I walked over to a black flower and squatted down. I’d seen this kind of plant in the Dark Forest before, but why was it growing at the edge of the city? Xu Fu kept watching the situation in the well.
"I thought something was odd before. Even if they all disappeared, there should be some trace. Now I’m sure—they never left, and they must have gathered together."
I stared in surprise, eyes wide. Xu Fu glanced around, then walked into the house. He searched for a while and came back out.
"Bro, lead this guy away."
Suddenly, I opened my eyes wide, staring at the plant in front of me. The voice of John Chou rang out, echoing clearly in my mind. I immediately stood up.
"You’re just overthinking it. Who cares if it’s weird or not? I’m going back to get food and open the shop."
"Wait a bit longer, Ethan Zhang. They all disappeared behind your back—there must be a reason. I’ve checked everywhere and even asked Old Cat. John Chou came to Basil Bertram’s house and never left. Then they all vanished, so I’m sure they’re still in this courtyard."
I looked around, puzzled.
"Where? If you’re so sure, then show me!"
Xu Fu held his forehead, deep in thought. I shook my head helplessly and floated upward.
"Take your time thinking about it. Tell me when you’ve figured it out. I need to get back to the shop. It’s been a month since I last opened, and I still have plenty of regular customers."
My heart was pounding. I returned to the shop entrance, unlocked the door, went inside, and immediately grabbed a bottle of liquor to drink. I finally breathed a sigh of relief. Xu Fu still seemed to be investigating over there and hadn’t followed me.
The only thing I could think of was that they were able to hide by relying on Basil Bertram’s instincts.
After a while, I made sure Xu Fu hadn’t followed me. Near dawn, I planned to go straight to the food market.
After bringing a pile of food back to the shop, I started getting busy. Since John Chou said that, it meant they didn’t want the Immortality Society or The Dark Banquet to know where they were.
Xu Fu is a sly guy. Even though his power hasn’t recovered, I’m sure he’s still connected to The Dark Banquet. I’m not so naïve anymore—I won’t believe anything he says.
I’ve already been fooled by Xu Fu a few times. When I let him go, he was already waiting at my house. Things don’t happen by coincidence.
"You don’t trust me, Ethan Zhang?"
Just as I thought that, Xu Fu’s voice drifted in. He came in, sat down, and rested his chin on his hand, watching me.
"Don’t just stand there—go wash the dishes for me. Do you really think there’s any trust between us?"
"No."
Xu Fu said this, then got up and walked to the back. There was a huge stack of dishes still unwashed, and he really started cleaning them.
I finally finished marinating some food for the evening and breathed a sigh of relief. It was already afternoon, just a few hours until night. Xu Fu actually washed all the dishes.
"Boss Chang, any other orders?"
"You can go home now. I can handle things here alone."
But Xu Fu refused to leave. I had to keep my composure. He was watching my every move, trying to figure out where John Chou and the others were hiding.
A lot of regular customers came in, so I got busy. Xu Fu even helped me take orders, carrying dishes and greeting guests. He did everything perfectly, leaving no room for criticism.
Xu Fu skillfully helped me serve plates of grilled food to customers, then immediately cleared tables and washed dishes. He was so efficient that I began to doubt my own eyes, and my wariness toward him quickly faded.
"Have a drink. We can clean up after we eat."
Xu Fu smiled, silently tidying tables, washing dishes, sweeping and mopping the floor. I stared at him in shock—was he really the kind of person to do all this?
Resigned, I started grilling some food, planning to reward him just this once.
"Satisfied?"
I grunted in reply. Xu Fu smiled, raised his glass, and clinked it with mine.
"You’re pretty skilled—better than John Chou."
I said, and a wicked gleam flashed in Xu Fu’s eyes. He nodded and sighed helplessly.
"Back when we first founded the Immortality Society, things were tough. There was no turning back, and the world was in chaos. After our failed quest for immortality overseas, we returned inland. Qin Shi Huang was already dead, and we were branded as frauds across the country."
I swallowed. There was a hint of sorrow in Xu Fu’s eyes.
"It’s true—all of us alchemists were frauds. We took advantage of Qin Shi Huang’s obsession with immortality to get everything we wanted. But it was like walking a knife’s edge—one misstep and we’d be destroyed. We were trying to figure out an escape plan. In the end, the only thing we could do was run. But how?"
