Chapter 814: Can't Stop Him
"What the hell?" Chen Junnan muttered under his breath. "Is this guy giving a lecture here?"
Seeing those "participants" thanking the Earth Serpent one by one and leaving with reluctant expressions, Chen Junnan felt like his worldview was about to collapse.
The Earth Serpent sent off these sorrowful-faced "participants" one by one, then gripped the rope in his hand and turned his gaze to the few people before him.
His eyes swept over Qiao Jiajin, Chen Junnan, and Qin Dingdong before finally landing on Qi Xia's face.
But what no one expected was that his gaze only lingered on Qi Xia for two seconds before shifting away, as if he had never known him.
"Is there something you need?" the Earth Serpent asked. "Are you here to play a game or to join the 'Mutual Aid Society'?"
"Mutual Aid Society...?" Chen Junnan blinked.
"Forget I said anything," the Earth Serpent replied. "You're here to play a game, right? Wait for me."
He slowly walked out of the shop, casually grabbed a small chair by the door, and then, carrying the rope in his hand, headed toward a withered tree across the street.
That withered tree looked quite old, clearly long dead. Its trunk was covered in cracked fissures, large patches of bark had peeled off, and not a single leaf remained on its branches.
The bare tree didn't even rustle when the wind blew.
The Earth Serpent walked under the tree, stretched out the rope, and under everyone's gaze, tossed one end over a thick branch.
Then he fiddled with the rope a few times, looping it over the branch before letting it fall back down. He caught the falling end and tied it into a noose.
After that, he placed the small stool beneath the noose, stood on the chair, and tugged at the rope to test its strength.
"Hey?" Qiao Jiajin blinked, feeling like something wasn't right. "Conman... what's this old guy planning to do?"
Qi Xia squinted at him, also feeling confused.
Qi Xia understood what these actions meant, but he couldn't understand why an "Earth-level Zodiac" would be doing them.
But if he rashly went up to ask, would the Earth Serpent even tell him?
At that moment, Qi Xia and Qiao Jiajin both looked at Chen Junnan.
"Mmm..." Chen Junnan was staring blankly at the Earth Serpent, but soon felt something was off. The gazes of the two people beside him seemed to be focused on him. "...Mmm?"
Chen Junnan took a step back. "No... what? Me again? You two—one's socially anxious, the other's straightforward—and whenever something comes up, you push me forward, right?"
"Jun Nan!" Qiao Jiajin wrapped his arm around Chen Junnan's shoulder. "Times like this, it's naturally more fitting for you to go and chat! You're more approachable than us!"
Chen Junnan felt a bit wronged. He was willing to chat with people, but the Earth Serpent in front of him clearly looked unhinged. He quickly turned to look at Qi Xia.
"Old Qi, you think so too?"
Qi Xia nodded. "I also have a few questions to ask him. It seems like you're the only one who can keep him steady."
"So it's my fate to never escape 'snakes,' huh?" Chen Junnan sighed after hearing that. "The one time I finally keep my mouth shut, you two still find a job for me."
"Oh, just go!" Qiao Jiajin pushed Chen Junnan forward. "If there's something you don't understand, you can ask me! Hurry up, hurry up!"
Seeing this, Chen Junnan could only steel himself and roll up his sleeves. "Fine. Even if you hadn't said anything, I was planning to go ask anyway. This old geezer is definitely off."
Just as the white-spotted Earth Serpent was about to stick his head into the noose, Chen Junnan stepped forward a few paces and called out to him. "Hey, hey, hey!"
The Earth Serpent held the rope and turned his head. "Is there something you need?"
"Not really... I'm a bit confused here," Chen Junnan scratched his head. "You... what exactly are you preparing to do? Hanging a ring to exercise?"
"No, I'm hanging myself," the Earth Serpent replied. "Please step back a bit."
Because the answer was too straightforward, it only made the four of them even more puzzled.
"Uh..." Chen Junnan slowly walked over to the Earth Serpent. "No... this is fucking ridiculous, man. Did you run into some trouble? Say it out loud so we can all have a laugh—I mean, so we can comfort you! Which quack doctor told you to just go and hang yourself?"
"No, no quack doctor told me to do this," the Earth Serpent shook his head gloomily. "I'm too sad. I just want to hang myself right now."
Qi Xia frowned deeply, feeling that the situation was exactly as Chen Junnan had said—it was simply too absurd.
Was he doing this because he had seen Qi Xia? Was that why he suddenly made such an outrageous move?
But Qi Xia quickly dismissed that assumption. The snake had been holding the rope when he came out of the room, before he even saw Qi Xia. This meant he had intended to hang himself from the very beginning.
Before meeting this snake, Qi Xia had indeed believed that all "Zodiacs" cherished their lives. But now, even he couldn't figure out what motive a "Zodiac" would have to hang himself in the middle of the street.
And also... what was this "Mutual Aid Society"?
"No, man..." Chen Junnan said with a troubled expression. "Is this hanging today absolutely necessary? Is there no room for negotiation at all?"
"We can negotiate, but I need to hang myself first," the Earth Serpent continued. "Could you step back a bit?"
"If you hang yourself, what the hell is there to negotiate?" Chen Junnan moved closer to the Earth Serpent and boldly grabbed his arm. "Man, show some restraint. Can you at least let us ask a few questions before you hang yourself? After we're done, we can even help you hang! Hanging yourself alone is such a drag!"
"Ask questions?" The Earth Serpent's expression finally shifted. "Do you have a reference?"
"Reference...?" Chen Junnan turned his head and shot a pleading look at Qi Xia.
Qi Xia calculated in his mind. He had found the Earth Serpent based on this map. Could the so-called "reference" be the Azure Dragon?
But to prove this, Qi Xia would have to show the map to the Earth Serpent in its entirety. That probably wasn't a good idea.
Seeing that none of them replied, the Earth Serpent asked again, "Were you referred by someone else to join the 'Mutual Aid Society'?"
"Oh... ah!" Chen Junnan pretended to understand and nodded. "You mean a 'reference' for the 'Mutual Aid Society'..." Heh, I thought you meant...
"Your expression says you don't have one. Goodbye." The Earth Serpent pulled the noose over and was about to stick his head into it.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Chen Junnan quickly grabbed him. "Old—Old Qi... I can't talk to this guy... think of something fast!"
Qi Xia stepped forward and asked, "So no one can join your 'Mutual Aid Society' without a reference?"
The Earth Serpent turned back, stared into Qi Xia's eyes for a long moment, and replied, "That's right."