“Clang…”

A crisp sound echoed.

The simple, ancient mirror fell from the severed neck of the headless corpse, twirling three and a half times on the hotel’s tiled floor before skidding in a half-circle.

It lay trembling on the ground.

The old Taoist's gaze was instantly drawn to it. Earlier, in the Late Night Bookstore, everyone had discussed and speculated about the origins of Xu Qinglang, the repairman. According to the boss and the others, Repairman Xu shouldn't be a uniquely independent entity. Otherwise, there was simply no way to explain the principle of his infinite loop of death and resurrection.

It was likely a high-end magical artifact that had malfunctioned, still maintaining a certain level of operation, but with problems, leading to this situation.

The old Taoist rubbed his hands,

Licking his lips.

Right now,

He didn't even care about taking Qing to the pharmacy.

His eyes were entirely focused on this small mirror.

This mirror had to be a treasure, a real treasure!

The mirror lay there quietly, like a melancholy woman waiting for her beloved. It did nothing, and after releasing that beam of red light that pierced Qing, it seemed to have truly reverted to an ordinary ancient mirror.

And this style, this level of recognizability, could be found in many ancient city stalls and souvenir shops throughout the country, labeled as either Naxi ancient mirrors or Bai ancient mirrors, etc. In reality, they all originated from Yiwu.

The old Taoist stared at it, completely mesmerized.

A look of intoxication appeared in his eyes.

If anyone familiar with the old Taoist were here to witness this scene, they would definitely be surprised.

It should be known that the old Taoist was greedy, and that was only human nature. Occasionally, he'd take advantage of small things and feel good about it for half a day. But that was just a part of his personality, in fact, the old Taoist himself was basically the kind of person who truly believed that money would come back even after it was all spent. In recent years, the donations he'd made could be measured in the "hundreds of millions."

This expression of wide-eyed, intoxicated fascination rarely appeared on the old Taoist's face.

…………

Gradually,

The old Taoist's vision began to distort.

He saw clusters and clusters of clouds.

And he,

Was standing on the summit of a sea of clouds.

Moreover, this wasn't static; the clouds were moving, or perhaps, he himself was moving.

Drifting and swaying, carefree and unrestrained.

This posture, this feeling, was indescribably suave and poetic.

At first, the old Taoist was somewhat apprehensive, fearing what would happen if he fell. But after getting used to the sensation, he felt incredibly happy.

Regardless of age,

How many people hadn't dreamed of one day being able to fly on a sword, traversing the sea of clouds?

The sea of clouds was ethereal and ever-changing, as if filled with precious nectar, and as if graceful singers were dancing. The scenery changed with his thoughts.

The old Taoist wiped the corner of his mouth.

Although he knew this was all fake,

He couldn't resist the joy in his heart!

This feeling was like a宅男 (zhai nan) watching porn; he couldn't touch it, but he couldn't help but turn on the AV late at night.

Ahead,

The sky was clear and blue.

The sea of clouds had disappeared.

The old Taoist finally realized that he must be flying.

He reached out and stomped his foot below.

Tsk tsk,

Pretty solid.

The old Taoist cautiously probed with his toes.

Yo-ho,

Pretty wide!

Was he flying on a sword?

This sword was a bit too wide.

When the sea of clouds was completely left behind,

The old Taoist looked down.

His face turned green with fright.

What the hell was this!

The old Taoist found himself standing on something furry.

And below,

Were rivers, lakes, and seas, the vast earth!

This, this, this, this…

The old Taoist's teeth began to chatter.

He subconsciously reached out and grabbed a wall beside him, trying to give himself some mental comfort.

But,

Soon,

The wall turned around.

The wall,

Was actually moving!

Immediately afterward,

A pair of huge, crimson eyes, like a pair of red suns, stared back at him.

“Ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!”

The old Taoist screamed.

This scene,

Was too terrifying.

And too realistic.

This shock,

Made the old Taoist scream without stopping.

At the same time, the old Taoist recognized it; this wasn't a wall, but a gigantic head.

Those eyes, so big!

That mouth, so big!

That nose, so big!

A hairy face and thunderous mouth,

Immeasurably terrifying.

Perhaps, if it were reduced to a normal size, the old Taoist might have been able to recognize it as a monkey head and even tease it.

But suddenly magnified to such a scale,

The old Taoist didn't immediately realize it was a monkey!

This was normal; if a person and an ant were to exchange sizes, it would be difficult to imagine what it would be like to look at an ant from below.

Ahead,

A mountain appeared.

The mountain was very high.

As high as the monkey.

The old Taoist originally thought that this huge monster was going to crash into the mountain with him.

Subconsciously, he grabbed the fur beneath his feet.

However,

This huge being stopped in front of the mountain.

Turned around,

Bent over,

Squatted down,

Reached out,

"Boom!!!!!!!!!"

A violent roar rang out.

The old Taoist watched as the hairy-faced, thunder-mouthed monster directly lifted the mountain.

