UCS Chapter 20

Gao Gusheng stared in disbelief at the stack of takeout containers on the table.

 

After Ying Bujie finished another bowl of rice, he looked up from his bowl. Gao Gusheng instinctively shuddered and moved closer to Gao Shi.

 

[Holy crap! I thought he was going to eat me too!]

 

Gao Shi casually pushed the braised pork knuckle towards Ying Bujie, “This is delicious too, it’s so tender it falls off the bone. You can mix the meat and sauce with the rice.”

 

Ying Bujie’s eyes sparkled. He tried it as Gao Shi suggested and his eyes curved into a smile.

 

Gao Shi moved naturally, as if he had fed someone like this thousands of times before.

 

Since receiving the call from his father, Gao Shi had been ordering takeout.

 

Actually, Gao Shi had already reserved a table of dishes at Liushui Pavilion for Ying Bujie’s arrival, but after seeing Ying Bujie’s appetite, he decisively opted for takeout instead.

 

While Liushui Pavilion’s food was delicious, with reservations booked six months in advance, one meal’s portion wasn’t even enough to fill Ying Bujie’s stomach.

 

Given the sudden situation, to ensure Ying Bujie was well-fed, Gao Shi tearfully sacrificed his takeout account.

 

The takeout app’s reminders escalated from “Please order moderately and save food” to “Hello, your account shows suspected order manipulation behavior and has been suspended for three months” before Ying Bujie was finally full.

 

Good, now they could discuss important matters.

 

Surprisingly, although Gao Shi initially thought Ying Bujie’s incomplete spirit essence and memory loss would make solving Gao Gusheng’s problem difficult, it turned out that Kong Miao was right – these spells came as naturally as breathing to Ying Bujie, ingrained in his bones.

 

Watching Ying Bujie and Gao Gusheng enter the isolation formation, Gao Shi sat outside and opened his watch.

 

[Xingxing at your service ^^]

 

He opened the “Plot” document, which contained information he had gathered during these recent periods of unconsciousness.

 

In the index section, next to Wen Liang’s name was a “?”, and below it, the words “Celestial Master” were highlighted in red.

 

The last time he was in a dream, the man with the blurry face was referred to as “Celestial Master Zhang” by others.

 

Ironically, his foolish son had once said that his meeting with Ying Bujie was like the plot of a romance novel from ten years ago, but in reality, Gao Gusheng’s encounter with Celestial Master Zhang was more fitting of that description.

 

It was a rainy night.

 

Gao Shi stood in mid-air, seeing Gao Gusheng covered in wounds.

 

Since Gao Shi could only remember fragments, he wasn’t sure who had inflicted these wounds on his son. He only saw that Gao Gusheng’s right leg was limping, his body seemed very weak, his face pale, as fragile as a willow in the wind.

 

Yet these wounds did nothing to diminish the deadly allure of his body. He was like pristine snow on the ground, making one irresistibly want to leave marks on him.

 

Gao Shi couldn’t help but frown.

 

…

 

This day marked the Frost’s Descent[mfn]Frost’s Descent (霜降, Shuangjiang) is the 18th solar term in the traditional Chinese calendar, typically falling around October 23-24 of the Gregorian calendar. It marks the last solar term of autumn and signifies the transition from late autumn to early winter.[/mfn].

 

Late at night, a fine rain fell continuously, the autumn rain chilling to the bone.

 

Gao Gusheng limped through a small alley, holding an umbrella.

 

One of the umbrella’s ribs was broken, and a raindrop slid down the umbrella’s surface into his slightly oversized collar, making him shiver from the cold.

 

As the phone serving as a flashlight flickered, he saw something lying at his doorstep.

 

He instinctively took a step back, seemingly remembering something that made him start to tremble slightly, his face showing indescribable fear.

 

His face turned deathly pale, making Gao Shi’s heart clench.

 

After a while, when the thing didn’t move, color gradually returned to Gao Gusheng’s face.

 

Gathering his courage, he approached and saw a person.

 

Gao Gusheng gently touched the man’s face, finding him unconscious and soaked in cold rainwater. The man’s entire body was ice-cold; if left lying there, he might suffer from hypothermia.

 

More critically, there were ghastly wounds on his back, as if he had been attacked by a wild beast.

 

Gao Gusheng wanted to call an ambulance, but suddenly the man woke up and grabbed his wrist.

