Chapter 88: Junk

Chapter 88: Junk

Zhou Xia surveyed the house, finding not a single cat hair left. He concluded that Sang Xu hadn't met with trouble but had moved out voluntarily. After all, if something had gone wrong, the place wouldn't be spotless.

What was Sang Xu thinking? Why didn't he leave a message when he moved? Had he encountered some difficulty and needed to hide his tracks?

Zhou Xia sat on a sack, pulled out his phone, and dialed Sang Xu's number, but it wouldn't connect. Zhou Xia grew agitated. Why couldn't he get through? Had something really happened? What good was the Impermanent Immortal? Wasn't she supposed to look after Sang Xiaoguai? He then opened WeChat and messaged Sang Xu.

Zhou Xia: "Where are you?"

Zhou Xia: "Where exactly are you?"

Zhou Xia: "Where, where, where, where?"

Three red exclamation marks appeared before each message, followed by a small line of text at the bottom:

"Message sent, but blocked by the recipient."

What did this mean?

Had Sang Xiaoguai blocked him?

At that moment, an unbelievable thought finally dawned on him: Sang Xu hadn’t met with trouble; he had done this on purpose.

He called Zhou Yinan. "Hey, Zhou Yinan, where are you? Get your ass over here and see me."

With that, Zhou Xia hung up. Standing by the floor-to-ceiling window, he looked down, his brow furrowed. A row of electric scooters was parked in the shed, and Sang Xu’s, tucked deep inside, was covered in a thick layer of dust.

Zhou Yinan looked at his phone, his expression troubled. The caller ID clearly showed "Ancestor"—the one who had just called was indeed Zhou Xia, who had been missing for nearly half a month.

Zhou Anjin asked in a daze, "The Ancestor is back?"

"Exactly," Zhou Yinan said gravely. "He said he wants to see us."

Zhou Anjin felt a sense of impending doom. They knew Zhou Xia’s temper—he was a firecracker, ready to explode at the slightest spark. If Zhou Xia found out that after he left, they had wronged his little sweetheart, driven him away, and caused him to jump ship to the Li family without a second thought, Zhou Xia would surely make them pay dearly.

"It’s fine," Zhou Yinan said, noticing his son’s worry. He smiled and added, "Have you forgotten? That piece of jade I bought for a million—he’s been wearing it for a long time now."

Remembering the jade, Zhou Anjin felt reassured. It was something an outsider had brought back from Changmeng, capable of clouding one’s mind. After wearing it for a long time, a person’s consciousness would be erased like pencil marks, becoming a blank slate. By then, no matter how powerful the evil spirit, it would be under their control.

The two drove to the neighborhood where Sang Xu had previously rented an apartment. They went up to the 20th floor, where the door was wide open. Inside, they saw a sack by the floor-to-ceiling window, but Zhou Xia was nowhere in sight. As they put on their Nuo masks, a vivid red figure appeared by the window.

It was Zhou Xia. He looked just as before, wearing a Nuo mask, with eyes glowing like golden lamps visible through the eye holes and an intense, menacing aura between his brows. Red tassels hung from his ears, accentuating their cold, pale skin, as if carved from ice and snow, giving off an eerie presence. He sat on his sack, arms crossed, looking impatient.

Zhou Anjin’s gaze fell on the bulging sack, and he was speechless. "Did the Ancestor go collecting junk?"

Since Zhou Xia would soon be under their control, he didn’t care if he offended him.

Collecting junk? Zhou Xia was so enraged he saw black. This brat dared to call his treasures junk?

Just as he was about to speak, Zhou Yinan interjected calmly, "Kneel."

The surroundings fell silent for a few seconds. Zhou Xia looked at them, utterly baffled.

What was going on? Why wasn’t Zhou Xia obeying? Zhou Yinan instantly realized something must have gone wrong with the jade. Before Zhou Xia could ask, he immediately kicked Zhou Anjin. Zhou Anjin fell to his knees with a thud, and then heard his father say with a mix of shock and anger, "You brat, how dare you remain standing when told to kneel!"

After saying this, Zhou Yinan also knelt, speaking earnestly, "The Ancestor must be wondering why Xiao Sang is gone. It’s all Anjin’s fault for failing to take care of him and letting Xiao Sang suffer injustice at work. The other day, Xiao Sang was falsely accused by a colleague. Anjin, being brainless, believed the slander and wronged him. Although the truth came out later and we wanted to make it up to the child, he refused to accept it and left for another job. As for the colleague who falsely accused him, we intended to punish him severely, but he got what he deserved—he was killed by the Grand Patriarch during the Year-End Grand Sacrifice."

"Year-End Grand Sacrifice?" Zhou Xia frowned.

"Indeed," Zhou Yinan said. "The Ancestor was away, so you wouldn’t know. The Sang family has a new Grand Patriarch. A few days ago, the five families attended the sacrifice together to meet him."

"How was he?" Zhou Xia narrowed his eyes.

"Not to be underestimated," Zhou Yinan said with a bitter smile. "As soon as the banquet began, he made everyone kneel to him, giving the five of us quite a show of force. He demanded that the five families promise to return to Changmeng, and we’ve already stationed people there. I heard that old stubborn from the Li family wasn’t satisfied and stayed behind after the banquet. He probably didn’t gain anything—as soon as he returned home, he locked himself away. Given that old man’s nature, if he had gained an advantage, he would’ve been shouting it from the rooftops."

