PS1: Thanks to the reader "Only for the Longing in My Heart" for the donation, and to all of you silently voting. The weather is lovely today—well, over here, anyway. Haha.
"Miracle! It really is a miracle... No! This is already a divine miracle!"
As they listened to the attending physician examine Old Master Zhong while continuously exclaiming in excitement, the Zhong family members all felt a huge weight lift from their hearts.
As for Old Master Zhong, now aware of his own condition and knowing that he had returned from death's door, he too wept freely alongside his good brother of several decades.
"Doctor, you're sure my grandfather is all right, aren't you? You'd better check carefully. If there are any mistakes or oversights, I will never forgive you." Big Brother Zhong Luoyun stared sharply at the attending physician, who had become carried away with excitement.
"Ah, Eldest Young Master! You're right!" The attending physician hurriedly said, "Although all the equipment here indicates that Old Master Zhong is currently in good condition, it would still be best to conduct a more thorough examination."
Zhong Luoyun nodded. "Arrange it immediately!"
The attending physician could only bustle about again. Meanwhile, the other doctor serving as his assistant looked curiously at the Zhong family's second young master. "Second Young Master, may I ask what method you used to reverse Old Master Zhong's condition? This is a medical miracle! If there truly is some method capable of treating such a terminal illness, it would be... it would be a revolutionary breakthrough in the history of human medicine!"
Unexpectedly, Zhong Luochen merely said calmly, "Listen. The people who cured Old Master Zhong were you, and only you. No matter who was present today, no one may reveal what happened."
"This..."
Everyone looked at the composed Zhong Luochen in astonishment. His mother and elder brother Zhong Luoyun frowned at the same time. Just as Zhong Luoyun was about to speak, Old Master Zhong suddenly said, "All of you, leave. Luochen, stay behind. Old Luo, you too. I have some questions to ask."
"Grandfather?"
"Father?"
Old Master Zhong's expression suddenly darkened. The authority he had built over decades of managing this great family made everyone fall silent. There was no need to say anything further; they could only leave the suite in silence.
Once everyone had left, leaving only Zhong Luochen and Old Luo behind, Old Master Zhong finally said, "I know myself well enough, and I'm not an ignorant man. The problem in my brain wasn't discovered just yesterday. This old man knows how much longer he has to live. Luochen, tell me honestly. What did you do?"
"Grandfather, it's enough that you recovered." Zhong Luochen said softly. "Nothing else matters."
"What, you can't even tell me?" Old Master Zhong frowned and looked at Old Luo. "If he won't say it, you will."
Old Luo sighed. Knowing he could not hide it, he could only smile bitterly. "Master, forgive me. I didn't want you to die, so I gave Madam's Jade Lock to the second young master and had him seek out Madam Zhang."
Old Master Zhong's expression changed slightly. The composure he had cultivated in his later years through writing and painting shattered at once. He raised his hand and angrily slapped Old Luo across the face. "Foolish! Foolish! Old Luo, how could you be so foolish? Do you know what That Place really is? It isn't some sacred mountain or holy land at all. It's a place like the depths of hell!"
Old Luo lowered his head, not daring to speak. The old man did not feel much wronged, either. Having followed Old Master Zhong for decades, the bond between them had long surpassed ordinary blood relations.
Old Luo sighed again. "Master, the Zhong Family cannot do without you. I was the one who told the second young master to go. If you want to blame someone, blame me."
Old Master Zhong smiled bitterly. "What use is there in blaming you now? But Luochen..."
He turned to Zhong Luochen, took a deep breath, and said, "Grandson, tell me honestly. At That Place, what exactly did you use to trade for my life?"
Zhong Luochen opened his mouth, but hesitated to speak.
Old Master Zhong shook his head. "That Place may be mysterious, but if no one knew of it, how could you possibly have found it? Your Grandpa Luo told you, and I was the one who told him."
Zhong Luochen could only tell him everything: how he had taken the black card from Gu Yue Zhai, and everything that had happened at the club.
Seeing Zhong Luochen recount all this with almost no emotion, Old Master Zhong could not help saying sorrowfully, "You traded the happiness of your entire life for five years of life for this old man who should have died... foolish child, do you think it was worth it?"
Zhong Luochen said calmly, "It was worth it. grandfather, don't you know that once you fall, the Zhong Family will immediately break apart? The Zhong Family has its hands in too many matters. father should have shouldered these burdens, but he became like this years ago. As for the third generation we raised afterward, whether it is older brother, me, or little sister, none of us has fully matured."
He sighed. "Times are no longer what they once were, and society is no longer the society it once was. Can families like ours, which rose from that era, still secretly control everything as we did twenty or thirty years ago?"
