Chapter 90: The One He Wants to Dye Himself (Cultivation)

Aqiang's shout rang like firecrackers, and he also laid the blame for his recent suffering on Ying Duo's head.

Su Jingchuan, his arm braced against the door, paused, realizing he had finally found the right target, and narrowed his eyes.

Ying Duo, who was being scolded point‑blank, merely blinked his hollow golden eyes and tilted his head to the side.

"What are you babbling about?"

"Such a unique color, of course only I can create."

"Right, right, sir, you heard it as well; this has nothing to do with me at all…"

Aqiang hurriedly echoed Ying Duo's words, exerting even more force with his hands, trying to close the door but unable to move it.

Su Jingchuan watched the two exchange familiar back‑and‑forth, felt his heart grow heavier, and added more strength to his arm.

"Please cooperate with our investigation and open the door."

Aqiang cursed inwardly, trying to make a final struggle.

"Cooperate? What cooperation, sir! I really don't know anything! Didn't he just say it himself? He made the color!"

He shouted while mustering all his strength, slamming his shoulder against the door panel, trying to force the door shut.

But he overestimated the flimsy wooden door's material and underestimated Su Jingchuan's strength.

"Crack—Bang!"

A crisp sound!

The wood of the door panel and its hinges couldn't withstand the pressure from both sides and snapped outright.

Su Jingchuan plucked the whole door from the frame, holding it steady in his hand, while Aqiang, caught by inertia, staggered and fell flat onto the floor.

The scene instantly fell into dead silence.

Su Jingchuan glanced at the door panel, now a makeshift shield in his hand, and fell silent for a second.

Aqiang looked at his suddenly wide‑open doorway, then at Su Jingchuan's expressionless, imposing face, and fell silent as well.

The next second, all of Aqiang's resistance on his face changed like a Sichuan opera mask swap, instantly turning into a flattering grin, so fast that one wondered if he, like Ying Duo, had loaded some expression pack.

"Oh dear! Look at this mess! This broken door has long been useless; how dare I trouble you, sir, to personally 'open the door' for me! My sin, truly my sin!"

He bowed deeply, as if ready to kneel before them on the spot, "Please come in, please come in, sir, watch your step, don't let splinters prick you!"

While saying that, he deftly took the door panel from Su Jingchuan's hands and carefully reattached it to its original spot in the frame.

Although now it could only barely lean there, essentially a sham.

After this incident, Aqiang's fear of Su Jingchuan spiked to the max.

He bowed and ushered Su Jingchuan and Ying Duo into the shop, his respectfulness akin to receiving an incognito emperor.

He hurriedly wiped the shop's only two old leather barber chairs with his sleeve, polishing them repeatedly; they were the finest seats in this tiny shabby shop.

"Please have a seat, make yourselves comfortable!" Aqiang rubbed his hands, his face plastered with a flattering smile.

Su Jingchuan sat down expressionlessly, and Ying Duo, mimicking him, took the other chair.

When they settled, directly opposite them was a large mirror covering half the wall; its mercury surface was slightly peeled, yet it still reflected clearly, showing the three of them.

A stern investigator, a deadpan fluorescent‑green youth, and a trembling, stiff‑smiling fire‑red‑haired barber.

Su Jingchuan and Ying Duo moved in perfect sync, turning their chairs away from the mirror, their gazes fixed on Aqiang before them.

Under the massive mirror's reflection, Aqiang felt utterly uneasy, the pressure mounting.

He swallowed, "Sir, ask whatever you wish! I, Aqiang, will answer truthfully!"

Su Jingchuan didn't beat around the bush, cutting straight to the core.

"Very well, tell me, at that time his hair…"

He pointed at the seemingly indifferent Ying Duo beside him, "How did you dye it? What dye did you use?"

Aqiang's gaze flickered, and the small hope in his heart stirred again.

He didn't want to reveal the matter of that strange stone; it looked valuable, but now it only brought trouble.

He forced out a dry laugh, trying to bluff.

"Just, just the normal dyeing process, sir! After bleaching, I used some special Fluorescent Dye Paste, applied the color several times to make it last longer… nothing special!"

"Normal process? Special dye?"

Su Jingchuan repeated his words in an even tone, yet it sent a chill down Aqiang's spine.

Suddenly, Su Jingchuan stood, walked to the wall, and with a "click" turned off the shop's only lit lamp.

The shop dimmed instantly, only the doorway and windows letting in a sliver of light, just enough to make out the furniture's outlines.

Yet within the gloom, one light source shone steadily, even a bit glaring.

It was Ying Duo's hair.

The fluorescent green emitted a faint glow in the darkness, casting an eerie green halo over himself and Su Jingchuan's profile, looking like a glowing… mushroom.

Su Jingchuan stood in the dimness, pointing at Ying Duo's brighter "light source" in the dark, his voice cold.

"Is this something a normal method can produce?"

"Then why don't you demonstrate a 'normal' process right now? Use the dye you have to color my hair the same way."

Aqiang stared at the striking green light in the darkness, then at Su Jingchuan's face, now even more austere under the green glow, a cold sweat instantly beading.

No, it's not.

This thing doesn't fade at all!

Aqiang felt his heart nearly leap out of his throat, cold sweat pouring down his forehead, a smile uglier than crying forced onto his face, and he still tried to make a few last wily excuses.

"Sir… sir, calm down, let's first turn the light back on, and talk properly, okay?"

His voice trembled with pleading.

Su Jingchuan remained unmoved, still standing by the switch, his sharp eyes, now lit by the green glow, indicating he was waiting for an answer.

But doesn't this look even more bizarre?!

Aqiang swallowed a mouthful of spit, realizing he couldn't bluff his way out this time, so he gritted his teeth and kept talking.

"It… it is, the effect is a bit unusual, but you have to understand, we in the Slum, scraping by for meals, are definitely not the same as those gentlemen in Tianmian City!"

He seemed to have grabbed some excuse, and his speech quickened a bit.

"These days, the air, water, what grows in the ground, what drifts in the sky—what thing hasn't been touched by Mutation? The hair dyes we use, their raw materials all have a bit of… isn't that perfectly normal!"

"Everyone uses it like this, and we haven't seen anyone get into trouble, have we?"

He stole a glance at Ying Duo; the problem was that the kid actually seemed to have caused the mishap, bringing trouble onto himself, so he had to quickly pass the buck.

"S‑so, the kid's condition is due to his own constitution! That's not my fault, sir! I was just opening shop normally, completely without any unforeseen disaster!"

To completely clear himself of responsibility, he immediately emphasized, his voice rising a few pitches.

"Moreover, before using it, I clearly explained the situation to him! He himself insisted on dyeing it that way!"