Then,

This huge being casually flung it away.

"Boom!!!!!"

The mountain,

Was thrown in another direction.

At this point,

It seemed a bit inappropriate to remind the other party not to litter.

But this terrifying posture and overbearingness,

Was truly shocking.

The Mountain-Moving Ape began to run.

It was very happy.

It was very free.

The wind grew stronger.

The old Taoist tried to hold onto the monkey's fur to avoid being thrown off.

But gradually,

The old Taoist realized that the wind resistance had disappeared.

His footing was truly steady.

He saw the changing mountains and rivers below.

He saw the sun, moon, and stars in the sky.

He saw clusters of iridescent mist that vanished in a flash.

He saw strands of silk twisting and turning.

Even,

He vaguely saw,

In the highest place,

As if a doorpost stood there.

The old Taoist's mood suddenly became liberated.

He was intoxicated by it.

He was delighted by it.

He was enjoying it.

One man and one monkey,

Ran wildly through the world,

Forgetting all else in their joy!

“Hiss…”

Suddenly,

The old Taoist abruptly reached down and grabbed at his crotch.

He grabbed,

“Ooh ooh ooh ah ah ah!!!!”

He cried out in pain.

But the heat in his mind also subsided a lot, and the previous illusions disappeared.

That feeling, similar to being high and flying in the sky, sent chills down his spine when he recalled it.

“Huff… Huff…”

The old Taoist bent over.

Panting heavily.

That feeling was truly terrifying, as if he had wholeheartedly immersed himself in it.

Swallowing hard,

The old Taoist took a few steps back.

Then slowly sat down, using the sleeve of his Taoist robe to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

His gaze,

Fell on Qing.

The old Taoist struggled to stand up again. No matter what, he had to take this girl to the pharmacy!

The old Taoist stood up again and walked to Qing's side.

“Holy crap…”

The old Taoist was dumbfounded.

He had been pushing the old woman's body from behind, and his view had been blocked by the old woman's body, so he hadn't seen the scene of the red light shooting out of the mirror and piercing through Qing's body.

But now,

Looking at Qing's miserable state,

Especially the big hole in her chest,

Even if the pharmacy next to the Late Night Bookstore was full of Bian Que and Hua Tuo reborn, she probably couldn't be saved, right?

The old Taoist put his hand near Qing's nose.

Huh,

No breath!

As for listening for a heartbeat, there was no need to bother; damn it, her heart had been blown away, what was there to listen for!

But even so, the old Taoist didn't dare to definitively say that she was completely dead, after all, with his own boss's countless returns from near-death experiences, people like this, no, they couldn't be considered people anymore, so you couldn't use ordinary human standards to define them.

“Heave-ho!”

The old Taoist hoisted Qing onto his shoulder,

Without even looking at the terrifying mirror,

He walked directly towards the hotel entrance.

The old woman and old man had already been dealt with, so the formation around the hotel had automatically dissipated. The revolving door started to turn as it sensed someone approaching.

The old Taoist walked out through the door, carrying Qing on his shoulder.

Standing outside,

Sunlight shone down,

Giving him a great sense of unreality.

For a moment,

It seemed as if he had just woken up, and perhaps the next moment he would find himself lying in bed, and everything before had just been a dream.

…………

Xu Qinglang drove very steadily, in a kind of hurried-but-stable way.

Although he had previously suggested that they didn't have to seek revenge.

Because he didn't want to put the Late Night Bookstore into a dangerous and irredeemable situation for his own sake.

But since Zhou Ze insisted that revenge was a must,

Once that basic tone was set,

Xu Qinglang stopped being coy.

He would overtake when he could, but of course, he wouldn't run red lights.

Finally,

The car arrived on the road where the hotel was located.

He began to slow down,

And finally,

Stopped in front of the steps at the hotel entrance.

"We're here."

Xu Qinglang bit his lip, looked at Zhou Ze sitting next to him, and smiled.

Zhou Ze nodded, opened the car door, and got out.

Xu Qinglang got out with his bronze sword and large backpack,

But,

Just as he walked to Zhou Ze's side,

He suddenly saw the revolving door under the hotel entrance start to move.

Then,

Under the gaze of both Boss Zhou and Xu Qinglang,

The old Taoist,

With Qing slung over his shoulder,

Walked out from inside.

The sunlight was very harsh,

Shining on the mirror behind the old Taoist, the reflection was very strong.

The angle of the sunlight, combined with the mirror's angle of reflection and the old Taoist's position,

Formed a perfect combination at this moment.

The old Taoist,

Seemed to be glowing,

Because the sunlight was too blinding, he hadn't adjusted yet, so the old Taoist didn't notice that Boss Zhou and Xu Qinglang were standing below the steps in front of him.

He continued to support Qing with one hand,

And used the other hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead in the sunlight.

Like the protagonist standing in the ruins after the end of a grand drama,

He slowly said in a slightly disappointed tone:

“Heh, it’s over.”