“Where did everyone go after a bathroom break…?”

Twenty minutes later, Gu Shen realized something was wrong.

He went to the bathroom and confirmed that Song Ci had already made his escape. It was empty.

“That unrighteous bastard, taking advantage of me being a foreigner?”

Gu Shen was furious. He went back to the noodle shop to pay. He saw the thin, tall owner with a towel around his neck, sitting on a wooden stool, gazing into the distance with a smile. He then realized… the owner had been sitting in that posture for a long time.

“Boss, I’m paying.”

The thin, tall owner heard the voice but ignored it. He slowly turned his head to look at Gu Shen and nodded with a smile.

This owner… seemed… not too bright?

“Two big bowls, with extra meat, egg, and marinated tofu, right? Thirty-six, plus the wine, a total of forty-four. Small business, no credit.” The landlady's voice came from the second floor of the small shop, followed by the sound of hurried footsteps. She came downstairs, looked at the empty seat, and frowned. “Are you a friend brought by Crow? Did that kid run off again after eating?”

Again?

Gu Shen was stunned. This wasn't the first time this had happened?

“Old Xu! Remember! Next time, make Crow pay before he eats!” The landlady shouted as she cleared the table. The thin, tall owner still sat on the small stool like an elementary school student with his hands on his knees, smiling serenely into the distance and slowly nodding.

The landlady cleaned up efficiently, took the big bowl into the kitchen, and explained to Gu Shen casually, “Sorry, Old Xu isn't too bright.”

Gu Shen immediately understood.

After thinking about it, he suddenly understood another layer of meaning in what Song Ci had said to him…

“He didn't run away, he just had something urgent come up, so he left first,” Gu Shen said softly.

The landlady, who was washing dishes in the kitchen, glanced at Gu Shen in surprise after hearing this.

The young man standing outside was clean, neatly dressed, and looked like he wasn't the same kind of person as Crow.

She wiped her hands on her apron and said, "You're the first person to speak up for him like that. How long have you known him, a day?"

“…” Gu Shen thought for a moment, embarrassed. “Counting this meal, at most, two hours.”

“Then don't believe his nonsense, and don't treat him as a friend.” The landlady said casually, “Crow has no friends, and there isn't a word of truth in his mouth… A good young man like you shouldn't be walking with him. Everyone who is with him is unlucky.”

Gu Shen was silent for a moment, then asked softly, “Then… the Miss Lu he mentioned, is she real or fake?”

“Little Lu?”

The landlady smiled. “Little Lu is real, did he shamelessly take out a photo from his wallet to show off to you, and brag that Miss Lu is his girlfriend?”

Gu Shen scratched his head. At this time, he realized that he had been deceived. He thought he had at least had a drink with Crow, but he hadn't even seen Little Lu's photo.

“Girlfriend my ass, would Little Lu even look at him?” The landlady raised her eyebrows and sneered, “They played together for a few years when they were little, and he brags about it everywhere. Song Ci only needs to piss and look in the mirror to know that he is a toad, how could he be worthy of Little Lu? Everyone on eight streets can see that he has a crush on her. He just gets carried away when he's drunk. Only Old Xu would believe such nonsense.”

Speaking of which, she got angry.

The landlady smacked Old Xu on the head.

“I get angry just mentioning him!” she scolded fiercely. “Next time, don't let Crow in the door!”

Old Xu nodded, feeling wronged. “Crow… is not bad.”

“No, no, no!” The landlady was furious, and smacked him on the head again. Old Xu was hit so hard that he picked up the small stool, put it upside down on his head, and ran away.

Gu Shen found the scene both funny and annoying.

“Little Lu isn't from here.”

The landlady sighed softly, grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds, and muttered, “That little girl is smart, beautiful, but a little aloof and stubborn. But anyone can tell that she isn't a child that could be raised in our old district. I don't know what her family was thinking, leaving such a pretty girl here alone for two years.”

“What is Little Lu's name?” Gu Shen asked curiously.

“Little Lu's name…”

Hearing this question, the landlady was a little dazed. After thinking for a while, she shook her head. “Everyone calls her Little Lu. We only know that her surname is Lu. No one knows her name, her parents, why she came here, or why she left.”

The landlady leaned against the window, lazily watching the sunlight spill onto the mottled walls of the old district's alleys. “But we all know… she will leave. This is not a place for her to stay.”

…

…

“Hello.”

Song Ci picked his teeth and answered the phone lazily.

“Crow, where the hell are you?”

The woman's voice on the other end of the phone was full of anger. “If you have the guts to cause trouble, then don't disappear! I'll give you one more hour, don't force me to use ‘Spirit Eye’ to find you!”

If Gu Shen were here and heard the voice on the phone, he would find it familiar.

“Sister Liu, calm down, getting angry hurts your body.”

After hearing this, Crow's expression remained calm, and he laughed, “But I only beat up Chen San's precious nephew, it's not a big deal, right?”

