Chapter 1257: The Big Shot
Qiao Jiajin found a colorful feathered Earth Rooster and a female Earth Pig sitting inside the room.
The two were gathered around a small round table, brewing coffee, seemingly chatting about the love-hate entanglements among the "Zodiacs."
For a moment, the five of them just stared at each other, the situation slightly awkward.
"Uh..." Qiao Jiajin let out an embarrassed chuckle, breaking the stalemate first. "Are we, uh, interrupting something?"
The two said nothing, just staring blankly at them.
"Sorry, sorry about that..." Qiao Jiajin scratched his head. "We'll find another room..."
"Stop right there." The Earth Rooster gave Chu Tianqiu and Qiao Jiajin a meaningful look. "Since you're here anyway, come on in and join us."
Chu Tianqiu frowned at that and shot a pleading glance at Qiao Jiajin and Zhang Shan. None of the three seemed particularly good at handling this kind of situation.
"What are you afraid of?" the Earth Rooster asked. "You dare to rebel, but you don't dare to step into an 'Earth' level room?"
"How do you know we're rebelling?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"Damn! Don't just confess like that!" Zhang Shan quickly warned.
"You pushed open my sister's door on the train, and you're asking me how I know?" The Earth Rooster sighed. "Come on in."
Chu Tianqiu naturally knew there was nothing to fear from these two. Not to mention having Qiao Jiajin and Zhang Shan by his side—he himself carried the "Skywalker." Since they were so open-minded about the "rebellion," it saved him the trouble of looking for another empty room elsewhere.
The three exchanged glances and stepped inside. To be safe, Chu Tianqiu signaled Zhang Shan not to close the door.
The female Earth Pig looked up and scanned the three, then turned to the Earth Rooster with a mischievous grin. "You know them?"
"Know them?" The Earth Rooster raised an eyebrow. "Oh, right, I do. Let me introduce you."
Under the puzzled expressions of the three, the Earth Rooster extended her feathered hand toward Chu Tianqiu:
"This one is called Handsome Scholar."
Then she pointed at Qiao Jiajin:
"And this one is called Broad-Shouldered Hunk."
Finally, she pointed at Zhang Shan. This time, she paused for a few seconds before slowly saying:
"And this one is the Simple Broad-Shoulder."
"Hey, wait..." Zhang Shan said with a displeased look. "Do you have a problem with my face? Damn it, I thought you actually knew us."
"Knowing or not knowing doesn't matter," the Earth Rooster laughed. "Even if we've met a few times before, I'm a 'Zodiac' now. A 'Zodiac' can't reveal their name... right, Chu Tianqiu?"
Chu Tianqiu frowned and gave a faint smile. "Interesting. You're a 'Rebel' too."
At that remark, the Earth Rooster showed no expression, but the Earth Pig beside her jumped in surprise.
"Huh? Earth Rooster... you..."
"Keep it secret for me." The Earth Rooster winked at the Earth Pig. "Good sister, I won't get you into trouble."
The Earth Pig nodded reluctantly and could only raise her coffee cup to hide her unease.
Chu Tianqiu stepped forward and said, "Your people are already out hunting down the various 'Heaven' levels for 'positional kills.' How do you have the leisure to sit here gossiping?"
"'Positional kills'...? Oh, right, you mentioned that. I almost forgot." The Earth Rooster nodded. "First, I don't really feel like going. Second, I'm waiting for someone."
Hearing her words, Chu Tianqiu keenly sensed that she must also know the claim about "positional kills" wasn't true.
"So who are you waiting for?" Chu Tianqiu asked.
"I'm waiting for the Great Sage Equaling Heaven," the Earth Rooster said with a smile. "My destined one will come to me riding a rainbow cloud and take me to kill the Heaven Monkey and Heaven Rooster."
"Cough!" The Earth Pig drinking coffee was so startled by that line that she choked, splashing coffee on the tip of her nose.
But everyone present had seen far too much in life to pay any attention to an ordinary Earth Pig.
"Sorry, I might need to try to translate what you just said." Chu Tianqiu chuckled. "You mean you're waiting for an Earth Monkey?"
"Yes." The Earth Rooster confirmed. "Logically speaking, there should be an Earth Monkey in this rebel team, but I've never seen him. It feels like opening a blind box, or like going on a blind date without seeing a photo."
"Oh..." Qiao Jiajin scratched his head at that. "A rebelling Earth Monkey... could it be Fat Monkey...?"
"What?" The Earth Rooster looked up.
"Nothing..." Qiao Jiajin blinked. "Beautiful lady, I know the Earth Monkey you're talking about. We've met. I've even played his game."
"What?! What?! What?!" The Earth Rooster's eyes suddenly lit up. "What kind of person is he? Is he handsome?"
"How should I put it..." Qiao Jiajin lowered his head and thought for a moment. "He looks a lot like a big shot, pretty manly, you know."
"Wow!"
The Earth Rooster gasped in admiration. She figured that if even Qiao Jiajin—who had that roguish handsome style—could approve of him, then this guy must be practically the Great Sage Equaling Heaven.
The "big shot" among Monkeys was none other than the Great Sage Equaling Heaven, right?
Just as they were talking, a sudden shout came from outside the door:
"Hey! Damn!"
Qiao Jiajin turned to look, and truly, speak of the devil—the Earth Monkey was standing at the doorway, panting heavily and leaning against the doorframe.
"...I was just about to say that from behind, your arm tattoos looked familiar, but your build was different. I didn't expect it was really you..."
"Fat Monkey!" Qiao Jiajin walked over and grabbed him. "Perfect timing! We were just talking about you."
"Not... wait... whew..." The Earth Monkey waved his hand, indicating he was out of breath from running. "I don't have time to catch up right now. I need to find something... Anyway, good to see our own people... I'll just..."
"Don't go looking yet! Someone here is looking for you!" Qiao Jiajin grabbed the Earth Monkey's arm and dragged him into the room, then cheerfully introduced him to the Earth Rooster. "Here! Beautiful lady, the one you've been waiting for is here."
Seeing the fat, aged, scruffy-bearded Earth Monkey before her, the Earth Rooster's gentle smile froze on her face.
After a moment, a vein bulged slightly on her forehead. Suppressing her furious voice, she asked in an extremely gentle tone, "You said... he looks like a big shot?"
"Yeah." Qiao Jiajin nodded. "Have you ever seen a triad boss? I've seen two, and they both looked like this—very imposing, very tough."
"Fine... fine..." The Earth Rooster smiled and nodded, then asked again, "And you said 'manly'..."
"Well." Qiao Jiajin said, "Beer belly, stubble, messy hair, and clothes that haven't been ironed in ages. Nine told me that's the embodiment of masculine charm."
"Pfft..." The female Earth Pig beside her couldn't hold it in anymore. She lowered her head, her whole body trembling.
In just a few minutes, the drama she'd witnessed had been so tumultuous that she'd sprayed coffee all over the table. It seemed she wouldn't be short on gossip to share with her fellow sisters for at least the next month.
"AAAAAAH!" The Earth Rooster screamed. "Why?! Why?!"