The human rat was still trembling in fear, glancing nervously at Zhuque as if seeking his approval.


    “What''s the matter? Do you need me to help you up?” Zhuque asked with a smile.


    “N-No, it’s fine…” The human rat shakily stood up.


    After a long pause, she finally turned to Qi Xia and said, “Thank you! Thank you!”


    Qi Xia shook his head. “You don’t need to thank me, I was just…”


    “Pfft.”


    Before he could finish, Qi Xia saw a hand emerge from the human rat''s abdomen.


    Her body froze, and her words came to an abrupt halt.


    Warm, sticky blood splattered all over Qi Xia.


    Zhuque slowly wrapped his arms around the human rat from behind, as if embracing a lover.


    “This child is very polite,” Zhuque said, eyes closed, his face pressed against the human rat’s, as if sniffing her scent. “Saying ‘thank you’ is a good habit, but you broke the rules. You tried to escape. He might have let you go, but I won’t.”


    With that, Zhuque reached out with his other hand and tore off the human rat’s mask, tossing it to the ground.


    Qi Xia faced the human rat directly, seeing her clearly for the first time.


    This “human rat” was clearly just a girl in her teens.


    Her face still bore traces of youth, and her tear-filled eyes were filled with fear and despair. Blood also spilled from her mouth.


    “It hurts… it hurts so much…” The human rat spat out a mouthful of blood.


    “Shh… it’ll stop hurting soon…” Zhuque whispered softly, his nose nuzzling her hair. “You’ll be dead soon, don’t worry… don’t worry… it’ll all be over.”


    “What kind of freak are you?!” Jia Jin, unable to watch any longer, shouted, “She’s just a child! Damn your mother… let her go!”


    Zhuque sneered, pulling his bloody hand from the human rat’s body and pushing her forward.


    Qi Xia instinctively caught the girl, his expression full of disbelief.


    That was “gambling with life.”


    If he won, the other would die.


    Even if he didn’t want her life, she would still die.


    This girl, called “human rat,” was driven to her death by Qi Xia.


    He thought he was gambling only with his own life, but he hadn’t realized the other side would demand the same price.


    But weren’t they supposed to be the organizers of the game?


    Could these animal masks also be “participants”?


    “Qi Xia, what are you doing here?” Zhuque asked coldly, flicking the blood from his hand.


    “What…” Qi Xia blinked in surprise and looked up at him. “You know my name?”


    Zhuque smirked slightly and pointed at the others one by one, saying, “Qi Xia, Jia Jin, Lin Qin, Zhang Lijuan. Why are you here?”


    Tian Tian froze as well. “Zhang Lijuan” was her real name, but she hadn’t used it since she was ten.


    “What do you mean ‘why are we here’?” Lin Qin asked. “Where else should we be?”


    Zhuque’s face twisted into an enigmatic smile, and he slowly shook his head. “Looks like you really don’t know why you’re here. How truly tragic.”


    “If you’ve got something to say, then just say it. What’s with all this mystery?” Qi Xia said coldly, holding the nearly lifeless human rat in his arms, his gaze icy.


    At these words, Zhuque’s eyes slowly grew colder, and the smile on his face disappeared.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    “Qi Xia, I just don’t get along with you,” Zhuque sneered. “You’ll never escape. You’ll rot here.”


    “Oh?” At this point, Qi Xia wasn’t afraid anymore. He pressed on, “You’re going to kill me here?”


    With a flash, Zhuque appeared beside Qi Xia, his feathered cloak billowing behind him.


    He grabbed Qi Xia’s collar and hissed, “If it weren’t for the rules, I’d tear you apart right here!”


    “So, according to the ‘rules,’ you can’t kill me?” Qi Xia replied.


    “Heh…” Zhuque’s smile returned. “I won’t kill you. You’ll die here anyway.”


    In the tense silence, Zhuque slowly floated into the air like a deity.


    “Why do you think I’ll die here?” Qi Xia looked up and asked.


    “Because you are Qi Xia. And that means you’re destined to die here,” Zhuque sneered, then vanished into thin air.


    He didn’t fly away like a character in a TV show, nor did he glow with magic; he simply disappeared in an instant.


    This sudden change left everyone confused.


    “Because I’m Qi Xia… I’m destined to die here?”


    “Cough…” The human rat coughed weakly in Qi Xia’s arms.


    Qi Xia lowered his head to look at her. Her face was clean, unlike anyone from this world.


    His emotions were complex. If he hadn’t chosen to gamble with life, this girl likely wouldn’t have met such an end.


    Looking back, she hadn’t posed any threat to him from the start.


    One “path” for another “path.”


    Perhaps, just as she said, Qi Xia would never find such a simple, safe game again.


    The human rat reached into her pocket with difficulty and took out three “paths.” She weakly said, “Such a pity… I’ve been waiting here for so long. You’re the first batch of participants. I thought I could earn some ‘paths’…”


    She handed the “paths” to Qi Xia and continued in a halting voice, “One of these is your ticket out of here. The other three are mine… now they belong to you…”


    The others looked at the girl before them, unsure of what to say.


    By all rights, they should have been enemies. Yet, the helplessness and despair on her face resonated deeply with everyone, sparking a complex, unexplainable feeling.


    “You’re also some kind of participant, aren’t you?” Qi Xia asked, his tone cold.


    The human rat actually smiled at this question. More blood trickled from her mouth. “Who here isn’t a ‘participant’… honestly… I’d rather be like you, never having worn the ‘rat’ mask… though none of us can get out…”


    Her head slowly fell to one side, and her arm dangled lifelessly.


    The two girls sighed in unison, and even Jia Jin wore a look of sorrow.


    But Qi Xia’s expression remained unchanged, as cold as ever.


    He gently laid the girl down and slowly stood up. No one knew what he was thinking.


    “Qi Xia… are you alright?” Lin Qin asked.


    “Me?” Qi Xia blinked in surprise. “Do I look like something’s wrong?”


    “Because your face shows no expression… it’s not normal.”


    “I…”


    Before he could finish, a sudden sharp pain tore through his head. He screamed in agony and crouched down, clutching his head.


    “Hey! Liar!” Jia Jin noticed something was wrong with Qi Xia’s condition. The last time, when Han Yimo died, Qi Xia had also experienced a headache.


    Qi Xia felt like his head was splitting apart, something was moving deep in his brain.