Chapter 1158: Not Like Me

Snake Room, late at night.

Having finished his work today, Gao Yang returned to the dorm to rest. When he walked past Dead Pig’s room, the door suddenly opened, and out walked Baili Yi.

Gao Yang wasn’t surprised. Baili Yi had promised to talk to Dead Pig about Ba Qiuchi. It seemed that they had finished their talk.

“Are you returning to the diary?” Gao Yang asked.

Baili Yi nodded. “Once I have a cup of coffee.”

After a pause, Gao Yang asked, “Did you tell Dead Pig about Lovely Lamb?”

Baili Yi simply smiled.

Hearing the unspoken words, Gao Yang said, “I learned the secret from Liu Qingying. Can I tell Dead Pig?”

“It’s your choice.”

Gao Yang nodded. “Alright.”

“What about the thing you wanted to tell me? Have you made up your mind?”

“I’ll tell you if and when we win the Battle of the Curtain Call,” Gao Yang said. “If we lose, none of that will matter.”

Baili Yi didn’t seem surprised. “I await your victorious return.”

“Is that a blessing or a prophecy?”

Baili Yi chuckled. “I would like it to be a prophecy.”

He disappeared into the corner of the corridor. Gao Yang didn’t immediately leave for his room. Instead, he leaned against the wall outside Dead Pig’s dorm, deep in thought.

Qing Ling appeared in training clothes then. She had a towel on her shoulder, her face covered in sweat with no visible injury on her. It seemed that she had just finished today’s training—or more precisely, she had just beaten someone up.

She frowned when she saw Gao Yang. “What are you doing here?”

She glanced at the plaque on the door and realized why. Gao Yang had only told Qing Ling about Lovely Lamb. She connected the dots quickly. “You’re going to tell Dead Pig?”

Gao Yang looked up at her with grim eyes. “Do you think I should?”

Qing Ling considered it for a few seconds. “If you tell him now, we may have to adjust our strategy.”

Gao Yang knew what she meant: Dead Pig might not agree to let Lovely Lamb join the fight then.

“However,” Qing Ling continued, her voice softening ever so slightly, “If you don’t tell him now, there may never be a chance to.”

Gao Yang smiled bitterly. “That’s not an answer. You just put my struggle into words.”

“Why should I give you an answer?” Qing Ling countered. “It’s your decision to make, not mine.”

Gao Yang stared at her. He made up his mind.

“I’m going to shower and sleep,” Qing Ling said as she walked away. Taking a deep breath, Gao Yang knocked on the door to Dead Pig’s room.

Soon, the door opened. Dead Pig’s large frame, clad in plus-sized pajamas, filled the frame like a wall. He looked a little more sickly than usual, which might be attributed to the injury he suffered in the previous fight with Gluttony, or simply to the lighting.

“Captain Gao?” Dead Pig said in surprise.

“Do you have a minute, Dead Pig?”

Dead Pig stepped to the side. “Come on in.”

Gao Yang entered the room. It was simple and clean with no additional decorations. Dead pig pulled the only chair in the room to Gao Yang.

“Have a seat. I’ll give you tea—”

“No need.” Gao Yang didn’t even move. “It’ll only take a few words.”

Dead Pig turned around to regard Gao Yang seriously. He had a feeling that this would be important.

“Liu Qingying left me a dream before her death, and she gave me Baili Yi’s diary.”

“Baili Yi told me,” Dead Pig said.

Gao Yang nodded. “There’s one thing Baili Yi didn’t tell you, though. Ba Qiuchi had a child.”

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Dead Pig questioned his ears. “Child?!”

“Yes,” Gao Yang added, “Your child.”

Dead Pig struggled to wrap his mind around it. Memories surfaced in his mind. Questions were connected and answered. It turned out that there was another layer to Ba Qiuchi leaving him.

The room fell silent save for Dead Pig’s heavy breathing. After a long while, he met Gao Yang’s eyes and mustered his courage to ask in a hoarse voice, “Is the child...still alive?”

“Alive and healthy. Happy, too. And...” Gao Yang paused. “Very brave.”

Dead Pig’s eyes widened in shock. “The child...awakened?”

Gao Yang nodded. “Yes.”

Dead Pig shuddered, feeling like a bullet had hit his heart. He staggered back, his large body faltering. He had to support himself with a hand on the wall.

He gasped for breaths with reddened eyes, his expression a battleground of warring joy and pain.

