clear.

Xiao Xiao stared at her bowl and continued eating the remaining meat, acting as if nothing was happening.

"You... what did you do?" Qi Xia stared at Xiao Xiao. "Did you poison it?"

Though he asked, he still felt doubtful.

Xiao Xiao had eaten more of the bear meat than anyone else. If it was poisoned, why was she unaffected?

"Qi Xia, listen, the bell has rung," Xiao Xiao said flatly.

"The bell has rung... what does that mean?"

"It means... I want to make a deal with you," Xiao Xiao replied, putting down her empty bowl and standing up.

"A deal...?" Qi Xia looked incredibly at this slightly plump woman in front of him. He had thought she was just a bit scheming, but now she seemed far more dangerous than he imagined.

Now, she held all the power, and he had no choice but to listen.

"What kind of deal?" Qi Xia asked.

"Stop collecting 'Dao'," Xiao Xiao said. "Just settle down and live here peacefully."

"What...?"

Qi Xia had considered many possibilities, but this was the last thing he expected.

She wasn't after the 'Dao'?

"You're saying I should live here peacefully?!" Qi Xia tried to get up, but his limbs wouldn't obey, so he lay on the ground and snarled, "Why the hell would I want to live here?!"

Xiao Xiao wiped the grease from her hands on her pants, then walked over to the four of them and took the 'Dao' from their waists.

Finally, she squatted down next to Qi Xia and said expressionlessly, "Because you're too strong. You have a real chance of collecting enough 'Dao'."

"Then isn't that a good thing..." Qi Xia gritted his teeth and said, "I'll unravel the mysteries of this damn place and get everyone out."

"No, I can't let that happen," Xiao Xiao said calmly, shaking her head. "I won't allow anyone to succeed in collecting them. I have to protect this place. If you keep stubbornly pursuing this, I'll make you regret it."

"So that's it..." Qi Xia snorted coldly. "You look like a normal person, but you're just a lunatic... You want me to wander around like a zombie, living here forever? Hasn't anyone told you this place only has ten days left before it's destroyed? It's going to vanish!"

"This place is going to vanish?" Xiao Xiao nodded, as if the answer didn't surprise her. "In that case, let me rephrase: Stay put for these next few days and wait quietly for the end. Don't collect any more 'Dao'."

"You... you're insane..." Qi Xia said slowly. "If I don't do that, what will you do? Kill me?"

"Maybe."

"You won't."

"Oh? Why not?"

"Because you could kill me right now," Qi Xia said. "You could have done it directly, but instead, you're 'making a deal' with me. Why?"

Xiao Xiao frowned at that, turned away, moved the pot aside, and threw all the 'Dao' into the furnace fire.

"Hey!!" Qi Xia shouted. "What's your problem?!"

As the fire crackled, the 'Dao' they had fought so hard for turned to ashes.

At that moment, Xiao Xiao turned back, her face full of sorrow, and said to Qi Xia, "I won't kill you because I hope that one day in the future, you can join us."

Qi Xia felt he couldn't communicate with this woman named Xiao Xiao at all: "Are you even listening? There's only ten days left! After that, everything will disappear. What do you mean by 'one day in the future, join us'?"

After a pause, he asked again, "And who are 'us'?"

"Qi Xia," Xiao Xiao said, "In ten days, you'll understand everything—this place, these people..."

She pointed to the three lying on the ground and told Qi Xia, "They're not important. Their deaths wouldn't matter. But you're different. You have to live here."

"Cut the crap," Qi Xia said. "How could you possibly know whether they're important to me or not?"

"I..." Xiao Xiao hesitated for a moment, as if something had occurred to her, and said to Qi Xia, "I can prove it to you. Their deaths wouldn't matter."

"What... what are you going to do?"

With that, Xiao Xiao took off her outer shirt, revealing a sports tank top underneath.

Only then did Qi Xia realize that this woman wasn't just "slightly plump"—her muscles were even more developed than Qiao Jia Jin's. Her abs were sharply defined, and her arms were like solid pillars.

When he first saw her, her large frame and broad shoulders had naturally led him to think she was overweight.

Though her face was slim, no one could have imagined that under that loose T-shirt was such a powerful, muscular body.