Chapter 597: The True Face of the Earth Pig?

Di Ma's expression darkened slightly, unsure of how to respond.

At that moment, Di Zhu looked up at her and said:

"Go ahead and agree for now. Get your injuries treated first—otherwise, your leg will definitely be ruined."

Di Ma glanced around at everyone in the room, seemingly deep in thought. After a pause, she finally said:

"I understand."

This time, no one stopped her from leaving, as everything that needed to be done was already done. Now, Di Ma probably wouldn't do anything reckless; they would just have to wait for her to come back once she figured things out.

The only remaining source of trouble in the room was Di Zhu. Since they had been enemies just moments before, no one knew how to resolve the situation.

Di Zhu took a few steps toward Pei Qian Hu, then lowered his head and rolled up his pant leg, revealing his tender knee. He pointed to it and said:

"How about it?"

Pei Qian Hu asked:

"What?"

Di Zhu said:

"Kick me."

"What the heck?!"

Di Zhu sighed and said:

"Let's keep things separate—one thing at a time. I ambushed you earlier without knowing the full story, so now you kick me back, and we're even."

"Damn..." Di Hu said, sounding a bit baffled. "They say you're like a kid, and they weren't wrong. You hit me, and that's that—I didn't even get killed. Why bring up 'kicking back'?"

"I was under thirteen when I became 'Di Ji,'" Di Zhu replied. "So, it's not entirely wrong to call me a kid. It's just that I've lived here for several decades now."

Di Zhu's words left everyone silent. If they didn't find a way out, they'd end up staying here longer than he had.

"No wonder you have that cocky attitude, just like I did when I was young," Di Hu said, his tone softening a bit. "Damn, you really are a kid, huh? If you're a kid, I won't hold it against you. Let's call it even."

He waved his hand and, supporting his leg, limped over to sit down nearby: "I'm getting old; I don't like arguing with kids."

Di Zhu thought for a moment, then lowered his pant leg and said:

"I don't want to owe you anything. As repayment, I'll do something for you. What do you want? Anything within my capabilities, I can help with."

Pei Qian Hu looked at Di Zhu thoughtfully for a while, then laughed and said:

"Damn, someone was kicking us while we were down earlier—you go kill that Hei Yang for me. I can't stand it anymore."

"Alright," Di Zhu nodded seriously. "I'll go right now."

"Huh?" Hei Yang was startled. "Damn, Pei Qian Hu, you're really ungrateful. Wasn't that just my delaying tactic?"

Before he could finish, Di Zhu was already preparing to charge forward, but Pei Qian Hu quickly lunged to stop him.

"Ah, forget it, forget it—I was joking!"

Everyone felt like there was now one more problematic character in the room.

"Isn't that what you told me to do?" Di Zhu asked.

"I've completely bought that you're a kid now," Pei Qian Hu said, shaking his head helplessly. "I thought you were just a scheming little runt with your love for bossing people around and your lack of manners..."

"Either way, I won't grow any taller," Di Zhu said. "If you don't need me to do anything else, I'll be on my way."

"Leaving...?" Di Hu was surprised. "You're not going to help with our rebellion anymore?"

"You all said it yourselves earlier," Di Zhu replied. "Your goal is basically 'Tian.' Kill 'Tian,' and you can advance. I don't have any thoughts on that. Until I find the true path to advancement, I won't act rashly."

"The true path to advancement?"

"Yes, at least that's what I think," Di Zhu sighed. "Even if I end up vanishing into nothing here, I don't want to die without understanding why."

Hei Yang frowned after hearing this: "I think I'm starting to get what you mean... You thought we gathered here to rebel as some kind of revenge for Bai Yang? No wonder you assumed Pei Qian Hu was our leader."

"Isn't that the case?" Di Zhu asked, a bit confused. "Because you all probably guessed that Bai Yang is dead, so you want to demand an explanation from the 'Tian' here."

Everyone exchanged glances, and Di Hu wiped the blood from his face, limping over to say: "Little Pig, what if I told you that Bai Yang isn't just fine, but he's actually in 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di' right now, figuring out how to fight 'Tian Long'?"

"What...?"

"It's true," everyone nodded, and Di Shu added, "Pig leader, today, all the 'Sheng Xiao' who showed up in the room should have seen Bai Yang during the day."

Everyone recounted what had happened during the day to Di Zhu, and he recalled his own experiences.

He hadn't seen anyone suspicious, but there was a team in leather outfits that was really strong—he had almost fallen for their trap.

As for the "stoic young man" or the "annoyingly chatty young man" that everyone mentioned, he had never seen them.

"So, you're not carrying on Bai Yang's will out of obligation, but actually following his direct orders?" Di Zhu murmured to himself.

"Can you not talk like that?" Bai Lan Gou, who had been quiet for a while, spoke up. "First it's 'a promise from a Tian-level,' then it's 'carrying on Bai Yang's will'—I've held back for so long, I can't take it anymore. Lay off the anime, will you?"

"Hey, kids do that," Di Hu chimed in. "Loving anime is a good thing—it keeps your mind flexible."

"You bastard..." Hei Yang was getting fed up. "How come you change your attitude the second someone’s a kid? I didn't see you holding back when you two were brawling earlier."

"I'm just messing around with Little Pig," Di Hu said, reaching down to rub his sore knee. "If he'd told me right away that he was so much younger, I wouldn't have hit him that hard, right, Little Pig?"

Di Zhu didn't respond to Di Hu and just muttered to himself: "But this is really cool... A pact between humans and beasts... A joint rebellion across different races..."

"Who the hell is from a different race?" Hei Yang felt offended. "Don't lump us in just because you think you're not human."

"We're 'Shou Ren,' and they're 'humans'... Isn't that crossing racial lines?" Di Zhu asked seriously.

No one said anything; they just quietly watched him, as if he were a child spouting nonsense.

"Good, got it—go play," Bai Lan Gou said with a straight face, waving his hand.

"Don't!" Di Zhu perked up. "Come on, tell me about your plans!"

(Brothers and sisters, I heard you all started school or work, so I can finally rest. I'm taking a day off; tomorrow I'll update, but only once. Hope you understand...)