My gaze fell on him. He had a square face, though not as broad as the square jaws I usually saw; it was narrower.
The eyebrows were trimmed sharp as a razor, and the eyes sparkled with vitality.
But, there was a hint of panic on his face, and in his tone.
I locked eyes with him. Though he was smiling, it was a forced smile.
"I don't know you." I shook my head.
"Uh... Brother, I know you. A month ago, you had a skewer here, and you also talked to a Taoist brother over there." The man said rapidly, pointing in a direction at the same time.
I pondered for a moment, as that was when we had just arrived in the small town, going out to gather information, and happened to bump into Liu Ziyu that very evening.
Slightly squinting my eyes, I adopted a more serious demeanor.
I had thought the town was safe and quiet, but I hadn't realized it had been watched all this time? Neither Ling nor I had noticed?
"So... One night we were out taking pictures, that Taoist brother broke the ribs of several of my guys. In theory, that would be considered attempted murder and should be punished. We didn't report it, instead he just gave us some symbolic medical treatment."
"And after that, I've been secretly following the Taoist brother ever since I saw you two meet. After that, the Taoist brother went to the vicinity of Red Demon Village and disappeared, then you also went there."
"Oh right, my name is Li Tong, I do multimedia content."
Saying this, Li Tong handed me a business card.
I did not reach out to take it.
At this point, Ling returned. She was slightly puzzled but did not say much, sitting on the other side.
"Uh... Auntie, hello, hello..." Li Tong tried to hand the business card to Ling again.
It was only then that I realized, this Li Tong was the one the barbecue boss had mentioned, the man who dressed up as a zombie and had people chase after him for his live stream.
He really had bad luck, as he ran into Liu Ziyu, who wasn't very reasonable.
An ordinary person, no wonder I and Ling didn't notice his observation.
Ling took the business card and said softly, "We have no interest in what you've done."
Li Tong awkwardly smiled and said, "No, it's not about that. We're just trying to make a living, get some attention. After that day, I've been too scared to take footage on the streets. The guys under me went to the graveyard to shoot, and they were all afraid of suddenly running into a real Taoist."
Ling giggled.
I maintained my composure and quietly awaited for Li Tong to continue.
He wasn't just casually striking up a conversation.
Suddenly, Old Gong appeared on Li Tong's shoulder.
Ghosts are not something that just anyone can see, so Old Gong was snarling and blowing air into Li Tong's ear. He didn't see anything unusual, but just rubbed his ears.
"In fact, I was thinking that 'no harm, no foul', right? I sold a favor to that Taoist brother, planning to ask him for a short video later, with him chanting some spells. The hotness would definitely go up."
"But I didn't expect to see you guys looking rough that day, and then later see the Taoist brother going in the opposite direction, and they looked even worse... The area around Red Demon Village has too many rumors... Uh, the main reason I came to find you today is that we've run into some trouble. There's an unfinished construction site outside the town, you know, the one that was supposed to be built into a university town. The developers ran away, and a few days ago, one of our friends went missing after we went in to shoot footage."
"I reported it to the police, but he's just fine at home. He disappears every night. I felt something was off, so I went to check the construction site, and he was just smashing the ground with a hammer, bang-bang, his palm was cracked. Before I could get over there, he waved the hammer at me chasing after me, oh my God, luckily I've been exercising regularly and could run fast; otherwise, I would have been injured."
I finally understood Li Tong's intention.
"Ugh..." Old Gong rolled his eyes and blew a raspberry, muttering under his breath, "Stop being a bother. Old man, forget about it. Let's just eat and drink, go home and lie down."
Li Tong looked at me with hopeful eyes, the pleading obvious.
Ling looked at me as well, giving a faint nod.
Her meaning was obvious, that we could go and check it out.
My thoughts coincided with hers.
In the past month, I had learned a lot, but my understanding of strength was still in the unknown stage.
I had even thought about whether to train in the ghostly forest, and Li Tong was like a pillow delivered at just the right time, naturally walking through the door.
"What happened at that construction site in the past?" I cut to the point without hesitation.
Li Tong's face lit up first, and then he blankly shook his head, saying, "Nothing happened?"
At this point, the boss brought over the cooked skewers. He glanced at Li Tong and then looked at us. Today, he didn't say anything and continued to serve other customers.
I pondered for a moment, then said, "Ling, after you and Old Gong finish eating, go back home. I'll go and take a look."
Ling was taken aback, clearly not expecting that.
After a moment, she nodded slowly understanding.
"Old Gong? You have friends other than him?" Li Tong looked around in confusion.
"Your grandpa is here!" Old Gong shouted into Li Tong's ear.
"Ugh... What kind of climate is this? And there are mosquitoes..." Li Tong slapped his own ear.
I frowned slightly, and Old Gong finally descended from Li Tong's shoulder.
At the same time, I unfastened my waist basket and handed it to Ling.
Li Tong gave the night pot an extra glance, still unable to see Old Gong.
"Old Gong sighed and said, Lord, you're showing mercy. If you don't talk about money, you'll get into trouble. You must talk about money to do things properly."
I squinted slightly.
Actually, I originally wanted to use Fan Jie to learn about common knowledge, but Fan Jie's performance was very problematic and not suitable for long-term presence.
Old Gong's words, albeit indirectly, had actually helped me understand a couple of points of etiquette.
"Right, Brother, what is your name? My car is over there." Li Tong quickly made a gesture of inviting us over.
I stood up, looking towards the direction Li Tong indicated as I spoke, "How much do you offer in payment?"
Li Tong was stunned for a moment, appearing confused.
"A Taoist... does he accept money?"
"Old Gong turned his head and twirled his brain for a moment, showing joy and excitement on his face."
I maintained my composure.
Then, Li Tong bit his lip and made a sign for three.
Actually, I don't care how much money is given, as long as we follow the rules according to Old Gong's words.
Leaving the barbecue stall, we got into Li Tong's car, and he drove us in the direction of the town's outskirts.
Not bringing Ling and Old Gong was to ensure there were no external factors and to verify my own strength alone.
Even the Four Regulations Mirror is not with me; Ling has been carrying it on her person for the past few days.
This town is very safe, so there's no need to worry so much.
The unfinished construction site Li Tong mentioned was not outside the town. It took about seven or eight minutes to drive there, several kilometers away, on the right side of a highway.
Along the way, Li Tong explained to me that if the construction site were completed, it would help the town develop well.
I didn't say anything in response.
The car stopped at a construction site gate that had not been worked on for a long time. Weeds had grown as if it were a normal construction site, in front of the gate.
The atmosphere was normal, and there was not much negativity.
Back then in Jinyang, the first hell I encountered was a half-finished building. This construction site is much worse.
A maroon large iron gate, rusted with patina, with a small side door that had been pried open.
At this moment, Li Tong looked scared and nervous, gesturing to me to go in cautiously.
