I open a restaurant in Mysterious Recovery

Chapter 727 Showing off one’s edge
Walking along the country road, Zhang Lei's expression had become extremely serious.

On the bus, it was for An Luzhiwen's sake, but in reality, he wasn't entirely without scruples when he wanted to eat ghosts.

The supernatural power of the Ghost Furnace Fire balanced the gluttonous mouth inside his body, but digestion still takes time.

During this period, headquarters has also spent a lot of resources to improve his strength.

If he could truly improve without any limits, he would already have the power to fight against Fang Shiming, or rather, against the Ghost Messenger Lao Fan, instead of appearing so powerless now and needing to come and call for reinforcements.

The road was lined with dense jungle.

Zhang Lei had also seen the information Tong Qian brought back and knew that a large number of vengeful ghosts were buried under these trees. "It's a good place for cultivation, where we can be self-sufficient and stop wasting headquarters' resources."

He stopped after walking for a short while.

The reason is simple: a little further away, countless terrifying figures were crowded together, densely packed, with their backs to Zhang Lei.

These figures were clearly not normal people, but corpses, or rather, ghosts.

The sheer number of vengeful spirits gathered together gave Zhang Lei a sense of panic, as if his power was being suppressed, just by getting close. If he were to squeeze in, he would probably be torn to pieces by these terrifying spirits in an instant.

"It's really troublesome."

Zhang Lei sighed, took out his satellite positioning phone and glanced at it. As expected, there was no signal at all.

There was no way to contact Lin Yuan and Tong Qian before, and there is still no way now.

Zhang Lei turned and walked a distance away—not leaving, but rather creating some distance—before leaving the path and entering the woods.

The chilling atmosphere grew even stronger.

But there was no sign of the vengeful ghost. He looked at the nearby trees and then at the roots. "Planting ghosts under the trees and letting them provide nutrients for the trees to grow, these trees are also tainted with supernatural energy. They are some of the most primitive supernatural items that can suppress vengeful ghosts. Could they be materials for making a ghost coffin?"

Historically, the only source of ghost coffins has been the coffin shops in Taiping Ancient Town, and their numbers are extremely limited.

If his guess is proven true, does that mean they can also artificially create ghost coffins?

Such thoughts welled up in Zhang Lei's mind, but now was not the time to verify them. He took out a white ghost candle from his pocket and lit it.

The candlelight flickered, but offered no light whatsoever; instead, it made the dim forest space even darker, as if it had been completely devoid of light.

Zhang Lei placed the white ghost candle on the ground, stabilized it, and then glanced around.

Seeing that the trees were not moving at all, clearly suppressing the evil spirits beneath their roots, he turned and continued walking inside.

He brought a lot of white ghost candles this time, which was specially prepared by headquarters because they knew the situation in this place and guessed that they might encounter a large number of vengeful ghosts.

Every time he walked a certain distance, Zhang Lei would cast down a white ghost candle.

To prevent any unforeseen events in the woods, he didn't stray too far from the path, just circling back and forth at a very fast pace to avoid wasting time.

In just one minute, he had already placed twenty white ghost candles at fifty-meter intervals. Just as he was about to continue, he sensed something, turned his head and looked in the direction of the old house, and said, "They're here."

White ghost candles have a fatal attraction for vengeful spirits.

Especially the ghosts on the outermost edge were immediately attracted by the nearest white ghost candle. Since the white ghost candle was in the forest, it also led these ghosts into the forest.

Zhang Lei had already returned to the path. Sensing the increasingly dense and terrifying chilling aura in the woods, he ran directly into the depths of the path without any hesitation.

Thankfully, we didn't see any more ghosts along the way.

When we arrived at the old house, the gate was open, and two white lanterns with the character "奠" (meaning "offering sacrifice") still hung above it.

Through the open door, one could see a dense crowd of figures, their backs to one.

"Are there so many ghostly things inside the door?"

Zhang Lei felt a terrible headache, but he didn't hesitate. He took out the white ghost candle, ready to repeat his old trick. However, when he was choosing a place, he suddenly realized something.

The ghosts that were previously lured away by the white ghost candles are now beginning to return.

He was cornered!

