Chapter 842: Divide?

Qi Xia's eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, and then he showed a reassuring smile.

"I think the idea of becoming 'Long' is too absurd," he said calmly. "After all, becoming 'Long' means becoming like you, which doesn't make sense for me."

"You're still pretending..." Qing Long's expression gradually turned strange. "I should have realized it earlier. From the moment 'Yu Nian An' appeared, I should have thought of it... You're standing here in this bizarre state, clearly coming prepared."

"Maybe you don't understand, Qing Long," Qi Xia retorted. "Yu Nian An is my wife. She exists in the real world and in my heart, and it has nothing to do with me becoming 'Long'."

"Aren't you aware? You've gathered 'Yin Yang' in one body... What audacity," Qing Long's eyes grew increasingly angry. "Have you bitten off more than you can chew... If I hadn't exposed you here, were you planning to replace both me and Tian Long on your own, becoming the supreme being here?"

"That's a misunderstanding," Qi Xia said in a steady tone, trying to persuade Qing Long. "Think about it—I becoming 'Long', becoming the 'Sheng Xiao Zhi Shou', wouldn't serve any real purpose. After all, I have no attachment to this land, so that goal lacks motivation."

"But your demeanor has changed," Qing Long said. "Qi Xia, you're deliberately hiding all your emotions to make your words seem calm, but that only makes it more suspicious. Because the usual you wouldn't talk like this at all."

"Then how do I normally speak?" Qi Xia asked.

"Just like that," Qing Long pointed at Qi Xia's mouth and continued. "Throwing out a question to stump me—that's more your style. In my memory, all your words are highly aggressive, mostly in the form of rhetorical questions. So why are they suddenly all statements? What are you hiding?"

"You're right," Qi Xia nodded. "It seems you understand negotiation tactics well, so I have to choose my words even more carefully. I'm just trying to make what I say sound genuine, so I'm using statements as much as possible. That way, I come across as non-aggressive, and you're more likely to believe me."

"But I can't believe you anymore, Qi Xia. As you said, you might kill 'Tian Long', but you're also trying to kill me," Qing Long said. "I can't take that risk, and I won't let anyone replace me. Now, I'll turn you into a native and then kill you completely."

"Wait a minute," Qi Xia said, furrowing his brow. "Qing Long... Have you lost your mind? We're at this point, and now you're suddenly ready to turn against me?"

"Because I've seen through you," Qing Long said. "You think you're so scheming, planning to manipulate both me and Tian Long at the same time. That's what you deserve."

"No," Qi Xia shook his head, his words now full of aggression again. "How cowardly are you, to be afraid of a wife in my heart? Does my longing for my wife threaten your position?"

"Otherwise, what?" Qing Long said. "The 'Yin Yang' energy on you is becoming more obvious. That's not just a feature of 'Long'; it's your path to destruction."

"Ah..." Qi Xia sighed helplessly and shook his head. "Qing Long... Have you ever asked yourself one question... Could I really kill you?"

"What?"

"I could kill 'Tian Long' because he's asleep... But how could I kill you?" Qi Xia asked. "How can you have so little confidence in your own strength?"

Qing Long narrowed his eyes slowly upon hearing this, realizing that what Qi Xia said was true.

"Now that the arrow is on the string, it's a shame to cut it," Qi Xia continued. "No matter what, you should let me try. What if I really can kill 'Tian Long'?"

"Qi Xia... You're a dangerous person," Qing Long said. "If you didn't want to become 'Long', how could you have this strange aura? You've clearly been planning this for a long time... You've deceived everyone, preparing to become 'Long' and then rule this place completely."

"No wonder you think that way," Qi Xia nodded. "Because I hold Yu Nian An in my heart, you see me as 'Yin Yang' in one body. It does sound reasonable."

"It is reasonable," Qing Long said. "How else are you going to explain it?"

"This isn't an explanation; I'm just helping you recall the answer to this," Qi Xia said. "Don't worry, it's definitely a misunderstanding."

Qing Long just snorted coldly at these words and fell silent.

"Qing Long..." Qi Xia suddenly remembered something and slowly looked up. "If I recall correctly... You've preserved all the memories of 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di' from its creation, right?"

"What are you getting at?" Qing Long asked, frowning.

"I just want you to think back carefully," Qi Xia said. "Besides yesterday when we were standing here... When have you ever told me that becoming 'Long' requires 'Yin' and 'Yang'?"

Qing Long paused slightly upon hearing this, then quickly recalled the events that had happened.

The situation was indeed as Qi Xia described—there had never been two 'Yang' standing at such a height before, and he wouldn't have mentioned the theory of 'Yin' and 'Yang'.

The only ones who knew this were himself and Tian Long.

Tian Long was asleep all the time, and Qi Xia hadn't lain down for seven whole years, so he hadn't met him. How had Qi Xia found out?

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"So think it through carefully. I don't even know the 'prerequisites', so how could I make the 'necessary decisions'?" Qi Xia said gravely. "Now, with the knife almost at Qing Long's neck, if you're really going to kill me just because I miss my wife... I honestly don't know which of us would lose more."

Qing Long began to feel that something was off after hearing this.

Yes, based on everything he'd heard, seen, and remembered, Qi Xia didn't know the conditions for forming 'Long'.

This information was known only to him and Tian Long in all of 'Zhong Yan Zhi Di'. If he hadn't told Qi Xia, then only Tian Long could have.

But sharing that information would be like exposing a weakness, and Tian Long had no reason to go to such lengths. If he wanted someone else to replace him, he might as well just end his own life.

"Qing Long, I suspect this is Tian Long's scheme to drive a wedge between us," Qi Xia said.

"What?"

"Think about it... I clearly don't know the conditions for forming 'Long', yet here I am as 'Yin Yang' in one body, standing before you and successfully provoking your anger..." Qi Xia said. "That was a close one—we almost got manipulated."

(Happy New Year to all, my dear readers!)

(As someone from Shandong and getting on in years, the Lunar New Year means a lot of busyness. These past couple of days, I haven't even had a few hours to write. Today and tomorrow will be single updates. I've been swamped for over a year without much rest, so I'll take this chance to slack off a bit. My apologies to everyone—hope you all eat well, drink well, and have fun! Once again, Happy New Year to all!)