Chapter 25 : Xu Zhi: Woof Woof Woof!

“I don’t want there to be a day when I have to erect a gravestone for you here.”

After leaving the old alley, Guan Qing’s words still echoed in Bai Ling’s mind, even drowning out the music overflowing from her headphones.

The setting sun paved the asphalt road with a beeswax-like luster, and the evening clouds on the horizon were dyed purple.

‘Maybe tomorrow will be a good day?’

Bai Ling’s thoughts wandered.

Under the sycamore trees by the roadside, children who had just finished school were chasing and playing.
The charms on their schoolbags collided and jingled.
The old man who owned the convenience store sat on a small stool at the entrance of the store, fanning himself with a cattail leaf fan to cool off.

A sense of leisure unique to a summer evening rushed towards her.

Before she knew it, she had walked to a familiar vegetable market.
This was the busiest time for the vegetable market.

This vegetable market hadn’t changed much.

Bai Ling stopped at the entrance of the vegetable market.
This was a market she often passed by after school when she was a child.

It was near the residential area where she used to live.
When she was a child, she and Xu Zhi often walked through this vegetable market to take a shortcut home.

Every time they passed through this vegetable market, they would see the wild creepers growing on the courtyard walls of the residential area.
At that time, her family lived opposite Xu Zhi’s.

“Five for three jin!”

The vendor’s cry was almost exactly the same as when she was a child.
Bai Ling suddenly remembered the scene from back then.
A nine-year-old Bai Ling clutched Xu Zhi’s sleeve and watched the vendor stun a live fish on a blue stone slab.

The fish was stunned, and she was also stunned.

‘What am I doing?’

Bai Ling sighed.
The music from her headphones mixed with the noise of reality, making her thoughts a little chaotic.

She really didn’t want to admit it, but when she had run into Xu Zhi in the stairwell today, he hadn’t recognized her, which actually made Bai Ling feel a little disappointed.

But it was also good that he hadn’t recognized her.
Getting involved with him might really get her killed.

After all, he was a member of the Demon Suppression Division.

When a member of the Demon Suppression Division dealt with a demon, they were either about to exorcise it or were preparing to exorcise it.

But Bai Ling felt that there was still a faint sense of disappointment in her heart.

“Hey! You’re stealing things and you still have the nerve to try and justify that?!”

A clear voice came from the crowd gathered in front.

Bai Ling was suddenly startled from her wandering thoughts.
A commotion seemed to have broken out in the crowd in front.

Pushing through the crowd, it was human nature to be curious.
Even if she was a demon now, Bai Ling also wanted to join in the fun and see what was going on.

In the center of the crowd was a young girl carrying two large bags of vegetables and fruits, an old woman, and two guys who didn’t look like good people.

“Little sister, don’t meddle in other people’s business!”

Of the two guys who didn’t look like good people, one was tall and thin, and the other was short and fat.
This was said by the taller, thinner one.

It seemed that the two had stolen the old woman’s wallet and were seen by the young girl, who stood up righteously and indignantly.

Hearing the noisy discussions of the people around, it seemed that these two were habitual offenders who roamed this vegetable market.
They often stole things.
Even if they were arrested, they would only be locked up for a few days before being released to continue their tyranny.
Instead, the one who reported them would always be retaliated against by them.
Over time, no one dared to provoke them anymore.

Hearing these discussions, Bai Ling couldn’t help but sigh.
‘At this day and age, how can there still be such a tyrannical vegetable market bully? No, two bullies…’

The old woman was also persuading the young girl to just get the money back and not provoke them.

But the young girl still insisted on calling the police.

“You little brat, you dare to call the police!”

The short, fat guy reached out to snatch the young girl’s phone.
The young girl retreated to dodge, but accidentally got her bag caught.
In the struggle, fresh vegetables and fruits were scattered all over the ground.

Seeing this, the tall, thin guy also came forward to snatch the young girl’s phone.
But just as he stretched out his hand, he was accurately kicked on the wrist by a foot coming from behind.

Bai Ling didn’t actually want to get involved in this kind of thing, but she was already in a bad mood.
Seeing these two jumping around like extras was even more annoying.

‘It was a good opportunity to beat them up and vent her anger, and she had a legitimate reason.’

“Hey! You little brat, you’re meddling in other people’s business too, huh?!”

The tall, thin man turned his head and saw Bai Ling’s foot, which she hadn’t yet retracted.
He instantly understood that it was Bai Ling who had just kicked him.

He rushed forward and reached out to grab Bai Ling, but…

“Ah!!!!!”

Bai Ling just grabbed his fingers and bent them down.
In an instant, the crisp sound of a bone breaking and his scream sounded at the same time.

He was held by Bai Ling’s fingers, unable to retreat or advance.
Bai Ling continuously applied force to his fingers, even making him slowly kneel on the ground.

“Let him go!”

The tall, thin man’s scream made the short, fat man give up his struggle with the vegetable and fruit girl.
He turned his head and saw the tall, thin man screaming while slowly kneeling on the ground.

This short, fat guy actually pulled out a fruit knife from his pocket and opened it, pointing it at Bai Ling.

“Really, it’s been so many years of a society ruled by law, how can there still be your kind of twenty-year-old evil npcs…”

Bai Ling instantly felt bored.
Even if a hundred of these small fries came to vent her anger, it wouldn’t be enough to clear her current annoyance.

She immediately spun and kicked out, directly hitting the short, fat man’s neck.
The next second, he rolled his eyes and fainted, swaying.
The fruit knife fell to the ground and bounced with a “ding.”

“Get lost!”

