The lizard man looked at Brother Goat but was so angry he couldn’t speak.
Brother Goat didn’t bother with him any longer, shoving him aside roughly before saying softly, “By the way, the humiliation today was something you brought upon yourself. Don’t blame me for it.”
Although the lizard man had what looked like dozens of “disciples,” they all cleared a path for us.
Uncle Tiger and Uncle Snake turned back to pull me along, and we followed Brother Goat as he walked ahead.
After we had gone some distance, Brother Goat turned and whispered to us, “From now on, the four of you should leave together after work. If there’s any trouble, try to buy time—I’ll handle it.”
Uncle Black Sheep hesitated for a moment before asking, “So, Brother Goat… we’re keeping this kid from now on?”
“Hmm?” Brother Goat turned to look at him. “Do you see a problem with that?”
“N-no… not at all…” Uncle Black Sheep shook his head. “You must have your reasons, Brother Goat… I just thought this kid wouldn’t earn you any ‘Dao,’ and your ascension might be delayed even further…”
“If I were solely focused on ascension, I wouldn’t keep any of you, let alone this child,” Brother Goat replied. “I’ve never had family since I was young. But since we’ve shared meals at the same table, you are my family now. Even if I do leave someday… I’ll make sure you’re all taken care of.”
“Brother Goat, you don’t need to worry about me!” Uncle Tiger said. “I’m just a liability. If you want to ascend, you can drop me anytime!”
“Shut up!” Uncle Snake smacked the back of Uncle Tiger’s head. “Can’t you tell when someone’s being kind? Think you’re the only righteous one here?”
“Damn snake, you—” Uncle Tiger clutched his head. “Excuse me, why did you hit me?”
“Since when do you talk like this…?” Uncle Snake reached out to feel Uncle Tiger’s mask. “Little Tiger, you got a fever? Why aren’t you cursing at me?”
“I just… don’t feel like cursing. Don’t provoke me.” Uncle Tiger pushed Uncle Snake’s hand away. “Go to work already.”
Uncle Snake nodded, then reached over and patted my head.
I instinctively took half a step back—Uncle Snake had a rather unpleasant smell.
“What’re you scared of?” Uncle Snake shook his head. “Even though I’m a ‘snake,’ I don’t eat little ‘mice’ like you right now.”
“Ah… that’s not it… I’m not afraid you’ll eat me…” I quickly shook my head.
“Alright, I gotta go.” Uncle Snake ruffled my hair anyway. “I’ll play with you tonight.”
After Uncle Snake left, Uncle Black Sheep and Uncle Tiger followed suit. Unsure which door to exit from, I could only stick with Brother Goat.
Every door here looked identical—how did they even remember which was which?
After walking another few dozen steps, Brother Goat finally stopped.
“Mouse, you leave from here.” He pointed to a door beside him. “Your door is exactly one hundred and thirteen doors away from mine. Remember that from now on.”
“Ah… got it.” I nodded. “Then… I’ll be going now, Brother Goat…”
Brother Goat looked at me, blinking slightly before asking, “Why do you call them ‘uncles’ but call me ‘brother’?”
“B-because you sound younger…” I said in a small voice. “You seem like a brother to me…”
“A brother…?” A faint hint of melancholy flashed in his eyes. “Do you know how long I’ve been here…?”
Hearing this, I quickly added, “If you don’t like it, Brother Goat… I can call you ‘uncle’ too…”
“No, ‘brother’ is fine.” He shook his head. “No one’s ever called me that before.”
“Ah…?”
“Mouse.” Brother Goat spoke again. “Don’t die out there.”
“D-die…?” I thought he was overthinking it—Lady Vermilion Bird outside seemed like she’d protect me. I probably wouldn’t die.
“Maybe I’m just worrying too much.” Brother Goat shook his head, then took out four small orbs from his pocket and handed them to me.
I’d seen these before—Sister Qin Dingdong had used them to play games with the Arbiter.
“These four ‘Dao’ are for your protection. My expectations aren’t high—just break even.”
“Th-thank you, Brother Goat.” So this was what ‘Dao’ looked like?
“Go on. See you tonight.” Brother Goat pushed the door open for me, revealing the warehouse entrance where I’d first arrived.
After saying goodbye, I stepped outside, feeling amazed.
Standing dumbly at the warehouse door, I recalled the rules Uncle Tiger and Uncle Snake had told me.
I was this warehouse’s Arbiter, so I had to wait here for “participants”…
For some reason, I felt nervous.
Would anyone actually come to play my game…?
I pulled out the notebook Brother Goat had given me and carefully reread the rules. They were a bit complicated—I wasn’t sure if I could handle it…
The sun slowly moved across the sky, and it felt like I’d been waiting forever, but no one came.
My warehouse must’ve been too remote…
But that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing! I was worried I’d mess up… and that Brother Goat would lose ‘Dao.’
They’d given me food—I couldn’t let them down…
So I was torn. Part of me wanted to earn some ‘Dao’ for Brother Goat, but another part hoped no one would show up…
“Little mouse!” A voice suddenly rang out behind me, startling me badly.
I turned around to see two women—they were so pretty!
Well… to be precise, one was *exceptionally* beautiful, like a star from a magazine. The other was pretty too, but she paled in comparison.
Ah! Now wasn’t the time to think about that.
I-I had customers!
My hands fidgeted awkwardly before I finally clasped them behind my back.
“D-do you want to take my ‘trial’?” I mustered my courage and asked. Once the words were out, I thought I sounded pretty convincing.
“Trial…?” One of the pretty women chuckled. “You sound like a kid… Everyone else calls it a ‘game.’ Why do you call it a ‘trial’?”
“Uh, I—” My mind went blank. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t think of a reason.
“Never mind, little one.” The pretty woman shook her head. “Just tell me what your game is.”
“Ah, my game is called—”
Oh no, I completely forgot!
“It’s called…”
“Called what?” The pretty woman stared at me intently.
The harder I tried to recall the notebook’s contents, the emptier my mind became… What *was* Brother Goat’s game again?
The exceptionally beautiful woman glanced at me. “Are you a new ‘Zodiac’? You can’t even remember your own game?”
“W-who says I forgot…?”
I turned to look at my warehouse and suddenly had a brilliant idea.
“Ladies! My game is called ‘Warehouse Dao Hunt’!”
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