Chapter 471: Our Leader

Seeing the group complete the game, the Earth Mare’s expression gradually grew complicated.

Seven participants, and she had only managed to kill one of them.

This was a defeat she hadn’t suffered in decades.

“If even this game can be broken… does the ‘Land of the End’ still need to exist?” The Earth Mare slowly lowered her gaze to the ground, weakly tossing the bamboo tube in her hand aside.

“Baa?” Qiao Jiajin slowly stood up, sweating profusely, and said, “Isn’t it normal for us ‘participants’ to break your games?”

“Yes, extremely abnormal,” the Earth Mare frowned. “But at this point, I have nothing left to say. Here’s your ‘Dao.’ Now go.”

Like the other Zodiacs, she walked to a nearby ruin, pulled out a dirty cloth bag, deducted the amount for one dead participant, and threw the rest to Qiao Jiajin.

Just as Qiao Jiajin was about to catch it, he suddenly realized his hands weren’t responding. Though he raised his arms, his fingers wouldn’t obey. Before he could say anything, the world spun, and the floor rushed up to meet his face.

Luckily, Qi Xia wasn’t far away and managed to grab him just as he was about to collapse.

Qiao Jiajin’s body was rapidly cooling—his hands were completely shattered, and he had clearly lost too much blood.

“Hey!” Qi Xia instantly felt a headache coming on, pressing a hand to his forehead as he shouted, “Qian Wu can heal people, right?! Hurry, help me get him there!”

“Got it!”

The others didn’t hesitate—Luo Shiyi and Wang Ba rushed to Qiao Jiajin’s side, hoisting him up by his arms and quickly carrying him out. The rest picked up the scattered ‘Dao’ before following them out.

Now, only Saturday and Bai Jiu remained with Qi Xia. After scanning their surroundings and finding no immediate threats, Saturday leaned in and whispered something, likely confirming Qian Wu’s location.

“Tsk. Qi Xia, let’s go too,” Saturday said. “Luckily, Fifth Brother isn’t far. We can reach him and Fourth Brother in about ten minutes.”

“You go ahead,” Qi Xia replied. “I still have a few things to ask the Earth Mare.”

“Won’t it be dangerous?” Bai Jiu rubbed her exposed stomach and asked, “This woman’s ruthless.”

“It’s fine. Wait for me outside.”

The two exchanged a glance, nodded, and left.

“Talk to me?” The Earth Mare didn’t look up, still picking up scattered debris from the ground. “What could we possibly have to discuss?”

Qi Xia didn’t beat around the bush. “Earth Mare, do you still have a way out?”

“A way out…” Her hands paused momentarily. “There hasn’t been one since the first time I put on this horse mask. This identity forces me forward—there’s no retreating.”

“But what about this time?” Qi Xia stepped closer, picking up a fragment of an iron ball from the icy ground. “If you keep going down this path, you’ll die.”

The words shattered the Earth Mare’s defenses, dragging all the questions she’d been avoiding to the surface.

“Your game arena is destroyed,” Qi Xia continued. “The ‘participants’ didn’t touch the props, yet they were ruined. Does that count as your failure?”

Her hands trembled as she gathered the debris. Even she didn’t understand how this had happened.

That man had simply said, “Don’t cheat,” and all the props had shattered. Was that even possible?

In her memory, not even an ‘Echo’ could achieve something like this.

“What are you people really trying to do?” The Earth Mare finally looked up at Qi Xia, her gaze different now—tinged with a rare hint of sincerity.

“Of course, we want to escape,” Qi Xia replied. “That’s why I’m searching for a new ‘path.’”

“We all want to escape,” the Earth Mare said. “You should know that—whether ‘participant’ or ‘Zodiac,’ everything we do is for the sake of leaving this place.”

“But no one has succeeded,” Qi Xia countered. “Your memory stretches further than mine, so you’ve witnessed even more tragedies. In all that time, has anyone ever escaped?”

Her expression darkened.

Indeed… who had ever escaped?

“Even Wen Qiaoyun couldn’t do it… how could anyone else?” Her voice was soft, but the words struck Qi Xia’s ears with perfect clarity.

“Wen… Qiaoyun?” Qi Xia frowned, studying the sorrow in her eyes. “Who is that?”

The Earth Mare sighed. “She was our… no, your leader.”

“Our… leader?” The implications of those words overwhelmed Qi Xia.

Though brief, the statement carried immense weight. If the Earth Mare’s memories spanned over twenty years—or longer—then at some point, a person named Wen Qiaoyun had been recognized as his leader?

How absurd was that?

Even someone as shrewd as Chu Tianqiu, who commanded his own faction, had never earned Qi Xia’s acknowledgment as a leader.

So… had this Wen Qiaoyun truly been so formidable that she earned his full respect?

Could there really be someone in the ‘Land of the End’ who surpassed him in every way?

“Are you saying that someone as powerful as Wen Qiaoyun still failed?” Qi Xia pivoted, asking the most critical question.

But even the Earth Mare had no answer.

“I don’t know,” she admitted. “Qiaoyun failed many times… I don’t even know where she is now, or if she’s still failing…”

Hearing this, Qi Xia slowly pieced things together.

If what the Earth Mare said was true—if even someone he had once acknowledged as his leader had failed repeatedly—then where did that leave his own hopes of escape?

“So, aside from Wen Qiaoyun, you’ve decided never to trust anyone else in this world?”

“That’s a ridiculous question,” the Earth Mare shook her head. “If I still believed ‘participants’ could escape, why would I have ended up like this?”

“But you must realize your current predicament.” Qi Xia gestured to the wreckage of the game arena. “The ones above you will eventually notice. What will you tell them?”

“Tell them…” The Earth Mare let out a bitter laugh. “You almost sound like you care. But I know you want me dead more than anyone.”

“True,” Qi Xia smirked. “I want you dead. You want me dead. But we both want to escape… Why not try it? We can scheme against each other while searching for a way out. Doesn’t that sound fun?”

“You—” The Earth Mare’s brows furrowed. “Are you insane? Who would willingly cooperate with someone trying to kill them?”