I, Zhongli, wander the world

Mori Owai came and went quickly, and after getting the information he wanted, he quickly left with Alice.

In view of the fact that he messed up all the chess pieces on the chessboard while pretending nothing happened while talking, it is hard to say whether he is afraid that Zhongli will lead him to the next game.

The elders left and right are also gone, and the funeral home has been in the off-season recently, and there is no need to go to work on Saturdays and Sundays.Zhongli led his son Shi Shiran back home.

Zhong Yuanzhong also rejected Zhong Li's proposal to take over the shopping bags, and he controlled the ability to hold two big bags in his hands, claiming that he could exercise his abilities in this way.

"I'm still too weak." Nakahara Nakaya raised his head and said solemnly, "If possible, I would like to help Mr. as soon as possible. ——At least not to hold back at critical moments."

Zhongli had no intention of dampening the child's enthusiasm, so he restrained himself with a few words of encouragement.However, Zhong Yuan seemed to have received some great reward, with a happy smile on his face, and his short legs walked quickly, carrying two big bags and walking in front with his head held high.

At first glance, this scene looks a bit like unscrupulous adults oppressing children, but this is Yokohama, and passers-by are not even interested in turning their heads to take a look, and only occasionally cast extremely covert glances.

There were too many such innocuous gazes, and both of them ignored them directly.

The street where the house is located is not far from Chinatown, and we walked there in no time.Zhong Li took out the key from his pocket and opened the door of the house.

The house is no longer what it was when it first started.

The original obsolete furniture was replaced with new ones when the funds were sufficient. At Zhongli's insistence, the new furniture was clean, elegant, and ergonomically comfortable; The calligraphy and paintings complement the beautiful porcelain on the cabinet; in the ventilated and shady corner, several pots of well-tended bluegrass are placed there, and the beautiful leaves shake slightly with the airflow, slightly covering the handmade cat litter behind.

On this basis, Zhongye Zhongye’s favorite game consoles and CDs are stacked under the TV cabinet, the childish watercolor paintings are placed on the table in glass frames, and the books he often read are neatly stacked on the small coffee table next to the sofa. There is also a small notebook for writing notes.

Even Edogawa Ranpo, who had only lived in for a short time, put two large boxes in the corner, one for snacks and the other for his various small toys.

This is already a qualified place that can be called "home".

Zhong Yuan, who entered the house, came to the snack box first with his household slippers, reached out and lifted the lid, and was about to put the newly bought snacks in it.

"Ahhh, the boxes are full, why are Luanbu still in the store..." Zhongyuan Zhongya complained in a low voice, and stuffed the newly bought snacks into it without any complaints.

Zhongli put the ingredients into the refrigerator on the other side, and replied after hearing the words: "Although Luanbu is talented and intelligent, his mind is straightforward and pure, especially when it comes to his preferences, it is not surprising."

Zhong Yuanzhong said in disapproval: "But this is too unhealthy!"

"Indeed. Does Chuya know how to deal with this?"

This kind of random teaching will happen from time to time, and Zhong Yuanzhong is also very adaptable and immediately started to think hard, "Hmm... Put away all the snacks? No, it will definitely cause trouble if you walk randomly. Limit the daily consumption? Set rewards and punishments Mechanism? Luanpo is so smart, it feels like it will be used in reverse, eh..."

Leave enough time for the boy to think, and when Zhong Yuanzhong also thought about it, Zhong Li took out the white rice that he specially made at noon from the refrigerator.

"Just make the meal tastier than the snack. How about rice pudding at night?"

Zhong Yuanzhong also brightened his eyes, "Okay!"

To put it bluntly, rice pudding is rice mixed with milk for steaming, supplemented with common dessert ingredients such as sugar and cinnamon powder.

It's just that although the process is simple and easy to do, the proportion of ingredients and the control of the heat still need to be carefully considered. When the cooked puddings were put into bowls, the sky happened to be dark.

"Why hasn't Ranpo come back yet?" Zhong Yuanzhong also looked at the scenery outside the window with some anxiety, worried that Edogawa Ranpo would be abducted by that silver-haired swordsman who was not easy to mess with at first glance.

Although the other party gave him a good first impression, and he was still helping them when he showed up, there was no guarantee that he wasn't a duplicity guy.He listened to Ranpo's words and let the young man follow alone because he trusted the latter's IQ, not the character of the swordsman.

The three-flowered cat who came to eat food quietly jumped to Nakahara Nakaya's side, and put its front paws on the boy's legs, as if silently comforting him.Zhongyuan Zhong also picked up the cat and stroked the cat's hair skillfully.

"It's a little late today, some ink gold."

The three-flowered cat meowed softly, not knowing whether it understood or not.

At this moment, there was a regular knock on the door from the entrance.

Luanbu has a key, even if he loses it, he will not knock on the door so restrainedly, so the one outside the door will not be Luanbu.Zhong Yuanzhong also restrained the gentle expression on his face, and trotted over to open the door.

Relying on the strength of his family members, he is generally too lazy to use gravity to float up to look at the cat's eyes.

"Who...how is it you?" Zhong Yuan Zhong also looked at the people outside the door in astonishment, "You actually came in through the main door today?"

The red-haired boy outside the door tilted his head, "Ah, because today is a serious visit, I also brought a souvenir."

As he spoke, he took out something wrapped in kraft paper from his bag and handed it over. It looked like two books.

Standing outside the door was Oda Sakunosuke.

I don't know what he was thinking after that first meeting, and he would come here occasionally during this year.Most of them come to have a meal, and if they are injured, they will bandage the wound by the way.

