Chapter 318: You Two Fight All You Want, I’ll Just Watch the Show!
“Boss, cough cough cough…”
Seeing Zhang Yangqing at the door, the red-robed frail young master was about to come over and say hello.
Unfortunately, his body was weak and frail—just trying to speak made him start coughing up blood.
A pool of dark red blood appeared on the ground, still sizzling and burning.
Red-robed fierce ghost blood really was something fierce.
But this also left Zhang Yangqing somewhat speechless.
Let me make this clear first—everyone here is watching, I didn’t hit him, I didn’t do anything.
Zhang Yangqing seriously suspected this stage was a scam to extort people.
Because clearing the weird tale required sales revenue.
Don’t go dying in my shop and have everyone demand I pay compensation.
Thinking this, Zhang Yangqing prepared to keep his distance from him.
Zhang Yangqing even suspected this guy died from overindulgence—being this weak was truly a rare sight.
Forget Zhang Yangqing—the other Chosen Ones were even more scared, backing away repeatedly, afraid this guy would spit blood on them.
Judging from the blood the frail young master spat on the ground, this stuff was probably contamination.
Just the walk from the sedan to the general store took him quite a while.
And while walking, his legs really were shaking.
At this moment, it was actually an opportunity.
Quite a few Chosen Ones had figured this out too.
Since they’d encountered a red-robed customer, they should warmly welcome him.
After all, the rule said [do not pay attention to any of his requests], but that didn’t mean they couldn’t take the initiative themselves.
Besides, there was that special condition at the end—unless he gives you his eyeballs.
Thinking this, Rahman mustered his courage, stepped out from behind the counter, and went up to support the frail young master.
Needless to say, this frail young master was quite polite—he said thank you to Rahman.
Some Chosen Ones had similar thoughts to Rahman. Anyway, red-robed customers should theoretically be very powerful, so building a little goodwill first couldn’t hurt.
Because judging from past customers, many of them could actually be communicated with. Not every one was hostile to the Chosen Ones.
While supporting the frail young master, Rahman was very confused—how did this guy look even weaker than the black-robed customer?
He had a feeling in his mind that he could beat him too.
Had he misjudged?
Red-robed customers were just special customers—it didn’t necessarily mean they were strong?
But standing around him, there was a cold, sinister aura. This aura wasn’t the same as coldness.
The so-called sinister cold means no matter how many clothes you wear, you’ll still feel cold.
A customer who could emit this kind of energy should theoretically be hard to deal with.
But this guy’s appearance was truly weak—so weak that people couldn’t even feel afraid.
No matter what, Rahman wouldn’t offend any NPC. His strategy was very steady—he’d try to please whenever possible.
If he could latch onto a big shot, it would reduce a lot of difficulty.
If he could recruit teammates, then Rahman would be absolutely certain.
For weird tale worlds with teammates, Rahman found it relatively easy to pass, and he could use teammates to get high ratings.
This round, he couldn’t find any teammates at all. Besides, he had a mark on his hand, and he’d need to trouble this red-robed one to take a look later.
Most of those who went to support the frail young master were ordinary Chosen Ones.
Transcenders rarely went to support him. It wasn’t that Transcenders couldn’t think of it—it was that they instinctively didn’t want to.
Although they had no heart and their strength was greatly reduced, in their eyes, this thing could be killed with a casual slap.
With this level of strength, I need to lower myself to please him?
At least it should be someone I can’t beat.
Zhang Yangqing was even simpler—he couldn’t be bothered to please anyone.
After all, no matter who was strong here, none were stronger than him.
When Rahman helped the frail young master into the general store, the frail young master started panting heavily.
It felt like these few steps had used up most of his strength.
This guy was so weak it was unbelievable.
But not long after, the frail young master seemed to recover some energy, and his walking wasn’t as shaky.
This left Rahman unable to understand—was he acting?
Actually, only Zhang Yangqing could understand this.
There’s a saying: “Gods smell incense, ghosts eat candles.” The general store had the scent of candle flames.
This was equivalent to delicious food.
