Chapter 54 Curse
Jennifer helped Jonathan fasten the seat belt after they got into the car. She took a deep breath before activating the car’s engine.
The time was three o’clock in the afternoon, and the sun was shining brightly atop of them. Jennifer reversed the car before setting off onto the road.
At that moment, Jonathan, who was thought to be drunk, suddenly sat up straight. He said with a smirk, “Jen, your driving skills are quite impressive.”
She came to a realization after the momentary shock. “You were pretending to be drunk, weren’t you?”
Jonathan chuckled. He answered, “Jimmy was putting on an act too.”
Jennifer had to ask, “What’s the point of pretending to be drunk?”
He replied, “Sharing a drunken experience is a way to strengthen our bond.”
Jennifer smiled. Keeping an eye on the road, she said, “You planned to look for Jimmy’s help to open up the bar since the beginning, am I right?”
Wearing a smile, Jonathan responded, “That’s not the case. I went to the bar yesterday to do a survey. Then I offended Douglas and his men by accident, but that unexpected incident had me thinking. Since Douglas is merely someone’s underling, perhaps I should try approaching his boss instead. After all, I can save a lot of trouble by working with someone more influential and powerful.” He paused for a second before continuing,” Most of the time, we set our goals as we progress in life. Some people may think it’s fate that guides them toward their passion, but it’s actually the other way round. To know your destiny, you must first take the initial steps forward. If you dare not try different methods and anticipate different outcomes, you’ll never know the possibilities lying out there waiting for you.”
Jonathan held those similar beliefs when participating in a fight. He had never planned his moves. Instead, he let his instincts take over, and his reflexes do the work.
The constant changes and unpredictability during a fight were somewhat a similar experience to living a life in this ever-changing society.
As the two of them chatted, Jennifer and Jonathan had safely returned to the residence they lived in at Baykeep. She poured him a glass of water and massaged his temples. Jonathan was actually fine, but he was not one to complain when he could enjoy Jennifer’s gentle care.
“Do you think Jimmy will help us?” she suddenly asked.
He answered, “He will. This is something he can do effortlessly. I’ve already proven my worth to him, so I’m sure he’ll help us to let us owe him a favor. Having said that, Jimmy is considered a businessman. Therefore, he’s smart enough to think of us as mere acquaintances. Naturally, that’s the relationship I wish to establish with him too. We’re just helping out each other.”
Jennifer sneered, “Don’t you mean you’re using one another?”
Jonathan laughed. “That’s not true. Using someone means we may cause harm to others for our benefit, but helping out one another will result in a mutual benefit. Jen, you need to learn to speak in a civilized manner.”
Jennifer was in a good mood, so she responded playfully, “I was so close to getting a Master’s degree. You, on the other hand, have never attended high school. How dare you say that I’m uncivilized?”
He explained, “You learned by reading, while I learned from my life experiences. Although we accumulate knowledge by different means, the result is the same.”
Jonathan firmly believed there were a million ways to achieve the same goal.
Even though he had never received proper education, his master had taught him well and encouraged him to read plenty of books. Moreover, he was fluent in three languages.
That night, Jimmy contacted Jonathan. He sounded very friendly over the phone. “Jonathan, I’ll ask Grayden to bring you around the northern district of our city. You can look around for someplace suitable to set up your bar. Then, you can leave the rest to me after you confirm the location. What do you say?”
Jonathan replied, “Sure. Thank you, Jimmy.”
Jimmy chirped, “You’re most welcome. Do feel free to let me know if you need anything else.”
They hung up the call afterward.
Jonathan invited Jennifer to tag along in choosing the ideal location to open their bar. Jennifer was overjoyed to learn that their plan was progressing quickly.
Half an hour later, Grayden arrived at their residence in a Mercedes-Benz.
He was respectful and polite toward Jonathan and Jennifer. Jonathan thought that was the result of the five hundred thousand Grayden had received from him.
Jimmy would never be so shameless to request that money back from his subordinate after offering it out.
Grayden drove the car while Jonathan sat in the passenger seat. Jennifer was alone in the backseat.
Jonathan had chosen to sit on the passenger seat out of respect for Grayden. If he had sat together with Jennifer in the backseat, that would imply that Grayden was their driver. Although Jonathan appeared to have a carefree nature and laid-back personality, he was well-versed in the ways of the world.
The time was around seven o’clock at night. The brilliant city lights adorned the scenic night view, and cars flooded the city’s streets.
Horington was a popular tourist spot, so it was always lively and busy there.
Grayden drove the car in Bar Street’s direction. He chatted casually with Jonathan, enlightening the atmosphere inside the vehicle.
Grayden did not ask questions about Jonathan’s background. In truth, he was informed a little about Jonathan’s details because Jimmy had instructed him to carry out the investigation. He found out Jonathan was currently working as a security guard at Rose Couture, and he was on friendly terms with Polly. Grayden also knew Jonathan was involved in a murder case.
However, his life-and-death battle with Randy and matters related to Young Corporation remained a secret because Grayden would never have access to such classified information with his abilities.
After a discussion between Jimmy and Grayden, they had concluded that Jonathan’s identity was a mystery, with unclear intention, so they deemed Jonathan to be someone only suitable to be an acquaintance and not further.
