April 1st, 2018,

0:20 AM,

Chengdu,

Light rain,

Gentle breeze, level 3.

The Late Night Bookstore on Old Street had been closed for a long time. Even the nearby neighbors weren't sure when it had opened.

Unlike the breakfast shops where many went every day, or the clothing stores where they could browse after work, even if they didn't buy anything, most people would rather spend their whole lives without ever stepping into a Late Night Bookstore to buy anything.

Naturally, they deliberately ignored it in their lives.

Of course,

When it closed,

Naturally, not many people cared. They just occasionally passed by and were slightly surprised to see it closed.

A fat man would drive a police car and park in front of the door every few days, look at the closed shop, smoke a few cigarettes, and then leave.

The ladies running the oldest and most enthusiastic businesses in Old Street were really disturbed by this. They were always so frightened that they sent the guests they had just invited into their rooms for a drink of water out the door.

They didn't even dare to ask for the water fee.

The massage parlor next door to the Late Night Bookstore had also been closed for a long time. It was said that the owner was involved in a murder case before the new year. Although she was later found innocent, she had too many things to deal with at home and hadn't returned to Chengdu for a long time.

Occasionally, old customers would come by, missing the proprietress's skills, unaware that if they got massages from her too often, they might feel comfortable, but they would also be getting closer and closer to the day they would step into the Late Night Bookstore next door to choose a shroud.

Life was still life,

The tea houses and mahjong parlors in the streets and alleys of Chengdu were filled with ease and leisure.

This was a leisurely city, and also a city that knew how to enjoy itself. As the cold winter just left and the summer had yet to arrive, the whole city was immersed in its own snoring,

Contented,

Comfortable,

Occasionally turning over,

Wrapped in a thin blanket,

Hmm,

Continuing to sleep.

The Old Street at dawn was naturally deserted, except for a few late-night snack stalls still waiting for the few customers they might get.

That Late Night Bookstore,

Was lit.

The light was very dim, only faintly visible. Ordinary people couldn't even see it.

Inside the Late Night Bookstore, there were two rows of chairs. On the two central chairs, a long-bearded man sat on one side, and a small girl, pink and adorable, a little loli, sat on the other.

On both sides below them,

Some were wearing linen clothes, with long sleeves fluttering;

Some were wearing tall hats, swaying back and forth;

Some had aligned eyeballs, sometimes rolling;

Some had big bellies, dripping with fat.

The rouge on their faces was much thicker, even seeming somewhat unreal.

Whether they were laughing, picking their ears, or making noise, they always gave off a sense of eerie oppression, like the one hundred and eight Arhats in a temple. Even if their images were very amiable,

As an adult, one wouldn't dare to really laugh at them.

As if in the dark, there was a pair of eyes watching you from above.

If you looked more closely, you could find that the styles of clothing these people wore were actually very similar to the paper figures placed in a corner of the Late Night Bookstore, as if they had really taken the clothes off the paper figures and put them on themselves.

Very comical,

Very funny?

But that was really the feeling.

The corners of everyone's lips had a strange crimson color, like rouge deliberately smeared on their lips, very exaggerated and very glaring.

Jia Baoyu said he liked to eat the rouge on his sisters' lips the most, but if he saw the rouge here, he would probably be scared out of his wits.

In the air,

There was the smell of ashes,

In the middle of everyone present was a small brazier with charcoal inside. At the same time, stacks of ghost money on the shelves would automatically fly over and fall into the charcoal fire to burn.

At the door stood a woman, a woman with long hair.

She lowered her head slightly, her long hair obscuring her face.

Her figure was graceful, her body voluptuous... alluring.

If an ordinary person saw her, they would probably look forward to her letting down her hair to see her true face. Everyone has curiosity and a pursuit of beauty.

However, none of those present had this thought, because they knew this woman... had no face.

"Still not here."

The long-bearded man sitting next to the little loli said in a deep voice, frowning slightly.

"Let's have everyone wait a little longer."

The little loli said.

The long-bearded man nodded, and then said, "Protect your vitality, and try to delay the time we stay in the Yang world."

Black talismans flew out from the long-bearded man's sleeves, falling around them.

Everyone present reached out and took a talisman, sticking it on their foreheads. Even the long-bearded man himself stuck one on his own forehead.

In an instant,

The whole store was silent, and the people with talismans on their foreheads didn't move, as if they had been frozen in place.

