Chapter 137 Fate

Actually, there was one thing Zhou Ze had always found strange.

It was called "Mount Tai Prefecture Lord," not "Mount Emei Prefecture Lord." So why did all the Mount Tai Prefecture Lords throughout history have such an intertwined relationship with monkeys?

If it was just a ritual or a standard configuration, like how there were always eunuchs in the imperial palace, that would be one thing. But clearly, the relationship between the Prefecture Lord and his monkeys was more than just a mere decoration.

Pulling a tissue from the coffee table, he wiped his mouth. Zhou Ze looked down helplessly at the female demon monkey lying at his feet.

What a pity.

If he calculated it that way, the grandfathers of these two demon monkeys were related to the last Mount Tai Prefecture Lord. From his drunken ramblings about monkeys, one could sense a feeling of "the deeper the love, the deeper the hate."

Even though that one was a failed candidate, considering Zhou Ze's own relationship with the last Mount Tai Prefecture Lord, it was really inappropriate to just quietly cook up these two monkeys for dinner.

Having more people in the store was also troublesome. Everyone was related to everyone else, with countless aunts and cousins. It made him worry about eating his own relatives when he wanted to try some wild game.

"Speak, keep talking."

Zhou Ze glanced at Hou Liangliang standing in front of him, pointed upwards, and said, "What's going on up there?"

Zhou Ze could guess some of its purpose, but he still needed to hear the specifics of the operation and design from the other party.

It wasn't out of greed. If it were someone else who saw this miraculous "black technology," they might really be envious, after all, it was a magical thing that could add luck and change one's fate.

Worldly people, those who worship Buddha and seek gods are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river, seeking only a vain sense of peace. If they could confirm that it had a real effect, it would definitely make countless people jealous!

But for Boss Zhou, it was like someone who was already full from a feast of meat and fish being faced with a plate of cornbread mixed with pebbles. He really didn't have much appetite for it.

The pharmacy next door, whether in terms of efficacy or cost, was much better than this scene upstairs, and the pharmacy was actually profitable now!

"This is a method of my grandfather's. That silkworm up there, you see it? That woman.

"She's actually a mother, or in modern terms, a converter.

"Grandfather personally seeks out people with good fortunes, gets their hair and birthdates, and then incubates them through the mother silkworm. The babies born from the mother silkworm aren't real babies, they have no life. Strictly speaking, they're just a ball of qi, representing that person's fate and a certain amount of luck.

"Then, through Grandfather's special smoking pipe, he inhales this ball of qi into his body, just like smoking. As for how much he can intercept and add to his own luck, it depends on luck."

"Is it effective?" Zhou Ze asked.

"I don't know. Anyway, I sometimes secretly smoke some myself. I haven't seen any harm in it yet. It's really like the cigarettes on the street. Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health, but as long as it doesn't cause lung cancer tomorrow, people don't think it's really that harmful.

"As for the benefits...

"In Grandfather's words,

"For demons like us, being able to eat one more day of bananas in this world is already extremely good luck. Why bother dreaming of fruit wine?"

Zhou Ze nodded and said, "Is there a way to contact your grandfather?"

"Well, Grandfather is always on the move, he's very busy, and he always contacts us. Besides, the places Grandfather often goes to don't even have cell phone signals.

"We actually didn't live with Grandfather before, we lived in seclusion in one place. Grandfather would only notify us when he had something to do, like coming to Tong City this time."

"Alright, clean everything up there, those children... dispose of those things, whether they're qi or something else."

"It's all tobacco, what a pity..."

"Dispose of them."

Boss Zhou found it disgusting.

"Okay, as you wish."

"By the way, can that mother silkworm really incubate a baby?"

"It can, but it comes at a great cost. Just incubating qi doesn't cause much damage to the mother silkworm itself, but if you really want to incubate flesh and blood, the mother silkworm's vitality will be greatly damaged.

"That one who looked a bit like you... that one was aiming for that."

"I have an egg here, can it be incubated?"

Zhou Ze still remembered what he had promised the gambling den's madam. If he could use this mother silkworm to give birth to her, that would naturally be the best. To be honest, even if he offered money, finding women willing to be surrogates to help him give birth to the child, they might not think anything of it, but Zhou Ze still felt a bit uncomfortable.

"In theory, it's possible, but to accelerate its growth, you'd have to prepare..."

"No need to accelerate it, just let it be born."

"Alright, alright."

As for the damage to the mother silkworm, Zhou Ze didn't consider it. Hou Liangliang originally wanted to consider it, but thinking about it, he decided not to.

Zhou Ze stood up from the sofa, pointed at Hou Liangliang, and said, "You said you can cook?"

