Making Amends (Please Subscribe, Vote with Monthly Tickets and Recommendations)

"Not excessive! Not excessive! Lord Biao, my old eyes were dimmed—slap! My old eyes were dimmed! Slap…"

Estate Owner Su was a ruthless man too. He decisively admitted his mistake on the spot, and while doing so, he steeled himself and slapped his own face several times.

"Biaozi! That’s enough!"

Gu Sheng watched for a while. Seeing that Estate Owner Su’s face had swollen from the slapping, he signaled Zhang Biao to stop while he was ahead.

"If the Chief of Staff says so, then so be it!"

Zhang Biao nodded. Unless absolutely necessary, who would want to cause a scene at his own wedding banquet?

"Estate Owner Su, the apology is done. Now, the compensation~"

Gu Sheng spoke up to signal him. He was not deliberately extorting him; today’s incident truly required Mr. Su to make a statement. Otherwise, their grudge would become permanent.

"Chief of Staff Zhang, Commander Gu, rest assured. I’ll have someone deliver one thousand silver dollars to Battalion Commander Zhang’s residence tomorrow."

Mr. Su was very quick to understand. He hurriedly spoke up. Although he was extremely reluctant to suffer such a loss, he was in the wrong this time, and this group of soldiers had seized on an excuse to corner him. With the situation beyond his control, he had no choice but to lower his head. He would just treat it as paying to avert disaster.

"The matter’s settled. Everyone, eat and drink well. Carry on, carry on!"

Gu Sheng turned around and greeted the gathered guests, dissolving the conflict without a trace.

"Biaozi!"

Gu Sheng pointed at Estate Owner Su and said to Zhang Biao, "Mr. Su may have eaten too much meat and upset his stomach. Have the kitchen serve him some plain noodles. It’s a joyous occasion, so we can’t let a guest go hungry. On such a joyous occasion, it wouldn’t be good if anything else happened." As he spoke, he glanced deliberately or otherwise at Old Wang.

"Yes, yes, yes! The Chief of Staff is right!"

Old Wang replied with a beaming smile, not a single flaw visible on his face. However, Gu Sheng noticed that he had secretly formed a hand seal.

"Okay~"

Zhang Biao nodded and turned back to have the kitchen prepare something separately for Master Su.

"Keep eating and drinking!"

Gu Sheng helped Zhang Biao greet everyone a few more times, returned the pistol to Gu Xuanwu’s holster, and then dragged the sour-faced Gu Xuanwu back to his seat.

"Old Gu, why aren’t you eating?"

After Gu Sheng sat down, Liu Daimei placed a large piece of fish with the bones removed into his bowl. As Gu Sheng ate, he noticed that Gu Xuanwu seemed to have lost his appetite again.

"I have no appetite. The way that fellow vomited was disgusting!"

Gu Xuanwu said with a green face, "What’s wrong with me lately? Why has my luck been so terrible? First, Wu Xin, that cash cow, was severely injured by demons and evil spirits. Then Wen County suddenly ended up with so many monsters and spirits.

"You have no idea. I haven’t slept well these past few days. Yesterday, at my residence, the well exploded—you personally went to see it. I asked Wu Xin, and he said that the huge thing inside had escaped.

"All the things happening lately have left me utterly exhausted and unable to eat or drink. I finally managed to work up an appetite by taking advantage of Biaozi’s wedding banquet to bring myself some good luck, only to run into this disgusting mess. Isn’t this just screwing me over?"

"When your luck is bad, even drinking cold water makes your teeth ache. You’ll get used to it!"

Gu Sheng truly did not know how to comfort people. These words were not meant as comfort at all. However, he was not deliberately trying to cause trouble. In reality, Wen County’s current situation was far more dangerous than a powder keg.

At least twenty Reincarnators had gathered in Wen County, and every one of them was an unstable factor. Add in all kinds of strange demons and evil spirits—the Weasel Spirit Old Wang, the great Sorcerer Bai Liuli, Yue Qiluo, who had just emerged into the world, the Shirakawa Family of Japan, whose arrival had just been announced, and Taotie of Pig Head Mountain.

