NHWSG chapter 25

Sheng Zhao didn’t understand how they had come to this point.

A barbecue shop, half opened and half shaded, was just two hundred meters straight from the Biyuan community. Three large lamps inside were only lit with one, casting a lonely and chilly light on the long table in the center of the lobby, leaving a glint on the sharp edge of the copper coin sword.

The other residents of the apartment building huddled in the corner farthest from the center of the lobby, watching pitifully from behind half of a cold drink cabinet at the long table in the center of the room.

At the table, Xing Yingzhu and Zhang Jian sat on either side, neither speaking first.

Sheng Zhao stood stiffly beside Xing Yingzhu, his worldview shattered beyond repair.

Half an hour ago, Xing Yingzhu had caused a commotion, startling Zhang Jian so much that he almost jumped from the ground, pointing at him angrily, “So, you do know about this!”

For some reason, Zhang Jian seemed genuinely angry, as if he had already concluded that Xing Yingzhu was the culprit, from Sheng Zhao’s perspective.

Just when Sheng Zhao thought things couldn’t get any worse and was about to intervene to stop Zhang Jian and let Xing Yingzhu run, he saw Xing Yingzhu calmly reach into his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper, which he promptly unfolded in front of Zhang Jian.

Sheng Zhao wouldn’t exaggerate; that piece of paper was probably older than him, wrinkled and slightly yellowed. Xing Yingzhu’s shaking made him afraid that he might crumble the paper.

“Permission slip,” Xing Yingzhu said.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

What was that? Did he hear it wrong?

But Zhang Jian seemed to be momentarily frozen by something. He widened his eyes, stared at the paper for a long time, and actually took a step back, releasing the sword handle and pulling up the zipper on his clothes. Although his expression was still fierce, he seemed to indicate that he wasn’t planning to take action.

Sheng Zhao, full of question marks, walked around and looked at the contents of the paper. There were densely written words, but the most conspicuous “Residence Permit” was prominently displayed in the center, looking extremely eye-catching.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

In addition, there was a faded red pen drawing an irregular pattern in the lower right corner of the “permit,” resembling some kind of signature.

Perhaps because of the overwhelming amount of information he had received in the past few days, Sheng Zhao found the pattern somewhat familiar.

After that—things turned into what they were now.

“So, how did you get the residence permit for Mount Longhu?” Zhang Jian asked coldly.

Zhang Jian was young, with a hint of childishness still on his face. No matter how sternly he spoke, he didn’t seem to have much presence. Instead, he gave off the feeling of a child trying to act grown-up.

Xing Yingzhu obviously didn’t take him seriously. He crossed his fingers on his knees, leaned back lazily, and rested against the back of the chair.

“Besides the residence permit, I also have an employment permit. Do you want to see it?” Xing Yingzhu said, “—Go, get me a bottle of Coke.”

It took Sheng Zhao two full seconds to realize that the latter half of the sentence was directed at him.

Although drinking a beverage in such a situation seemed inappropriate, Xing Yingzhu clearly didn’t care. So Sheng Zhao didn’t say anything, simply looked around, and headed towards the soda cooler.

Xiong Xiangsong and the others were still squeezed behind the small table behind the soda cooler. Sheng Zhao found a bottle of Coke from the top shelf of the cooler and looked back at them.

“…Are you sure you don’t want to move? It’s not crowded here,” Sheng Zhao said sincerely, “Can’t you find a more spacious place to sit?”

The spectators behind the table shook their heads synchronously, like a row of drums, in perfect rhythm.

“No, no, no,” Xiong Xiangsong refused with lingering fear, “This place is fine. If we get closer, we might be affected by the aura.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

What kind of nonsense is this?

“It’s fine,” Sheng Zhao said, “Xing Yingzhu doesn’t eat people.”

He didn’t say anything about this before, but as soon as he mentioned it, Diao Leyu’s expression obviously became more terrified. She shrank under the table, only revealing two eyes, her head shaking rapidly.

“No, no,” Diao Leyu said, “I admire the big boss like the endless flow of rivers, I dare not tarnish the three-meter radius around the big boss with my humble self.”

Sheng Zhao was at a loss for what to do with them. He couldn’t really drag her out to sit, so he walked back to the table, unscrewed the bottle cap, and handed the Coke to Xing Yingzhu.

Xing Yingzhu took a sip of the coke, then turned to look at him, puzzled. “Why are you still standing?”

“You didn’t tell me to sit,” Sheng Zhao was even more puzzled.

Xing Yingzhu was silent for a moment, then gave Sheng Zhao a very speechless look and reminded him, “This is modern society, human society.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Come to think of it, he almost forgot. He had been so stunned by Xing Yingzhu’s heroic and bizarre actions earlier that his instinctual desire to obey the other party’s orders subconsciously kicked in.

But this is the socialist new era, Sheng Zhao thought, slavery is long gone!

With this in mind, he seemed to suddenly regain himself, straightened up, and confidently grabbed a chair, sitting down next to Xing Yingzhu.

