Qiao Jiajin stared at the door in silence for a moment before turning back to the “preparation area.”
He felt he needed to report the situation to Qi Xia immediately. Not only was Han Yimo in a “one-on-one” with Wen Qiaoyun, but the “path” on their far right was also blocked. After all, all four doors were now closed and wouldn’t reopen until a winner was determined.
Qi Xia was busy writing on the wall, having already deduced over a dozen possible combinations.
“Scammer,” Qiao Jiajin called out.
Qi Xia glanced back, saw Qiao Jiajin alone, then turned away as if nothing had happened and continued writing. Softly, he asked, “Did you run into Yan Zhichun or Wen Qiaoyun?”
“Wen Qiaoyun,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “How’d you know?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Fists, earlier when Chu Tianqiu, Earth Dragon, and I arrived at the game area, you were all standing around chatting in small groups. Remember who was talking to Han Yimo at the time?”
“Eh…?” Qiao Jiajin paused to think. “Now that you mention it… I think it was Dr. Zhao.”
“Exactly,” Qi Xia said, resting one hand on the wall and lightly stroking his chin with the other. “Han Yimo isn’t one of us. Whether he wins or loses doesn’t matter.”
“Not one of us…?”
“Han Yimo was fine before entering,” Qi Xia said. “But the moment the game started, he suddenly got nervous. I suspect he was given some hidden task, like ‘kill Qi Xia’ or something…”
“So that’s it…” Qiao Jiajin nodded slowly. “No wonder his expression looked so off—like a little brother betraying his boss.”
“Every battle has its spies,” Qi Xia chuckled. “I just can’t remember who Chen Junnan was talking to at the time.”
“He…” Qiao Jiajin hesitated. “Handsome guy was probably with…”
“Forget it. Consider it a surprise,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, Han Yimo is clearly working for the other side, yet he’s fighting Wen Qiaoyun. Neither Chu Tianqiu nor Wen Qiaoyun seems to know about this, so we’re not at a disadvantage.”
“Are we really not at a disadvantage…?” Qiao Jiajin frowned. “I feel like Writing Guy is definitely gonna lose to that beauty. Even if he’s their spy, he’s still carrying our ‘characters.'”
“That’s why I gave him ‘horse,'” Qi Xia said. “Han Yimo having ‘horse’ is the best-case scenario. I calculated it—’horse’ can form very few characters, maybe just some obscure ones I can’t even read. Losing it wouldn’t be a big deal.”
“Really…?” Qiao Jiajin glanced at the wall. “Scammer… Have you almost figured out all the ‘characters’?”
“Almost… but something feels off,” Qi Xia muttered, furrowing his brow. “If my calculations are right… forming twenty-eight should be difficult, but the possible combinations are too many. I need more time.”
“Ah…”
“Hand over the ones you have first.”
Qiao Jiajin gazed at the door in silence for a moment before turning and heading back to the “preparation area.”
He felt an urgent need to report the situation to Qi Xia. Not only was Han Yimo facing Wen Qiaoyun in a “one-on-one” match, but the rightmost “path” was also blocked. After all, all four directional doors had closed and wouldn’t reopen until a winner was decided.
Qi Xia was writing on the wall, having already deduced over a dozen possible combinations.
“Liar,” Qiao Jiajin called out.
Qi Xia turned and saw Qiao Jiajin alone. He acted as though he hadn’t noticed anything unusual and turned back to continue writing, asking softly, “Did you run into Yan Zhichun or Wen Qiaoyun?”
“Wen Qiaoyun,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “How did you know again?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Fists, earlier when I came to the game area with Chu Tianqiu and Earth Dragon, you all were standing around chatting in small groups. Do you remember who was talking to Han Yimo at the time?”
“Huh…?” Qiao Jiajin pondered for a moment. “Now that you mention it… it seems like it was Dr. Zhao.”
“That makes sense,” Qi Xia said, one hand resting against the wall while the other gently stroked his chin. “Han Yimo isn’t one of us. It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses.”
“Not one of us…?”
“Han Yimo was fine before coming in,” Qi Xia explained. “But as soon as the game started, he suddenly became nervous. I suspect he received some hidden task during that time, something like ‘kill Qi Xia’…”
“So that’s how it is…” Qiao Jiajin nodded thoughtfully. “No wonder his expression looked so strange. You only see that kind of look on underlings who’ve betrayed their boss.”
“In any conflict between two sides, there’s bound to be a ‘traitor,'” Qi Xia said with a light laugh. “I just can’t remember who Chen Junnan was talking to at the time.”
“He…” Qiao Jiajin paused. “Handsome guy seemed to be with…”
“Never mind, consider it a surprise for me,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, it looks like Han Yimo is on the opposing side but ended up fighting Wen Qiaoyun. It seems neither Chu Tianqiu nor Wen Qiaoyun knew about this. We’re not at a disadvantage.”
“Are we really not at a disadvantage…?” Qiao Jiajin sounded puzzled. “I feel like Scribbler is definitely going to lose to that pretty girl. Even if he’s a spy for the other side, he’s still carrying our ‘character.'”
“That’s why I gave him ‘horse,'” Qi Xia said. “Han Yimo carrying ‘horse’ is the best possible scenario right now. I’ve calculated it—’horse’ can form very few characters, maybe only some obscure ones I can’t even recognize. If we lose it, it’s not a huge loss.”
“Is that so…” Qiao Jiajin glanced at the wall. “Liar… have you almost figured out all the ‘characters’?”
“Exactly… but it feels strange,” Qi Xia said, furrowing his brow. “If my calculations are correct… forming twenty-eight characters should be somewhat difficult, but there are too many possibilities. I need more time.”
“Oh…”
“Give me the one you have first.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded and pulled out the character he was carrying: “minister.”
Qi Xia took “minister” from him, split the pendant in two, and placed each half on the “Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform.”
He obtained “wood” and “eye,” then combined the two radicals to form “minister.”
So far, Qi Xia’s team had assembled four characters: “soldier,” “wood,” “eye,” and “minister.”
After a moment of thought, he picked up the two radicals and tried again: “wood” and “soldier.”
“Wow…” Qiao Jiajin stared in slight disbelief. “Liar… can these form a ‘character’?”
“I’m not sure…”
Unfortunately, he had never thoroughly read a complete dictionary. He only had a vague feeling that the “wood radical” and “soldier” might form a character, but its pronunciation was up for debate.
With no tools or internet access, if these two radicals could indeed form a character, they would have to take a guess.
The Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform absorbed the two radicals, and the screen below flickered before displaying:
“Received character prototype ‘bing.’ Please write a homophone.”
“So this character really exists…” Qiao Jiajin widened his eyes as he stared at the screen, then turned to Qi Xia. “This character looks really weird…”
Qi Xia stroked his chin, carefully considering the situation.
If the rule to “write a homophone” was meant to prevent random guesses, then naturally, the homophone couldn’t be wrong. Even if miscalculations or accidental errors were accounted for, too many mistakes would likely not be allowed.
But characters containing “soldier” often undergo changes in pronunciation.
For example, “bang” is read as “bāng,” “bin” as “bīn,” and some are directly pronounced as “bīng.”
So how should this character “bing” be read?
Qi Xia racked his memory of all the books he had read but couldn’t recall ever encountering this character, leaving him hesitant.
If he guessed the pronunciation correctly, they could create another “character,” earning the team five points. But if he guessed wrong… what would the consequences be?
Would the “character” be confiscated?
Qi Xia grew increasingly uncertain. He regretted not having taken the time to read through a dictionary.