The frail young master apparently had been hungry for a long time. That sudden heavy panting just now was him absorbing the candle flame scent from the general store.
Having eaten his fill, he naturally recovered some energy.
None of the other Chosen Ones noticed that the aura in the general store had become a bit fainter.
“Boss, do you have top-quality candles here? I want the best quality kind.”
As soon as he entered, the frail young master started asking the Chosen One for what he wanted.
The candles in the general store were also graded. Gold-edged candles were the most expensive candles in the shop.
Hearing there was business, Rahman perked up and started pitching to him.
The audience was worried he’d violate the rules—after all, the rule said [do not pay attention to any of his requests].
But in Rahman’s view, the so-called requests were like what the previous customers asked—either asking him to write something on paper, or asking him not to sell things to others. Those counted as requests.
The frail young master was just doing normal shopping—that didn’t count as a request.
However, Rahman also noticed that when the frail young master came in, the wind chime rang very loudly.
It was the loudest he’d heard so far.
There was another detail—a fatal detail.
That was, when Rahman helped him in, the wind chime only rang once.
In other words, it only rang when ghosts entered? It didn’t ring when humans or other creatures came?
Being able to observe this showed that Rahman had been maintaining an above-average level all along, not missing any detail that could lead to mistakes.
After all, Rule 11 mentioned that the general store didn’t provide black dog blood. If you see it on the shelf, drink it immediately!
Until now, he hadn’t found where the black dog blood was.
But that didn’t mean it wouldn’t appear at this critical moment.
Rahman and the other Chosen Ones didn’t know what black dog blood was for, but rules were rules.
Knowing more information and being prepared couldn’t hurt.
However, Rahman didn’t over-communicate with the frail young master—he just pointed him to a location.
The frail young master was a red-robed fierce ghost after all. He wasn’t as weak as imagined, so he went to the shelf to look for himself.
Ever since the red-robed fierce ghost entered the general store, it became extremely gloomy inside.
It was as if the red-robed fierce ghost carried some kind of aura that made the surrounding environment eerie.
But just then, an even louder wind chime rang out, and a more terrifying aura came from outside the door.
Rahman turned to look—another red-robed fierce ghost had walked into the shop.
Compared to the frail young master’s weakness, this one looked like someone you didn’t want to mess with.
The newly appeared red-robed customer was male, wearing strange red clothes.
The frail young master’s red clothes were very clean. This guy’s red clothes were extremely dirty and messy, as if dyed with blood—or rather, as if he’d once been soaked in a sea of blood.
Then there was his face. His skull seemed to have been cut open before, because there was an obvious stitching mark.
Not just his skull—many places on his face showed signs of being sewn with needle and thread.
If you looked closely, you could see his neck was the same way, as if his head had once been detached from his body and was now barely stitched back on.
And this was only the parts he showed. Whether his body was the same, no one knew.
As he walked over, the Chosen Ones could all feel a huge pressure.
Even some Transcenders developed feelings of timidity.
Facing other ghost customers, they still had confidence to… escape.
Facing this one, they felt their lives were threatened.
Only Zhang Yangqing stood at the counter as if nothing was wrong, waiting for them to check out, even starting to yawn again, not feeling any danger at all.
In Zhang Yangqing’s eyes, this guy and the frail young master were the same breed.
Not that he wasn’t strong—it was just that in Zhang Yangqing’s eyes, they were all the same.
This one had probably suffered tremendous torture before death, only becoming a fierce ghost after dying.
The greater the negative emotions before death, the stronger the fierce ghost after death.
He also asked the Chosen One where the best candles were.
It seemed red-robed fierce ghosts all liked this stuff.
Zhang Yangqing pointed in a direction—the frail young master was there choosing.
Both were red-robed, and they seemed not to know each other, so they each picked their own.
The frail young master was slower. When the customer with the stitched face came to check out, the frail young master arrived late.
Zhang Yangqing helped the customer with the stitched face check out first, since he came first.
This was about first come, first served—a basic rule for a shop clerk.
