When he saw that Edward Brooks's ears were stuffed full of cotton balls, he was even more shocked. Damn, he could still hear his own footsteps clearly like this, and could even be sure it was himself—this really felt like seeing a ghost in broad daylight.

"I’m actually a ghost. I originally only came to drink with you at night, but now my powers have greatly increased, so I dare to come during the day too." Edward Brooks suddenly started joking, his eyes going blank, pupils rolling upward, staring straight at Unknown Elder.

Seeing those eye sockets, mostly white with little black and devoid of any human spirit, Unknown Elder, who always prided himself on knowing everything from astronomy to trivial matters, suddenly felt a chill. Although catching ghosts was supposed to be a Taoist’s specialty, he, as a wine-loving Taoist, seemed to have never learned that skill...

"You... don’t scare me, I know how to catch ghosts." Unknown Elder didn’t even know when his speech had become stammered.

"Ha, scared you, didn’t I?" Seeing the frightened look on Unknown Elder's face, Edward Brooks couldn’t help but feel smug—payback time! Let’s see if you dare to scare people again.

"Young man, people scaring people can scare someone to death. Although my Taoist skills are profound, I still can’t handle being frightened." Seeing Edward Brooks return to normal, Unknown Elder quickly sat down, grabbed the wine bottle, and took a big gulp, as if trying to drive out the fear from earlier.

"Last time you scared me, didn’t you? Let me tell you, not only has my eyesight not gotten worse, it’s actually getting better and better. I don’t even need to wear glasses anymore." Edward Brooks was even more pleased as he spoke about this. Although his 200-degree nearsightedness wasn’t severe, sometimes he still had to wear glasses. Now it was fine—he could say goodbye to glasses for good.

"Congratulations, congratulations! That’s worth a drink." Unknown Elder was genuinely happy for Edward Brooks. Even though he still didn’t know the other’s name, the two had already become the best of friends.

"My eyesight may be better, but my ears have brought me nothing but trouble, especially when I sleep at night. Even though I now stuff two cotton balls in each ear, I can still hear the sound of mice moving outside, clear as day. If this keeps up, even if my eyes don’t go blind, I’ll probably die of nervous exhaustion." Edward Brooks sighed. Just imagine—if someone suddenly shouted loudly in your ear while you were sleeping, could you still sleep? That’s exactly what Edward Brooks was experiencing now. Even with cotton stuffed in his ears, the sound of mice outside still had that effect on him.

Only in the second half of the night, when he was truly exhausted, could he barely get two or three hours of sleep. Luckily, he was still young and could handle it for now, but if this went on, his body would definitely give out.

"You can’t even sleep at night anymore?" Unknown Elder hadn’t expected Edward Brooks's troubles to become so serious all of a sudden. Now, when he looked at Edward Brooks, the envy from before was gone, replaced by a bit of pity. For Unknown Elder, there were only two important things in life: drinking and sleeping. Drinking, of course, meant wine, and sleeping meant a good rest. Now Edward Brooks couldn’t even get a good night’s sleep—how tragic.

"Exactly. At night, I even add an extra big cotton ball on the outside, but I can still hear everything." Edward Brooks had really tried everything he could. With his current resources, aside from stuffing his ears with cotton, there didn’t seem to be any better solution.

"This really is a troublesome problem. Let me think if there’s any way I can help you." Unknown Elder held a piece of flatbread in his hand, chewing as he closed his eyes in thought, his head swaying back and forth. If only he were a bit cleaner, he might actually look a bit mysterious...

Chapter 9: Tailor-Made (Part 2)

Edward Brooks, however, scoffed at his act. If he could really help, he wouldn’t be living so miserably. He drank his wine by himself, and when he finished, seeing Unknown Elder still lost in thought, Edward Brooks didn’t want to embarrass him, so he smiled and left on his own.

Maybe he really was too lazy—Unknown Elder felt like his brain had rusted over. For so many years, he had always been unwilling to think too much, even less willing to remember the past. Once those dusty memories were opened, all the sour, sweet, bitter, and spicy feelings rushed in at once. The usually carefree Unknown Elder was actually dazed for a moment...

The next day, when Edward Brooks returned to the Sanqing Taoist Temple, the wine bottle had been open for a long time, but Unknown Elder still hadn’t shown up. Edward Brooks was surprised. He listened carefully, and could clearly hear Unknown Elder's breathing. Could the old guy be sick?

Unknown Elder's breathing was very distinctive—deep and slow, and Edward Brooks was very familiar with it. Besides himself, there was only one other person in the whole Sanqing Taoist Temple, so who else could it be? Edward Brooks didn’t bother with the wine, and following the sound of breathing, quickly found Unknown Elder in a side room in the backyard.

The old Taoist’s sleeping posture was a bit strange. Under him was a pile of straw, and he lay flat on his back, legs naturally straight and spaced only shoulder-width apart. The strangest thing was his hands—both arms bent upward, hands gently resting beside his shoulders. Looking at his face, it was calm and transcendent. If it weren’t for the glaring pile of straw beneath him, he really would have looked a bit like an enlightened master.

"Old Taoist, are you alright?" Edward Brooks said softly.