Hearing the knock, the mole turned his head sharply, his expression filled with confusion.
“Boss Pig, Boss Dog, please stop fighting,” the mole whispered. “Something seems off.”
He quickly thought it over. Even if a team had been inciting the “Zodiacs” to rebel yesterday, the “Pegasus Moment” had been activated at 11 AM today and ended by 1 PM. After that, no one else could possibly join any game to turn more Zodiacs against them.
So who could be knocking?
A leftover from yesterday?
Everyone fell silent, their eyes fixed on the door.
*Knock knock knock knock knock.*
A series of rapid, faint knocks echoed, making everyone frown.
Only the tiger’s expression changed completely. Truly, the Sheep was the Sheep—no one else could have anticipated this move.
“Open the door,” the tiger said with a grin. “The eighth member of our team is here.”
The black sheep gave him a skeptical glance before slowly walking to the door and pulling it open.
It was a female “earth chicken.”
She was tall and slender, her intricate patterns making her look more like a partridge than a chicken.
“Good evening, everyone,” the chicken said sweetly, though the veins on her forehead were bulging.
The sheep gave her a puzzled look before turning back to the group. “Anyone know her?”
“Move aside,” the chicken said, pushing him away with a smile before stepping inside.
No one recognized her, and they all exchanged confused glances. The tiger, however, studied her closely.
She looked vaguely familiar—probably lived in the room to his left—but they’d never interacted in all these years.
He’d been living here since signing the “Zodiac Ascension Bet,” and there’d never been a reason to befriend neighbors.
“Uh… miss,” the tiger asked politely, “what brings you here?”
“‘Miss’? Oh, sure, sure.”
Still smiling, the chicken walked to the center of the room.
Under everyone’s gaze, she took a deep breath—then screamed with all her might:
“WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?! IT’S THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!”
The sheer volume made it feel like an explosion had gone off in the room. Their ears rang, and they nearly went deaf.
The black sheep quickly shut the door to avoid further trouble.
“How many times?! HOW. MANY. TIMES?!” the chicken roared, her face twisted with fury. “There’s just a WOODEN WALL between our rooms! You see that?! It’s WOOD! Not some soundproof KTV partition!”
Everyone looked embarrassed, but no one dared to argue.
“Every damn night, a bunch of you gather here—either drinking or fighting!” She glared at them, her earlier smile long gone. “Do you seriously not realize you’re disturbing the peace?! HUH?!”
“Wait, miss, calm down—” The tiger was flustered. “We were just chatting here, I—”
“CHATTING?!” In two strides, she was right in his face, her sharp beak inches from his nose. “Are you DEAF?! Did you not hear those *BANGS* just now?! Are your ears clogged with crap?!”
“They… they were just messing around…”
The tiger forced an awkward smile, realizing this “eighth member” was nothing like he’d imagined.
In just one minute, she’d silenced the entire room—only he could still manage a word or two.
“Messing around? HA! Messing around?!” Her feathered arms crossed, veins throbbing on her forehead. “That noise sounded like a damn car crash! What, you racing cars at midnight?!”
“N-no, just—listen—” He laughed nervously. “Why don’t you sit down first?”
The mole snapped out of his daze and hurried over. “Boss, please don’t be mad. You already look like a quail—getting angry just makes you seem more like a hen—”
“SHUT UP!!!” she shrieked. “Are you INSANE?!”
The mole nearly jumped out of his skin and clamped his mouth shut.
“Shut your trap, you damn rat!” The tiger shoved the mole aside, then turned back to the chicken. “Miss, please, take a seat! A guest is a guest. We didn’t mean any harm—no need to be so angry.”
Grumbling, the chicken grabbed a chair, sat down, and crossed her legs. “Forget the rest—just tell me if you’re gonna keep it down from now on. It’s past midnight! Are you all nocturnal or something?! I let the first two nights slide, but this is the THIRD in a row! Do you plan on never letting anyone sleep again?!”
“Look how mad she is… damn…” The tiger winced, then waved at the pig and dog. “Piggy! Doggo! Quit standing there—come apologize to the quail!”
“WHO’S A QUAIL?!” Her temper flared again, and she nearly leaped out of her seat. “Tiger! Are you doing this on purpose?!”
“No, no!” He waved his hands frantically. “Dammit, it’s that stupid rat’s fault for calling you a quail—it just slipped out! Don’t be mad… Miss Hen…”
“AAAAAH!” She clawed at her feathers, looking utterly exasperated. “I swear, you people are driving me insane! What is WRONG with you?!”
The group was at a complete loss. A bunch of burly men, all clueless in the face of this.
And honestly, they *were* in the wrong. Three nights in a row of shouting—and the last two with actual fights.
Two Earth-level Zodiacs going at it sounded like a full-blown accident, and this poor woman had been right next door.
The dog finally stood and took a step forward. “We’re sorry. That was out of line.”
His tone was sincere, and the chicken’s expression softened slightly.
“I’m not being unreasonable, right?” she said. “I just want to know what’s going on. Is this gonna be a nightly thing?”
“No, no—Boss Chicken, don’t worry,” the mole chimed in, grinning. “This’ll be over soon. You’ll get your sleep back.”
“…Really?” She eyed him suspiciously.
“Really.” He stared at her for a long moment before suddenly asking, “Boss Chicken… do you know ‘Qi Xia’?”
The room went still.
She paused, then said, “I think he died in one of my games. Why?”
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