Midnight Bookstore

“It seems to be coming to an end.”

The mangy-headed monk said as he used his little finger to pick at his earwax. Then, he put his finger to his mouth and blew on it.

“It’s been a long time.”

The tanned girl was very unhappy and continued, “The person who invited the guest has made the guest wait at the door for so long. He doesn’t know any manners.”

“The flowers in my flowerbed are all more punctual than them. They will bloom whenever they are supposed to.”

“Heh, there aren’t many people left who are treating the guests.”

The scabby-headed monk stood up and stretched his body.

“Huh?”

“Let’s wait a little longer. When the inside is completely over, we will consider whether or not we should go in and visit the new owner.”

“In the underground of Xuzhou the color has changed.”

“Changed? Does that mean they’re all dead?”

“More or less. There’s something interesting going on. The person who killed the Three Corpses seems to have some problems.”

“You Taoists and Buddhists are strange. You’ve made a lot of twists and turns.”

“There aren’t too many twists and turns. How can you let people spend their whole lives studying it? It’s just that you keep going in circles. You seem to understand a lot, but in fact, you still don’t understand anything.”

“When you planted your mother-in-law, you were cutting off your own past. It’s just that you didn’t realize it.”

“If that’s the case, if I want to cut off Three Corpses one day or get rid of the inner demons one day, do you think I can just plant a monk like you or find a cow nose to bury him?”

The scabby-headed monk suddenly shivered. He put his palms together and said with a pious expression, “Amitabha, Amitabha.”

The monk was a little afraid because he felt that this girl had probably said something similar to her mother-in-law back then. However, the monk felt that her mother-in-law might have thought that she was a cute and simple child who spoke without fear. She might have even stroked her head and smiled at her until she was buried in the ground and planted. Maybe her mother-in-law finally understood that this girl wasn’t just talking.

She patted her sleeves. She tidied up her kasaya. The scabby-headed monk looked a little solemn, “Are you going in?”

The tanned girl shook her head and said, “When I was checking the inventory and preparing to deliver the goods to the person who ordered the flowers, I found that the plantation in Tongcheng was destroyed.”

“Ah, that was a long time ago, right?”

“Yes, but I forgot. He had to plant so many flowers and plants every day. How could he remember so many things?”

“That’s not right. I remember that I was the one who reminded you at that time. A paper clone that I left there was destroyed, causing all the greed, anger, and idiocy that I deliberately left there to come back. It almost destroyed my closed-door cultivation.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“This penniless monk remembered that you sent people to investigate.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“Yes!”

“Then I also forgot. You also know that I have to plant so many people every day. If one or two people were missing, I would have thought that I accidentally planted more. How could I possibly remember all of them?”

“Huh…” The mangy-headed monk let out a long sigh. He decided that in the future, wherever this girl was, he would immediately avoid her. He absolutely would not be together with her.

Otherwise, he would not even know when he would be planted.

…

Why did it turn out this way?! Why didn’t you slash?!

The man in the black hoodie stood behind him, clenching his fists tightly. He wished that he could rush forward and break the heads of those two people.

However, the damned pen began to tremble with excitement as if it had been drugged. The pain in the wound was secondary. He could endure even the burning of his soul. Most importantly, he sensed the mockery and schadenfreude from the pen as if in response to what he had said to it earlier.

It was mocking him! Outrageous!

At this moment, the two people who had been sitting on the curb stood up together. It was as if the salted fish symposium had ended. The two of them had reached an important consensus, achieved major exchange results, and had a better understanding of the bilateral relationship.

Zhou Ze stood in place. He watched as he slowly approached in front of him. The crowd was surging. The two of them were like two different individuals.

He walked towards himself. In the end, he gradually began to fuse with himself.

When the fusion was about to end, that self seemed to leave behind a sentence, “Stop here, wake up…”

The voice disappeared with the wind. It disappeared together with him. This time, not to kill, not to destroy, but to merge.

Like two sides of a salted fish, it was still a salted fish.

This dream was more like a thought for Zhou Ze without the superposition of power. A new choice for himself. He still chose the present self and life. When the distance was too far away, it was no longer so difficult to accept.

Zhou Ze liked this saying. It was said that Gao Xiaosong’s mother said it, and Gao Xiaosong wrote it in a song.

The people on the street began to become fewer and fewer. It was as if the once-prosperous pedestrian street was also beginning to decline.

It began to snow. The fewer people there were, the heavier the snow.

Zhou Ze lowered his head and stared blankly for a while. When he raised his head again, all the random people on the street had disappeared.

