A heretical cultivator in Bureau 749, I'm the fiercest at pulling out tendons and skinning peop

Zhu Cheng looked at Qi Qi, pursed his lips, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke.

His voice was somewhat hoarse and dry, carrying a hint of apology, guilt, and sincere remorse: "I'm sorry, Qiqi."

Qiqi shook her head, a sweet smile appearing on her little face: "I'm having a lot of fun here."

As she was speaking, she suddenly remembered something, jogged over, and stuffed something into Zhu Cheng's hand.

"Oh, right, here you go."

She looked up at Zhu Cheng with her little face and said somewhat shyly, "Qiqi broke it."

Zhu Cheng looked down at the thing in his hand.

It was a wooden mechanical bird.

It's palm-sized, exquisitely crafted, with each feather on the wings carved out individually, making it incredibly lifelike.

This was the little trinket he gave to Qiqi when they first met.

At that time, he gave her this little toy as a way to get closer to her.

After returning the mechanical bird to Zhu Cheng, Qi Qi ran back to Ji Zuodao's side and took his hand.

"Brother, I want to go home."

Her voice carried a hint of weariness, a hint of sleepiness, and a hint of satisfaction that "I've had enough fun today, it's time to go home."

Ji Zuodao looked down at her and reached out to rub her head: "Okay, let's go home."

He took Qiqi's hand, turned around, and prepared to leave.

Ji Zhengdao burst out of Ji Zuodao's mind and landed beside him. Following Qi Qi's example, he took Ji Zuodao's other hand, a mischievous grin on his face, and deliberately used an exaggerated, cheesy tone to say:

"Brother—I want to go home too—"

That voice, that tone, that expression—it was incredibly irritating.

Ji Zuodao got goosebumps all over when he heard him call him "brother".

"Get the hell out of here!"

He shook off Ji Zhengdao's hand and cursed irritably.

Ji Zhengdao wasn't annoyed; he just chuckled and followed beside him.

"By the way, where's Doggy?"

Ji Zhengdao scratched his head: "I don't know? I saw him just before I came in."

"Where did that old man run off to again?"

Ji Zuodao muttered something to himself, but didn't think much of it and continued walking forward.

Zhu Cheng watched as the three figures gradually disappeared into the distance.

One was tall, one was petite, and one was black and white.

Three people, three colors, three postures, walking together, yet there is an indescribable harmony.

He looked down at the broken mechanical bird in his hand.

He gently turned the lever.

The mechanism made a series of "click-click-click" sounds, and then the bird flapped its wings and took flight.

It flew somewhat erratically, like a drunken sparrow swirling in the air, sometimes high, sometimes low, sometimes left, sometimes right.

But it is indeed flying.

It flew higher and higher, farther and farther, heading towards the twilight sky.

Zhu Cheng raised his head and watched the mechanical bird fly further and further away, watching it become a smaller and smaller black dot in the sky, and finally disappear into the horizon.

This mechanical bird is indeed broken.

Unlike before, it did not circle in the air once before flying back into its owner's palm.

It flew farther and farther, higher and higher, and disappeared into the vast expanse of heaven and earth without looking back.

Zhu Cheng watched the mechanical bird fly away and suddenly covered his face.

A glistening drop of liquid silently slipped through his fingers.

Jinghai, Chengdong District.

As night deepens, the city lights begin to illuminate the night.

The shops along the street gradually lit up, and the warm yellow light shone through the glass windows onto the sidewalk, spreading a soft halo.

Pedestrians hurry by, and cars flow endlessly; the city's night is as bustling and vibrant as ever.

In some nameless alley.

An old man in a gray robe was walking slowly along the roadside.

With his hands behind his back, he walked at a leisurely pace, looking just like an ordinary old man taking a stroll after dinner.

As he walked, he shook his head and sighed:

"Miscalculation, miscalculation... I never expected that the dragon aura of the Ming Dynasty's impending demise would be nurtured to such an extent by that little girl. Even fate is favoring her. Luckily, she ran fast. If the heavens had noticed... tsk tsk."

"Sigh, slaying a dragon is really too difficult. If the dragon's energy of the Ming Dynasty is this hard to obtain... then the dragon's energy of the Han Dynasty must be even more difficult..."

He raised his head and looked up at the night sky.

The night sky tonight is exceptionally clear, dotted with countless stars, like diamonds scattered on black velvet.

His gaze fell upon an exceptionally bright star.

That star shone brightly in the western sky, brighter than all the other stars around it.

"Venus is exceptionally bright today..."

"Unfortunately, you're a bit too green to find me..."

His words were rambling and incoherent, and it was unclear who he was addressing.

Then, his steps suddenly stopped.

Next to him was a 24-hour convenience store.

At the entrance of the convenience store, a big black dog was squatting there, a roasted pig's trotter in its mouth, munching away with grease, looking incredibly content.

Beside the big black dog, a middle-aged man in a black trench coat was slowly eating a bowl of oden.

The middle-aged man had a lean face and a refined demeanor, looking just like a schoolteacher—gentle, mild-mannered, and harmless.

But when the old man in the gray robe saw him, his pupils suddenly contracted.

Zhang Yucheng?

How is that possible?

What is he doing here?

He instinctively looked at the big black dog.

Do you have supernatural powers?

wrong.

That bastard has no ability to foresee his own fate.

That is……

God? The Way of Heaven!

Damn it, do you have to be so petty?

Didn't I already scheme against that little girl?

He cursed inwardly, but his face remained expressionless.

He estimated that although Zhang Yucheng was a ruthless person, he could still escape if he wanted to.

As for fighting?

Forget it, if Ji Zuodao is a player who likes to cheat when he's behind, then this guy never turned it off from beginning to end.

Just as he was about to slip away, the glass door of the convenience store was suddenly pushed open again.

An old man came out from inside.

The old man was wearing a faded gray Zhongshan suit and cloth shoes. He was also holding a bowl of oden in his hand and muttering to himself:

"The prices in Jinghai are really too high. A bowl of oden costs more than ten yuan. Back when I was in Nanjing, a bowl of duck blood vermicelli soup only cost five coins..."

As he muttered to himself, he looked up and his eyes met those of the old man in the gray robe.

The old man in the gray robe suddenly narrowed his pupils to pinpoints.

Holy crap! Is it really that bad?

When the old man saw the gray-robed old man, a kind and benevolent smile appeared on his face:

"Benefactor Yao, it's a rare treat to come all the way to Jinghai. Why don't you come to my place for a cup of tea?"

His voice was soft and gentle, with a kind of amiable warmth that is unique to the elderly.

But when the old man in the gray robe heard these words, he felt a cold sweat break out on his back.

He heard a long, drawn-out whale cry faintly coming from the void.

The whale's cry was deep and resonant.

He sighed, knowing he was doomed.

He can't beat either of them, and running away probably won't be an option either.

God is really going to make things difficult for him! Damn it, you double standard bastard! I did much worse during the Jingnan Rebellion, why didn't you jump out then?

"Alas... the Grand Secretary's invitation is so kind... then this old man shall not refuse..."

He cupped his hands in greeting, then strode towards the old man.

His back cast a long shadow under the streetlights.

A night breeze swept by, swirling up a few fallen leaves, which then drifted away.