“Liar, are you okay?” Qiao Jiajin asked, noticing Qi Xia deep in thought. “Doesn’t this character have only one pronunciation?”
“One pronunciation…?” Qi Xia frowned. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
Just as Qi Xia was about to speak, a thought suddenly occurred to him. He sighed helplessly and said, “Fists, say ‘little soldier’ and ‘guest’ for me.”
“Little bing, guest,” Qiao Jiajin said. “What’s the problem?”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Qi Xia slowly raised a hand to his forehead, thinking to himself that it was no wonder Qiao Jiajin believed the character had only one pronunciation.
He didn’t recognize the “bang” in “Shajiabang,” nor could he distinguish between front and back nasal sounds. The three possible pronunciations had all blurred into one in his mind.
If he were the “commander” in this round, they might as well concede now.
Wait… Even though Qiao Jiajin was guessing, maybe luck played a part too?
“Fists…” Qi Xia turned to him. “I’ve always felt you have good luck, at least better than mine.”
“My luck is good…?”
“Right, so I’m going to follow your思路 this time.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Qi Xia reached out and wrote the character “guest” on the screen.
He stared nervously at the screen, hoping he hadn’t started off on the wrong foot. It didn’t matter what word “bing” could form; what mattered was that it had to be pronounced as “guest.”
A few seconds later, the screen flickered, and four characters clearly appeared:
“Creation successful.”
Qi Xia took it from him, split the pendant in two, and placed each half on the “Phoenix Scroll Stand.”
Qiao Jiajin gazed at the door in silence for a moment before turning and heading back to the “preparation area.”
He felt an urgent need to report the situation to Qi Xia. Not only was Han Yimo facing Wen Qiaoyun in a “one-on-one” match, but the rightmost “path” was also blocked. After all, all four directional doors had closed and wouldn’t reopen until a winner was decided.
Qi Xia was writing on the wall, having already deduced over a dozen possible combinations.
“Liar,” Qiao Jiajin called out.
Qi Xia turned and saw Qiao Jiajin alone. He acted as though he hadn’t noticed anything unusual and turned back to continue writing, asking softly, “Did you run into Yan Zhichun or Wen Qiaoyun?”
“Wen Qiaoyun,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “How did you know again?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Fists, earlier when I came to the game area with Chu Tianqiu and Earth Dragon, you all were standing around chatting in small groups. Do you remember who was talking to Han Yimo at the time?”
“Huh…?” Qiao Jiajin pondered for a moment. “Now that you mention it… I think it was Dr. Zhao.”
“That makes sense,” Qi Xia said, leaning one hand against the wall while lightly stroking his chin with the other. “Han Yimo isn’t one of us. It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses.”
“Not one of us…?”
“Han Yimo was fine before coming in,” Qi Xia explained. “But as soon as the game started, he suddenly became nervous. I suspect he received some hidden task during that time, something like ‘kill Qi Xia’…”
“So that’s how it is…” Qiao Jiajin nodded thoughtfully. “No wonder I thought his expression looked strange. You only see that kind of look on underlings who’ve betrayed their boss.”
“In any conflict between two sides, there will always be a ‘traitor,'” Qi Xia said with a laugh. “I just forgot who Chen Junnan was talking to at the time.”
“He…” Qiao Jiajin paused. “Handsome guy seemed to be talking to…”
“Never mind, consider it a surprise for me,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, it looks like Han Yimo is on the opposing side but ended up fighting Wen Qiaoyun. It seems neither Chu Tianqiu nor Wen Qiaoyun knew about this. We’re not at a disadvantage.”
“Are we really not at a disadvantage…?” Qiao Jiajin sounded puzzled. “I feel like Scribbler is definitely going to lose to that pretty girl. Even if he’s a spy for the other side, he’s still carrying our ‘character.'”
“That’s why I gave him ‘horse,'” Qi Xia said. “Han Yimo carrying ‘horse’ is the best possible scenario right now. I calculated it—’horse’ can form very few characters, maybe only some obscure ones I can’t even read. If we lose it, it’s not a huge loss.”
“Is that so…” Qiao Jiajin glanced at the wall. “Liar… have you almost figured out all the ‘characters’?”
“Exactly… but something feels off,” Qi Xia said, furrowing his brow. “If my calculations are correct… forming twenty-eight characters should be somewhat difficult, but there are too many possibilities. I need more time.”
“Oh…”
“Give me the one you have first.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded and pulled out the character he was carrying: “minister.”
Qi Xia took “minister” from him, split the pendant in two, and placed each half on the “Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform.”
He obtained “wood” and “eye,” then combined the two radicals to form “minister.”
So far, Qi Xia’s team had assembled four characters: “soldier,” “wood,” “eye,” and “minister.”
After a moment of thought, he picked up two radicals and tried again: “wood” and “soldier.”
“Damn…” Qiao Jiajin stared, slightly stunned. “Liar… can these form a ‘character’?”
“I’m not sure…”
Unfortunately, he had never thoroughly read a complete dictionary. He only had a vague feeling that the “wood radical” and “soldier” should be able to form a character, but the pronunciation was up for debate.
With no tools or internet access, if these two radicals could indeed form a character, he’d have to take a guess.
The Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform absorbed the two radicals, and the screen below flickered before displaying:
“Received character prototype ‘bing.’ Please write a homophone.”
“This character actually exists…” Qiao Jiajin widened his eyes at the screen, then turned to Qi Xia. “This character looks really weird…”
Qi Xia stroked his chin, carefully considering the situation.
If the rule to “write a homophone” was meant to prevent random guessing, then naturally, the homophone couldn’t be wrong. Even if miscalculations or accidental errors were accounted for, too many mistakes likely wouldn’t be allowed.
But characters containing “soldier” often undergo pronunciation changes.
For example, “bang” is read as “bāng,” “bin” as “bīn,” and some are directly pronounced as “bīng.”
So, how should “bing” be pronounced?
Qi Xia racked his memory of all the books he’d read but couldn’t recall ever encountering this character, leaving him hesitant.
If he guessed the pronunciation correctly, they could create another “character,” earning the team five points. But if he guessed wrong… what would the consequences be?
Would the “character” be confiscated?
Qi Xia grew increasingly uncertain. He regretted not having taken the time to read through a dictionary.
“Liar, are you okay?” Qiao Jiajin asked, noticing Qi Xia deep in thought. “Doesn’t this character only have one pronunciation?”
“One pronunciation…?” Qi Xia frowned. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
Just as Qi Xia was about to speak, a thought suddenly occurred to him. He sighed helplessly and said, “Fists, say ‘little soldier’ and ‘guest’ for me.”
“Little bin, guest,” Qiao Jiajin said. “What’s the problem?”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Qi Xia slowly raised a hand to his forehead, thinking to himself that it was no wonder Qiao Jiajin believed the character had only one pronunciation.
He didn’t recognize the “bang” in “Shajiabang,” nor could he distinguish between front and back nasal sounds. To him, the three pronunciations were jumbled into one.
If he were the “commander” in this round, they might as well surrender now.
Wait… Even though Qiao Jiajin was guessing, maybe luck played a part too?
“Fists…” Qi Xia turned to him. “I’ve always felt you have good luck, at least better than mine.”
“I have good luck…?”
“Right, so I’m going to follow your思路 this time.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Qi Xia reached out and wrote the character “bin” on the screen.
He stared nervously at the screen, hoping he hadn’t started off on the wrong foot. It didn’t matter what word “bing” could form—what mattered was that it had to be pronounced “bin.”
A few seconds later, the screen flickered, and four characters clearly appeared:
“Creation successful.”
