“Are you taking her to Macau?”

Zhou Ze looked at Lawyer An.

“Supporting the development of Macau and supporting the ‘one country, two systems’ policy.”

Lawyer An spoke with resounding firmness.

Then, he continued,

“Besides, we can’t really go to some Macau online casino, those are for watching videos, not gambling.

“And, honestly, my law firm was sold off at the end of last year, and there isn't much money left in the bookstore's account.”

“……” Zhou Ze.

This sentence effectively silenced him; Boss Zhou really had nothing to say.

He'd been bedridden for a year.

Well,

Even before he was bedridden, he hadn't exactly been making much money.

Not only did his employees not take salaries, but they also subsidized the bookstore's various operating expenses. Don't think opening a bookstore is easy. In South Street, the most ancient and popular commercial street in Tong City, expenses are very high, and the living expenses of this large group of people are also a considerable sum.

Everyone eats and drinks well; you'd be embarrassed to buy them ten-yuan box lunches.

Now it's come to the point where they have to rely on this little girl to gamble in Macau just to barely stay afloat.

As the boss,

What face did he have to say anything?

Zhou Ze pointed at the little girl in Lawyer An’s arms and asked,

“Is she… very good at gambling?”

“A natural.”

Lawyer An said this with considerable pride.

In fact, if it weren't for the fact that she won too much on one previous trip and got put on a list, Lawyer An really wouldn't want to stop.

Zhou Ze nodded.

Actually, he understood why Lawyer An wanted to take the little girl to Macau to make money. With Lawyer An’s own abilities, using some tricks while gambling to win money would be very easy.

But this method actually damages one’s blessings. Reducing one's blessings for the sake of a bit of money is really not worth it.

Sometimes, in dangerous situations, your life or death might depend on that bit of luck.

But purely winning money based on skill isn't a problem. In essence, it's no different from an old farmer working hard in the fields to grow crops and reap the harvest.

“You keep an eye on things here; I’ll go upstairs and check on Ying’er.”

“Okay, sure thing, Boss.”

Zhou Ze went upstairs, opened the bedroom door, and saw Ying’er sitting on the bed, licking the bottom of a cup.

Her tongue stretched out, trying hard to reach, looking very cute.

Zhou Ze startled Ying’er when he pushed the door open; she froze there.

“If you like it, there’ll be plenty more in the future.”

Zhou Ze sat down on the edge of the bed.

Blood is precious, and Zhou Ze would definitely be reluctant to give it to others, but he didn't feel anything about giving it to Ying’er, just like occasionally donating blood.

“No, no, that can’t be!”

Ying’er put the cup down very seriously and almost knelt before Zhou Ze, continuing,

“Boss, only this once, only this once.”

“Alright, I know.”

The two were too familiar with each other; they knew each other’s personalities, so they could skip a lot of unnecessary words.

Zhou Ze lay down on the bed, and Ying’er lay on her side next to him.

Although they had just experienced that upheaval last night, to be honest, after the sun rose the next day, those who didn't die had to live their lives as they always had.

The bookstore had been through many storms, so naturally they could take it in stride.

As for things like “psychological trauma,” that was a joke to the people in this bookstore.

Zhou Ze closed his eyes.

He hoped he could get a good night's sleep,

Because after he woke up, he would have to arrange funerals for Yue Ya and Zheng Qiang.

But,

This was destined to be a luxury.

…………………

Drip,

Drip,

Drip,

When Zhou Ze heard the sound of dripping water,

He sighed.

Having a dream when he least wanted to was a very frustrating feeling.

It was like hearing someone say "My lord, I want you" when you were exhausted after staying up all night.

Zhou Ze found himself standing on the water. The water was very clear. Because it was so clear, Zhou Ze knew that he hadn't been pulled here by Ying Gou to chat.

The water of the Nether Sea couldn't be described as turbid, but there was too much "filling" in it, making it impossible for it to be this clear.

Every step he took on it sent ripples across the surface. Combined with the empty, slightly dim layout, it was actually quite artistic.

But all Zhou Ze wanted now was simply to rest.

Dreams are actually a very special medium. Even with today's highly developed modern science, scientists haven't really been able to achieve a true understanding and interpretation of this most mysterious "extension area" of the human brain.

And for Zhou Ze, at least in this life, he rarely dreamed. Once he did, it was never a simple, ordinary dream.

“Ding-dong… ding-dong… ding-dong…”

The tapping sound began to come.

From behind him.

Zhou Ze slowly turned around and looked behind him. There was nothing there.

“Ding-dong… ding-dong… ding-dong…”

However, the tapping sound continued.

Listening carefully, Zhou Ze looked down.

Below the water's surface, there was a scabbard slowly poking at the water.

“Ding-dong… ding-dong… ding-dong…”

The scabbard wasn't rustic at all; in fact, it was quite flashy, inlaid with many gemstones.

Zhou Ze stood at the position where the scabbard was tapping, continuing to look down.