Bai Ling threw away the tall, thin man’s hand, making him roll twice on the ground.
He didn’t even care to hug his hand and scream.
He left the short, fat man behind and scrambled out of the crowd and ran away.

Everything happened in just twenty seconds.
The people around were still stunned.
In an instant, a wave of continuous cheers erupted.

It seemed that the people nearby had indeed harbored a grudge against these two brothers for a long time.

“That! Thank you!”

The girl ran over with her bag, her eyes sparkling.

“It was nothing.”
Bai Ling took off her headphones and put them in the charging case.
She bent down to help her pick up the scattered vegetables and fruits.
“But these guys are still quite dangerous. You should just call the police next time.”

“Mmm, mmm!”
The vegetable and fruit girl nodded.
She squatted on the ground with Bai Ling and picked up the vegetables and fruits.
“My name is Lu Qingyu. What’s your name?”

“Bai Ling.”
Bai Ling put a tomato into Lu Qingyu’s plastic bag.
“You don’t come to this vegetable market often, do you?”

She asked casually, but she had already gotten the answer.
If this girl named Lu Qingyu came here often, this conflict should have broken out long ago.

“Mmm, I’m helping my friend buy things. This place is closer to his home.”

When Lu Qingyu said the word “friend,” her eyes lit up.
The light was so exaggerated that even Bai Ling could see that she liked her “friend.”

“You like your friend?”

“I… guess so…”

The young girl’s cheeks flushed red.
She unconsciously fiddled with the hair falling by her temples.
Bai Ling, a girl who was halfway there, was afraid she would never be able to show such a shy expression unique to young girls in her life.

“That’s great…”
Bai Ling put the last carrot into Lu Qingyu’s bag.
“I wish you and your friend a hundred years of happiness!”

As her words fell, Lu Qingyu looked up and only saw Bai Ling’s retreating figure hidden in the sunset in the crowd.
Even though her back was sprinkled with a golden glow, she looked a little desolate.

“Are you okay?”

Just as Lu Qingyu was staring blankly at Bai Ling’s gradually disappearing figure, a big boy squeezed into the crowd.

“I’m fine…”

Lu Qingyu turned her head and saw Xu Zhi’s face, which was dyed a light gold in the setting sun.

“This is the stuff I bought for you.”

She handed the two large bags of vegetables and fruits to Xu Zhi.

“Thanks! You’re a big help!”
Xu Zhi took the two large bags of vegetables and fruits.
“Then I’ll go first. Be careful on your way back!”

In an instant, this person only left Lu Qingyu with a retreating figure.

“Eh?”

Lu Qingyu stood there in a daze, blinking her eyes.

‘Shouldn’t I go with you to see your father? I could have shown my skills to uncle…’

The golden sunlight of the setting sun fell on Lu Qingyu’s beautiful hair.
She suddenly felt that she was also a little desolate.

“I’m back!”

Xu Zhi pushed open the old, green-painted security door, carrying two large bags of vegetables and fruits.

The setting sun was shining into the living room through the balcony window, dyeing this old house with a warm orange hue.
A fan that was about the same age as Xu Zhi was creaking as it dispelled the residual heat of the day.

“You brat, you still remember this old man, huh?”

A man leaning on a cane pushed open the bedroom door.
He was wearing a brown shirt in the style of an old cadre.
The neat folding marks could still be vaguely seen on the cuffs.

“Dad! The doctor said not to drink!”
Xu Zhi frowned and pressed the man down on the sofa.
Even though the room was filled with the ancient scent of sandalwood, Xu Zhi could still smell a faint smell of alcohol from it.
This meant that his father in front of him—Xu Liyan—had been secretly drinking again.

“Really, I can’t hide anything from that dog nose of yours.”

The man smiled and patted Xu Zhi’s shoulder.
“You’ve grown up. You dare to lecture your old man.”

“I was born in the year of the dog!”

Xu Zhi then neatly stacked the fresh vegetables and fruits into the old refrigerator that, in terms of age, he should call an older brother or sister.
The jade pendant hanging around his neck swayed with his movement.

“That jade pendant, didn’t you give it to that friend of yours?”

Xu Liyan said, looking at the jade pendant swaying on Xu Zhi’s neck.
“What was that child’s name again? Bai…”

“Bai Ling!”

“Right, right, Bai Ling!”
Xu Liyan recalled what Xu Zhi was like as a child, a gratified smile curving his lips.
“That child should have grown into a big girl by now, right?”

“Dad!”
Xu Zhi slammed the refrigerator door shut.
“Bai Ling is a boy!”

“I see…”
Xu Liyan knocked his head, looking like he had remembered wrong.
“I thought she was a girl… I’m getting old, I’m useless…”

“You should rest!”
Xu Zhi stood up and put the jade pendant back into his collar.
“Didn’t the caregiver auntie come today?”

i

Xu Liyan smiled, leaning on his cane with both hands.

“You’ve been retired for so many years. You haven’t had a baleful aura for a long time.”

Xu Zhi helplessly took out his phone, preparing to contact a housekeeping company to reassign a caregiver auntie.

“Don’t give me that, you brat. I’m not so old that I can’t move!”

Xu Liyan said and opened the drawer of the pearwood coffee table.
“By the way, I found this when I was tidying up a few days ago. I remember you were looking for it for a long time but couldn’t find it.”

He pulled out a photo from the drawer and handed it to Xu Zhi.

In the photo, two children were standing under a bridge pier by the river.
The little child in the white coat with a fish scale pattern was pursing his lips.
The setting sun dyed the tear mole at the corner of his eye a golden yellow.
And the slightly taller child was holding his shoulder, smiling carefree.