Qiao Jiajin stared at the door in silence for a moment before turning and heading back to the “preparation area.”
He felt he needed to report the situation to Qi Xia immediately. Not only was Han Yimo facing Wen Qiaoyun in a “one-on-one,” but the path on their far right was also blocked. After all, all four directional doors had closed and wouldn’t open again until a winner was decided.
Qi Xia was writing on the wall, having already deduced over a dozen possible combinations.
“Liar,” Qiao Jiajin called out.
Qi Xia turned and saw Qiao Jiajin alone. He acted as though he hadn’t noticed anything unusual and turned back to continue writing, asking softly, “Did you run into Yan Zhichun or Wen Qiaoyun?”
“Wen Qiaoyun,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “How did you know again?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Fist, earlier when I came to the game area with Chu Tianqiu and Earth Dragon, you all were standing around chatting in small groups. Do you remember who was talking to Han Yimo at the time?”
“Huh…?” Qiao Jiajin pondered for a moment. “Now that you mention it… I think it was Dr. Zhao.”
“That’s it then,” Qi Xia said, one hand resting against the wall while the other gently stroked his chin. “Han Yimo isn’t one of us. It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses.”
“Not one of us…?”
“Han Yimo was fine before we came in,” Qi Xia explained. “But as soon as the game started, he suddenly became nervous. I suspect he received some hidden task during that time, something like ‘kill Qi Xia’…”
“So that’s how it is…” Qiao Jiajin nodded thoughtfully. “No wonder I thought his expression looked strange. You only see that kind of look on underlings who’ve betrayed their boss.”
“In a battle between two sides, there’s always a ‘traitor,'” Qi Xia said with a light laugh. “I just forgot who Chen Junnan was talking to at the time.”
“He…” Qiao Jiajin paused. “Handsome guy seemed to be with…”
“Never mind, consider it a surprise for me,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, it looks like Han Yimo is on the other side but ended up fighting Wen Qiaoyun. It seems neither Chu Tianqiu nor Wen Qiaoyun knew about this. We’re not at a disadvantage.”
“Are we really not at a disadvantage…?” Qiao Jiajin sounded puzzled. “I feel like Writing Guy will definitely lose to that pretty girl. Even if he’s a spy for the other side, he’s still carrying our ‘character.'”
“That’s why I gave him ‘horse,'” Qi Xia replied. “Han Yimo carrying ‘horse’ is the best possible scenario right now. I’ve calculated it—there are very few characters ‘horse’ can form. Maybe only some obscure ones I can’t even read. If we lose it, it’s not a huge loss.”
“Is that so…” Qiao Jiajin glanced at the wall. “Liar… have you almost figured out all the ‘characters’?”
“Exactly… but something feels off,” Qi Xia said, furrowing his brow. “If my calculations are correct… forming twenty-eight characters should be somewhat difficult, but there are too many specific possibilities. I need more time.”
“Oh…”
“Give me what you have on you first.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded and pulled out the character he was carrying: “minister.”
Qi Xia took “minister” from him, split the pendant in two, and placed each half on the “Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform.”
He obtained “wood” and “eye,” then combined the two components to form “minister.”
So far, Qi Xia’s team had assembled four characters: “soldier,” “wood,” “eye,” and “minister.”
After a moment of thought, he picked up two components and tried again: “wood” and “soldier.”
“Damn…” Qiao Jiajin stared, slightly stunned. “Liar… can these form a ‘character’?”
“I’m not sure…”
Unfortunately, he had never thoroughly read a complete dictionary. He only had a vague feeling that the “wood radical” and “soldier” might form a character, but its pronunciation was up for debate.
With no tools or internet access, if these two components could indeed form a character, they would have to take a guess.
The Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform absorbed the two components, and the screen below flickered before displaying:
“Received character prototype ‘梹’. Please write a homophone.”
“So this character really exists…” Qiao Jiajin widened his eyes at the screen, then turned to Qi Xia. “This character looks really weird…”
Qi Xia stroked his chin, carefully considering the situation.
If the rule to “write a homophone” was meant to prevent random guesses, then naturally, the homophone couldn’t be wrong. Even if the system accounted for occasional typos, it likely wouldn’t allow too many mistakes.
But characters containing “soldier” often undergo pronunciation changes.
For example, “浜” is read as “bāng,” “宾” as “bīn,” and some are directly read as “bīng.”
So how should “梹” be pronounced?
Qi Xia racked his memory of all the books he had read but couldn’t recall ever encountering this character. He hesitated.
If he guessed the pronunciation correctly, they could create another “character,” earning the team five points. But if he guessed wrong… what would the consequences be?
Would the “character” be confiscated?
Qi Xia grew increasingly uncertain. He regretted not having taken the time to read through a dictionary.
“Liar, are you okay?” Qiao Jiajin asked, seeing Qi Xia deep in thought. “Doesn’t this character only have one pronunciation?”
“One pronunciation…?” Qi Xia frowned. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
Just as Qi Xia was about to speak, a thought occurred to him. He sighed helplessly and said, “Fist, say ‘little soldier’ and ‘guest’ for me.”
“Little bing, guest,” Qiao Jiajin said. “What’s the problem?”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Qi Xia slowly raised a hand to his forehead, thinking to himself, No wonder Qiao Jiajin thought this character had only one pronunciation.
He didn’t recognize the “浜” in “Shajiabang,” nor could he distinguish between front and back nasal sounds. In his speech, the three pronunciations had blurred into one.
If he were the “commander” in this round, they might as well surrender now.
Wait… Even though Qiao Jiajin was guessing, maybe luck played a part too?
“Fist…” Qi Xia turned to him. “I’ve always felt you have good luck, at least better than mine.”
“My luck is good…?”
“Right, so I’m going to follow your line of thinking this time.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Qi Xia reached out and wrote “宾” on the screen.
He watched the screen nervously, hoping he hadn’t started off on the wrong foot. It didn’t matter what word “梹” could form—what mattered was that it had to be pronounced “bīn.”
A few seconds later, the screen flickered, and four characters clearly appeared:
“Creation successful.”
Qiao Jiajin gazed at the door in silence for a moment before turning and heading back to the “preparation area.”
He felt an urgent need to report the situation to Qi Xia. Not only was Han Yimo engaged in a one-on-one with Wen Qiaoyun, but the rightmost “path” was also blocked. After all, all four directional doors had closed and wouldn’t reopen until a winner was decided.
Qi Xia was writing on the wall, having already deduced over a dozen possible combinations.
“Liar,” Qiao Jiajin called out.
Qi Xia turned and saw Qiao Jiajin alone. He acted as though he hadn’t noticed anything unusual and turned back to continue writing, asking softly, “Did you run into Yan Zhichun or Wen Qiaoyun?”
“Wen Qiaoyun,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “How’d you know?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Fists, earlier when I came to the game area with Chu Tianqiu and Earth Dragon, you all were standing around chatting in small groups. Do you remember who was talking to Han Yimo at the time?”
“Huh…?” Qiao Jiajin pondered for a moment. “Now that you mention it… I think it was Dr. Zhao.”
“That’s it, then,” Qi Xia said, one hand resting against the wall while the other gently stroked his chin. “Han Yimo isn’t one of us. It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses.”
“Not one of us…?”
“Han Yimo was fine before we came in,” Qi Xia explained. “But as soon as the game started, he suddenly became nervous. I suspect he received some hidden task during that time, something like ‘Kill Qi Xia’…”
“So that’s how it is…” Qiao Jiajin nodded thoughtfully. “No wonder his expression seemed so off. You only see that kind of look on underlings who’ve betrayed their boss.”
