Zhang San, please behave yourself!
Chapter 161 - 157: Half a Life

Chapter 161: Chapter 157: Half a Life

The moonlight was like a hook, and the dark clouds resembled a dog.

The fortune-teller, holding his own fortune-telling signboard, returned to his dwelling.

He casually tossed the signboard aside and immediately cooked up half a bucket of hot water. After mixing in some cool water, he placed it in the middle of the room, preparing to soak his feet.

But just as he had prepared the steaming water, he heard the door behind him creak open.

Turning around, he saw no one.

"I thought I locked the door, didn’t I? Perhaps I forgot while I was busy boiling water."

The fortune-teller hurried to bolt the door. Just as he turned around, he couldn’t help but jump in fright.

To his surprise, a little girl dressed in bright floral clothes was sitting by his foot-soaking tub, dipping her feet into it.

"Wuu wuu wuu~ This is so comfortable~"

The fortune-teller frowned and said coldly, "I can tell at a glance that you are not human! Who are you?"

The little girl, enjoying the comfort of the soak, took her time before slowly opening her big watery eyes and looked innocently at the fortune-teller standing at the door trembling with fear.

"My foster father’s surname is Jiang. Because of your fortune-telling in the past, many who should have died did not. My foster father was very unhappy, so he sent me to settle the score with you."

The fortune-teller immediately realized what this was about, especially when the little girl mentioned her foster father’s surname Jiang, which scared him so much that his legs felt weak.

The fortune-teller slowly backed away, trying to sound calm, "But I was saving people! What’s wrong with saving lives?"

The little girl smiled and shook her head, saying, "Saving people is obviously not wrong. However, my foster father also said that you disrupted the balance of life and death and tampered with the fate of heaven. That’s why he wants to take your life..."

While pretending to listen to the little girl, the fortune-teller backed away, only to bump into something. Turning his head, he saw a towering, dark Ghost General standing right behind him, effectively blocking the door.

"But, I think, Mr. Cui, since you were trying to save people, from a human’s perspective, you did nothing wrong. So, I think you shouldn’t die. I pleaded with my foster father on your behalf, and he agreed to take only half of your life for my sake. Uncle, what do you think of that?"

At this moment, the fortune-teller was dumbfounded.

Not to mention the demon Qi emanating from the young girl.

Just the very notion of taking half a life—what kind of human language is that?

How do you take half my life—slice me open, leave half, and mince the rest?

However, the fortune-teller also saw that this demon and ghost pair seemed aware of his lack of combat ability and thus felt fearless.

This gave him a chance to exploit.

The fortune-teller pinched several signs with his left hand inside his sleeve and cast the Mind-reading Technique.

In an instant, he could see the thoughts of the demon-qi filled little girl.

In his ears, echoed the little girl’s current thoughts.

"Wuu wuu wuu... soaking my feet feels so good... I want to soak a bit longer~"

The fortune-teller grinned.

I’m really just reading this thought!

In the midst of this silent and eerie atmosphere, the little girl soaked her feet for a full fifteen minutes more before she was satisfied. She then picked up the fortune-telling sign from the ground beside her and wiped her feet.

"Uncle, so we are agreed, I’ll take your half a life."

The fortune-teller was wondering how she would take half of his life.

Suddenly, the little girl’s figure flashed, and she instantly rushed in front of him.

The fortune-teller only felt the little girl gently pat the top of his head.

It was just a light pat, and his body seemed to feel a bit lighter, then... nothing changed.

The fortune-teller scratched his head, feeling a bit itchy on top. After scratching the back of his head and looking around, he finally realized...

The door wasn’t closed.

"What was I standing here for? Right, I came to close the door."

Speaking of which, the fortune teller closed the door, then returned to the foot-soaking basin, reached out for a feel, and grimaced.

"Did I mix too much cold water? This isn’t hot at all anymore. I’ll go heat some more," he said.

...

Outside the residence of the fortune teller, Little Fox, who had just finished soaking her feet and was feeling particularly comfortable, was hopping and skipping along the deserted street.

Following behind, Fang Xiang couldn’t help but ask, "Miss, weren’t we supposed to take half of his life? Why did we just leave then?"

Little Fox stopped, turned around, and said with a smile, "Uncle Fang Xiang, I think if I had taken his soul, his physical body would have become a walking corpse, but his soul would remain intact, and that wouldn’t count as taking half his life."

"But it’s different if I take half of his brain. Without a brain, a person is just living meaninglessly. If I take half of his brain, it’s like he’s half alive and half not. Tell me, isn’t that exactly half a life?"

Fang Xiang thought about it and felt there was some truth in her words.

Indeed, there are some people without brains who are living meaninglessly in this world.

With that said, the miss’s idea was completely correct.

"Then, miss, shall we head back now?"

"Uncle Fang Xiang, could we first go to a place to take a look, then head back? I smelled the scent of someone I like, starting from that tavern over there. He must be around here. I just want to take a look. Just a quick look, okay?"

Fang Xiang knew that Little Fox always mentioned that person she thought was the best in the world among humans.

Moreover, since today’s task had gone smoothly and there was still time, he nodded in agreement.

Little Fox jumped joyously, a moment of pride, but her snowy white tail accidentally got exposed again.

"Miss, your transformation isn’t fully mastered yet, don’t be in such a hurry," he cautioned.

Little Fox chuckled, pulling Fang Xiang along as she followed Zhang San’s scent.

Soon, the fox and the ghost arrived outside Xiongfeng Manor.

"Miss, are you sure you want to go in? There are many strong individuals inside, even masters of the Path of Life and Death. I’m worried they might discover us," Fang Xiang said.

"It will be fine, we’ll just sneak in for a quick look at him. Trust me, Uncle Fang Xiang, just one look," Little Fox urged.

Fang Xiang felt helpless—who could refuse such a charming and adorable Little Fox?

Indulging her, they moved on.

Soon, Little Fox followed the scent to Zhang San’s room.

But to Little Fox’s dismay, Zhang San wasn’t in the room.

There was only an empty bed, and lying opposite was Big Head Wang.

"I remember him, he was with Zhang San before."

Hearing Little Fox’s words, Fang Xiang felt something was off.

"It seems like there’s something wrong with his brain."

Little Fox leaned in to look at Big Head Wang, who was in a coma, then turned to Fang Xiang, "Uncle Fang Xiang, do you know the Soul Cleansing Technique? Can you help wash this half of the brain? It’s a waste otherwise."

Fang Xiang immediately applied the Soul Cleansing Technique to the half of the brain in Little Fox’s hands, erasing all memories and past experiences from it.

Thereafter, Little Fox slapped the freshly washed half-brain into Big Head Wang’s head.

After stuffing it in, Little Fox, still a bit worried, held his head, which was as large as a watermelon, and shook it several times to reassure herself.

As he was being shaken, Big Head Wang, groggy, opened his eyes and vaguely saw a woman’s face in front of him.

It was a bit unclear who it was.

They say that when you are ill, you often see a departed yet beloved person.

Could it be her...

Big Head Wang saw the woman’s face fading away and tried to reach out to grab it, but he could only weakly lift his hand and faintly called out—Mom.

Afterward, he fell asleep again.