Chapter 1 Did You See the Old Daoist?

“Did you see the old Daoist this morning?”

Xu Qinglang asked while picking vegetables.

In the vegetable garden, the fresh, tender green vegetables were growing well, still bearing the dew of the early morning. No need for filters or posing; they simply gave a pleasing sensation.

Indeed, facing a patch of vegetables, one had the illusion of facing a masterpiece of art.

“Nope.”

Hei Xiaoniu replied while squatting in the soil, checking it. She checked the soil in the vegetable garden every day and made micro-adjustments to ensure the soil quality reached its best.

Down in the soil, only Dead Servant's head was visible as he turned his head towards the outside,

meaning the old Daoist had gone out.

“Went out?” Xu Qinglang bit into a tomato he had just picked, chewing as he said, “Went out so early in the morning; what could be so urgent?”

Dead Servant shook his head, indicating he didn’t know either.

Inside and outside the bookstore, the visible greenery and some of the unseen vegetation in the corners were essentially Dead Servant’s eyes and ears. He was the bookstore’s security system, and no one's comings and goings could escape his “surveillance.”

Shaking his head, Lao Xu didn’t think any more about it, and he left the vegetable garden with the picked vegetables.

Since having the vegetable garden, Xu Qinglang felt his work had become much easier. Some vegetables could be picked directly from next door and used.

And they were all-natural and pollution-free. If it weren’t for the limited planting area, plus the need to ensure the production of the Bianhua flowers, Xu Qinglang really wanted to have all sorts of fruit trees and grapevines planted there. Then he could change the store’s name. Instead of Late Night Bookstore, it could be called Late Night Farm or Late Night Orchard.

Of course, the cost wasn’t low. Although the labor was free, think about it: planting vegetables in the most prosperous commercial pedestrian street area of the city center, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold…

How extravagant!

Walking to the bookstore entrance, Xu Qinglang flipped the “Open for Business” sign to “Temporarily Closed.”

Not a single ghost employee was at the bookstore, so business couldn’t be done. Plus, the old Daoist, who liked to sit behind the bar and watch TV to pass the time, wasn’t around. Xu Qinglang was too lazy to sit there like a pendulum clock, so he simply closed up shop.

He went upstairs, back to his room, and moved the carpet aside, revealing the dense, mysterious array runes underneath. It had been like this for a long time; Xu Qinglang liked to remodel his room into an array display room. Back then, when Lawyer An first came in, he was truly blinded.

On one side of the wall hung a huge map of China, dotted with many small flags.

Since Boss Zhou took a group of people to Sichuan last time, Xu Qinglang had already started investigating and sensing the true location of his shifu.

Of course, that might not be his shifu, or it might be something else, and his shifu was born from that thing.

It sounded a bit convoluted, but that was the logic.

An existence who wanted to die but couldn't, and was tormented into a hardcore champion of morality, couldn’t really be considered human anymore. His death, plus his birth, had always seemed very mysterious.

According to Boss Zhou’s original grand strategy:

Salty fish trumps everything!

And to be a better salty fish,

you had to:

Those who offend my salty fish shall be exterminated, no matter how far!

And Xu Qinglang’s shifu had formed two mortal grudges with the bookstore. It was foreseeable that if he were given another chance, the next time he “came back to life,” he would definitely come directly to the bookstore to cause trouble.

If it were a challenge, setting up a ring for a group brawl or a one-on-one fight, that would be fine, but the key was that this guy had strange and unpredictable methods that were completely impossible to guard against. For example, when Ying Gou hadn’t awakened yet, he came.

This hidden danger had to be eliminated in advance.

Xu Qinglang had sensed his shifu’s location a long time ago.

In the very center of the array in front of him sat a glass bottle. The black beads inside the bottle were traces left behind from his shifu’s last appearance.

And what Lao Xu had been doing all this time was actually reverse-deducing based on these traces in order to sense the other party’s location.

But the results of the deductions every day were a bit laughable.

One day he was in the southwest, the next day he was in the northeast, one day he was in the south, and the next day he was in the northwest. In short, he was constantly circling around the head, butt, back, and egg of the rooster on the map…

Constantly circling around,

but just not getting close to the chicken's belly.

He didn’t know what was happening over there, and he didn’t understand what was being done, but one thing was certain: with the other party’s aimless “spanning” manner, it was basically impossible for the bookstore’s current manpower and resources to find him and launch a targeted attack.

Xu Qinglang sat down cross-legged, starting to activate the array as if he were completing a task.

The array slowly began to operate, and the black beads in the glass bottle began to tremble slightly.

Xu Qinglang calmed his heart and began to sense.

Suddenly,

Xu Qinglang opened his eyes,

his mouth agape.

In his eyes was surprise, fear, and anger,

but also a hint of being caught off guard!