“In any conflict, there are bound to be traitors,” Qi Xia said with a light laugh. “I just can’t remember who Chen Junnan was talking to at the time.”
“He…” Qiao Jiajin paused. “Handsome guy seemed to be with…”
“Never mind, consider it a surprise for me,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, it looks like Han Yimo is on the opposing side but ended up fighting Wen Qiaoyun. It seems neither Chu Tianqiu nor Wen Qiaoyun knew about this. We’re not at a disadvantage.”
“Are we really not at a disadvantage…?” Qiao Jiajin sounded puzzled. “I feel like Scribbler is definitely going to lose to that pretty girl. Even if he’s a spy for the other side, he’s still carrying our ‘character.'”
“That’s why I gave him ‘horse,'” Qi Xia said. “Han Yimo carrying ‘horse’ is the best possible scenario right now. I’ve calculated it—’horse’ can form very few characters, maybe only some obscure ones I can’t even read. If we lose it, it’s not a huge loss.”
“Is that so…” Qiao Jiajin glanced at the wall. “Liar… have you almost figured out all the ‘characters’?”
“Exactly… but something feels off,” Qi Xia said, furrowing his brow. “If my calculations are correct… forming twenty-eight characters should be somewhat difficult, but there are too many possibilities. I need more time.”
“Oh…”
“Give me what you have on you first.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded and pulled out the character he was carrying: “minister.”
Qi Xia took “minister” from him, split the pendant in two, and placed each half on the “Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform.”
He obtained “wood” and “eye,” then combined the two radicals to form “minister.”
So far, Qi Xia’s team had assembled four characters: “soldier,” “wood,” “eye,” and “minister.”
After a moment of thought, he picked up two radicals and tried again: “wood” and “soldier.”
“Wow…” Qiao Jiajin stared, slightly stunned. “Liar… can these form a ‘character’?”
“I’m not sure…”
Unfortunately, he had never thoroughly read a complete dictionary. He had a vague feeling that the “wood radical” and “soldier” could form a character, but its pronunciation was up for debate.
With no tools or internet access, if these two radicals could indeed form a character, they would have to take a guess.
The Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform absorbed the two radicals, and the screen below flickered before displaying:
“Received character prototype ‘梹.’ Please write a homophone.”
“So this character really exists…” Qiao Jiajin widened his eyes at the screen, then turned to Qi Xia. “This character looks really weird…”
Qi Xia stroked his chin, carefully considering the situation.
If the rule to “write a homophone” was meant to prevent random guesses, then naturally, the homophone couldn’t be wrong. Even if miscalculations or typos were accounted for, too many mistakes likely wouldn’t be allowed.
But characters containing “soldier” often undergo pronunciation changes.
For example, “浜” is read as “bāng,” “宾” as “bīn,” and some are directly pronounced as “bīng.”
So how should “梹” be pronounced?
Qi Xia racked his memory of all the books he’d read but couldn’t recall ever encountering this character, leaving him hesitant.
If he guessed the pronunciation correctly, they could create another “character,” earning the team five points. But if he guessed wrong… what would the consequences be?
Would the “character” be confiscated?
Qi Xia grew increasingly uncertain. He regretted not having taken the time to read through a dictionary.
“Liar, are you okay?” Qiao Jiajin asked, noticing Qi Xia deep in thought. “Doesn’t this character only have one pronunciation?”
“One pronunciation…?” Qi Xia frowned. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
Qi Xia was about to speak but suddenly thought of something and sighed helplessly. “Fists, say ‘little soldier’ and ‘guest’ for me.”
“Little bing, guest,” Qiao Jiajin said. “What’s the problem?”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Qi Xia slowly raised a hand to his forehead, thinking to himself, No wonder Qiao Jiajin thought this character had only one pronunciation.
He didn’t recognize the “bāng” in “Shajiabang,” nor could he distinguish between front and back nasal sounds. The three possible pronunciations had all blurred into one in his mind.
If he were the “commander” in this round, they might as well surrender now.
Wait… Even though Qiao Jiajin was guessing, maybe luck played a part too?
“Fists…” Qi Xia turned to him. “I’ve always felt you have good luck, at least better than mine.”
“My luck is good…?”
“Right, so this time I’ll go with your line of thinking.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Qi Xia reached out and wrote “宾” on the screen.
He watched the screen nervously, hoping he hadn’t started off on the wrong foot. It didn’t matter what word “梹” could form; what mattered was that it had to be pronounced “bīn.”
A few seconds later, the screen flickered, and four characters clearly appeared:
“Creation successful.”
“Damn…” Qiao Jiajin blinked in surprise. “Scammer… can these even form a character?”
“I’m not sure…”
Regrettably, Qi Xia had never gone through an entire dictionary. He had a vague feeling that the “wood radical” and “soldier” might combine into something, but the pronunciation was anyone’s guess.
With no tools or internet access, if these two radicals could indeed form a character, they’d have to take a gamble.
The “Phoenix Scroll Stand” absorbed the two radicals, and the screen below flickered before displaying:
Qiao Jiajin gazed at the door in silence for a moment before turning and heading back to the “preparation area.”
He felt an urgent need to report the situation to Qi Xia. Not only was Han Yimo facing Wen Qiaoyun in a “one-on-one” match, but the path on their far right was also blocked. After all, all four directional doors had closed and wouldn’t reopen until a winner was decided.
Qi Xia was writing on the wall, having already deduced over a dozen possible combinations.
“Liar,” Qiao Jiajin called out.
Qi Xia turned and saw Qiao Jiajin alone. He acted as though he hadn’t noticed anything unusual and turned back to continue writing, asking softly, “Did you run into Yan Zhichun or Wen Qiaoyun?”
“Wen Qiaoyun,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “How did you know again?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Fists, earlier when I came to the game area with Chu Tianqiu and Earth Dragon, you all were standing around in small groups talking. Do you remember who was speaking with Han Yimo at the time?”
“Huh…?” Qiao Jiajin pondered for a moment. “Now that you mention it… I think it was Dr. Zhao.”
“That’s it, then,” Qi Xia said, one hand resting against the wall while the other lightly stroked his chin. “Han Yimo isn’t one of us. It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses.”
“Not one of us…?”
“Han Yimo was fine before coming in,” Qi Xia explained. “But as soon as the game started, he suddenly became nervous. I suspect he received some hidden task during that time, something like ‘kill Qi Xia’…”
“So that’s how it is…” Qiao Jiajin nodded thoughtfully. “No wonder his expression seemed so strange. You only see that kind of look on underlings who’ve betrayed their boss.”
“In any conflict between two sides, there will always be a ‘traitor,'” Qi Xia said with a laugh. “I just forgot who Chen Junnan was talking to at the time.”
“He…” Qiao Jiajin paused. “Handsome guy seemed to be with…”
“Never mind, consider it a surprise for me,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, it looks like Han Yimo is on the opposing side but ended up fighting Wen Qiaoyun. It seems neither Chu Tianqiu nor Wen Qiaoyun knew about this. We’re not at a disadvantage.”
“Are we really not at a disadvantage…?” Qiao Jiajin sounded puzzled. “I feel like Writing Guy will definitely lose to that pretty girl. Even if he’s a spy for the other side, he’s still carrying our ‘character.'”
“That’s why I gave him ‘horse,'” Qi Xia said. “Han Yimo carrying ‘horse’ is the best possible scenario right now. I’ve calculated it—’horse’ can form very few characters. Maybe only some obscure ones I can’t even read. If we lose it, it’s not a huge loss.”
