As the message from Zhang Chao arrived.
Zhang Wei's eyes flickered. He had been busy preparing for his trip to Hawaii these past few days and hadn't expected such a major event to occur in the Northeast.
Thinking this,
Zhang Wei sent a message:
[Zhang Wei]: By the way, the Wei Dao Division lost so many experts. What about the Five Great Families of the Northeast? How is the situation over there?
He had previously promised Huang Qingshan that he would help rescue the Huang family's elder. Now that the Five Great Families of the Northeast were involved in the Northeast incident, he figured the situation couldn't be good.
As expected.
[Zhang Chao]: There were casualties as well. Several direct descendants of the elders of the Five Great Families of the Northeast died. The Hu and Huang families suffered greater losses. The Huang family's losses were due to matters concerning their elder, and their development had weakened in recent years.
[Zhang Chao]: As for the Hu family, the mastermind had previously captured Hu Ba, the beloved granddaughter of their elder. The Hu family was furious and was the first to send their members to seek revenge on the mastermind. Five went, and three died, with two severely injured.
[Zhang Chao]: However, it was precisely because of the Hu family's fury that one of the mastermind's corpse puppets was killed.
[Zhang Wei]: Three dead? That's quite a number. The Hu family must be furious.
[Zhang Chao]: They are definitely furious. Everyone says the Hu family is the most good-tempered among the Five Great Families of the Northeast, but in reality, the Hu family is also the fiercest when angered. The Hu family will absolutely not let this go. The Hu family has issued a bounty.
After sending this message, Zhang Chao sent Zhang Wei a link to the Wei Dao Division forum.
It was a bounty post.
Similar to the Ghost Nest forum, the Wei Dao Division forum also had bounty posts, but these were for notorious evil spirits.
Zhang Wei clicked to view it.
The bounty was issued by the Hu family, offering a substantial reward to anyone who could capture high-ranking members of the Senluo Division, especially the mastermind.
In addition,
Zhang Wei found other bounty posts from the Five Great Families of the Northeast targeting the Senluo Division in the 'Related Posts' section. The rewards were equally generous.
[Zhang Chao]: The Five Great Families of the Northeast have been famous for a long time. Their wealth allows them to issue bounties. Now, not only righteous ghost exorcists like us, but also evil ghost exorcists and even ghost kings are tempted. It can be said that in the Northeast, both the underworld and the righteous path are looking for the mastermind of the Senluo Division.
[Zhang Chao]: The Senluo Division has become a public enemy in the Northeast.
Afterward.
Zhang Wei and Zhang Chao chatted for a while longer. Zhang Chao wanted to have a late-night snack with Wu Nian, so they ended the call.
"Northeast."
Zhang Wei put away his phone and looked in the direction of the Northeast.
...
At the same time.
In the Northeast, at a bread and pastry shop.
It was now 11 PM, and the bakery had long been closed. However, the lights inside were still on. The shop owner, who was also the pastry chef, was carrying a tray of pastries just taken out of the oven towards a table inside the shop. 138 Reading Network.
There.
Two figures were seated.
One was plump with fair skin, wearing anime clothing. The other appeared to be a high school girl, but her limbs had strange stitches, and her movements were eerily coordinated yet dissonant, as if her entire body was not that of one person, but pieced together from multiple individuals.
"B-Big Brother, here are the pastries you wanted. I-I've made them."
The pastry chef approached tremblingly, his palms covered in sweat. His fear caused his hands to shake as he held the tray, yet he gripped it firmly, afraid of dropping the pastries. He didn't know if he would survive, but if the pastries fell, disaster would surely strike.
He was the owner of this shop, in his thirties. With his passion for pastry making, he had opened this store, and business was good. Now, after hard work and dedication, he was about to open a second branch.
However.
Starting yesterday, for the first time, he felt a headache from his beloved pastry-making. He never expected that his skill with pastries would attract such danger.
Last night.
A fat man had come to his shop, asking if they sold a particular type of pastry. Based on the fat man's description, he knew the pastry he wanted was a very old-fashioned one, only found in some small southern towns.