The customer with the stitched face brought three gold-edged candles, each 79 yuan, totaling 237 yuan.
Hearing this price, the customer with the stitched face was stunned.
He was clearly new to the general store, so he complained: “Why is it so expensive?”
Zhang Yangqing wasn’t about to say anything, but the frail young master behind him suddenly spoke: “What do you mean expensive? Gold-edged candles have been this price for years. Don’t open your eyes and talk nonsense. Domestic brands have it hard. If you can’t afford it, look for the reason in yourself.”
After the frail young master said this, even Zhang Yangqing was stunned.
This frail young master really was… a regular customer.
Actually, this sentence already exposed that the frail young master definitely wasn’t here for the first time.
And the stitched customer who didn’t know the price was clearly new here.
This was important information the Chosen Ones could obtain.
From their conversation, one could tell who might know how their “heart” was lost.
But this sentence was full of mockery, directly making the customer with the stitched face angrily grab the frail young master by the collar, roaring: “Kid, watch your mouth, or I’ll use you as a candle!”
And the terrifying aura he burst out made a sinister wind sweep through the entire general store.
Even the flames of the two candles on Zhang Yangqing’s counter flickered, nearly going out.
Other ordinary Chosen Ones were even blown directly into corners by this aura, knocking over nearby things that scattered everywhere.
Despite the frail young master’s feet not leaving the ground, he still taunted: “What? You’re not convinced?”
Needless to say, he wasn’t backing down at all, and there was no fear on his face.
Two red-robed big shots were in conflict here. Most Chosen Ones hid in safe places, afraid the two would fight and hurt the innocent.
Zhang Yangqing, on the other hand, was watching like it was a cricket fight, his drowsiness actually clearing up quite a bit.
You two fight all you want—I’ll just watch the show.
But the general store seemed to have special rules. Even though the customer with the stitched face was angry, he wouldn’t make a move here. He could only shout: “Little brat, got the guts to fight outside?”
The customer with the stitched face seemed to have some confidence, which was why he decided to teach the frail young master a lesson.
But the frail young master didn’t hold back at all—instead he continued mocking: “You know how to fight? What’s the use of knowing how to fight? To make it in this world, you need connections, you need backing. Which grave mound are you from?”
At this moment, the frail young master’s “grand procession” had already surrounded the entrance.
Each one looked fierce and menacing, their auras all locked onto the customer with the stitched face.
That momentum was like a hundred ghosts walking at night, making everyone fear.
Although most were blue-robed and white-robed, there were a few hidden deep in the back whose auras were also terrifying.
This made the customer with the stitched face understand what it meant to be wise enough to avoid a losing battle.
If they really fought, he was outnumbered now and might not be able to handle the people the frail young master brought.
Plus, the frail young master was only frail—it didn’t mean he couldn’t fight.
This left the customer with the stitched face somewhat angry but not daring to act out.
Fine, fine, fine. You little brat, you only came to taunt me because you have numbers on your side, huh.
You just wait.
After exchanging their grave mound names and titles, the customer with the stitched face, following tradition, threw out a harsh parting line and left the general store directly.
After all, he hadn’t actually harmed the frail young master, and the frail young master’s subordinates didn’t stop him.
When the other Chosen Ones finally breathed a sigh of relief thinking the danger was over, only Zhang Yangqing felt he’d taken a huge loss.
Because the customer with the stitched face hadn’t bought the gold-edged candles when he left—Zhang Yangqing had lost a sale.
This made Zhang Yangqing, whose goal was sales revenue, quite unhappy.
Then he glanced at the frail young master, as if blaming him for ruining the business.
But only Zhang Yangqing dared use that kind of look. The other Chosen Ones all treated the frail young master like an untouchable big shot.
People like Rahman were already flattering the frail young master, praising how amazing he was.
All just to scrape together a bit more goodwill, so the frail young master would treat him a little better.
Best if there was some kind of quest that could help him find his heart.
This was undoubtedly an opportunity to seize the moment and please the frail young master.