He shook his head. "We can't! To the people of today, we are even more like tumors... grandfather, if you are gone, how can the three of us siblings, along with father in his current state, support the Zhong Family? Once you fall, everyone will only look out for themselves, while the relatives by marriage will think of ways to divide the Zhong Family's wealth... As the saying goes, when the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. You are currently the Zhong Family's only towering tree. No matter what, I will not let you fall so easily."
"Five years... five years." Old Master Zhong was muttering to himself. Looking sadly at Zhong Luochen, the old man shed tears and said mournfully, "Child, you have suffered because of this!"
"Everything will get better." Zhong Luochen shook his head.
Old Master Zhong fell silent for a long while. "I want to be alone for a while. You should all leave."
The club, third basement level.
Sacrifice successful. This sacrifice has yielded 127 days, 9 hours, 43 minutes, and 7 seconds of lifespan.
Luo Qiu was so stunned that he opened his mouth. What the hell were those minutes and seconds after the nine hours? Was the altar deliberately trying to make its presence known?
That said, after the sacrifice, Luo Qiu could not be bothered to complain. He returned directly to the club's main hall.
Feeling that he had suddenly become much more "long-lived," the club's new boss seemed to be in quite a good mood. He imitated You Ye and walked to the bar, where he began mixing the same kind of cocktail himself.
Of course, he was only doing it because it felt novel. As for whether the finished product would be glowing cuisine or dark cuisine... what did it matter? He would be the only one drinking it in the end anyway. You Ye was merely a doll and could not eat at all.
Just as he remembered that he had forgotten to take ice from the refrigerator, Luo Qiu saw the refrigerator door open by itself. The ice cubes in the tray fell out and flew neatly toward him, dropping one by one into the cocktail shaker.
Luo Qiu froze.
You Ye smiled. "Congratulations, Master. Your abilities have grown stronger again."
Curiously, Luo Qiu extended a finger and pointed at an ice cube inside the cocktail shaker. The cube immediately floated up. As his finger turned, the cube began tracing an infinity symbol through the air.
Feeling playful, Luo Qiu placed all ten fingers on the bar. He raised an eyebrow at You Ye, then began lightly tapping his fingers against the countertop.
One ice cube after another flew from the cocktail shaker, arranging themselves in the air and forming a circle in the club's main hall.
Luo Qiu extended a finger and drew a wavelike curve. The ice cubes forming the circle began rising and falling in succession.
It was a wave that never ceased.
He then pointed toward the pinewood record player in the corner. A vinyl record flew out and landed on the turntable. Accompanied by the electric guitar from the record player, Luo Qiu nodded lightly to the beat and stepped out from behind the bar.
Rod Stewart's "Sailing" was playing.
Luo Qiu took You Ye's hand, passing the rhythm in his body into the Maid doll. Pulling her along, he began gently swaying with her in the club.
The chairs and barstools automatically moved toward the walls, turning the cleared space into something like a dance floor.
As the nostalgic sound of sailing began, Luo Qiu continued extending his finger, pointing one by one at the ornaments placed in several display cabinets.
Dolls, old pocket watches, hats, and wine glasses...
And an eyeball glowing with crimson light...
More ice cubes flew out from the refrigerator. They combined again, becoming transparent crystalline notes that danced in the air along with the melody.
Several dolls landed on the wooden floor at once, surrounding Luo Qiu and You Ye.
Only when the needle had reached halfway through the record did Luo Qiu raise an eyebrow and smile. "Isn't this much more interesting than doing nothing but sitting around?"
You Ye took Luo Qiu's other hand of her own accord, guiding her new master and correcting his utterly dreadful dance steps.
You Ye joked, "Mm... it's just that cleaning up afterward will probably be quite a massive project."
Luo Qiu looked at the doll young lady with amusement, seeing that she had moments when she was not ice-cold as well. He said nothing, allowing their words to turn into emotion amid the music and melody.
Then the bell inside the pinewood door suddenly rang.
The ice cubes instantly scattered across the floor like marbles. The dancing decorations also came to an abrupt halt. The perfectly good dance floor looked as though it had been swept into disarray by a violent wind.
Luo Qiu looked at the mess and let out an "Oh." Then he looked at what had burst through the wooden door like a gust of wind and appeared before him...
A floating black robe, and beneath its hood, a mass of black smoke with no face.
"Black Soul Envoy greets the new master."
PS2: So now you know why the beginning was PS1, right? Because PS2 is here. If the weather is bad where you are, why not listen to Rod Stewart's "Sailing"? Life will become much brighter.
PS3: That's right, there's also PS3... That's right, PS3 is me asking for votes!!
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