It's just that, as an aimless killer, he basically goes out to do missions, and most of the time he comes here is because he passes by at the end of missions. With Zhongli's permission, he opened the window and entered the house.

Nakahara also always felt that there was something strange about Oda Sakunosuke who walked through the main entrance today, but he couldn't tell.Therefore, I had no choice but to take the book as a present and let the person in.

Oda Sakunosuke who entered the door obediently greeted Zhongli who came out of the kitchen: "Mr. Zhongli."

"Zuo Zhizhu." Zhong Li saw at a glance that there seemed to be some changes in the red-haired boy in front of him, but he was not in a hurry to find out, but said: "Sit down first, have you had dinner yet?"

Oda Sakunosuke sat obediently on the chair and shook his head, "I'm not hungry, thank you Mr. Zhongli for your concern. Compared with eating, I have some questions to ask you."

It's not like those mean-spirited teenagers always go straight to the point.

The other party sincerely asked for advice, and Zhongli would not refuse.He sat upright across from him and raised his hand as a gesture.

"please say."

Zhongyuan Zhong also saw that they had something to say, so he poured tea for them in a sensible way, and went to the living room thoughtfully, leaving space for the two of them.

"Mr. Zhongli."

The red-haired boy paused after saying a title, as if he was organizing his words, before he said slowly, "I read a book recently."

As if he had finally decided where to start, after saying this sentence, Oda Sakunosuke's words became much smoother.

"The book is wonderful and beautiful, but unfortunately there are only the first and second volumes. I have been looking for the second volume in bookstores for a long time, but I found nothing."

"I was gifted the second volume by a kind gentleman, and the second volume was, as expected, wonderful, but the ending was cut."

"I can't see why the killers in the book say 'no more killing'."

The clear voice echoed in the room accompanied by the fragrance of tea, Zhongli listened quietly.

"And the gentleman told me to write the ending myself. He said I... 'had the qualifications to describe human beings.'"

The young man looked blankly at his palm, which was covered with thin calluses left by holding guns all the year round, and the blood of the dead once pooled into a river in the delicate palm lines.

"Mr. Zhongli, do I really have that qualification?"

He asked Zhongli, as if he was asking himself.

Zhongli stared at the young man on the eve of breaking out of the cocoon seriously, and asked softly, "Why does Zuozhisuke think that I can answer this question?"

"Ah..." The unexpected answer stunned Oda Sakunosuke.

"The so-called 'qualification' is the scale that people set for themselves." Zhongli said, "People put morality and conscience on the balance of the soul, and put their own sins on the other end, blindly viewing the tilt of the scale as 'qualification' ’ standard. And failed to realize one thing.”

"——When he can realize the existence of the balance, the 'qualification' is already in his own hands."

Oda Sakunosuke slightly squeezed the teacup in his hand, the rippling tea reflected his blurred face.

"In my...hands?" he repeated in a low voice.

"When you are confused, just ask your heart."

Zhongli tapped the rim of the cup, "Just like the water in this cup, no matter what kind of tea leaves are added, it is still water in essence, that's all."

"Anyone who seeks something, has a clear conscience, that's enough."

After the statement that the water was as light as water was finished, the room was quiet for a while, except for the kettle in the kitchen that was about to boil was still making the sound of "sizzling".

It's like there's something brewing that's about to bloom.

"Actually, I don't quite understand that feeling."

After thinking about it for a while, Oda Sakunosuke deliberated, and said slowly, "But Mr. Zhongli's words are very reasonable, so I will think about it carefully. ——I will keep thinking about it until the day I can see my soul."

The young man's tone was very sincere, Zhongli drank his tea calmly, "It's so good."

A faint and helpless smile appeared on Oda Sakunosuke's face, "You are always like this... But thank you, Mr. Zhongli."

Oda Sakunosuke, who had a direction to go, left quickly.

Zhong Li came to the living room after he left.

Zhong Yuanzhong, who withdrew earlier, had already unwrapped the gift, and was looking through the two books with the three-flowered cat in his arms. When he saw Zhongli coming, he happily raised the book in his hand and said, "Mr. The book is so interesting! Although I still don't understand many uncommon Chinese characters..."

Books can change a person's behavior, character and future.

Zhong Li looked at Chuya Zhongya who was talking non-stop with great interest, and remembered something that he wanted to put on the agenda all along, but he put it on hold for a long time because Chuya Zhongya couldn't speak well.

"Chuya," he said, "how about going to school in order to fully understand the words in the book?"

"……Hey?"

The words that he hadn't thought of at all made the boy startled for a moment.

on what?What to learn?

On the other side, Edogawa Ranpo finished the third bowl of red bean mochi under the serious gaze of the silver-haired man.

——The red beans inside.

"Ranbu, don't you go home yet?" the man said with a headache.

Leaving aside the issue of money, seeing Edogawa Ranpo's nonsensical way of eating for an old-fashioned person like him is such a hallucination that his stomach will writhe. It is not an exaggeration to say that it is visual torture.

Edogawa raised his head while he was in a hurry, his cheeks moved like a little hamster, and he swallowed the red beans in his mouth.

"Don't worry, uncle, my guardians must already know the reason why I don't go back now, and they won't delay their dinner." He comforted him without sincerity, "It's better to say that I'm going back to the Internet now."

The silver-haired man almost had question marks written all over his face.

Edogawa Ranpo didn't mean to explain, and he buried his head again muttering, "I don't want to go back. I'm already a Ranpo-sama who can earn money to support my family. Crowded junior high school classroom."

The author has something to say:

Ranpo: The plan works!