Chapter 180: The Metal Cipher Box (Patreon)

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For the next twenty-plus days, Yang Haoran locked himself inside the grocery store, not venturing out anywhere.

During this period, Deng Feng didn't contact him proactively, and Duda didn't show up either. It was as if both of them had suddenly vanished from his world.

Until today, the agreed-upon time arrived as scheduled, breaking this pattern.

Not only did Deng Feng call early in the morning, but Duda also sent a beggar with a note.

Though the means of communication differed, the message was similar: reminding Yang Haoran not to make any mistakes tonight and to proceed as planned without any deviations.

From the information conveyed by both, they seemed quite confident. It appeared that as long as there were no issues from Yang Haoran's end, they were certain they could achieve their goals.

After dismissing the beggar who delivered the message, Yang Haoran continued to lock himself inside the grocery store. It wasn't until evening that he finally opened the store's doors, carrying a square metal box with a wry smile on his face as he stepped out.

During this time, he had locked himself in the store to draw some talismans that could be useful at the last moment.

However, the results were not satisfactory. Despite his efforts, utilizing the little time he had left, he didn't achieve the desired outcome.

"Sigh, becoming a talisman master is indeed not something that happens overnight. It's much more difficult than I imagined."

Yang Haoran sighed inwardly, placing the metal box he was holding on the passenger seat, and glanced at the grocery store outside the car window, his expression complex.

There was nostalgia, reluctance, and... a hint of regret hidden deep in his eyes.

After a final deep gaze at the grocery store, Yang Haoran drove away, leaving behind the simple, unremarkable grocery store.

The agreed-upon time was midnight today. Yang Haoran understood why Duda had chosen this time.

Duda was a spirit master. If he wanted to unleash the full potential of his guardian yin spirit, midnight was an excellent choice because Yin Qi was the heaviest during this time period.

It was only evening now, with several hours left until midnight. The reason Yang Haoran chose to leave at this time wasn't to rush to the ghost building to meet his demise immediately.

His destination at this moment was Guanhai's bar.

As it was still early, there weren't many customers in the bar. Only Xiao Mo, the manager, was seen busy preparing for the night's business.

Yang Haoran walked into the bar, carrying a metal box. Seeing Yang Haoran, Xiao Mo warmly greeted him.

"Brother Yang, haven't seen you in many days. What have you been busy with lately?"

Xiao Mo still looked young and attractive, but she appeared somewhat tired, perhaps due to the nature of her work or because she was preoccupied with something else.

"I've been busy lately, so I haven't had time to come by. You don't look so good; you should take more rest," Yang Haoran responded with a smile.

Xiao Mo chuckled and said, "That's the nature of the job. I can't sleep and wake up like a normal person. Are you here to see Brother Guanhai? He's been here for a while, waiting for you over there."

With that, Xiao Mo pointed to the least conspicuous corner of the bar.

Following her direction, Yang Haoran indeed found Guanhai. However, Guanhai was currently engrossed in his mobile phone, wearing a smile on his face, evidently deeply engaged in a conversation with someone, completely unaware of Yang Haoran's arrival.

"Brother Yang, you guys chat. I'll go attend to something first," Xiao Mo said before leaving, while Yang Haoran approached Guanhai, who was still immersed in his phone conversation.

Approaching Guanhai, who still hadn't noticed his arrival, Yang Haoran couldn't help but shake his head with a wry smile.

"I mean, who are you chatting with so enthusiastically? Have you forgotten there are other people in this world?"

Yang Haoran suddenly spoke, startling Guanhai, who looked up to see Yang Haoran. Immediately, he complained, "Geez! How do you always appear out of nowhere?"

"Your dog-like ability to appear out of nowhere? The whole world knows I'm here except for you. You're the one who's oblivious, not me."

Yang Haoran laughed while teasing Guanhai, taking a seat opposite him and placing the metal box he held to the side.

"What's up today? You, the busy man, actually took the initiative to invite me out, and in my bar, no less. It's still early; you're not planning to skip dinner and go straight to drinking in the bar, are you?"

Guanhai sent a message and then put away his mobile phone, smiling as he looked at Yang Haoran teasingly.

"Haven't I often done that before? What's so strange about it? Enough talk, let's get some drinks."

Although Guanhai found it somewhat strange, he didn't inquire further and simply called for a crate of beer as Yang Haoran requested.

Yang Haoran wasn't polite either. When the beer arrived, despite Guanhai's speechless expression, Yang Haoran quickly downed three bottles in one go.

The beer in the bar wasn't served in bottles but rather in tall glasses, making it easy for both Yang Haoran and Guanhai to down three glasses without much effort.

Starting off so strongly, Guanhai felt a bit uneasy. In his impression, Yang Haoran wasn't usually this dominant when drinking.

After downing three glasses of beer, both of them burped. Yang Haoran looked satisfied while Guanhai looked at him with some complaints.

"When did you become so impatient? Are you afraid you won't get to drink in the future, or haven't you had enough to drink yet?"

Guanhai grumbled while burping. He was used to bantering and teasing each other with Yang Haoran, so he didn't take it to heart.

However, unintentionally, Guanhai's words hit home, revealing the truth of the matter.

Though Yang Haoran's mood was heavy, his smile didn't diminish.

"Yeah, afraid I won't get to drink in the future, so I'll drink to my heart's content tonight. Haha!"

Yang Haoran laughed heartily, his demeanor clearly joking. Under normal circumstances, who would take such words seriously?

Laughing and chatting, they finished a crate of beer in no time. At Yang Haoran's request, Guanhai ordered another crate.

Outside, it had already turned dark at some point. Yang Haoran couldn't recall how much he had drunk. When both were quite tipsy, Yang Haoran picked up the metal box beside him and placed it on the table.

It was a rather ordinary metal cipher box, not large in size but seemingly quite old.

Yang Haoran couldn't remember when he had bought this cipher box. In his memory, he had purchased it during the years he spent traveling outside.

Out there, he encountered countless people, transient figures in his life. Colleagues, friends, they came and went, but this cipher box had always been with him, never replaced.

Years had passed in a flash. Though Yang Haoran hadn't used this cipher box in years, he hadn't discarded it either. After so many years, he still felt a deep attachment to it.

He had never expected to use this cipher box again in his life. He had kept it mostly for sentimental reasons. Yet, today, this cipher box proved to be useful.

Seeing Yang Haoran place the cipher box on the table, Guanhai couldn't help but look puzzled. He had noticed the cipher box beside Yang Haoran earlier and had inquired about it, but Yang Haoran had brushed it off with a casual remark, not giving him a satisfactory answer.

Seeing Yang Haoran unwilling to say more, Guanhai naturally didn't push further. Unexpectedly, Yang Haoran now placed the cipher box on the table, indicating he wanted to share something with him.

"Coming out for drinks late at night with a cipher box, all secretive. Someone who doesn't know might think we're engaged in some illegal deal," Guanhai said, with a drunken smile on his face.

Yang Haoran, also with a tipsy expression, pushed the cipher box towards Guanhai and said, "This cipher box is important to me. I'll be leaving Lecheng for a few days, and it's not convenient to take it with me. So, I'll leave it here with you for now."

[Heartfelt thankyou for the support! BokuBoku]

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Next Chapter ->Chapter 181: The More You Care, the More You Fear