Chapter 289: The King of Cats
Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin walked toward "Heaven's Gate" as the sky gradually darkened.
"Liar... didn't you say you knew who the Heavenly Goat was? Why didn't you tell that Tiger Head?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"Compared to that Earth Tiger... I trust Chen Junnan more. There are some things I want to ask him."
"Junnan?" Qiao Jiajin nodded slightly after hearing this.
As the two walked past a street corner, they saw an old woman leading a child.
The old woman kept a kind smile on her face, but her gaze was stiff as she stared at Qi Xia.
Qiao Jiajin felt a bit strange... Were there elderly people in this place?
Just as he was about to say something, Qi Xia spoke first: "Fist, let's go."
Qiao Jiajin was taken aback, then silently nodded.
The two walked past the old woman and child as if they hadn't seen anything.
After the two had gone a fair distance, the child spoke: "Grandma Ma, shouldn't we ask them?"
"No need," the old woman shook her head. "Neither of them has 'Echo' or 'Dao'. We should go ask the 'Zodiacs' stationed here."
"But wasn't that huge noise last time at night?" the child asked. "Can the 'Zodiacs' know about it?"
"Seems so..." the old woman shook her head helplessly. "We'll have to find the participants... As expected, everyone on the train is unreliable..."
"Then which participant do we go find?" the child asked innocently.
"There is a good place..."
The old woman thought for a moment, then reached out and grasped the child's wrist. In the blink of an eye, they vanished from the spot.
...
Qi Xia kept glancing behind him, only letting out a sigh of relief after confirming no one was following.
"Liar... what's going on?" Qiao Jiajin asked. "There are old people and children here?"
"I don't know, but there's definitely something wrong," Qi Xia said quietly. "Their ages... no matter how you think about it, it's too strange..."
"Yeah... they should have a hard time getting out of the interview room..." Qiao Jiajin said softly.
"It's not just that," Qi Xia said. "I can't imagine what crime a butt-naked child could have committed... Perhaps... they don't really look like that?"
"You... you mean they disguised themselves?" Qiao Jiajin asked.
"It shouldn't be that simple," Qi Xia shook his head. "The urgent thing now is to go ask Chen Junnan how much he knows about 'Heaven'..."
The two quickened their pace and headed toward "Heaven's Gate" as well.
...
In the blink of an eye, the old woman and child appeared at the entrance of a prison on the edge of the city.
Although the prison looked dilapidated, a kerosene lamp was lit in the watchtower. At that moment, a long-haired man in a leather jacket was standing guard inside.
He looked up slightly at the old woman and child before him, his expression quickly turning puzzled.
The old woman was unconcerned, stepping forward a few paces to stand before the long-haired man.
"Hello, I am Liu Ershiyi of 'Maomu'. Who are you...?" the long-haired man asked tentatively.
"Oh dear..." the old woman waved her hand. "Don't be nervous, we have business."
"Business?" The long-haired man sized up the two before him, still finding it very puzzling. "Are you old customers?"
"Of course, of course. I've done business with you a long time ago... Is there someone in charge?" The old woman showed a kind smile that sent chills down the long-haired man's spine. "I want to discuss business with the person in charge."
"The person in charge...?" The long-haired man nodded. "Please follow me, both of you."
He turned around and opened the large iron gate, leading the two into the prison.
The three crossed the prison yard and entered the building.
The long-haired man opened the protective doors inside the prison one by one, leading the old woman and child directly to the cells.
The protective doors here had lost their power supply, mostly just for show. The rusted iron doors were opened one by one, leading to the heart of the prison.
Walking down the corridor lined with cells, the old woman glanced unobtrusively to both sides and saw many people in black leather jackets sitting on cell beds, all staring at her warily.
These people, men and women, numbered several dozen—a much larger group than the old woman remembered.
A man in a leather jacket who was wandering the corridor quickened his pace and approached when he saw the long-haired man.
"Twenty-one, what's the matter?" the man asked.
"Eleventh Brother, someone wants to see the person in charge," the long-haired man said.
The man called Eleventh Brother nodded and said to the two, "You two are guests? I am Luo Shiyi of 'Wangyou'. If you have any business, you can discuss it with me. May I ask which year you two come from?"
"Eleven?" The old woman frowned. "You're not qualified. Send someone within the top ten."
"Not qualified...?" Luo Shiyi's expression suddenly darkened. "You say I'm not qualified, then what the hell are you?"
As soon as the words fell, the old woman appeared beside Luo Shiyi with such speed that no one present could see clearly.
She lifted her smiling face and asked hoarsely, "Child, take a look at what I am?"
Luo Shiyi's eyes widened, and he immediately stepped back two paces.
"You... you are..." Luo Shiyi felt a chill run through him. "Are you from 'Heaven'?"
The atmosphere suddenly stiffened.
Just then, a strange voice sounded from not far away.
"Eleven, show some respect."
Luo Shiyi and Liu Ershiyi stepped aside upon hearing this, and an exceptionally short figure slowly approached. It turned out to be a young dwarf man. His body proportions were well-balanced, but his left face had a strange scar, as if left by an animal's bite.
"Fifth Brother." Luo Shiyi and Liu Ershiyi both bowed their heads in greeting.
Upon seeing the dwarf, the old woman smiled again. "Ah... Qian Wu..."
"Heavenly Horse." The dwarf called Qian Wu nodded expressionlessly. "The 'Zodiacs' rarely do business with us."
The moment "Heavenly Horse" was spoken, the expressions of those nearby changed.
Heavenly Horse smiled and raised her head. "Little Tiger and I have come to do business with you."
"But I still have some doubts," Qian Wu replied. "Can our 'business' succeed?"
"Little Qian, what kind of attitude is that... You really don't know how to respect the elderly and love the young." Heavenly Horse reached out and tapped her own waist. "Can you be a bit more enthusiastic towards us?"
"We only look at the reward," Qian Wu said. "I don't quite understand how the 'Zodiacs' will pay us."
"Do we need to pay?" Heavenly Horse said with a smile. "Little Qian, we can threaten you, you know."
"Oh?" The dwarf man revealed a faint smile. "I might have misheard just now. Did you say you want to 'threaten me'?"
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone in the cells stood up. They opened their cell doors and slowly filed into the corridor.