I chuckled and said.
"So you tricked Qin Shi Huang, saying there were three immortal islands overseas, and offered to take boys and girls to search for the elixir of life for him. Is that right?"
Xu Fu nodded.
"Back then, our plan was to find a peaceful place overseas. We brought a huge amount of grain, books, and documents, intending to cultivate some barren land and make ourselves emperors. That way, we wouldn’t have to live in fear every day. We prepared for years and finally succeeded because Qin Shi Huang fell ill and grew weaker. I could only use medicine to keep him going. Ha, do you remember that plant I discovered after experimenting on Ada? Hemp leaves."
I grunted in reply.
"The reason we ended up here was human resistance. In those times, if you didn’t rise up, you’d be bullied and exploited, like oxen working the fields all your life and dying with nothing. After we gained Qin Shi Huang’s trust, we started this massive escape plan. Maybe we committed too many sins, so it failed, and we turned into monsters."
(This chapter isn’t over yet. ^.^ Please click next page to continue reading!)
My heart tightened as I looked at Xu Fu seriously. What did he mean by monsters? I really couldn’t figure out why those thirteen people became like this—living far beyond normal lifespans, eternally youthful, without relying on any magic. That surprised me.
"Want to know? What really happened to us?"
I nodded. Xu Fu continued speaking.
"Most of the people we took with us died in storms, but we were lucky enough to return. We could only live in hiding. After so long without any news, the new authorities found evidence against us and labeled us frauds. We were wanted nationwide, especially along the coast. That’s when I used my last bit of money to open a small shop and started a snack business. All thirteen of us worked there, changed our identities, and lived as ordinary people."
I looked at Xu Fu in surprise. He still didn’t seem ready to tell me how they really founded the Immortality Society.
"By the way, Ethan Zhang, did John Chou ever tell you anything about us?"
I shook my head.
"How could that guy ever tell me?"
Xu Fu smiled faintly and nodded, then continued speaking.
In the years that followed, tyranny raged everywhere. Peasants started to rebel. Xu Fu and the others stopped caring about anything except surviving peacefully, even if it meant dying. But as the chaos continued, they had no choice but to leave their shop and become wanderers.
The world was in complete turmoil, and they started to age—no longer young, plagued by illness and pain.
As he spoke, Xu Fu stood up and yawned.
"It’s about time. I should go. Tomorrow, I’ll continue the story—how we founded the Immortality Society."
Xu Fu left. I blinked, unsure what he was planning. Then I walked out of the shop, looked around carefully, and decided to go to Basil Bertram’s old place to contact John Chou and the others.
Just as I stepped out, someone came up to me—it was my cousin, grinning mischievously.
"Hey cousin, I haven’t eaten yet. Could you..."
I immediately pulled out a few hundred yuan and handed it to my cousin.
"I’ve got something urgent, so just find a shop that’s still open and grab something yourself."
As I spoke, I was about to leave, but my cousin grabbed me forcefully.
"I just want to eat your barbecue, cousin. Please, I just broke up, and you’re not even comforting me."
"Cousin, I really have something urgent. Move aside."
I used a bit more force and pushed my cousin to the ground. He immediately hugged my leg, sobbing.
"Don’t be so heartless, cousin."
Just as I was about to lose my temper, I felt my cousin slip a wad of paper into my palm. Without thinking much about it, I walked into the shop.
Brother, listen to Zhang Hao.
My eyes widened instantly. I tossed the wad of paper into the fire. My cousin came in, closed the door, and looked at me calmly.
"Cousin, you remembered?"
I stared at him in shock. He nodded, placing a hand on my shoulder.
"From now on, I’m really going to be a burden to you, cousin."
My nose tingled with emotion. I said nothing, just went over to make a proper meal for my cousin.
"Don’t talk about anything else. Cousin, now is the time to keep calm."
I grunted in reply and kept eating and drinking with my cousin. We didn’t discuss anything else; he just kept talking about his love life.
I kept an eye on things outside the shop from time to time, but nothing seemed unusual.
"After you finish drinking, come sleep at my place, cousin."
As I spoke, I started tidying up. My cousin was already drunk, so I carried him out, closed the door, and left. Xu Fu was waiting outside, smiling at me.
"What do you mean?"
"It’s nothing. I’ve got nowhere else to go. Can I stay at your place?"