第23章 小丑的威胁

Gu Jianlin took a deep look at the old man in the wheelchair.

He truly looked very old. His gray hair was combed neatly, and his face, weathered by the passage of time, was etched with deep wrinkles. His eyes were as warm and clear as jade, and even while sitting in a wheelchair, his back remained straight.

He was like a cedar on a cliffside—upright and resilient.

It had to be said that this fortune-telling was not very professional. The method used was extremely simple, and the interpretation of the hexagram was equally basic, as if the man were merely an amateur enthusiast.

Yet, he still noted down the words and offered his thanks.

"Hmm."

The old man nodded in satisfaction, his wise brow furrowing slightly, before he put away the six copper coins.

"Say, old-timer, how about you tell my fortune too?"

Cheng Youyu leaned in, rubbing his hands together with an eager look; he had always been this familiar with strangers.

The old man didn't even look up, saying indifferently, "I won't tell yours. Didn't you just say I wasn't professional?"

Cheng Youyu was shocked. He had assumed the elderly man was hard of hearing, never expecting his words to have been caught.

Gu Jianlin had little interest in fortune-telling, his gaze fixed instead on the dark, heavy clay tablet.

For a fleeting moment, a terrifying hallucination appeared before his eyes.

He saw a pale priest chanting a sacred hymn, his hands burning with white ghost-fire, clutching the head of a monster.

With a boom, they ignited together.

Billowing black mist surged from the priest's body, as if an evil spirit were struggling and roaring.

He seemed immersed in this illusion, unable to pull himself away.

He did not know how much time had passed.

Snap.

Gu Jianlin jolted as if waking from a dream, his body drenched in cold sweat.

It was as if he had been mesmerized by what he had just seen.

The man brought over three packs of heat patches, placed them on the counter, and said with a smile, "Please take these. You're welcome to come again. If you need anything else, feel free to return; we're closing up for the night."

"The shop just opened, and you are our first customers. Let's be friends."

He handed over a business card with a refined and courteous smile.

Gu Jianlin regained his senses; the old man before him still wore a faint smile.

He took the card, remained silent for a moment, and tucked it into his pocket.

"Alright, we're closing up."

The man said with a smile.

The old man closed his eyes, humming a little tune.

Gu Jianlin nodded slightly and turned to leave.

Before he left, he hesitated, then attempted to use Life Perception on the two people before him.

In the quiet night, the rhythm of all things in the world echoed in his ears once more.

Having practiced the previous night, he was now able to accurately distinguish his targets amidst the noisy melody.

However, the result of his perception left him somewhat surprised.

The suit-wearing man's life rhythm burned vigorously like a ball of fire, hot and surging.

As for the old man in the wheelchair, he was like a dead, hollow void—silent, soundless, and incredibly oppressive.

"What are you looking at?"

Su Youzhu asked curiously, clutching the three packs of heat patches.

"Nothing."

Gu Jianlin had never seen such a peculiar life rhythm. He asked calmly, "Speaking of which, do you believe in hexagrams and such?"

Su Youzhu shook her head. "Just asking. It doesn't cost anything."

Accompanied by the roar of an engine, a black Lamborghini pulled up in front of the grocery store.

The bright headlights illuminated the night.

Someone pushed the passenger door open and stepped out, brushing past the siblings. A cold, faint fragrance permeated the night breeze.

Su Youzhu turned her head, as if sensing something.

Gu Jianlin was a bit surprised, as he rarely saw people with white hair, let alone a girl.

The girl wore a sun hat and black sunglasses, her head lowered so her face was obscured; only her frost-white hair cascaded down to her waist.

She wore a loose knit sweater and a white off-the-shoulder top, her long, slender legs wrapped in jeans, paired with white sneakers.

Most notably, she carried a massive guitar case on her back.

Very strange.

"You're here."

The old man in the grocery store said with an unexpected smile, "I thought your teacher wouldn't let you come see me."

Jing Ci wiped the antiques in the shop, eyeing the young girl.

"You know, I've never been very obedient."

