Chapter 1258: The Angry One

Chu Tianqiu felt that Earth Rooster indeed seemed deeply affected, but what did killing a “Celestial” have to do with appearance?

“Wait… what exactly is going on?” Earth Monkey asked. “Why drag me into this room? I still need to find something.”

Earth Rooster remained silent, and the others nearby fell quiet too.

With a sigh, Earth Monkey pulled a cigarette from his pocket, lit it up, and exhaled a puff of smoke before muttering, “I’m exhausted. Searching for something with no leads is a real pain.”

“Um…” Earth Pig, a woman, pointed at Earth Monkey and then at the carpet covering the floor. “Please don’t smoke in here.”

“Ugh, what a hassle.” Earth Monkey irritably flicked the cigarette butt out of the room, then spat on the ground.

The others fell silent at the sight, and Chu Tianqiu shot Earth Rooster a sympathetic glance.

“Forget it…”

After a moment, Earth Rooster seemed to have talked herself down, wearing a resigned expression. “Fine, ‘fat Earth Monkey’ it is… That guy’s a blockhead anyway, so I’ll let it slide. If it were anyone else, I’d have lost my temper…”

She turned away, picked up her coffee cup, and took a sip, as if trying to suppress her emotions—like drinking some kind of forgetfulness potion.

“What the hell? What are you even resigning yourself to?” Earth Monkey gave her a baffled look before turning to Qiao Jiajin and Chu Tianqiu. “By the way, have you two seen a colorful quail?”

*Crack.*

Earth Rooster’s barely cooled temper flared up again, and she crushed the coffee cup in her hand.

“Huh…?” Earth Monkey still looked clueless as he stared at her. “What’s wrong with that Earth Rooster?”

Earth Rooster gently placed the broken shards on the table, turned back to Earth Monkey, and smiled—though the veins on her forehead bulged even more than before.

Earth Monkey suddenly sensed danger in that smile, though the aura felt oddly familiar.

He widened his glowing eyes and stared at her, instantly understanding everything.

“Excuse me,” Earth Rooster said sweetly. “I *am* that ‘colorful quail.’ Was there something you needed, you grubby old fat monkey?”

Earth Pig beside them trembled violently, barely holding back laughter.

“Eh?” Earth Monkey’s eyes bulged like copper bells. “Wait… aren’t you Earth Rooster? Since when are you a quail?”

“How the hell should I know?!” Earth Rooster roared. “Every damn one of you calls me a quail! I was just fine before I met you lot!”

“Whoa, I really didn’t know!” Earth Monkey quickly grabbed her hand to explain. “Shit, girl, they just told me it was a quail… Don’t take it to heart.”

Earth Rooster tensed up as soon as he touched her and immediately shoved his hand away.

“It’s *really* hard not to take it to heart,” she snapped, regaining her composure. “I should’ve realized earlier that the ‘thing’ you were looking for was *me*—I should’ve slapped you silly right then.”

“Hey, that’s crossing a line. I already said I didn’t know,” Earth Monkey retorted, now annoyed himself. “And you just called me a ‘grubby old fat monkey’—I didn’t complain, did I?”

“Because *you* called me a quail first!”

The tension between them escalated rapidly, and it seemed they were about to fight before even encountering Celestial Monkey and Celestial Rooster.

“Hey, hey, stop!” Qiao Jiajin quickly stepped in and grabbed Earth Rooster’s arm. “We’re all good ‘Zodiacs,’ right? Talk it out—no need for fighting.”

Earth Rooster tensed again when he touched her and immediately pushed his hand away. She looked like she wanted to say something but swallowed her words in frustration.

“Listen up!” Earth Rooster jabbed a finger at Earth Monkey’s nose. “The plan is for *us* to kill Celestial Rooster and Celestial Monkey. So you’d better *not* piss me off from now on!”

“Same to you!” Earth Monkey barked. “Like I *want* to kill those two? I’ve got my own shit to do!”

“Who cares?!” Earth Rooster screamed. “If you’re ready, turn around and *leave*! Wait for me outside!”

“Tch, fine.”

Earth Monkey shoved the door open and stormed out.

Earth Rooster took a few deep breaths, then walked over to Qiao Jiajin. The veins on her forehead faded as she asked softly, “You okay, A’Jin?”

Chu Tianqiu and Zhang Shan turned to look at Qiao Jiajin—only to realize he did seem off.

His fists were clenched, his brow furrowed, as if he were boiling with anger.

“I…” Qiao Jiajin didn’t understand why he suddenly felt so furious. After a pause, he asked, “You know me too?”

“Relax, take deep breaths.” Earth Rooster didn’t dare touch him but guided him gently. “Of course I know you. Hell, you even died by my hand once.”

“…What?”

“But there was no choice—I was following Qi Xia’s orders.” She smiled. “Don’t worry, even if you died in my game, we’re still on the same side.”

Qiao Jiajin nodded vaguely, feeling his anger gradually fade.

“What… just happened to me?”

“Oh, I ‘Provoke’ people—better not touch me,” Earth Rooster said casually, startling Earth Pig beside her.

Earth Monkey lit another cigarette outside the door, glanced at Earth Rooster expressionlessly, then continued puffing away as if nothing had happened.

“Well, I’ll be off then.” Earth Rooster waved at the three men. “Just rest here for a while. Once the chaos outside dies down, you can leave.”

With that, she stepped out, snorted at Earth Monkey, and walked ahead.

Earth Monkey gave the three men inside a meaningful look, muttered “See ya,” and left.

In the hallway, Earth Monkey and Earth Rooster kept an awkward distance before he finally asked, “Was it really okay to just say that?”

“Say what?”

“Your ‘Provoke’ ability,” Earth Monkey said. “Are you *that* close with that Earth Pig? Enough to casually reveal your ‘Echo’?”

“Who cares about her?” Earth Rooster chuckled. “I just met her today. I made up some random gossip—even if she reports me, she won’t know who I am. Besides…”

“Besides, no one can report us anymore,” Earth Monkey cut in. “Look.”

Earth Rooster followed his gaze—two Celestial Zodiacs had cornered an Earthly one in the distance.

“Ambushed before we even set out,” Earth Rooster sighed bitterly. “Now we have to walk right past those two and tell them we’re off to kill Celestial Monkey and Celestial Rooster?”