Chapter 18 The Plot Thickens

Old Xu had said that he would handle this matter himself, and he said it so seriously that Zhou Ze hesitated.

When watching TV, he always hated those female leads or supporting characters who, despite their own lack of ability and tendency to create trouble, would always try to shoulder responsibilities, only to cause problems in the end that the main character had to deal with.

When Zhou Ze was in college, influenced by his roommate, he watched *Naruto* with him for a while after finishing his part-time job. He didn't watch much, but he thought Sakura was a pain in the ass.

Honestly,

Zhou Ze was quite conflicted about this matter.

If Old Xu was trying to protect someone or simply rekindle an old flame, forcing this matter onto himself and preventing others from getting involved, it would make Zhou Ze and the others in the bookstore very uncomfortable.

After all,

if you can't handle it yourself,

everyone will have to clean up your mess in the end.

You put on a show and showed off,

but in the end, others are the ones who have to work themselves to death.

This wasn't like Lao Dao. Although Lao Dao often stepped on landmines, his intention wasn't to step on them intentionally. He was old, cherished his life, and was afraid of dying. He would only accidentally step on a landmine, not ride a horse, wave a saber, and charge like a tank!

But,

this might involve the Sea God,

could Old Xu handle it?

"Boss, do you want more coffee?"

Yingying asked softly, she could tell that her boss was thinking.

Zhou Ze shook his head.

"Come on, let's take a bath, wash ourselves clean, make ourselves smell nice, and then go to sleep."

Lawyer An pestered the little boy to go to the bathroom to help him take a bath.

He had been envious of Zhou Ze for having Yingying for a long time,

and now he finally had his own ultra-thin one.

The little boy looked unwilling, but after Lawyer An promised to take him to pick up the little loli from school tomorrow, he agreed and gave in.

For,

love.

The two of them went to take a bath,

Lawyer An even wanted to style his hair,

telling the little boy to go upstairs first and find the room on the left, lie on the bed, and wait for him.

Zhou Ze turned his head and looked at the heavy rain outside the window.

For some reason,

he felt that today's rain had a different atmosphere.

Old Xu went out,

Deadpool and the little black girl were still wandering around the cemetery,

the little loli went home to school,

the bookstore suddenly became a lot quieter.

Lawyer An finished his bath, styled his hair handsomely, and walked out in his leopard-print pajamas.

"Yo, you guys aren't asleep yet?"

Lawyer An asked as if he was asking if they hadn't eaten yet.

Zhou Ze shook his head.

"Then I'll go upstairs to sleep first."

Lawyer An flicked his hair,

the serf turned over and sang,

the people in the occupied area welcomed liberation,

and happily went upstairs.

"Lawyer An has changed a lot,"

Yingying said softly to Zhou Ze.

At first, Lawyer An was like a Kuomintang officer being pulled into the Eighth Route Army, disliking everything here.

"People always change."

Zhou Ze didn't think much of it.

"No, Boss, Yingying has noticed that many people seem cool when they first meet, but after staying in the bookstore for a long time, they seem to change."

Yingying lowered her head, pondering this question.

"Oh, I understand, it's corporate culture! Yes, the influence of corporate culture!"

Zhou Ze picked up his coffee cup, not wanting to continue this topic,

but the cup was already empty.

He looked around to cover up his embarrassment and noticed that Yingying was no longer holding *A Maid's Self-Cultivation*. Zhou Ze pointed to the book and said,

"What book are you reading recently?"

"*An Entrepreneur's Autobiography*. I've bought a lot of houses, but it's so annoying, it seems like house prices aren't rising anymore, and I'm worried about when it's going to crash.

So I'm planning to learn about doing business to see if it works."

Hmm,

she wants to go from a property-owning *ying*

to an entrepreneurial *ying*?

"Very good, I believe you can do it."

Zhou Ze nodded, he supported Yingying's desire to start a business anyway, since he didn't have any money to invest.

"Lao Zhou."

At this time,

at the corner of the hallway,

Lawyer An stuck his head out

and waved to Zhou Ze downstairs.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Ze asked.

"Come up and take a look."

Zhou Ze got up

and followed Lawyer An upstairs.

Xu Qinglang's room door was open. Lawyer An led Zhou Ze in and said,

"The little zombie went to the wrong room and entered Xu Qinglang's room. I went in to take him out and found something else."

Some time ago, the bookstore had a limited number of rooms, so there were cases of multiple people living together.

For example, Lao Dao had lived with Lao Zhang, and Lao Dao had also lived with Deadpool, hmm.

Zhou Ze, as the boss, had to set an example by caring for his subordinates

and living with Yingying and the little loli.

However, Old Xu had always lived alone, and the furnishings in his room were very clean and tidy.

Actually,

apart from being pretty and habitually taking care of his skin, Xu Qinglang had never been particularly effeminate or had any inclination in that direction.

There was nothing special about the room, it was very normal.