Just like the previous round—most Chosen Ones were disgusted by that raspy-voiced old man, but they still had to go lick his boots. Only by licking his boots could they get information, and in the subsequent weird tale world, they could use that information to pass.
So whenever there was a chance to please, the Chosen Ones would lower themselves and go suck up.
Even some Transcenders who didn’t want to had no choice but to do it to pass.
Someone like Zhang Yangqing using a blaming look—many Chosen Ones wouldn’t even dare think of it.
The frail young master seemed to notice Zhang Yangqing’s displeasure. He also generously said: “Boss, pack all of these up for me. Put it on my tab.”
He meant that the gold-edged candles the departed customer had left behind—he wanted them all too.
Plus he had many more on him, and wanted those packed together.
Ten in total—indeed a considerable sum.
Zhang Yangqing felt this was acceptable, so he helped pack them all into bags.
But at checkout, the frail young master showed a confused expression, then kept searching his body.
He muttered things like “Strange,” “I remember bringing it,” “Did I leave it at home?”
In the end, obviously, what wasn’t brought couldn’t be found.
He asked the little henchmen around him, and they all said they hadn’t brought money either.
This was the so-called way of advancing payments.
Because if you advance payment for the boss, when the boss remembers, he’ll pay you back—maybe even extra.
But if the boss doesn’t remember, you can’t exactly go demand it, right?
If you do, the boss will pay you, but he’ll also think—you’re coming to collect even this small amount?
790 yuan might not be much to the frail young master, but to these little ghosts, it was already a huge number. Most ghosts didn’t have that much money.
Making them pool money was even more impossible. Who would you go collect from then?
After getting a unified story from his henchmen, the frail young master looked at Zhang Yangqing awkwardly, and actually quite embarrassed, scratched his head and said: “Sorry, it’s not that I don’t want to buy. I really didn’t bring money. How about this—tomorrow, could you help me pack these things and deliver them to this address? I’ll give you extra travel fare. How’s that?”
Zhang Yangqing barely held back the urge to beat him up.
After all, the fact that he could say this meant he had a quest.
He couldn’t just skip the quest, could he?
So Zhang Yangqing asked some questions—about the general store and the organs.
Sure enough, as someone who’d been around this area, the frail young master did know some information.
According to him, when it came to organs, only your own was the best. Snatching others’ organs was basically useless unless the compatibility was extremely high.
In this area, he’d basically never heard of ghost cultivators using organs for cultivation.
Because ghost cultivators needed essence blood and negative emotions—Zhang Yangqing knew this too.
Then there was some information about the general store.
According to the frail young master’s recollection, the general store’s boss was a fat man wearing a black hat.
Working here as a clerk required pawning something as collateral.
He looked at Zhang Yangqing and, as if possessed, asked: “You didn’t pawn some body organ, did you? Can you tell me what it was?”
His face showed great curiosity.
Needless to say, this frail young master was what you’d call an “insider.”
“Don’t ask what you shouldn’t ask.”
Zhang Yangqing directly glared at him, too lazy to reveal his information.
Other Chosen Ones probably wouldn’t dare say this—they’d only vaguely say they felt uncomfortable, without directly saying they’d pawned their heart.
Hearing this, the Chosen Ones roughly understood why.
Zhang Yangqing’s speculation went deeper. He thought that as a general store clerk, the boss, to make the clerk work honestly, had taken the clerk’s heart.
In weird incidents, this wasn’t really anything unusual.
But the problem was Rule 1.
[Rule 1: You don’t have a heart, but you can’t go without a heart forever.]
Regarding this rule, Zhang Yangqing had two long-term hypotheses.
Hypothesis one: the boss might not be a good person and wouldn’t return the heart.
So the rule reminded the Chosen Ones that they needed to find a way to get their own heart.
Hypothesis two: pawning the heart was just a general store tradition, and the boss would return the heart to the Chosen One.
But if the boss never appeared, that meant something had happened to him.
The problem was, you couldn’t go without a heart forever, right?
So you needed to find information, go save the boss—or rather, save your own heart.
