Chapter 275 Decision
The white-goat-headed gege didn’t say anything regarding this matter. He simply tapped the table silently and said, "It doesn’t matter, come eat."
The three men didn’t speak either, just nodding respectfully. They walked over and sat around the table.
I fidgeted a bit, not sure what to do. I was very hungry, but this was someone else’s home. Grandmother always said that when visiting others, you shouldn’t even drink water unless they offer...
"Come eat," the white-goat-headed gege tapped the table again and said to me.
"Ah?" I swallowed nervously. "C–Can I eat too?"
"Nonsense. If Goat ge says to come, you come," Mister Tiger said.
I nodded happily and walked over to the table.
I looked around, but it seemed there wasn’t a seat for me. The white-goat-headed gege reached out and pulled over a chair, placing it beside him.
"Sit," he said."Thank you, gege!" I smiled and said.
Food—finally! This was great.
Just as I reached up to take off my mask, White Goat gege stopped me.
"Don’t take it off," he said with his cold voice. "Just eat."
"Just eat...?" I was a bit confused. How was I supposed to eat with this stinky mask on?
"Remember, you can only take off your mask when you’re dead," Goat gege
added."Ah...?!"
I looked around at the others sitting at the table. They were all eating by shoving food into the mouths of their masks.
Wait, can the mouth of this mask actually open?
I tried reaching up to feel my mask and realized the mouth wasn’t sealed shut. It was just the right size for eating.
Although the mask smelled horrible, it was still better than starving to death!
There was a lot of food on the table, enough to feed at least ten people. I grabbed a potato, peeled it, and took a bite.
It was boiled, soft and grainy, with a very fragrant potato taste. It was delicious.
Grandmother used to make potatoes for me like this.
"Foolish child..." Mister Tiger shook his head. He then reached over and took a chicken leg from Mister Black Goat's plate, handing it to me. "Eat this, eat more meat."
"Hey..." Mister Black Goat looked extremely displeased, "Is this not rather excessive?"
"You’re a goat, what do you need meat for?"
"Why can't goats eat meat?"
"Stop arguing, stop arguing... Heh heh," Mister Snake chuckled, "Be careful, you might get beaten to death if you keep arguing."
I looked at the chicken leg on my plate, not knowing what to do.
"Be good, be good..." Mister Snake patted my head, "Don’t mind those two idiots, just eat what’s given to you."
I picked up the chicken leg and looked at it. I only ever got to eat chicken legs during the New Year.
"Can I really eat it...?"
"Of course!" Mister Snake winked at me.
"Th–Thank you, Mister Snake..." After I said that, I glanced at the other two and added, "And thank you, Mister Tiger and Mister Black Goat..."
"Look how polite this kid is," Mister Snake shook his head, "Eat up."
I nodded and took a bite of the chicken leg.
It was simply so yummy, today felt like the New Year.
Before long, White Goat gege spoke up.
I noticed that every time he spoke, everyone would immediately stop what they were doing and respectfully look at him.
"Hm..." He tapped the table, "Hand over what you’ve earned today."
"I got thirteen today," Mister Snake was the first to pull out a small bag from behind, "Thanks for the idea, Goat ge."
"Mm." White Goat gege nodded, "Your game has been almost perfected after my modifications. It won’t be long before you sign the contract."
"I’ve got nine." Mister Black Goat replied, "Goat ge, you were right—the deceit among humans is indeed unspeakably ugly."
White Goat gege paused for a moment, then said, "Mortal Goat, stop your {Fan Face Riddle} after two more cycles."
"What?" Mister Black Goat froze for a moment, "Goat ge, you mean...?"
"Shift your focus," White Goat gege said, "I’ve designed a new game for you, take a look when you have time."
White Goat gege handed a small notebook to Mister Black Goat.
"A new game?" Mister Black Goat flipped through the notebook, and his expression quickly turned to one of shock. "The {Eight Trigram Fan}...? One hundred participants...?"
"It’s just a preliminary idea," White Goat gege said. "If you find it too difficult, you can simplify it into {Seven Emotions}, {Six Desires}, {Five Tones}, {Four Seasons}, or even {Three Principles}."
After receiving the notebook, Mister Black Goat seemed visibly excited, and after a long pause, he finally spoke, "But Goat ge, isn’t this a {Terrestrial-grade} game...? I’m merely a Mortal..."
"That's just a matter of time," White Goat gege said, "Prepare yourself in advance."
"Goat ge... could it be you—?"
White Goat gege waved his hand, interrupting him, then turned to look at Mister Tiger.
The other two misters also turned their attention to him.
"Mortal Tiger, how many did you collect today?" White Goat gege asked.
"I... actually..." Mister Tiger lowered his massive tiger head, the action oddly humorous.
"Speak up," White Goat gege said softly, "Whatever it is, I can accept it."
Mister Tiger was silent for a long time, then quietly muttered, "Goat ge, I lost six."
"Pfft!" Mister Snake spat out the food in his mouth, then muttered under his breath, "Money-Draining Tiger."
"What the f*ck did you just say?" Mister Tiger shouted, immediately standing up.
"Oh... getting worked up, are we?" Mister Snake showed a frightened expression, then winked at me. "Little Mouse, don't learn from him when we grow up, alright?"
Even though everyone looked a bit intimidating, for some reason, I felt a strange sense of comfort.
Mister Tiger, seeing that no one was responding to him, huffed and sat back down angrily. "Laozi will pay back my own debts, no way laozi will let Goat ge be put in a difficult position!"
"Do you think I'd be troubled over six {Dào}?" White Goat gege sighed and said, "Once you finish your meal, come to me for your replenishments."
Mister Tiger clearly wasn’t too happy to hear that.
"Goat ge..." He lifted his head and adjusted his mask, "You don't need to go this far for us! If it weren't for us dragging you down, you'd have ascended long ago!"
"Stop talking nonsense," White Goat gege stated coldly. "As long as we’re eating together, we stand together."
Everyone lowered their heads in silence after hearing this.
At that moment, I didn’t know what to do either, so I placed my hands under the table and cautiously watched them.
"Although I consider you all family..." White Goat gege suddenly looked at me. "But little girl, you're the exception. After this meal, you should leave. Go wherever you want, just don’t stay in front of me."