Chapter 408 Film
If this were a movie,

the entire screen would be stretched diagonally,

the left half showing Zhou Ze sitting in the car,

the right half showing the ferocious figure standing outside the car,

and then,

the other surrounding scenery would be blurred to highlight the important figures.

Of course,

there could also be a picture-in-picture in the lower left corner,

showing Xu Qinglang kneeling in a pool of blood, a look of struggle and pain on his face.

Unfortunately,

there’s no director here to yell "Cut!"

On one side,

was the threat of the Sea God,

on the other,

was the roar of the zombie,

and at this moment, Zhou Ze wouldn't back down.

Previously, according to the agreement,

according to that inviolable man's promise,

Zhou Ze didn’t enter the noodle shop, didn’t interfere, didn’t help, didn’t meddle, didn’t say anything about keeping warm and drinking more water because you'll easily catch a cold;

but now that the shadow of that Sea God had come to his car,

it would be too much to sit there like an old monk in meditation, ignoring everything.

The Sea God didn't seem to expect the spectator in the car to be so fierce,

and was momentarily taken aback.

He had intended to scare others, warning them not to interfere, but instead, he was the one who got scared.

But after all, he was a character who had seen many storms at sea,

so the next moment,

the rainwater that hadn't had time to drain through the sewer grates on the road began to rise rapidly.

Zhou Ze was still sitting in the car,

but his car,

now seemed to be floating in the sea.

The salty, fishy smell assaulted his nostrils,

and the rain curtain struck the surging waves,

everything was poised and ready to go; a single wave could overturn everything!

It was as if,

all that was missing was a storm petrel.

The dark figure in front of him,

was slowly solidifying,

wearing a purple python robe, the face hidden beneath a black mask, the human body, and the giant python tail swaying between the waves,

as if in this vast sea,

he was the true master.

In the eyes beneath the mask,

was an arrogance that looked down on everything!

To be a demon to this extent was truly remarkable; it was like the smugglers and gangsters from years ago who had finally cleaned up their act and become outstanding local entrepreneurs.

There wasn’t a trace of demonic aura,

instead,

there was a hint of immortal flavor.

No wonder when someone wanted to take revenge, they had to use a front man and destroy him afterward, afraid of dirtying their own hands.

Compared to him,

the mountain spirits Zhou Ze had seen in the old forests of the Northeast were as low-level as children playing in the mud.

In the sea,

man is insignificant,

as small as dust.

This was a show of force, a kind of contempt.

Those who drew their swords and hacked at each other upon meeting were just small-time thugs.

The real bosses sized each other up before even speaking.

Zhou Ze sat still,

unhurried,

because he knew,

there was someone who couldn't stand this kind of contempt more than he could,

and this person,

had been acting like a fool just recently, insisting on waiting for the "empty door" to open,

waiting for the Buddha to descend.

Zhou Ze opened his hand,

signaling the moron to slightly loosen the seal,

not much,

just enough,

wasn't it just a matter of comparing status and forcing others to yield?

Sorry,

when it came to showing off and putting on airs,

it wasn't that Boss Zhou was targeting anyone,

but compared to the one inside him,

everyone present,

was trash!

Sure enough,

Zhou Ze sensed that presence,

he couldn’t hold back,

even though he knew Zhou Ze was borrowing his power, he didn't care.

For him,

face was more important than life.

It was just a pity that Boss Zhou hadn't chatted with the little boy in detail.

If he knew that underground, that guy had actually forced the little zombie to kill him in the name of the ancestor, just to prevent himself from laughing at him the next day,

Boss Zhou would never have been so calm.

"Little... bastard... snake..."

In the waves,

the Sea God turned his head,

seeming,

to have sensed something was wrong.

"I... will let... you... see...

the real... sea!"

"Boom!"

A loud noise erupted,

and this blue sea instantly became deathly silent,

as if instantly drained of its vitality, a huge black curtain instantly enveloped the area.

At the same time,

countless tattered arms stretched out from beneath the surface, trying to find a scapegoat to cushion their fall;

endless skeletons floated and sank in the sea, punctuating the scene with stark white;

a thick death aura, the final resting place of wandering souls!