“Is that so…” Qiao Jiajin glanced at the wall. “Liar… have you almost assembled all the ‘characters’?”
“Exactly… but something feels off,” Qi Xia said, furrowing his brow. “If my calculations are correct… assembling these into twenty-eight characters should be somewhat difficult. But there are too many specific possibilities. I need more time.”
“Oh…”
“Give me the one you have for now.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded and pulled out the character he was carrying: “minister.”
Qi Xia took “minister” from him, split the pendant in two, and placed each half on the “Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform.”
He first obtained “wood” and “eye,” then finally combined the two radicals to form “minister.”
So far, Qi Xia’s team had assembled four characters: “soldier,” “wood,” “eye,” and “minister.”
After a moment of thought, he picked up the two radicals and tried again: “wood” and “soldier.”
“Wow…” Qiao Jiajin stared, slightly stunned. “Liar… can these form a ‘character’?”
“I’m not sure…”
Unfortunately, he had never thoroughly read a complete dictionary. He only had a vague feeling that the “wood radical” and “soldier” should be able to form a character, but its pronunciation was up for debate.
With no tools or internet access, if these two radicals could indeed form a character, they would have to take a guess.
The Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform absorbed the two radicals, and the screen below flickered before displaying:
“Received character prototype ‘bing.’ Please write a homophone.”
“So this character really exists…” Qiao Jiajin widened his eyes as he looked at the screen, then turned to Qi Xia. “This character looks really weird…”
Qi Xia stroked his chin, carefully considering the situation.
If the rule of “writing a homophone” was meant to prevent random guesses, then naturally, the homophone couldn’t be wrong. Even if miscalculations or accidental errors were accounted for, too many mistakes would likely not be allowed.
But characters containing “soldier” often undergo changes in pronunciation.
For example, “bang” is read as “bāng,” “bin” as “bīn,” and some are directly read as “bīng.”
So how should this character “bing” be pronounced?
Qi Xia tried to recall all the books he had read, but none had ever featured this character. He couldn’t help but hesitate.
If he guessed the pronunciation correctly, they could create another “character,” and the team would gain five points. But if he guessed wrong… what would the consequences be?
Would the “character” be confiscated?
Qi Xia grew increasingly uncertain. He regretted not having taken the time to read through a dictionary.
“Liar, are you okay?” Qiao Jiajin asked, noticing Qi Xia deep in thought. “Doesn’t this character only have one pronunciation?”
“One pronunciation…?” Qi Xia frowned. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
Just as Qi Xia was about to speak, he suddenly thought of something and sighed helplessly. “Fists, say ‘little soldier’ and ‘guest’ for me.”
“Little bing, guest,” Qiao Jiajin said. “What’s the problem?”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Qi Xia slowly raised a hand to his forehead, thinking to himself, No wonder Qiao Jiajin thought this character had only one pronunciation.
He didn’t recognize the “bang” in “Shajiabang,” nor could he distinguish between front and back nasal sounds. The three possible pronunciations had all blurred into one in his mouth.
If he were the “commander” in this round, they might as well surrender now.
Wait… Even though Qiao Jiajin was guessing, maybe luck played a part too?
“Fists…” Qi Xia turned to him. “I’ve always felt you have good luck, at least better than mine.”
“My luck is good…?”
“Right, so I’m going to follow your思路 this time.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Qi Xia reached out and wrote the character “bin” on the screen.
He stared nervously at the screen, hoping he hadn’t started off on the wrong foot. It didn’t matter what word “bing” could form—what mattered was that it had to be pronounced “bin.”
A few seconds later, the screen flickered, and four characters clearly appeared:
“Creation successful.”
“There really is such a character…?” Qiao Jiajin gaped at the screen before turning to Qi Xia. “This character is weird…”
Qi Xia stroked his chin, deep in thought.
If the rule to “write a homophone” was meant to prevent wild guesses, then naturally, the homophone couldn’t be wrong. Even if they accounted for typos, there had to be a limit to how many mistakes were allowed.
But characters containing “bing” often had shifting pronunciations.
Qiao Jiajin stared at the door in silence for a moment before turning and heading back to the “preparation area.”
He felt he needed to quickly report the situation to Qi Xia. Not only was Han Yimo facing Wen Qiaoyun in a “one-on-one,” but the “path” on their far right was also blocked. After all, all four directional doors had closed and wouldn’t reopen until a winner was decided.
Qi Xia was writing on the wall, having already deduced over a dozen possible combinations.
“Liar,” Qiao Jiajin called out.
Qi Xia turned and saw Qiao Jiajin alone. He acted as though he hadn’t noticed anything unusual and turned back to continue writing, asking softly, “Did you run into Yan Zhichun or Wen Qiaoyun?”
“Wen Qiaoyun,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “How did you know again?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Fists, earlier when I came to the game area with Chu Tianqiu and Earth Dragon, you all were standing around in small groups talking. Do you remember who was speaking with Han Yimo at the time?”
“Huh…?” Qiao Jiajin pondered for a moment. “Now that you mention it… I think it was Dr. Zhao.”
“That’s it, then,” Qi Xia said, one hand resting against the wall while the other lightly stroked his chin. “Han Yimo isn’t one of us. It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses.”
“Not one of us…?”
“Han Yimo was fine before coming in,” Qi Xia explained. “But as soon as the game started, he suddenly became tense. I suspect he received some hidden task during that time, something like ‘kill Qi Xia’…”
“So that’s how it is…” Qiao Jiajin nodded thoughtfully. “No wonder his expression seemed so strange. You only see that kind of look on underlings who’ve betrayed their boss.”
“In any conflict between two sides, there are bound to be ‘traitors,'” Qi Xia said with a laugh. “I just forgot who Chen Junnan was talking to at the time.”
“He…” Qiao Jiajin paused. “Handsome guy seemed to be with…”
“Never mind, consider it a surprise for me,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, it looks like Han Yimo is on the other side but ended up fighting Wen Qiaoyun. It seems neither Chu Tianqiu nor Wen Qiaoyun knew about this. We’re not at a disadvantage.”
“Are we really not at a disadvantage…?” Qiao Jiajin said, somewhat puzzled. “I feel like Scribbler is definitely going to lose to that pretty girl. Even if he’s a spy for the other side, he’s still carrying our ‘character.'”
“That’s why I gave him ‘horse,'” Qi Xia replied. “Han Yimo carrying ‘horse’ is the best possible scenario right now. I’ve calculated it—’horse’ can form very few characters, maybe only some obscure ones I can’t even read. If we lose it, it’s not a huge loss.”
“Is that so…” Qiao Jiajin glanced at the wall. “Liar… have you almost assembled all the ‘characters’?”
“Exactly… but it feels strange,” Qi Xia said, furrowing his brow. “If my calculations are correct… assembling these into twenty-eight characters should be somewhat difficult, but there are too many specific possibilities. It’ll take more time.”
“Oh…”
“Give me yours for now.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded and pulled out the character from his person: “minister.”
Qi Xia took “minister” from him, split the pendant in two, and placed each half on the “Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform.”
He obtained “wood” and “eye,” then combined the two components to form “minister.”
So far, Qi Xia’s team had assembled four characters: “soldier,” “wood,” “eye,” and “minister.”
After a moment of thought, he picked up the two components and tried again: “wood,” “soldier.”
“Wow…” Qiao Jiajin stared, slightly stunned. “Liar… can these form a ‘character’?”
“I’m not sure…”
Unfortunately, he had never thoroughly read a complete dictionary. He only had a vague feeling that the “wood radical” and “soldier” should be able to form a character, but its pronunciation was up for debate.