"Can't you see it?" Lawyer An asked.

Zhou Ze nodded,

he couldn't see anything wrong.

Lawyer An smiled, walked to the wall, and said, "Do you see these gaps?"

Zhou Ze went over, touched them with his hand, and indeed there seemed to be scratches and small grooves.

Lawyer An took a bottle of ink from Xu Qinglang's desk, twisted open the lid, and poured it along the edge of the groove.

Instantly,

like dominoes falling,

the black area began to slowly spread and cover,

for a moment,

on all four walls and the ceiling,

black lines ran across,

creating an extremely complex pattern.

Dense and complicated,

very shocking,

Heaven knows how long Xu Qinglang had secretly been carving here with a carving knife.

It was also thanks to Lawyer An's meticulousness that he was able to discover this when he accidentally broke in.

"What is this?"

Zhou Ze asked.

"A spirit-inviting formation, an orthodox Taoist spirit-inviting formation."

Lawyer An touched his hair,

swayed his body,

and said, "It's missing a link."

Saying that,

Lawyer An walked to the desk, climbed onto it. Above it was a fluorescent lamp, a long tube.

"Found it, it's果然 here."

Saying that,

Lawyer An seemed to have unlocked something,

and a painting fell down,

right in the center of the room!

When he saw this painting,

Zhou Ze frowned.

In the painting, a person was stepping on a snake's head and walking on the waves. This painting was so familiar, he must have seen it before.

He remembered,

in the home of the wealthy man who had been killed by the Sea God,

the painting hanging in their living room

was this painting!

It was exactly the same

as the one hanging in Old Xu's room!

Lawyer An smacked his lips, put a cigarette in his mouth, and muttered while lighting it,

"Boss,

your cook

is deeply hidden."

………………

At the Tongcheng Wuzhou International Plaza, although it was only the first half of the night, it was already cold. This commercial center had almost had one foot in the coffin when Zhou Ze opened his bookstore here,

and now,

it was estimated that the coffin nails had already been hammered in.

Decades ago, everyone wanted to build buildings and bridges. It was an era of infrastructure mania.

At that time, people probably wouldn't realize that China's over-urbanization would come so quickly.

A Nissan car parked by the side of the road.

Xu Qinglang got out of the car.

He came out in a hurry and didn't wear a coat. It was still a bit cold outside at this time.

Summer was basically over, and the autumn wind brought the desolation of autumn.

The old place,

the noodle shop's sign hadn't been taken down,

nor had the bookstore's sign, but the couplets and signboard that were originally hung on both sides had been taken to South Street.

Xu Qinglang took out the key and opened the roller shutter door, he was also carrying groceries in his hand.

He went inside,

put on an apron, and started cleaning.

When Xu Qinglang opened his shop here a year ago, he was actually doing takeaway business, and few customers would actually come to the shop to eat.

But his shop was always kept very clean,

like him.

Sweeping the floor, mopping the floor, and then cleaning the dead corners with a rag, Xu Qinglang did it meticulously.

Then,

he started stir-frying dishes and cooking.

Soon,

three dishes and a soup were placed on the table.

Today,

he was hosting.

He took off his apron and poured himself a glass of *Jing* liquor.

Xu Qinglang sat at the table, drinking alone.

Soon,

a woman in a long red dress walked out of the darkness outside.

Red high heels, a red skirt, a red hairpin, and... red lips.

The woman stood at the door, a little restrained. At Xu Qinglang's gesture, she walked in.

Her foot was a little sprained,

she said she had accidentally fallen while walking. It could be seen that she was a little uncomfortable and had left in a hurry, at least without time to consider the matching of her clothes.

Xu Qinglang poured her wine,

and she began to eat.

Xu Qinglang lit a cigarette and watched her eat.

"Do you have an older sister?"

Xu Qinglang asked.

"I have many, many older sisters."

The woman replied.

Xu Qinglang smiled.

He remembered waking up in the hotel that night

and finding two or three thousand yuan on the bedside table.

"Do you want me to introduce my sisters to you?"

The woman pouted.

Talking about other women in front of a girl would definitely make her unhappy.

Xu Qinglang shook his head and said,

"She's dead."

She died in his arms.

The woman was stunned.

Her expression slowly changed from warm to cold. She put down her chopsticks.

Xu Qinglang picked up his wine glass on his own,

and drank

the rest of the wine in one gulp.

The woman stood up, staring at him intently, unable to believe it.

"Do you know who I am?"

Xu Qinglang didn't answer this question, but turned to look behind him, towards the kitchen.

He vaguely remembered

sitting with his parents' skins every night,

the whole family neatly

eating.

He also remembered

that day

when the little loli from next door came to his shop,

opened her mouth,

"The underworld has order, the Yellow Springs can be crossed..."

In front of him,

she swallowed his parents' souls

and sent them to the gates of hell.

That day,

he crawled on the ground,

shouting,

crying,

begging,

but she

remained unmoved.