Ten Day Ultimatum

Chapter 396

Chapter 396

Ten Day Ultimatum

Chapter 396 Hidden Motive

Qi Xia felt as though his thoughts had jammed.

The reasoning sounded ridiculous, yet coming from Chen Junnan’s mouth, it all seemed strangely natural.

“I…” Qi Xia rubbed his forehead helplessly. “I never imagined Tian Tian would be the third member of {Cats}. But… is her ability really that formidable? Enough to rank at {Three}…?”

“What does ability have to do with it? We’re not the 108 Heroes*, I just thought Zhang Three rolled off the tongue best.” Chen Junnan explained. “Zhang Four, Zhang Five, Zhang Six—don’t those all sound awkward?”

(TLN: The 108 Heroes are the main characters of the Ming dynasty classic, ‘Water Margin’. The heroes are divided into the 36 Heavenly Spirits and 72 Earthly Fiends, groups that are based on a belief in Daoism that Ursa Major has 36 Heavenly stars and 72 Earthly stars.)

Qi Xia realized that sometimes he really did overthink things.

“And afterward…?” he sighed and pressed on.

“Well, that’s where it gets complicated…” Chen Junnan turned his face toward Qiao Jiajin. “Ole Qiao and I had a big quarrel—this punk even hit me.”

“Huh?” Qiao Jiajin was stunned, staring for a long moment before squeezing out two words: “Who won?”

“You’ve got the nerve to ask…” Chen Junnan swung a fist into Qiao Jiajin’s chest. “Damn it, in this forsaken place, only that old fellow Zhang Shan can fight you to a draw. Everyone else just gets crushed under you.”

Still feeling indignant, he turned and clapped Qi Xia on the shoulder. “Ole Qi, you better keep this in mind; once this punk loses his temper, he’ll raise his hands at his own people.”

This time, Qi Xia found it difficult to listen on. “I know what kind of man Qiao Jiajin is… For him to lose his temper like that, it must have been something serious.”

“It wasn’t exactly ‘serious’…” Chen Junnan curled his lip. “I just gave you a good scolding right in front of him.”

“Scolded me?”

“That’s right. You ditched the two of us and ran off on your own. Even if that doesn’t make you a bastard, it’s close enough. I told Ole Qiao to give up on you, to stop waiting.” Chen Junnan shrugged, putting on a helpless expression. “But I didn’t expect punk Qiao to be so hot-tempered; he straight up cut ties with me.”

Qi Xia understood that Chen Junnan’s words were mere defiance; without the same resolve to wait, he would never have created the {Calabash Brothers}, a group as ridiculous as it was poignant.

Though there were but six, they insisted on calling themselves {Seven Brothers}. For whose sake was the seventh seat kept empty?

“By ‘cut ties,’ you mean…” Qi Xia pressed further.

“This punk quit. That’s what he said at the time…” Chen Junnan cleared his throat and imitated Qiao Jiajin’s not-so-standard Mandarin: “‘If this org’nization ain’t fer waitin’ on Swindler lad to come back, then I ain’t stayin’ no more la.’”

Qiao Jiajin’s face twisted into disdain. “Do I really talk like that?”

“More or less.” Chen Junnan replied.

Hearing this, Qi Xia felt another throb of headache coming on.

What exactly had happened back then?

If he had truly been leading a large group of {Reverberatees}, then why would he have chosen to take such a desperate gamble to become one of the {Earthly Branches}? ṟâ𝐍ꝊᛒÈȘ

“If it weren’t for this punk running off to get himself killed…” Chen Junnan ground his teeth, “I’d probably still be {Eldest Brother Chen}, still the boss here.”

Qiao Jiajin gave an awkward chuckle. “Yo–You can’t blame me on this matter, no?”

“Ole Qi, say what you will about this punk being reckless, but he was surprisingly methodical.” Chen Junnan placed a hand on Qiao Jiajin’s shoulder. “He seemed to have taken action by himself. At that time the bells rang with greater frequency, but along with it, I kept getting news of his death.”

“News of my death…?”

“That’s right.” Chen Junnan nodded. “That punk Chu Tianqiu would come looking for me every so often, complaining that you’d been too rash again, that you’d died again… Tell me, what were you even doing back then?”

‘Chu Tianqiu…’ Qi Xia furrowed his brow.

To Chen Junnan’s question, Qiao Jiajin could only shake his head helplessly; these were memories he had failed to retain.

“I thought, given enough time, he’d give up…” Chen Junnan continued, “But I never imagined that even without triggering his {Reverberation}, he still went to participate in Terrestrial-grade games—until all his memories were washed away.”

Even if Qi Xia had not been present for those events, judging from Qiao Jiajin’s character, he knew beyond doubt that this was exactly what he would have done.

“Because Ole Qiao lost his memories, he would throw himself to his death again with the same blind fervor…” Chen Junnan fixed his gaze on Qi Xia, a trace of reproach flickering in his eyes. “Even though this punk gave me a beating, he and I still shared life-and-death bonds. I couldn’t keep watching him die such wretched deaths again and again.”

With that, Chen Junnan took things into his own hands. Once they returned to their probation room, and through his {unceasing efforts}, everyone would merely have their heads neatly shattered by Mortal Goat, then lose their memories and endlessly repeat the same day.

“Han Yimo… I don’t know what went wrong with that punk, but he also lost his memories.” Chen Junnan added, “I’ve long since stopped having dealings with him. Every time I left the room, I’d just go straight off. I don’t know when it started, but at some point, he lost his memories as well. Back then, I didn’t even realize it—before I knew it, I was the only one in the entire room who still retained any memories.”

Qi Xia made a quick deduction about Han Yimo’s circumstances. His {Reverberation} most likely hinged on {fear}. For him to lose his memories, he must have found himself a reliable {backer}, which allowed him to momentarily forget fear—yet in that comfort, he accidentally met his death.

This was truly a case of one living through hardship yet perishing in ease.

“So it was by your ability alone…” Qi Xia said slowly, “that you kept the entire room {stuck} for seven years…”

“That’s right.” Chen Junnan nodded, then slouched lazily into a chair. “This young master had no wish to see everyone straining their brains only to die wretchedly in the end.”

After Chen Junnan finished speaking, Qi Xia frowned.

“How strange…” Qi Xia rubbed his chin, his gaze sharp as it locked onto Chen Junnan. “For each person who loses their memories… every death they suffer is the first death to them. What meaning is there in your so-called {saving}? They do not grow weary of dying again and again, nor do they feel joy at your salvation.”