The resident singer's rendition of an old country classic had everyone swooning and almost hypnotized; no one noticed the singer approaching Luo Zheng to carry out an assassination, nor did they see Lan Xue's explosive counterattack, but they were all startled awake by the singer's screams. All they saw was the panicked singer fleeing, slashing a waiter in the process, and finally collapsing, clueless about what had happened before.
Curious onlookers know no national bounds; everyone gathered around, chattering and pointing, unaware that the assassin lying on the ground had been killed until they saw a gush of blood from his neck. They didn't think too deeply, assuming the resident singer had lost control of his emotions and committed a bizarre act of suicide. How else to explain the injuring of an innocent waiter? This conclusion was accepted by many onlookers.
A surge of security staff ca over to investigate, took the resident singer away after understanding the situation briefly, and the bar quickly returned to normal. Patrons went back to their drinks and flirtations as if nothing had ever happened. Ghost Hand slipped away quietly, and Mountain Eagle took his place at the entrance, ordering so drinks.
Luo Zheng watched the scene calmly. Once everything returned to normal, he saw a waitress approaching, and Lan Xue, without a change in expression, said, "That just gave a scare, shattered my glass, no harm done, right?"
"No harm done, I'll clean it up," the waitress said politely, coming over with a cloth and tray to ticulously wipe down the surface, removing all the glass shards with focused attention.
Luo Zheng, however, kept a wary eye. There were only glass shards on the countertop, no glass base, which any server with a bit of common sense should have inquired about, to prevent it from being left in so inconspicuous place and hurting soone. However, this waitress not only didn't ask but remained very calm, acting as if nothing had happened, which was not logical.
After the waitress had cleared away the glass shards, she retreated without any unusual behavior. Luo Zheng watched her go with suspicion and was surprised to see that she quickly brought back two identical drinks after going to the service counter, placing them on the bar with an apology, "Sorry about what happened just now, we scared you two. These drinks are on the house, we hope you'll co back soon."
Placating custors with a complintary drink was a common tactic used by bars, and everything seed normal. However, Luo Zheng couldn't shake the feeling that sothing was amiss. Watching the waitress sashay away, Lan Xue pinched Luo Zheng under the arm with annoyance and whispered reproachfully, "Hey, eyes off her, it's like I don't exist, huh?"
Luo Zheng didn't reply but fell into deep thought. Lan Xue also sensed sothing was off. She glanced at the retreating waitress, then at Luo Zheng, without asking questions but on guard, she whispered, "What are you thinking?"
"Let's wait and see," Luo Zheng responded noncommittally in a quiet voice. Seeing the waitress glance their way intentionally, and noticing that her smile was forced and stiff, betraying a hint of nervousness, he felt even more certain of his guess and lowered his voice, "We probably shouldn't drink these."
"Yeah, I know. Why don't you sing a song for instead?" Lan Xue suggested with a light smile.
"My voice would kill, better not," Luo Zheng said with an embarrassed grin.
"Practice more for next ti, and sing to when you're ready," Lan Xue said with an understanding smile, not pressing the issue, as she softly humd, "In the morning she calls , I hear her voice, the radio reminds of my faraway ho; driving down the road, I feel like I should have gone ho yesterday, ho yesterday. Country roads, take ho, to the place I belong—West Virginia, mountain mama, take ho, country roads. Take ho, down country roads, take ho, down country roads."
Luo Zheng listened to the lody, which was the sa as the one sung by that person before, the only difference being one was a Huaxia language version and the other an international lingua franca version. He couldn't help saying, "It's the sa song from before, right? You sing it much more beautifully than that person."
"Really?" Lan Xue said joyfully. No girl in the spring of her youth wouldn't want her beloved man to praise her. Lan Xue continued happily, "I used to love singing when I was little, dreaming of becoming a singer when I grew up. Later, well, I never thought I'd end up near a military camp. Never mind, let's not talk about it." Perhaps reminded of sothing sad, her expression grew heavy.
Luo Zheng held Lan Xue's hand tightly and said softly, "Don't think too much, just live well. I like you the way you are now, maybe, it's all fated."
"Thank you," Lan Xue smiled gratefully, knowing Luo Zheng was comforting her. She saw soone approaching—a man with a beard, long hair, wearing gold-rimd glasses, tall, in his forties, a little unkempt, looking like so artsy type. Lan Xue whispered, "Here he cos."
"Hmm," Luo Zheng said indifferently, watching the newcor, with a toothpick once again in his hand, the anger rising inside him.
Soon, the man ca up to them and said unapologetically, "I heard Jim played a piece for you, and then he lost control and committed suicide, is that right?"
"You should ask him about that," Luo Zheng replied faintly.
"Sorry, I an no harm, I just want to clear up a few things. I'm also a resident singer here. Jim was introduced to work here by , and now he's dead, his death a mystery. I need to understand more about what happened. Can you tell ?" The man explained hurriedly, noticing two untouched drinks on the bar, and unceremoniously picked up one and drank it, seeming extrely thirsty.
After gulping down the drink and setting the cup down, he apologized, "Sorry, I was really thirsty. I'll pay for this drink." Then, turning his head towards the service counter, he raised his cup and called out, "Another one like this, please!"
Luo Zheng could tell the man had no malintent and seed very urgent, probably really a bar resident singer. Just as he was about to say sothing, he saw the man's eyes freeze. His body stiffened, standing rigid, turning to Luo Zheng with an expressionless face. Then, the man's body stiffened and he fell down, black blood oozing from the corner of his mouth.
"It's indeed poisoned," Luo Zheng exclaid in shock, darting towards the female server he had seen before.
Almost at the sa ti, Lan Xue realized what was happening and flanked from the other side. The waitress, seeing the man drink the beverage and loudly asking for another, knew sothing was amiss. She grabbed her things to flee, but the poison was too strong, acting too quickly. Just as she left the service counter, the man succumbed to the poison, and Luo Zheng and Lan Xue closed in for revenge.
The waitress's expression turned cold, and she rushed toward the exit. At the entrance, Mountain Eagle suddenly stood up, blocking the doorway. The waitress shouted for him to get out of the way, but then saw the cold light in Mountain Eagle's eyes, intense like a hungry wolf, which made her shiver and turn to run towards the window, ready to jump into the sea.
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