Day and night tour

Chapter 40: Cat Shadow in Bamboo Forest
"Which church should I worship?"

Zhou Lingyi always spoke clearly and did not ask Zhou Xuan why he wanted to light incense.

"Storyteller, I want to learn the craft from Lao Yuan, but I don't think he will agree. I want to talk to him about the master-apprentice relationship."

"Okay, I understand." Zhou Lingyi nodded gently and said, "I just drank a few more glasses of wine and my head is a little bumpy. I'll go back to my room to rest first. I'll help you talk to Mr. Yuan later."

"Need not……"

Zhou Xuan wanted to say no, but his sister turned around and left.

So cool, so cool!
After saying this, Zhou Xuan felt a little relieved. He finished smoking and went back to the table to continue drinking.

The drinking session lasted until late at night.

Zhou Xuan was the last person to leave, he was waiting!
Waiting for Yuan to say nothing,

But he still didn't get to wait until the table was empty.

"Since Lao Yuan is not coming, I will go find him."

Zhou Xuan stood up and discovered something strange when he walked across the third banquet table - the dishes on this table were for "them", and now, all the other dishes were there, except for the "sashimi".

"Meow!"

A cat's meow came from the roof not far away.

"Maybe the cat took it away?"

Zhou Xuan didn't think much and walked towards Yuan Buyu's dormitory.

His dormitory was at the northernmost end of the inner courtyard of Zhoujiaban. Unlike the outer courtyard which was a whole dirt field, the inner courtyard had many rockery and pavilions.

There is a pavilion outside Yuan Buyu's dormitory, and next to the pavilion there is a small bamboo forest. Usually no one comes to this place.

When Zhou Xuan passed by the bamboo forest, he heard a rustling sound. It didn't sound like the wind hitting the bamboo leaves, but more like a wild cat gnawing on something...

"These cats are busy late at night."

He was just about to continue walking when he caught a glimpse of a figure in the bamboo forest out of the corner of his eye.

Who?
Zhou Xuan tilted his head, crouched, and walked carefully to the edge of the bamboo forest. He pushed aside the bamboo leaves that were blocking his eyes and smelled a faint scent of rice wine.

Then he saw a man squatting deep in the bamboo forest, holding a raw carp in his hand and eating it in big mouthfuls like a wild beast.

The meat at the tail and belly of the fish had been eaten clean, leaving only half a white fish bone dangling like a rope.

"So the raw fish on the table wasn't taken away by a wild cat, but by someone?"

Zhou Xuan just felt that the scene was a little scary and disgusting.

Damn it, how could there be such a perverted person in the Zhou family?
He wanted to move forward to see who that person was, why he was not sleeping in the middle of the night and was lying here eating raw fish.

Just as he raised his foot, a hand pressed on Zhou Xuan's shoulder.

"not good……"

Ominous thoughts surged from Zhou Xuan's heart. During the meal, Xu Li said that the raw fish was for "them" to eat.
That is,

This person who eats raw fish may be...

Zhou Xuan was so nervous that his breathing became heavy, but it only lasted for a second or two before he became bolder again.

Where is this?

Zhou family class!
With two great gods in charge, how could he be afraid of "them"? He turned his head openly to look at the owner of his hand, but he didn't see "them"...but he saw Yuan Buyu.

"Yuan..."

"Shh!"

Yuan Buyu put his middle finger on his lips, signaling Zhou Xuan not to make a sound. Then he pointed in the direction of the dormitory and moved his right index and middle fingers slowly on his left palm, meaning "leave quietly and don't disturb the people eating fish."

Zhou Xuan trusted Yuan Buyu and did as he was told. When he left the bamboo forest, he seemed to hear the man eating the raw fish making a satisfying cat cry...

After the two arrived at the dormitory, Zhou Xuan asked, "Old Yuan, who is the person eating fish?"

"Well, I won't tell you his name, but I guarantee that he is a good person, a very good person. He donates money to places that have suffered disasters. He eats raw fish out of helplessness. It is related to the natural disaster he suffered when he was a child. Don't bother him."

"Old Yuan, what's the difference between what you said and calling someone out directly?"

In the entire Zhou family, besides Yu Zhengyuan, who else can donate money everywhere?
Zhou Xuan leaned back in his chair and didn't mention Yu Zhengyuan's name to him. He felt that Old Man Yuan was right to take him out of the bamboo forest... If he had seen the bloody appearance of the eldest brother when he wolfed down the raw fish, he would recall this scene in the future, and there would definitely be a gap after a long time. It's like accidentally digging up a person's bones. Although you quickly bury them, you always know what is buried underground. Even if flowers and trees grow on the ground, you still think about the bones underground.

