The next day, when Gustave and Zhang Zhiwei encountered Qiu Sheng again, Qiu Sheng's face was radiantly flushed and he appeared extraordinarily happy and satisfied.
Last night's passionate romantic encounter with Dong Xiaoyu had given Qiu Sheng his first true taste of the profound joy of manhood. If Dong Xiaoyu hadn't gently urged him to leave this morning, he would have been extremely reluctant to depart from that blissful, gentle sanctuary.
When Qiu Sheng recalled the wonderful intimate moments he had shared with Dong Xiaoyu the previous night, he felt a pleasant tingling sensation and couldn't help but smile unconsciously.
"Qiu Sheng, what exactly did you do last night? Why are you looking so happy today?"
Gustave asked with feigned innocence, even though he already knew the complete answer.
"It's nothing at all, really nothing, hehe."
Hearing Gustave's probing question, Qiu Sheng immediately suppressed the dreamy smile on his face, waved his hands dismissively, and acted as if absolutely nothing significant had occurred.
"Qiu Sheng must have done something secretive and improper behind my back."
Wen Cai overheard the conversation between Gustave and Qiu Sheng, and remembering Qiu Sheng's suspiciously lewd smile earlier that morning, he thought with growing resentment and jealousy.
"But what could it possibly be? Could it be... Tingting!"
Wen Cai couldn't figure out what wonderful thing had happened to bring Qiu Sheng such obvious joy. Suddenly, Wen Cai remembered that Qiu Sheng's aunt had been dealing with various matters these past few days, and Qiu Sheng had been required to ride his bicycle into town every single night. Ren Tingting lived in the town. Could Ren Tingting have been secretly won over by Qiu Sheng?
When this terrible possibility occurred to him, Wen Cai became as anxious as an ant on a hot pan, pacing back and forth restlessly in the courtyard.
"I know! I'm going to follow Qiu Sheng tonight to discover exactly what wonderful things he's encountering!"
Wen Cai suddenly had a brilliant idea and decisively resolved to follow Qiu Sheng during his next nocturnal adventure.
After finishing his questioning, Gustave approached Zhang Zhiwei and whispered conspiratorially:
"Taoist Tiantong, Qiu Sheng certainly had a delightful time last night. Fortunately, I prevented you from disturbing his romantic happiness."
"Look how energetic and vibrant Qiu Sheng appears now, who can say who really suffered any loss last night."
"Ugh!"
Zhang Zhiwei shook his head in resignation, sighed deeply, and then departed, leaving Gustave standing there grinning foolishly to himself.
Because he needed to locate a suitable new burial site for Old Master Ren, Lin Jiu had been venturing out after dinner these past several days to search for locations with excellent feng shui properties. He had not yet noticed Qiu Sheng's obvious behavioral changes.
Gustave also continued to check on Old Master Ren periodically and discovered that the corpse's fingernails had actually shrunk back to normal length and his cheeks had flattened considerably, and it appeared that he would not resume his transformation into a jiangshi.
"That's genuinely peculiar and mysterious"
Gustave couldn't determine what had occurred during this unexpected process.
Soon, night fell once again and Qiu Sheng eagerly mounted his bicycle to seek out Dong Xiaoyu.
When Qiu Sheng contemplated the wonderful pleasures that awaited him in the evening, he couldn't help but feel renewed strength flowing through his legs and pedaled his bicycle with even greater enthusiasm and speed.
This rapid pace proved to be quite challenging for Wen Cai who was attempting to follow from behind. He didn't possess particularly good physical stamina to begin with, and Qiu Sheng pedaled with such remarkable speed that Wen Cai lost sight of him within a very short time.
"Curse it all!"
Looking at Qiu Sheng's rapidly disappearing figure, Wen Cai could only stand there gasping for breath and cursing silently in his frustrated heart.
"Oh, that's right, I'll go and wait outside the Ren Mansion instead. That way I'll be able to determine if Tingting and Qiu Sheng are meeting!"
Wen Cai secretly berated himself for being so foolish. As long as he positioned himself to guard outside the Ren Mansion, he would be able to confirm whether Qiu Sheng had engaged in any romantic activities with Ren Tingting.
Wen Cai immediately put his plan into action and rushed directly to the Ren family residence.
But after waiting vigilantly outside the Ren house for an entire cold night, when Ren Tingting emerged the following day, Wen Cai still had not glimpsed any sign of Qiu Sheng.
"What on earth could Qiu Sheng possibly be doing?"
Filled with mounting confusion and doubt, Wen Cai had no alternative but to return to the charity cemetery.
"Achoo, achoo!"
On the journey back to the charity cemetery, Wen Cai couldn't stop sneezing repeatedly. He must have caught a severe cold after being exposed to the harsh night wind for so many hours.
"Wen Cai, what exactly did you do last night?"
As soon as he returned to the charity cemetery, Wen Cai encountered Qiu Sheng, whose face was absolutely glowing with radiant health and satisfaction.
"I don't want you meddling in my business!"
