Chapter 890: Mood
I found a building and sat inside, waiting for the next day to arrive.
The long night stretched on, and I browsed through the "Advanced Plant Illustrated Guide" that Earth Serpent had given me. It occurred to me that this was the first book I had obtained on my own since entering Zhongyan Land.
I don’t know how it is for others, but for me, it was indeed a nice gift.
Although I never would have chosen a "Plant Illustrated Guide" when buying books or borrowing from libraries on my own, it wasn’t bad to supplement a bit of knowledge here.
Ever since I met White Sheep, the speed of gaining knowledge through conversation with him far exceeded reading. It seems I’ve been slacking off—I shouldn’t have stopped reading.
This book indeed has too much academic content; it was difficult for someone like me, who barely knows anything about botany, to read.
Every plant has a Chinese name, Latin name, morphological characteristics, illustrations, and uses. When explaining flowers, it even stylishly writes the flower language of each flower for reference.
I imitated White Sheep’s approach and read through the night. During this time, I tried hard to forget what I was doing and immersed myself as much as possible in the world of plants. When dawn came, I indeed felt no fatigue, but after reading for so long with my head down, my shoulders and neck were a bit sore.
I put the book away and, facing the morning sun, went to White Sheep’s venue to request a long leave. If he agreed, I would return the book to Earth Serpent in the afternoon and begin my own journey.
For over four years, I’ve reported here almost every day. I’ve grown much stronger, and now I want to do something for myself.
Thanks to Jiang Ruoxue, I found that I’ve become more assertive than before.
The Extreme Joy Money House was still the same as before—terrifying and powerful. It didn’t even need a Zodiac to operate on its own.
On the outermost gambling tables, gamblers gambled among themselves, accepting losses if they lost.
Whenever a white light flashed, gamblers would place their bets. Since everyone knew there was a Zodiac overseeing the place, no one dared to default here. If you lost, you paid; if you won, you took the money. The rules were extremely simple.
Even if you lost every last coin, it was definitely better than being beaten to death by a Zodiac.
After all, White Sheep, who had been reading in his room a second ago, would appear behind anyone who questioned the gambling result the next second.
Just the sight of his eyes was enough to scare the guts out of anyone.
The "Lottery" and "Money House" were even more worry-free. White Sheep only occasionally showed up to meet some "big clients."
And the standard for "big clients" was depositing eighty Dao at once. Anyone who could pull out such chips was absolutely a famous strongman in Zhongyan Land.
"Brother Yang," I found him in the office. He wasn’t reading today; he was just staring blankly.
I called him a few times, but he didn’t respond at all.
Strange... it’s morning right now...
I remember White Sheep only spaced out in the afternoon. Has he started spacing out in the morning too?
"Brother Yang...?" I called softly again.
His eyes were wide open, but he kept staring blankly ahead.
If someone is hypnotized or sleepwalking and you forcibly wake them, it could have far-reaching effects. But I couldn’t just leave without saying goodbye.
Just as I hesitated, I suddenly thought of Jiang Ruoxue.
Hadn’t she already taught me a method?
I stepped forward, looked around White Sheep, and finally focused on the table in front of him.
I reached out and knocked hard on the tabletop.
"Dong dong dong"!
Although White Sheep didn’t wake up, I clearly saw his expression change. It really worked.
"Dong dong dong"!
I knocked on the table again, and White Sheep immediately snapped back to attention, looking at me blankly.
He first looked at my clothes, then at the tattoos on my hands. Just as he started to show a puzzled expression, he finally looked at my face.
In an instant, his expression calmed down.
"Yan Zhichun...?"
"Yes, Brother Yang. Did I cause you any trouble?"
"No." White Sheep quickly glanced around the surroundings, as if confirming where he was.
A few seconds later, he stood up and walked to the bar counter on one side of the office. There, some wine and coffee powder had been given by "big clients." But White Sheep said he didn’t drink alcohol, so these things were probably used to entertain distinguished guests.
"Want something to drink?" he asked.
"No, I’m here to ask for leave," I said. "About one cycle’s time. I won’t be able to come find you."
White Sheep nodded without refusing me.
"You seem in a good mood," he said to me.
"Mm..." I smiled. "I’ve figured out a lot of things. I’m going to stop putting myself in a passive position and pursue what I want like I’m chasing my own life goals."
"Good," White Sheep nodded. "Is one cycle enough? If not, you can add more. You’ve already helped me a lot. There’s no need to work so hard from now on."
"Brother Yang..." I smiled and asked a question I had held back for a long time. "How have you been lately?"
"Me lately...?"
"To be honest... you seem in a good mood too," I said. "Is it because this game has brought you a lot of money? It feels like you’re not as heavy as before."
"How should I put it..." White Sheep poured himself a glass of water, took a sip, and said, "This game is developing exactly as I envisioned; there’s nothing worth celebrating."
"Then you..."
"If there’s anything affecting my mood... it’s that I took in a few students who annoy me to death. They cause me trouble all day long, but... this feeling isn’t bad." The corner of White Sheep’s mouth lifted slightly, and I actually saw him smile lightly.
Good heavens, that’s like an iron tree blooming.
"Students...?" I nodded calmly. "So Earth Grade Zodiacs take students too?"
"I thought it was troublesome at first," White Sheep said. "I refused a huge number of Human Grade Zodiacs, wanting to remain solitary. But Earth Dragon told me that if an Earth Grade Zodiac refuses to lead trainees, it would violate the rules. After all, Zodiacs also need to pass down their legacy. So I just picked three unwanted Human Grades at random."
"Ah...?"
Although it sounded a bit absurd, I had to admit it was very much in line with White Sheep’s style...
"Unexpectedly, they’re interesting," White Sheep said. "I had planned to stop eating, but being able to sit with them every day and exchange a few words at the dinner table—that feeling isn’t bad either."
It seems my earlier guess was completely right. White Sheep would mistake the feeling of being together for "family."
That’s exactly what he lacks most.
Even if they are a few unwanted problem children, as long as White Sheep can exchange a few words with them, a bond will naturally form—
I was genuinely happy for White Sheep.
Just as I was about to say "congratulations," White Sheep suddenly changed the subject and said, "But... such days will eventually come to an end, right?"
"End?"
"All good things must come to an end," White Sheep said. "Once there are feelings, there are handles; once there are handles, there are pain points. Someday... someone will threaten me the same way I threatened others."
"But you are strong enough," I said. "How can truly strong people fear threats?"
"What if I forget them?" White Sheep said.