Ancient Writings and the Doctor

The old door hinges let out a long "squeeeeak" as they engaged.

Because the windows and doors hadn't been opened in a long time, the stale air that had settled in the room was released all at once.

Boss Aisath wasn't from this era, so it wasn't surprising that the furnishings in the room before him could be considered ancient.

You Ye didn't follow Luo Qiu inside, merely standing at the doorway. Perhaps it was out of respect for the former boss, or perhaps out of awe.

Of course, it could have been something else entirely.

In the eyes of a historian, this room would have been an invaluable treasure trove – but in reality, wasn't everything in this club a treasure trove?

Luo Qiu walked to the position near the windowsill. The curtains were just black sheer fabric. Beside them was a small round table and a small square wooden chair. The chair was pulled out, and its legs were surrounded by numerous scratches, likely from being dragged around for a long time.

Luo Qiu sat directly on the chair and closed his eyes. Boss Aisath probably spent a lot of time sitting here all day. He didn't know what the purpose of doing this was, but he felt he needed to experience it, to feel what it was like to sit here calmly.

When he sat here, what was the focus of his gaze?

A moment later, Luo Qiu, having found nothing, stood up with a self-deprecating smile and began to walk around the room. Against the other wall was a simple desk, but both the drawers and the tabletop were empty.

As for the wardrobe in the room, it only contained one set of clothes. The bed was there, the bedside table was there too, and a candlestick was placed on the bedside table. These were the only things visible upon entering the room.

Therefore, Luo Qiu did not see the music box that You Ye had mentioned could produce music when wound up.

It was as if, aside from the initial letter, the former boss had left nothing for Luo Qiu to possess. Luo Qiu couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. Just as he was about to leave, he had a sudden flash of inspiration, walked back to the round table, squatted down, and peered at the floor beneath it.

He examined the underside of the desk in the same manner, even flipping over the bed and not overlooking the backs of the drawers. Finally, he moved the wardrobe, looking at the mottled cracks on the wall behind it, as well as the back of the wardrobe itself.

"Did he really leave nothing behind... or am I overthinking this?" Luo Qiu muttered to himself.

In the end, he could only helplessly restore the room to its original state.

Before he knew it, it was already the time of sunrise. A gentle breeze blew open the sheer fabric covering the window, and sunlight shone upon the glass. Luo Qiu then realized it was a stained-glass window. At this moment, the shattered sunlight combined with the colored glass to create a dazzling spectacle of light.

The room seemed to become much more vibrant.

Luo Qiu subconsciously walked to the window, pulled open the curtains, and pushed open the glass. Outside was the commercial street, which was not crowded in the early morning – it was the commercial street he was familiar with.

Luo Qiu closed the stained-glass window. Just as he was about to draw the black sheer curtains as well, he noticed the scene cast upon the wooden floor by the sunlight filtering through the stained glass.

They were rows of neatly arranged patterns – but Luo Qiu suspected it was a form of writing, composed of very ancient characters.

However, they seemed to disappear quickly, likely due to the angle of the sun. Luo Qiu immediately grabbed his phone and captured the scene on the floor. By this time, the characters had become blurry, quickly merging into fragmented light.

Luo Qiu showed the captured image to You Ye. "You Ye, do you recognize these characters?"

You Ye simply shook her head, looking surprised.

Even after working here for three hundred years, the maid had never entered Boss Isaac's room, so this was likely her first time seeing something like this.

If You Ye didn't recognize them, then these characters were probably from three hundred years ago, or even older.

Luo Qiu attempted to place his palm on the phone screen, intending to use his appraisal ability, but only received the response of the altar.

— The content of the text has been lost. Do you wish to use a thousand years of lifespan to repair and translate the content?

Luo Qiu felt that a "What—The—FUCK" was appropriate here.

But at that moment, another message arrived from the altar.

— You can purchase the origin for ten years of lifespan.

Well, it was indeed appropriate to say "What—The—FUCK" again.

"Master?"

Seeing Luo Qiu's somewhat silent demeanor, You Ye asked tentatively.

Luo Qiu let out a sigh, composing himself. "It's fine. At least it's not a complete loss. There's still a long way to go. And having a goal will probably make me much more proactive."

He later instructed You Ye to continue her work, while he returned to his own home.

At this time, Ren Ziling had naturally not yet woken from her sleep.

Feeling that purchasing the origin of the text for ten years was a rip-off, Luo Qiu directly copied the captured image onto his computer and used photo editing software to crop out several of the clearest-looking characters into individual images, then pieced them together into a new picture.

He uploaded it to "Zhihu."

Title: Seeking help identifying the characters in the image.

Now, all that was left was to wait for enthusiastic individuals to decipher it – if no one recognized them, he could consider the foreign website Quora.

If still no one recognized them... then he'd have to work hard to earn lifespan.

Speaking of working hard to earn lifespan, Luo Qiu had no choice but to start reviewing the information of the seven gold clients brought by Black Soul 9 again.

Theoretically, the issuance of Black Cards with markings should have been for clients who were still profitable even after a discount.

This wasn't simply a process where a customer bought something and the transaction fee was directly used for sacrifice to gain lifespan.

Through these few transactions, Luo Qiu understood that he was also a client of the club – albeit the biggest one. And his lifespan was his sole currency.

Purchasing client data, appraising items, or liberating Taiyinzi's soul from the White Jade Token, all these could be operated using his lifespan.

Then there was warehousing – items that were warehoused lost their sacrificial ability. This meant that in future transactions, Luo Qiu might end up using his obtainable lifespan to substitute for certain desired transaction fees. Strictly speaking, this was also a form of consumption, wasn't it?

So his lifespan wasn't something that generated profit without cost.

The first white card appeared in Luo Qiu's palm, then shattered, turning into photons that, like a mist, coiled around his head.

Luo Qiu closed his eyes.

Jiang Chu had returned to the hospital early.

It wasn't common for doctors of Jiang Chu's caliber to arrive so early. In his early forties, he was a refined and renowned chief surgeon in neurosurgery.

Talented, famous, and wealthy, he had divorced his ex-wife ten years ago and remained single. Consequently, Jiang Chu was admired by many young women in the hospital.

Jiang Chu brewed a cup of coffee and sat down at his desk. Just as he was about to review the medical records of a few patients, a Black Card, imprinted with a strange golden pattern, had somehow been tucked inside one of the files