Your sea holds fish and shrimp;

my sea buries hell!

Your sea carries ferries;

my sea guides to the afterlife!

How dare a firefly compete with the moon!

"Crack... crack... crack..."

In the scene,

the Sea God's mask was shattering,

along with,

his composure,

his ease,

his arrogance.

People often laughed at the frog, confined to its well,

but today,

the Sea God discovered that he was just a bigger frog,

and above him,

was an even bigger well.

It was a pity that the scene collapsed too quickly,

but Zhou Ze seemed to see,

in that blurry, receding image,

the Sea God slowly kneeling down.

The sea of the living,

kneeling to the heavens of the dead!

The image completely disappeared,

the car was still the same car,

parked in the rain, on the road, in front of that figure.

That figure was also slowly dissipating,

coming from the rain, disappearing into the rain,

as if it had never existed at all.

The fangs at the corners of Zhou Ze's mouth slowly receded,

and he looked,

again at Old Xu kneeling in a pool of blood in the noodle shop,

it seemed,

the most difficult time had passed.

He had helped, and perhaps helped a lot, but Zhou Ze didn't feel complacent, and had no intention of boasting or asking for credit.

Since Old Xu had arranged everything,

even to the point of stabbing his own face without hesitation,

then the shadow from before,

if he hadn't accounted for it and made some arrangements,

it just didn't seem logical.

Of course, his arrangements were his arrangements, and since that thing had appeared in front of him, even if he wasn't helping him, but just found the Sea God unpleasant to look at and intervened,

that made sense too,

who told him to be so ugly?

He scared me.

The rain lessened,

he opened the car door,

Zhou Ze’s shoe stepped into a puddle,

stretched,

“Going back home, huh.”

…………

"Huff... huff... huff..."

Heavy breathing came constantly,

and the rain outside seemed to have become lighter, no longer as torrential as before.

The agitation and resistance within his body were also slowly receding.

He was somewhat puzzled, somewhat lost,

because the real test he had prepared for hadn't appeared, and all the plans and preparations he had made for it were completely useless.

Xu Qinglang didn't stand up,

but continued to kneel on the ground,

closing his eyes,

as if communicating,

as if connecting,

and the taming process seemed to have fizzled out a bit.

Swallowing that woman was the same as forming some kind of connection between himself and that Sea God in the ocean.

This was Xu Qinglang's plan, his arrangement, a method he had thought of that night when he was held in the bathtub by his so-called master.

He had prepared for it for a long time, a very, very long time.

But,

it was going so smoothly,

it seemed a bit too naive,

even,

a dark green luster was slowly appearing on his body,

as if he had put on a thin, light shirt.

It was a pity,

that Zhou Ze didn't see this scene; he had gotten out of the car and wasn't paying attention.

The clothes on Xu Qinglang's body had been basically torn when he stabbed his own chest with a dagger, and now, this green light didn't last too long.

He slowly moved,

and then,

as if an eggshell had broken,

that thin, cicada-wing-like shirt was gradually torn open,

as if he were taking off clothes,

but actually,

it was a snake shedding its skin!

Xu Qinglang was a little puzzled; that Sea God seemed to be more talkative than he had imagined, without haggling or anything, as if he had resigned himself and accepted it, actively transferring his power.

Shedding skin,

healing.

The whole scene,

didn’t have the usual disgusting feel of a snake shedding its skin,

and even seemed a little beautiful,

like a scene from an old Hong Kong Category III film.

The truth was that many things felt completely different depending on who was doing them;

this damned world,

still judged by looks.

Standing up,

Xu Qinglang lowered his head,

looking at his chest,

the terrifying scars that had been there were gone, replaced by tender new skin, but the pain from the wound was still there.

This kind of healing was a classic example of treating the symptoms but not the cause;

it seemed like he had recovered completely, but these injuries,

still needed to be nursed carefully to truly recover.

Oh, right, it probably had another function, which was to stop the bleeding.

He walked to the glass,

Xu Qinglang looked at his reflection,

his face had also recovered.

Not to mention scars, there wasn't even a trace of blood scabs.

He didn’t dare reach out to touch it, or touch it hard,

but at least in his heart,

he was already satisfied.

