NHWSG chapter 36

According to Sheng Zhao’s understanding of Xing Yingzhuo, his lifelong hobby was nothing else but liking to hear compliments from others. No matter what his original attitude was, as long as someone said a few soft words and praised him, his mood would immediately warm up. This trick of Sheng Zhao’s always worked, almost never failing.

However, this time, Sheng Zhao’s observation diary about Xing Yingzhuo clearly had a slight deviation.

Xing Yingzhuo looked indifferent, not accepting the compliment nor being nice because Chenwu praised him.

On the contrary, he seemed quite dissatisfied.

“You’re only bowing to me?” Xing Yingzhuo asked.

Chenwu paused, subconsciously glanced at Sheng Zhao.

Sheng Zhao felt puzzled by his look, thinking, why is Xing Yingzhuo picking on you? What are you looking at me for? I didn’t ask him to pick on you.

However, Chenwu reacted much faster than Sheng Zhao. He almost immediately realized what was going on, then stepped back, giving Sheng Zhao a bow as well.

“Good evening, sir.” Chenwu said.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

As a weak ordinary human, Sheng Zhao was startled by his gesture and subconsciously moved half a step closer to Xing Yingzhuo, not daring to accept the bow.

Joking aside, Sheng Zhao thought: This guy has lived for who knows how many years as a monster. If he bows to me, I wonder if it will affect his lifespan.

It was Xing Yingzhuo who looked at Sheng Zhao disdainfully, grabbed the back of his collar, and firmly held him in place.

“He bows to you, so why are you hiding?” Xing Yingzhuo said.

Upon hearing this, Chenwu quickly turned to Sheng Zhao and performed the same courtesy towards him.

Sheng Zhao finally realized belatedly that Xing Yingzhu seemed to be giving him face.

But shameful as it may be, he silently thought to himself: So this is what it feels like to bask in borrowed prestige. And you know what? It’s kind of satisfying.

At the same time, Chenwu himself was also feeling puzzled. He couldn’t help but wonder: What’s going on? This young man looks like an ordinary mortal. Why did Xing Yingzhu bring him to see me, and why does he seem so familiar with him?

Although Xing Yingzhu had descended from being a dragon to a snake, he still held a considerable age advantage. Among the remaining monsters in the world, there were hardly any who were older than him. So, even though the monster race ranked individuals based on their race and abilities, few dared to antagonize him voluntarily.

It’s better not to provoke him, Chenwu thought to himself, given that Xing Yingzhu valued this young man so much. Who knows what secrets this seemingly ordinary young man might hold? He might be a powerful figure who has undergone tribulations or a hidden expert with mysteries related to the monster race. It wouldn’t be wise to offend either of them.

Of course, if Xing Yingzhu could hear Chenwu’s thoughts at this moment, he would probably be speechless for a while and then sincerely tell him—You’re overthinking it. This is just an inexperienced human cub.

But regardless, this strange misunderstanding did earn Sheng Zhao a lot of social status—albeit in the monster society.

It wasn’t until Chenwu finished his courtesy towards Sheng Zhao that Xing Yingzhu’s expression improved slightly.

Leaning against the railing behind him, he adopted a questioning posture.

“Why have you come this time? Do you have any important matters to attend to?” Chenwu’s attitude was polite, but there was a hint of embarrassment in his words. “But as you know, I am here to guard the boundaries of Suzhou. It’s not easy for me to leave without proper reason.”

“Suzhou experienced an unusual seismic activity yesterday, unlike an ordinary earthquake,” Xing Yingzhu asked straightforwardly. “What’s going on?”

“Well…” Chenwu coughed awkwardly and scratched his face. “I’m really sorry to have caused you concern. It’s just that I turned over in my sleep, and that’s it. It’s not worth mentioning.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

So, they rushed over here anxiously just because this gentle-looking guy turned over in his sleep?

Sheng Zhao felt quite speechless. He couldn’t help but turn around to complain to Xing Yingzhu, but then he suddenly noticed that Xing Yingzhuo’s expression was even more serious than he had imagined.

Xing Yingzhu’s mental state generally fell into three categories: when he was in a good mood, he was lazy and easygoing; if Sheng Zhao touched his sore spot, he would become a bit impatient; and when he was unhappy, he would enter a state of ignoring everyone and everything around him and act on his own.

—But Sheng Zhao had rarely seen him wear such a serious expression.

It was precisely because of this that he instinctively felt that this might not just be a misunderstanding.

“You mean to tell me that an earthquake was caused just because you rolled over?” Xing Yingzhu said bluntly. “If that’s the case, if something unusual happens elsewhere, does that mean the whole world will be turned upside down? What’s going on—I think you know what I’m asking. Don’t make me ask a second time.”

This time, Chenwu didn’t answer immediately. He pursed his lips and seemed to be weighing something in his mind.

After a moment, he sighed and spoke up, “Actually, even we underground beings don’t understand what’s happening.”