Soon, their car took a turn and arrived at Bar Street.
The street remained bustling with people in good spirits despite the late hour.
Jonathan and Jennifer focused their attention on the bars along the way.
There were a lot of bars there, but not all of them were filled with customers. If the two of them decided to open a bar there, they had to take over one of the existing shops and rebrand the whole place.
Jonathan was firm on opening the bar on Bar Street in the first place.
Jennifer had a different opinion. She felt they could establish their bar elsewhere instead of adding to the existing number of bars available on Bar Street.
Jonathan had disagreed with her idea. “Bar Street is a significant place in Horingtron. We should not be afraid of our competitors. We need to let them fear us.”
His confidence was overflowing about the matter.
“Oh?” At that moment, a dark and empty building on Jonathan’s left caught his attention.
That building stood out among the crowd. In contrast to the brightly lit and buzzing bars in the surroundings, the building was dark and deserted as if it had been long-forgotten by the world.
To Jonathan’s confusion, that dark building was relatively spacious and was located in an optimal location.
“Mr. Lewis, stop the car!” Jonathan pointed at the dark building and asked, “What’s up with the dark and deserted building?”
Grayden stopped the car on the roadside and gazed toward the direction Jonathan pointed. Instantaneously, a hint of wariness flashed across his eyes. Then, Grayden elaborated, “This building used to be the largest and liveliest bar in Bar Street, called Golden Years. However, the bar was shut down after someone murdered the young female bar owner.”
Jonathan was eager to learn more about that building’s history. “When did that happen?”
“Three years ago,” replied Grayden.
Jennifer looked at the dark building while listening to their conversation. She suddenly sensed an inexplicably ominous aura coming from that place, as if a pair of eyes were staring at her from within the building.
She shuddered and said, “Let’s go, Jonathan. This place is creeping me out.”
Jonathan noticed Jennifer was truly afraid, so he contemplated briefly before suggesting, “All right. Let’s go back then.”
Grayden was surprised. “Aren’t you planning to look around at the other places?”
“It’s fine.”
Grayden was caught in perplexity, but he did not press further, seeing how adamant Jonathan was. He fetched them back to their residence in Baykeep at once.
Upon their arrival, Jonathan did not get out of the car. Instead, he told Jennifer to get some rest. He said to her, “I have some matters to discuss with Mr. Lewis. You should sleep earlier and don’t wait up for me.”
Jennifer had yet to recover entirely from the scary experience, but she did not show it because she knew she was no longer a little girl.
After speaking to Jennifer, Jonathan turned to Grayden. “Let’s go. Let’s check out that dark building again.”
Grayden started the car’s engine and said, “That’s a wicked place. I know you’re a capable person, Mr. Lawson, but it’s best if you do not tempt your luck when it comes to these supernatural events.”
Jonathan’s curiosity intensified because he could see that Grayden was genuinely afraid of that place.
Jonathan had an inquisitive personality. At this point, even if he decided not to open his bar there, he would still find out what was going on with the dark building.
He uttered, “I think that place is wicked too. Why was Golden Years shut down three years ago without reopening since that place was the largest bar on Bar Street previously? What else had happened in the building?”
Grayden explained, “Someone took over the bar right after the previous owner’s death. That new owner had great ambitions and planned to renovate the entire building. However, on the second day after taking over Golden Years, that new owner died. His death scene was extremely gory, with blood spilling out from his facial features, and only a layer of skin was left covering his skeleton.”
He paused for a few moments before adding, “The police investigated this matter but failed to find anything. A few policemen were on duty one night as they wanted to examine the place. In the end, all those policemen suffered horrible deaths, similar to the new owner of Golden Years. This incident was widely discussed in Horington a few years ago but died down after the officials suppressed the story and debunked the rumors. The city council’s secretary, Mr. Jones, had planned to destroy Golden Years because he thought the building was haunted. Nonetheless, the night after he made that order, Mr. Jones suffered from a severe disease. Hence, that matter was delayed. After Mr. Jones recovered from the illness, he prohibited anyone from trying to destroy Golden Years.”
After a momentary pause, Grayden continued, “Afterward, some people who entered the building to explore the facility had also died. As a martial artist, I know that we have nothing to fear if we do nothing wrong. Nonetheless, when I stood outside Golden Years, I could feel an intense evil intent overwhelming me. I’m sure that if I had entered that place, that malicious intent would’ve corroded my soul, and I would’ve died in that building.”
Hearing that, Jonathan was shocked. “That’s bizarre!”
Grayden replied, “There are many unusual things in this world. Sometimes, we have no other choice but to believe in the existence of these supernatural beings.”
Jonathan fell silent for a few seconds before piping up, “If I wish to take over Golden Years now, will I be able to get approval?”
Colors drained from Grayden’s face. “You shouldn’t do that, Mr. Lawson!”
Jonathan let out an awkward laugh. “Calm down. This is just a hypothetical question, Mr. Lewis. I just need to know if I can get approval from the government regarding this matter.”
Grayden knew Jonathan was firm on his stance after listening to him. “There shouldn’t be any problem because Mr. Jones was transferred elsewhere. The government thought of Golden Years as an eyesore, so they would be more than glad if someone could break this curse. Besides, the owner of Golden Years is quite fond if someone can buy that place from him.”