Fortunately, his grandmother had made this pastry for him before, so he told the fat man he could make it and would try to sell some to him.
Upon hearing this, the fat man was overjoyed and urged the shop owner to make it quickly. The shop owner, however, stated that he couldn't make it overnight because the ingredients hadn't been procured, and even in the south, it would take several days to get them. Furthermore, he couldn't guarantee the outcome.
As a result.
The fat man told the shop owner that he must make it overnight, at all costs.
Initially, the shop owner felt the fat man was being unreasonable and intended to refuse. However, the next moment, the fat man revealed his ghostly form. It was then that the shop owner realized the fat man was not human at all, but a ghost, and not just one ghost; he had an even more horrifying companion, one that looked like a stitched-together corpse.
The shop owner was terrified. If the fat man hadn't seemed so amiable and had actually gone to get the ingredients for the pastry overnight, he might have been too scared to even knead the dough properly.
"Finally! I've been waiting for this."
The fat man stood up, took the tray of pastries from the shop owner's hands, and walked towards the table, saying, "Hey, Tailor, try it quickly. I spent several days, and finally found it. See if it's the pastry you wanted to eat."
His plump face wore a smile as he spoke.
The Tailor nodded, a hint of excitement on her pale face as she stared intently at the pastry.
For the fat man's seemingly boastful words, she surprisingly didn't scold him, because she knew he wasn't lying...
Ever since she mentioned wanting to eat a certain pastry last time, the fat man had taken her to many pastry shops that night, but they hadn't found it. The Tailor wasn't surprised; it was a product from decades ago, how could it still be available? Yet, the fat man didn't give up.
In the following days.
The fat man visited shop after shop, all to find this pastry.
Yesterday, he finally found someone who could make it. Afterward, to ensure the pastry chef could make it, he spared no effort, traveling overnight to the south, crossing half of the Great Xia, and transporting the ingredients for the pastry to the Northeast.
At this moment.
The Tailor was somewhat excited, looking at the pastry in the fat man's hand. Her dead eyes showed intense fluctuations for the first time.
It was so similar.
No!
This was exactly the kind of pastry her mother used to buy for her, identical.
Amidst her excitement.
She suppressed her overwhelming emotions and reached out to pick up the pastry and take a bite.
As the pastry entered her mouth.
At that moment.
The Tailor could no longer contain herself. Memories flooded her mind, as if she could hear that familiar and warm voice in her ears, softly telling her:
"Ya Ya, is it delicious? If it is, Mom will buy you more from now on."
"Happy birthday, Ya Ya."
"Ya Ya, it's your birthday today. Come, let's go buy pastries. Mom got paid, we'll buy more this time."
"Ya Ya..."
The voices echoed.
All the past memories surfaced.
There was no mistake.
The fat man... he had truly found it, the pastry she loved the most.
The pastry looked the same.
Even the taste was the same.
The Tailor stared blankly at the pastry she had bitten into, stunned.
And equally stunned was the fat man, but not because he was frozen in nervous anticipation of the Tailor's reaction. Even without her speaking, the fat man knew he had found the right pastry, the one the Tailor wanted.
Because.
He saw... tears welling up in the Tailor's eyes and sliding down her stitched cheeks.
The Tailor was crying.
Unlike the time he saw her cry in the dilapidated house, that time it was sadness and pain. This time, he could feel that amidst her sorrow, there was also happiness.
Instantly.
A smile spread across the fat man's plump face.
At the same time.
The shop owner who made the pastry also saw the Tailor crying and was stunned. However, unlike the fat man, he didn't know the Tailor, only that she was a ghost. Seeing her tears, he was a bit dazed. Did ghosts cry?
However...
For some reason.
Although the Tailor's pale complexion and stitched appearance were quite frightening.
Yet, upon seeing her cry,
The shop owner inexplicably felt a sense of pity and regret, but also a sense of comfort, as if he had unintentionally helped her.
...