Chapter 810: Twelve

“White Poppy Flower.”

Qi Xia murmured the name softly as he stepped out of the soccer field, feeling that Earth Ox’s final reaction had been somewhat odd.

Why bring up a flower out of nowhere?

Qi Xia knew that all the knowledge in his mind came from books and texts, and he had no concrete image of what a “White Poppy Flower” looked like. None of the books he had read mentioned the flower’s meaning either. He wasn’t omniscient—perhaps this was just an obscure piece of knowledge.

Before he could make sense of it, the vague image of the “White Poppy Flower” in his mind abruptly transformed into Yu Nian’an’s smiling face, then scattered like drifting petals, vanishing without a trace.

At the same time, a faint, sharp pain pulsed in his head.

“What’s going on…?”

Frowning, Qi Xia tried to conjure the image of the “White Poppy Flower” again to test his senses.

But the “White Poppy Flower” was like a bizarre key—every door it opened led straight to Yu Nian’an’s smile.

“What the hell…” Qi Xia shook his head, feeling his thoughts grow increasingly muddled the more he dwelled on it.

Since waking up this time, his mind had rarely felt this chaotic. But this “White Poppy Flower”…

He forced himself to cut off the train of thought, silently noting the question in his mind:

*What is the meaning of the White Poppy Flower?*

If he found someone knowledgeable about flowers, he might as well ask.

Apart from the White Poppy Flower, there was another matter that weighed heavily on Qi Xia’s mind.

The “Cangjie Chess.”

“Cangjie… Chess…”

Just hearing the name gave him no immediate clues.

He knew he wasn’t deeply versed in board games, and the inclusion of “Cangjie”—the legendary inventor of Chinese characters—only deepened the mystery.

His first encounter with Chu Tianqiu in the game had them sitting across from each other, playing chess? That seemed far too dull.

But even if Dragon’s games were divided into many categories, their core themes always revolved around “scales” and “yin-yang.” How did “Cangjie Chess” connect to these elements?

Originally, he had planned to use some tricks to push Chu Tianqiu to his limits, to see the potential he could unleash in desperation. If Chu Tianqiu didn’t meet his expectations, he would simply leave him lying in that game arena forever.

Now, it seemed this was a “confrontation-type” game—no tricks needed. He and Chu Tianqiu would face off directly, settling both victory and life-and-death in one go.

The pros outweighed the cons. True, he might expose his trump cards in front of Earth Dragon, but it was also a perfect opportunity to gauge Chu Tianqiu’s true strength.

“Hold on tight,” Qi Xia murmured, narrowing his eyes meaningfully. “Without you… how will we ever leave this place?”

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out the map to confirm Earth Snake’s location before heading steadily down the main road.

By now, most of the “Zodiacs” marked on the map had taken shape in his mind.

**”Ox”** was from “Jade City”—a woman with incredibly toned muscles but not particularly tall. Her muscle mass had likely been above average even before becoming a Zodiac, meaning she was probably an athlete in the real world. Given her strong core, she most likely specialized in something like high jump.

**”Rabbit’s”** description came from Chen Junnan and Earth Tiger—tall, composed. Earth Tiger distrusted him, but Chen Junnan’s gut told him he wasn’t a bad person. He had voluntarily joined Earth Tiger’s team and could very well be a valuable ally.

**”Dog”** seemed like the type to slack off. He had inherited his mentor’s game arena and carried on some of the former Earth Dog’s beliefs. He might become an ally—or he might just give up entirely. Either way, he had already joined Earth Tiger’s group.

**”Monkey”** was a middle-aged man with a gambling addiction, seemingly on the verge of losing motivation. Fortunately, Qi Xia had intervened in time to stabilize him—for now. But Earth Monkey’s pessimistic nature meant he could still waver.

**”Pig”** acted like a foul-tempered teenager. From what Qi Xia could tell, the boy seemed to hold some resentment toward him. He could either become an ally or side with “Heavenly Dragon.”

That left three more on the map: **”Snake,” “Dragon,”** and **”Rooster.”**

Qi Xia felt like he had recovered some memories about **”Rooster.”** She was Earth Tiger’s neighbor—exceptionally noisy but reliable. Though his memories painted her as a lively, chatterbox girl, he couldn’t fully trust those impressions until he saw her again.

**”Dragon,”** according to Earth Ox, was an extremely dangerous figure—the city’s “Earth Yin Dragon,” the master of “Cangjie Chess.” She was also the one that strange “ant” had warned him to stay away from.

So, she probably wasn’t an old ally but an impostor who had taken the role later.

Aside from these seven with clear identities, only one remained on the map.

**”Snake.”**

Once he met this “Snake,” the identities of all eight would be settled. No need to wait for his memories to trickle back.

At this point, Qi Xia frowned slightly.

“Wait…” He pressed a hand to his temple, sensing something amiss.

“Ox, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Dog, Monkey, Rooster, Pig…” He murmured the eight Zodiacs, narrowing his eyes.

If these eight, plus the Earth Tiger he trusted from the “Rebellion” room, his former student Black Sheep, that sarcastic Rat, and the Earth Horse whose game arena he had dismantled…

“Exactly twelve,” Qi Xia said grimly.

Twelve Zodiacs—one for each animal, no repeats.

Could that be a coincidence?

“Twelve different ‘Earth-levels’…” He had a vague sense that this was the full picture of their team. Though he couldn’t yet grasp why, something this perfectly aligned couldn’t possibly be random.

Why were all paths converging toward these twelve now?

“What are you planning?” Qi Xia turned his head slightly, addressing the empty street.

There stood an illusory white goat in a suit—transparent, expression cold.

“Leaving me ‘idiot-proof’ hints again?” Qi Xia said. “Do you really think that little of me?”

The spectral goat opened its mouth to speak but suddenly turned toward the end of the street, where three figures had appeared.

With a cold laugh, the goat vanished.

“Woooooooh—!”

A piercing cry tore through the sky, making Qi Xia sigh in resignation before familiar voices reached his ears.

“Scammer boy!”

“Classmate Qi!”

Before he could respond, another loud voice cut in.

“What a coincidence!!” Chen Junnan bellowed. “If it isn’t the famously bad-tempered—then suddenly nice—Old Qi! With black rain falling from the damn sky these days, don’t forget your umbrella when you go out, eh?”