With no tools or internet access, if these two components could indeed form a character, they would have to take a guess.
The Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform absorbed the two components, and the screen below flickered before displaying:
“Received character prototype ‘bing.’ Please write a homophone.”
“So this character really exists…” Qiao Jiajin widened his eyes at the display, then turned to Qi Xia. “This character looks really weird…”
Qi Xia stroked his chin, carefully considering the situation.
If the rule to “write a homophone” was meant to prevent random guesses, then naturally, the homophone couldn’t be wrong. Even if miscalculations or accidental errors were accounted for, too many mistakes would certainly not be allowed.
But characters containing “soldier” often undergo changes in pronunciation.
For example, “bang” is read as “bāng,” “bin” as “bīn,” and some are directly pronounced as “bīng.”
So how should this character “bing” be read?
Qi Xia racked his memory of all the books he had read, yet he couldn’t recall ever encountering this character. He couldn’t help but hesitate.
If he guessed the pronunciation correctly, they could create another “character,” and the team would gain five points. But if he guessed wrong… what would be the consequence?
Would the “character” be confiscated?
Qi Xia grew increasingly uncertain about the situation. He regretted not having taken the time to read through a dictionary.
“Liar, are you okay?” Qiao Jiajin asked, seeing Qi Xia deep in thought. “Doesn’t this character only have one pronunciation?”
“One pronunciation…?” Qi Xia frowned. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
Just as Qi Xia was about to speak, he suddenly thought of something and sighed helplessly. “Fists, say ‘little soldier’ and ‘guest’ for me.”
“Little bing, guest,” Qiao Jiajin said. “What’s the problem?”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Qi Xia slowly raised a hand to his forehead, thinking to himself, No wonder Qiao Jiajin thought this character had only one pronunciation.
He didn’t recognize the “bang” in “Shajiabang,” nor could he distinguish between front and back nasal sounds. The three possible pronunciations had all jumbled into one in his mouth.
If he were the “commander” in this round, they might as well concede right now.
Wait… Even though Qiao Jiajin was guessing, maybe luck played a part too?
“Fists…” Qi Xia turned to him. “I’ve always felt you have good luck, at least better than mine.”
“My luck is good…?”
“Right, so this time I’ll go with your line of thinking.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Qi Xia reached out and wrote the character “guest” on the screen.
He stared nervously at the screen, hoping he hadn’t started off on the wrong foot. It didn’t matter what word “bing” could form; what mattered was that it had to be pronounced as “guest.”
A few seconds later, the screen flickered, and four characters clearly appeared:
“Creation successful.”
Qiao Jiajin gazed at the door in silence for a moment before turning and heading back to the “preparation area.”
He felt he needed to quickly report the situation to Qi Xia. Not only was Han Yimo facing Wen Qiaoyun in a “one-on-one,” but the “path” on their far right was also blocked. After all, all four directional doors had closed and wouldn’t reopen until a winner was decided.
Qi Xia was writing on the wall, having already deduced over a dozen possible combinations.
“Liar,” Qiao Jiajin called out.
Qi Xia turned and saw Qiao Jiajin alone. He acted as though he hadn’t noticed anything unusual and turned back to continue writing, softly asking, “Did you run into Yan Zhichun or Wen Qiaoyun?”
“Wen Qiaoyun,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “How’d you know again?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Fists, earlier when I came to the game area with Chu Tianqiu and Earth Dragon, you all were standing around in small groups talking. Do you remember who was speaking with Han Yimo at the time?”
“Huh…?” Qiao Jiajin pondered for a moment. “Now that you mention it… it seems like it was Dr. Zhao.”
“That’s it, then,” Qi Xia said, one hand resting against the wall while the other gently stroked his chin. “Han Yimo isn’t one of us. It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses.”
“Not one of us…?”
“Han Yimo was fine before coming in,” Qi Xia explained. “But as soon as the game started, he suddenly grew tense. I suspect he received some hidden task during that time, something like ‘kill Qi Xia’…”
“So that’s how it is…” Qiao Jiajin nodded thoughtfully. “No wonder his expression seemed so off. You only see that kind of look on underlings who’ve betrayed their boss.”
“In any conflict between two sides, there are bound to be ‘traitors,'” Qi Xia said with a laugh. “I just forgot who Chen Junnan was talking to at the time.”
“He…” Qiao Jiajin paused. “Handsome guy seemed to be with…”
“Never mind, consider it a surprise for me,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, it looks like Han Yimo is on the opposing side but ended up fighting Wen Qiaoyun. It seems neither Chu Tianqiu nor Wen Qiaoyun knew about this. We’re not at a loss.”
“Are we really not at a loss…?” Qiao Jiajin said, somewhat puzzled. “I feel like Writing Guy will definitely lose to that pretty girl. Even if he’s a spy for the other side, he’s still carrying our ‘characters.'”
“That’s why I gave him ‘horse,'” Qi Xia replied. “Han Yimo carrying ‘horse’ is the best solution for now. I’ve calculated it—there are very few characters ‘horse’ can form. Maybe only some obscure characters I can’t even read. If we lose it, it’s not a huge pity.”
“Is that so…” Qiao Jiajin glanced at the wall. “Liar… have you almost assembled all the ‘characters’?”
“Exactly… but it feels strange,” Qi Xia said, furrowing his brow. “If my calculations are correct… assembling these into twenty-eight characters should be somewhat difficult, but there are too many specific possibilities. I need more time.”
“Oh…”
“Give me what you have on you first.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded and pulled out the character he was carrying: “minister.”
Qi Xia took “minister” from him, split the pendant in two, and placed each half on the “Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform.”
He first obtained “wood” and “eye,” then finally combined the two radicals to form “minister.”
So far, Qi Xia’s team had assembled four characters: “soldier,” “wood,” “eye,” and “minister.”
He thought for a moment, picked up the two radicals, and tried again: “wood,” “soldier.”
“Damn…” Qiao Jiajin stared, slightly stunned. “Liar… can this form a ‘character’?”
“I’m not sure…”
Unfortunately, he had never flipped through a complete dictionary. He only vaguely felt that the “wood radical” and “soldier” should be able to form a character, but its pronunciation was up for debate.
With no tools or internet access, if these two radicals could indeed form a character, they would have to take a guess.
The Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform absorbed the two radicals, and the screen below flickered before displaying:
“Received character prototype ‘bing.’ Please write a homophone.”
“There really is this character…” Qiao Jiajin widened his eyes at the display, then turned to Qi Xia. “This character is so weird…”
Qi Xia stroked his chin, carefully considering the situation.
If the rule to “write a homophone” was meant to prevent wild guesses, then naturally, the homophone couldn’t be wrong. Even if miscalculations or accidental errors were accounted for, too many mistakes would certainly not be allowed.
But characters containing “soldier” often undergo changes in pronunciation.
For example, “bang” is read as “bāng,” “bin” as “bīn,” and some characters are directly read as “bīng.”
So how should this character “bing” be pronounced?
Qi Xia racked his memory of all the books he had read, yet none had ever featured this character. He couldn’t help but hesitate.
If he guessed the pronunciation correctly, they could create another “character,” earning the team five points. But if he guessed wrong… what would the consequences be?
Would the “character” be confiscated?
Qi Xia grew increasingly uncertain. He regretted not having taken the time to read through a dictionary.
“Liar, are you okay?” Qiao Jiajin asked, seeing Qi Xia deep in thought. “Doesn’t this character only have one pronunciation?”
