Chapter 68: Visiting a Comrade-in-Arms

Xian Hongye actually spent two hundred thousand to buy a kitchen knife! And she even "lent" it to me?!

Could this possibly mean... she has feelings for me?!

However, I quickly dismissed this thought as absurd, realizing I was just being overly sentimental and narcissistic.

Xian Hongye giving me the kitchen knife was likely out of pity, or perhaps her way of repaying me for stepping up to help her earlier.

After all, she is a wealthy second-generation heir. Making a phone call to her family results in a two-hundred-thousand-yuan transfer, the kind of person who could effortlessly slap me into submission with cash.

In my eyes, such a woman exudes an innate pride from her very bones. There was simply no way she would ever have anything to do with a cook like me who makes a living with a blade. Even if our paths crossed now, we could never share a future because the disparity between us was far too vast.

Besides, she is the woman my comrade Wang Hou has set his sights on. Whether Wang Hou can win her heart is beyond me, but I certainly cannot touch her.

As these thoughts swirled in my mind, I suddenly remembered Wang Hou, who was still lying in the side room, unconscious for two whole days and three nights.

For the past two days, the guy had remained in a hazy state, hovering perpetually on the edge of sleep and wakefulness. According to Old Nineteenth, he was afflicted by a powerful "food curse."

What on earth a food curse was, I still had no idea. Coupled with the events surrounding our old squad leader over the past two days, I hadn't been able to attend to his condition properly.

I felt quite guilty toward him.

Now that everything had finally settled down, it was only natural that I should go check on him, see if the fellow was feeling any better, and besides... hadn't Zhao Shuihe already agreed to help Wang Hou and me lift the "white food Gu" and the "food curse"?

Yesterday, during our mental duel, she had sworn quite solemnly: "As long as you win against me, I will help you and your comrade break the Gu and the curse."

Now, it was time for her to fulfill her promise.

With that thought, I turned around and called out, "Shuihe! My little grand-aunt, you said you'd help us lift..."

Before I could finish my sentence, I had to swallow the words back. My eyes widened in shock, but there was no one to be seen.

To my bewilderment, Zhao Shuihe, who had just been sitting at the table drinking tea and cracking melon seeds, had vanished.

Feeling utterly perplexed, I scratched the back of my head, having no clue what was going on.

Fortunately, Zhao Haikun stepped in at the right moment to remind me.

Once our adversaries had retreated, the Zhao family and I had each taken what we needed, resulting in a harmonious outcome. My senior uncle Zhao Haikun wore an expression of relief as he said, "Shuihe? She went out to see Lei Ren off while you were looking at the kitchen knife. She should be back shortly."

"Oh!" I nodded with a hint of disappointment, though I wasn't particularly worried.

This young girl didn't hold any deep grudge against me. Once she returned, I would soften my tone a bit and earnestly beg her, which should be enough to smooth over some of our conflicts.

Besides, she had previously asked me to help eliminate the King of Dim Lamps, which showed she was sincere about cooperating with me.

Since she was sincere, she would surely be willing to help me lift the Gu and the curse.

Therefore, I wasn't worried.

After nodding, I said to Zhao Haikun and Xian Hongye, "Then I'll go check on Wang Hou in the back room. If Zhao Shuihe comes back, please do me a favor and have her look for me in the back room."

Everyone nodded, acknowledging the request.

Before I left, Zhao Haikun smiled and offered a parting reminder: "Buer, you are a fine young man from the Temple of Confucius. You are worthy of wielding the Zhao family's kitchen knife. Look after it well. The heritage of the Zhao family is now entrusted to you..."

I understood that these were words of encouragement.

His remarks warmed my heart.

I turned back, gripped the antique kitchen knife tightly in one hand, and bowed deeply to Zhao Haikun.

Soon, I walked into the bedroom where Wang Hou was lying.

With the old squad leader's funeral concluded, I finally had the opportunity to properly visit my old comrade, old friend, old fellow townsman, and old partner.

The room was very small, and Wang Hou was quite tall, so lying on the bed, he appeared somewhat cramped.

Because Zhao Haikun had been burning mugwort to fumigate him over the past two days, the room was perpetually filled with a lingering scent of wormwood.

Amidst the fragrance of mugwort, Wang Hou lay flat on the earthen kang bed, stripped to his underwear with a towel blanket draped over his chest. The burn marks from the mugwort on his acupoints were still clearly visible.

I knew Zhao Haikun had exerted himself to the utmost trying to wake him, but helpless against the esoteric methods of these hidden rules, his efforts were merely a drop of water trying to extinguish a burning cart of firewood.

Consequently, just as he had been three days ago, Wang Hou remained fast asleep with steady breathing, his limbs twitching occasionally. At first glance, he truly looked like someone who was simply sleeping deeply.

Yet I knew he was suffering from the so-called "food curse." Old Nineteenth—that weirdo we had encountered on the Old Qi Road—had said that in Zhaojialou, only my master, Zhao Haipeng, could break this curse.

But with my master's death... my only remaining hope rested on Zhao Shuihe of the Huainan Zhao family.

In truth, I harbored doubts about Zhao Shuihe's capabilities. After all, she was far too young, and her frantic demeanor didn't make her look like someone who could save people from dire perils.

Still, one cannot judge a book by its cover! Furthermore, she was the only lifeline I had left, so whether I believed in her or not, I had no other choice.

Hence, whatever was going to happen would have to wait until she arrived.

Feeling helpless, I slumped down beside Wang Hou, my back against the wall, cradling the kitchen knife in my arms with a desolate expression.

Logically, in this setting, I should have said something to the unconscious Wang Hou, but after opening my mouth, no words came out.

I suddenly recalled the days when Wang Hou and I ran our restaurant. Whenever we closed up for the night, the two of us would crack open a few bottles of beer, accompanied by old vinegar peanuts, and chat. At first, we drank heavily, but eventually, for the sake of our health, the number of beer bottles dwindled, and in recent months, we had even started leaning toward drinking tea.

Those days were ordinary and uneventful.

Our conversation topics were eclectic, but the constants were the two of us talking nonsense and bragging, alongside the eternal topic of women.

Those off-color jokes and tall tales were the indispensable seasonings of men's lives, as well as the pressure-relief valves we relied upon to survive.

With him suddenly falling this quiet, I abruptly found that my own tongue... had forgotten how to speak.

Ah, how does that saying go? Things remain, but the people are gone, or it takes two hands to clap... Anyway, it was something like that.

At this thought, I gave a helpless, bitter laugh, reached out, and patted Wang Hou's head. "Will you damn well wake up, you bastard! The organization assigned you to protect Xian Hongye, what do you think you're doing quitting on the job?! Did you even ask your company commander for leave?"

As I touched Wang Hou's head, his head swayed slightly from side to side, and his mouth parted marginally, but he showed no intention of actually waking up.

Yet, the moment his neck swayed, I suddenly sensed an unusual vibration emanating from the back of his neck.

In a flash of realization, I discovered that Wang Hou's neck was extremely rigid, and it felt as though... it had been artificially propped up.

I immediately realized that beneath his neck, aside from the pillow, there must be something else hidden.

Driven by this sudden suspicion, I slowly slid my hand underneath the back of Wang Hou's head.

Then, I felt a lump of something resting beneath his neck...