Chapter 095: The Fated Benefactor

Time always slips away in the blink of an eye.

The distant sky seemed edged with gold.

Night was slowly receding, and sunlight was gradually illuminating every inch of the world.

Yet it could not light up Song Zhong’s heart after what he had seen in the darkness.

He was still wrestling with the things that had happened the night before: the wandering spirits and the underworld envoys.

He could not make sense of it. He had clearly followed the methods in the book to send them on their way, yet not only had it been useless, he had not even been able to see their true faces.

Though I had explained it to him, telling him that those homeless spirits had likely drifted through the mortal world for who knew how many years, and that after finally encountering a fool like him, of course they would want to seize his body and use it for something.

What they did with it might be eating a meal, going on an outing, or even killing someone.

There was no certainty with such things. After all, who knew how many years those wandering souls had been dead, or what obsessions they still clung to?

Looking at Song Zhong sitting on the ground with his eyes wide, his mouth slightly open, his face full of disbelief, I let out a helpless sigh.

After the underworld envoy disappeared into the vortex, he had remained in that same dazed state, sitting motionless on the ground without saying a word.

After I packed everything into my backpack, I brushed the dust off myself and said to Song Zhong, “Song Zhong, if there’s something you like, it’s enough to think about it. When it comes to really doing it, you may not do it well.”

I scratched my head and pointed at him repeatedly. “What was that saying again? Right, Lord Ye loves dragons. This world is not as simple as you imagine.”

“Just because you buy a little cheap junk from a street stall doesn’t mean you can step into our line of work. Liking something is a good thing, but you still have to see whether you’re suited for it.”

I glanced around to make sure nothing had been left behind, then sniffed and said, “Go back and think it over for yourself. If I were you, I’d go be my young master.”

Thinking of everything I had been through handling each matter, and then of Team Cui, who had paid with his life, I looked at Song Zhong and said, “Not everyone has your kind of easy fate.”

After waiting a moment and seeing that Song Zhong still gave no sign of responding, I left the back hill of the cemetery by myself.

He was an adult, older than me by a full generation. If he could not even understand something this simple, then he had lived for nothing.

Back at the shop, I took a comfortable shower. I had not expected things to drag on all night.

Just as I was getting ready to sleep, my grandfather unexpectedly called me.

He had ignored me for so long, yet now he took the initiative to ask how things had been going lately.

Half asleep, I gave him a report, but before I had even gotten far, he cut me off. “Enough, enough. I know you brat handled it well. I don’t care about the rest. You’ve already dealt with Song Baoguo’s son, haven’t you?”

“Grandpa, are you some kind of hound? How do you know?”

“You little punk, do you want a beating? Cut the nonsense and answer me. How much did Song Baoguo pay?”

I had never intended to hide anything about money from my grandfather.

What I had not expected was that when he heard the words one million, he did not seem particularly shocked.

He muttered something to himself on the other end of the line. After a moment, he told me to transfer all of it to him, saying that my parents’ business had recently run into cash-flow trouble, and that one million would be just enough to tide them over.

My grandfather’s reaction was wrong. Could it be that our family had always been wealthy?

That was one million, not one hundred. Just to tide them over?

I wanted to ask, but Grandfather would never tell me. In his view, a boy had to be raised in hardship.

Just like me. Before high school, I had barely ever seen what money really looked like.

With no choice, I got out of bed and prepared to go to the bank. Along the way, I told him about Song Baoguo’s decision regarding Song Zhong.

I had originally thought Grandfather would object, but to my surprise he actually said that no matter what method I used, I had to keep this god of wealth, Song Zhong, in the shop.

He said that with Song Zhong around, there would be no shortage of business. More importantly, he said Song Zhong was the benefactor destined for me by fate, and that with him by my side, I would turn danger into safety wherever I went.

If anyone else had said that to me, I would have assumed they were an idiot.

But coming from my grandfather, it was absolutely not said without reason.

I wanted to ask more, but Grandfather hung up. After that, I even received a text message from him, urging me to go make the transfer.

Fine. The money in my pocket had not even had time to warm up.

I got up, put on my clothes, and yawned.

On my way out, I was still wondering whether Song Zhong could really be my benefactor. Wasn’t that absurd? And whether he would even come looking for me was still an open question. If I were him, I would definitely go back and live as my young master. Coming here to suffer with me would be nearly proof of a damaged head.

Yet when I returned from the bank to the shop, I found a man in a security uniform sleeping right at the shop entrance.

When I walked closer and looked, who else could it be but Song Zhong?

I stared at him with a strange expression. After a quick thought, I lifted my foot and kicked his shoulder.

Song Zhong stirred, opened his eyes groggily, and lay there looking up at me for a long while without reacting.

“Jiang Huai!”

After he fully woke up, Song Zhong sat up at once and wiped his dazed face with his hand. “I’ve been waiting for you for ages!”

“I’ve thought it through. I’m not going to be a security guard, and I’m not going back to be a young master. I want to work in your shop. I want to learn real skills from you. I want to uphold righteousness and ward off evil, to slay demons and defend the Way!”

Song Zhong’s eyes were full of sincerity, and his hard, resolute face was written through with seriousness.

Especially after receiving my grandfather’s call, I had truly been worried that he might have taken my words to heart and gone back to be a young master.

Now there was no need to worry anymore. I broke into a grin and said, “Apprenticeship is one year. During that time, it’s eight hundred a month. You’ll get a small commission on each job. After you’re officially hired, it’s two thousand a month, with commission at ten percent of the job value. No meals. One day off a month. If you ask for leave, one hundred gets deducted. Any problems?”

“None at all! I’m in!”

Chapter Ninety-Five: The Fated Benefactor.