A Good-for-Nothing

152. Zhou Family (2)

Translator: Dragon Rider

He might have achieved that goal had he not had an elder brother.

That damn Zhou Yize who’d been born a couple of years earlier than him had no advantages over him whatsoever! He was merely several years older!

Beneath his father’s gaze, Zhou Yihao held back the curse words that had sprung to the tip of his tongue.

However, what Zhou Congzhi casually said next instantly sent Zhou Yihao nervous.

“I haven’t yet punished you for your lousy handling of the matter concerning Xu family. If it weren’t for the shadow-demon who was made a scapegoat for you and a distraction to those people, you wouldn’t be relaxedly standing here before me claiming credit.”

“No… Father, that was just an accident. I was merely trying to confirm whether I could control people…” Those who entertained deep hatred or intense anger were the most prone to fall prey to demonic Qi. Zhou Yihao had accidentally found Liu Lanxue to be perfect to practise on, so he’d conveniently offered her some “help”.

However, Zhou Congzhi clearly didn’t want to hear this pointless explanation of his.

“Leave. Tell your elder brother to come in.”

This time, Zhou Yihao dejectedly obeyed, walking out like a quail being grabbed by the scruff of the neck.

Seeing Zhou Yize standing in front of him, Zhou Yihao felt the hairs on the back of his neck prickle in spite of himself, his pupils contracting drastically, glued to the spot by a mere nonchalant glance from Zhou Yize’s dark gray eyes.

It seemed as if he’d always be a clown in front of Zhou Yize, who unmistakably wasn’t his elder brother at all…

Zhou Yihao, suppressing his disgruntlement and jealousy, stood quietly at the doorway.

He heard Zhou Congzhi instruct Zhou Yize, “The Human Devil was wounded by some exorcists a few decades ago. Recently our men have found some traces of him. I need you to go and seek him out, Yize.”

Zhou Yize’s face remained impassive, and there wasn’t any sign of any emotion in his gray eyes as if this was merely another common father-son talk.

“Remember to bring some ‘gifts’. It’ll be rather impolite to visit him empty-handed.”

Zhou Yize nodded silently.

He walked out of the room only to find that Zhou Yihao was still waiting at the doorway, who swallowed at the sight of him. He didn’t know whether Zhou Yihao was trying to provoke him or disgust him, but the latter said, “Do you want me to select some gifts from those ‘things’ in the basement for you, Elder Brother?”

As expected, an extremely subtle flicker flitted across Zhou Yize’s emotionless face at these words, his dark gray pupils contracting abruptly, but Zhou Yihao saw it distinctly — it was repugnance.

Repugnance of a Demon’s Attendant for those foods in the basement that they had collected for their master through various means.

This was so funny.

However, Zhou Yize’s mood swing lasted merely a fleeting moment, his well-featured face now completely expressionless. “Mind your own business.”

After saying this, Zhou Yize left without a backward glance.

Zhou Yihao coldly snorted, grinding his teeth.

Zhou Congzhi sitting in the study quietly watched all this, having no intention of intervening. On the desk before him was a planning chart of a shanty town in the south of the city, where a great number of people were eking out a precarious existence. It would take just a tiny bit of finesse to have all of them vanish from this world without anybody noticing, their hearts filled with resentment.

And his master would harness their resentment as the most powerful source of energy.

A delighted look flashed across Zhou Congzhi’s eyes.

It was Demon’s Attendants’ sworn duty to serve the Demon King.

Three days later. In Hang City.

What with its great floating population, Hang City always seemed to be quite bustling. Most people living in streets and alleyways were too occupied earning their living to spare any attention for others.

As a result, nobody when that plain-looking massage parlor next to a branch of a hotel chain on a street near the Nine Castles Bus Station had appeared. A sign outside it read ‘Massage / 15 yuan’.

But this massage parlor was always closed during daytime and only opened to business at night.

Wang Dong and a couple of friends had come to Hang City for a tour. As college students, they weren’t really well off, so the four young men got two standard double rooms. In the afternoon, after returning from a stroll in the Wulin Square, his pals suggested they go to the cheap massage parlor next to the hotel to get a massage. Wang Dong who was exhausted declined the invitation, handed the room key to them and said, “You guys may go without me. Remember to bring me midnight snack.”

The other three young men walked out, their arms on each other’s shoulders.

Wang Dong was the only one left in the room. He played mobile games for a while and then drifted off to sleep with weariness. When he opened his eyes again, it was already shortly after three o’clock in the morning, and he found someone lying on the other bed with his back to him. Groggy, he didn’t pay any extra attention to that person, believing that was his friend, gave a yawn and resumed sleeping.

Moonlight streamed through the pathetically small window onto the floor. The face of the youngster lying on the bed next to Wang Dong’s was sunken and withered and ghastly white, its owner nothing like the spirited young man that he had been when leaving the room not long ago. If someone put a finger close to his nostril, they would find that his breathing was feeble and shallow…