NHWSG chapter 33

Jingling to Suzhou was too close for a direct flight, so Sheng Zhao could only book two train tickets.

Their luggage was taken out of the hotel by him again before it had even warmed up, and it was stuffed into the taxi’s trunk to go to the train station.

The earliest high-speed train from Jingling to Suzhou was at four in the morning, but Sheng Zhao, who was sleepy, mistook the station and missed this train. He could only make do with the second train, which was around seven o’clock.

The early train was extremely quiet, with few people on the platform, and the first-class carriage was even more empty. Sheng Zhao, who hadn’t slept all night, found his seat almost as soon as he got on the train, and fell asleep almost immediately without even sitting properly.

He slept extremely fitfully, as he was already a light sleeper, and the station broadcast and the footsteps of the train attendants occasionally brushed against his consciousness, so he slept and woke up, hardly ever getting a solid sleep.

No matter how comfortable the train seat was, it couldn’t compare to home. Sheng Zhao slept drowsily, his head always in the wrong position, occasionally he would fall heavily, pulling himself out of brief deep sleep.

However, he was too tired, so even in this state, he didn’t wake up, just groggily turned over in his seat and continued sleeping.

After a few times back and forth, Xing Yingzhu was finally annoyed by his tossing and turning, and reached out impatiently to turn his head back, pressing it against his own shoulder, and casually lightly tapped his brow with a “considerate” little sleep spell.

With a stable place for his head, Sheng Zhao almost instantly sank into Xing Yingzhu’s little trick, falling into a deep sleep, finally stopping the tossing and turning.

Sheng Zhao slept for more than an hour in this state, he slept deeply, didn’t know what he dreamed of, just felt that from body to heart, there was nowhere that wasn’t comfortable. When he woke up, he felt almost relaxed all over, as if he had never had such a comfortable sleep in his life.

Sheng Zhao sighed satisfactorily, stretched, his eyes still closed, and first rubbed against the “pillow” beside him, as if he intended to go back to sleep for a while.

Just as he was about to enjoy this aftertaste and go back to sleep, he suddenly remembered a problem in his haze.

—That touch just now didn’t seem quite right.

Sheng Zhao paused, abruptly opened his eyes, and met Xing Yingzhu’s gaze.

“Comfortable?” Xing Yingzhu asked with a smile that wasn’t quite a smile.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

It was only at this moment that he realized that the “pillow” he had been resting on was not a pillow at all, but Xing Yingzhu’s shoulder — and he had even used half of his boss’s arm to get more comfortable!

The remaining drowsiness in Sheng Zhao flew away, and he sat up abruptly, smiling awkwardly at Xing Yingzhu.

“Boss, I slept too deeply,” Sheng Zhao said, “It wasn’t intentional.”

Xing Yingzhuo made a noncommittal sound, explaining reluctantly due to the rule of “not casually intervening with humans,” ensuring Sheng Zhao’s right to know, and also adding a bit of “procedure” along the way.

“I know,” Xing Yingzhuo said, “You kept tossing and turning in your sleep, giving me a headache, so I helped you out.”

“Huh?” Sheng Zhao rubbed his temple in surprise, “Boss, you have this skill too?”

Sheng Zhao recalled the floating sensation he had experienced in his dream just now, feeling extremely refreshed. He hurriedly rubbed against Xing Yingzhuo’s side, eager to try again, “Seriously, it’s quite pleasant. Boss, can we do it again?”

“Limited supply,” Xing Yingzhuo snorted, “Be careful not to get addicted.”

Sheng Zhao was rejected, but he didn’t feel particularly surprised. Given his boss’s character, allowing him to sleep on his shoulder was already unexpected.

And Sheng Zhao suddenly realized that in over an hour since they got on the train, Xing Yingzhuo hadn’t changed his posture at all, still maintaining the same position since they boarded, and… he was holding Sheng Zhao’s phone.

The phone screen was unlocked, showing a blurry screenshot of a video call. Sheng Zhao glanced at it and realized Xing Yingzhuo was looking at the golden chain in Zhang Jian’s hand.

“… My phone has a password,” Sheng Zhao said.

Xing Yingzhuo glanced at him, looking very puzzled, as if he had no idea why Sheng Zhao suddenly brought this up.

Sheng Zhao silently stared at him for two seconds, giving up the foolish question of “how did you unlock it,” because even if it was a cell phone, his boss could handle it effortlessly, let alone a museum lock.