The strange girl said softly, "Since you've come to Feng City, I still had to see you."

The shop door closed, shutting out all sound.

After Gu Jianlin and Su Youzhu left the grocery store, they had a simple meal of street wontons nearby before heading back to school.

It was worth mentioning that the fatty Cheng Youyu had the audacity to tag along, chatting and laughing the whole way.

From time to time, he would share gossip the siblings hadn't heard before.

By ten-thirty at night, the lights in the girls' dormitory building were mostly out.

In the small garden downstairs, one could vaguely see couples whispering reluctantly under the trees, some even embracing and kissing; the rustling sounds that drifted over were quite stimulating.

"Well, I'll stop here. You two carry on."

Cheng Youyu stopped, a knowing expression on his face. "I won't be a third wheel."

Gu Jianlin knew he had misunderstood, but explaining it would be too much trouble.

Mainly, Su Youzhu had an indifferent expression on her face.

It seemed that even if they were mistaken for a couple about to duck into the woods, it wouldn't matter to her.

Seeing this, Gu Jianlin saw no need to explain further.

"Brother Lin, I'm counting on you for the placement test! If we end up in the same room, help me out!"

Before leaving, Cheng Youyu suddenly reminded them with a serious face, "Also, Feng City hasn't been peaceful lately, you've heard, right? Quite a few students have just gone crazy out of nowhere. I've heard rumors that people like that have been appearing near the school. You'd best not go out these next few days and just stay put in school."

He added a final warning, "Especially since there's been a pervert abusing animals near the school lately."

Gu Jianlin's heart stirred. The fatty seemed to know something and was deliberately warning him.

"Alright, I understand."

He nodded slightly. "Thanks."

Once the matter was said, Cheng Youyu returned to his smiling self and walked away with a swaggering gait.

Gu Jianlin watched him leave, then turned to the girl beside him. "Get some good rest these next few days. I'll bring you brown sugar water on time. If you need anything, just tell me, and I'll go buy it for you."

Su Youzhu glanced at him, thinking, Can you even buy feminine products?

"In short, just don't run around."

Gu Jianlin instructed earnestly, "Got it?"

Ever since Lu Zicheng's arrival, coupled with the Ether Association investigators gradually infiltrating the school, and now the animal abuse incident, everything seemed to signal that something was about to happen.

"Got it."

Su Youzhu took off the coat draped over her shoulders and handed it back to him. "Goodnight."

Gu Jianlin took it, said "mm," and replied, "Goodnight."

The girls' dormitory door closed, and Su Youzhu's figure disappeared around the corner of the hallway.

Gu Jianlin carried the coat and turned to leave, walking alone across the playground and garden back to the boys' dormitory.

His dorm was on the sixth floor, the very first one next to the hallway.

His four roommates were already lying in bed, complaining incessantly:

"Damn, this is bad luck. It's bad enough the school cafeteria food is terrible, but there isn't even a supermarket."

"Yeah, the lady serving the food has hands shaking like she's got Parkinson's. I really admire that old hag."

"Which one of you went to the supermarket outside? Give me some snacks, I'm starving."

"Eat dirt. That twenty-four-hour convenience store outside closed down too!"

Gu Jianlin had just returned when he heard their conversation. He sat on his bed and asked in surprise, "That convenience store closed, but didn't it turn into a grocery store?"

As soon as he said this, his roommates froze.

"What grocery store? Didn't that convenience store go out of business and put up a rental sign?"

His roommate said blankly, "The rolling shutter is down, and there's a huge 'For Rent' sign on it."

Gu Jianlin was stunned. "Impossible, there is a grocery store there."

His roommate was even more confused. "I just came back from there ten minutes ago. Brother Lin, honestly, did your brain not recover properly after the car accident? Is your memory failing? If there's really a grocery store, I'll eat my own crap while doing a handstand!"

Gu Jianlin fell silent. He recalled the unusual nature of that grocery store and felt uneasy.

He immediately stood up, walked to the seventh-floor rooftop, and looked across the street by the light of the night.

