At dawn, Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin stepped outside.
The Earth Tiger wasn’t there—probably not on duty yet.
The Ant wasn’t there either—likely off shift.
A murky yellow sun climbed into the sky, carrying the stench of early morning, marking the official start of the first day of this cycle.
Qiao Jiajin stretched and turned his head to ask, “Liar, are we just gonna wait here the whole time?”
“Yeah, let’s wait a bit.”
Neither of them knew what time it was, but after waiting about an hour—long enough for Qiao Jiajin to squat on the ground and idly dig at the sand out of boredom—the Earth Tiger finally emerged lazily from a nearby portal.
He spotted them at once.
“Yo, early birds,” the Earth Tiger said carelessly, walking over and settling onto a step.
“Not early. We’ve been waiting an hour,” Qi Xia replied.
“Hmm.” The Earth Tiger nodded, then lifted his eyelids. “Did you deliver the stuff?”
Qi Xia reached into his pocket, pulled out the pack of snacks, and tossed it to him.
“We couldn’t deliver it.”
The words made Qiao Jiajin gulp. He hadn’t expected Qi Xia to actually tell the truth.
He was a little afraid the tiger-headed man would suddenly fly into a rage—if that happened, neither of them would stand a chance.
“Why couldn’t you deliver it?” the Earth Tiger asked.
“That kid’s dead.”
“Oh…?” The Earth Tiger’s expression turned strange. “You’re saying she’s dead?”
“Yeah.” Qi Xia nodded.
“Heh…” The Earth Tiger slowly stood up, his voice carrying a cryptic weight. “Kid, you’re smart. If you’d told me you delivered it, I’d have made you regret it.”
Qi Xia exhaled quietly in relief. “You already knew she was dead?”
A flicker of sorrow passed over the Earth Tiger’s face.
“It’s been almost a month… Every day after work, she never came to meet me…”
The two had no idea what the relationship was between the Earth Tiger and the Rat, so they stayed silent, letting him grieve.
“I really miss her…” The Earth Tiger slowly raised his head. “She’s been dead a while, huh?”
“Yeah, about twenty days?” Qiao Jiajin nodded, but Qi Xia sensed something off.
The Earth Tiger’s expression darkened instantly.
“Then… how did you know she was a ‘kid’ if her corpse had been rotting for over twenty days?” His voice was icy as he stared at Qi Xia.
Qi Xia knew there was no hiding it.
“I killed her,” he admitted. “I gambled her to death.”
“Gambled her to death…?” The Earth Tiger stiffened slightly.
“Yeah… We bet our lives.”
“You mother—”
The Earth Tiger stood up slowly, visibly furious, making Qiao Jiajin tense.
But just seconds later, the anger drained from him like air from a deflating balloon, leaving only exhaustion.
“You said ‘gambled her to death’… So, when she died… did she suffer?” His eyes seemed to shimmer.
Qi Xia thought for a moment, then shook his head. “No. She shot herself. Instant.”
“That’s… that’s good then…” The Earth Tiger nodded, crumpling the snack bag in his hands. “Little rat… you’re free now.”
The words “you’re free now” sent a jolt through Qi Xia’s head, stirring a strange, sharp pain.
He quickly pushed the thought aside and asked, “So, what about our deal?”
“I’ll keep your ‘tokens’ safe. If you ever bring that person to me, I’ll return every last one. Not a single one missing.” The Earth Tiger paused, then added, “But if you’re lying—”
“I’m not,” Qi Xia cut in. “Those tokens are everything to me. I wouldn’t risk them on a lie.”
The Earth Tiger gave a slow, quiet nod.
“So next… I just have to help you find the ‘Heavenly Goat,’ right?”
“What kinda nonsense are you on about?” The Earth Tiger let out an angry chuckle. “I asked you to deliver snacks, and you failed. Shouldn’t I change the terms?”
Qi Xia wasn’t surprised. He simply nodded. “Fair. Go ahead, I’m listening.”
The Earth Tiger slowly raised a hand, pointing into the distance. “Walk that way for half an hour. You’ll find a bar. Under it is a casino—the ‘Earth Goat’s’ game site. I want him dead.”
“Wait… what?” Qi Xia froze. “Dead?”
“Kill him for me, and I’ll grant whatever you ask next.”
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin exchanged glances. The demand was too extreme.
“Earth Tiger, you know as a ‘participant,’ the only way I can kill a ‘Zodiac’ is by gambling.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“How the hell am I supposed to gamble my life against the Earth Goat when I know nothing about him?” Qi Xia frowned. “If I die, it’s over. How would you ever see the ‘Heavenly Goat’?”
The Earth Tiger pressed his lips together, as if realizing his demand was unreasonable.
“Then… I just want him taught a lesson. What do you suggest?”
Qi Xia thought for a moment. “Earth Tiger, even though ‘tokens’ are useless to you, would taking all of the Earth Goat’s tokens count as a lesson?”
“You wanna take all his tokens…?” The Earth Tiger almost laughed. “Do you even know what the ‘Goat’ represents?”
“Of course.” Qi Xia nodded. “And when it comes to that specialty, I might be just as good as him.”
The Earth Tiger studied Qi Xia anew, sensing something different about him.
“Fine. New terms.” He crossed his arms. “Go alone to the Earth Goat’s game and win every last token he has. That way, I can mock him tonight.”
Qi Xia considered it briefly. “I have to go alone…?”
“Yep.” The Earth Tiger grinned. “I need to see if you’re worth partnering with.”
“Deal.” Qi Xia glanced at the sky. “Before your shift ends today, I’ll report back.”
The Earth Tiger nodded, then added with mock politeness, “Since you’re repeat customers, wanna try my game again?”
Both shook their heads vigorously.
Strangely, the Earth Tiger seemed in good spirits—the same man who’d refused to kill earlier was now actively recruiting players.
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin bid him farewell and set off toward the rising sun.
“Fist…” Qi Xia said after a while. “Go back and tell the others what happened. I’ll check out the Earth Goat’s place.”
“But do you even have enough tokens for the entry fee?” Qiao Jiajin blinked.
“Ah—” Qi Xia had forgotten. He’d just handed all his tokens to the Earth Tiger.
“Look!” Qiao Jiajin suddenly pulled five tokens from his pocket. “I swiped these last night!”
Qi Xia gave him a deadpan look.
“Listen… the whole point of ‘swiping’ is that I’m not supposed to know about it,” he sighed. “If you’re giving them to me now, it’s not stealing anymore…”
“Liar, I took these just in case that Earth Tiger backed out and left us with nothing!” Qiao Jiajin declared righteously.
“Fine…” Qi Xia took the five tokens with a resigned nod.
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