Chapter 241: Famished
Inside the convenience store, Yang Haoran, who had been sitting cross-legged on the bed, slowly opened his tightly closed eyes.
"Sigh, I didn't expect even this to be so difficult."
Muttering this inexplicable sentence, Yang Haoran got up from the bed and stretched his body.
His bones crackled, and a feeling of immense comfort spread through his entire being.
"What time is it now?"
He stretched lazily, and with a question in his heart, Yang Haoran picked up the phone beside his pillow. He wanted to check the time, but after pressing it a few times, the phone didn't respond.
Realizing the phone must be out of battery, Yang Haoran found a charger, plugged it in, and only then was he able to successfully turn on his phone.
He casually checked the time, and upon seeing it, Yang Haoran was momentarily stunned. He then thought his phone was malfunctioning and updated the time, but it didn't change at all. His phone wasn't broken; the time was accurate, which made a wry smile appear on his face.
"I can't believe I've been in the store for nearly two months."
During this period of over a month, he had successfully refined the Death God Seal completely, but he had only managed to purge a tenth of the impurities from his body.
The reason he stopped purging impurities at this point was that he suddenly felt incredibly hungry, almost to the point of collapse. That's why he opened his eyes and got out of bed, never expecting so much time to have passed.
Consequently, he hadn't eaten for nearly two months, nor had he even had a sip of water.
"No wonder I feel incredibly hungry. I haven't eaten for almost two months. It's a wonder I haven't starved to death."
Yang Haoran wasn't surprised that he was still alive and well after nearly two months without food. Some animals hibernate through an entire winter without starving, so for him, it was only less than two months; there was nothing strange about not starving to death. Compared to those animals, he, an Emissary of Death, was far more special.
Yang Haoran naturally understood why he hadn't starved to death. The Spirit Power within his body could replenish his physical energy, so he wouldn't easily starve to death.
Besides that, there was a more crucial point: his body had been transformed the moment he became an Emissary of Death. As long as he wasn't subjected to external attacks, he would be ageless and immortal, and naturally wouldn't starve. Even if he experienced an intense hunger, if he simply ignored it, the sensation would eventually fade.
However, Yang Haoran hadn't yet shed his appetite. So, upon feeling intense hunger, he simply halted the process of purging impurities and prepared to find something delicious to satisfy himself.
Only, the current time felt a bit awkward. It was already eleven at night; going out to buy good ingredients now was clearly unrealistic. Moreover, the feeling of hunger was too strong; even if he had ingredients, he felt he'd barely last until he finished cooking.
After some thought, he decided to go out for some late-night supper to properly satisfy his appetite.
Before leaving the convenience store, he first took a shower, cleaned himself up, and then took out incense, candles, and spirit money to pay respects to his parents and the Death God statue.
He hadn't had a chance to offer sacrifices during this period, and now that the opportunity arose, he certainly couldn't forget this matter.
Whether it was his parents or the Death God, he couldn't always offer sacrifices on time. It wasn't that he was lazy, but rather that many times, he simply couldn't spare the time.
After completing all of this, he hastily left the convenience store.
Once outside, Yang Haoran's mind was filled with thoughts of various delicious foods. After deciding what to eat, Yang Haoran didn't hesitate for a second. He drove straight towards his destination.
He had originally thought of tearing space to get there, but he feared being seen by ordinary people and causing unnecessary commotion, so he simply chose the slower method of driving.
A moment later, Yang Haoran arrived at his destination. Excitedly, he ordered a few of his favorite dishes, then reached into his pocket, preparing to pull out his phone to check it.
After his phone had charged and turned on earlier, the message notification sounds had been relentless. He hadn't had time to look at them then, but now that he was free, he could see who had messaged him.
"I wonder if she sent me a message," Yang Haoran thought, a hopeful smile appearing on his face.
However, as his hand went into his pocket, his expression froze. He didn't find his phone there.
He then checked his other pockets, but still, there was no phone.
"Damn it, my phone is probably still charging at home. Forget it, it won't be too late to check it after I've eaten my fill. I was planning to call Guan Hai over for a few drinks, but it seems he's out of luck."
Just as this thought arose, Yang Haoran's expression suddenly shifted slightly. He didn't stand up, but instead turned his head to gaze into the distance, in the direction of Lecheng's slum district.
"Such heavy Yin Qi, such strong resentment. What happened in the slum?"