“What did you find?” Sheng Zhao asked, “Do you sense anything?”

“A little,” Xing Yingzhuo’s expression was also somewhat confused, as if he couldn’t make up his mind, “But not sure.”

Sheng Zhao didn’t know how accurate his “radar” was, so he leaned over and slightly enlarged the screenshot.

“Boss, could it be that your bones… have been taken apart for something else?” Sheng Zhao cautiously mentioned his guess from the previous night, “For example, turned into a bunch of chains, used to lock up dragons. The one in Shanghai is just one of them, and there are other dragons that slipped through our fingers.”

Xing Yingzhuo remained silent.

Sheng Zhao didn’t know whether Xing Yingzhuo thought his guess was too far-fetched or whether he thought it was possible but didn’t want to admit it.

Although he didn’t know what had happened to Xing Yingzhuo before, he could tell that Xing Yingzhuo attached great importance to his bones, so much so that even though he had such an unreasonable temperament, he was willing to compromise for it.

Although there were reasons for his persuasion, he knew clearly that Xing Yingzhuo had been in the human world for so many years and had heard all sorts of nonsense. If he was swayed by just two sentences, it meant he already had that intention, just lacked a step.

So my main job is not to deliver food, Sheng Zhao thought: it’s to placate the boss.

Xing Yingzhuo didn’t know what was going through Sheng Zhao’s mind. After a moment, he turned off the phone screen and said, “Let’s take another look, but it’s not certain.”

His tone was calm and indifferent, without any emotion, but Sheng Zhao, who had been pondering back and forth in his mind just now, now felt like he was forcing a smile.

Xing Yingzhuo also had it tough, Sheng Zhao thought bitterly: not being able to show discomfort even when feeling it inside, it’s really pitiful.

Sheng Zhao didn’t want to continue poking at Xing Yingzhuo’s sore spot, so he awkwardly changed the subject, “By the way, boss, you haven’t told me yet, what are we actually going to do this time?”

Zhang Jian’s information only told them that the epicenter of the earthquake was in Suzhou, but it didn’t mention specific locations, types of earthquakes, or reasons. Sheng Zhao didn’t think Zhang Jian would send them there to grope around blindly. After thinking it over, it was probably because Zhang Jian felt confident with Xing Yingzhuo present, so there was no need to say much more.

As expected, Xing Yingzhuo put the phone back in Sheng Zhao’s pocket and prepared to speak.

“I told you last time, not all monsters in this world are like those in the building,” Xing Yingzhuo said, “In terms you can understand, those in the building are illegally cultivated, which is why they have to be under my jurisdiction, under my watchful eyes.”

Sheng Zhao slowly raised his right hand.

Xing Yingzhuo hadn’t expected him to ask questions just when he started to educate, and in the blink of an eye, the words he was about to say got stuck in his throat, almost choking him.

“Go ahead,” Xing Boss said impatiently.

“Illegally cultivated, so after the founding of the country, are they really not allowed to cultivate?” Sheng Zhao asked in shock, “Was what you said about taxation last time actually true?”

Sheng Zhao asked calmly, but a thousand question marks flashed through his mind. He never thought that what he thought was a joke at the time would actually turn out to be the truth.

It just goes to show that truth isn’t always dramatic; sometimes it looks ridiculous.

“Yes and no,” Xing Yingzhuo said, “You can understand it like this—after the ladder broke, the spiritual energy in the human world became insufficient, and if monsters want to cultivate into human form, they must deplete the spiritual energy in the human world. So…”

“What’s the ladder?” Sheng Zhao asked humbly.

Teacher Xing remained silent for a moment, then said imperiously, “Shut up.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Sheng Zhao had never seen such an unapproachable teacher in his life, but under his tyranny, he could only shut up obediently.

“So, the Tianshis led by Mount Longhu established rules. If monsters cultivate, they must donate their cultivation to the human world—you can understand it that way,” Xing Yingzhuo explained concisely, “In fact, in the world, humans, monsters, ghosts, and immortals all have their own places, usually not interfering with each other, except for someone like me who intends to stay in the human world. Most other monsters don’t reside here. As for those in the building, they were born in the human world and can’t return to the monster clan, so they can only be under my jurisdiction.”

Sheng Zhao didn’t dare to speak and could only nod quickly to indicate that he understood.

“But besides illegal residence like Xiong Xiangsong’s, and those like me who intentionally stay here, there is another type of monster, some of which reside in the human world,” Xing Yingzhuo paused and said, “Like the monster you saw in Shanghai last time.”

