The Earth Chicken’s expression darkened for half a second before she slowly walked up to the Black Sheep.
“Couldn’t he have introduced himself to me?”
“But that’s strange,” the Black Sheep said. “You yourself said your game is extremely simple—so simple that the rules can be explained in just a few words. In that case, would Qi Xia really need to introduce himself to you?”
The Earth Chicken stared into the Black Sheep’s eyes for a long time before suddenly letting out a snort of laughter.
The abruptness of her laughter caught everyone off guard.
“Truly worthy of being the White Sheep’s disciple—you even talk like him,” the Earth Chicken said, covering her mouth with a hand. “Too bad you’re not as handsome as he was.”
The Black Sheep frowned slightly. “What…?”
“Our team needs someone like you,” the Earth Chicken said with a wink. “If you hadn’t stopped me today and let me walk out that door, I probably would never have come back.”
“You…”
At this point, the other Zodiacs could only sense that this Earth Chicken’s identity was unusual, but they had no idea where her allegiances lay.
“Because Qi Xia told me I could act entirely according to my own preferences—if I think something’s fine, it is; if I think it’s not, it isn’t. He would bear all the consequences himself,” the Earth Chicken said, rubbing her feather-covered hands together. “Any objections?”
“So… you know why we’re gathered here?” the Black Sheep asked cautiously.
“Of course,” the Earth Chicken replied. “I’ve known for many years that you would all gather here one day.”
“Hey… that’s not right, miss,” the Earth Tiger quickly interjected, standing up. “If you knew all this, why accuse us of ‘disturbing the peace’ and all that? Aren’t we all on the same side?”
Instead of answering directly, the Earth Chicken simply dropped a cryptic remark:
“Tell me, do any of you know what the ‘herd mentality’ is?”
The Earth Rat narrowed his eyes at these words and took a closer look at the Earth Chicken.
“Herd mentality…?” The Black Sheep didn’t understand her meaning and pondered for a moment before asking, “What are you trying to say?”
“Qi Xia has always been my ‘bellwether.’ I would die for him,” the Earth Chicken said with a faint smile. “Whether he’s the White Sheep or Qi Xia, I would die for him.”
Her simple statement left the room in silence.
“Qi Xia excels at calculating people’s hearts, yet the hardest thing to calculate in this world is precisely that—people’s hearts,” the Earth Chicken said meaningfully, scanning the room. “I would die for Qi Xia—that’s been true for years. But I’m not so sure about the rest of you.”
“What do you mean…?” The Black Sheep’s eyes flashed with anger. “Are you saying we wouldn’t die for Brother Sheep?”
“You would. The Earth Tiger would too—I believe that,” the Earth Chicken nodded. “But what about the others?”
The expressions of the remaining five Zodiacs in the room grew complicated.
They were here for all sorts of strange and varied reasons—but certainly not to die for the White Sheep.
The Earth Rat took a slow step forward and asked, “So… the only way to break the curse and escape this place is to die for him?”
“No, we don’t necessarily have to die for him,” the Earth Chicken said. “But we do need the resolve to die for him.”
“What…?”
“Only then can Qi Xia’s ‘plan’ proceed.”
“So you know what we’re supposed to do…?”
The Earth Chicken smiled faintly and gestured for them to gather closer.
—
When the Earth Tiger arrived at the venue with a bag of long-cold food for his shift, he found Qi Xia already waiting at the entrance.
He hurried over, schooling his conflicted expression into one of apology. “Shee—uh, Qi Xia, sorry I’m a bit late today.”
“Yeah…” Qi Xia nodded absently. “It’s fine.”
“Hey, Qi Xia… I saw her,” the Earth Tiger said. “That eighth person is an ‘Earth Chicken.’ We’ve already met. You really are something, predicting everything like that!”
“…Good.”
Qi Xia didn’t seem to be listening at all. He just rubbed his forehead, his expression strained, as if he wasn’t feeling well.
When Qi Xia didn’t react, the Earth Tiger froze for a few seconds before quickly changing the subject and holding up his plastic bag.
“Qi Xia! I brought you some food!” he said cheerfully. “You haven’t eaten properly in days, right? Look, there’s even a chicken leg in here—Old Black specifically asked me to bring it to you! That sentimental bastard, huh?”
Qi Xia glanced at the bag, his gaze distant and unfocused.
“What’s wrong… Qi Xia…?” The Earth Tiger frowned at Qi Xia’s bloodshot eyes. “You look like you haven’t slept all night. Did something happen?”
“I’m fine. I don’t want this—you eat it.”
Qi Xia waved him off, shook his head, and walked past him without another word.
The Earth Tiger stood rooted in place, utterly bewildered.
Just yesterday, Brother Sheep had been perfectly fine. Overnight, he seemed like a different person. What the hell had happened last night?
He watched Qi Xia’s retreating figure, too afraid to say another word, like a child who’d done something wrong. All he could do was clench the plastic bag tightly in his hand.
Meanwhile, Qi Xia could only feel waves of dizziness assaulting his mind. Every step he took felt heavier than the last.
Ever since waking up last night, the vertigo had only worsened. It seemed the Celestial Dragon’s influence on his psyche was real—the sheer strangeness of his ability had surpassed all expectations.
Could destroying buildings in a dream really affect his mind like this?
Qi Xia kept rubbing his temples, trying to clear his thoughts.
But his current state was like having a high fever—his head was pounding, his body exhausted. He could feel every throbbing vein in his skull, his brain twisting as if ready to explode at any moment.
“This isn’t good…”
He punched his own head a few times, but aside from a numb scalp, he felt no pain at all.
“Well played, ‘Celestial Dragon.’”
Qi Xia swallowed hard and pulled out the map the Azure Dragon had given him.
Time was of the essence. Starting today, he had to meet those four Zodiacs without delay—yet of all times, he’d crossed paths with the Celestial Dragon.
It was both a blessing and a curse. The good news? He now had a way to fully guard against the Celestial Dragon. The bad news? The encounter had left him wounded.
Steeling himself, Qi Xia checked the map for the nearest Zodiac.
It was the “Chicken.”
But then he reconsidered—the Earth Tiger had just mentioned that this “Chicken” was already in the room, meaning she wasn’t his target.
His real targets were the remaining four.
Ox, Dragon, Snake, Monkey.
None of them were particularly close. The only one he could reach by morning was the “Earth Monkey.”
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