The moment I saw the old man, I felt like I knew how to write the word "ugly".
His appearance, with his large, protruding mouth, was terrifying, as if he had eaten a toad.
When the two of us opened the door, the old man seemed to choke suddenly and took a step back.
He was just cursing and swearing, but now he seems to have suddenly choked up and doesn't know what to say.
He stared at the two of us with a look of utter surprise.
"Who...who are you?"
"I'm a long-time user! Are you new here?"
The old man was short and was waving his hands frantically, looking quite flustered.
"Let me tell you, I don't owe you any money!"
When Zhou Pang, that fat guy, was around, I came to stay every month!
I never expected it was you guys inside...
If it were Zhou Pang, I should tear down this shabby inn of his!
The old man was shouting while simultaneously trying to explain, which we found quite strange.
At this moment, the girl next to me was gripping my hand tightly, and his phone was covered in sweat.
He lowered his voice and asked, "Brother, does this guy know Boss Zhou?"
I nodded slightly. Indeed, the Zhou Pang he mentioned must be the same Zhou the fat man from earlier.
I always felt that the fat man's name reflected his personality.
Not only is it fat, it's also enormous.
Judging from this, the old man and the fat man must be old acquaintances.
And it seems he often owes the boss money.
"Yes, he was talking about long-time users..."
I said it casually, and that the old man probably didn't have any major malicious intent in his current state.
In other words, the black aura emanating from him is simply an internal emanation and does not indicate that he harbors any ill will towards us.
At that moment, the Thunder Strike Sword also appeared in my mind, hurriedly saying, "Master, be careful! The energy on this old man's body is getting stronger!"
I became more vigilant, and now, when I'm sometimes unsure of what to do, the old man suddenly stops.
Gone was the complaining and anxiety from before. Instead, he took a deep breath and spoke calmly.
"The thing you're worried about is related to energy storage, isn't it... I can tell."
Before I walked in, I thought that fat guy had gotten some kind of treasure!
Don't worry, I may not be a good person, but I wouldn't stoop so low as to steal what you have."
The old man's words at this moment puzzled me even more.
Energy storage?
Could he be referring to the dew-covered branch?
I looked at the girl, Yiyi, who was completely stunned and subconsciously reached into her pocket.
I didn't take anything out, and I was hiding it very carefully the whole time. How did this guy find out?
Could he be a master?
Yiyi and I both had expressions of surprise, but neither of us said a word.
This reaction seemed to please the old man even more, and the wrinkles on his face began to loosen slightly.
But seeing this only made me feel more disgusted.
He leaned forward a little, stretched out his withered hand again, and slowly put his pickaxe behind his back.
Then, he took another step back, picked up the nylon bag he had just dropped on the ground, and carefully put the pickaxe back in.
When he delivered the pickaxe, I peeked through the nylon bag and saw that it was full of scrap metal. You could say that the pickaxe he took out was the most object-like piece of junk he could find.
At this moment, the old man wiped his hand on the outside of the bag again, leaving several black marks.
“Let me tell you, your thing probably grows on trees, or maybe it grows in the sea. I know what you’re looking for. I can save it, or I can ruin it.”
We didn't speak, but a wave of emotions was already surging within me.
This guy can't be a movie fan, right?
It's highly likely that the film crew stole the jar of aged sea cucumber, trapping us in a maze of illusions.
This is completely inconsistent with the old man's aloof and superior attitude.
Although I didn't say anything, I did give him a slight "hmm".
"Kids, don't worry too much. At least I'm not going to kill you. I just want to check in quickly, I'm exhausted."
My indifference seemed to be within his expectations. He paused for a moment, then ran to the counter and looked around before raising his voice.
"Where are Zhou Pang's employees? Where did that young man who watches the shop go?"
The old man's words carried a hint of accusation, which actually stumped me.
What does this mean?
Could it be that this old man knows about the shop assistant's affairs?
This really surprised me.
It seems this guy has really lived here for a long time; otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have revealed everything about Fatty Zhou and his partner so quickly.
Hearing this, I became even less wary of him.
If he were a threat to us, he wouldn't be asking me so many questions.
But the only absurd thing is the timing of this guy's appearance; it happened exactly a few hours after that Fatty Zhou left.
In that case, it's possible that he specifically waited until after Fatty Zhou left before coming.
Why is that?
Could it be that he's afraid of this Fatty Zhou?
But judging from what the old man said, that's impossible.
Another possibility is that someone else sent him. If that's the case, then I need to be more vigilant.
I tried to remain calm and said somewhat vaguely.
"You mean that person? He went out to buy things, he's not in the store..."
"fart!"
At that moment, the old man suddenly seemed to lose his mind again, and let out a loud curse.
"I'm not asking about the one who harvests sea marrow, but the one who wipes the tables and registers people at the front desk every day. Where is he?!"
The old man became angry, and at the same time, he exhaled a little white smoke from his mouth.
His tone, however, carried a strong sense of unquestionable authority.
The other guys?
The only guy that Fatty Zhou mentioned to us was the one who went out to collect sea marrow.
Is there another one registered?
I was filled with confusion.
But this old man didn't seem to be lying at all.
He even claimed to be a regular here... unless there's one possibility: this old man hasn't been here in a long time!
"Sir, I won't ask you anything else yet, just tell me what time it is!"
I just spoke directly.
I thought the old man would just make something up at this point.
But he calmed himself down slowly and then took out an old pocket watch from his nylon bag.
I took a quick look.
"What's there to ask? It's almost midnight!"
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