Zhou Xia stood up, feeling heavy-hearted. He hadn’t expected that in just the few days he was gone, Sang Xiaoguai had experienced so much. That kid was clever—having met the five families, he had managed to conceal his identity and avoid being taken advantage of. Disguise and acting had always been Sang Xiaoguai’s specialties. Watching these fools being made fools of by Sang Xiaoguai without even realizing it reminded him of his own first encounter with Sang Xiaoguai.

Knowing he wasn’t the only one fooled by Sang Xiaoguai, Zhou Xia felt a bit better. Seeing Sang Xiaoguai so capable gave him a sense of pride, as if his own child had grown up. He mercilessly mocked the Zhou family: "It’s because you’re too stupid. If you can’t even handle a kid, what right do you have to lead the five families?"

Zhou Yinan felt ashamed and said, "If the Ancestor had been here, it certainly wouldn’t have turned out this way."

"Obviously," Zhou Xia snorted. After thinking it over, he felt something was off. "Strange, clearly it was you who upset Sang Xu. Why did he block me?"

Zhou Anjin, feeling stifled, let out a cold laugh and said, "Probably because he found a new backer."

Zhou Yinan glared at him warningly, signaling him to shut up.

Zhou Anjin, after all, was still young and couldn’t keep his cool like his father. His temper flared, and he spoke recklessly, "Sang Xu has gone to the Li family. He’s now a favorite of the Li family’s Old Master Li Sijiu. Have you heard of Li Sijiu, Ancestor? He’s from the same generation as you. You treated Sang Xu like a treasure, but he probably only saw you as a backer. Once you were gone, he found a new one. I heard he’s doing very well in the Li family, even more impressive than in the Zhou family. Maybe he’s sweet-talking Old Master Li the same way he did with you."

After saying this, he couldn’t help but sneer to himself. What kind of ancestor was this? Deceived in matters of the heart and still unaware—what right did he have to call them stupid?

The man before them grew colder by the second, his golden pupils seeming to glaze over with a piercing coldness.

Zhou Xia didn’t fully believe the Zhou father and son’s words, but such lies were easy to expose. He could simply ask Sang Xu for the truth, and the Zhou father and son wouldn’t dare lie to his face. So, at least in their eyes, Sang Xu had indeed abandoned him after his disappearance and found a new backer.

Why would that old thing from the Li family trust Sang Xu? What sweet words had Sang Xu used to coax him? Or, just like how he had seduced Zhou Xia, had he seduced someone else?

That little rascal Sang Xu… really seemed capable of such a thing.

Zhou Xia thought fiercely, if he dared seduce someone else, he’d break his damn legs.

Zhou Yinan tried to soothe him, "Ancestor, we’ll find you a better one. Sang Xu is too young and doesn’t know better. There are plenty of eligible men everywhere, and among the outsiders, there are no shortage of handsome ones. For example, that child named Wen Yuan in the group—you’ve met him, right? He’s docile and obedient. How about I introduce you to him?"

"Just get out for now," Zhou Xia said irritably.

The two had no choice but to take their leave. Zhou Yinan called his assistant and instructed him to immediately select male models matching Sang Xu’s appearance.

Zhou Xia dialed Han Rao on WeChat. Han Rao was in the bath and was surprised to get a voice call from Zhou Xia.

He quickly dried his hands and answered, "Mr. Zhou, you’re back! Your physical body is still with me—I’ve frozen it. Do you still want it?"

"I’m asking you, why did Sang… Liu Jianguo block me? What’s his relationship with that Li whatever Jiu?"

"Uh…"

Just as Han Rao was about to speak, Zhou Xia interrupted him, "Never mind. Tell Liu Jianguo it’s 10 a.m. now. I’m giving him one hour to come here and explain himself. I’ll be waiting here. His explanation had better satisfy me."

After saying this, Zhou Xia hung up.

Han Rao broke out in a cold sweat and hurriedly sent a message to Sang Xu in the "Friendship Stronger Than Gold" group chat.

Han Rao: "Hey, hey, Mr. Zhou is back! He wants you to go home and see him within an hour."

Han Rao: "He seems to have some misunderstanding about you. Did you block him?"

Han Rao: "Can you make it in an hour?"

Han Rao: "Mr. Zhou’s body is still frozen here. Should I ship it to him?"

Sang Xu was applying medicine to the wounds on his back in the boss's office. The mirror reflected the extensive bruises and scratches on his body, especially the large bruise on his back. His skin was too pale, making the bruises appear stark and vivid—a shocking sight.

Although the HeavenMending Pill was effective, it couldn't be taken excessively. Moreover, he needed to conserve them for employee salaries and planned to hire a new staff member. He had just enough HeavenMending Pills on hand and couldn't afford to waste them. So this time, he only took two pills to heal the serious injuries, while the bruises and scratches could be treated with ointment.

His phone buzzed. Sang Xu unlocked the screen and saw the messages from Han Rao.

Zhou Xia was back?

He was fine. Sang Xu’s heart, anxious for days, finally settled. As expected of Killing Immortal—his divine power at its peak could suppress the Five Families. Even if he was now incomplete, how could mere rifts in the world trouble him?

See him? No desire to.

Sang Xu calmly typed:

"Tell him to screw off."