"I can, flying in the sky, swimming in the river, running on the ground, I can cook it all."

"Good, prepare some food, I have some friends coming over later."

"No problem, just watch."

Zhou Ze kicked the unconscious female demon monkey at his feet and said, "She won't die for now, you can rest assured."

"To die at your hands is her good fortune."

"I have a friend who's very similar to you, his name is An Buqi, he's a lawyer."

"That's my honor, it means I'm destined to meet noble people."

"That friend of mine is currently on the run."

"..." Hou Liangliang.

"Alright, you clean up, I'll go outside for a smoke."

"As you wish."

Zhou Ze walked to Hou Liangliang's side, turned his face, looked at him, and said, "You don't need to be nervous now. Although I find what you guys are doing a bit disgusting, I don't have any real deep-seated hatred.

"Besides,

"If there are no accidents,

"Your grandfather and I have some kind of relationship, at least, we can be considered to have some connection."

Hou Liangliang was a little surprised, but it was obvious that he breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "It turns out it's a case of the flood washing away the Dragon King Temple, we didn't recognize our own family."

His grandfather hadn't even arrived yet, but he had already taken the initiative to acknowledge the relationship.

"Perhaps."

Boss Zhou walked to the entrance of the store and sat down on the curb. The sky wasn't yet light. He took out his phone, shared his location with Lao Xu again, and then added a sentence, telling him to bring Lao Dao and the little monkey along.

Soon after,

Xu Qinglang replied, "Wouldn't that be a bit cruel?"

Asking a monkey to eat monkey brains...

"Bring them along, the situation has changed."

After replying to the message,

Boss Zhou put his phone beside him,

Took out a cigarette and lit it.

The two little monkeys raised by the old monkey already had strength that was no less than, or even exceeded, those of the Northeast shamans. How terrifying must the old monkey himself be?

Although he was a failed candidate, there were different levels of failure. Sometimes, being qualified to participate in the election was already a recognition of one's identity and strength.

As for whether he could win over the old monkey, Zhou Ze wasn't sure. People change, and monkeys change too, but what if?

If he could really get in touch with the old monkey, that would be the strongest external support that the bookstore could currently use.

As for how to negotiate and how to communicate,

That wasn't for Zhou Ze to worry about,

He'd just send Lao Dao to communicate directly. Anyway, Lao Dao was close to monkeys and had experience raising them.

After finishing a cigarette,

Zhou Ze yawned,

It was time, he should sleep now. He looked at his phone, estimating that Lao Xu and the others would arrive soon.

Standing up from the curb,

He stretched,

Zhou Ze said apologetically, "Sorry, we won't be able to eat monkey brains."

Soon after,

There was a response:

"It's...okay..."

"It's rare that you're so understanding."

Boss Zhou was really a little surprised. Other things could be discussed, but regarding "eating," that is, so-called "nourishment," Ying Gou really lacked any patience.

That's right,

The man who once sat at the peak of hell,

Having fallen to this state,

It was probably a torment every day.

"Go...to...Northeast..."

Boss Zhou wanted to take back his previous bit of emotion. Clearly, Ying Gou was thinking about the main course and looked down on this appetizer.

"You have to let me rest for a few days and catch my breath, right? And I have to wait for my men to come back. Don't worry, once things are settled here and the team is rested and back in order, I'll go to the Northeast right away to help you find the dragon vein.

"If you can eat a little stronger, I'll feel safer when I go out, right?"

"You...this...watchdog..."

Oh, he figured it out.

"Hey, there's something I've always wanted to ask you, how did we get out after we wrecked hell that time?"

If he just answered that they walked out of the Naihe Bridge,

That would be nonsense,

Ying Gou was too lazy to talk nonsense,

So,

He didn't answer.

"Alright, I'll ask in a more subtle way:

"Is the old Taoist in our bookstore a reincarnation of the Prefecture Lord?"

Some things,

No matter how much you observe or analyze, it's ultimately just speculation. And right now, the only one with the ability and the qualifications to draw a conclusion about this speculation,

Was Ying Gou.

First, the ghost messenger certificate fell into his hands, and then he encountered the moving mountain ape. One by one, Zhou Ze didn't think he was some child of destiny, he wasn't that delusional.

Why would the legacy of the last Prefecture Lord fall into his hands?

If,

If the last Prefecture Lord was actually by his side, then everything would make sense.

When you're sheltering from the rain under someone else's eaves, you should always pay a little something for the trouble.

This time,

Ying Gou didn't remain silent,

He said something that seemed to mean nothing, but seemed to explain everything:

"Without...me...you...would...have...died...long...ago..."