Midnight Bookstore

Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation  Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

In the darkness, there seemed to be some light. For a moment, it caught people off guard. The sharp contrast made the eyes very uncomfortable.

Zhou Ze subconsciously closed his eyes. Beside his ears was the hustle and bustle of traffic and the hubbub of voices. He seemed to be standing on the street.

After a while, when he opened his eyes again, he saw that everything around him was so familiar.

Familiar streets. Familiar streetlights. Familiar fire hydrants. Familiar “I heard it, so I heard it” sign.

He looked sideways. Sure enough, he was lying down on the sofa by the French window of the study. He was holding a newspaper in his hand. While he was reading, he was adding sugar cubes into his coffee cup.

Was it here this time? Was it the study room?

Zhou Ze did not move. Instead, he continued to stand quietly on the same spot. People were pa.s.sing by him from time to time, but it had nothing to do with him at all.

There was some hesitation. Some unknown… hesitation.

In a muddle-headed state, this dream went all the way here? Was it the end?

Unknown to Zhou Ze, a man in a black hoodie was standing against a telephone pole in the crowd. Under the brim of his hat, a face exactly like Zhou Ze"s was hidden. He was well hidden because the crowd on the street was surging.

“Go in. Hurry up and go in. We"ve already come this far. Go in.” The man had a smile on the corner of his mouth as he muttered to himself. “There are only two left. After I kill him, only I will be left. Hehe.”

“Hiss…” The man let out a low groan. He subconsciously reached out his hand and grabbed his chest as if the pain was unbearable. However, there was still a happy smile on his face.

He tore off a corner of his hoodie. A b.l.o.o.d.y wound was revealed.

The endless stream of people turned a blind eye to it. It seemed as if they couldn"t see anything.

In the middle of the glaring wound, there was a pen. Most of the body of the pen was inside his body.

“You sealed me, but is it useful?”

The man lowered his head as if he was talking to the pen on his chest.

“As long as he kills him in the bookstore, I will be the only one left. He is me, I am him. Is this seal of yours useful?”

The pen coldly stabbed into the flesh without the slightest reaction.

What it could do was actually to firmly pin him down. As for the rest, it was powerless.

After all, what it sealed was an ancient general. In the past, he dared to resist the existence of the Yellow Emperor, Lord of the Netherworld. Even if it"s near death, it"s not gonna be easy.

“I helped him to kill Three Corpses so that he could learn how to fight, saving him a lot of time and energy. Of course, you have to charge some interest. Do it. He had already beheaded the previous life and cut off the Fetter left by the Governor. He has to cut off his current self. After that, even if this d.a.m.ned seal was still there, it was meaningless. He had already become me and completely fused with me!”

The man reached out and grabbed the pen. He didn"t pull it out but pressed down hard. At the same time, he let out a low and painful cry. It was as if this kind of self-harm could make him feel more satisfied and happy!

“Hehe. Stab. Stab. Continue to stab. How much longer can you stab me? A guard dog consciousness that was born during my false reincarnation hibernation dared to be impudent to me!”

“Who gave him courage? Who gave him confidence? Was it this pen of yours? Was it that Taishan Prefectural Prince who was so laughable that he was fooled by Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva back then? Coffee? Newspapers? Sugar? Hehe…”

He looked at himself through the gla.s.s. It was a little blurry but he felt the same. This posture…This movement…This scene…was what Zhou Ze had been doing for more than a year.

As long as there were no accidents or urgent matters when he woke up in the morning, he would lie in that position. Not long after he lay down, Yingying would bring him newspapers and coffee to start his day.

Zhou Ze didn"t know how long he watched. Zhou Ze silently raised his feet and walked toward the door. Pushing the door open, Zhou Ze saw the Old Priest sitting behind the bar counter. The Old Priest was scratching lice for the monkey. The Little Monkey looked at the Old Taoist with a sad face, looking helpless.

It was a spiritual monkey. A spiritual monkey that could live, broadcast, cut songs, and take a taxi. It felt that it was more hygienic than the Old Taoist. Where were the lice?

The Old Taoist didn"t think so. How could a monkey be called a monkey without lice? The Old Taoist was not so much picking lice as enjoying the joy of being with the monkey, and playing with his grandchildren.

He had never had a family in his entire life. Although he occasionally went to protect his children. It was also because they were willing to help each other out. He met the monkey in his old age and the Old Priest was raising him as a grandson.

“Yo, there"s a guest.”

The Old Priest raised his head and saw Zhou Ze walking in. He pointed at the sign and said, “The minimum consumption for this shop is 1,000.”

