“Me, at gunpoint?” Terrestrial Mouse chuckled faintly.
“Yes,” Qi Xia returned the smile. “Am I wrong?”
“As men,” said Terrestrial Mouse, “there are countless things in this world that can make us bow our heads. We may bow for the sake of survival, for our families, for money; we may stoop low for the pettiest of reasons. We may even weep upon seeing a destitute child by the roadside. But never, never will we bow before force. That is what it means to be a man.”
Qi Xia acknowledged with a nod. “You intrigue me more and more.”
“But this will be the last time,” Terrestrial Mouse replied quietly. “I’ve already given up. Even if you press a gun to my head, I won’t struggle any longer.”
For a moment, Qi Xia was at a loss for words. If Terrestrial Mouse truly sought death, was there any point in trying to win him over?
“Since matters have come to this... I have but one final thing to say,” Qi Xia remarked.
“What is it?”
“I left a kumquat in Room One,” Qi Xia said evenly. “You won’t die this round. Admit defeat now, release us, and no one will have to die.”
“You...?” Even through the door, Terrestrial Mouse’s expression had turned grim.
Up to his very last moment, he was still being led by the nose by this cold, calculating man. When he had desperately wanted to live, that man had told him he would die today; yet now that he had chosen death, the man handed the choice of life back into his hands.
“Why do you ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) toy with me like this?” Terrestrial Mouse ground out between his teeth. “Do you find it amusing?”
“No, no...” Qi Xia shook his head. “I’m merely a swindler. There’s no guarantee any word I say is true. But right now... the kumquat is real. The fact that you can live is also the truth.”
After a pause, he added, “If you feel no fear toward death, there’s no sense in killing you. Let’s end it here.”
Luo Eleven blinked at that. “End it here?”
All eyes in the {Mouse House} turned toward Qi Xia, confusion written across their faces; he truly seemed to have forgotten.
Outside the door, Terrestrial Mouse let out a long sigh. “Can we... really end it here?”
“The choice is yours,” Qi Xia said. “I do not wish to lose any teammates, and you do not wish to die. Yet the food is not sufficient for all six of us to survive. So let us each yield a step—let this end here.”
Terrestrial Mouse pondered for a long moment before slowly moving toward the exit, pulling down the handle at the wall. At that instant, all the doors in the building swung open, and the collars around everyone’s necks dropped away.
Qi Xia led the four teammates out of the room and stood face to face with Terrestrial Mouse.
“I concede,” Terrestrial Mouse said. “I will give you the {Dào} and the fruit. You all may go.”
Qi Xia found Terrestrial Mouse’s demeanor intriguing. “Terrestrial Mouse...I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?”
Qi Xia pointed toward the door of Room One. “Guess, do you think there’s a kumquat in there?”
Terrestrial Mouse slowly furrowed his brow, then his gaze swept past those before him and rested on the table inside the {Mouse House}—empty of any fruit.
“You—” Terrestrial Mouse felt a chill run through him; the man before him was terrifying beyond measure. Even after everything that had just transpired, he could still lie without the slightest change in expression?
Qi Xia saw the expression on Terrestrial Mouse’s face and stepped closer, leaning toward his ear. “Remember,” he murmured, “I am a swindler.”
“Heh...” Terrestrial Mouse let out a cold laugh, as if sliding his mask back into place. “Esteemed leader, your visit ends here today.”
He moved to the exit, retrieved a bag of {Dào} from under a table, and then took a bag of fruit from a box along the wall, handing both to Qi Xia.
“Safe travels, esteemed leaders. I will not see you off.”
Qi Xia took the two bags and handed them to Zhou Six, then cast Terrestrial Mouse a meaningful glance. “I will remember you.”
“I am filled with fear,” Terrestrial Mouse said. “It would be best for all of you, esteemed leaders, to die out there—do not remember me.”
Qi Xia remained silent, gave his teammates a meaningful glance, and then slowly walked out of the building.
“Oi... wait, hold on!” Luo Eleven called out, realizing that Qi Xia had truly forgotten. “Are you really leaving?”
Qi Xia ignored him, opened the wooden door to the street, and walked onward, with the others following behind.
Terrestrial Mouse watched them walk away, then glanced back at the door of Room One, his expression heavy and complex.
...
Qi Xia strolled along the street by himself, lifted his gaze to the sun, and gauged the time. The game had continued for about an hour; an acceptable pace overall.
“Oi...” Luo Eleven stepped around Zhou Six, Wang Eight, and Qiu Sixteen, and stood directly in front of Qi Xia.
“What is it?” Qi Xia frowned at him.
“Did you already forget?” Luo Eleven asked.
“Me?” Qi Xia’s face showed genuine puzzlement. “Forget what?”
For a moment, Luo Eleven could not tell whether Qi Xia had truly forgotten or was pretending. He could only remind him, “My {Reverberation}! Weren’t you going to let me trigger my {Reverberation}?”
“Is that so?” Qi Xia blinked lightly. “And when exactly did I make such a promise?”
“You...” Luo Eleven was momentarily at a loss for words. “You’re not serious, are you? The purpose of bringing us out this time wasn’t to temper the troops? If so, doesn’t that include triggering my {Reverberation}?”
“Indeed, it is to temper the troops,” Qi Xia nodded. “Wang Eight and Qiu Sixteen have already triggered their {Reverberation}. That should be enough, no?”
“Wh–What enough?” Luo Eleven raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying they’re more useful than me? I actually thought you were someone worth following...but you don’t even consider me at all?”
Qi Xia’s lips curved into a faint smile. “I wasn’t going to say it...but you went and exposed it yourself.”
“Say what...?”
“I hold nothing but contempt for you, {Affliction Dismissal} Luo Eleven,” Qi Xia said. “Having lost to us once, what merit do you have possessing your {Reverberation} at all? And still, you have the nerve to speak of following me?”
“You... you...”
Qi Xia took a step closer to Luo Eleven, enunciating each word with deliberation, “One of my followers once did nothing but part their lips, and you died from the pain. Tell me, what use are you to me?”
{Dong}!!
Everyone on the street could hear, with perfect clarity, the tolling of {Affliction Dismissal} awakened by the surge of {Frustration}.
Terrestrial Mouse lifted his head, listening to the distant, melodic toll, and slowly exhaled. He stepped into Room One, shifted the door slightly, and peered inside, heart uneasy.
Three round kumquats lay within.
