Chapter 227: Ghostly Shadow?

Chapter 227: Chapter 227: Ghostly Shadow?

"We open our doors to do business. Even with strangers, we want them to feel at home, let alone with an old friend like Brother Yun! Let’s put the unpleasantness aside. I’ll arrange for some girls for you to choose from right now. I’ll definitely host you well tonight."

"???" Zhang Yun was completely speechless. They had been at each other’s throats just a moment ago, and now Liu Bo suddenly wanted to treat them as paying customers?

Liu Bo stepped forward and patted his shoulder with an amiable smile. "Brother Yun, business is business. Let’s keep things moving! Come on, I’ll take you to pick your girls!"

"Do you think I’m in the mood?" Zhang Yun felt helpless. "Do you think he can even get it up anymore?"

Zhang Long felt a wave of shame. He was still scared out of his wits, so how could he possibly have the appetite for that!

Liu Bo chuckled, winking bawdily. "Don’t worry! I’ll find you a few girls with great technique. I guarantee they’ll pitch a tent for you! Besides, we’re all young men, and Brother Yun is such a fierce, strapping guy—you’ll be rock hard in seconds!"

"Thanks, but no thanks," Zhang Yun said as he shook his head.

Liu Bo didn’t insist and enthusiastically walked them to the door. "Alright, come back when you boys have time. Since we’re all acquaintances now, look after my business a bit more. Want to add me on WeChat? I can make reservations for you in advance. Whenever we get new arrivals, I’ll let you be the first to have a taste!"

"No need."

Liu Bo truly was a hardened street hustler. He showed no mercy to those he could scam or bully, yet he could grovel subserviently before those he couldn’t afford to offend! The last time Yellow Hair went to him for help, Liu Bo had recognized Zhang Yun and immediately beaten Yellow Hair up instead. Just a moment ago, he had been threatening to call the police, and in the blink of an eye, he was enthusiastically hosting them.

Unable to stomach him, Zhang Yun quickly refused, grabbed Zhang Long, and headed downstairs.

When they passed the front of the hair salon, there were still women making eyes at them. Zhang Long was so paranoid that he didn’t even dare to steal another glance.

Riding the motorcycle back to the village, Zhang Yun sensed that Zhang Long had completely sobered up.

"Still dare to go?" Zhang Yun playfully teased, hoping to help ease the psychological trauma through conversation.

Zhang Long smiled bitterly. "Never again. It scared me to death. I need to warn the other guys not to come to this shady joint."

Zhang Yun didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Judging by his words, he was only afraid of coming to this specific parlor, but still dared to visit others? Who knew if Liu Bo was involved with those as well?

"Zhang Yun, I’ll pay you back that five thousand yuan," Zhang Long immediately promised. Then, looking puzzled, he asked, "Since you saw it was a honey trap, why did you still give her five thousand? They should be the ones afraid of us calling the cops."

"Would you dare to call the cops?"

"Uh..."

Zhang Yun said seriously, "In this matter, they intentionally meant to scam you. Of course, it’s also possible they saw me and tried to get to me by setting you up. But you admitted yourself that when she said it was inconvenient, you forced yourself on her."

"So what? She’s a pro anyway, yet she didn’t make things clear. That’s deceiving a customer! Damn it, I thought I hit the jackpot, but it turned out to be a stroke of terrible luck." Thinking back on it, Zhang Long felt deeply frustrated.

Seeing that he still hadn’t grasped the point, Zhang Yun emphasized sternly, "Wrong! Even if they are in this line of work, if they aren’t willing and you force them, it’s still a crime. Their trade is a public security issue and is illegal, but what you did is a criminal offense. The severity is completely different. Strictly speaking, if a wife doesn’t consent, a husband forcing himself on her is also a crime!"

"Don’t scare me like that," Zhang Long said, a guilty conscience creeping in.

"Today, they led you on beforehand, and she was deliberately acting and faking it, which is why I could say they set up a honey trap. But your behavior itself was still wrong! If you don’t take this seriously, the next time something like this happens, you’ll really be eating prison food!"

Having grown up together, Zhang Yun naturally knew that Zhang Long wasn’t a bad person; he simply lacked an understanding of basic legal knowledge. This had to be made crystal clear to him.

Zhang Long gave a bitter smile. "I won’t do it again. I’m too scared to try anything like that ever again."