In order to ambush and spy on Qiu Sheng, Wen Cai had spent the entire night freezing outside the Ren house. How could he possibly give Qiu Sheng a friendly reception now? He glared at Qiu Sheng with obvious hostility and stomped back to his room.
"How amazing!"
After experiencing the pleasures of intimate relations, Qiu Sheng now viewed even Wen Cai with a more charitable and favorable attitude. When he observed Wen Cai sneezing pathetically, he wanted to approach and show some genuine concern, but was unexpectedly rejected with such hostility.
But when he thought fondly of Dong Xiaoyu, Qiu Sheng's mood improved dramatically once again. He hummed a cheerful little tune and went about his daily business with obvious contentment.
This pattern continued for several consecutive days, and every night Wen Cai would attempt to follow Qiu Sheng, but he would either be completely outpaced by Qiu Sheng or become mysteriously lost for unknown reasons.
As for Qiu Sheng, his face had been full of rosy vitality during the first few days, but in the most recent days, even though he was young and naturally strong, he could no longer maintain such intensity. After so many nights of passionate reveling, Qiu Sheng's physical stamina was beginning to suffer noticeably.
Today, Lin Jiu finally succeeded in selecting an ideal new burial site for Old Master Ren. It was located near mountains and flowing water, and possessed extremely strong yang energy. As long as Old Master Ren was buried in that location, he would never have any opportunity to rise again and would be permanently prevented from becoming a jiangshi.
After listening to Lin Jiu's detailed description of the tomb selection process, Gustave felt somewhat disappointed. This Old Master Ren had failed to transform into a zombie and therefore would not be seeking out Ren Fa to demand a familial kiss. There was no longer any hope of properly scaring Ren Fa into submission.
"Oh, Friends, I've been extremely busy choosing a suitable new tomb for Old Master Ren these past several days, and haven't paid adequate attention to happenings at the cemetery. This morning when I was having breakfast, I noticed Qiu Sheng yawning repeatedly, with distinct dark circles under his eyes, and his yang energy appeared significantly diminished. I don't know what could have happened. Do either of you have any knowledge of this situation?"
After finally completing the matter of Old Master Ren's new burial site, Lin Jiu had finally discovered that Qiu Sheng was not in optimal condition.
Lin Jiu had sought out Qiu Sheng directly and asked what had occurred, but Qiu Sheng insisted that everything was perfectly fine.
Having no other recourse, Lin Jiu was forced to turn to Gustave and Zhang Zhiwei to inquire whether they possessed any knowledge of what had been happening to Qiu Sheng.
Hearing Lin Jiu's concerned question, Gustave and Zhang Zhiwei exchanged knowing glances, smiled meaningfully, and replied:
"Lin Jiu, if you truly want to understand what has been happening to Qiu Sheng, why don't you follow him tonight and discover the truth for yourself?"
After listening to what Gustave and Zhang Zhiwei suggested, Lin Jiu understood that Qiu Sheng must be concealing something significant from him, but since Gustave and the others didn't speak directly about it, Lin Jiu could only resolve to follow Qiu Sheng and observe tonight.
Soon, night fell once again and Qiu Sheng mounted his bicycle to ride into town.
Wen Cai wanted to continue his surveillance efforts, but was intercepted by Lin Jiu, who instructed him to remain behind and watch over the charity cemetery. This time, Lin Jiu intended to handle the investigation personally.
"Master, I'm telling you truthfully, Qiu Sheng definitely hasn't been doing anything proper these past several nights!"
Seeing Lin Jiu taking personal action, Wen Cai eagerly added fuel to the fire of suspicion.
"Do you have actual knowledge of what has been happening to Qiu Sheng?"
When Lin Jiu heard Wen Cai speaking with such certainty, he thought that Wen Cai might possess concrete information about Qiu Sheng's activities.
"Well, Master, I don't actually know the specific details."
"But I've been following Qiu Sheng these past several nights, and he either managed to lose me completely or I became lost for no apparent reason whatsoever. Therefore I'm absolutely certain that Qiu Sheng must be going out to engage in something shameful and secretive!"
Wen Cai patted his chest confidently and recounted how he had been attempting to tail Qiu Sheng for the past several days.
"Very well, I understand the situation. You should take excellent care of the charity cemetery tonight."
After listening to Wen Cai's account, combined with what Gustave and Zhang Zhiwei had suggested during the day, Lin Jiu had developed a vague but growing suspicion about the true nature of Qiu Sheng's activities.
Therefore, after instructing Wen Cai to look after the charity cemetery, Lin Jiu returned to his room, gathered all his equipment, and prepared to set out.
"Lin Jiu, how about we accompany you on this mission?"
When Lin Jiu was about to depart, Gustave and Zhang Zhiwei approached and offered their assistance.
"Thank you very much, friends!"
Lin Jiu considered their offer and agreed to allow Gustave and Zhang Zhiwei to accompany him.
Lin Jiu knew that he had lost considerable reputation in this situation. At this critical time, if he brought Gustave and Zhang Zhiwei along with him, he might be able to restore some measure of his professional reputation.
So the three of them departed together toward the town.
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