“One pronunciation…?” Qi Xia frowned. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
Just as Qi Xia was about to speak, he suddenly thought of something and sighed helplessly. “Fists, say ‘little soldier’ and ‘guest’ for me.”
“Little bing, guest,” Qiao Jiajin said. “What’s the problem?”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Qi Xia slowly raised a hand to his forehead, thinking to himself, No wonder Qiao Jiajin thought this character had only one pronunciation.
He didn’t recognize the “bang” in “Shajiabang,” nor could he distinguish between front and back nasal sounds. The three possible pronunciations had jumbled into one in his mouth.
If he were the “commander” in this round, they might as well surrender now.
Wait… Even though Qiao Jiajin was guessing, maybe luck played a part too?
“Fists…” Qi Xia turned to him. “I’ve always felt you have good luck, at least better than mine.”
“My luck is good…?”
“Right, so I’m going to follow your line of thinking this time.”
Qi Xia pondered for a few seconds before reaching out and writing the character “bin” on the screen.
He stared nervously at the screen, hoping he hadn’t started off on the wrong foot. It didn’t matter what word “bing” could form—what mattered was that it had to be read as “bin.”
A few seconds later, the screen flickered, and four characters clearly appeared:
“Creation successful.”
Qi Xia racked his brain but couldn’t recall ever encountering this character in any book he’d read. He hesitated.
If he guessed the pronunciation correctly, they could create another character, earning their team five points. But if he was wrong… what would happen?
Would the character be confiscated?
The uncertainty gnawed at him. He cursed himself for not having finished a dictionary.
“Scammer, you okay?” Qiao Jiajin asked, watching Qi Xia lost in thought. “Isn’t this character just pronounced one way?”
“One way…?” Qi Xia frowned. “You sure…?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
Qi Xia was about to respond when a realization struck him. He sighed. “Fists, say ‘little soldier’ and ‘guest’ for me.”
“Little bīng, láibīn,” Qiao Jiajin said. “What’s the issue?”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Qi Xia slowly raised a hand to his forehead, realizing why Qiao Jiajin thought the character had only one pronunciation.
He didn’t recognize “bāng” in “Shajiabang,” nor could he distinguish front and back nasal sounds. The three potential pronunciations had all blurred into one in his mind.
If Qiao Jiajin were the “commander” in this round, they might as well surrender now.
Wait… even if Qiao Jiajin was just guessing, maybe luck played a part?
“Fists…” Qi Xia turned to him. “I’ve always felt you have good luck—better than mine, at least.”
“My luck…?”
“Right. So I’ll follow your lead this time.”
Qiao Jiejin stared at the door in silence for a moment before turning and heading back to the “preparation area.”
He felt an urgent need to report the situation to Qi Xia. Not only was Han Yimo facing Wen Qiaoyun in a “one-on-one” match, but the rightmost “path” was also blocked. After all, all four directional doors had closed and wouldn’t reopen until a winner was decided.
Qi Xia was writing on the wall, having already deduced over a dozen possible combinations.
“Liar,” Qiao Jiejin called out.
Qi Xia turned and saw Qiao Jiejin alone. He acted as though he hadn’t noticed anything unusual and turned back to continue writing, asking softly, “Did you run into Yan Zhichun or Wen Qiaoyun?”
“Wen Qiaoyun,” Qiao Jiejin replied. “How did you know again?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Fist, earlier when I came to the game area with Chu Tianqiu and Earth Dragon, you were all standing around chatting in small groups. Do you remember who was talking to Han Yimo at the time?”
“Huh…?” Qiao Jiejin pondered for a moment. “Now that you mention it… I think it was Dr. Zhao.”
“That makes sense,” Qi Xia said, leaning one hand against the wall while gently stroking his chin with the other. “Han Yimo isn’t one of us. It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses.”
“Not one of us…?”
“Han Yimo was fine before coming in,” Qi Xia explained. “But as soon as the game started, he suddenly became nervous. I suspect he received some hidden mission during that time, something like ‘Kill Qi Xia’…”
“So that’s how it is…” Qiao Jiejin nodded thoughtfully. “No wonder his expression looked so strange. You only see that kind of look on underlings who’ve betrayed their boss.”
“In any conflict between two sides, there’s bound to be a ‘traitor,'” Qi Xia said with a light laugh. “I just can’t remember who Chen Junnan was talking to at the time.”
“He…” Qiao Jiejin paused. “Handsome guy seemed to be with…”
“Never mind, consider it a surprise for me,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, it looks like Han Yimo is on the opposing side but ended up fighting Wen Qiaoyun. It seems neither Chu Tianqiu nor Wen Qiaoyun knew about this. We’re not at a disadvantage.”
“Are we really not at a disadvantage…?” Qiao Jiejin sounded puzzled. “I feel like Writing Guy will definitely lose to that pretty lady. Even if he’s a spy for the other side, he’s still carrying our ‘character.'”
“That’s why I gave him ‘horse,'” Qi Xia replied. “Han Yimo carrying ‘horse’ is the best possible scenario right now. I’ve calculated it—’horse’ can form very few characters, maybe only some obscure ones I can’t even recognize. If we lose it, it’s not a huge loss.”
“Is that so…” Qiao Jiejin glanced at the wall. “Liar… have you almost assembled all the ‘characters’?”
“Exactly… but something feels off,” Qi Xia said, furrowing his brow. “If my calculations are correct… assembling these into twenty-eight characters should be somewhat difficult. But there are too many possibilities. I need more time.”
“Oh…”
“Give me the one you have first.”
Qiao Jiejin nodded and pulled out the character he was carrying: “minister.”
Qi Xia took “minister” from him, split the pendant in two, and placed each half on the “Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform.”
He first obtained “wood” and “eye,” then combined the two radicals to form “minister.”
So far, Qi Xia’s team had assembled four characters: “soldier,” “wood,” “eye,” and “minister.”
After a moment of thought, he picked up two radicals and tried again: “wood” and “soldier.”
“Damn…” Qiao Jiejin stared, slightly stunned. “Liar… can these form a ‘character’?”
“I’m not sure…”
Unfortunately, he had never flipped through a complete dictionary. He only had a vague feeling that the “wood radical” and “soldier” should be able to form a character, but its pronunciation was up for debate.
With no tools or internet access, if these two radicals could indeed form a character, they would have to take a guess.
The Phoenix Holding Scroll Platform absorbed the two radicals, and the screen below flickered before displaying:
“Received character prototype ‘bing.’ Please write a homophone.”
“This character actually exists…” Qiao Jiejin widened his eyes at the screen, then turned to Qi Xia. “This character looks really weird…”
Qi Xia stroked his chin, carefully considering the situation.
If the rule to “write a homophone” was meant to prevent random guesses, then naturally, the homophone couldn’t be wrong. Even if the system accounted for occasional typos, it likely wouldn’t allow too many mistakes.
But characters containing “soldier” often had changing pronunciations.
For example, “bang” is read as “bāng,” “bin” as “bīn,” and some are directly read as “bīng.”
So how should “bing” be pronounced?
Qi Xia racked his memory of all the books he had read but couldn’t recall ever encountering this character. He hesitated.
If he guessed the pronunciation correctly, they could create another “character,” and the team would earn five points. But if he guessed wrong… what would be the consequence?
Would the “character” be confiscated?
Qi Xia grew increasingly uncertain. He regretted not having taken the time to read through a dictionary.
“Liar, are you okay?” Qiao Jiejin asked, noticing Qi Xia deep in thought. “Doesn’t this character only have one pronunciation?”
“One pronunciation…?” Qi Xia frowned. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiejin nodded.