Another moment of silence passed as he opened his mouth and closed it, hesitating. Finally, his emotions settled down save for his confusion. “Why did you only tell me that now, Captain Gao?”

“Baili Yi’s appearance gives me a lot of concerns,” Gao Yang admitted. “I worried that telling you would change the causality. I’m sorry. I should’ve told you earlier.”

“Then why now?” Dead Pig asked. Then he got his answer. “Do you want to allow me to make the decision, Captain Gao?”

Gao Yang nodded. “You’re her real guardian. You may decide if she should enter the battlefield.”

Dead Pig fell silent once more. It took a long time before he looked back up and met Gao Yang’s eyes. “The girl will join the battle.”

“Have you made up your mind?” Gao Yang asked.

“She’s brave, just like her mother. It’s their choice. I have to respect them.” Dead Pig tightened his fists. “I will protect her. She will be safe as long as I’m alive.”

“No one can guarantee a victory,” Gao Yang said.

“That’s even more reason for her to join us.” Dead Pig had resolved himself. “If we lose, the child won’t live. She will only die alone and in despair.”

Gao Yang nodded. “I understand. Then the strategy stays unchanged.”

When he walked to the door, Dead Pig stopped him. “Wait.”

Gao Yang turned around. “Yes?”

“Little Ba...” Dead Pig’s hoarse voice softened with a hint of uncertainty. “Has she left me any message?”

Gao Yang recalled the dream. “No.”

“Ah.” Dead Pig lowered his head and smiled like he had expected the answer.

“But I got to hear Liu Qingying talking to Ba Qiuchi in the dream. They mentioned you.”

Dead Pig’s head snapped up, his eyes widened. He looked like a child nervously looking forward to the teacher’s question after spending time studying.

Gao Yang repeated what she said, “The child doesn’t look like Old Zhu at all. Do you think he’ll be happy or mad?”

Dead Pig stared at Gao Yang, seeing a distant past play out rather than the young leader.

Gao Yang added, “That’s all I heard about you.”

It took some time for Dead Pig to recover. He nodded at him. “Thank you.”

Gao Yang felt a prick in his heart. Strange, so many people thanked him today, but why?

He hadn’t helped them. He was simply a witness. Fortunate or unfortunate, he happened to be there to witness so much, yet he couldn’t even keep a smile from sliding off or laughter from fading.

After he left the room, Dead Pig remained standing, unmoving. A good moment passed before he finally returned to his bed, plopping himself down.

Opening the photo album on his phone, he found the picture taken on Lovely Lamb’s last birthday. Heavenly Dog and White Rabbit were with them. They had a group photo of four at the amusement park.

Lovely Lamb wore a festive red jacket with her hair put into buns. Holding a cotton candy in her hand, she sat on Dead Pig’s shoulder, her chubby face flushed and her eyes curved into crescents.

Heavenly Dog and White Rabbit stood on their sides, each striking a posture characteristic of them. Adept Horse was there, but he was the one taking the photo.

Dead Pig used his large fingers to zoom in on Lovely Lamb’s face until her smile filled the screen. Staring at it, he chuckled and muttered to himself, “Yes, she doesn’t look like me... It’s great...that she doesn’t look like me.”

A tear fell on the screen.

“Heh, she doesn’t look like me...but like her mother... How wonderful...that the child looks like her mother...”

Dead Pig laughed and cried at the same time, his eyes never leaving the phone’s screen.

...

Millennium Tower, Daxu District, May 19th.

Sunset and soft breeze embraced the Ferris wheel on top of the building. From afar, it looked like an eye gazing down at the city. From below, however, the wheel looked more like a gear etched into the sky, appearing worn and lonely, as if foretelling the fate of the world.

Qing Ling rode her blade and carried Gao Yang to the Ferris wheel. Finding an easily visible spot, Gao Yang knelt and pressed his hands to the floor, activating Time-Space Spirit.

Soon, a gray-blue circle of light expanded from Gao Yang, containing an abstracted hourglass. This was a teleportation point that would last twelve hours.

Gao Yang had set up twelve such teleportation points across Li City, allowing teleportation between the nodes. However, each could only be used once. That was Gao Yang’s current limit.

The seven teams had spread out across the city, looking for death monsters and awaiting the Three Double-Hours of Heavenly Tribulation. Once spotting a death monster, the team was to notify everyone, and the other teams would act according to the situation. If a team was farther from the mark, they could rush over through a nearby teleportation point.

“Alright.”

Gao Yang finished setting up the last one.

“Where to now?” Qing Ling asked.