Zhou Xuan stopped talking about Yu Zhengyuan, nor did he ask what natural disaster caused the senior brother to eat raw fish, nor did he think about why the senior brother made that cat cry. He did not want to dig out the skeleton.
Because, the eldest brother is a very good person.

Yuan Buyu also understood the situation very well. He seemed to have forgotten about the bamboo forest and only told Zhou Xuan, "Why are you looking for me now? Becoming my disciple is a big deal. I need to think about it carefully. Even if I take a step back, I have to prepare. You go back and wait for a few days."

"I didn't say I was here to talk about becoming a disciple."

"Then why are you here?"

Zhou Xuan took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lit one for Yuan Buyu: "I just want to advise you not to feel pressured. It would be great if I could become your disciple, but if you really don't want to accept me, I can go find another sect to light incense for you. It's not impossible for both parties to become a disciple and a teacher willingly..."

"How do you know I'm under pressure?"

"Don't I know you? You have an impatient temper. Last time you didn't lend me the book beam, you stood at the door waiting. If you were not under pressure, you would have accepted my incense in the afternoon. How many more days do you need to wait?"

Yuan Buyu took a deep breath. This kid is smarter than a monkey. It will be a headache to manage him once he gets the hang of it.

"Anyway, we've talked it out. I'm going back first."

Zhou Xuan put a cigarette in his pocket and opened the door, then he heard Yuan Buyu asking him a question.

"Xuan Zi, what would you think if I really didn't accept you as my apprentice?"

Zhou Xuan stood there, thought about it seriously, turned around and smiled: "It means that for us, our destiny has arrived, but our blessing has not arrived!"

"Blessing? How do you explain it?"

"You didn't get a good apprentice, and I... didn't find a good master."

After saying that, Zhou Xuanqing closed the door and went back to his room.

Yuan Buyu stood at the door like a stone sculpture. After a long time, he remembered something, wiped his eyes with his sleeve, took out a stack of ointments from the drawer, and rushed out the door.

"Xuan boy, I made a few plasters this afternoon and forgot to give them to you..."

……

The Zhou family was not doing business today, so naturally there were no masters working in Jingyu Hall, which handled corpse funerals.

Zhou Lingyi stood with his hands behind his back, staring at the twenty-seven Nuo masks of ancestors on the wall.

"Ancestors, please let my brother join the Nuo clan. Even though he is not of the Zhou family's bloodline, he recognizes the Zhou family and me as his sister.
The Zhou family encountered a big incident yesterday, and he stepped in to resolve it. He is a talent, a rare talent!"

The ancestor's Nuo mask remains motionless, and his attitude is very clear.

Zhou Lingyi clenched her hands tightly behind her back, her nails almost digging into her flesh.

After a long time, she sighed, let go of her hand, turned around, walked out of Jingyu Hall, and returned to her room.

The light in the room had just been turned on, and a graceful shadow appeared on the wall.

"Oh my, Zhou Lingyi, you know that our ancestors will not allow Zhou Xuan to join the Danuo, so why are you still begging for mercy!?"

Zhou Lingyi was too lazy to pay attention to Yingzi and was rummaging through the box. She was looking for a letter.

"You still want to help Zhou Xuan? You've been fooled. I admit that Zhou Xuan has means, but it is this kind of means that knows how to win people's hearts. He has won you over, and he has won over the Zhou family's people...

...Just wait and see. If you forget what kind of person your brother is, Zhou Xuan will make you remember everything. Hehehe!"

found it!
A letter sealed with brown paper appeared in Zhou Lingyi's hand.

She stuffed the letter into her sleeve, lit a kerosene lantern, and glared at Shadow: "I don't have time to talk to you today. If you say something outrageous again tomorrow, be careful."

"Humph."

Shadow snorted coldly, but didn't dare to talk back. She felt that she had reached the limit of Zhou Lingyi's patience.

It's okay to just talk for fun, but if she really has to be scolded by Zhou Lingyi, she will be the one who suffers the most.

"It takes seven days for the soul to return, and three days for the corpse to wake up. Tonight is the third day since the six corpses died. They will come to find Zhou Xuan. When I'm not around, you keep a close eye on him. If anything happens to Zhou Xuan, you won't have to be a dog for the Zhou Clan anymore. Go to the Niu Zang Gang and accompany your dead brother..."

Zhou Lingyi lit the lantern and walked into the night.

She wanted to exchange the cowhide letter for something.
Something that would make Yuan Buyu agree to accept Zhou Xuan into the "Storyteller" hall.

(End of this chapter)