Sheng Zhao raised a finger and drew a question mark in the air slowly.

Xing Yingzhuo effortlessly understood what he meant.

“When you were young, did you hear about ancient legends where someone slew a giant serpent, someone else trapped a divine dragon, or another person made a deal with a mythical beast?” Xing Yingzhuo asked.

Sheng Zhao nodded.

“It’s those,” Xing Yingzhuo said solemnly, “Human existence has lasted for thousands of years, and this land beneath your feet contains everything. Trapped dragons, suppressed ferocious beasts, or mythical beasts voluntarily staying in the human world to ward off evil—there’s a variety of them, more bustling than a department store.”

In broad daylight, Sheng Zhao was creeped out by what he said, involuntarily shivering.

“Go ahead,” Xing Yingzhuo said.

Sheng Zhao sighed in relief and hurriedly said, “So, this time in Suzhou, could we possibly encounter the second contestant?”

“Perhaps,” Xing Yingzhuo said.

Sheng Zhao gasped, and Xing Yingzhuo, amused, was about to enjoy his flustered appearance when Sheng Zhao suddenly leaned back, instinctively covering his left pocket.

“Can you give me a buff directly this time?” Sheng Zhao said, “Spare my access card.”

“…Yours?” Xing Yingzhuo said, “That’s mine.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Sheng Zhao, shocked, looked at Xing Yingzhuo, never expecting that an old monster who had lived for thousands of years would still compete with him for this kind of verbal sovereignty.

It seems that maturity has nothing to do with age.

“Okay, okay, it’s yours,” Sheng Zhao said, “I’m just borrowing it, alright?”

Xing Yingzhuo was satisfied, not finding anything wrong with this standard straight man’s response. Apparently, he was easy to please.

Originally, Sheng Zhao thought that this trip to Suzhou with Xing Yingzhuo, while not as thrilling as the day in Shanghai, should still proceed cautiously and swiftly.

But when they got off the train and he asked Xing Yingzhuo about the arrangements, this boss remained calm and simply said three words.

“Let’s go sightseeing.”

“What’s this?” Sheng Zhao thought.

However, his boss seemed serious. He even picked up a tourist route map at the tourist information booth after they got off the station.

Then, Sheng Zhao watched helplessly as Xing Yingzhuo shook the tourism brochure in his hand and casually scanned it, pointing to one of the attractions.

Peering over, Sheng Zhao noticed that he was quite thrifty, picking a place that didn’t require an entrance fee.

With no new messages from Zhang Jian, Sheng Zhao could only tag along with Xing Yingzhuo aimlessly.

He remembered Xing Yingzhuo mentioning the “department store” theory on the train, making him feel uneasy everywhere he stepped, afraid of accidentally stepping on something remarkable.

“Boss, are you reliable?” Sheng Zhao said with a bitter face, “If it’s just tourism, can I apply to go back to the hotel for some sleep?”

“No,” Xing Yingzhuo ruthlessly refused him.

Sheng Zhao’s proposal failed, so he could only sigh and resign himself to follow Xing Yingzhuo around the city.

However, as they wandered, Sheng Zhao noticed something odd—Xing Yingzhuo said they were here for sightseeing, but it didn’t seem like they were here for leisurely strolls and sightseeing.

At first, he glanced more casually when Xing Yingzhuo circled places, thinking they were just popular tourist spots. Since Xing Yingzhuo was always spontaneous, he wouldn’t be surprised if they ended up doing something out of the ordinary, not just sightseeing.

However, although Xing Yingzhuo circled several places in the tourist brochure and took Sheng Zhao to each one, he didn’t spend much time at any of them, just taking a quick look around before moving on. If he calculated, the time they spent in a taxi was longer than their time at the attractions.

It wasn’t until they arrived at Shantang Street that Sheng Zhao finally realized that Xing Yingzhuo seemed to have a purpose in mind.

“Boss, what are you looking for?” Sheng Zhao tightened his backpack and asked, “If you tell me, maybe I can help you find it?”

“No need,” Xing Yingzhuo didn’t deny it, just said, “You can’t help.”

“I have good eyesight,” Sheng Zhao said, “There are so many people here, I’m afraid you might miss something.”

Seeing Sheng Zhao’s persistence, Xing Yingzhuo didn’t say much, “Well-intentioned,” he satisfied him and replied, “Looking for monsters.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Never mind, Sheng Zhao thought, pretend I didn’t say anything.