cooperate

The news of the haunted house at Lao Zhuang's house spread throughout the entire Zhoujia Village by noon the next day.

"I heard it was a pretty bad fall; even Dr. Guosheng shook his head in dismay!"

"After all, Lao Zhuang is already that old. What do you think he was thinking? Even though it's haunted, he doesn't even consider whether he's done something immoral, yet he still wants to fight the ghost to the death?"

"Tsk tsk tsk, you know Lao Zhuang's character, he's more ruthless than a demon. I think he deserves it, Heaven is going to punish him! You don't know, do you? His relatives..."

On the drying ground, the sweltering heat couldn't dampen the enthusiasm of the crowd as they discussed the scene.

Zhou Lexing calmly found a shady spot under a tree to sit and enjoy the cool air.

When He Huaizhi found him, he saw him staring blankly ahead, sweat dripping from his wheat-colored skin. He was leaning against a tree, one long leg stretched out in front of him, the other bent and supporting his arm. The smooth muscle lines were completely exposed under his vest, and a pair of deep eyes were on his high nose. His superior bone structure and face made him look at an object, even if it was just a handful of wheat, with a deep affection even if he was expressionless.

He Huaizhi couldn't help but smile.

He knew his intuition was always right; when he wanted to find something, his intuition could guide him to his destination. So, it seemed his charm hadn't diminished at all. Perhaps Zhou Lexing's previous sternness was just to attract his attention.

Thinking of this, He Huaizhi straightened his clothes and confidently walked up to Zhou Lexing, directly blocking his view of what was ahead.

Zhou Lexing quickly came to his senses, raised his eyes, frowned, and asked with a hint of impatience, "What are you doing?"

He Huaizhi felt a sting on his face. Although the previous wound healed quickly, when Zhou Lexing looked at him with such an aggressive gaze, He Huaizhi couldn't help but feel a tightness in his heart. Even the places where he had been injured seemed to still hurt. However, these minor discomforts could not suppress the excitement and desire that suddenly ignited in his heart with that gaze.

"I came here to find you, of course." He Huaizhi slowly squatted down to be level with Zhou Lexing, and for a moment he seemed to be able to feel the heat coming from Zhou Lexing's end. "Would you like to talk about what happened last night?"

He Huaizhi spoke softly, raising his hand to touch Zhou Lexing's drooping hand, but Zhou Lexing avoided it.

"What's up?"

Zhou Lexing crossed his legs and placed his hands on his knees. Although the movement seemed casual, He Huaizhi knew that at this distance, with Zhou Lexing's skills, it would be easy for him to punch him. But this knowledge could not extinguish his enthusiasm.

"Last night, the ghost story, was it related to you?"

He Huaizhi slowed down and tentatively moved closer, staring intently at Zhou Lexing, but couldn't glean anything from Zhou Lexing's expressionless face.

Zhou Lexing was naturally unperturbed. Last night it was dark, and the only person who knew the truth was Li Dagang, who helped procure the items. The paper effigy, which was the main prop, had long been burned. The whole thing was done by Li Dagang, so he naturally knew best whether there were people hiding in the shadows.

If this person is trying to scam him, their tricks are too crude.

Zhou Lexing: "Get lost, or I'll beat you up."

His tone was calm, but He Huaizhi was certain that his words were entirely true. However, He Huaizhi had not come here today to cause trouble for Zhou Lexing.

He Huaizhi: "Don't be angry. I know you want to deal with more than just Zhou Laozhuang. I can help you. How about it? Want to cooperate?"

He Huaizhi, having been Zhou Lexing's leader for generations, was well aware of Zhou Lexing's character and methods.

Although he didn't know why Zhou Laozhuang had become the villain in this life, He Huaizhi, who knew a lot of secrets, knew that Liu Wu and others from Lijia Village were Zhou Lexing's mortal enemies.

In his previous life, Zhou Laozhuang did indeed cause trouble at Zhou Lexing's house, but because Zhou Lexing's attempt to set fire to his house failed, he ended up being labeled as the victim.

Even Zhou Yuanxiang was completely disappointed in her third son because of this incident, which can be seen as a foreshadowing of Zhou Lexing's later escape from the constraints of the family.

But this time there was no arson scene, and Zhou Lexing's reputation in the village was completely different from his previous lives. If he wanted to persuade Zhou Lexing to join his ranks again, he would have to resort to some tricks.

"I can help you kill Liu Wu..."

He Huaizhi spoke very softly, almost drowned out by the noisy chatter around him.

Zhou Lexing thought for a while before finally finding the character Liu Wu in the corners of his memory.

His expression was inscrutable as he stared at He Huaizhi for a while, sensing that something was amiss.

How did this person know about the entanglement between the original owner and Liu Wu?

In fact, Liu Wu has not appeared since the last battle at the warehouse. Even Zhou Bobo, who had a major falling out with him, never mentions Liu Wu because of his resentment over betrayal. Not many people in the village know about him and Liu Wu, which is evident from the fact that this matter has not reached Zhou's mother's ears so far.

He Huaizhi only arrived in Zhoujia Village two days ago. How could he know that Liu Wu had a grudge against him and be so sure that he wanted Liu Wu dead?

But Zhou Lexing's brief silence and meaningful look made He Huaizhi mistakenly think that he had hit the nail on the head, and his expression brightened.

