Chapter 1047: Following His Rhythm
Just two minutes ago, Chen Junnan had passed by this room marked with the character "Si" (Snake).
After entering and confirming no one else was inside, he was pondering how to rush into the opponent's "preparation zone" when something utterly unexpected happened.
The "door" inside the room opened on its own.
A person wearing a tattered snake-head mask peeked out. A few seconds later, his gaze collided with Chen Junnan's.
Chen Junnan only remembered that Qixia had told him to break the rules by opening the door to probe what was inside after crossing the river. But he never imagined the "door" would open by itself.
Thinking about it carefully, this seemed like another misconception. The other side of the "door" was also inhabited by living people—why couldn't they open it from their side?
It was just that his life always seemed entangled with "snakes." What kind of temperament did this snake in front of him have?
The human snake stared at Chen Junnan for a while, then blinked.
"Looks familiar, right?" Chen Junnan asked.
"Familiar."
"So is it possible we've met before?"
"Yes."
The human snake nodded, then glanced around. "This is quite formal. What game are we playing?"
Chen Junnan felt speechless.
The referee of the game was asking a participant, "What game is this?" Should he know the answer or not?
Did this game really need the referee to be briefed on the rules?
"Maybe it's some word puzzle invented by a illiterate little brat," Chen Junnan said.
"Word puzzle?" The human snake noticed he was in an empty room and didn't quite understand what "word puzzle" meant.
"Something like that. Or maybe he's literate but pretending not to be."
"That interesting?" the human snake asked again.
"Not really..." Chen Junnan was getting confused by this snake. "Brother Snake, forget about whether it's interesting for now. Did you finish hibernation and come out to hunt? Why are you opening the door on your own?"
"Hunt? Not really. I ate someone before I came. Pretty full," the human snake replied. "What about you? Are you alone?"
"How could that be? I've got over ten thousand people behind me," Chen Junnan answered.
After a brief exchange, they both realized neither was telling the truth.
Although the human snake wasn't in a hurry, Chen Junnan was.
The human snake could stick his head out of the door and chat with Chen Junnan all day, but if Chen Junnan kept talking, he was done for.
Now that Xu Liunian had lost her "character," she would definitely rush back to the "preparation zone." He needed to stop her before that, or this "heart-piercing" operation would fail.
He had to pretend to be Xu Liunian immediately.
Appearance and personality were manageable, but he was carrying "Bao" and "Jin" on him, looking like a street vendor selling women's clothes. How could he fool anyone?
Should he really put the "character" in his mouth? But it looked dirty...
A flash of inspiration struck him. He suddenly thought of an excellent idea.
Since he couldn't put it in his own mouth, why not put it in someone else's?
"Brother Snake, can we make a deal?" Chen Junnan asked.
"Not a good idea," the human snake replied. "I was planning to eat you. How can I take a bite after making a deal?"
"Don't be so stubborn," Chen Junnan said. "Just do me a small favor. You can make any request you want."
The human snake's eyes flickered slightly. Since he was still wearing the mask, Chen Junnan couldn't read his expression.
"I'll make my request now," the human snake said.
"Oh, you're quite the negotiator." Chen Junnan calculated the time in his mind. He appeared calm, but his hands were already sweating. "What's your request?"
"Is that person named Qixia with you?" the human snake asked.
"Old man, you have a short memory," Chen Junnan said. "Weren't you the one who opened the door for us back then?"
"I want to see him," the human snake said. "I'll wait for him in this 'door.' Have him come find me."
Chen Junnan was stunned for a moment. "Hey... I'm in a bit of a time crunch right now. I don't have the leisure to explain the rules of this game to you. But getting Qixia into your room is actually quite difficult. How about changing your condition? Or after the game ends, you pick a place, and I'll have Old Qiao come find you. We haven't seen each other in a long time. We can grab a drink and catch up."
"That's my only condition. I have my reasons now. I won't deceive you," the human snake said. "What's your request?"
"I... want you to keep the 'character' for me."
"'Character'?"
Chen Junnan nodded. "It's the 'chip' in our game. Due to some special circumstances, I need to temporarily transfer the 'characters' out."
"Give me the 'characters'," the human snake said without hesitation.
"Brother Snake, don't mess with me... I'm in a hurry," Chen Junnan said.
"I'm in a hurry too," the human snake said. "I don't have a game venue. After this game ends, I won't be able to see him. So I have to take this chance to meet."
"No game venue?" Chen Junnan paused, then remembered this guy seemed to be the "zodiac" in charge of opening doors.
"Your 'characters' are useless to me, but I need your help. So I hope you'll do me this favor." The human snake's eyes were complicated. "I have something very important to confirm with Qixia."
Chen Junnan blinked. "Don't you see Old Qiao every cycle...?"
"The situation has changed. I'm afraid I won't make it to the next cycle," the human snake said. "Give me the 'characters'."
Just as Chen Junnan was hesitating, he heard the door handle turning. Without time to think, he quickly pulled out the two "characters" from his pocket and shoved them into the human snake's hands, saying:
"Brother Snake, I'll trust you this one time... If I don't come back in five minutes, destroy these two 'characters.' Pretend we never met."
The human snake: "Alright. Understood."
He closed the door and left, leaving Chen Junnan, now without his "characters," standing there. He knew this was risky, but when had he ever not taken risks?
The door behind him creaked open. Chen Junnan prayed for a few seconds, then turned around. To his surprise, the ones walking in were Dr. Zhao and Jin Yuanxun.
If either of them had come alone, his plan would have failed. But they came together.
Before he could say anything, the door on the left opened, and another Chen Junnan walked in.
What did this mean? It meant fate had its way. The boat would straighten itself when it reached the bridge.
Everything was chaotic yet somehow perfectly fitting.
"Following my rhythm."
Then, Chen Junnan started yelling at Chen Junnan at the top of his lungs.
He said Chen Junnan actually dared to pretend to be Chen Junnan. He must have grown some guts. If he had the balls, he shouldn't pretend to be Chen Junnan. Let everyone see who the real Chen Junnan was.
Chen Junnan looked bewildered and quickly explained he wasn't Chen Junnan.
Chen Junnan snickered, insisting he was Chen Junnan.
Just like a tongue twister: "From the south came Chen Junnan, from the north came Xu Liunian."
Chen Junnan, pretending to be Xu Liunian, said he wasn't Chen Junnan, while Xu Liunian, pretending to be Chen Junnan, said he was Chen Junnan.
Was it Chen Junnan disguised as Xu Liunian, or Xu Liunian disguised as Chen Junnan?
Chen Junnan mentally rehearsed the tongue twister he had just made up, accidentally slipping out a few "damn its" and "little lord." Luckily, everyone was too confused to notice. He quickly smoothed it over, claiming the other guy had said it.
The situation was at a stalemate until the real Xu Liunian offered a solution.
Chen Junnan thought it didn't matter. If they couldn't figure it out, he'd just drag Xu Liunian down. If they did, he might snag a "character."
After all, there would always be a road when the cart reached the mountain.
Too bad Xu Liunian was such a boring talker. The tongue twister he just thought of couldn't be shared with anyone.