“He… has arrived.”

………………

Tongcheng Grand Hotel, fifteen years ago, was considered a landmark building in Tongcheng. At that time, the people of Tongcheng all considered going there to eat or stay as something very prestigious.

But with the rapid development of the city in recent years, Tongcheng Grand Hotel had long lost its uniqueness and special aura. High-rise buildings were constantly erected nearby. The former role of elder brother had finally become a poor younger brother.

“Okay, let’s stay here. Three suites; how much?”

Boss Zhou completed the check-in procedures at the front desk and walked out of the lobby.

Lin Ke stood beside him. When Zhou Ze reached into his pocket, he found the cigarette case was empty.

Lin Ke handed over a pack of cigarettes, took one out, and gave it to Zhou Ze.

“Just bought them.”

“Mm.”

Boss Zhou didn’t say thank you and lit the cigarette himself.

Back then,

when he had just become a ghost messenger, Little Loli had been a terrifying mountain standing in front of him. Now, she could read his face and help him buy cigarettes.

But when he thought that “Qing” was already in Tongcheng, and that maybe in a few days the two babies would be coming too, Boss Zhou’s head ached. That little bit of self-satisfaction that had just risen instantly disappeared.

Old Daoist, oh old Daoist, you must not let me down.

Now, Boss Zhou could only hope that the old Daoist could maintain his record; otherwise, sooner or later, the bookstore would have to face “Qing” and the others head-on.

At this time, a group of men in suits walked in from outside, surrounding a woman with heavy makeup. The thickness of the powder on the woman’s face was probably enough to suffocate a mosquito.

“Is this it? The conditions aren’t good. What a terrible place to choose. Change it, change it, find another place!

I’m going to call my brother; isn’t this just fooling people!

Hey, brother, what kind of broken hotel did you choose? Don’t you treat me like this. I know you’re busy, I know you’re busy, but I can’t stay here.”

The woman shouted in the lobby entrance for a while, turned around, and left. The bodyguards next to her immediately crowded around her and left together.

“Tch, what kind of people are these? Aren’t they just overseas Chinese? Why are they acting so arrogant? Do they really think it’s twenty years ago?”

Standing next to Boss Zhou was probably the lobby manager of the hotel, who was complaining with great dissatisfaction at this time.

“Overseas Chinese?” Zhou Ze asked curiously.

At the same time, he was wondering whether Qing and the two babies who were coming later would be dissatisfied if he arranged them to stay here.

Probably not; they were all people who had been imprisoned in hell for decades. They wouldn’t be so picky. It would be enough to just handle it casually.

“Heh, they say he brought back a coffin and is preparing to return home to be buried.”

The lobby manager seemed to realize that he had lost control of his emotions, immediately nodded and smiled at Zhou Ze, then turned around and went back to work.

Boss Zhou shrugged and said to Little Loli,

“Let’s go; let’s go back to the bookstore first.”

…………

In the most remote corner of Tongcheng City, there was an old district. Originally, the railway line for the high-speed train was supposed to pass through here, and this place should have been demolished, but because there were a few nail户 (stubborn households who refuse to move), they insisted on staying here.

Later, the government planning department directly changed the line and went around here.

As a result, the demolition project in this area was halted and never mentioned again.

Historical reasons, coupled with changes in urban factors, had led to this area becoming a gathering place for migrant workers in recent years. It had a bit of a hidden-in-plain-sight vibe, and also a bit of a mixed-bag feel.

The old Daoist parked the car at the intersection, not daring to drive in. Not only were the roads inside narrow, but there were also several cars parked there haphazardly. If you drove in, you might get stuck inside when you tried to drive out again.

“Please, please be careful; the ground is slippery.”

The old Daoist was very attentive.

In his opinion, the girl, no, woman, no, queen!

She must be someone the boss valued very much; otherwise, he wouldn’t have let him act as a tour guide to take her out sightseeing.

So he had to be extra careful, had to serve her well, and absolutely couldn’t let her suffer any setbacks.

The old Daoist had already regarded this as a political task and attached great importance to it ideologically.

“The monkey performers are inside?”

“Yes, yes, I’ve already inquired about it. There are a few monkey performers living in here. They often come out to perform at night market stalls to earn money.”

Qing nodded and stepped inside.

Just then,

at this time,

a fat man with a thick gold chain around his neck walked out from inside, holding a blue-and-white porcelain urn. A large group of bodyguards in black suits followed him.

One of the assistants handed a mobile phone to his ear; someone must have called him.

“Hey, little sister, what’s up?

If the hotel isn’t good, just change it.

I’m busy here.

Where exactly is our grandmother’s old home?

I’ve been wandering around with this urn of ashes for so long, and I still haven’t found it!”