Chapter 141 Retrogression

Zhou Ze shook the ash from his cigarette.

Unimaginable.

Just hours ago,

Mo Dai was still that spirited Mo Dai.

He dared to declare that he didn’t care at all about the Prefecture Lord lineage;

He was confident in his own excellence, that the family legacy could be lost, so be it. As long as he was willing, he could build an even greater empire.

He was carefree, he was resolute.

But within that gazebo,

The white-robed man who used flesh and blood as ingredients for dishes and wine,

Seemed to have collapsed completely in that moment.

The figure more Chu Liuxiang than Chu Liuxiang himself, had suddenly become a wizened old man, sitting beneath the locust tree at the village entrance, watching the setting sun.

He was clever, he was outstanding; even his ancestor, the First Lord, had praised this "good-for-nothing" spendthrift of his to Yinggou’s face.

Zhou Ze wasn’t a psychologist, and he was acutely aware of his own poor consoling skills.

He couldn’t tell if Mo Dai was like those "old men whose greatest wish is fulfilled," like finally seeing their grandson get married and then passing away in their sleep with a smile on their face the day after the wedding.

Or if, previously, because the threat of the Xuanyuan Sword had always been hanging over his head, most of his attention had been focused on the game with the Xuanyuan Sword.

Now that the outcome of the gamble was clear,

Looking around,

It was as if returning to his village, he was like a woodcutter returning from the mountains after decades;

A thousand years ago, what did you want?

To live.

A thousand years later, what do you want?

I don’t know.

From a psychological perspective, should this be called “Xuanyuan Sword Psychological Trauma Syndrome”?

"How about this, I know a psychologist, he's a childhood friend of mine, and he's very good. I can introduce you to him when we get back to Tongcheng."

Zhou Ze felt that Wang Ke should be grateful to him because Wang Ke wouldn't realize what a distinguished client he was being introduced to.

If Mo Dai were to regain control of Hell in the future, Wang Ke might be able to rely on this connection to indulge in being Peng Zu for a while.

"Heh."

The old Daoist smiled, reached over, took a cigarette from Zhou Ze, and put it in his mouth.

Zhou Ze tossed him the lighter.

The old Daoist lit the cigarette.

But didn’t inhale,

Just held it between two fingers, watching it burn.

"You can continue to think about it." Zhou Ze reminded him.

During this time of reflection, the real old Daoist might return.

The old Daoist looked deeply at Zhou Ze,

And suddenly asked:

"I'm curious."

"Curious about what?"

"Curious about how you'll react when you get to where I am."

"For me, every day I live is a bonus. Since I've been taking advantage for so many years, I should be satisfied."

"You won't be satisfied, you won't. Hehehe, hahahaha, people are never satisfied, really, never.

Especially when it comes to advantages, and special treatment;

For a short time, people may be moved to tears by these advantages and genuinely grateful for the special treatment.

But as time goes on, taking advantage stops being taking advantage, and special treatment stops being special treatment.

It becomes their due, something they take for granted, something they enjoy without a second thought;

As for,

Gratitude,

Heh,

Is just bullshit."

"That's your opinion." Zhou Ze shrugged.

The Buddha-like mentality of a salted fish is truly lonely at the top.

The old Daoist licked his lips,

And said:

"I'll be waiting to see."

"Go ahead and watch, it won't be long anyway. I was originally hoping that if you succeeded, you could share your experience, after all, if you could really continue living, who would want to end it like this?

But looking at you now, to be honest, it's a good thing you're not an ordinary seventy-year-old, otherwise I'd really worry that you'd jump off this building while I was in the bathroom."

"I'm not that fragile."

"Alright."

"Boss!"

Just then, An Lawyer and Yingying appeared at the door of the ward.

When Zhou Ze went downstairs to buy cigarettes earlier, he had sent a message to An Lawyer; no matter what, this hurdle had been overcome.

An Lawyer and Yingying arrived quickly, or rather, they might have already been on their way.

"Boss, you've suffered."

Yingying stood in front of Zhou Ze, carefully examining the hospital gown he was wearing and the obvious fatigue on his face.

"No broken arms or legs, I'm fine."

Although he had been tossed around in the hospital these past few days, he had finally made it through.

Yingying was with the boss,

An Lawyer naturally wouldn’t be so clueless as to compete with Yingying for favor at this time. A congenital extra burden, you can't win.

So,

An Lawyer immediately focused his attention on the old Daoist.

"Ha, Old Daoist!"

An Lawyer walked behind the old Daoist and bumped him with his crotch.

The old Daoist, still holding the cigarette, turned to look at An Lawyer.

An Lawyer put his arm around the old Daoist's shoulder, grinning mischievously:

"I haven't been idle these past few days. I've checked out all the hair salons and such around here. There's one place with lots of grandmas…

呸呸呸 (Pēi pēi pēi, expression to spit out something bad), I mean, young aunties.

Well,

I'll take you there after we eat."

If you asked An Lawyer why he was so good to the old Daoist, even to the point of changing his own tastes,

An Lawyer would definitely roll his eyes at you and say: playing the long game.

