“Hehe…” Celestial Serpent grinned, revealing his teeth. “I learned something today… as long as I know more than you, it proves I’m stronger than you.”
“What an utterly pointless question,” Qi Xia retorted coldly, glaring at him. “Are you really making this the deciding question of our ‘final showdown’?”
“You don’t know… do you?” Celestial Serpent looked particularly delighted. “You’re nowhere near as knowledgeable as me… right?”
“Celestial Serpent…” Qi Xia sighed, looking at him as if he were an idiot, then spoke slowly, “Judging by your accent, you’re not from the south, which means your eating habits are similar to mine. As for ‘breakfast stalls,’ they usually only sell a handful of items. You’re an adult man—pickled vegetables and fried cakes wouldn’t fill you up. If the answer were ‘one item,’ that wouldn’t make sense. Eggs would dirty your hands, and they’re not ‘convenient’ enough for you. So, the only things you’d eat are fried dough sticks, tofu pudding, or congee.”
Celestial Serpent swallowed slightly and said, “You… are deducing the answer?”
“Yeah,” Qi Xia nodded. “You asked such a stupid question, so I have to answer it in the stupidest way possible.”
“Even so… you still have to pick the exact answer,” Celestial Serpent smirked unnaturally. “If you can’t say it, I’ll still kill you.”
The atmosphere fell silent for a few seconds. Qian Wu and Qiao Jiajin tensely watched Qi Xia.
“It’s ‘fried dough sticks,'” Qi Xia declared. “Your favorite thing to eat at the breakfast stall downstairs is ‘fried dough sticks.'”
“You…” Celestial Serpent pressed his lips together, speechless.
“Since you go every day, drinking ‘congee’ or ‘tofu pudding’ in the summer would be too hot and inconvenient.” Qi Xia paused before continuing, “Plus, your hair is messy, and your shirt is wrinkled, which means you’re someone who doesn’t bother with appearances—too busy to even groom yourself, let alone patiently wait for hot congee to cool. I’ll go a step further: because you leave in a rush every morning, sometimes you probably just grab this from the stall and eat it on the go.”
“Also, your glasses are thick. Eating those two things in winter would fog them up, which is another ‘hassle’ for you.” Qi Xia smiled slightly. “Someone who doesn’t even comb their hair wouldn’t bother wiping their glasses. So, I’m guessing… the answer is ‘fried dough sticks.'”
Celestial Serpent stared into Qi Xia’s eyes. Though he couldn’t discern anything from them, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this man felt familiar.
He had once been seen through by eyes just like these.
“You… got it right,” Celestial Serpent said, his expression conflicted. “I lost.”
“Then what about what you promised us?” Qi Xia asked.
Celestial Serpent’s mood shifted unpredictably. After a long pause, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper.
He slowly handed it to Qi Xia, but Qi Xia didn’t take it.
“This is the ‘formula’…” Celestial Serpent said. “It records how to make ‘natives’ trigger their ‘Echo.'”
Seeing that Qi Xia still hadn’t taken it, Celestial Serpent’s pride took a hit.
“How rude are you? Do you want it or not?”
“I’m just curious…” Qi Xia said coldly. “If I unfold this dirty scrap of paper, what’s written inside is the ‘cutting-edge technology of the End’—the thing you’ve kept secret, the thing you value most?”
“That’s right.”
“Then why do you carry it around so casually?” Qi Xia’s voice turned icy. “If it can be recorded on such a tiny piece of paper, why didn’t you just tell me directly?”
Watching Qi Xia press so aggressively, Qiao Jiajin and Qian Wu broke into a cold sweat. Even if Celestial Serpent had obvious flaws, he was still a “Celestial.”
“First, I don’t lie,” Celestial Serpent said. “I hate liars, so I only speak the truth. The reason I’ve kept this note on me is that about a year ago, a ‘participant’ made a deal with me. He glanced at the words on the paper and gave it back. I didn’t want to throw it away or tear it up, so I’ve carried it since.”
“Oh…?” Qi Xia narrowed his eyes.
“Second, only you won against me, so this information is only for you. That’s why I won’t say it out loud.” Celestial Serpent held out the note, his expression indicating he wasn’t lying.
Qi Xia nodded, took the paper, and immediately handed it to Qian Wu—a small action that made Celestial Serpent’s expression darken.
Qian Wu was taken aback but quickly pocketed the note.
“Can I ask that person’s name?” Qi Xia inquired.
“Who?”
“The ‘participant’ who made a deal with you a year ago.”
Celestial Serpent shook his head. “I don’t lie, but I can choose not to speak. Since we had a deal, it means we both had leverage over each other. I have no reason to tell you his name here.”
“Fine,” Qi Xia nodded. “Then I have no more questions.”
Celestial Serpent sighed and turned to Qian Wu. “‘Twin Flowers,’ I’ll give you one day. Whether you survive the ‘Pegasus Hour’ or not, I’ll come for you tomorrow.”
“Don’t bother seeing yourself out,” Qian Wu replied.
Celestial Serpent gave him a resentful look. Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a continuous stream of “inner voices.”
“I really want to throw a punch and see.”
At first, he thought he misheard, but when he stopped to listen, the voice was unmistakably clear.
“I really want to hit him in the jaw.”
He turned back, scanning the three of them, only to hear the voice again, crystal clear.
“I really want to test if he can take my punch.”
“Should I use a hook or a straight?”
“Step in or commit fully?”
Celestial Serpent followed the voice to its source—a tattooed man standing there, seemingly lost in thought.
“What did you say?” Celestial Serpent demanded.
“Huh?” Qiao Jiajin blinked, looking around blankly. “Me…?”
“You want to hit me…?” Celestial Serpent’s brow furrowed. “You’ve got some nerve…”
Qi Xia immediately stepped between them. “Hey, what’s the meaning of this?”
“I heard it…” Celestial Serpent pointed past Qi Xia at Qiao Jiajin. “I heard the voice in his heart… He wants to hit me!”
Qiao Jiajin quickly averted his gaze. “Huh? You… you can hear that?”
“Voice in his heart…?” Qi Xia felt a chill. If Celestial Serpent truly could hear everyone’s thoughts, he’d be the most formidable opponent they’d ever faced.
Celestial Serpent shoved Qi Xia aside and loomed over Qiao Jiajin, who could only stare dumbly at his nose.
“Hey… I treated you with courtesy, and you want to hit me?”
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