?

  I fumbled my way up to the fifth floor. The voice-controlled lights in the corridor seemed to be broken, and there were exposed wires in the corner. I really don't know how people can live here.

  But now the situation is too tense, even staying in a hotel is not safe, can only hide here for now.

  I lit the lighter, squinting my eyes to count one by one. The green-painted iron door had rust spots all over it, like a scene from a ghost story. Finally, I stopped in front of 504's door. Those three numbers were painted with red paint, giving off a bloody taste. Maybe it was the environment that made me think too much. However, just then, I heard a noise coming from inside the house, which seemed to be someone's footsteps.

  My heart skipped a beat, is there someone inside?

  The footsteps stopped at the door.

  There was no movement for a long time.

  Pretentious, putting on airs.

  I pulled out the key and inserted it into the hole, turned it, and with a click, the iron door revealed a gap. At the same time, a pale white light seeped out from the gap, and before I knew it, a layer of cold sweat had formed on my forehead. Damn, the place where Fatso used to live could be considered a haunted house.

  I pushed open the door and was faced with a TV, the screen flickering with snowflakes, a white blur, just like Sadako's, as if something would crawl out of the TV at any moment.

  Right in front of the TV is a sofa, this arrangement is very strange, as soon as you enter the door, you see the back of the sofa and the TV, it's not good for ordinary families to arrange like this, I believe Fatso won't have such a weird hobby either.

  Did I go wrong? But the door was opened with a key.

  At this time, I suddenly found a black thing on the top of the sofa. Squinting my eyes to take a closer look, I felt a chill run down my spine. It was a human head.

  "Damn it!" I cursed loudly, trying to boost my courage. At the same time, another person couldn't help but take a step back, and as soon as they did, they bumped into something hard.

  What the hell? When did you get behind me? My scalp is numb, and I suddenly remembered my memories in Golmud. Suddenly, I turned my head around and saw a big man in black clothes. He gave me a sly smile, revealing his white teeth. Then, I was pushed hard and stumbled backwards to the back of the sofa, with my chest against the sofa cushion, hanging on it.

  At this time, the skull behind the sofa slowly turned around, hooked the corner of his mouth at me and said: "Hello." I stared blankly, looking at the person in front of me, and finally couldn't help but burst out scolding: "Good you, you damn bastard, what are you doing pretending to be a god, how the hell did you end up here!" Damn it, this guy was indeed following me all along.

  Because the one sitting on the sofa with only his head exposed was unexpectedly an old acquaintance, Passerby A.

  Right after that, I was pinned down on the sofa by a big man in black clothes who had my hands locked behind me. The two of us sat quietly in front of the snow-white TV. After a moment, I calmed down and said, "Speak, what do you want to do?"

  The man in black released me and walked out, closing the door behind him. The eerie living room was left with only two people: me and passerby A.

  Passerby A didn't speak, pulled out a cigarette and smoked silently for a while before saying: "You think it's fun that I've been following you all along? If you cooperate a bit, I guarantee that I will completely disappear from your life."

  I gradually calmed down, and if I wasn't mistaken, this person had been eyeing me since Hangzhou. What was his purpose? Was the third generation 'Zhang Qiling Plan' that I suspected really existed?

  I relaxed my body, took out my Huanghe Lou, smoked half of it and said: "How should I coordinate?"

  The voice of passerby A was still cold, and he said slowly: "In the Tianyuan coffin, what you got, give it to me." I was shocked in my heart, as if someone had poured a basin of cold water on me. This matter, only I and Fatty knew about it, how did he know that I brought something out from Kunlun Island?

  No, it's impossible, this matter shouldn't be known by a third person.

  I must have had a very twisted expression on my face at that moment. Passerby A suddenly laughed and said, "Wu Xie, I don't care what you're thinking about now, but you should understand, I'm standing from its perspective. In one's life, there are two things that cannot be resisted: the laws of nature and the laws of society. It is the law of this society, and you should be clear that this is the last chance."

  When I heard what Roadman A had to say, I felt a sense of calmness in my heart. The thing that Third Uncle and the others had been afraid of, the thing they had tried so hard to prevent me from coming into contact with, was now right in front of me. But I still shook my head and said, "No, I didn't bring anything out." There are many things that I can compromise on, but when it comes to the matter of the oil bottle, I have no room for compromise. If it were just an ordinary friend, it would be one thing, but the oil bottle and Fatty are different - they're my sworn brothers, bound together by life and death. No matter how critical the situation gets, only they will never regard me as a burden, and only they will risk their lives to save me.

  A year ago, when Muyu Ping went to Tongguan Gate, the scene of him coming to bid farewell is still etched in my mind.

