Chapter 960: Can't Hear Clearly
"Forget it, I was just guessing anyway." Earth Monkey waved his hand. "Don't worry about it. Let's go back and eat."
Human Monkey immediately caught onto something important in Earth Monkey's words. He turned his head to look down the corridor as well.
If that was where all the "Heavenly" rested... could it be that Earth Monkey had sensed something just now?
"How did you know they would 'fail'?" Human Monkey asked. "Did you hear it from someone?"
"This..." Earth Monkey seemed to realize he had let something slip. He quickly thought of something else and changed his words. "Haven't you noticed... that neither 'Azure Dragon' nor 'Celestial Hound' can monitor the 'Train'?"
"That does seem to be the case..." Human Monkey nodded, quickly thinking it over. "But that doesn't quite add up. Both Azure Dragon and the 'Heavenly-level' have used 'Immortal Techniques' on the 'Train' before, haven't they? That proves their 'Immortal Techniques' haven't failed."
"Fuck, of course I know that." Earth Monkey said. "That's why I didn't say 'all Immortal Techniques fail.' I only said the parts related to 'Inspiration' would fail."
"What...?" Human Monkey's eyes narrowed slightly beneath his mask. "Then, teacher... how do you know only 'Inspiration' would fail...? It's just that they don't monitor the 'Train'... maybe their focus is all downstairs?"
"Kid... why are you suddenly talking so much today?" Earth Monkey said. "Even so, have you considered that 'downstairs' is even farther away for them? The 'Train' is right next to them. If they could monitor downstairs, why wouldn't they monitor the 'Train'?"
"That's true..." Human Monkey said, then thought of something else. He leaned in slowly and lowered his voice. "Teacher, what does 'fail' mean? Does it mean the ability can't be released? Or even if it can be released, they can't perceive anyone else's 'Immortal Techniques' at all?"
"It's..." Earth Monkey paused slightly. "Damn it, didn't I tell you not to ask about things you shouldn't?"
"Alright... alright... sorry." Human Monkey nodded, his expression quickly turning silent.
He had a feeling this information was important, but he couldn't quite articulate why.
Even if Earth Monkey himself possessed "Fragrance," he would never admit it.
How was he supposed to get the detailed information then?
It seemed he had to relay this matter as soon as possible... but would Zheng Yingxiong come again tomorrow?
The two walked past an exceptionally noisy room. Though the door was closed, a loud commotion still seeped out.
It seemed many "Earth-level" were holding a gathering inside.
"What a strange time we're living in," Earth Monkey sneered. "Even the 'Earth-level' are organizing meetings. Do they have that much free time?"
Human Monkey shook his head without a word. The two figures passed the wooden door in front of them, their silhouettes gradually fading into the distance.
Inside the noisy room, a group of "Earth-level" sat in neat rows.
They appeared quite unruly—some lounged on sofas, some leaned against walls, and others wolfed down food at the table.
Despite their formidable lineup, none of them seemed to acknowledge anyone else's authority.
"What a strange thing..." A black sheep beside the dining table said. "Losing-money Tiger... haven't you noticed something weird?"
"Huh?" Earth Tiger replied in a gruff voice. "What's weird? We've always had a full turnout like this. After all, Brother Sheep said..."
"Screw your brother," the Black Sheep said. "Who the fuck asked about that..."
"Then what are you talking about?"
"Sheep Leader is right. It is a bit strange..." Earth Rat chimed in from the side. "Tiger Leader, you're too much of a tiger-head, so you probably haven't caught on yet."
"What the hell is it?" Earth Tiger asked. "You all think something's off? What's off?!"
Earth Rat slowly rose to his feet, addressing everyone in the room: "To be honest, fellow leaders, I came here today with a knife on me."
He lifted his suit jacket and pulled a short blade from his waist, where it had been tucked.
"Holy shit." Earth Tiger was taken aback. "Fence-sitter, what are you doing? Planning to chop me up here?"
"Not exactly. Leader, you're such a tiger-head, I'd rather not dirty my blade," Earth Rat said. "I expected a bloody fight, but it seems there isn't one. So I figured I'd take the knife off early before I accidentally stab myself."
"What—?"
"Tiger Leader." Earth Rat's voice grew deeper. "I don't know if my memory serves me right. Help me think—have we been meeting here continuously, loudly, blatantly, and brazenly 'rebelling' for three days now?"
"Keep your fucking voice down!!" Earth Tiger roared. "Talking like that, who wouldn't know we're rebelling here?! Are you out of your mind?!"
Earth Tiger's booming voice reverberated three times through the room. The word "rebellion" echoed lingeringly, plunging everyone present into silence.
After three seconds of stillness, the Black Sheep turned to the Lying Flat Dog beside him and whispered, "Can I kill him now? Right now."
Lying Flat Dog sighed and patted the Black Sheep on the shoulder. "Calm down... calm down..."
The tall Earth Rabbit, wrapped in bandages, nodded and also looked up at Earth Tiger. "Losing-money Tiger, what they mean is that we're way too safe right now. That's very abnormal."
"Safe...?" Earth Tiger furrowed his brow after hearing that. "Hey, little bro, why are you calling me 'Losing-money Tiger' too? Didn't we just meet?"
"Uh... sorry, it just slipped out." Earth Rabbit rubbed his head apologetically.
"Exactly," Earth Rat nodded. "Tiger Leader, why are you so thick-headed? It's been three whole days—why haven't the higher-ups come to deal with us yet?"
"This..." Earth Tiger frowned and immediately understood.
"There's 'Azure Dragon' and 'Celestial Hound' here..." Earth Rat continued. "Why haven't these two leaders made a move? Even if their usual focus is downstairs, in all this time, they must have caught at least one or two treasonous words, right?"
Earth Tiger rubbed his chin after hearing this. While what Earth Rat said was true, he felt it wasn't that hard to explain.
"Maybe their ears... grow downward?" Earth Tiger said. "So they can't hear horizontally, only vertically..."
"You..."
Everyone was rendered speechless again for a moment.
The Black Sheep paused briefly, then slowly stood up and reached for the short knife on the table. "Earth Rat, lend me your knife. I'm killing a tiger."
"Calm down... calm down..." Lying Flat Dog quickly stood up to stop the Black Sheep.
"What... why do you want to kill me? It could be just like that," Earth Tiger blinked. "They simply can't hear what we're saying on the 'Train' because their ears face downward."
The many "Earth-level" in the room all reached up to rub their foreheads, feeling the familiar mental exhaustion of every evening creeping back in.
"That's easy to verify," Earth Tiger said blankly. "Why don't we just do an experiment?"
"Do an experiment?" The Black Sheep didn't think much of it at first, but then a bad premonition surged up. He knew Losing-money Tiger too well.
"Wait!!!" The Black Sheep shouted, leaping up and charging toward Earth Tiger.
But Earth Tiger was too quick of mouth. Before the Black Sheep could cover his mouth, he bellowed at the top of his lungs:
"Azure Dragon!! I fuck your granddad!!"