Chapter 196
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“Hi~ Good morning, Lou Yan.”
Count Grey stood smiling behind the counter, waving at Lou Yan.
Lou Yan walked up to him and calmly asked, “Are you here to deliver Fu Xuezhou’s heart to me?”
Count Grey paused, shaking his head oddly, “Unfortunately, I’m not here to deliver Fu Xuezhou’s heart to you. Maybe I’ll give you his heart in the future, but not now.”
This was another deviation from the contents of the diary.
Lou Yan paused in his breathing. “Because he…”
“Yes,” Count Grey lazily interrupted, “because he’s not dead yet.”
Lou Yan remained silent for a moment. “So, what did you come here for?”
Right, Fu Xuezhou wasn’t dead yet.
The “Lou Yan” in the diary returned to the mainland in 9 days, by which time Fu Xuezhou had already died. However, the real Lou Yan hurried back because of Duan Zege’s serious injury, taking only 4 days on the road, and even with the additional 2 days to find Duan Zege, only 6 days had passed since pushing Fu Xuezhou into the extreme cold h*ll.
Lou Yan stared at Count Grey’s silver hair, his breathing becoming unusually slow.
Fu Xuezhou, with a bag of supplies, would probably live longer than the “Fu Xuezhou” in the diary.
But as long as he was in the extreme cold h*ll, Fu Xuezhou would slowly be consumed to death. Only when Fu Xuezhou truly died would Count Grey give him Fu Xuezhou’s heart.
Lou Yan’s heart was in chaos. On one hand, there was the regretful “I shouldn’t have killed him” from the diary, and on the other hand, there was Fu Xuezhou’s indifferent statement of “When I feel bored with this world, it’s no longer necessary for it to exist.”
What kind of path was the right choice?
What kind of choice would truly benefit this world?
“I want to do business with you,” Count Grey took out two things from under the counter and placed them on the counter. One was a photo of Lu Haoxiu lying unconscious on a hospital bed wrapped in gauze, and the other was a 30-centimeter-long snow-white candle. “It would be very dangerous without the sense of touch. Your friend ended up in the hospital not long ago. If you agree to do business with me, I will return the last part of your friend’s soul to him and give you this snow candle.”
Lou Yan was stunned. He didn’t know that Lu Haoxiu had been hospitalized. He furrowed his brows, took out his phone, and only then did he realize that Li Sanxin had sent him a message about Lu Haoxiu being admitted to the hospital a week ago.
Lu Haoxiu had fought with an anomaly to save someone, and his body had suffered many serious injuries while he was unconscious and unaware. Although he had killed the anomalies, he had nearly died from blood loss.
Lou Yan massaged his temples with a headache. He felt somewhat guilty for not paying attention to Lu Haoxiu’s situation in time.
But in any case, it was urgent to restore Lu Haoxiu’s sense of touch, and he definitely had to do business with Count Grey for this. However, besides the two anomaly hearts on his body, he didn’t have any other anomaly items. He didn’t know what Count Grey wanted from him.
Lou Yan wasn’t in a hurry. He pointed to the snow-white candle and asked, “What’s this?”
“This is a candle made of snow woman’s fat. I call it a snow candle,” Count Grey said with a meaningful smile. “The snow candle is best used in snowy weather. As long as you light the snow candle, all snow and wind will stop within the area illuminated by the candle, and the person covered by the candlelight won’t feel cold. How about it? Isn’t the snow candle very useful?”
As Count Grey explained, Lou Yan’s expression became increasingly gloomy and uncertain. Frustration flashed in his eyes, and he lowered his head to light a cigarette from his pocket. The flame from the lighter flickered across his face.
Lou Yan took a deep drag from his cigarette, his brows furrowing deeper, and his tone was cold. “What are you implying? Are you giving me this snow candle to go save Fu Xuezhou in the extreme cold h*ll?”
Count Grey said, “I want you to go save Fu Xuezhou, but most importantly, you want to go save Fu Xuezhou.”
Lou Yan’s hand trembled, raising his head heavily. His eyes looked at Count Grey with a shadowed gaze.
Count Grey sighed lightly, looking at Lou Yan with a tolerant expression. “Lou Yan, do you remember what I said to you when you first came to my shop? Count Grey’s shop doesn’t appear randomly. When it does, it means there’s something you need here. Whether you admit it or not, these two things are what you need most right now. If you don’t need the snow candle, I wouldn’t have been able to bring it over for you to trade.”
Lou Yan took a deep drag of his cigarette, surrounded by swirling white smoke. Suddenly, he chuckled sarcastically, then was choked by a series of coughs. After finishing one cigarette, Lou Yan lit another one without speaking. Count Grey, too, remained silent, patiently waiting for Lou Yan’s response.
“After all this time, you say you want to do business with me,” the black-haired youth finally spoke, lowering his gaze. His handsome and sharp face was shrouded in shadows. “But I only have two anomaly hearts with me. I don’t think these two peculiar hearts can bring back the last part of a soul and a wax candle that leads the way home.”
He didn’t say whether to save or not to save. Count Grey carefully watched Lou Yan’s expression, unable to discern what exactly Lou Yan was thinking.