"You don’t need to pay me back. Liu Bo previously caused trouble at Zhang Youcai’s factory, and I helped beat them up. If he wasn’t targeting me, he wouldn’t have demanded such an exorbitant amount. I should be the one paying this money!"

"No, no. If I hadn’t wanted to go to a place like that, none of this would have happened in the first place. I’m the one who dragged you into—"

Zhang Yun cut him off. "Enough, let’s just leave it at that."

"Thanks," Zhang Long fell silent for a moment before saying with a hint of excitement, "Where would I even get the two hundred thousand they asked for earlier? I was just waiting for you to come and help. Hehe, so I didn’t have to pay that one thousand we agreed on after all!"

Zhang Yun was speechless. Was he actually thinking he had successfully scored a freebie at a time like this?

After taking Zhang Long home, Zhang Yun parked the motorcycle for him.

"You’re still drunk. Don’t go wandering around visiting people. Go to bed early."

"Thank you for today."

"It’s a small matter. You never have to bring it up again."

Zhang Yun didn’t want this matter to spread to more people. If they went to that kind of place together, would anyone believe that only Zhang Long hired a prostitute? Yeah, right! Others would definitely assume he had gotten one too.

"What’s wrong?" Seeing that Zhang Long’s expression looked a bit off, Zhang Yun glanced back.

Zhang Long offered a dry laugh. "I don’t know if I’m just still spooked from yesterday. I thought I just saw a white Shadow on top of the wall. It looked like a person."

Zhang Yun had just looked back but hadn’t seen or heard a thing.

"You’ll feel better after a good sleep. Don’t let your imagination run wild," Zhang Yun said as he patted his shoulder and headed out first.

Zhang Long also thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, but an unnatural feeling of being watched lingered, prompting him to hurry inside and lock the door.

Zhang Long’s home was on the outskirts of the village, a fair distance from Zhang Yun’s place. As Zhang Yun walked outside, he could faintly hear the sounds of televisions playing in various houses.

After walking a few dozen meters, Zhang Yun had an illusion—it felt like someone was following him! He whipped his head around, but there wasn’t a single Shadow under the streetlights. Furthermore, as he concentrated and listened closely, he couldn’t hear any footsteps or the like.

Had he been psychologically influenced by Zhang Long’s words?

Zhang Yun immediately calmed himself down. His physical abilities and mental fortitude were quite formidable now, so he wouldn’t be easily swayed by superstitious talk of running into ghosts.

As he continued walking home, he didn’t look back a single time. He listened intently, but no one was following him, and that feeling of being watched was gone.

It was still early when he returned home. His neighbor, Uncle Xi, and others were at his house drinking tea, so Zhang Yun joined them to chat. It wasn’t until nearly ten o’clock that everyone dispersed. Zhang Yun watched his dad drink another cup of wine before finally going upstairs to bed.

The light was on! Out of habit, he glanced over and noticed that the light in Xiuxun’s room was on. A surge of excitement ran through Zhang Yun. Even though the thick curtains were drawn and he couldn’t see anything, looking at the lit window gave him the feeling that Xiuxun was nearby.

Zhang Yun picked up his phone, wanting to send her a message, but he didn’t know what to say. When he looked over again, the light over there had gone out.

Had she gone to sleep? Zhang Yun turned off his light as well, but as he lay in bed, he couldn’t fall asleep. He wondered how things were going on Mingruo’s end. Xu Jin and the others had gone over there, so they should be able to keep her safe, right? What about Sister Xiaoyun? He wondered if her mood had improved at all.

Just as his thoughts were wandering, a sudden sense of warning flared up in his mind!

It wasn’t exactly a warning, but rather that same feeling of being watched again! Earlier at Zhang Long’s door, he had brushed it off as a psychological suggestion from Zhang Long’s words, but now he felt it with absolute certainty.

To feel watched inside his own bedroom meant the gaze could only be coming through the window. The window faced the direction of Xiuqin’s House. Could it be...? Zhang Yun immediately got up and peered out.

When a person was indoors with the lights on and the curtains drawn, they were completely exposed for anyone to observe. However, with the lights off, he was the one hidden in the dark.

Zhang Yun looked toward Xiuxun’s window. Even if she was peeking from behind her curtains and he couldn’t see her clearly from here, he could still feel it.

But this single glance gave Zhang Yun a shock.

A white Shadow was standing on the roof of Xiuqin’s House, staring directly at his window!