Tonight is the day for mourning in the mourning hall, and many "people" have come, especially after the news of the death was announced yesterday. These ghostly things have entered the mourning hall without any scruples tonight.

Liu Qingqing and Tong Qian stayed close to Lin Yuan, not daring to stray even slightly, as if they would be snatched away and eaten by a ghost if they were even a little too far away.

Inside the mourning hall, the original light was also suppressed to a very small area.

Zhang Youhong stood guard beside the coffin, tending to the three incense sticks, while Zhang Xianguang continued burning yellow paper in a brazier as always, showing no concern whatsoever.

Ghostly figures lurked all around, but none of them dared to emerge from the darkness and truly step into the firelight.

"Brother Yuan, tonight...it's so lively," Liu Qingqing whispered.

Lin Yuan's face also showed a hint of annoyance. "Yes, there are a lot of people coming to pay their respects, so it is indeed a bit noisy. These few days are important for Old Zhang, and I came here to show him respect. His descendants haven't said much, so as an outsider, I shouldn't say too much either."

Liu Qingqing nodded helplessly.

If it gets a little noisy, it doesn't bother her. As long as she's with the "manager," there won't be any major problems.

The problem is that the "shopkeeper" seems to be showing Zhang Dong a bit too much respect, not even opening the White Mist Ghost Domain, which is a bit troublesome.

This also means that these ghosts are not completely under the control of the "shopkeeper" and may very well be dangerous.

With the Seed of White Mist present, Liu Qingqing wasn't worried about dying, especially since the "shop manager" was with her. However, she didn't want anything unexpected to happen, or for her to appear disheveled or even pathetic in front of the "shop manager." Was this the reason He Yuelian hadn't rushed to come here?

Liu Qingqing felt a little irritated, but Tong Qian, who was standing next to her, seized on a key point: "Things? Boss, you mean, things brought to offer condolences?"

"Yeah, it's these little things. I don't even know what to say about Old Zhang. Was he some kind of beast king before? He's dead, yet he's attracted so many wild beasts to mourn him, while hardly any normal people have come. I really don't know whether to praise him for being such a failure as a person or for being so successful at work," Lin Yuan complained seriously.

Zhang Xianguang and Zhang Youhong couldn't help but glance at him, and at the same time, they secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

The pressure on them was greatly reduced after Lin Yuan said those words, especially for Zhang Lei, who was standing at the door, blocked by a group of vengeful ghosts, unable to enter or leave.

He clearly saw that these hideous ghosts suddenly changed and turned into different kinds of wild beasts.

Tigers, lions, wolves, foxes, wild boars, bears, and even elephants, crocodiles, hippos, and so on, some in groups and some alone.

Such a large number of wild beasts all stared intently at Zhang Lei with their bright green eyes, a testament to their hunger.

Zhang Lei felt a little more at ease, and looking at these wild beasts, he even felt a sense of familiarity.

Yes, it was a sense of familiarity, the kind of familiarity humans feel towards food. But he suddenly realized that the look in the eyes of these wild beasts seemed no different from his own.

Do they all see each other as food?

Zhang Lei took a deep breath, and seeing the pack of wild beasts approaching step by step, he immediately shouted into the door, "Is the master home? I've come to offer my condolences!"

Such a loud shout seemed to startle the beasts, who, no longer hesitant as before, charged forward, ready to tear Zhang Lei to shreds.

Zhang Lei clenched his fists, his heart pounding with tension, and he was ready for battle.

The beast charging at the forefront was only two meters away from him. Zhang Lei could even smell the stench emanating from its breath, which made Zhang Lei's eyes narrow, and he prepared to make his move.

However, the beasts that charged ahead were as if they had been struck by a sharp blade, their bodies severed in two, and they fell to the ground amidst splattering blood.

Zhang Lei's pupils contracted sharply, but he instantly recognized the attack method: "Zhang Xianguang's knife?"

"A bunch of things that don't know how to live or die."

Zhang Xianguang, dressed in white mourning clothes, walked out of the house, carrying a large cleaver in his hand. The blade dragged on the ground, making a screeching sound like a motorcycle.

Behind him lay the severed limbs and bloodied remains of countless wild beasts.

