“Ah, humans, they really can’t withstand much, can they? You don't notice it usually, day after day, year after year, you just naturally assume it'll keep going for another ten, twenty, even dozens of years.
Then out of the blue, it’s just gone, really just gone.
That’s why, ah, people are the biggest fakes, the biggest fakes, tsk.”
In front of the old Taoist was a dish of peanuts, and next to it a bottle of white liquor bought from the convenience store across the alley.
He tossed the peanuts into his mouth one by one,
and took sips of the liquor every now and then.
Usually, they were the ones welcoming and seeing off those ghosts, but when it came to themselves, they realized there wasn't even a need to hold a funeral.
When ordinary people die, they still leave a soul, and relatives burn paper money to send them something down below, but when they die, they're just completely gone.
The white fox raised its head from time to time, glancing at the old Taoist, and after confirming that he was just talking to himself because he'd had a bit too much to drink, it couldn't be bothered to pay him any more attention.
The little monkey sat obediently on the bar, with another plate in front of him, peeling peanuts for the old Taoist.
“Ah, I’ll have to hold a funeral for you guys soon. People are gone, but I still have to do my best to honor you, so this friendship won't be in vain.”
The old Taoist poured a newly filled glass of liquor on the ground,
then filled it again,
and poured another glass.
“Hic…”
He hiccuped, and the old Taoist narrowed his reddened eyes, propping himself up on the bar with both hands, slowly standing up.
Of course, he knew what the boss and the others had gone out to do, but honestly, the dead can't be brought back to life. Even if they got revenge, the people wouldn't come back.
But revenge still had to be taken.
Yingying had also gone out after the boss and the others left, but not with them. She had been instructed by the boss to buy some memorial tablets and the like.
Although the bookstore had sent down quite a few wandering souls in the past few years, there was really no need to prepare any proper memorial tables or tablets. Each time, they would treat those souls to a good meal, and then throw them into the gates of hell after they left some money for the food.
As for their names and so on, no one would care.
But family was different after all. At least make a memorial tablet, at least light an incense stick in a proper way.
Knowing that doing so was meaningless, this kind of formality, to be honest, was actually prepared for the living.
It wouldn't be easy to buy a memorial tablet at this hour, and Yingying would probably have to do some serious shopping. She'd probably have to go to a small shop in some hidden alleyway to find the things she needed.
“Come on, let’s wash up and go upstairs to rest.”
The old Taoist reached out to call the little monkey.
Just then,
the door of the bookstore was pushed open from the outside,
and a girl wearing a middle school uniform walked in.
The girl had a ponytail and no makeup. She was young, and didn't really need makeup.
“Little girl, we’re about to close,”
the old Taoist said.
The girl smiled and said, “I’m supposed to meet a friend here. Your store doesn’t usually close this early.”
“There's a special situation today, and we have to close early. Call your friend and tell them to change the location. There should be some cafes or milk tea shops open across the street, which would be good for meeting up.
Besides, our minimum spending here is pretty steep, don't waste your money.”
“It’s okay, just let me wait for fifteen minutes, okay?” the girl pleaded.
The old Taoist smacked his lips and nodded, saying:
“Alright.”
Since a customer had come, the old Taoist wasn't in a hurry to wash up. Instead, he walked unsteadily behind the bar, asking at the same time:
“What would you like to drink?”
“Just plain water is fine.”
“Grandpa won't charge you. Tell me, what would you like to drink?”
“Coffee, please.”
“Okay.”
The old Taoist first opened the large jar that Yingying usually used to store coffee for Attorney An,
but as he took out a spoon to scoop some,
he paused for a moment,
and lightly slapped himself on the other hand.
“You must be crazy!”
Putting Attorney An’s exclusive coffee jar back, the old Taoist opened the second jar, and then stopped again.
“Smack!”
This time, the sound of him slapping himself was a little louder.
