The Old Guy

The next day, Lu Yibai tidied up the small house.

Then, he buried himself in packing his luggage.

As a grown man, he didn't have many things to pack, and he finished quickly.

Afterward, he opened the mechanism door in the small house and took another look inside the "grave within a grave."

Standing on the steps, he looked at the circle of demon remains and then at the remains of the ancestors in the center, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

In life, these ancestors had fought to the last moment for this city. In death, they rested eternally within it, suppressing the remains of the demons and monsters.

They hadn't even left their names behind.

After bowing slightly to the remains of the Night Watchmen ancestors, Lu Yibai turned and left, closing the mechanism door of the "grave within a grave."

Perhaps in the future, this place would house the demons and monsters he had killed, or perhaps it would house him.

After walking out of the small house, he headed towards the place he knew best in the entire cemetery.

Lu Yibai arrived at his father's grave. He took out a pack of Liqun cigarettes from his pocket, pulled one out, lit it with a lighter, and then gently placed it in front of the tombstone.

He didn't smoke himself; he was a bit sensitive to the smell of smoke, but his father smoked, had a heavy addiction, and his health wasn't great.

Normally, this middle-aged man would sneak a few puffs, then open the window to wave away the smoke, smiling sheepishly as he listened to his son's complaints and nagging.

He remembered that their family's financial situation was poor when he was young, and life as a single-parent family wasn't easy. Lu Yibai had once seen a passage online, written by a netizen's father in his diary:

"I don't think I've ever done anything bad, so why must life strangle me and make my child suffer."

Perhaps many fathers had thought this way.

Perhaps they felt sorry towards their children.

"I'm sorry, I brought you into this world, but I couldn't give you the best life."

Later, their family's conditions improved, and his father's spirits also lifted considerably because he could provide a good life for his son. It was just a shame that fate played cruel tricks, and he never got to enjoy a few days of comfort in his life.

"Here, Dad, I can't tell you to smoke less and take care of yourself anymore." Lu Yibai said, pinching out the nearly burnt-out cigarette butt in front of the tombstone.

He stood up, brushed off the fallen leaves accumulated on the tombstone, and said, "Dad, I'm leaving now. I'll come to see you again in a few days."

With that, he left.

Before leaving the cemetery, he didn't forget to greet the mute old man at the entrance. The old man had been guarding the Wucheng cemetery for over thirty years. News reports said he took on this job the year after his wife passed away, and in the blink of an eye, nearly half a lifetime had gone by.

The mute old man couldn't speak, so he could only spend more time with her.

Perhaps this was his romance and his love words.

On the way back to the bar, Lu Yibai's phone rang.

It was Lin Xiaoqi calling.

"Boss, are you back?"

"Yeah, on my way. What's up?"

"Nothing, just asking."

When the taxi driver pulled up to the bar, Lin Xiaoqi and Ye Yiyi were already standing gracefully at the entrance, silently waiting for Boss Lu's return.

These two girls were practically about to say, "Welcome, welcome, a warm welcome."

"Boss, you're back!" Lin Xiaoqi said with a bright smile.

Wasn't that obvious? If it wasn't him returning, would it be a ghost?

"I'll get it, I'll get it. Boss, you go upstairs and wash up first," Lin Xiaoqi said, taking Lu Yibai's luggage.

The luggage felt as light as a piece of paper in her hands.

Lu Yibai knew exactly why Lin Xiaoqi was so enthusiastic.

During his absence, she probably hadn't eaten as well as before...

As expected, before he went inside to shower, he heard Lin Xiaoqi's voice: "Boss, what are we having for a late-night snack today?"

Lu Yibai's mouth twitched. Shouldn't she ask if he wanted a late-night snack first? What was the strategy in asking what to eat directly?

He silently took out his phone, ordered three servings of crayfish, and said, "We're having crayfish."

Lin Xiaoqi, who was lying on the sofa hugging a cushion, her eyes lit up slightly. She happily clamped the cushion with her two fair feet and lifted them slightly.

Because she was wearing wide-legged pants that day, as she lifted her legs, the pant legs naturally slid down a bit, revealing her well-proportioned, smooth calves.

To be so happy over three servings of crayfish, Lu Yibai smiled and shook his head, then went into his bathroom to shower and change into clean clothes.

After he finished showering, the delivery guy hadn't arrived with the crayfish yet. Lu Yibai plopped down on the sofa and then collapsed like a puddle of mud.

These past few days had exhausted him; his physical condition felt extremely poor, just like yours after over-exerting your kidneys.

"Xiaoqi, why didn't you tell me there was a grave within a grave under the cemetery?" Lu Yibai said.

Lin Xiaoqi sat up, hugging her cushion, and said, "Huh? Boss, you went inside?"

Lu Yibai nodded.

Lin Xiaoqi looked at Lu Yibai and said, "Then boss, you must have seen the remains of the Night Watchmen in the middle of the tomb, right?"

Lu Yibai nodded.

Among them, he sensed a familiar aura on the remains of some of the Wucheng Night Watchmen.

It was the inherited power of the Night Watchmen, cultivated through the cultivation method he named "Menstrual Pain."

This meant that not only ancestors were buried there, but possibly many of Lu Yibai's own grand-masters as well.

"Boss, you're not mistaken. Many of our lineage's grand-masters are buried in there too."

Lu Yibai's mouth twitched. Could they be those legendary short-lived grand-masters?

After all, the "Menstrual Pain" cultivation method wasn't perfect even now. Several grand-masters had pioneered it with their lives. Such great individuals...

...mostly didn't live past forty.

Huh, speaking of which, Ji Dekeng was a middle-aged man.

Although Ji Dekeng took good care of himself, occasionally using face masks and dressing impeccably, he genuinely looked like a middle-aged gay uncle.

Ji Dekeng appeared to be in his thirties, but given how well he maintained himself, his actual age might have already passed forty.

Lu Yibai asked curiously, "Xiaoqi, how old is Ji Dekeng this year?"

"Boss, you guess!" Lin Xiaoqi blinked.

Lu Yibai really wanted to retort, "Guess if I want to guess," but after a moment, he said, "Forty?"

Lin Xiaoqi shook her head.

"Forty-five?"

Lin Xiaoqi still shook her head.

She looked at Lu Yibai and said, "Boss, you'll never guess."

After speaking, Lin Xiaoqi, leaning against the sofa, glanced at the old locust tree that was taller than the second floor of the bar, and said softly, "The first time I saw him, he looked like this. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye."

"This old fellow is truly, truly, truly ancient..."

(PS: Second update. Thanks to the dozens of lovely readers for the tips these past few days~)