Chapter 711: Shaken Worldview

"Lang Ge, I'm a bit cold."

Ji Xiang watched from afar as Wang Quan pushed Lao Wangtou out, feeling the wind on the rooftop growing stronger, more urgent, and colder.

"If you don't hit me with a brick in a while, I'll let you wear my clothes. They're windproof and very warm."

"Then you should dress more warmly, so that when I hit you, your pain will be less," Ji Xiang said coldly.

"Tch."

Ji Xiang watched from afar as Wang Quan pushed the wheelchair, holding an umbrella in his hand, with Lao Wangtou sitting in the wheelchair wearing a red Tang suit, looking just like... it was the Lunar New Year.

The more he looked, the colder he felt.

After exchanging a few nonsensical words with Shen Lang, Ji Xiang felt a little warmer, but his hands and feet were still ice-cold.

Damn it, Lao Wangtou is actually still alive!

Shen Lang held the binoculars, watching the whole way. Wang Quan kept greeting people getting off work, but those old neighbors, upon seeing Lao Wangtou's appearance, all stayed far away and dared not approach at all.

They wouldn't even say a single word, at most waving their hands before running home as if fleeing.

It seemed everyone knew the legend was likely true: Lao Wangtou was still alive, and the price was draining people's life force.

They didn't want to be taken advantage of by Lao Wangtou.

The sky was dark and gloomy, that dim, most hazy period of time just before nightfall.

Wang Quan pushed the wheelchair, holding an umbrella in his hand, and under the umbrella was Lao Wangtou, head bowed as if taking a nap.

Lao Wangtou was dressed in red, looking eerie no matter how one looked at him.

"Xiao Ji, take a look." Shen Lang observed for 2 minutes before handing the binoculars to Ji Xiang.

He took out his phone.

"Cong Wen, Lao Wangtou is still alive, he's actually still alive, damn it!" Shen Lang called Zhou Congwen. "He's wearing a red outfit and holding a big umbrella; do you know what kind of ritual this is?"

"Don't curse; I saw it with my own eyes."

"Don't you think the rumor about Lao Wangtou draining life force might actually be true? I believe it this time."

"No, no, no, ask about Lao Wangtou's two grandsons, see if they're already dead."

"Stop messing around, I'm serious. Wang Quan's face is deathly pale; he doesn't look like a living person. In my opinion, Wang Quan is as good as dead!"

Ji Xiang looked through the binoculars at Lao Wangtou and Wang Quan "taking a stroll" downstairs. Because the visibility was poor and Lao Wangtou kept his head bowed, he couldn't see his expression, but he could see that the skin exposed on his body was a bit damp.

He was still sweating, so he must be alive.

Unlike Lao Wangtou, there was Wang Quan, a young man of about thirty, pale-faced and shivering, his vitality drained to the Extreme Point.

Yet he himself didn't seem to notice, still grinning as he greeted the surrounding neighbors.

Ji Xiang increasingly believed what Shen Lang had said when he first arrived—Lao Wangtou really could drain people's life force!

He might even lack any family affection, starting to drain those closest to him first.

The bizarre and eerie scene influenced Ji Xiang's judgment; he had gone from disbelief to "passively" believing, without even realizing it himself.

"Xiao Ji, you keep watching, I..."

Ji Xiang reached out and picked up a brick.

"Don't be so serious, I'm going down to have a word with Lao Wangtou."

The brick flew up and landed back in Ji Xiang's hand.

"Ji Xiang, I'm warning you, hitting people is against the law. Don't think that just because we're close I won't report you; as long as I report you, your government position will be gone," Shen Lang threatened.

"The Director said he would handle it for me." Ji Xiang smiled and looked at Shen Lang. "I don't believe you'd report me after I hit you with a brick. Even if you did, I don't believe the Director couldn't handle it. I've long found you an eyesore; go ahead now, my hands are just itching."

"If your hands are itching, go scratch a wall," Shen Lang said sullenly.

He knew Ji Xiang was serious, so he extinguished the idea of going down to see what was going on.

Shen Lang glared fiercely at Ji Xiang and snatched the binoculars back to observe carefully.

After ten-plus minutes, Wang Quan pushed Lao Wangtou around the residential compound once and then pushed the wheelchair back.

The sky had turned dark, and the wind on the rooftop grew stronger.

Shen Lang slowly put away the binoculars, not knowing what he was thinking.

His phone rang, the sound seeming to carry a sharp edge, startling Ji Xiang into a shiver.

"Coward, just as spineless as Cong Wen." Shen Lang noticed Ji Xiang shudder and spoke with disdain, taking the opportunity to complain about Zhou Congwen as well.

"Cong Wen."

After answering the phone, Shen Lang changed his expression to one of enthusiasm and cheerfulness.

"Of course I didn't go, I was just about to head back."

"What! Say that again!"

"Damn it! Got it, I'm heading back now, this is too damn spooky!"

"Yes, yes, yes, I think Wang Quan won't live much longer either! Should we ask the boss and see if the state manages this kind of thing?"

"Damn it, if I'd known it was like this, I would have gone down to take a look no matter what."

Shen Lang hung up the phone; his talk of going down to take a look had just been empty words. After hanging up, his speed in packing his things increased significantly, and he seemed somewhat panicked.

"Lang Ge, what's going on?" Ji Xiang asked.

"Lao Wangtou's eldest grandson, Wang Liang, has been missing for a long time; no one knows where he went," Shen Lang said.

"Didn't anyone report it?" Ji Xiang was stunned.

"His old man lives solely on Lao Wangtou's retirement pension," Shen Lang said. "If I hadn't been curious and asked Cong Wen about it, nobody would even know he was missing by now. He must have been drained to death by Lao Wangtou! He must have been!! Otherwise, how could he have lived until now!"

Shen Lang's voice was somewhat flustered; he packed the binoculars and handed the case to Ji Xiang.

But Ji Xiang took half a step back and didn't reach out.

"I'm not a monster," Shen Lang said.

"Lang Ge, are you hoping I'll take the binoculars, drop the brick, and then you'll suddenly run off to knock on Lao Wangtou's door?" Ji Xiang said seriously. "Don't bother, it's useless; I have to complete the task the Director gave me."

"!!!"

"You hold the binoculars, and I'll watch you. If you dare to run, I'll dare to smack the back of your head with a brick."

"!!!"

"These things are too strange, let's not get involved; I think the director is right," Ji Xiang said very sincerely.

"Xiao Ji, you don't actually believe that Lao Wangtou can drain people's lifespan, do you?" Shen Lang was between laughter and tears.

"I didn't believe it at first, but now I believe it halfway."

"Have you ever worn a red scarf?"

"Talking about this is useless. Go back, see the director. My task is finished; no one will care if you come knocking in the middle of the night."

"Damn it!"

Shen Lang glared at Ji Xiang very irritably.

Ji Xiang did not care.

He was thinking that this Empathy world seemed different from every other time; it wasn't just opening a back door for him to learn cardiac surgery and Cardiac Interventional Surgery, the system NPC seemed to have arranged something different.

Could it be that those strange, supernatural things really exist?

Ji Xiang's worldview was also shaken.

(End of chapter)