SWDnovel Chapter 14: Applying a Stantak Headband, Gaining More Skill Points
Chapter 14: Applying a Stantak Headband, Gaining More Skill Points
When Fang Shuwen came in,
Uncle Qi was giving a plump auntie a perm. Her head was covered in aluminum hair clips, making her look like a hedgehog.
He saw Fang Shuwen come in, grinned, and revealed his teeth, which were stained yellow from smoking.
"Oh, Xiao Fang is here? Have a seat for a while, it'll be ready soon."
Fang Shuwen nodded and walked to the long bench against the wall to sit down.
On the wall opposite him was a calendar poster.
The woman in the painting is wearing a high-slit cheongsam, holding a round fan in her hand, and smiling with her eyes crinkling.
It was Tang Yue, a popular film and television star in Shenghai.
After waiting for about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the plump aunt finished getting her hair permed, and Uncle Qi saw her out.
He turned around, grabbed the apron, and dusted off the stray hairs on the barber's chair, then nodded at Fang Shuwen.
"Xiao Fang, come sit down. Same old way? Shorten the sides and thin the top?"
"Okay," Fang Shuwen replied.
Uncle Qi's skills were indeed impeccable; he wielded the razor knife quickly and steadily, and finished cutting the hair in no time.
Fang Shuwen looked at herself through the mirror in front of her.
The person in the mirror has a thin face, high brow bones, deep-set eyes, and thin lips.
They have an ordinary appearance; they're the kind of people you wouldn't notice in a crowd.
"Seventh Uncle, you don't have any Sidankang here. Bring me a box so I can apply some."
Fang Shuwen looked at the somewhat frizzy hair and couldn't help but ask.
"Huh?" Uncle Qi paused.
"Standardon, that hair oil, do you have it in your store?" Fang Shuwen asked.
In the original owner's memory, Guo Ziming would apply Sidankang hair oil to his head every day.
At the time, the original owner had always been envious.
They believed that only the upper class deserved to use this St. Dancon hair oil.
Later, I finally managed to get half a box of Sidankang from Guo Ziming.
During those days, the previous owner applied Sidankang to his head every day.
Back in school, I walked with a swagger.
He was incredibly proud of himself.
Even now, when Fang Shuwen recalls it, besides feeling embarrassed, he also wants to try this hair oil.
"Stancon?"
Uncle Seven smacked his lips.
"You little brat, you really dare to ask for that. That stuff isn't your average hair oil; it's imported, and it's expensive. A box costs two yuan. Your seventh uncle's little shop doesn't carry that kind of high-end stuff."
"Even if they existed, who could afford to use them?"
"Oh"
Fang Shuwen nodded, did not ask any further questions, and took out two cents and placed them on the table.
.......
Leaving the barbershop
Fang Shuwen touched his neat short hair and felt a little lighter.
Looking around, it was still early; there were still two or three hours until dark.
If we go back now, Wang Ma will definitely be showing off her Cuicui to Lao Fang in the yard again, which I don't like to hear.
"Let's go to the bookstore, sit down, and review our lessons."
Fang Shuwen turned two corners and arrived at the bookstore on East Street.
The leaves of the crooked sycamore tree by the entrance are denser than they were a few days ago.
Pushing open the door, the smell of ink and paper hit you.
Behind the counter, the young woman in the cheongsam looked the same as always.
He was looking down, engrossed in a book.
Fang Shuwen glanced at it.
The book has a bluish-gray cover and vertically arranged traditional Chinese characters.
The cover depicts a gloomy ancient castle with a pale moon hanging from its spire.
The five dark red book titles were written in extremely messy handwriting.
The strokes were twisted and convoluted, neither in regular script nor clerical script, but rather resembled some kind of writing he had never seen before.
Fang Shuwen didn't even recognize this font.
However, he had a vague feeling about it.
The book gave him a strange feeling.
As he stared at it, it seemed as if a pair of eyes were watching him from the windows of the castle.
He instinctively tried to look away, but his body felt as if it were nailed to the ground, his neck stiff and unable to turn.
A buzzing or whirring sound began to appear in my ears, like something whispering from both very far and very near.
The window drew closer and grew larger, and within the pitch-black window, two faint lights gradually became clear.
There are two eyes.
The human eye!
Fang Shuwen's pupils contracted sharply, and alarm bells rang in his mind.
He tried to open his mouth to shout, but it felt like an invisible hand was gripping his throat, and he couldn't squeeze out a single word.
The chill had already seeped into his brain through his scalp, making his temples throb.
The bookstore scene before me began to distort and deform; the bookshelves, counters, and sunlight streaming through the windows were all swallowed up by a layer of hazy smog.
All that remained was the ancient castle and the pair of bloodshot eyes behind the window.
This is no ordinary book!
Fang Shuwen gritted his teeth, pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, and exerted force suddenly.
"Bang!"
The blood and qi exploded violently.
A series of crisp sounds erupted from deep within the bones, like popping beans or firecrackers.
One sound, two sounds.
The surge of qi and blood was more intense than during any other practice session.
A surge of heat erupted from his chest, rushing up his spine like a ferocious beast awakening and roaring within him.
The moment the heat rushed over my head, the coolness receded abruptly as if I had been scalded.
The whispers in my ears turned into a shrill scream.
The gray fog surged and receded, and the window of the ancient castle, along with the bloodshot eye behind it, shattered into pieces like a broken mirror.
"call."
Fang Shuwen suddenly took a step back, his back hitting the stool with a dull thud.
He was panting heavily, veins bulging on his forehead, and cold sweat streaming down his temples.
The scene before us returned to normal.
A bookshelf is still a bookshelf, and a counter is still a counter.
Apart from the woman in the cheongsam who had already put down her book and was looking at him reproachfully.
Everything is exactly the same as before, without any change whatsoever.
"What are you doing? If you're reading, just read. Why did you smash my chair?"
Shen Xinyi frowned, her displeasure written all over her face. She was about to say a few more words when she suddenly stopped.
She saw Fang Shuwen's face.
The poor student's face was frighteningly pale, his forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his hair at the temples was wet and stuck to the sides of his face.
He was panting heavily, his chest heaving violently, and the veins on his neck hadn't completely disappeared, as if he had just been pulled out of the water.
"Hey, what's wrong? Are you sick? Should I take you to the hospital?"
"It's nothing, I just feel a little dizzy from standing for so long."
Fang Shuwen wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, but his gaze remained fixed on the book on the counter, and he asked:
"What book are you looking at? Where did you buy it?"
"this?"
Shen Xinyi glanced down at the book with the bluish-gray cover in her hand, then casually waved it around:
"Tales of the Ancient Castle, a new book from the Commercial Press last month, sourced from Sheng Hai Bookstore. What's up? You want to read it? Well, unfortunately, I'll let you know after I've finished reading it."
Fang Shuwen frowned slightly, then stared intently at Shen Xinyi.
I was a little puzzled. How come the shop owner seemed to be alright?
Could it be that everything just now was just his hallucination?
But at that moment, a message popped up in front of Fang Shuwen's eyes.
[Absorbing strange energy.]
[Gain 5 skill points.]