Chapter 139 - 131 Liao Ghost

Chapter 139: Chapter 131 Liao GhostZhou Xuan sat in his own shop, pondering over the matters of Old Painting Pavilion and wondering where exactly the opportunity for tattoo lay hidden within this pavilion. He was so engrossed in thought that he forgot about going out to eat at the restaurant. Little Fuzi had already returned to the shop. After handling the shop’s affairs all day, enduring a brutal beating for nothing and carrying Mu Hua back, he also gave Mu Hua a quick bath and changed his clothes. His physical strength was greatly depleted, naturally he was starving and thinking of grabbing some food to fill his stomach. But seeing Zhou Xuan deep in thought, he couldn’t bear to disturb him. Since he happened to have a bit of a smell himself, he took two thermoses and went to fetch hot water from the boiler shop in the slanting alley, One thermos of hot water to take a bath, the other to make hot tea for Five Brother and Young Master. Just stepping out the door, he encountered a Waterman pushing a wheelbarrow. In Mingjiang Prefecture, the availability of tap water was very high, but the stoves at home are either firewood or coal stoves, so every time you want to drink or bathe, you have to start a fire, which is very troublesome. Therefore, water carriers and water shops came into being. The water shop was essentially a boiler room, supplying hot water all day long. The Waterman had nailed four wooden water tanks onto the wheelbarrow, filled with hot water, selling it along the street. Since he had run into the Waterman, there was no need to go to the water shop. Little Fuzi filled the two thermoses, a large aluminum pot, and two copper basins with hot water and carried them back to the shop. The water in the aluminum pot was for bathing, the water in the thermoses was for making tea, and the water in the basins, once cooled a bit, was to refresh the faces of Five Brother and Young Master from fatigue. After Little Fuzi took a bath and changed into clean clothes, he came downstairs and found Zhou Xuan half-reclining on a rattan chair with a hot towel on his face, emitting faint white steam. "Applying a hot towel to the face really feels nice," Zhou Xuan muttered satisfactorily. "Young Master, have you finished thinking?" "It’s done. We’re just waiting for Five Brother to come home, then we’ll go to the restaurant." Speaking of Five Brother, Five Brother arrived. Lv Mingkun entered the room and asked Little Fuzi, "Is there water to wash the face and neck?" He had been "educating" the kids who bullied Mu Hua and ended up sweating a lot. "The water in the copper basin should be just the right temperature." Little Fuzi pointed to the copper basin on the shelf. Lv Mingkun immediately grabbed a towel, washed his face, washed his hands, wrung out the towel and as he wiped his neck, he spoke to Zhou Xuan, "Little junior brother, I really educated those kids well, very patiently, I guarantee they won’t dare to bully Mu Hua again, and they were especially moved by my patient yet strict teaching, moved to tears." Zhou Xuan removed the towel from his face, smiling, and said, "I have full confidence in Five Brother’s teaching quality, let’s go, everyone’s hungry." "Alright." Lv Mingkun washed the towel clean and hung it on the rack, ready to follow Zhou Xuan out, but at that moment, Mu Hua came in carrying a small copper pot, filled with the delicious aroma of beef. He placed the stove on the table, left expressionlessly, but not long after, he turned back, carrying a food basket, pulling out one plate after another. Each plate was filled with thinly sliced beef. At the very bottom of the basket, there were sauce dishes and clean bowls and chopsticks, neatly arranged, Mu Hua then gestured towards Zhou Xuan with one hand up to his mouth and the other mimicking the action of eating, then he said in a very stiff voice, "Eat! Tasty!" Zhou Xuan understood Mu Hua’s meaning, he was expressing his gratitude with the beef copper hot pot. But even such a simple expression of gratitude had already taken all of Mu Hua’s effort, the phrase "Eat! Tasty!" made him break into a sweat. "Hua Zi, I understand your feelings, we’ll definitely eat it all later." Zhou Xuan patted Mu Hua’s shoulder, but Mu Hua slightly stepped back, dodging this friendly gesture, then turned and left. "Forget the restaurant, let’s eat here." Zhou Xuan and