The two men looked at Xia Feng, who was waiting for them, with terror in their eyes.
They had thought they had escaped and were free of Xia Feng, only to realize now that it was all wishful thinking.
It was as if all their actions had been seen by Xia Feng, leaving no possibility of escape.
Xia Feng waiting for them outside was enough to speak volumes.
Perhaps the space that Ge Chenghua had opened earlier was created by Xia Feng. The two men were struck speechless, realizing that perhaps not fleeing might have offered a chance at survival.
The current situation meant they had squandered their opportunity to live.
Looking at Xia Feng, the two immediately knelt down, pleading, "Please... please be merciful and spare our lives."
Both were kneeling on the ground, faces etched with fear, begging Xia Feng.
Xia Feng looked at the two kneeling figures and smiled, saying, "I never intended to kill you, but your self-destructive actions make it difficult for me."
This was, of course, a lie. Xia Feng was merely saying it for their benefit.
Having reached this point, with them wanting to kill him, there was no way he wouldn't kill them.
He just needed to give them a sliver of hope.
Indeed, upon hearing this, the two showed regret. Xue Yangxia, in particular, wished he could kill Ge Chenghua on the spot. If not for his wicked idea, he wouldn't be facing the threat of death.
Both men remained silent, prostrate on the ground, unsure how to respond to Xia Feng's words.
They could only pray for Xia Feng's pity once more and for him to show mercy.
"How about this? Since you broke the rules first, I must certainly impose a penalty. Only one of you can live. You two discuss and decide who stays alive," Xia Feng deliberately lengthened his tone, throwing the decision to them.
"Big Brother, I've respected you my entire life and listened to your every word. This is when you need to step up. You can't just watch your brother die, can you?"
Upon hearing this, Ge Chenghua was the first to sell out Xue Yangxia, urging Xue Yangxia to uphold his role as the elder brother and die in his stead.
Xue Yangxia would never be so magnanimous; he would never do something like dying for someone else.
In his heart, the motto was "May my fellow Daoists die, but not me." This was the spirit he had always believed in.
"Third Brother, since you respect Big Brother, then you should die for Big Brother. Listen to Big Brother's words and die for him." Xue Yangxia shook his head.
The two saw hatred in each other's eyes.
Perhaps they had been getting along peacefully before, with certain feelings unexpressed. Now, however, with matters brought out into the open, the outcome was bound to be different.
Ge Chenghua was so enraged by Xue Yangxia's words that he almost spat blood. He had previously, for the sake of everyone's survival, spared no effort in consuming his own blood, sacrificing his vital energy to create an escape opportunity.
Yet, Xue Yangxia had reaped the benefits and now, at this critical juncture, he was casting a hateful gaze upon him.
Since he himself was not going to live, then no one else would have an easy time either.
"Xue Yangxia, I never expected you to be this kind of person. A sinister wretch. You've been doing everything yourself, and we were merely following your orders. Now that something has happened, you're the first to shirk responsibility and try to use our lives to save yours. I'm truly ashamed of you. We respected you for so many years, and you have no backbone whatsoever."
Ge Chenghua pointed at Xue Yangxia and berated him, the two officially turning on each other.
Xia Feng wanted precisely this outcome – to watch dogs fight.
From the moment he first saw Xue Yangxia, Xia Feng knew he was a sinister schemer, albeit one with a high IQ, who had been fooling Ma Tiangang and Ge Chenghua all along.
Now, with only one life to be spared, they had dropped all pretense and revealed their true natures.
In their desperation to survive, they stopped pretending.
Xia Feng, watching the two argue incessantly, suggested:
"Stop arguing. I have an excellent suggestion. You two fight each other. One of you must die, and the survivor will be spared."