Chapter 25: First Encounter with Han Bangzheng

  "What's wrong? Didn't sleep well?" The next day, I got out of bed and heard a knock on the door. When I opened it, I exchanged a glance with Dengcao standing at the door, and we both said in unison. Yes, dark circles under our eyes - we both had them. A hotel's night is a hard-to-endure night, a tempting-to-fall night, an expensive night. Fortunately, Dengcao and I made it through without falling or spending money.

  "The poor monk finally understood why there are hotels and inns all over the street. It seems that this place is not a place where people can sleep soundly." The lamp grass, already accustomed to wearing a suit, walked into the house, adjusted his tie in front of the mirror, touched his shiny bald head, and said to me.

  "Junior brother, you've finally figured it out!" I said with deep conviction. Then I reached up and thoroughly messed up the hair on my head, which had become somewhat disheveled, and swept it back behind my brain.

  "Don't mention it, your hair is down, and it's really... "Lamp Grass leaned against the door frame, with his hands in the pockets of his western-style pants, looking at me with great appreciation.

  "What does it matter?" I retorted while brushing my teeth. I'm very particular about others' opinions of me, being a perfectionist who can't tolerate people not finishing their sentences.

  "It really makes one feel like neither male nor female!" said Deng Cao, and then quickly left. And I was almost choked to death by the toothpaste foam in my mouth.

  "Excuse me, is this the Danqing Society?" After tidying myself up, I accompanied Dengcao to the 4th floor for a buffet. The two of us then took the elevator back to the 11th floor and knocked open the door of room 1111.

  "Yes, who is it?" The one opening the door was a relatively delicate girl, with delicate straight hair, a delicate face, and a delicate figure. The only place that wasn't delicate was that the collar of her pajamas was open too wide.

  "We are here to join the company, I don't know if it's convenient now......" I pulled my gaze out from the depths of the girl's collar with a subtle and refined expression, full of literary elegance and gentlemanly demeanor. It has to be said that the power of television media is too great. Just like me, even a poor Taoist can learn some superficial etiquette from it.

  "Who are you talking to?" At this time, a man's voice came from the door.

  "Ah, ah! They are two gentlemen who have come in search of fame and wish to join our organization." The girl named Wen Jing hastily responded.

  "Oh? Then please come in, I'll be right out after my shower, don't worry about it!" The man inside the house suddenly became enthusiastic as soon as he heard someone entering.

  "Please come in, I'll make tea for you both!" Wen Jing quietly stepped aside and opened the door to say to us.

  As I walked into the suite, the first thing that caught my eye was the easel, palette and paint tubes scattered around the living room. Next were the trousers and stockings strewn all over the floor.

  "People who are into art have a different taste." I took a glance at the rolled-up pants and the long, dragging stockings, and sighed to myself.

  "Please, both of you, sit down. I'll just tidy up the room a bit." Wenjing's face turned red as she hastily brought over two cups of tea that hadn't been fully steeped yet, saying in a flustered tone. The pants and stockings were hers. Last night was too crazy, to the point where she forgot to clean up. This can't be blamed on others, they simply didn't think that someone would come knocking on the door so early in the morning. On this point, we should approach it with a tolerant heart.

  "Please go ahead, let's take a look at these paintings?" In order to ease the awkwardness on site, I deliberately held my teacup and pretended not to see anything, pointing to those paintings behind me.

  "Please, both of you, at ease!" Seeing that my attention wasn't focused on her pants, Wen Jing also secretly let out a breath of relief, and her words became much calmer.

  "Psst... can you understand these paintings?" asked Dengcao, sneaking up beside me while Wenjing was sweeping the room.

  "You won't pretend to understand? Don't let your eyes wander around, focus on a certain point, and pretend to be deep in thought. That's right, just like that." I turned my head to look around, and besides the lamp grass and lamp core, there was no one else present. Then, I quietly started instructing the lamp grass on how to disguise itself as a man with depth.

  "Senior brother, you really understand a lot." A few minutes later, Deng Cao's voice full of admiration came again.

  "Two of you have waited for a long time, haha!" At this moment, the male voice that had sounded earlier came from not far behind us.

  "My name is Han Bangzheng, a Chinese living in Japan. I have always been worried about the decline of traditional Chinese painting. At the beginning of the year, I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. I felt that I should do something to attract people's attention to traditional Chinese painting. Now, as the president of Danqing Society, are you two interested in joining?"

