Chapter 26.4: The Video Parlor

The young man mimicked the actions as he spoke.

“Damn, they’re really going at it in there. Should we take a look too?”

“I’m not going in. After this round, I’m heading home. If I get back too late, my mom’ll scold me again.”

Li Zhuiyuan frowned. Though Panzi and Leizi were sometimes mischievous, they were responsible when it came to being older brothers.

Even if they weren’t worried why their younger brother, who should’ve been home by now, was still out, at the very least, when they heard he was calling them, they should’ve come out to speak with him directly.

Instead, they sent someone else to pass on the message. That was definitely not normal.

Even though the young man who went in came out unscathed, Li Zhuiyuan still didn’t dare step into that video parlor.

If only Runsheng-ge were here. Back during Niu’s deathday rite, when faced with a possessed Blind Liu and Grandpa Shan, Runsheng’s slap was so clean and sharp it was unforgettable.

At that moment, two men came staggering out of the parlor, arms slung around each other’s shoulders. They were two of the four loafers from earlier.

Nothing clung to their backs, but their steps were unsteady, as if drunk. Their eyes were sunken and ringed with shadows, like they hadn’t slept for days.

Yet back inside, after they had “attained enlightenment,” they seemed quiet but full of energy. How could just watching a movie have turned them into such hollow wrecks, like their souls had been drained?

The strangest part was their pants—there was a wet patch around the crotch, dark and spreading down to their ankles, seeping into their slippers.

It looked like they’d lost control of their bladders…

No, it wasn’t urine. It had a milky, viscous quality.

And then, slowly, it turned reddish-brown.

They staggered off into the distance, leaving behind red footprints from their slippers.

Li Zhuiyuan tugged the sleeve of a pool-playing youth nearby, pointing to the marks.

“Look.”

“What? What am I looking at?” the young man asked, confused.

“The footprints.”

“Where? I don’t see any.”

Li Zhuiyuan turned back. The red prints were gone. Even in summer, evaporation didn’t happen that fast—and with colored liquid?

Just then, two more people emerged: the man in the suit and another lackey.

They came out one after the other—the lackey first, the suited man behind.

Both seemed like they could collapse at any moment.

The suited man mumbled, “Too wild… too wild… satisfying… so satisfying… that movie was just… perfect…”

Li Zhuiyuan glanced down. The man’s trousers were soaked in red.

That same fluid was trickling down his pant legs, dripping continuously. At first glance, it looked like he’d been dipped in red paint.

Li Zhuiyuan hesitated, then stepped forward and asked, “Brother, what happened in there?”

“What happened?” the man in the suit looked at him blearily. It took a long moment before he realized it was the boy speaking to him.

“Heh heh… Let me tell you, good stuff playing in there. But not for kids, not for kids… heh heh…”

He turned and waved at the lackey ahead, “Wait up, wait up, let’s go together.”

With a loud thud, the man stumbled and fell, but quickly scrambled back up and continued walking. The red trail he left behind looked like it had been sprayed by a firetruck.

This time, Li Zhuiyuan didn’t look away. He reached out to pull the pool player over to look again, but the moment he extended his hand, the marks vanished right before his eyes.

The four who had come out didn’t seem to be in any mortal danger, but Li Zhuiyuan could feel it—they had lost something.

The sixth volume of the Comprehensive Treatise on Yin-Yang Physiognomy said: “Physiognomy arises from the heart; the heart ties to the source. When the source depletes, the heart scatters. When the heart scatters, the face decays.”

In other words, facial features aren’t fixed—they’re affected by one’s essence, energy, and spirit in real time.

Those four originally had mediocre signs, nothing special, probably destined for a muddled life. But now, their features were crumbling, deteriorating.

Though Li Zhuiyuan had quickly validated his readings of Xue Liangliang and Zhao Hequan, he wasn’t superstitious. He didn’t believe a single physiognomic reading could determine an entire fate.

But just like running a medical exam when something feels off, it at least indicated those four had suffered major physical damage.

If Panzi and Leizi stayed inside, would they meet the same end?

But what could he do?

After the Little Oriole incident, he’d realized something had changed in him—he could sense unclean things more acutely.

The problem was, this ability also seemed to attract them.

That woman earlier—or maybe it was Bao Brother—had tried to lure him into the video parlor for no reason at all.

The pool guy could go in and come out again, but Li Zhuiyuan felt that if he went in, something bad would definitely happen.

In the end,

His gaze fell on the phone next to the counter in the small store.

Thankfully, Great-Grandpa had left a sample protocol for this kind of situation.

He stepped back into the shop. The owner chuckled, curious. This kid seemed to have a lot of pocket money—he must be from a well-off family.

“What are you buying this time?”

“Boss, I need to make a call.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the receiver and held it to his ear, eyes thoughtful as he recalled the number.

The owner watched for a bit, then turned back to his ledger.

Li Zhuiyuan quickly dialed three digits.

After two short beeps, the line connected.

He calmly described the location, confirming the exact address with the shopkeeper.

The owner assumed the boy was calling someone from home to come pick him up. Yep, seemed like he was from a good family.

But then, Li Zhuiyuan’s next words made the pen drop from the man’s hand. His expression froze.

“I’m reporting the Meijie Video Parlor next door to this convenience store. They’re illegally showing obscene videos—and organizing prostitution.”

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