Just as Qi Xia was about to speak, a thought occurred to him, and he sighed helplessly. “Fist, say ‘little soldier’ and ‘guest’ for me.”
“Little bing, guest,” Qiao Jiejin said. “What’s the problem?”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Qi Xia slowly raised a hand to his forehead, realizing why Qiao Jiejin thought the character had only one pronunciation.
He didn’t recognize the “bang” in “Shajiabang,” nor could he distinguish between front and back nasal sounds. The three possible pronunciations had all blurred into one in his mind.
If he were the “commander” in this round, they might as well surrender now.
Wait… Even though Qiao Jiejin was guessing, maybe luck played a part too?
“Fist…” Qi Xia turned to him. “I’ve always felt you have good luck, at least better than mine.”
“My luck is good…?”
“Right, so I’m going to follow your思路 this time.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Qi Xia reached out and wrote “guest” on the screen.
He stared nervously at the display, hoping he hadn’t started off on the wrong foot. It didn’t matter what word “bing” could form—what mattered was that it had to be pronounced “bin.”
A few seconds later, the screen flickered, and four characters clearly appeared:
“Creation successful.”
Qiao Jiajin stared at the door in silence for a moment before turning and heading back to the “preparation area.”
He felt he needed to report the situation to Qi Xia immediately. Not only was Han Yimo facing Wen Qiaoyun in a “one-on-one,” but the “path” on their far right was also blocked. After all, all four directional doors had closed and wouldn’t reopen until a winner was decided.
Qi Xia was writing on the wall, having already deduced over a dozen possible combinations.
“Liar,” Qiao Jiajin called out.
Qi Xia turned and saw Qiao Jiajin alone. He acted as though he hadn’t noticed anything unusual and turned back to continue writing, asking softly, “Did you run into Yan Zhichun or Wen Qiaoyun?”
“Wen Qiaoyun,” Qiao Jiajin replied. “How did you know again?”
Qi Xia nodded. “Fist, earlier when Chu Tianqiu, Earth Dragon, and I arrived at the game area, you were all standing around in small groups talking. Do you remember who was speaking with Han Yimo at the time?”
“Huh…?” Qiao Jiajin pondered for a moment. “Now that you mention it… I think it was Dr. Zhao.”
“That’s it, then,” Qi Xia said, one hand resting against the wall while the other gently stroked his chin. “Han Yimo isn’t one of us. It doesn’t matter whether he wins or loses.”
“Not one of us…?”
“Han Yimo was fine before we came in,” Qi Xia explained. “But as soon as the game started, he suddenly became nervous. I suspect he received some hidden task during that time, something like ‘kill Qi Xia’…”
“So that’s how it is…” Qiao Jiajin nodded thoughtfully. “No wonder his expression seemed so off. You only see that kind of look on underlings who’ve betrayed their boss.”
“In any conflict between two sides, there are bound to be ‘traitors,'” Qi Xia said with a laugh. “I just can’t remember who Chen Junnan was talking to at the time.”
“He…” Qiao Jiajin paused. “Handsome guy seemed to be with…”
“Never mind, consider it a surprise for me,” Qi Xia said. “Right now, it looks like Han Yimo is on the opposing side but ended up fighting Wen Qiaoyun. It seems neither Chu Tianqiu nor Wen Qiaoyun knew about this. We’re not at a disadvantage.”
“Are we really not at a disadvantage…?” Qiao Jiajin sounded puzzled. “I feel like Scribbler is definitely going to lose to that pretty girl. Even if he’s a spy for the other side, he’s still carrying our ‘character.'”
“That’s why I gave him ‘horse,'” Qi Xia replied. “Han Yimo carrying ‘horse’ is the best possible scenario right now. I’ve calculated it—’horse’ can form very few characters, maybe only some obscure ones I can’t even read. If we lose it, it’s not a huge loss.”
“Is that so…” Qiao Jiajin glanced at the wall. “Liar… have you almost assembled all the ‘characters’?”
“Exactly… but something feels off,” Qi Xia said, furrowing his brow. “If my calculations are correct… assembling these into twenty-eight characters should be somewhat difficult. But there are too many possibilities. I need more time.”
“Oh…”
“Give me the one you have for now.”
Qiao Jiajin nodded and pulled out the character he was carrying: “minister.”
Qi Xia took “minister” from him, split the pendant in two, and placed each half on the “Phoenix Book-Carrying Platform.”
He obtained “wood” and “eye,” then combined the two components to form “minister.”
So far, Qi Xia’s team had assembled four characters: “soldier,” “wood,” “eye,” and “minister.”
After a moment of thought, he picked up two components and tried again: “wood” and “soldier.”
“Wow…” Qiao Jiajin stared, slightly stunned. “Liar… can these form a ‘character’?”
“I’m not sure…”
Unfortunately, he had never thoroughly read a complete dictionary. He had a vague feeling that the “wood radical” and “soldier” should be able to form a character, but its pronunciation was up for debate.
With no tools or internet access, if these two components could indeed form a character, he would have to take a guess.
The Phoenix Book-Carrying Platform absorbed the two components, and the screen below flickered before displaying:
“Received character prototype ‘bing.’ Please write a homophone.”
“So this character really exists…” Qiao Jiajin widened his eyes at the screen, then turned to Qi Xia. “This character looks really weird…”
Qi Xia stroked his chin, carefully considering the situation.
If the rule to “write a homophone” was meant to prevent random guesses, then naturally, the homophone couldn’t be wrong. Even if miscalculations or accidental errors were accounted for, too many mistakes would likely not be allowed.
But characters containing “soldier” often undergo changes in pronunciation.
For example, “bang” is read as “bāng,” “bin” as “bīn,” and some are directly pronounced as “bīng.”
So how should this character “bing” be read?
Qi Xia racked his memory of all the books he had read but couldn’t recall ever encountering this character. He hesitated.
If he guessed the pronunciation correctly, they could create another “character,” earning the team five points. But if he guessed wrong… what would the consequences be?
Would the “character” be confiscated?
Qi Xia grew increasingly uncertain. He regretted not having taken the time to read through a dictionary.
“Liar, are you okay?” Qiao Jiajin asked, noticing Qi Xia deep in thought. “Doesn’t this character have only one pronunciation?”
“One pronunciation…?” Qi Xia frowned. “Are you sure…?”
“Yeah,” Qiao Jiajin nodded.
Qi Xia was about to speak but suddenly thought of something and sighed helplessly. “Fist, say ‘little soldier’ and ‘guest’ for me.”
“Little bing, guest,” Qiao Jiajin said. “What’s the problem?”
The air fell silent for three seconds.
Qi Xia slowly raised a hand to his forehead, realizing why Qiao Jiajin thought the character had only one pronunciation.
He didn’t recognize the “bang” in “Shajiabang,” nor could he distinguish between front and back nasal sounds. The three possible pronunciations had all blurred into one in his mind.
If he were the “commander” in this round, they might as well concede now.
Wait… Even though Qiao Jiajin was guessing, maybe luck played a part too?
“Fist…” Qi Xia turned to him. “I’ve always felt you have good luck, at least better than mine.”
“My luck is good…?”
“Right, so I’m going to follow your思路 this time.”
After a few seconds of contemplation, Qi Xia reached out and wrote the character “bin” on the screen.
He watched the screen nervously, hoping he hadn’t started off on the wrong foot. It didn’t matter what word “bing” could form; what mattered was that it had to be read as “bin.”
A few seconds later, the screen flickered, and four characters clearly appeared:
“Creation successful.”
A few seconds later, the screen flashed, displaying four clear characters:
「Creation successful.」
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