Yang Haoran frowned slightly, a hint of doubt in his heart. At that moment, a loud voice pulled him back to reality.
"Handsome, your roasted rabbit!"
Yang Haoran turned his head to look at the table. A roasted rabbit had been placed before him by the waiter, and its fragrant aroma wafted towards him, making him involuntarily swallow.
He looked at the roasted rabbit, then at the distant slum, and hesitated for a moment before speaking to the departing waiter.
"Excuse me, could you please pack this to go? Do you have any iced beer? Room temperature is fine if not, please bring me two cans. " Yang Haoran said with an apologetic smile.
"Alright, please wait a moment."
Time rewinds one hour.
"Song Laoyao, it's your wife's Head Seven today. How about we just finish this round and call it a night? " On the card table, a dark, thin man said to Song Laoyao.
Upon hearing this, the other two card players' faces flashed with joy. One young woman, following the dark, thin man's lead, chimed in, "Yes, it's your wife's Head Seven today. Playing cards here with you, I just feel a chill down my spine for some reason."
Song Laoyao's face immediately darkened when he heard this. He slammed a mahjong tile forcefully onto the table.
_Thwack! _
The mahjong tile hitting the table made a considerable sound, conveying the card holder's anger at that moment.
"What are you talking about? My wife's Head Seven is my business. I'm not worried, so why are you? Besides, it's best not to go back for Head Seven. Are you eager to go back and bump into ghosts?"
Song Laoyao snorted coldly, his voice laced with displeasure. He continued, "You're so eager to leave, do you take me for a fool? Do you think I don't know what you're thinking? Today, three of you are winning, and I'm losing alone. You win and want to run? You're dreaming! Do you think I, Song Laoyao, would agree to that?"
Hearing Song Laoyao's words, the three looked at each other, seeing helplessness in each other's eyes.
They had been playing cards all day, and indeed, Song Laoyao was losing, while the other three were winning. This kind of situation wasn't unprecedented, but it was extremely rare. Yet, Song Laoyao was unlucky today; no matter how he played, he kept losing. Even when he finally managed to "hu" (win a hand), he still couldn't avoid losing money.
Soon after sitting down, Song Laoyao had lost all the money he brought. In such a situation, he naturally wasn't willing to leave, and the other three hadn't had their fill of playing, so they didn't want to leave either.
As a result, throughout the day, almost all their winnings turned into debts. At first, the three of them could still see money changing hands, but in the end, it completely devolved into offsetting debts on the table, and all these debts belonged to Song Laoyao.
Having reached this point, the three naturally had no desire to continue playing. However, Song Laoyao refused to let them go.
They knew in their hearts that it would be difficult to collect Song Laoyao's debts. Continuing to play would only mean more offsetting debts, completely meaningless. It would be more practical to just go home and sleep.
"How about this, we'll play one last round. After this round, I need to go home and check my son's homework. His mother is on the night shift tonight, so I'm the only one who can do it. " The dark, thin man suggested.
Song Laoyao immediately looked like he was about to get angry. Seeing this, the dark, thin man quickly said, "I won't ask for the money you owe me. You're having a tough time now, after all, you have a child to raise."
"I won't ask for my share either."
"Mine neither."
The other two also expressed their stance, giving up on Song Laoyao's debts.
"What do you mean by this? Do you think I, Song Laoyao, am someone who cares about a few pennies? " Song Laoyao said, but his expression had eased considerably.
"It's not about caring about money or not; we're all neighbors, helping each other is only right. Everyone feels bad about what happened to your family. Consider this a small token of our sympathy. " The dark, thin man smiled.
"That's right, the child's mother is. . . already gone, but the child is still here. From now on, it will definitely be tough for you to be both a father and a mother. Oh, right, we've been playing cards all day, and your son is only four years old. He hasn't eaten all day, won't that cause a problem? " The young woman asked with a feigned look of concern. She seemed worried about the child, but in reality, she just wanted to end the card game quickly.
"There's still rice at home; if he's hungry, he knows how to boil porridge. Alright, alright, stop talking about all this nonsense with me. Since none of you intend to keep playing, we won't even play one more round. We'll just play one last hand, then we're done. Everyone goes home, finds their own mom. But don't forget what you just said; the debts are cancelled. I don't owe you any money. " Song Laoyao emphasized.
"Alright, alright, one hand it is, one hand! Come on, let's play this last hand!"
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