“These two anomaly hearts indeed cannot,” Count Grey shook his head regretfully. “Even if I wanted to give you these two things, I must adhere to the rules of the shop. If you want to take them, you must offer something of equal value in return.”
“But—”
Count Grey’s tone shifted, and he smiled slyly. “Who says there aren’t other things of equal value on you?”
Lou Yan was momentarily puzzled.
“The first time you came to my shop, you didn’t buy anything. I said it then: either you are destined for something in my shop, or there is something from my shop on you,” Count Grey pointed at the lighter in Lou Yan’s hand. “See, indeed, there is something from my shop on you.”
Lou Yan followed his gaze and looked down at the silver lighter in his right hand, feeling even more bewildered.
This lighter was from Count Grey’s shop?
How could that be possible?
Lou Yan smirked and said with amusement, “Are you sure this lighter is from your shop? Count Grey, you must be mistaken. This lighter has been with me since before, how could it be from your shop?”
Count Grey calmly asked, “Do you remember where you bought this lighter from?”
Of course, he remembered! This lighter was from…
Lou Yan subconsciously wanted to say an answer, but he got stuck at a crucial point. Where did he buy this lighter from? Or was it given to him by someone?
He couldn’t remember…
Furrowing his brows, Lou Yan tried hard to recall the source of the lighter, but he couldn’t remember when this lighter appeared by his side. Lou Yan only knew that in his memories, there were only images of this silver lighter, and even in the past three lifetimes, the lighters he used were all the same.
This lighter had been with him for a long time. It existed on him even before he met Count Grey. How could it be from Count Grey’s shop?
“It’s definitely not from your shop,” Lou Yan affirmed. “Even if I forgot when I bought it, I’m sure I didn’t buy it from you.”
Count Grey said calmly, “Didn’t you feel that this lighter is different? For example, even if you throw it into the water, it still works; it won’t explode even if you throw it into the fire. It will never be lost, and you will feel peaceful when using it. Its flame won’t be easily extinguished by the wind…”
With each point Count Grey made, Lou Yan’s expression became more unpleasant. He belatedly realized the extraordinary nature of this lighter.
Count Grey extended his hand and said, “Do you mind letting me have a look at the lighter?”
Lou Yan took a few seconds to breathe quietly, hesitated, and then reluctantly handed the lighter to Count Grey.
Count Grey carefully examined the lighter and nodded affirmatively, “Yes, this is indeed a lighter sold in my shop.”
Lou Yan said somewhat absentmindedly, “But I’ve never bought anything from you…”
“It’s not you who bought it,” Count Grey interrupted Lou Yan’s words with a smiling gaze, staring directly into Lou Yan’s eyes. “I remember very clearly that the buyer of this lighter was not you, it was Fu Xuezhou.”
As if a heavy hammer had struck his heart, a dense and confusing fog enveloped Lou Yan’s mind, almost making him repeat in a dazed and stiff manner, “Fu Xuezhou?”
As the words left his mouth, Lou Yan realized how faint his voice was, as if it could shatter with a gust of wind.
But Count Grey heard it. He played with the silver lighter and said slowly, “Yes, it was Fu Xuezhou who bought it. At that time, he was like a bandit, rushing in and throwing me an anomaly eye, then asking if I had any props that could help someone retain their memories and accompany him through reincarnation. Let me think, this seems to be something that happened before the divergence of three world lines… Oh, yes, it was the 288th reincarnation of Fu Xuezhou.”
Lou Yan felt as if Count Grey’s words were coming from a distant place, making it difficult for him to understand, leaving his mind blank.
His hand holding the cigarette started to tremble slightly.
Three world lines ago… and coincidentally, he had memories from three lifetimes.
Lou Yan pursed his lips, the pungent smell of smoke swirling in his body, making his head dizzy.
He had speculated about the reason for his awakening memories, suspected himself, suspected the Anomaly Lord, suspected Count Grey, and even suspected the nonexistent gods.
But he had never thought that it would be related to Fu Xuezhou.
How could that be…?
Why would Fu Xuezhou do this?
He couldn’t even remember his own name.
Count Grey sighed lightly and said, “I still remember what he said when he bought this lighter… I didn’t expect him to give this lighter to you. Well, I’ll let you see it for yourself.”
Count Grey waved his hand, and suddenly, the entire shop dimmed. Suddenly, the wind chime at the shop’s door rang. Lou Yan turned his head following the sound and saw Fu Xuezhou, covered in blood, walking expressionlessly into Count Grey’s shop.
Lou Yan’s pupils dilated. He thought Fu Xuezhou had come out of the extreme cold h*ll, but the next moment, he realized that Fu Xuezhou walked straight to the counter as if he hadn’t seen him, and threw a fist-sized crimson eye on the counter.
“Count Grey,” Fu Xuezhou said with blood-stained fingers tapping on the counter, indifferently, “let’s do business.”
Behind the counter, Count Grey, who had somehow laid back on the rocking chair, slowly sat up, taking off his hat. His fake snoring sounded clearly.
Fu Xuezhou sneered and impatiently tapped the table again. “Hurry up.”
Author’s Note:
Lou Yan and Fu have never talked before, and this lifetime is the beginning of their love affair ==
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