Women loved beauty,

and so did men,

tilting his head,

he continued to look at himself in the glass,

reaching out,

gently stroking the glass.

In Xu Qinglang's eyes, his pupils seemed to be splitting, and showed a faint cyan color.

He stared at himself in the glass for a long time,

and then,

turned his body,

looked up,

looked around,

and for some reason,

a deep sense of disgust came from the bottom of his heart.

The cyan color in his eyes,

was becoming more and more intense,

and his pupils were becoming more and more demonic.

He loathed his life,

he loathed the environment he was in,

he loathed all the clamor on this land.

Xu Qinglang held his head in his hands,

he was a little lost,

he didn't know where these strong emotions came from,

but they were really appearing now, and beginning to frantically erode his heart.

He had calculated everything, arranged everything,

in the ceiling's interlayer,

there were actually real fallback options,

but,

they weren't needed.

He had calculated the process, and he had calculated the success,

but he hadn't thought much about what would happen after the success; in fact, most people wouldn't calculate what would happen after success.

When you stare into the abyss, the abyss also stares into you.

When you attempt to build a connection with the Sea God and get power from him,

his emotions,

his thoughts,

naturally began to resonate with you to a certain extent.

One was a demon who had been cultivating for many years,

the other was a young man who was only twenty-five or twenty-six years old,

who could influence who more,

it really didn't need to be guessed.

Xu Qinglang stiffly continued to look at everything here,

this was once his warmest memory,

but at this moment,

he had an impulse to smash and destroy everything here in his heart.

There was a voice in his heart,

constantly calling out to him,

in his mind,

the bitter scenes he had experienced since childhood began to flash back and forth like slides,

it was denying his past,

it was criticizing his present,

it was tampering with his future,

it,

was assimilating him!

He was a little panicked,

but didn't know what to do.

Xu Qinglang found his phone, he wanted to make a call, but as soon as he got the phone in his hand, he slammed it hard on the ground!

"Pa!"

The phone,

shattered,

"Ahhhhhhhh!!!"

Xu Qinglang held his head,

squatting on the ground,

a man, a lost man, a handsome man, a fearful man...

He didn't know how long he squatted there,

then Xu Qinglang slowly stood up again,

he suddenly felt so depressed,

staying in this cramped space,

he felt like he couldn't breathe,

and even this hard ground made him feel disgusted and repulsed.

He couldn't concentrate on thinking,

had he succeeded, or had he failed?

Or,

was so-called success actually a kind of failure?

Xu Qinglang's master was never a proper person to begin with; he was extreme, he was crazy, he was like a complete madman,

if he hadn't met Boss Zhou, who had awakened Ying Gou, that night,

everyone in the bookstore would have been purged and killed by him.

The traditions left by this kind of madman,

were actually inherited in the same vein,

Xu Qinglang was self-taught, studied hard, but in the end, it seemed that he was walking the same path as his most hated master.

Perhaps,

not long after,

this world would no longer have Xu Qinglang,

but would have an extra frontman belonging to the Sea God.

Xu Qinglang's ending,

was likely to be the same as that of the woman who died in his arms.

At sea,

even the most experienced captain could get lost,

let alone an inexperienced young man?

He stumbled out of the noodle shop,

he didn't know where he was going,

he didn't even know where his foot would step next.

"Whirr!"

The rolling door was pulled open,

Xu Qinglang turned his head in confusion,

the bookstore next door that had been empty for a long time, had its door opened from the inside.

Zhou Ze stood at the door, with a dirty towel around his shoulders.

Hands on his hips,

panting,

impatient,

Boss Zhou exclaimed:

"Spring cleaning, so tiring."

Xu Qinglang stood there without moving,

why was he here?

He,

was so familiar,

who was he?

Why couldn’t he remember?

No,

he,

I definitely know him, definitely know him!

"Old Xu, you didn't even tell me you were going back to your hometown to visit relatives. This old store hasn't had anyone in almost a year, it's filthy, all covered in dust. I just finally managed to wipe it down, and it exhausted me."

Xu Qinglang nodded subconsciously,

that's right,

for him, who always liked to lie there and bask in the sun,

cleaning,

must be very tiring.