Around the perimeter, it was very clear, very obvious. It was as if this vast land was a vast expanse of whiteness. There was only him and himself left.

Not far from Ying Gou, there was a stall for roasting sweet potatoes. The stall owner had also disappeared, but the two gasoline barrels were still emitting hot white smoke.

Ying Gou was wearing a black hoodie. Most of his face was hidden under the brim of his hat. The two of them looked at each other for a long time.

Ying Gou said, “Aren’t you leaving yet?”

He had killed Three Corpses, but he had not killed all of them. This was a regret, but at the same time, it was also a relief.

40 Da Yans out of the 50 had escaped.

Perhaps, perfection itself was a kind of imperfection.

Zhou Ze touched his pocket. He forgot that he did not bring any cigarettes. However, this was a dream. He touched his pocket again and took out a pack of cigarettes.

In a dream, there was such an advantage. He took out two cigarettes. Zhou Ze threw one to Ying Gou, who was standing across the road.

Ying Gou didn’t take it. The cigarette fell at his feet. He clenched his fists. His body trembled. It was obvious that his anger had been suppressed to the extreme.

This retard handed himself a cigarette?

Coffee, newspaper, more sugar, and a cigarette?!

Ying Gou raised his head. Most of his face was exposed because of the coexistence of souls. Ying Gou’s face was the same as Zhou Ze’s. Of course, this was just a form of expression.

“Do you believe that if I’m pushed to a corner, I’ll risk my life to end it with you?”

“I believe you.”

“Pa!”

Zhou Ze lit up the cigarette with a lighter. He blew out a smoke ring.

“Hehe, but if you plan to drag me down with you, you won’t say it out loud.”

Ying Gou’s gaze narrowed slightly.

Zhou Ze extended his hand to shake off the ash from the cigarette and continued, “Many people envy a lazy and aimless life. They want to be salted fish but they have the pressure of life, the pressure of family, the pressure of secular ethics. They have a heart, but they can’t help themselves.”

“Those who can truly be comfortable and salted fish are those who have mines in their homes.”

Ying Gou listened quietly and did not say a word.

“Think about it from another perspective. Fortunately, I have you in my body. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be able to live such a comfortable life.”

Zhou Ze went straight to the point. Oh, no. He started to be shameless.

The execution of the Three Corpses was not a complete success, but it was not without results.

“Hey, did you know that there is a lawyer in our bookstore who likes to give people stimulants? I just experienced what he felt when he sat opposite me and watched me bask in the sun. Since that night when the Xie Zhi clone came out of the police station, he has not said anything to me.”

Zhou Ze shrugged and pointed at Ying Gou. “You know the reason.”

Ying Gou still didn’t speak. He was so angry that he couldn’t speak.

“I’m just a little more comfortable with you in my body but as a little salted fish, wouldn’t I be letting myself down too much?”

He threw down his cigarette butt. He stretched out his foot and stepped on the ground. Even in his dream, Boss Zhou still abided by public morality.

The lesson he learned from not waiting for a red light, not walking on the sidewalk, and crossing the street was too big.

“Are you done?” Ying Gou asked.

“No, I still have one more sentence.” Zhou Ze waved at Ying Gou, “An.”

…

The woman in leather pants looked at Zhou Ze, who was walking toward her in horror. She forgot to resist. She didn’t even dare to move. She had already accepted her fate. She had already been completely conquered by fear. She had been lashed over and over again. At this moment, she had not broken down. It was already rare.

Zhou Ze walked in front of her. The two of them were facing each other. They were less than a meter apart. The woman in leather pants could feel the humidity and temperature of Zhou Ze’s breath on her face.

She subconsciously held her breath. She didn’t dare to offend him!

Zhou Ze put his head on the shoulder of the woman in leather pants. The body of the woman in leather pants trembled. She still didn’t dare to move. Her exquisite face was now stained with tears.

Fear and helplessness. Who would have thought that the ghost messenger would have such emotions?

After all, everyone had died once.

However, the expected attack and pain did not appear.

“Pa!”

The woman in leather pants felt that the round, upturned backside that was tightly wrapped by the leather pants had been hit hard. The flesh billowed.

The man chuckled and said, “Don’t say the woman in the leather pants is quite sensual.”

The woman in the leather pants summoned up her last bit of courage. She tilted her head slightly. She discovered that this terrifying man had opened his eyes at this time. He was no longer like he was when he seemed to be sleepwalking.

“Yingying!” Zhou Ze waved at Yingying on the other side of the pond and shouted.

“What’s wrong, boss!”

“Go back and get yourself a set of these clothes.”

“Okay, boss!”