Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
At that moment, I noticed the grocery store owner slightly opening her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but her expression quickly changed back to her usual smile. "You're overthinking it. How could I have seen your friend? I just thought he looked a bit familiar and glanced at him a few more times... Please, take a seat. I'll bring out your dishes shortly."
With that, the restaurant owner hurriedly averted my gaze and turned to walk briskly toward the kitchen. Her hurried steps clearly indicated that something was amiss.
The more she acted this way, the more suspicious I became. I thought to myself that I had to get some information out of her no matter what.
Just then, Yao Long beside me asked, "What's up with the owner? Do you think she's acting strange?" His voice was low, as if he feared the restaurant owner would overhear him, but due to the noise outside, I barely caught what he said.
After pondering for a moment, I replied, "It's nothing. I just feel like the owner has been looking at you strangely, as if she discovered something about you. Anyway, I'll ask her later. Come on, let's eat..."
I picked up my chopsticks and prepared to dig in, but when I looked down at the plates on the table, I found an assortment of insects—cicada larvae, grasshoppers... and some deep-fried ones that were so black I couldn't even name them.
Swallowing hard at the sight of the dishes, I turned to Hu Fang. "Here, you ordered these dishes; you go ahead and try them first..."
However, Hu Fang, sitting to my left, didn't even dare to pick up her chopsticks. She stared blankly at the food in front of her and said in a lifeless tone, "Don't mind me. I'll wait until all the dishes are served before eating. You all go ahead..."
On the other side, Li Zhisheng heard Hu Fang's words and teased her with a smile. "That's not like you, Sister Hu. This isn't your usual style..." He sniffed at the food in front of him and continued, "It actually smells pretty good! If it weren't for my aversion to insects, I wouldn't hesitate to join you. You should try it for me..." He wore an expression that suggested he was eager to watch the spectacle unfold.
Forced by the situation, Hu Fang reluctantly picked up her chopsticks and was about to reach for some food when a voice from behind interrupted us. "Excuse me, everyone! Your dishes are here... coming through..." A male server approached with a tray of food.
Seeing this unfold, I felt puzzled and quickly asked the server who was setting down the plates, "Excuse me, where did that female server who brought us our food go?"
"Oh, that's our boss. She had something urgent come up and left for now... Is there something wrong with your dishes?" The server replied while wiping his greasy hands.
At that moment, a chill ran through me as I realized that the boss seemed to know something important but was reluctant to share it with us.
In a moment of desperation, I slammed my hand on the table and stood up. This sudden action startled Hu Fang, Yao Long, and Li Zhisheng sitting nearby, their faces filled with shock as they looked at me, completely bewildered by what was happening.
I couldn't afford to worry about their reactions anymore. I grabbed a nearby waiter and urgently asked, "Where did your boss go? Which way did she leave?!"
The waiter was taken aback for a moment, then timidly pointed towards the back kitchen. "She... she just went out the back door. She left just a couple of minutes ago..."
Without waiting for him to finish, I released my grip on him and turned to the others gathered around the table. "Wait for me here; I'll be right back!" With that, I hurried into the back kitchen. The waiter tried to stop me, but it was too late.
A moment later, I emerged from the kitchen into a narrow alley behind it. I glanced around and saw that the alley was dimly lit and could barely accommodate two or three people walking side by side. There were exits on both sides of the alley.
Just as I was at a loss for what to do next, I caught sight of a figure in the shadows under the dim light. Judging by her attire, it had to be the restaurant owner; she was walking briskly, seemingly eager to leave.
Seeing this, I quickly rushed forward and grabbed her arm. The restaurant owner was startled by my sudden move and lifted her leg as if to run away, but my grip on her arm was too tight for her to escape.
In response, she let out a loud scream: "Help! Someone's trying to rob me..."
Hearing this, I instinctively covered her mouth and anxiously explained, "Don't be afraid! I won't hurt you; I just want to ask you some questions."
But she wouldn't listen to my explanation and continued to struggle fiercely. Realizing this, I had no choice but to release my hand from her mouth and hurriedly pulled out some money from my pocket, waving it in front of her. "Is this enough?! I really just want to know something; I mean no harm..."
Seeing that I had no intention of hurting her, the restaurant owner gradually stopped struggling. I loosened my grip on her hand and prepared to hand the money over to her.
But she not only refused to take the money, she pushed it back towards me. In the dim light, I saw a hint of embarrassment on her face as she said, "I'm not a greedy person; I won't take your money for no reason. It's just that... what exactly do you want to ask?"
Hearing this, I thought to myself, "How rare it is to find someone who doesn't love money..." With that in mind, I pocketed the money and asked her, "Since that's the case, I'll be straightforward with you. Just now, I noticed that you looked at my friend in a very strange way, and your subsequent behavior was a bit off. So I deduced that you must have seen something on my friend. If you know anything, please tell me; I will definitely reward you handsomely."
Seeing my earnestness, she furrowed her brow slightly. "It's not that I don't want to tell you; I'm just afraid you won't believe me because some things are beyond the understanding of ordinary people. Even if I tell you, you might not think it's true. Moreover..." She paused for a moment, falling into silence.
At this point, I understood what she meant. It seemed my guess was correct; she indeed knew something. "We are not 'ordinary people'; go ahead and speak," I said.
Upon hearing my words, she looked me up and down and said, "Buddy, you don't seem any different to me; it's just your friend who has something unusual about him..."
Seeing her stop mid-sentence, I grew a bit impatient and interjected directly, "You're talking about a curse, right? My friend does indeed have a curse; do you know what it is?"
Taken aback by my bluntness, she seemed surprised that I was aware of this matter. But after a moment of composure, she replied, "Since you already know, then there's no need for me to hide it from you... Actually, the curse on your friend is not an ordinary one; it is very likely the legendary Worm King..."
Comment 0 Comment Count