  I have to say, the middle-aged man in front of me, wrapped in a bathrobe and with a half-smoked cigar in his mouth, is quite eloquent. His speech rhythm is neither fast nor slow, and his tone has a unique characteristic that easily makes people follow his words and become immersed in thought. I must admit, this is a man with a unique charm.

  "Hello, President Han. We also learned from others that your company is recruiting members, so we came to pay our respects. My friend and I deeply admire the president's ideals and ambitions! What conditions are required to join your company?"

  "There are no conditions, my Danqing Society is very open and relaxed! As long as you like Chinese painting, you can join. We create together, we progress together, isn't that great?" Han Bangzheng tightened the bathrobe on his body, walked to the sofa and sat down, shrugging his shoulders.

  I had a great conversation with Han Bangzheng, at least on the surface, we were both very happy! It seemed like we were both excited to have found someone who shared our interests. But I always felt that the excitement Han Bangzheng showed seemed to have a hint of over-excitement in it.

  "Do you think that Han Bangzhuan is a bit strange?" After chatting for half an hour and filling out a member information form, Lamp Grass and I officially became members of the Danqing Society. As we walked out of room 1111, Lamp Grass rubbed his bald head and asked me in a low voice.

  "Do you feel the same way? I think our arrival has made him feel very excited. The kind of excitement that comes from deep within, it's as if he's obtained something he's been dreaming of." I reached down to adjust my tie knot, making myself feel a bit more comfortable. Then I said to Akane.

  "I'm saying, this guy can't be gay, right? I'll tell you, helping Li Dongcheng is fine with me, but if it means selling my body, that's absolutely impossible." Dengcao shuddered and hastily said. It seemed like if he spoke any slower, the next moment would be disastrous!

  "I don't think so, the way he looks at us, there's no such feeling in his eyes. The excitement in his eyes is more like a starving dog seeing a steaming pile of shit. Hmm, this metaphor might not be quite right, huh?" After I finished speaking, I noticed that Dengcao's eyes had a fierce glint, and Denglai's eyes had a hint of disdain. Only after savoring the words for a moment did I feel that they were indeed somewhat inappropriate."

  "Are we still staying here now?" Now that we've figured out the address of the Danqing Society and successfully joined, there's no need to stay in a hotel anymore. As for expenses, it's naturally not something we need to worry about, but what if one day we run into Han Bangzhuan when we go out? It's hard to guarantee he won't become suspicious. So after Dengcao asked this question, I shook my head very firmly.

  "Both masters have found the Danqing Society? What a wonderful and joyful occasion!" After we took a taxi back to Li Dongcheng's villa, we told him about our experiences over the past two days. After all, he was our employer and had the right to know about our movements over the past two days. Moreover, I felt that there was no need to hide these things from him.

  "What are the two masters going to do next? My granddaughter... " Actually, Li Dongcheng hoped that I could help his granddaughter recover from her strange illness right now. As for the Danqing Society, he felt it was unnecessary to get entangled with others. As long as his granddaughter was cured, even if there were harmful things in the Danqing Society, what did it have to do with him?

  From his perspective, it's not wrong to think that way. He is not a living Buddha or a saint, and he can't say who will go to hell if I don't. Nor does he have any great virtue of benefiting others without benefiting himself. I can understand him, but I won't follow him. I want to dig out all the hidden secrets in Danqing Society. It's best to cut off its roots, otherwise, it's unknown how many girls like Jingxiang will suffer from its poisonous hands in the future.

  Karma, Master has mentioned this word more than once in front of me! I wouldn't have interfered with this matter if I hadn't already intervened. Now that I've taken it upon myself to handle this affair, I must see it through to the end. Because I don't know what kind of karma I would incur by allowing Danqing Society to continue their evil ways. Suppose these events were indeed triggered by Danqing Society...

  "It won't be long before the truth comes to light, Master Li, just wait a few more days!" I consoled him, seeing his anxious expression.

  The next day, I went to the Danqing Society again with Lamp Grass as agreed. Today is said to be a day when members gather for dinner. Every month, the Danqing Society organizes a gathering for its members. Chinese culture is all about the culture of the dining table and wine. Things that are embarrassing to say or do on ordinary days can be done freely at the dinner table. So, according to Han Bangzheng's words, if you want to promote the feelings among members, you should let them have more gatherings over meals.

  "The feelings between members have harmonized and they will be more united. Only when they are united, our Danqing Society will have a broad prospect!" These were the original words of Han Bangqing.