The enemy before him had once worn this same suit of armor to come outside the safe zone and rescue him.
Qin Siyang's face turned dark, his gaze heavy.
He had expected a hidden arrow.
But he had not expected who would shoot it.
He clenched his fists and stared coldly at the silver-gray armored figure opposite him.
After a moment, Qin Siyang spoke. His voice trembled slightly in the breeze, "Professor Chang Er, have you been possessed by Guo Jiuxiao?"
The person across from him paused for a moment upon hearing those words.
But in the end, he chose not to hide anymore.
The mask suddenly turned transparent.
Chang Tianxiong's face appeared.
"I'm sorry. I am Chang Tianxiong. This has nothing to do with Guo Jiuxiao."
Qin Siyang pressed his lips together and said nothing.
"Little Qin, you're always like this. You always manage to shock people."
"Chang Tianxiong, I never thought that when I started the Path of the Believer, the one who would come to kill me would be you."
Faced with Qin Siyang's accusation, Chang Tianxiong nodded slightly, looking somewhat flustered, "It's me. I'm sorry."
"Why?"
"Materials."
Even though Qin Siyang had already expected it, hearing Chang Tianxiong say it out loud still left him feeling a wave of disappointment.
"You're the only one who came to kill me?"
"Yes. I came alone. No one else knows, including my brother."
The two fell into silence.
Chang Tianxiong carefully observed Qin Siyang without speaking.
Qin Siyang quietly looked back at him, also saying nothing.
The cold wind swept across the vast plains.
A faint swirl of sand rose between them.
Qin Siyang felt the wind brush past his crotch and glanced down at his still naked body.
He walked forward two steps, picked up the storage backpack beside the offerings, calmly took out his clothes and put them on, then put on a full set of fourth-tier armor.
Throughout the entire process, Chang Tianxiong simply stood there. He did not make a move. He did not interrupt.
Only after Qin Siyang had put on his helmet did he speak again, "Little Qin, what sequence ability do you actually have?"
He asked the same question again. The shock in his eyes had gradually faded, replaced by curiosity.
But Qin Siyang had no intention of answering.
He took a few pieces of candy from his pocket and stuffed them into his mouth.
"Not going to answer?", Chang Tianxiong gave a self-mocking smile, "Fair enough. I came to kill you. You don't owe me any answers. Besides, you've always been someone who clearly distinguishes love and hate. I understand that. But—"
"You put on your clothes and armor right in front of me. Aren't you afraid I'll launch a sneak attack?"
Qin Siyang replied calmly, "You don't dare. You're worried I have a trump card, and you're afraid this might be a trap. You hesitate, looking forward and back, unable to decide."
"That's quite harsh. But I won't argue. I'm already doing something shameful. I have no face left to pretend otherwise. Still, I'm curious. How do you know I don't dare?"
"Just now, you watched me reattach my head and recover calmly, and you didn't even try to use a skill or a god-hunting item to deal me a fatal blow. If you didn't dare then, how would you dare to sneak attack me while I was putting on clothes?"
"Chang Tianxiong, you're too cautious."
After saying that, Qin Siyang tilted his mouth into a crooked smile, "There's a saying, 'When a scholar rebels, it takes three years and still fails.' I think when a professor tries to kill someone, it's about the same. You keep missing opportunities, afraid to go all out, always seeking absolute safety."
Chang Tianxiong's expression dimmed slightly, "Is an obvious flaw truly a flaw? Little Qin, truth and falsehood blur together. I can no longer tell which of your words are real. But I admit, you are skilled at playing with people's hearts. Even now, I don't know whether I should believe you."
"If anyone's good at playing with hearts, that's Holy Son Hu. I'm far from it," Qin Siyang smiled lightly, "To be honest, I really don't like how you professors drag things out and strive for perfection in everything, treating every part of life like a research problem to be handled with strict rigor. Hmm, no, that's not right."
He rested his hand on his chin and corrected himself, "Not you professors. After all, Old Li, Director Zhang, Professor Lu, when they kill, they're decisive first-rate experts. Oh, and Professor Hao and Professor Wu strike with killing intent too, fighting to the death. As for Professor Chang , I haven't seen him fight, but he's calm-headed. He should know how to seize an opportunity."
"You might as well just say I'm the only useless professor who can't seize the moment," Chang Tianxiong tugged at the corner of his mouth, "Is there really a need to insult me in such a roundabout way?"
"You came to kill me. I can't even curse you a couple of times?"
"Fine. Then go ahead."
"Since you're asking for it, I won't refuse. Let's start with your great-great-great-great-grandfather's father, your ninth-generation ancestor. Your ancestor was rotten from childhood. At three, running around in split pants harassing people. At four, wearing a bikini letting people harass him. At five… Hey, wait."
Qin Siyang was cursing enthusiastically when he suddenly paused, "Almost forgot. You and Professor Chang Tianxiang share the same ancestor. Fine, I'll spare eighteen generations of your family. I'll just curse you."
"When Professor Chang Tianxiang's mother gave birth to him, she also raised a placenta shaped like a human, and that's you, you piece of trash. At one, you played with fire in bed. At two—"
Chang Tianxiong suddenly said, "Little Qin, stop."
"What? Weren't you the one who told me to curse? Regretting it now? Professors go back on their word too?"
Chang Tianxiong shook his head, maintaining his calm, scholarly tone, "You're stalling for time."
"You didn't bring any item that can track your own location on this trip. Other than me, who's been following your trail, even Old Li and the others don't know where you are. Even if you drag this out, no one is coming to save you. So—"
"Verbal satisfaction is meaningless."
Qin Siyang snorted, "Suddenly don't feel like cursing anymore."
It seemed he had accepted Chang Tianxiong's argument that stalling was useless.
Chang Tianxiong nodded, "Little Qin, as smart as ever. If you have nothing to say, I have a few questions I hope you can answer."
"A few questions? Interesting. You really aren't shy, treating me like a book of ten thousand whys. Go ahead. Whether I answer depends on my mood."
"Thank you."
Qin Siyang curled his lip, "You're pretty polite for someone here to kill me."
Chang Tianxiong thought for a few seconds, then asked, "Since you won't talk about your sequence ability, I won't waste time on that. I want to know, when did you realize I might kill you?"
Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Was it that time outside the safe zone when I didn't encounter the substitute assassin? Or when you couldn't find the materials I needed? Or do you have some ability to see through people's hearts?"
Qin Siyang let out a short laugh but did not answer.
Chang Tianxiong pressed on, "What, do you think my reaction is too slow? Was there some other behavior that tipped you off?"
"I'm laughing because you're overthinking it. I'm not some god who plans for every possibility. How could I know what's in your heart? From beginning to end, I dealt with all of you professors sincerely. How could I know you harbored ill intent?"
"So I never aroused your suspicion?"
Qin Siyang shook his head, looking somewhat lonely, "No. Never. Ever since you stood up to support Old Li at the Vine Core seminar, I've respected you as a mentor. Later, when we went to Nanrong together, I had no guard up around you at all. Even if you showed some flaw, I wouldn't have noticed. Because I never once thought you would harm me."
"Then today, your precautions…"
Qin Siyang pointed at Chang Tianxiong, his eyes suddenly blazing with anger, "I was guarding against Guo Jiuxiao! Against Ren Changyu! Against Little Zhigang! Against Han Huizhi! Not you, Chang Tianxiong!"
[🎉 Shoutout to Little_Demon, Thanh, WetWatee, Slashdog, Darklouche and Michael for joining p@treon. Thank you very much.🤗]
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