Xing Yingzhu clearly didn’t quite believe this statement.

“This is not an excuse,” Chenwu hastened to explain, “For so many years, whether it’s suppressing ferocious beasts or voluntarily safeguarding peace in a region like me, it’s all been peaceful underground. We hardly have anything to do with the human race aboveground.”

“But all of you are the kind that causes earthquakes with just a little movement,” Xing Yingzhu mocked, “Are you trying to tell me that for these years, you’ve all been sleeping peacefully underground and haven’t made any moves at all?”

“This is what’s abnormal,” Chenwu said, “It feels like there’s something gathering on this layer of the ground, separating us underground from the human race above.”

Chenwu tapped the ground and continued, “It’s just this layer of soil, like soundproofing material. No matter how much we stir up down here, it doesn’t affect anything above.”

Listening from the side, Sheng Zhao thought that these big monsters seemed to have not been completely secluded underground. They even knew about soundproofing material. Apparently, they still came out for a walk from time to time, whether there was anything going on or not.

“So now you’re telling me that this feeling is gone?” Xing Yingzhu said.

“It seems so,” Chenwu said softly. “But I don’t know what it is, or what the problem is now.”

“So, you know something?” Xing Yingzhu asked.

Chenwu remained silent for a while again, this time much longer than before. Sheng Zhao watched from the side and felt that he seemed to be not unwilling to tell Xing Yingzhu, but rather afraid of something.

“You also know,” Chenwu finally said after a while, “Back then, it was the old lady who personally sealed the first dragon under the North Sea. So, I think she must have arranged all these things.”

Sheng Zhao keenly picked up on a keyword from this sentence.

“Who is ‘she’?” Sheng Zhao wondered. Chenwu’s words were vague, but Xing Yingzhu seemed to understand directly. Obviously, in their circle, ‘she’ should directly refer to someone.

—Voldemort? Sheng Zhao thought inexplicably. Couldn’t they just say the name directly?

This time, even Chenwu remained silent.

After a while, Xing Yingzhu seemed to give up on questioning directly. He stood up from the railing and pulled Sheng Zhao along.

Sheng Zhao felt like he had just seen the sun rise from the west. Seriously? In his eyes, Xing Yingzhu’s character was fearless and unafraid of anything. When he was unhappy, he dared to do anything, even if the heavens thundered. But now, with just a casual sentence, he stopped asking questions?

But Sheng Zhao obviously couldn’t dismantle Xing Yingzhu’s facade in front of Chenwu, so he reluctantly suppressed his curiosity, waiting until he followed Xing Yingzhu for a long way before tentatively asking, “Who is she?”

Xing Yingzhu glanced down at him and said, “An annoying person.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

This was as good as saying nothing.

But Xing Yingzhu’s mood was obviously not good at the moment, and smoking wasn’t a good idea. Sheng Zhao thought for a moment, then tentatively patted his back.

For mammals, this should be a good soothing method, but Sheng Zhao didn’t know much about reptiles, so he just gave it a try.

“Don’t be angry,” Sheng Zhao said. “We can just forget about annoying people.”

Xing Yingzhu glanced at him again.

The commercial street at night was quiet, with the storefronts on both sides locked up. Only a small area further away was illuminated by streetlights.

With his hands in his pockets, feeling Sheng Zhao’s slightly higher temperature through two layers of clothing, Xing Yingzhu didn’t find it annoying. So, he didn’t bother arguing with him.

“And then?” Xing Yingzhu asked.

“Huh?” Sheng Zhao was taken aback by the question. “What do you mean, ‘and then’?”

Seeing that Sheng Zhao really didn’t have anything else to say, Xing Yingzhu couldn’t help but size him up and down, then said, “No sincerity.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Difficult to handle indeed.

He seemed quite normal when talking to others, although a bit domineering like a CEO with a touch of chuuni syndrome, but overall he had an imposing manner. How come after finishing business he started acting like a child throwing a tantrum?

Sheng Zhao sighed helplessly in his mind. He had to pat his back again like before.

“Alright, alright, don’t be angry,” Sheng Zhao’s blunt method of comforting him kicked in again, casually consoling, “If you say she’s annoying, then she must be annoying. Actually, I think so too. She handles things half-heartedly, not only forgetting to update the seal on time, but also failing to patch it up properly. She ends up leaving you to do all the work, clearly not a good person—”

Sheng Zhao spoke rapidly, almost running out of breath.

Xing Yingzhu seemed satisfied this time.

When Xing Yingzhu was happy, he couldn’t help but give Sheng Zhao an approving look, then took out a piece of candy from his pocket and handed it to him, expressing his appreciation.

Sheng Zhao lowered his head and only then noticed that he had seen this candy just a few hours ago— a handful of them at the hotel reception.

What’s this about, Sheng Zhao thought, who’s the one trying to appease the other here?