Chapter 268 Passage to Heaven, Presently
"Not entirely," Qi Xia replied with a shake of his head. "So you’ve heard of {Passage to Heaven}?"
Song Seven fixed his gaze on Qi Xia, a flicker of suspicion rising in his eyes. He had once bathed {Passage to Heaven} in blood, yet never had he encountered Qi Xia there.
After a moment of silence, Song Seven spoke. "Xiōngdì, don’t you think it’s time to change places?"
"Change places?"
"Can {Passage to Heaven} really accommodate someone like you?"
"Ah, so that’s what you meant." Qi Xia shook his head. "No, xiōngdì. Forget {Passage to Heaven}—I doubt the entire {End Point} can accommodate me."
"Haha!" Song Seven let out a laugh. "I believe you might be right."
Then, with that, Song Seven waved a hand behind him, and another man in a leather jacket stepped forward.
Just then, a lone figure began walking toward Qi Xia—it was Qin Dingdong.
Sensing someone approaching, the long-haired man’s expression instantly turned cold as he stepped forward to shield Qi Xia.
This movement caused both Qin Dingdong and Qi Xia to pause.
After a moment of silence, Qin Dingdong finally asked, "Qi tongxue… were you robbed?"
"I…" Qi Xia was momentarily at a loss for words. He could only reach out and pat the long-haired man on the shoulder. "It’s alright, xiōngdì. I know her."
Upon hearing this, the man’s expression shifted slightly, and he stepped aside.
"Qi tongxue, what exactly is going on?" Qin Dingdong asked, visibly puzzled. "This is the first time this jiejie here has ever received an IOU…"
"You’re lucky you managed to receive one at all," Qi Xia sighed. "I'm genuinely impressed you've made it this far with such petty deceptions."
"You…" Qin Dingdong was clearly offended. "What’s wrong with jiejie’s deceptions? Didn’t it work?"
"It did," Qi Xia conceded with a nod. "But next time, you’d best be a little smarter."
"Then… would you be willing to teach this jiejie how to swindle people properly?" Qin Dingdong stepped forward, reaching out as if to take his hand—but Qi Xia deftly sidestepped her.
"I’m not willing," Qi Xia said flatly. "Qin Dingdong, take the {Dào} you earned and find a way to survive. You and I are not the same."
"And how would you know we’re not the same?" Qin Dingdong suddenly smiled, an inscrutable look in her eyes. "Qi Xia, you walked out of this with 1,476 {Dào}, and now you want to pretend you don’t know me?"
"What…?"
Fortunately, she hadn’t spoken loudly, but even so, the long-haired man beside them glanced over in surprise.
Qi Xia’s eyes narrowed slowly. "Qin Dingdong… I truly underestimated you."
Qin Dingdong leaned in closer and lowered her voice. "Qi Xia, there are two kinds of swindlers. The first are people like you—those who don’t look like swindlers but are always pulling tricks. The second are people like me—everyone assumes I’m just a petty scammer, so they let their guard down..."
As she spoke, she let her hand glide lightly across Qi Xia’s chest. "So tell me… which of us is more likely to succeed?"
Qi Xia pushed Qin Dingdong away once again, but an uneasy feeling lingered.
Is this woman merely bluffing?
However, after giving it some thought, everything about her actions in the game seemed too... coincidental.
During the beginning of the game, she had called for everyone to isolate the burly man who was snatching up the fans.
When it was about time to replenish the fans, she had given him three {Dào}.
When he attempted to monopolize, she handed over a {Sorrow}.
Once things seemed to stabilize, her presence had led to a death.
It seemed like she had been quietly steering the direction of the game all along, but what was her true purpose?
Was she an {Adherent of Judgment’s Domain}...? Or was she part of some other force?
Or was she just a pure madwoman?
Countless dangerous scenarios swirled in Qi Xia’s mind. He was thankful that this woman didn’t seem to harbor any ill intentions. Otherwise, he might have already fallen into her trap by now.
"Qin Dingdong, what is it that you want?" he asked.
"I just want to help you," she replied.
Qi Xia remained unconvinced. "And what, precisely, is the objective you seek to achieve?"
"I know you must not remember me," Qin Dingdong shook her head, her expression one of melancholy. "But it doesn’t matter. The person I’m looking for isn’t you. Qi Xia... tell me, where is that bastard Chen Junnan?"
"Huh...?!"
...
Not long after, Song Seven arrived at the entrance of {Passage to Heaven}, where Chu Tianqiu was standing, looking around.
"You are...?" Chu Tianqiu asked, a flicker of confusion crossing his face.
"What are you playing at?" Song Seven sighed, "There’s no one else here."
Hearing this, Chu Tianqiu paused for a moment, quickly changing his tone. "Wh–What brings you here?"
"A commission," Song Seven said offhandedly, flexing his neck. "In all these years, it’s the first time someone’s paid me in {Dào} for a commission. Quite the novelty."
"Oh…?" Chu Tianqiu let out a noncommittal sound, as if vaguely perplexed but offering no further response.
"But the person’s decent, so I’m helping out," Song Seven glanced around the campus, then asked, "Is there someone here named {Qiao Jiajin}? I need to see him."
"Qiao Jiajin?" Chu Tianqiu nodded, "Wait here for a moment."
He gave a few instructions to a person nearby, who quickly ran into the teaching building.
Not long after, a lazy-looking man with sleeve tattoos sauntered out.
When Song Seven saw him, he nearly lost his footing in shock.
"Huh?" Qiao Jiajin looked at Song Seven with confusion, "Aren’t you {Explosion lou}?"
"You…" Song Seven’s voice trembled slightly as he stammered, "You... {Portland Street, A’Jin}?! You’re Qiao Jiajin?!"
"Yeah!" Qiao Jiajin nodded, "What? Here to kill again?"
Upon hearing this, Song Seven felt a sense of helplessness. Back then, twenty people surrounded Qiao Jiajin, all of them attacking him. After it was over, more than thirty bodies lay scattered on the ground.
{Cats} fought until the final man fell—yet still failed to finish him off.
This man was terrifying beyond reason.
A stray thought crossed Song Seven’s mind—since when had {Passage to Heaven} become a gathering place for such formidable figures?
One who could wipe out the entire clowder of {Cats} without the aid of {Reverberation}, and another who single-handedly brought down Terrestrial Goat.
And then… he even encountered {Judgment’s Domain’s Lin Qin} here...
When did Chu Tianqiu’s strength reach such heights?!
‘Thankfully, there are only two or three people of this caliber…’ Song Seven had just silently thanked his fortune when a pretty boy sauntered out of the teaching building.