In an instant, his pupils constricted violently, and his hair stood on end.

The twenty-four-hour convenience store across the street had reappeared, its red and white sign lit up, but the storefront was locked tight with a rolling shutter, and a "For Rent" sign was indeed pasted on it.

As for the grocery store he had seen earlier, it had eerily vanished.

Sure enough, his instincts hadn't been wrong.

That was definitely not an ordinary grocery store.

Including the old man in the wheelchair and the man in the suit, they didn't seem like ordinary people either.

Gu Jianlin fumbled in his pocket and pulled out the business card.

—Worry-Free Grocery Store, Phone 138...

He remained silent for a long time, planning to go back and take another look after school tomorrow.

Just then, a message came in on his WeChat.

Su Youzhu: "I just got back to the dorm and found someone left a love letter on my windowsill."

Gu Jianlin was slightly stunned. What year was this? Someone was still using such an old-fashioned way to confess.

However, the girl's dormitory was on the first floor; if one bypassed the dorm warden, it was indeed possible to leave a letter on the windowsill.

Given Su Youzhu's looks, it wasn't exactly news.

Gu Jianlin replied: "Oh, is someone chasing you?"

Su Youzhu: "I thought so too at first, but after I opened it, I found the letter is for you."

Gu Jianlin froze.

Just as he was completely baffled, a picture was sent over via WeChat.

For a moment, Gu Jianlin's pupils narrowed, and his instinctively clenched fist made his knuckles crack.

Compared to the content of the love letter, the signature at the bottom was even more eye-catching.

Because it was a weird, pale, Joker's face drawn with colored pens.

On the glowing screen, the Joker's smile was thick and sinister, his scarlet lips almost stretching to his ears.

Just looking at it made one feel very uncomfortable.

"The day after tomorrow at 6 PM, the warehouse behind the playground. Don't be late."

"This is our secret, don't tell anyone else."

"Otherwise... you know."

A long time passed, the phone screen automatically went dark, and the cold wind on the rooftop blew past.

Gu Jianlin kept his left hand in his pocket, his right hand gripping the phone, the coat over his arm flapping in the wind.

"Giving the letter to Youzhu instead of directly to me."

He whispered, "This is a threat."

Clouds parted to reveal the moon, its light shining through the gaps in the dark clouds to illuminate the silent school.

Gu Jianlin thought for a moment and edited a message to send: "Youzhu, you write a letter and leave it on the balcony too."

Ding-dong.

Su Youzhu: "What should I write back?"

Gu Jianlin replied: "What you love is your life."

Late at night, the lights were still on in the grocery store.

The old man sat in his wheelchair, fiddling with the six copper coins in his hand, and suddenly said, "Jing Ci."

The man in the suit and leather shoes held a handkerchief, meticulously wiping a blue and white porcelain vase.

"Teacher, I'm here."

He asked without looking up, "Is something the matter?"

The old man said indifferently, "Is my fortune-telling really that unprofessional?"

Jing Ci gave a wry smile. "You aren't even on the Diviner path, why must you be so obsessed with fortune-telling? Don't tell me you've been brooding ever since you lost that bet to the one from Mount Laojun?"

"If you were on the Diviner path, then I, as your student, would never lack for prestige when I'm out."

The old man sighed with regret. "Come to think of it, the kid we met tonight was quite interesting."

Jing Ci paused in his wiping of the vase and asked with a smile, "Are you referring to him seeing through the Joker's aberrant evolution at a glance, or that he sensed us and the anomaly of this shop? Or perhaps that he saw through the contents of the clay tablet?"

The old man thought for a moment. "All of the above. Want to make a bet? Guess whether he can survive."

"Then I'll bet he lives."

Jing Ci placed the blue and white porcelain vase back on the antique cabinet and said, "After all... he has the aptitude for evolution, and you even gave him a hint."

"A hint is one thing, whether he can realize it is another, and how he chooses to respond once he realizes it is yet another."

The old man scattered the six copper coins on the table. "Then I'll bet he dies."