the others gathered around the table, enjoying the hot pot in a room filled with steam. Midway through the meal, Sister Cui came into the room, very enthusiastically holding two large plates, her eyes squinted with a smile, "Brother Zhou, Brother Lv, Ah Fu, how is the hot pot?" "Good! Good! Sister Cui’s cooking is indeed excellent," Zhou Xuan took the plates from Sister Cui. One plate was piled up like a small mountain with tripe, the other was filled with duck blood. "It’s not my cooking, it was done by Mu Hua." Sister Cui stood with her hands on her hips saying, "The man who used to deliver rice and flour to our house, his wife died, he lost heart to keep the shop running, and closed down. I had to contact another rice and flour shop, I was busy until half an hour ago and when I got home, I saw Mu Hua cutting the beef, very meticulously. I asked him whom he was cutting it for, he didn’t even respond." At this point, Sister Cui’s eyes started to well up a little, she continued, "So I went to ask the neighbors and they said Mu Hua was bullied mercilessly, and it was you guys who helped rescue him, stood up for him, It was actually Ah Fu who carried Mu Hua back, even helped Mu Hua take a bath and change clothes... oh my, all these years, besides me, no one has been so good to him, It’s just that Mu Hua really can’t speak well, he can’t even say thank you, I’ll say thanks for him, don’t want to chill your hearts." Having said that, Sister Cui started to bow to the three of them. Zhou Xuan, being closer to Sister Cui, quickly steadied her, jokingly said, "Sister Cui, don’t put on such a show, it’s giving us goosebumps, there’s no need for thanks, we’re all neighbors, helping each other is natural. Moreover, we understand Mu Hua’s difficulties in speaking, we won’t be upset with him, Most importantly, Mu Hua’s face looks exactly like mine, stepping on his face is like stepping on mine, could we possibly indulge him?" These words made Sister Cui both cry and laugh. Lv Mingkun also pulled up a chair, saying, "Sister Cui, since you didn’t open the shop today, we’re just idling around, let’s eat and drink together." Sister Cui felt a bit awkward, pretending to have to prepare for tomorrow’s business and wanted to leave, but Zhou Xuan and Lv Mingkun warmly insisted, leaving her no choice but to sit down and join the meal. Sister Cui wasn’t a strong drinker, Little Fuzi specially went to a nearby sundry shop and brought back some beer. "Boosted by the alcohol and Zhou Xuan’s gift for gab, the atmosphere began to loosen up. During dinner, Zhou Xuan brought up some gossip, asking Sister Cui: ’You mentioned the miller’s daughter died, how did she suddenly die?’" "’She was killed by a kidnapper. The miller went mad, wanted to report it to the authorities, to the police, but then a group of kidnappers surrounded him in his house, threatening the lives of his son and wife. After a thorough intimidation, the miller didn’t dare to stir up any more trouble, grew disheartened, and even closed down his shop.’" "’Are kidnappers so arrogant?’" "’Arrogant indeed, they have connections in both the underworld and the lawful side. I heard someone mentioning this afternoon that there is a big kidnapper in Shande Hospital who drove someone mad... You guys being from out of town probably wouldn’t know Shande Hospital — it’s the largest hospital in Mingjiang Prefecture, even there it’s fraught with kidnappers, how could they not be arrogant?’" "Cough cough..." "Zhou Xuan and Lv Mingkun coughed simultaneously." "Sister Cui continued to Zhou Xuan: ’I’ll tell you guys secretly, keep your distance from Old Hua, the guy who runs the wreath shop on East Market Street.’" "’Why’s that?’" "’He snitched. He spilled the kidnapper’s secrets, revealed a kidnapper’s hideout to a woman called... what’s her name... Liao Ghost! Liao Ghost is from Ping Shui Prefecture, heard her daughter died at the kidnappers’ hands too, stitched her mouth shut, quite tragic! That woman is really formidable, heard she’s killed quite a number of kidnappers. Since Old Hua snitched to Liao Ghost, he has been targeted by the kidnappers. To make an example out of him, they’ve spread the word on East Market Street just a few days ago that they’re going to settle scores with Old Hua!’" "Zhou Xuan nodded silently," "matching his stereotype of kidnappers." "When he was in Ping Shui Prefecture, kidnappers said they would settle scores with him!" "That must be the kidnappers’ usual modus operandi, taking their arrogance to the extreme— settling scores with you, letting you know too, but you can only wait helplessly for death, no one can save you!" "But they were foolishly bold,", "in Ping Shui Prefecture, the kidnappers crossed paths with Great Buddha, Yuan Buyu killed Dog King, scaring the kidnappers out of their wits, making them withdraw from Ping Shui Prefecture." "’What’s the situation with Old Hua now?’ Zhou Xuan asked." "’He’s writing his own eulogy every day, oiling his own coffin, waiting for death. He’s a brave man, ready to die when he decided to snitch.’" "’Knowing certain death, yet still chose to snitch?’ Lv Kunming asked." "’His only son died at the hands of kidnappers years ago, he seeks revenge, but lacks the power to do so. All his endurance up till now was in vain, until Liao Ghost who dares to confront the kidnappers came along, that’s when he risked his life to snitch...’" "’Old Hua is quite enduring.’" "Zhou Xuan picked up a piece of tripe for Sister Cui and said, ’But there’s no way around it, we are honest businessmen, we can handle some small thugs with our own strength, but against pure evil like kidnappers, just hearing the name frightens us to death!’" "’Isn’t that the truth.’ Sister Cui sighed while eating the meat, ’We’re all ordinary folks, can’t match those bastards with powerful connections...’" "After finishing the hotpot, Zhou Xuan asked Lv Mingkun to join him to Old Painting Pavilion." "Zhou Xuan speculated that since Old Painting Pavilion is named thus, apart from old books, there are many old paintings, perhaps the clue about the tattoo doesn’t lie within the books but the paintings..." "..." "’Sister Cui, I can clean up by myself.’" "’I’m used to cleaning up, I run a stall business.’" "After Sister Cui had tidied up the room and Little Fuzi’s space, she packed the dishes and plates together back into the basket and went home." "’Mu Hua, the beef you cut, Brother Zhou and Ah Fu both loved it, they praised your culinary skills. But the seasoning isn’t great, ever since the miller closed his shop, we need to find another place to buy our sesame sauce, the current one we’re using, honestly, it’s not that great, too coarse.’" "Sister Cui talked on and on, but Mu Hua didn’t respond at all." "That wasn’t normal," "Sister Cui knew Mu Hua’s issues; unless it’s some really extreme emotions, he couldn’t discern, and even if he did recognize some emotions, he would still shut himself off, unable to give any feedback," "but between Mu Hua and her, a tiny crack could open in his enclosed world, where some simple communication was possible. Now, not saying a word... what’s going on?" "Sister Cui briskly ran from the outer to the inner room and saw Mu Hua standing blankly in front of the mirror, his mouth moving earnestly, but because he couldn’t master the pronunciation, he couldn’t produce any sound." "He was anxious, so anxious that he slapped his own face, after the anxiety passed, his mouth shape kept moving, trying to learn the pronunciation of two words." "Watching his approximate lip movements, Sister Cui knew the two words Mu Hua was earnestly trying to learn were," "’Thank you.’" "..." "The deep night at Old Painting Pavilion, even the insects were too lazy to chirp, quieter than a graveyard." "Other than the snoring in the painting, no other sounds could be heard." "A strong yet invisible and silent Perception had scanned the interior several times over." "The content of the painting was simple, Zhou Xuan only needed to use his Perception to clearly see the general subject." "’How is it? Junior brother?’" "’There isn’t a single painting related to the tattoo, but... I seem to have heard faint snoring in one painting," ’something unusual might be asleep?’ Zhou Xuan decided to check it out." "The more unusual it is, the more it matches the attributes of Tattoo Evil Ghost—better see it with my own eyes." "Zhou Xuan headed towards the back of the house," "’Where are you going?’" "’The front door makes too much noise, I’m afraid it might wake whatever is lurking, I’ll use the back door, it won’t make much noise,’ Zhou Xuan said..." "ps: Thanks, brothers, for your ongoing support, love you all. Sorry for being busy with other matters today, only able to post this update now, the next one will be at midnight."