Zhang Lei wasn't scared when he saw this; instead, he breathed a sigh of relief. But Zhang Xianguang didn't give him a friendly look. He just glanced at him and then turned and walked into the house.

Without hesitation, Zhang Lei immediately followed.

Behind them, the beasts that had been cut in two were not dead. The headless leopard struggled to its feet, and the tiger, with only its hindquarters remaining, tried again and again to stand up, but lost its balance and fell down once more, yet it continued to try to get up...

After passing through the darkness and arriving at the bright spot illuminated by the firelight, Zhang Lei finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Lin Yuan.

"Mr. Lin, I..."

"Since you're here to offer condolences, let's get down to business first," Lin Yuan waved his hand, interrupting Zhang Lei.

Zhang Lei could only nod in agreement, ignoring Zhang Xiangguang's icy, murderous gaze. He took out three life-saving bills from his pocket, handed them to Zhang Youhong, and whispered, "Please accept my condolences."

Zhang Youhong took the three bills for saving her life and said with a half-smile, "These days, people are really getting more and more rude and unruly."

"I'm sorry, I've never attended a funeral here before and I'm not familiar with the procedures. If there's anything I haven't done well, please point it out, and I'll definitely correct it," Zhang Lei said earnestly.

Zhang Youhong nodded in satisfaction at his "standing at attention and taking the beating" attitude.

Knowing that Zhang Lei had come to see Lin Yuan for something, she wouldn't make things too difficult for him. Doing so would make it seem like she was making decisions for Lin Yuan, which could lead to misunderstandings.

Zhang Lei breathed a sigh of relief and quickly went to Lin Yuan's side. "Boss Lin, there's something I want to discuss with you. It's about Fang Shiming. He..."

Then he recounted what Fang Shiming had done at headquarters that evening, saying, "Boss Lin, don't you think Fang Shiming went too far?"

Lin Yuan looked at Zhang Lei with a strange expression, making Zhang Lei feel uncomfortable all over, and he suddenly had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, Lin Yuan asked, "Did Xiao Fang get violent?"

Zhang Lei's face stiffened. He understood Lin Yuan's meaning almost instantly, and his heart sank to the bottom.

“Xiao Zhang, Xiao Fang is the CEO of WeChat Moments. If he communicates through normal business means, then whether or not you agree is your decision. If he goes too far and takes some extreme measures, you can also punish him through the law enforcement bureau, don’t you think?” Lin Yuan said calmly.

His attitude was quite clear: he would not interfere with anything Fang Shiming did tonight.

"I'm just the owner of the Peace Hotel. Xiao Fang works here, and I can arrange things for him to do, but that doesn't mean my circle of friends belongs to the Peace Hotel. Xiao Zhang, don't you think so?"

Zhang Lei looked bitter, but he couldn't give a negative answer.

From any perspective, Lin Yuan's statement is correct. Otherwise, if landlords go to work for a small company to experience life, does that mean all the houses under their names belong to the owner of that small company?

“Boss, we can’t really control what Xiao Fang does for his friends outside. But if what he does is inappropriate, or even if it’s considered illegal by the law enforcement bureau, it will affect the store’s reputation and business,” Tong Qian suddenly said.

Liu Qingqing, who had been watching the show, became displeased and looked coldly at Tong Qian, saying, "Xiao Tong, you used to be in charge of headquarters, and you still have that responsibility now, right?"

Tong Qian nodded, not losing her composure despite Liu Qingqing's questioning. "The boss knows about this too. I know what you're trying to say, and I'm not speaking on behalf of headquarters, just stating the facts. Xiao Fang's methods are too domineering, which is fine as long as it's legal and compliant, no one can say anything wrong with that. But if it's illegal, once the news gets out, won't those customers become suspicious of the restaurant? If it's portrayed as a den of iniquity by malicious people, or even competitors, the impact will be enormous."

Liu Qingqing laughed in exasperation, "I didn't expect you, Xiao Tong, to be so sharp-tongued."

Tong Qian rarely expressed her opinions, but tonight she was unusually outspoken, revealing her sharp tongue, which even surprised Lin Yuan.

(End of this chapter)