Chapter 939: Take a Seat, Everyone

Wen Qiaoyun listened and nodded slowly, still feeling somewhat confused.

The man in front of her began to cry again, but his smile remained unchanged. It was as if this expression had been contorted for many years, only just now surfacing.

Wen Qiaoyun felt that their encounter was strangely surreal, like both a reunion and a farewell. The countless thoughts swirling in her mind, along with fragmented images flickering through her consciousness, left her feeling disoriented and unsure what to do.

Perhaps, as the man before her said, her return was indeed a mistake.

"In the game, if I propose a 'Du Ming' to the 'Cai Pan,' will I die?" Wen Qiaoyun asked again.

"Yes," Chu Tianqiu nodded. "Because it's very difficult for you to win."

"What about you?" Wen Qiaoyun continued. "Even if I have a slim chance, tomorrow's game isn't just for me, right?"

"That's true, I'll be there too. But I've hardly participated in any games," Chu Tianqiu said bluntly. "So, whatever happens tomorrow is uncertain, but the chances of a 'Du Ming Zhe' dying are extremely high."

"Alright…" Wen Qiaoyun nodded.

"Qiaoyun…" Chu Tianqiu said, "You don't truly want to die, do you?"

Wen Qiaoyun paused for a moment before asking, "Why would you think that? You might not know me well, I…"

"I know you too well," Chu Tianqiu interrupted. "Once you have a strong urge for 'Zi Wo Ji Sheng'…"

He slowly pointed toward the window: "The four giant bells will ring because of you."

"Giant bells…" Wen Qiaoyun followed Chu Tianqiu's gaze out the window. Her memories of this place were fragmented and incomplete; there was so much she still needed to understand.

"Qiaoyun, if your subconscious tells you that you are not ready to die, then don't force it—leave this place immediately," Chu Tianqiu advised. "A storm is about to hit. If your sacrifice isn't voluntary, everything that follows will be meaningless."

"A storm…?" Wen Qiaoyun quickly processed this. "But what about you? You know it's coming, yet you're still choosing to stay?"

"I am a fleeting flower in the storm," Chu Tianqiu replied. "With me involved, this could be the best opportunity in seventy years, so I cannot leave."

"Seventy years…"

After speaking, Chu Tianqiu slowly turned and walked to the door, his back to her as he said softly, "Qiaoyun, I couldn't explain everything that has happened in the past seventy years in just one night. But once you die… that's when it all begins."

"You're always crying, though," Wen Qiaoyun said. "Is all of this truly from the heart?"

Chu Tianqiu's figure stiffened for a long moment before he replied, "Yes."

With a gentle click of the door, Chu Tianqiu's silhouette vanished from the room, leaving only the silent Wen Qiaoyun behind.

Night had fully descended, and the entire city was eerily quiet.

In the vast "Zhong Yan Zhi Di," four silent ghost cities encircled the flickering campfire lights of "Dao Cheng," like a vortex devouring the last traces of starlight.

Countless people fell silent, their thoughts drifting like threads in the air.

Amid this stillness, the "Lie Che" was unusually noisy.

Qinglong dragged over a chair and sat in the doorway of one of the carriages, casually crossing his legs and resting his chin in his hand, blocking the exit for all the "Tian Ji" inside.

"Qing… Qinglong, what are you doing?" An elderly man who looked withered slowly stood up, clearly puzzled by his intentions.

"Sit down, Tian Shu," Qinglong said impassively, still propping up his chin. "You're all resting tonight. No one is leaving here."

A pair of teenagers, who appeared to be seventeen or eighteen, exchanged uneasy glances and spoke in unison: "Why?"

"No particular reason—I just missed you all," Qinglong chuckled. "This is a great chance for us to sit and chat, to build some rapport, don't you think?"

The teenagers fell silent for a few seconds before replying together: "We've been sitting in this room the whole time. We don't need to build rapport."

The clock on the central round table ticked loudly, and the atmosphere grew tense.

Of the ten "Tian Ji" in the room, eight looked at Qinglong with confusion, while the other two lay back in their chairs, fast asleep.

"Does that mean my word doesn't carry weight anymore?" Qinglong asked. "Is it really so difficult for me to want to catch up with you all?"

The boy fell silent for a moment, glanced at his wristwatch—a childish design with a silly pattern—and noted it was almost seven o'clock.

"Qinglong," the boy said, "Just let me step out for a bit. I'll be back in ten minutes, okay?"

Qinglong slowly uncrossed his legs and switched to the other one, but he didn't budge from the door: "What do you think?"

"What is the point of this?" the boy asked. "You know 'Tian Long' gave us tasks, but you're deliberately keeping us trapped here… Isn't that putting us in a tough spot?"

"Tian Ji…" Qinglong said, "That's not how it works. 'Tian Long' gave you tasks, but he didn't tell me about it, so I'm completely in the dark. I'm just coincidentally holding you up."

The boy known as Tian Ji gritted his teeth, and along with the girl beside him, they both pointed at Qinglong and said in unison: "Don't push it too far!"

"How interesting," Qinglong smirked. "Tian Hou, Tian Ji—you two seem even closer now. Have you truly merged your yin and yang? Are you really planning to follow the path 'Tian Long' laid out?"

Qinglong's tone was casual, like chatting with juniors, but the girl called Tian Hou clearly wasn't in the mood.

"Stop stalling," she said. "Tian Ji's time is almost up. If we can't start the full confrontation, are you going to let him face the penalty?"

Qinglong pondered for a moment before replying, "In that case, it's tricky for me too. I have my reasons for not letting you go. From now on, I'm declaring that all 'Tian Ji Shi Ke' tonight are canceled. Just sit quietly."

His words changed the expressions of all the awake "Tian Ji" in the room.

They had always followed "Tian Long's" orders, never imagining Qinglong would issue commands directly opposing his.

As the two highest leaders in "Zhong Yan Zhi Di," they couldn't turn on each other, leaving the "Tian Ji" caught in the middle to suffer.

Tian Ma sat quietly, stroking Tian Hu's head without speaking. After all, "Tian Ma Shi Ke" had already ended, and Tian Hu's time was from three to five in the morning, so they were safe for now.

All eyes were on the expiring "Tian Ji Shi Ke" and how to handle it.

"Th-th-that… um…" Tian She stammered from the corner, "Could you… I mean… tell us the reason?"