He knew it!

Liu Wu and Zhou Lexing had been at odds for several years. Even after Zhou Lexing killed someone and was sent to work for him, he still asked him to help deal with Liu Wu.

If he pretends to help Zhou Lexing deal with Liu Wu and then plots to expose Zhou Lexing's murder, Zhou Lexing will inevitably have to follow the same path he has walked for generations. At that time, he will have no other choice but to rely on him.

At that time, wouldn't Zhou Lexing's identity be entirely at his disposal?

He Huaizhi's mind was racing with thoughts. Suppressing his emotions, he lowered his voice and continued, "How about we find a place to talk this over? I have a way for you to get rid of Liu Wu quietly, as long as you..."

"Zhou Lexing! Where is Zhou Lexing?!"

Before He Huaizhi could finish speaking, a hoarse voice shouted from the other end of the threshing ground, immediately attracting everyone's attention.

He Huaizhi turned his head and saw a somewhat familiar figure leading several people swaggering towards him, his eyes constantly scanning the surrounding shadows, clearly looking for Zhou Lexing.

That troublemaking look was very familiar, but He Huaizhi had met too many people in his lifetimes. Apart from those who could benefit him or had tripped him up, he rarely paid attention to those nameless nobody who left only a brief moment in his life.

It's probably one of the low-level thugs that Zhou Lexing bullied.

He Huaizhi turned to look at Zhou Lexing, whose light he had blocked, and saw that Zhou Lexing raised his eyebrows slightly, not looking at the henchman who called his name, but staring at him, as if observing his reaction.

He Huaizhi's heart stirred, realizing that his guess before coming here was indeed correct. Zhou Lexing cared about him. His previous sternness was probably just to attract his attention. On second thought, wasn't this also a good opportunity for Zhou Lexing to know his abilities?

The thought in He Huaizhi's mind vanished in an instant, and the chubby young man who swaggered into the drying ground soon spotted his target as well.

"Zhou Lexing! What are you doing here without saying a word?!" Liu Wu was very dissatisfied with Zhou Lexing's attitude. He raised his round chin slightly, put his hands on his hips, and showed a hint of arrogant dissatisfaction. However, his downturned eyes were secretly observing Zhou Lexing's expression. When he saw Zhou Lexing's deep eyes looking up at him with no smile on his face, his arrogance vanished like a balloon punctured by a needle.

"I need to talk to you. Come with me." After saying that, Liu Wu seemed to only then notice He Huaizhi, who was squatting in front of Zhou Lexing and blocking his view. He said with displeasure, "And who are you? Get out of my way!"

He spoke to He Huaizhi in a very impolite tone, and several of his men who had come with him immediately stepped forward to pull He Huaizhi away, sensing his displeasure.

He Huaizhi sneered. Apart from Zhou Lexing, no one had ever gotten the better of him.

Just as He Huaizhi stood up to meet the challenge, Zhou Lexing also stood up, immediately drawing the attention of everyone in the drying yard.

"Let's go." Zhou Lexing looked at the group with little interest, but he didn't want to be a laughingstock for the others in the drying yard. He paused briefly and added, "Liu Wu."

He Huaizhi froze on the spot. Seeing Zhou Lexing actually following Liu Wu out, he assumed they were going to find another place to fight, so he quickly followed.

This is a rare opportunity for collaboration!

Ideally, Liu Wu's men would beat Zhou Lexing to a pulp before he could help, but that's obviously impossible. However, even if Zhou Lexing wasn't beaten, his injury for Zhou Lexing's sake would be a good starting point.

The fight that He Huaizhi had anticipated never happened, or rather, the target of the fight was wrong.

"Who exactly is that guy following us? He doesn't look like a good person!"

Liu Wu looked back twice, dissatisfied.

Just now, because this guy was blocking his way, he couldn't find Zhou Lexing for a moment. And the two of them were talking so close together, weren't they afraid of getting spit on each other? What kind of grown man is so clingy? Following behind like a little wife, what a pretty boy!

Zhou Lexing had no idea what Liu Wu was imagining, and he didn't really want to find a quiet place with Liu Wu. He simply asked as they walked, "What do you want with me?"

If you want to challenge him to a fight, that's fine too. He hasn't had a proper workout in a long time. Just don't let it happen in Zhoujia Village, so as not to worry Zhou's mother.

As Zhou Lexing was thinking casually, he heard Liu Wu scoff, "You still don't know anything?"

"They've brought in help to cause you trouble."

Liu Wu briefly repeated what Zhou Dongqiang and Li Hubing had said, then added, "I didn't mean to help you, but the people from Li Family Village caused trouble for Zhou Family Village without even informing me. They clearly don't respect me! I have to teach them a lesson!"

Actually, Liu Wu had just learned about this last night and was about to come and inform Zhou Lexing, but some alarmist guy said that there were wolves at night, which led to Liu Wu, who was slacking off during the day, being locked up by his family. Fortunately, he had a backup plan and asked a few of his brothers to keep an eye on Li Hubing and Zhou Dongqiang. When he heard today that they were going to make a move, he immediately gathered a few of his brothers to come and support them.

Zhou Lexing seemed lost in thought as he listened to Liu Wu's words, and after a long while, he suddenly asked, "Who is Li Hubing?"

Liu Wu: "..."