 

“Don’t go to the hospital.”

 

After hesitating, he still dragged the man into his house.

 

Gao Shi couldn’t see the man’s face clearly, unsure if it was due to some “plot” protection.

 

In the dream, Gao Gusheng bandaged the man’s wounds and gave him medicine.

 

At midnight, the man developed a high fever. Gao Gusheng cared for him tirelessly until dawn.

 

As morning sunlight filled the room after a night of autumn rain, the sky was crystal clear. Gao Gusheng gently placed his hand on the man’s forehead to check his temperature.

 

At that moment, the man opened his eyes, meeting a warm autumn scene.

 

The young man’s face was stunningly beautiful, his eyes gentle. His voice, slightly hoarse from a sleepless night, was still captivating, like golden autumn leaves rustling as they fall to the ground carried by the wind.

 

“You’re awake.”

 

Their gazes met, as if traversing a thousand years. The man felt his lifeless heart in his chest begin to beat vigorously, like the first spring sprout breaking through the soil, infused with vitality by the spring wind and rain.

 

This was—

 

The first encounter between the farmer and the snake.

 

***

 

Gao Shi lifted his head from the memory. In the “Plot” document, three people were now recorded.

 

Wen Liang.

 

Celestial Master Zhang.

 

And the person Gao Shi named [Contractor].

 

Now, Wen Liang was in prison. The bastard had actually turned on a video camera before attempting to harm Lele. Anyone could guess what he intended to do.

 

However, life is unpredictable, and this camera became crucial evidence in confirming his crime.

 

With material evidence present, even if the lawyer hired by the Wen family could talk flowers into blooming, they couldn’t get Wen Liang out.

 

This wasn’t just attempted molestation, but a malicious one. When the working camera was found at the crime scene, Wen Liang’s lawyer’s face immediately turned grim.

 

In a few days, Wen Liang would face trial. Since it was an attempted crime, Wen Liang would receive a lighter sentence.

 

But even with a lighter sentence, his record would be permanently stained.

 

Perhaps the Wen family’s wealth could make people overlook his shortcomings, but when both parties in a transaction are equally powerful, the other side would certainly think twice about Wen Liang’s character.

 

In cooperation, the worst fear is a partner who stabs you in the back. The label of “two-faced” has been hung on Wen Liang, and it’s likely he won’t be able to remove it in this lifetime.

 

In Gao Shi’s dream, the future Wen Liang had taken a path in scientific research. His patented drug formulas belonged to the Wen family, and the family enterprise thrived on the enormous profits.

 

Later, the Wen family began aggressively acquiring low-priced drug formulas with slightly weaker effects. Whether by cutting off funding or malicious advertising, they used every dirty trick in the book. Only after the Wen family’s monopoly became unstoppable did everyone see the terrifying true face behind Wen Liang’s gentle and refined appearance.

 

After the Wen family monopolized the market, low-priced drugs were rarely produced. The few pharmaceutical companies that insisted on producing affordable drugs had their distribution channels cut off, making it almost impossible to buy low-priced drugs on the market.

 

Drug prices were raised repeatedly, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

 

This time, Wen Liang went directly to jail and would be locked up for at least two or three years. Surely, the future would change as a result. At the very least, fewer people would be bankrupted trying to buy medicine.

 

The next person was Celestial Master Zhang.

 

According to the pattern of dream appearances, Celestial Master Zhang should have already noticed Gao Gusheng. Gao Shi guessed that he was probably the mastermind behind controlling Gao Gusheng to go out that day.

 

By the way, Gao Shi had asked Ying Bujie how he dealt with the ghost hand that had troubled his unlucky son that day.

 

Taoist Ying thought for a moment and said, “Evil ghosts bear karmic obstacles. They should go to the Mirror of Sin Hell for 300 years, the Boiling Oil Hell for 200 years, and the Hell of Unjust Death for 300 years.”

 

Gao Shi was stunned, “But doesn’t the underworld no longer exist now?”

 

Taoist Ying nodded, “So this poor Taoist followed the rules of this world and let her dissipate.”

 

Gao Shi: …Well, well, from 800 years of punishment to complete soul dissipation[mfn]There’s an ironic tone in Gao Shi’s comment. While 800 years of punishment sounds harsh, it at least offered the possibility of eventual redemption or reincarnation. Soul dissipation, on the other hand, is final and irreversible.[/mfn].

 

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