He remembered that at the beginning, the minimum consumption was 1,000. However, the tremendous achievements since the reform and opening-up, along with the tremendous progress that society has made under the guidance of the new era and new ideas.

Even if there was a sign that said “The minimum consumption is 100,” there were several customers who came in to spend. Later, they simply changed it to 1,000.

Judging from the current rate of inflation, most people would be reluctant to come in to spend at least for the next few years.

Zhou Ze nodded and didn"t say anything.

Seeing that Zhou Ze didn"t order anything, the Old Priest couldn"t be bothered with him anymore and continued to pick lice for the monkey.

The bookstore had never been hospitable to its dead customers. This was a tradition. It was also a special feature.

“The weather today is pretty good.” Xu Qinglang came down from upstairs. He was wearing a white shirt and blue jeans today. He looked very heroic.

To be honest, maybe he was born to be flirtatious but Old Xu had never pretended to be a woman to disgust people.

He was beautiful. It was not his fault he was more beautiful than most women. Usually, when he spoke and acted, he looked quite manly.

“Old Xu.”

Zhou Ze saw that he, who was sitting on the sofa, waved at Xu Qinglang, “Old Xu, I have good news for you.”

“What?”

“It seems that the real estate tax is coming out.”

“…” Xu Qinglang.

“Hehe.” After sharing the joy with Old Xu, he continued to read the newspaper. He hated housing prices. In his previous life, after working so hard for so long, he could only buy a small house.

When he was a doctor, he would occasionally be a freelance surgeon for extra money. His income was very considerable. It was much higher than the income of ordinary people. The problem was that he was an orphan.

He did not have six wallets. Xu Qinglang went to the kitchen and soon the sound of rolling noodles could be heard.

Zhou Ze remembered Old Xu used to run a noodle shop. It was just next to Xu Le"s bookstore. The sign of the noodle shop was hung there. It was a take-out business.

It was indeed superb below Old Xu. The last time he made sour cabbage and shredded pork noodles, even the jade flowers from h.e.l.l were full of praise. They spat and ate at the same time, but they still ate it all.

“Wu Wu Wu, boss, I just ate chicken!” Yingying ran down excitedly. She was acting coquettishly to him lying on the sofa. No matter how hard the steel was in front of Yingying now, it seemed like it could be turned into soft fingers with her acting coquettishly cute.

Zhou Ze suddenly realized this seemed to be the most leisurely time in the study. Lao Xu hadn"t experienced his master"s affairs yet, so he became crazy about drawing talismans. Lao Dao had just met the monkey. Yingying was still addicted to eating chicken, which was very popular in the past, but now it was getting cold.

The little girl hasn"t moved in yet. Lawyer An is still missing. We all lived together in the study waiting for ghosts to come and do a business deal every night. They listened to the story and talked. There was not so much trouble. Life was at ease. The years were quiet.

Zhou Ze narrowed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then, he walked over to the other side and sat down.

For some reason, he looked at himself across from him when he sat down. His dream self was sipping his coffee, reading the newspaper, and lazily basking in the sun. He was not thinking of making progress and still looking pleased with himself.

Zhou Ze suddenly had an urge to slap him and he couldn"t control his hand.

At the same time, Zhou Ze thought again. The seat he was sitting in now was the most common in Lawyer An"s study. Every day when I read the newspaper and drink coffee, Lawyer An likes to sit opposite me.

B*stard, this guy always wanted to slap me!

Outside the bookstore, a man in a black hoodie slowly walked over. He didn"t go in. Instead, he stood in front of the bookstore and watched.

Soon, it"s time to do it. You should continue to reminisce a little more. This is the good fortune I gave you. It"s also your last good fortune.

“Buzz!”

The pen in his chest vibrated. The man had to kneel on one knee on the ground, one palm pressing firmly on the wound.

“Hehe, are you afraid? You can"t stop it. He gave me this chance so I gave it to him. You could only watch. You weren"t happy, were you? Then you could go out and tell him. You can warn him. As soon as you leave, you could conjure up a specific consciousness to communicate with it. This seal was completely gone. You couldn"t do it at all, right?”

“Buzz!” The pen vibrated again. Then, the vibration became weaker and weaker.

“Why, have you given in?”

“Buzz!” The pen vibrated again.

“Cherish the time when you can still seal me. Soon, you won"t have the qualifications. You"ll only be able to seal me once. It"s you and the master who created you all those years ago. Glory.”

“Ding Dong…”

The pen cover fell to the ground. It rolled around. The man looked at the pen cover on the ground. His smiling face suddenly became angry and twisted. He growled in a low voice, “Are you saying that I"m afraid? Hehe. Ridiculous! What am I afraid of?”