At this moment, in a meditation room within the temple, Sakai Kazuo meticulously arranged a plate of sliced beef.
"Such fragrant beef!"
Sakai Kazuo, as if re-energized, clapped his hands in excitement. "Tomorrow is destined to be a good day. I must celebrate in advance!"
He opened a drawer and took out a bottle of Perrier-Jouët champagne, uncorked it, and poured himself half a glass.
Bringing the glass to his nose, he inhaled the aroma, nodded, and muttered to himself, "This champagne, paired with roast beef, is absolutely the perfect match!"
Gulp!
He tilted his head back and took a large swig of champagne.
Slap!
Before he could swallow the mouthful of wine, his shoulder was firmly patted from behind. "Sakai Ichio, a distinguished guest has arrived, and you are drinking alone. Is that not impolite?"
Hearing the familiar voice, Sakai Kazuo sputtered, spitting out the wine in his mouth.
He turned his head, exclaiming as if he had seen a ghost in broad daylight, "Cheng Xiaofan, weren't you resting at the inn? How did you get here?"
Cheng Xiaofan sat down opposite Sakai Ichio and sneered, "You are, after all, Xiangzi's father. As Xiangzi's friend, it's quite normal for me to visit you, isn't it?"
"..." Sakai Kazuo wore a pained expression.
You suddenly appear before me like a ghost in the middle of the night, and you call that normal?
It's abnormal!
It's definitely abnormal!
Absolutely not normal!
"Please tell me, Mr. Cheng, what is the matter that brings you here?" Sakai Kazuo knew the man before him was formidable. His heart pounded with nervous trepidation as he stammered, "What is it?"
Cheng Xiaofan smiled faintly and said, "Alright, since you ask, I'll get straight to the point. I'm here to have you hand over Matsushita Kinko's aunt to me!"
"What Matsushita Kinko's young lady? I don't understand!" Sakai Kazuo immediately feigned ignorance.
His heart skipped a beat. Where did this brat get his information? How did he know Matsushita Kinko's aunt was here with me?
Slap!
Cheng Xiaofan flicked his hand, delivering a swift and unexpected slap to Sakai Kazuo's face.
"You dare to play games with me?"
He roared in feigned anger. "Matsuki Chiyoko has told me everything that happened. If you don't be honest, do you believe I'll lose my temper and strangle you?"
Hearing this, Sakai Kazuo's composure crumbled.
That damned woman surrendered to Cheng Xiaofan so quickly?
If only I hadn't told her about Matsushita Daiko's situation.
But!
Seeing Cheng Xiaofan's face as dark as the Fifth Yama, he trembled and quickly said, "Mr. Cheng, Matsushita Daiko was forcibly held here by Watanabe Itsuko."
"She said to keep her here secretly, so that no one would ever suspect!"
"Mr. Cheng, I'll go to the underground secret room now and release her to you!"
Cheng Xiaofan slammed the table and shouted, "Stop dawdling, bring her over immediately, and make it quick!"
"Yes, yes, I'm going now!" Sakai Kazuo, terrified, hurried out.
As soon as Sakai Kazuo left, Cheng Xiaofan's dragon-eye clairvoyance locked onto him.
When Sakai Ichio reached the vicinity of the underground chamber, Cheng Xiaofan noticed him taking out his phone, preparing to make a call.
Cheng Xiaofan used a telepathic voice, sneering, "Sakai Ichio, you're not being honest at all. Are you planning to call Watanabe Ikuo?"
"Ah!"
Sakai Kazuo looked around, seeing no one, and nearly collapsed in fright. "Mr. Cheng, are... are you a man or a ghost?"
Cheng Xiaofan's voice suddenly deepened. "Are you insulting me?"
"No, no, no, when I called you a ghost, it was a slip of the tongue. *I* am the ghost, I am not human!" Sakai Kazuo was so scared he felt like he was about to soil himself, and he immediately knelt on the ground.
No one around!
How could this voice sound as if it were whispered right beside his ear?
This is too terrifying!
My living ancestor, don't you know that scaring people to death is a real thing?
At this moment, Cheng Xiaofan's voice became even colder. "Get up, go to the underground room and release Matsushita Daiko, quickly."
"I'm an impatient person. I fear that if I lose my patience, I might do something very terrible. You understand!"
"I understand, I understand!" Sakai Kazuo no longer cared if he understood Cheng Xiaofan's words. The important thing was to hand over Matsushita Daiko.
He feared angering this ancestor and bringing about his own demise!
He got up from the ground, immediately opened the door to the underground chamber, and rushed down the stone steps.
However, after only a few steps, he missed his footing and tumbled down head over heels.
He rolled down, his face bruised and swollen. After struggling on the ground for a while, he managed to get up. His vision swam with golden stars, and his internal organs felt as if they were churning, threatening to make him vomit.
"Is my life truly so pathetic?"
At that moment, that sentence suddenly popped into his mind.
Ever since he met Cheng Xiaofan, Sakai Kazuo felt he had been utterly unlucky.
"Sakai Kazuo, what are you doing here in the middle of the night?" Matsushita Daiko was startled to suddenly see Sakai Kazuo in front of her.
Sakai Kazuo immediately bowed obsequiously, a fawning smile on his face. "Matsushita Daiko, someone has come to take you away from here!"
"Who?" Matsushita Daiko remained highly vigilant.
Sakai Kazuo said, "That person is a good friend of your niece. His name is Cheng Xiaofan!"
"What, Cheng Xiaofan?" Obviously, Matsushita Daiko had already heard about Cheng Xiaofan from her niece.
Sakai Kazuo said, "Yes, it's him. Come with me!"
Matsushita Daiko asked suspiciously, "Where is he?"
Sakai Kazuo replied, "Mr. Cheng is in my meditation room!"
Seeing that he didn't seem to be lying, Matsushita Daiko's spirits immediately lifted. "Sakai Kazuo, lead the way!"
"Yes!" Sakai Kazuo was as obedient as a grandchild's grandchild.
Cheng Xiaofan's telepathic voice earlier had almost scared the courage out of him.
Returning to the meditation room, Sakai Kazuo was dumbfounded.
The plate of roast beef piled on the table had already been completely devoured by Cheng Xiaofan.
As for the bottle of Perrier-Jouët, not only was it drunk, but his prized collection of world-famous champagnes, including Krug, Ruinart, and Louis Roederer, had all been smashed on the floor.
Smash!
Seeing Sakai Kazuo enter, Cheng Xiaofan slapped him across the face and roared angrily, "Sakai Kazuo, what kind of damn wine do you collect? It almost made me vomit."
"..." Damn wine?
Sakai Kazuo winced, almost weeping.
These wines cost me tens of millions, and to you, they almost made you sick!
I admit your exquisite happy wine is a treasure of the world!
But you can't denigrate my collection like this!
You provincial bumpkin!
The behavior of this bumpkin is truly incomprehensible!
Sakai Kazuo gnashed his teeth inwardly, but he dared not show the slightest hint of dissatisfaction or anger on his face.
He still had to bow and scrape, forcing a smile, and say in a fearful tone, "I'm sorry, Mr. Cheng, it's all my fault!"