Xu Qinglang closed his eyes, and a painful sound came from his throat, like a drunk person slowly regaining consciousness,

it hurt so much,

it was so painful.

"Old Xu, I'm hungry, make something to eat, same as always, put it on my tab."

The rain had stopped,

the sky was about to dawn,

and Zhou Ze simply took two plastic chairs from his old bookstore and put them outside,

and sat directly on one of them.

Like an old grandpa,

with his hands crossed over his chest,

waiting for the sunrise,

and then swaying back and forth,

basking in the sun.

Wonderful, wonderful!

"Okay."

Xu Qinglang gritted his teeth; his head was dizzy, and he was confused, like he had just been hit hard with a hammer.

He walked back to his noodle shop, and into the kitchen,

the vegetables he had bought last night weren't all used, and there was rice left in the rice cooker, but it was cold.

He took a general look,

and then, while covering his aching forehead,

like a sleepwalker,

he opened the gas tank,

lit the fire,

poured oil,

first fried rice with eggs,

and then fried two side dishes to go with the rice.

While cooking, he almost fell in the kitchen several times, and his whole body was like a tumbler, not falling, but keeping everyone's hearts hanging.

"Food... dishes..."

Zhou Ze was still sitting on the plastic chair,

just like when he first came here a year ago,

back then the moon was shaking, and people were wandering,

every day he just sat in the bookstore,

rarely going out,

too lazy to go out,

like a newborn baby, a little curious about the outside world, but more of all, fearful.

The fried rice with eggs was brought up, and two side dishes were placed on the second plastic bench.

Chopsticks and spoons were also handed over.

Zhou Ze picked up the chopsticks and rubbed them gently.

Xu Qinglang leaned against the door frame, his eyes wandering, he seemed to understand a lot, but there were still many things he didn't understand.

Zhou Ze picked up a vegetable,

put it in his mouth,

"Ugh..."

His chest rose and fell,

a strong feeling of nausea came over him,

Zhou Ze opened his mouth,

and spat out the vegetables in his mouth.

It had been so long, since he had the River Lethe flower, that he seemed to have forgotten the fear of being dominated by three meals a day.

Xu Qinglang frowned beside him,

was the food he made,

so bad?

Although he was a little absent-minded when he was cooking,

was it really that bad?

"Old Xu."

Zhou Ze called out.

Xu Qinglang didn't respond.

"Miss Xu?"

Zhou Ze called again.

Xu Qinglang still didn't move.

Zhou Ze couldn't help it,

he poked Xu Qinglang's leg with the end of his chopsticks,

while taking a deep breath, he asked:

"Is there any vinegar?"

Xu Qinglang nodded,

walked in,

took out a bottle of vinegar,

and handed it to Zhou Ze.

Zhou Ze remembered that when he first came back,

every time he ate, he would pour down half a bottle of vinegar first, and then take advantage of the stomach spasms to eat a few bites of rice, three meals a day, that's how he dealt with it.

He twisted open the vinegar bottle cap,

took a big gulp,

and just as he was about to swallow,

suddenly,

"Pfft!"

A mouthful of vinegar,

was all sprayed out.

Zhou Ze was a little embarrassed,

it's easy to go from frugality to extravagance, but it's hard to go from extravagance to frugality,

he'd been living the good life for too long,

and he really wasn't used to the days when he used to mix rice with vinegar.

"Hehe."

Beside him,

Xu Qinglang, who had been silent, suddenly laughed.

Zhou Ze shook his head and continued to look at the vinegar in his hand.

In his heart,

there was a battle between heaven and man.

Suddenly,

a glass was placed in front of him,

the liquid in the glass was blue,

emitting a sour and sweet smell,

this smell,

was so familiar,

sour plum juice!

Zhou Ze picked up the sour plum juice in front of him,

looked at it again and again,

raised his head,

looked at Xu Qinglang beside him, and said:

"You still remember, there's still stock in the shop? It's not expired, is it?"

"I remember."

Xu Qinglang replied,

at this time,

the cyan color in his eyes was slowly receding, and even the splitting pupils were starting to recover.