Liu Yi suppressed her anger and said coldly, “Just beat him up? You broke eight of his ribs and sent half his life to the King of Hell. The Southern Hall used the Sacred Artifact of Redemption to save his life. Now the entire Southern Hall is looking for you. Chen San is very angry and said he wants to skin you alive.”

“How scary…” Crow laughed. “If they're going to skin me alive, how dare I show myself?”

Liu Yi was silent for a moment.

“You… need to give Chen San an explanation for this matter.” She sighed helplessly.

“Explanation? Chen San's nephew wanted to spar, so I sparred.” Song Ci shrugged, indifferently. “Who knew he was so weak? I only threw one punch, and he fell down… Could it be a scam?”

“We agreed before that there is a boundary between the Northern and Southern Halls, and it cannot be crossed. If someone crosses the line, I will follow the rules… Now I've beaten the younger one and offended the older one, and they want me to give an explanation, what explanation can I give? I'm just following the rules set by Master Zhao and him.” Crow's voice suddenly became very soft, and he said with a smile, “Why don't you ask Chen San if he dares to come to Jiangtan without that title? I will definitely show up and give him an explanation in person.”

Liu Yi dared not answer. There was already a hint of desperation in Crow's tone.

“Let me talk.”

A slightly gloomy voice sounded.

“Yes…”

Liu Yi handed over the phone, and the voice changed to a man's voice, sounding not old, but not young either, about thirty years old, gloomy and angry.

“Crow… I am currently negotiating business with the Chen family.”

“You beat someone up, what am I supposed to do?” The man scolded in a low voice, “You're just a errand boy, can you afford the losses of the Zhao family?”

“Ah… so it's Zhao Qi, Young Master Zhao.”

Crow smiled brightly after hearing the voice. “Long time no see, long time no see. You haven't been out partying these days, and have switched to doing business?”

Zhao Qi coldly hummed. “If you show up now, everything is still negotiable.”

“I didn't realize you had a talent for business… And you're doing business with the Chen family, what a big move.” Crow interrupted him, then asked with a smile, “In the name of Hua Zhi?”

Zhao Qi on the other end of the phone was silent for a moment.

“Did the Master agree to this matter? Did Mr. Cui agree? What about her?” The smile on Crow's face disappeared in an instant, showing no respect to the sole heir of the Zhao Consortium, and finally said coldly, “As you said, I'm just a errand boy… but the person I run errands for is not you, I only listen to Madam.”

He paused.

“So… your business is ruined,” Song Ci said expressionlessly, word by word, “What does it have to do with me?”

Hang up.

It rang again.

Without even looking, he hung up again.

And then he turned off the phone.

Song Ci felt that the whole world was quiet. He casually climbed over a courtyard wall, found an abandoned rooftop with no one living there, moved a broken rattan chair, and lay in the midday sun, humming a little tune lazily, closing his eyes to rest, but his brow was vaguely furrowed, and his heart was still surrounded by inexplicable irritability.

He didn't know how long it had been.

The sunlight moved from his face to his feet.

The scorching temperature seemed to have dropped.

Song Ci woke up from his irritable state of napping, slowly opened his eyes, and instantly perked up.

A large umbrella was opened, blocking the sunlight. The person holding the umbrella was a beautiful woman in a white dress, bejeweled, with a sacred aura that could only be admired from a distance.

Song Ci shook his head.

“Madam…”

He quickly sat up from the recliner and spoke very softly.

Who would believe that this man, who was so nervous at the moment, was the ruthless person who dared to directly scold Zhao Qi on the phone.

The Madam held up the umbrella and stood on the dilapidated rooftop. This rooftop had long been abandoned, with messy mechanical components and outdated old-era appliances piled up. The only thing that was still somewhat presentable were the few scattered green plants, stubbornly surviving in the wind and rain, but they had already grown spider webs.

Because of the Madam's arrival, the dilapidated rooftop seemed to have become a beautiful scenery to appreciate, and these tattered components and machinery seemed to have become ingenious decorations.

“I sent someone to pick you up, but you refused to come. I called you, but you refused to answer.”

There was no anger in her eyebrows, but a peace.

“So I had to come in person.”

Crow quickly turned on his phone and saw a series of missed calls pop up. He said helplessly, “It's because of Zhao Qi and Liu Yi…”

“Yes, I know everything, you don't need to say it.”

The Madam said softly, “The matter has been resolved.”

“…Ah?”

Crow was stunned. He suddenly felt a little lost, staring blankly at the Madam who was as white as moonlight. He now realized that he might have really caused trouble, and said nervously, “I just wanted to hide… How was the matter resolved?”

“Because of the matter of crossing the line, Chen San personally apologized, but Zhao Qi's business was also ruined.” The Madam said lightly, “During this time, the relationship between the Northern and Southern Halls will be relatively tense, so try not to show yourself. I will take care of Zhao Qi, he will not dare to make things difficult for you.”