Xing Yingzhu glanced at him with disdain, almost unwilling to admit acquaintance with this goofball.

The two of them continued their exchange, almost forgetting that there was someone else sitting across from them. Zhang Jian remained silent for a while, only waiting for them to finish speaking before clearing his throat and indicating that he had something else to say.

From his expression, Zhang Jian’s wariness towards Xing Yingzhu still existed, but his hostility had inexplicably diminished.

“So… the so-called ‘mysterious advisor’ in the family sect is you?” Zhang Jian asked.

Xing Yingzhu glanced at him, said nothing, tacitly admitting.

“But that doesn’t make sense,” Zhang Jian frowned slightly, looking extremely puzzled, murmuring to himself, “If it’s you, you shouldn’t harm people.”

“Wait, let me interrupt,” Sheng Zhao intervened, extending his hand to break the eye contact between the two, and interjected boldly, “May I ask… um, assistant Tianshi, how are you so sure that this matter is related to my boss? Let me tell you, you may have misunderstood. He has nothing to do with this—well, not entirely unrelated. Frankly, I was almost killed, and it was him who saved me. He’s a righteous and brave individual.”

Zhang Jian looked even more confused.

“But…” Zhang Jian furrowed his brows, puzzled, “My divination pointed here.”

“That might not be very accurate,” Sheng Zhao said casually.

However, he was just making a guess, but Zhang Jian reacted as if he had stepped on his tail, feeling wronged instantly.

“That’s impossible!” Zhang Jian protested, “I’m the best at Plum Blossom Numerology among the sixty-four hexagrams!”

The conversation seemed to be veering off course, so Xing Yingzhu had to speak up to interrupt them.

“That’s not important,” Xing Yingzhu asked, “How did you know that someone was sacrificed in this world?”

Getting down to business, Zhang Jian had to straighten up. Although Sheng Zhao didn’t know what position Xing Yingzhu’s “advisor” held, apparently this title was very useful for Zhang Jian. He believed Xing Yingzhu’s words without even checking his “work permit.”

“Our family members went missing,” Zhang Jian said, “A branch family member disappeared, and when we investigated on the mountain, we found out about this.”

“Wait a minute,” Sheng Zhao said strangely, “Even you mystics can be messed with by monsters?”

“Not all of Zhang’s family members cultivate on the mountain,” Zhang Jian explained, “Only the main branch has the right to inherit the mantle, while the rest of the bloodline may handle some mundane tasks on the mountain, but most of them lead normal lives, go to school, work, and start families like ordinary people.”

Sheng Zhao understood. So it turns out that there are still more “normal people” like him in this world.

“I followed the hexagram here and happened to find traces of you nearby,” Zhang Jian turned to Xing Yingzhu and said, “Your skills are indeed high. I couldn’t even enter that apartment building.”

No wonder he was blocking the door. Sheng Zhao thought, he initially thought the other party was deliberately blocking Xing Yingzhu, but it turned out he was being kept out.

Xing Yingzhu chuckled meaningfully.

Sheng Zhao now understood him a little better, so he kindly translated for Zhang Jian, “He means, this is too normal, there’s no need to praise him.”

Zhang Jian: “…”

Why does this sound like he’s mocking my ignorance, Zhang Jian thought.

“Your divination was not wrong,” Xing Yingzhu said, “Something happened here before. Someone was injured near me.”

“Where’s the suspect?” Zhang Jian asked.

“Dead,” Xing Yingzhu said.

“Dead?!” Zhang Jian suddenly raised his voice, “That’s a living soul!”

“So what?” Xing Yingzhu lazily raised his eyelids and said, “A living soul who harms others is already burdened with karma. What does it matter if it’s killed?”

Zhang Jian was choked for a moment and couldn’t refute.

“Don’t argue, don’t argue,” Sheng Zhao quickly intervened, realizing that Zhang Jian was just a mentally simple kid who hadn’t grown up yet, with clear likes and dislikes and easy to deceive. Obviously, he was still inexperienced and hadn’t experienced the harsh realities of society.

“Well…” Zhang Jian reluctantly accepted this explanation for the time being, furrowing his brows and asking, “So, according to what you said earlier, have you seen the mastermind?”

“We have,” Sheng Zhao nodded suddenly.

“What was it?!” Zhang Jian asked eagerly, “Where did you find it?”

“In Shanghai,” Sheng Zhao hurriedly said, “I was—”

Sheng Zhao was originally worried about not having a place to vent about those things that shattered his worldview, but as soon as he spoke, he suddenly remembered something else.

“What’s your last name?” Sheng Zhao suddenly asked.

Zhang Jian said inexplicably, “My last name is Zhang.”

Sheng Zhao suddenly turned his head to look at Xing Yingzhu, only to see that he also turned to look at him at the same time, obviously remembering the same thing.

“What’s wrong?” Zhang Jian noticed the subtle atmosphere between the two of them and asked eagerly, “What happened?”

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Sheng Zhao turned his head to look at Zhang Jian, hesitantly asking, “Is your family member, by any chance, named Zhang Kaisheng?”