This little Wen County would only become livelier after some time passed. No one could still sort out Wen County’s future under these circumstances. Even Gu Sheng, the instigator, had no idea what the county’s fate would be.

"What do you mean by that? You haven’t used up your bad luck yet, have you?"

Gu Xuanwu had just taken a sip of wine and had not swallowed it when Gu Sheng’s words nearly choked him to death. "I mean, can you stop jinxing things? I’ve noticed that you’re especially perceptive. Whatever you say comes true, but it’s always bad things. Please, can you stop talking?"

"Hehehehe~~~"

Gu Sheng laughed, and Liu Daimei laughed along with him. The sight of the two of them laughing only made Gu Xuanwu more annoyed.

"Come, let’s drink!"

Gu Xuanwu raised his cup. When he was unhappy, he fought back with the method that vented his feelings best.

"You~ Clink~"

Gu Sheng reached out and clinked cups with him. He took a small sip and set his cup down, then turned his head and happened to meet Old Wang’s gaze. The two each raised their cups and smiled at one another.

Late at night, the lights in Gu Sheng and Liu Daimei’s bedroom were still on.

"What are you doing?"

Seeing that Gu Sheng was still busy at the desk instead of coming to bed, Liu Daimei could not help feeling curious. Usually at this hour, Gu Sheng was very enthusiastic about teasing her.

"I’m taking out some of Wu Xin’s blood to use!"

Gu Sheng took a little dark-red blood plasma from a glass bottle and placed it in a porcelain vial. He had collected all of this at the scene where Wu Xin was attacked. It was not very useful to him, but it could inflict great damage on demons and evil spirits as well as Reincarnators! If he did not collect it himself, what if someone else took it and used it against him?

"Didn’t you say this stuff was about to spoil? Is it still useful?"

Liu Daimei could not help covering her nose. Although it had no smell, she still felt nauseous after hearing Gu Sheng say that. After all, these were tissue cells taken from a "living person."

Gu Sheng explained, "What’s about to spoil is Wu Xin’s shredded flesh. His flesh and blood won’t rot, but as he recovers, these things have begun to change. That power is slowly disappearing, as if returning to Wu Xin himself. The blood is better; it isn’t ‘spoiling’ nearly as quickly."

Liu Daimei asked in wonder, "That’s amazing. Just what exactly is this Wu Xin?"

"I don’t know. I’m not sure either! Go to sleep early. I’m going to sleep too."

Gu Sheng told her the truth. He really did not know much about Wu Xin’s origins. After saying that, he yawned, finished up his work, turned around, and went to bed.

At the Su Residence in Wen County, servants and maids hurried in and out, busy with their tasks. Famous doctors from all over Wen County were summoned, only to leave one after another without accomplishing anything.

"Why are we coming to the Su Residence?"

Liu Daimei got down from the carriage with Gu Sheng. She stared blankly at the plaque of the Su Residence. The last Su Residence in Shanghai had presented Gu Sheng with an ancient bronze mirror. Could this Su Residence have something as well?

"Let’s go!"

Gu Sheng kept her in suspense instead of answering. He held out his right hand to Liu Daimei, who hooked her arm through his, and the two of them walked toward the bustling Su Residence.

"Chief of Staff Zhang’s arrival at my humble home truly brings light to this shabby residence. Unfortunately, I’m feeling unwell and cannot rise to welcome you. I hope you’ll forgive me. Oh, and I’ve already sent someone to deliver the one thousand silver dollars for Battalion Commander Zhang. I imagine you’ve already received the news."

Master Su lay limp on the bed, his face extremely pale and his lips bluish-purple. He looked short of breath, as though he were about to die.

Master Su had suffered too! At yesterday’s banquet, the food he had seen in his own eyes had rotted and filled with maggots, nearly causing a major incident. He had thought everything would be fine after he switched to plain noodles, and assumed the matter had passed.