If the current scene were rotated ninety degrees vertically,

It would be like looking at both ends of a mirror.

One end would be the bottom of the scabbard,

The other end would be Zhou Ze's shoe.

Zhou Ze tried his best to see through the water's surface to see who was holding the scabbard, but he couldn't see. It was as if the scabbard was simply acting on its own.

“Ding-dong…………ding-dong…………ding-dong…………”

…………

He opened his eyes.

When he woke up,

A long time passed,

When he went downstairs to take a shower, his mind seemed to still be filled with the sound of "ding-dong, ding-dong," and he seemed very listless.

It was already eight o'clock in the evening.

When Zhou Ze came out after changing into his pajamas, Ying’er was already in the kitchen preparing dinner.

It seemed that because Zhou Ze’s blood had miraculous effects, or perhaps the overdrawn power had recovered somewhat, Ying’er now looked quite spirited.

Not many people were able to come down for dinner at this time. In the end, only Zhou Ze, Lawyer An, and Old Zhang Tou sat at the table.

Lawyer An had already sent the little girl back to her adoptive parents. He definitely didn’t have time to take her to Macau to gamble these days with so much to do.

After dinner,

Zhou Ze went to the wax figure museum in the back.

Inside,

Deadpool and Blackie were both squatting in the fields, tending to the crops.

They didn't show up when something happened in the bookstore last night, which was excusable. If it was an ordinary accident, Deadpool would definitely be able to sense it, but the Drought Fiend almost managed to isolate all perception last night. Even Xu Qinglang, who was sitting upstairs, might not have known anything about what was happening downstairs if he didn't have such a strong pursuit of quality of life.

Seeing Zhou Ze come,

Deadpool paused for a moment,

Immediately kneeling before Zhou Ze, with Blackie kneeling beside him.

The two were very worried that Zhou Ze would think they were deliberately watching from the sidelines.

“Get up, it’s alright.”

Zhou Ze waved his hand, picked a cucumber from the vines next to him, took a bite, and then walked to the pond on his own.

Further in was the special plant that provided Ying Gou with peanuts. The fertilizer hadn’t been applied long enough, so it hadn’t really taken effect yet. Zhou Ze wasn’t too worried about this.

Haste makes waste; this thing naturally had to be nurtured slowly.

Once it was nurtured, he wouldn't have to search all over the world for old mountain ginseng anymore. Being a simple breeder was much more comfortable than leveling up by fighting monsters all over the world.

In the pond, lotus flowers were in full bloom.

Zhou Ze squatted down by the pond, looking at the bottom while gnawing on the cucumber.

“Glug, glug, glug…”

Bubbles appeared in the pond.

A tortoise shell emerged. A human-faced tortoise shell. If it were any older, it could go directly to star in a live-action *Dragon Ball* movie.

“Boss, I had him come over to take care of that lotus root,” Blackie explained from the side.

Zhou Ze nodded, not saying anything. Having lived two lives, he had never farmed, so he naturally had nothing to teach these two experts. He also had no interest in casually saying some grand, high-sounding nonsense and then having Deadpool and Blackie stand next to him, nodding with great emotion while taking notes in their notebooks and then patting their chests to guarantee that they would conduct in-depth study in the future.

Although Zhou Ze knew that Blackie and the others seemed to really like going through this charade.

Deep in the pond was a human-shaped lotus root. Zhou Ze had already “placed” half of his face’s personality into it according to Ying Gou’s method.

As for whether he could resurrect "Half a Face" through this method, it was hard to say.

Even Ying Gou himself couldn't guarantee it; he could only say, "It depends on luck."

From Boss Zhou's perspective, he hoped that Half a Face could be resurrected. This way, at least he could prepare a "return gift" for the Drought Fiend. Furthermore, having a predecessor from Gou Cun watching over him here would also make him feel much more at ease.

Compared to the vague and illusory stroke of luck and sporadic miracles of Old Daoist and Old Zhang, Boss Zhou still preferred things that were more certain. After all, life wasn't a game, and you couldn't reload and start over.

While he was spacing out, Zhou Ze looked up and suddenly noticed that Lawyer An had also come here at some point.

“Something up?” Zhou Ze asked.

Lawyer An also squatted down next to Zhou Ze and said,

“Feng Si’er sent a message; there are three things.”

“Speak.”

“The Gates of Hell will reopen tomorrow night.”

“Second?”

“Boss, your promotion and Lin Ke and Liu Chuyu’s promotions can also be conferred after the Gates of Hell open tomorrow night. You’re being promoted to Inspector, and they’re both being promoted to Head Constable. Originally, Yue Ya and Zheng Qiang were also qualified to be promoted to Head Constable… alas.”

“Lastly?”

“Lastly…”

Lawyer An scratched his head.

He said,

“About this last thing, Feng Si’er can’t be sure if it’s really accurate either. A rumor has recently started circulating among the judges; he wouldn’t have paid attention to it originally, but he said he didn’t dare not report it.”

“Hmm?”

“The temple on Mount Tai seems to be empty.”