Too bad,

The big fish was already in front of him,

And he didn't even know it.

"By the way, Boss, where's Lao Zhang?"

An Lawyer, with his arm around the old Daoist, turned to look at Zhou Ze.

He was waiting for the answer.

"Upstairs."

"Lao Zhang is injured?"

Zhou Ze shook his head.

"Became an immortal." The old Daoist said.

"Oh, hey, we should be happy for Lao Zhang. They say that smoking green smoke from the family's ancestral grave can produce a top scholar among the descendants.

Lao Zhang really needs to take some time to go back and check on their Lao Zhang family's ancestral grave, this is directly becoming an immortal, the ancestral grave must be erupting like a volcano."

After saying this,

An Lawyer bit his lip,

Obviously,

He felt guilty about this.

"Boss, the others are all at the hotel, let's go back, I'll give you a bath."

"Okay."

Zhou Ze really wanted to take a bath. In the hospital, he could only wet a towel and wipe himself down, and he had to be careful all the time.

Right now,

Perhaps there was nothing better than lying in the bathtub and enjoying the massage service of his own maid with his eyes closed.

Too many thoughts needed to be put aside, isolated.

The four left the hospital building,

Zhou Ze got into the back seat, and then the old Daoist opened the back car door and got in as well.

This startled Yingying, who wanted to sit next to the boss in the back, but she didn't say anything and went to the passenger seat.

"Lao An."

"What's up, Boss?"

An Lawyer asked, turning his head while fastening his seat belt.

"Come to the hospital again tomorrow and take care of the discharge procedures."

"Hey, we're leaving anyway, why bother with that?"

"A lot of money was prepaid when we were admitted."

"Understood, Boss, I'll come over tonight."

The car started, and half an hour later, they returned to the influencer hotel where they had been staying.

Boss Zhou felt a little dazed. It seemed that he had originally planned to come on vacation, and this vacation had just started when he was caught up in the arrival of the Bodhisattva.

The elevator arrived, and Yingying and An Lawyer went out first.

"Boss, I'll go run the water for you first."

"I'll go call them."

Zhou Ze and the old Daoist weren’t in a hurry to get out of the elevator. Just as the elevator doors were about to close automatically, Zhou Ze reached out to stop them.

He looked at the old Daoist, somewhat puzzled:

"Not going back?"

He's already here, why not let the real old Daoist out?

In fact, if Boss Zhou wasn't clear that the unrestrained Mo Dai was beyond the true control of himself and Yinggou, he would have really used force to bring the old Daoist back.

After all,

He really didn't have any affection for this Mo Dai Prefecture Lord, who was sometimes erratic and sometimes eloquent.

The old Daoist glanced at Zhou Ze,

And said:

"We'll see."

After speaking,

The old Daoist walked out of the elevator.

"At least let us say goodbye, right?"

"I know what I'm doing."

"Boss, this way, this room."

An Lawyer was already standing at the door, calling out.

Subsequently,

After Zhou Ze and the old Daoist came in,

An Lawyer first moved a chair to the head of the table for Zhou Ze, but as soon as the chair was placed down, the old Daoist sat down.

"Uh…………"

An Lawyer frowned slightly but didn't say anything, assuming that the old Daoist was tired. The old Daoist hadn't said anything on the way, probably because he was frightened.

Or maybe he had been used by the boss to release his power and exhaust himself?

"Boss, you sit here."

An Lawyer moved another chair over.

Xu Qinglang, Little Boy, White Fox, and everyone else were there.

Lao Zhangtou was sitting in the corner, holding a bottle of white wine and drinking to himself. No wonder he had smelled a strong smell of alcohol as soon as he entered the room.

He should have received the message from An Lawyer earlier, knowing Lao Zhang's fate.

"Come on, no matter what, we've made it through this crisis. Let's all raise a glass to the departed comrade-in-arms, and to the triumphant boss!"

An Lawyer took out a bottle of high-end red wine from the room's small refrigerator.

He didn't know much about coffee,

But he had a very high taste for red wine.

He took out glasses and poured a glass for the boss first.

Just as An Lawyer was about to hand the glass to the boss, so that the boss could say a few words first,

The old Daoist took the glass and,

Swallowed a large mouthful like an ox chewing a peony.

"This…………"

An Lawyer immediately gave the old Daoist a light kick in the butt,

And scolded with a smile:

"You old thing are confused, don't you have any awareness, the boss hasn't drunk yet!"

Investing in the old Daoist was a long-term investment, while the boss was the one in charge right now. As the saying goes, the local official is better than the central one.

When the boss wasn't there, lick the old Daoist;

When the boss and the old Daoist were both there, the boss definitely came first.

An Lawyer understood this very well.

The old Daoist frowned slightly, but still held the wine glass.

A hint of a smile appeared on the corner of Zhou Ze's mouth.

"Pa!"

An Lawyer lightly slapped the old Daoist on the head,

Reached out and grabbed the old Daoist's ear,

Leaning his mouth close,

And asked suspiciously:

"Are you deaf?"