Chapter 62: 61, A Cave of Ghosts

61, A Cave of Ghosts

"Get out, get out, get out!"

Zhou Sanji drove away yet another 'kind-hearted neighbor' who had come to ask about Zhou Chang's whereabouts, then sat on a small stool behind the corridor, taking a few breaths.

Shi Danzi walked out of the room with a mournful face, bowed to Zhou Sanji, and said, "Uncle, I'm going to work."

Since he went to work as a water watcher at Jade Maiden Pool, his spirit had been depressed.

Every day when he left for work, he wore this same look as if mourning his parents.

Yang Rui had originally wanted to stop him from doing this water-watching job, but the winery sent people every day to urge him on, even hinting at threats.

Since Zhou Sanji lived in Qingyi Town, he naturally could not break openly with the powerful Yongsheng Winery, so Shi Danzi doing this job had become a case of riding a tiger.

Fortunately, although Shi Danzi was unhappy with this job, it at least did not endanger his life, so the two elders, Zhou and Yang, could temporarily tolerate it and plan for the long term.

"Did anyone from the winery come today?" Zhou Sanji looked at Shi Danzi's expression, sighed, and turned to look toward the door outside the corridor.

Shi Danzi also stretched his neck to look toward the door, saw none of the winery's thugs who had been urging him, shook his head, and said, "They haven't come yet... Anyway, I have to go, so I'll head over first."

"Otherwise, if those people arrive, they'll make both you and my master unhappy."

"Ah... alright."

Zhou Sanji helplessly nodded, pushed himself up slowly with his knees, looked at the door of the room where Yang Rui lived, and said, "What is your master doing inside the room?"

"He's looking, looking in the mirror," Shi Danzi answered, his expression somewhat nervous.

"Looking in the mirror?" Zhou Sanji frowned tightly, looking annoyed. "One after another, they've all gone mad!"

The old man walked a few steps to Yang Rui's doorway, raised his hand, and knocked the door loudly: "Senior brother! Senior brother! What are you doing in the room?!"

"Come out quickly—we agreed to go around together today to see if we can find A-Chang, didn't we?"

"Eh, eh!" Yang Rui's deliberately pinched, high-pitched voice came from inside the room. Hearing that strange foreign accent, both Zhou Sanji and Shi Danzi outside shivered.

Fortunately, the next moment Yang Rui's voice returned to normal: "Coming, coming, let's go now!"

As soon as the words fell.

With a creak, the door was pulled open from inside.

Yang Rui stood at the doorway, looking at the thoroughly irritable Zhou Sanji with a normal expression: "Let's go, junior brother!"

"You..." Zhou Sanji furrowed his brows tightly, hesitated repeatedly, and finally could not help but ask, "You aren't studying any scriptures anymore, are you?"

"You burned all the scriptures, so what else would I study?"

"Nothing, don't worry," Yang Rui shook his head and replied to Zhou Sanji with a natural expression.

Zhou Sanji stared at his face for several seconds, then lowered his eyelids: "Don't look in mirrors inside the room anymore... You're an old man, what are you looking in mirrors for every day? Besides, looking in mirrors here violates taboos..."

"Alright, alright, I know."

Yang Rui drooped his eyelids, humoring Zhou Sanji's nagging.

He suddenly glanced toward the courtyard gate outside the corridor, and joy instantly appeared on his face: "A-Chang! Junior brother, your grandson is back!"

"Ah..."

"Where?"

Hearing Yang Rui's words, both Zhou Sanji and Shi Danzi thought he was deliberately joking, but they still couldn't help looking toward the door—

As a result, when Zhou Sanji turned around and lifted his eyes, he actually saw that figure he had been dreaming about at the courtyard gate!

That tall young man, with a pale face and a small bundle on his back, lowered his head, slipped through the courtyard gate, crossed the corridor, and walked toward Zhou Sanji.

A nonchalant smile hung on his face: "Grandpa, I'm back!"

Behind him, Bai Xiue, like a newlywed bride, also carried a small bundle and led an old man, following him with tiny steps.

"Good... good..."

A few muffled sounds of response came from Zhou Sanji's throat.

Suddenly, his face turned red, he clenched his teeth, his gaze swept left and right, instantly locked onto the broom not far away, and then charged over boldly—before this, Zhou Chang had already been standing beside that broom.

The smile on his pale face did not change; he reached out, picked up the broom, held it with both hands, and offered it to Zhou Sanji: "Come on, hit me a few times to vent your anger."

"You little rascal—you little rascal!"

Zhou Sanji's lips trembled with anger; he cursed Zhou Chang twice fiercely, grabbed the broom the other had handed him, but in the end did not follow the other's words and actually beat him with the broom: "Do you know?"

"Do you know how dangerous it is outside?"

"You're not fully healed yet, and you ran outside—you really aren't afraid of death!"

"Really not afraid of death, are you!"

Speaking to this point, Zhou Sanji was so angry he couldn't hold back and still used that broom to fiercely strike Zhou Chang several times.

Zhou Chang stood in place, did not dodge, accepted those few blows with a smiling face, and looked at the old man: "Do you want to hit a few more times? Once you've vented your anger, it'll be fine."

"I can't vent!"

"I'll beat you to death, you little rascal!"

Behind them, Bai Xiue, watching Zhou Chang who was being struck hard by Zhou Sanji yet still wore a full smile, unconsciously smiled with her eyes curved.

At this moment, young Master Zhou seemed to have much less of that eerie aura.

"Where have you been these past two days?"

"Didn't I tell you? Since you wouldn't tell me which village Miss Bai lives in, I went to find her myself and brought her back along the way."

"You little rascal... the broom! Shi Danzi, give me the broom!"

"..."

"So now you've brought her back, what are you going to do?"

"Is this her father? Oh my—why didn't you bring her whole family over?"

"Mainly because her mother wouldn't come along..."

"..."

After a long while, the Zhou family courtyard, which had been in utter chaos, finally quieted down.

Zhou Sanji ultimately arranged lodging for Father Bai and Bai Xiue.

Though his face remained cold and he was reluctant in a thousand ways, the old man was ultimately happy deep inside because his youngest grandson had been found and returned; since his heart was happy, he chose not to fuss over so much—since the grandson had brought the people back, how could he drive them away?

Besides, even if he drove them away, Zhou Chang would go fetch them again... what was the point of all this trouble?

"Our place here..." Zhou Sanji looked at Zhou Chang, Yang Rui, and Bai Xiue in the courtyard, suddenly laughed, "Now our courtyard truly is a 'Cave of Ghosts'..."

With too many lice, one fears no bites; with too many debts, one feels no worry.

Since it has already come to this, let us continue as we are!"

He turned to look at Zhou Chang and tossed a round iron token to the other: "Take this!

Fortunately, you returned in time—the Iron Threshold Gathering begins tomorrow. I have donated the threshold fee for you; when the time comes, take this iron token, and you will be able to enter the manor and converse with those figures coming from the south and north!"

After instructing Zhou Chang, Zhou Sanji looked again at Bai Xiue: "That iron token of his... was exchanged for the silver dollar you, girl, gave.

Girl, if you feel it was not worth it in the future, go ask him for your debt; do not come to me, old man..."

Bai Xiue hurriedly shook her head: "No, Grandpa Zhou."

Zhou Sanji nodded and wanted to say something more.

At that moment, a scent of wine drifted in from outside the door.

Several assistants from the wineries arrived at the entrance of the Zhou family courtyard.