  He said: "It's all over, I thought about my relationship with this world, and it seems that now the only one I can find is you." If I succumb to it, then I am equivalent to killing the bottle of oil myself, killing my own brother.

  A passerby, Mr. A, let out a cold laugh and suddenly stood up, his face with sunglasses rapidly approaching mine, only about one centimeter away from me. Behind the sunglasses, I couldn't see what his expression was like, but his voice carried a chilliness, and along with his words, a chilly and eerie aura pounced on my face. He said: "Wu's family... don't you want it?" Just this sentence made me feel that all the muscles in my body were tense, and a string called reason in my mind was almost about to snap.

  I suddenly grabbed pedestrian A's collar, eyes wide with anger, and said word by word: "It was you who did it."

  "Or else, who can?"

  Before I could speak, passerby A continued: "If you don't want to investigate further, give me the thing. Otherwise, by tomorrow at the latest, the Wu family, including your brother, anyone who is involved will not be able to escape, it has lost patience."

  My whole body went limp, and I collapsed onto the sofa, motionless. I stared at Road Person A's lips as he spoke, and suddenly swung my fist out. He seemed to have not anticipated that I would attack so abruptly, and since we were very close, he didn't dodge in time. As a result, he was punched squarely on the mouth, with blood oozing from the corner of his lips. Just an instant later, as I threw my second punch, my wrist was grabbed tightly by him, accompanied by a cracking sound. A sharp pain shot through my wrist, and my entire arm went limp. Next, my face was slapped hard by someone, with that slap carrying immense force. I was knocked to the ground.

  Passerby A wiped off the blood, curled up the corner of his mouth, and immediately walked towards me. This scene reminded me of Terminator.

  Damn it, at this moment I have completely lost my mind, the huge pressure makes me unable to think at all, and subconsciously I just want to get rid of the person threatening me in front of me. This is the first time, a kind of killing someone alive.

  I immediately scrambled to my feet, waving the other hand and rushed up, with almost no skill, started a melee fight with passerby A, just for a moment, I was covered in injuries, kicked several times by him.

  A moment later, passerby A squatted down, looked at me, and clicked his tongue, saying: "Zhang Qiling actually became brothers with you." Then his hand clamped onto my neck, and he said lightly: "I'll ask you one last time, think carefully before answering. The lives of the Wu family and that fatty are in your hands."

  Once I refuse, what awaits my family will be a complete disaster.

  The entire Wu family, all the brothers with a surname of Pan, will be completely finished. Everyone's life will be ruined by my hands. There is no wall that doesn't leak wind, once thoroughly investigated, all the evil deeds done behind the back of Lao Jiu Men will be exposed.

  Not just Second Uncle will be finished, but also my parents who are completely unaware of what's going on.

  What should I do? What am I supposed to do?

  "Have you thought it through? Do you know why only fake goods are seized? Because they're waiting for your stuff, and when you take it out, all you need to do is pay the fine. But if you can't take it out... Ha! You Wu family, and others like you, can completely disappear from this world."

  The room was very quiet, in the darkness, only the snow-white screen of the TV. I don't know how long it took, but I heard my own voice, as hoarse as a ghost's: "On me."

  That thing is the only hope for saving the oil bottle. I know someone is following me, so I don't dare to put it in my room, but instead carry it with me all the time.

  I had always thought it was the last hope, but now I have sold it out.

  I sold the bottle of oil, I sold the only chance that could have saved him.

  I betrayed him.

  I betrayed him...

  Wu Xie, are you still human...

  A moment later, passerby A searched the thing from my clothes and took out that copy of "Zan Sheng Jing". He stood in the house for a long time, then squatted down again and said: "Everything is over, Wu Xie, live a good life." Finally, he added another sentence: "I thought you would refuse, but I didn't expect you to surrender so quickly. You know, your current appearance... is just like a dog that has lost its master."

  After a long time, the room was empty and I remained sitting on the floor until dawn when my phone rang. My second uncle's tired voice came from the other end: "The matter has been settled, they won't investigate further, pack up and return to Hangzhou."

  "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

  "What's wrong, Xiao Xie?" Er Shu's calm voice suddenly changed, seeming very tense.

  After a moment, I regained my voice and said, "Second Uncle, thank you for your hard work."

  "Second Uncle's voice was very dissatisfied, and he sternly said: 'Come back quickly.'"

  I didn't respond, hung up the phone, patted my own cheek, hailed a taxi and headed to Pangzi's siheyuan. When I arrived at the siheyuan, Pangzi was in a hurry to leave, still holding his mobile phone, seemingly about to make a call. As soon as he saw me, he smiled and said: "Damn it, I was just thinking of calling you, the matter has been resolved, what a false alarm."

  I stood at the door and looked at Fatty, saying: "Come back in, I have something to ask you."