How dare you take the boss’s coffee out to give to someone else?
Are you courting death!
After searching for a long time,
the old Taoist finally found a Nescafe box, and after flipping it over and checking several times to make sure it hadn't expired, he made a cup of instant coffee for the girl, dropping in a few sugar cubes.
Then he took some cookies and put them on a plate, placing them on the coffee table in front of the girl.
Many of the snacks in the bookstore were made by Xu Qinglang himself. After Yingying began to share the kitchen duties, Lao Xu began to put more effort into researching and learning how to make some pastries, which was like branching out into another technology tree.
“Thank you, Grandpa.”
The girl smiled, revealing two cute dimples.
The old Taoist nodded and walked back behind his bar, habitually reaching for the peanuts and tossing them into his mouth to chew, but he didn't drink any more of the liquor.
The white fox lying in the corner felt like it was having a very long dream. In this dream, it felt very comfortable, so comfortable that it never wanted to wake up.
But the fox's demon characteristics were its sharp senses. After realizing that its mind had inexplicably been lost just now, the white fox immediately woke up.
It raised its head,
looked around,
and its gaze first swept over the old Taoist, then fell on the girl wearing the middle school uniform.
The girl picked up her coffee cup and took a sip, while the white fox jumped off the sofa and actively approached the girl.
The old Taoist continued to eat his peanuts, yawning from time to time.
The bookstore was very quiet.
The white fox's footsteps were almost silent, but when it came to the bottom of the sofa where the girl was sitting, the girl put down her coffee cup and actively looked down.
A person and a fox,
met each other's gaze.
In that instant,
the white fox saw a bloody light in the girl's eyes,
and all the blood in its body seemed to freeze at that moment.
It began to struggle, wanting to break free from this imprisonment coming from the gaze, and its tail began to shake violently at this time.
The girl bent down and said softly:
“So cute.”
As she said that,
a hand had already reached out to caress the white fox.
“Hiss!”
This hand,
was so cold!
The white fox felt that the demon energy in its body had solidified.
The girl retracted her hand,
took out a tissue from the coffee table,
and gently wiped her palm, where there were still some white hairs left.
And the white fox, which was imprisoned in place and unable to move, had a large area of fur falling off its upper body, its skin and flesh peeling away, revealing the red flesh underneath.
Everything, everything happened silently.
No fighting, no sharp whistling,
At least,
the drunken old Taoist didn't notice anything unusual.
However, the little monkey next to the old Taoist suddenly sniffed his nose and looked subconsciously towards the lower side of the bar.
When he saw the white fox standing there, he was stunned for a moment, but before the little monkey could react, a hand fell on his neck.
The old Taoist felt his eyes narrow for a moment, and when he looked up again, he found that the little monkey was gone.
He threw another peanut into his mouth,
and the old Taoist scolded with a smile:
“That rascal monkey, I knew I shouldn’t have bought you such a good computer. Your grandpa is still sitting downstairs, and you couldn’t help running upstairs to play games.”
The old Taoist sitting behind the bar couldn't see that the little monkey and the white fox were standing under the sofa, playing one, two, three, wooden men, unable to move.
The girl continued to drink her coffee elegantly while eating the cookies in front of her.
To her surprise, the coffee wasn't great, but the cookies were especially delicious.
Eating and drinking,
finally,
Yingying's figure appeared outside the glass window.
Yingying was carrying two large bags in her hands. She had gone to great lengths to buy the things she needed. She had almost wanted to cut down a big tree and use her fingernails to make them herself, but in the end, she was lucky enough to find what she wanted in a very remote shop selling funerary items.
However, the memorial table would have to wait until tomorrow for someone to deliver it.
Yingying pushed open the door of the bookstore,
the old Taoist sitting behind the bar stood up,
and smiled:
“You’re back.”
The girl next to her also stood up from the sofa,
looking at Yingying with a smile,
and said just as warmly:
“You’re back.”