"I thought you had forgotten, it's been a long time since I had it,"

Zhou Ze said with emotion.

"I thought you forgot." Xu Qinglang squatted down a bit, and said in a smaller voice, "I've been brewing it all along."

Zhou Ze pulled out the plastic chair under him,

and simply leaned against the wall and sat down,

for a person with a deep cleaning obsession who wished he could change his bedsheets twice a day,

he seemed very natural when he did this.

He reached out,

and tugged on Xu Qinglang's wrist,

"Sit down."

Xu Qinglang didn't move.

Zhou Ze pulled again, using a bit of force,

"Come on, sit down."

Xu Qinglang sat down,

two men,

in the morning twilight,

were sitting side-by-side against the wall facing the road.

Zhou Ze reached out and patted his shoulder, and said, "Can I lean on you?"

Xu Qinglang glanced at Zhou Ze and said, "Can you stop being disgusting?"

"I'm returning the favor."

Zhou Ze laughed and continued:

"Remember that day when I found out that I had been killed by that Xu Le, I was just like you before, holding my head and kneeling behind the bookstore counter.

At that time,

you happened to walk in,

what did you do?

Let me tell you,

you were very disgusting, you actually hugged me into your arms!

I was so disgusted at the time, dammit!"

Xu Qinglang looked up,

he remembered that day.

"I thought at the time, damn it, I have to find a chance to hug you once, and let you experience this forcibly gay feeling."

As he spoke,

Zhou Ze reached out,

and rudely put his arm around Xu Qinglang's shoulder.

"Old Xu, honestly, it's good for you to just cook steadily, don't listen to Old An's nonsense. That guy initially gave everyone in the bookstore pep talks,

but now he's the one who's given up.

If you have food and a place to sleep, you'll soon become degenerate and corrupt."

"He'll be back, he said so, right?"

Xu Qinglang suddenly said.

Zhou Ze opened his mouth,

he knew who Xu Qinglang was talking about,

the one who killed Old Xu's parents... his master.

With nothing to say,

Zhou Ze simply took a sip of sour plum juice,

hiss!

It was so sour,

but,

it was so refreshing...

"I don't want to be standing behind you next time he comes back, I really don't want to."

Xu Qinglang murmured to himself.

"Yeah." Zhou Ze nodded; he could understand that feeling.

They could only blame Old Xu's master, that guy was crazy to a certain extent. That enemy was like a boss in an online game, not only could he be defeated once, but he could be defeated two or three times.

He said he would be back,

and every time he saw similar news, Zhou Ze would sigh in his heart,

and feel that the day Xu Qinglang's master reappeared was being shortened by this news.

"Anyway, thanks."

Xu Qinglang smiled, the cyan color in his eyes had completely disappeared, and his pupils had returned to normal. He took a deep breath, feeling refreshed.

Zhou Ze handed the sour plum juice to Xu Qinglang and said:

"Want to take a sip too?"

Xu Qinglang shook his head.

"You made it yourself, it's very tasty," Zhou Ze urged.

Xu Qinglang continued to shake his head firmly.

"Hey, hey, hey, you're the one who made it and you won't drink it, but I drank it for so long, I'm a little nervous."

"Old Zhou, do you know what I was thinking when I made this?"

"What?"

"I'm going to sour you to death!"

"…………" Zhou Ze.

"Later, I despaired and changed the recipe, willing to do anything to increase the acidity, racked my brains, but you became addicted to it.

At that time, I thought, you're a beast."

"Hehe."

Zhou Ze laughed,

he said that,

but for a long time, if it hadn't been for Xu Qinglang's sour plum juice,

Zhou Ze estimated that he would have collapsed from malnutrition long ago.

"Do you have any cigarettes? I'm out of cigarettes." Zhou Ze asked.

Xu Qinglang touched his pockets and pulled out cigarettes, one for himself, and handed one to Zhou Ze.

Two cigarettes, lit.

Zhou Ze took a deep breath,

and slowly exhaled a smoke ring,

pursed his lips and said:

"Let's go back after we finish this cigarette, they're almost awake, waiting for your breakfast."

Xu Qinglang flicked his cigarette ash,

nodded,

"Okay."