Qi Xia’s eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly, then he revealed an exceptionally reassuring smile.
“The idea of me wanting to become a ‘Dragon’ is far too absurd,” he said calmly and composedly. “After all, becoming a ‘Dragon’ means becoming like you people, which isn’t reasonable for me.”
“You’re still pretending…” Qinglong’s expression gradually became strange. “I should have thought of it earlier. From the moment the three characters ‘Yu Nian’an’ appeared, I should have realized it… You’re standing here now in a bizarre state—you clearly came prepared.”
“You may not quite understand, Qinglong,” Qi Xia countered. “Yu Nian’an is my wife. She exists in the real world and in my heart, and has nothing to do with me becoming a ‘Dragon.'”
“Don’t you know it yourself? You’ve gathered both ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’ in one body… such audacity,” Qinglong said, his gaze gradually becoming angry. “Is your appetite too large… If I hadn’t exposed you here, were you planning to single-handedly replace both me and Tianlong simultaneously and become the supreme existence here?”
“That’s a misunderstanding,” Qi Xia said, still guiding Qinglong with a steady tone. “You need to think clearly. Me becoming a ‘Dragon,’ becoming the ‘Head of the Zodiac,’ has no practical purpose. After all, I have no attachment to this land whatsoever—this goal obviously lacks motivation.”
“But your demeanor has changed,” Qinglong said. “Qi Xia, you deliberately concealed all your emotions to make your words seem calm and unruffled, but this makes you even more suspicious. Because the usual you would never speak this way.”
“Then how do I usually speak?” Qi Xia asked.
“Just like that,” Qinglong said, pointing at Qi Xia’s mouth. “Throwing out a question to stump me—that’s more your style. In my memory, all your words carry extremely strong aggression, and most are primarily rhetorical questions. Why have they suddenly all changed to declarative statements now? What are you hiding?”
“You’re right,” Qi Xia nodded. “It seems you also understand negotiation techniques well, so I can only weigh my words more carefully. I just want you to know that what I’m saying is true, so I’m using declarative statements as much as possible. This way I’m not aggressive, and you can more easily believe what I’m saying.”
“But I have absolutely no way to believe you anymore, Qi Xia. As you said, you will indeed kill ‘Tianlong,’ but you’re also trying to find a way to kill me,” Qinglong said. “I can’t take this risk, and I can’t allow anyone to replace me. Now I will turn you into a native resident and then kill you completely.”
“Wait a moment,” Qi Xia said with a furrowed brow. “Qinglong… I see you’ve really lost your mind. We’ve already reached this point—why are you suddenly preparing to turn against me?”
“Because I’ve seen through you,” Qinglong said. “You think yourself quite scheming, actually preparing to plot against both me and Tianlong at this moment. This is the fate you deserve.”
“No,” Qi Xia shook his head. The words that came from his mouth were once again full of aggression. “How cowardly are you, to actually fear a wife in my heart? Just because I miss my wife, does it threaten your position?”
“What else could it be?” Qinglong said. “The Yin-Yang energy on you is becoming increasingly obvious. This is not only a characteristic of a ‘Dragon,’ it’s also your path to death.”
“What?”
“I can kill ‘Tianlong’ because he’s sleeping… but how am I supposed to kill you?” Qi Xia asked. “How can you have so little confidence in your own strength?”
After hearing this, Qinglong slowly narrowed his eyes, discovering that what Qi Xia said was actually true.
“The arrow is already nocked on the bowstring, yet you’re preparing to cut the string—how unfortunate,” Qi Xia asked again. “No matter what, you should let me try, right? What if I really can kill ‘Tianlong’?”
“Qi Xia… you really are a dangerous person,” Qinglong said. “If you don’t want to become a ‘Dragon,’ why would you have this bizarre aura on you? You clearly began planning this a long time ago, didn’t you… You’ve deceived everyone, preparing to become a ‘Dragon’ and then completely rule this place.”
“No wonder you think this way,” Qi Xia nodded. “Because I hold Yu Nian’an in my heart, it made you think I’m ‘Yin-Yang unified.’ That does sound reasonable.”
“It was reasonable to begin with,” Qinglong said. “How else are you going to argue now?”
“This isn’t arguing at all. I’m just helping you recall the answer to this matter,” Qi Xia said. “Rest assured, this is definitely a misunderstanding.”
Upon hearing these words, Qinglong merely gave a cold snort, then remained silent.
“Qinglong…” Qi Xia suddenly remembered something and slowly raised his head. “If I remember correctly… you’ve preserved all the memories of the ‘Land of the End’ from its creation until now, right?”
“What are you trying to say?” Qinglong asked with furrowed brows.
“I just hope you’ll recall carefully,” Qi Xia said. “Apart from when we stood here yesterday… when have you ever told me that becoming a Dragon requires ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang’?”
After hearing this, Qinglong paused slightly, then quickly recalled past events.
The situation was indeed as Qi Xia said. Two ‘Yang’ had never appeared at such a height simultaneously before, so he wouldn’t have discussed the theory of ‘Yin’ and ‘Yang.’
Apart from himself, the only person who knew about this matter was Tianlong.
Tianlong slept all day long. In order to never meet with him, Qi Xia hadn’t lain down for seven full years. How exactly did he find out?
“So think carefully. I don’t even know the ‘prerequisites’—how could I make the ‘necessary decisions’?” Qi Xia said in a deep voice. “Now I’m about to put a knife to Tianlong’s throat, and if you really want to kill me here because I miss my own wife… I don’t even know for a moment which of us two would suffer the greater loss.”
After hearing this, Qinglong indeed felt something was fishy about the matter.
Yes, according to everything he had heard, seen, and remembered, Qi Xia didn’t know the conditions for forming a ‘Dragon.’
Only he and Tianlong knew this intelligence in the entire ‘Land of the End.’ If he hadn’t told Qi Xia, then only Tianlong could have revealed it to him.
But revealing this information was no different from exposing one’s own weakness. Tianlong had no need to go in such a big circle. If he really wanted someone else to replace him, he might as well choose to commit suicide directly.
“Qinglong, I suspect this is Tianlong’s ploy to sow discord between us,” Qi Xia said.
“What?”
“Think carefully… I clearly don’t know the conditions for forming a ‘Dragon,’ yet I’ve become ‘Yin-Yang unified’ standing before you, and successfully angered you…” Qi Xia said. “It was really dangerous—we almost got played.”