This made them look even more like the paper figures that were already in the Late Night Bookstore, with no difference.

The little loli got up, holding a talisman in her hand. She walked to the faceless woman.

The faceless woman slowly raised her head.

"My clone is destroyed."

"Just a clone." The little loli didn't care.

"She was the one I left behind to monitor him." The faceless woman reminded her.

"Do you think there will still be a place for him when I get back?"

The little loli smiled slightly.

"He's just temporarily filling in for me, helping me manage the keys to hell. Tong City can't accommodate a third ghost messenger."

"Then what am I going to do?"

The faceless woman asked sharply.

"Without me, you wouldn't be able to lure him over."

"Tong City already has two ghost messengers, including me. One of them is on the verge of collapse. This is the position I've reserved for you." The little loli reached out and grabbed the tip of the faceless woman's hair. "When things here are over, I'll help you arrange an identity so you can stay in the Yang world."

The faceless woman lowered her head again.

"I'm curious about one thing. Why are you so persistent about that guy? He's just a plaything created by Tong City's other one, oh no, a gift."

"A gift?"

The faceless woman chuckled twice, her head hidden under her long hair.

"In my opinion, this gift is more important than the person you're waiting for."

The little loli's eyes narrowed slightly. She could hear the hidden meaning in the faceless woman's words. This woman, born by the Yellow Springs Road, in the pool of resentment, had existed for a long time, so naturally she knew more unknown things.

"Oh, in that case, I'll have to interrogate him properly when I get back."

The faceless woman's hair suddenly scattered, revealing a face that had no features, but began to condense into the face of a girl. Her expression was painful, as if she was struggling.

"Her, you still haven't been able to control her?" The little loli was a little surprised.

"She's struggling fiercely." The faceless woman replied. "Her will is firm, no worse than you ghost messengers."

The little loli smiled slightly, and threw the talisman in her hand into the charcoal fire.

"In the end... it's just a meaningless struggle."

The firelight flickered,

The night was gloomy,

A string of sparks sputtered out of the charcoal brazier:

"Sizzle"

………………

"Splat!"

"Splat!"

"Splat!"

The Old Street in the light rain was a little chilly, and there were small puddles everywhere on the uneven road.

A man in a hoodie walked slowly along this slightly muddy road.

His head was hidden under the hood of his hoodie, and his figure seemed to be completely integrated with the darkness behind him.

"Meow."

Beside him,

A completely white cat, with elegant steps, followed him closely.

A man and a cat,

Under the dim streetlights, they cast two long shadows.

The wind occasionally howled around them,

Empty and faint, hovering above the Old Street, lingering for a long time.

The man's figure was not burly, but it gave people a fierce feeling. He was like a silent knife, which could shatter the darkness as long as it was unsheathed.

Ahead, there was a late-night snack stall, run by a husband and wife.

Business wasn't good tonight. The husband sat next to her, coughing constantly, obviously having a cold.

The man walked to the stall.

The proprietress looked up, saw the man, smiled, and said,

"Long time no see."

"Yeah." The man responded.

"Meow." The white cat also responded.

The proprietress began to make soup, fish maw soup. She knew he only ate this.

Drinking a bowl of fresh and tender fish maw soup late at night was a kind of enjoyment. Life was good, nothing more than that.

The boss was still coughing there. Seeing the customer frowning while eating, he thought he was disgusted with him, so he could only smile apologetically and turned to the side.

The man was stunned. He knew the boss had misunderstood. He always had this expression when he ate.

But tonight, it was a little cold,

Otherwise, he would save as much as possible when it came to eating, ignoring it if he could.

Putting down his chopsticks, giving the money, the man turned and walked deeper into the Old Street, the white cat still following him, never leaving.

No matter how deep the night,

People can always find the location of their home in it.

The man walked to the front of the Late Night Bookstore and stopped.

The white cat jumped onto the steps, and found its familiar spot.

Yes,

A familiar spot.

Once upon a time,

His favorite thing to do was to take out a chair and sit on the steps, basking in the sun without moving.

The proprietress of the massage parlor next door would also tease him for looking like an old grandpa.

His eyes slightly shifted, looking next door. She hadn't returned yet.

Some people, once they leave, will never return, but there are also some people who, after going far away, are still watching themselves.

He thought that he had always been alone,

Even if he suddenly disappeared in this world, no one would notice. People who like loneliness always like to dye themselves with the color of loneliness in order to gain more security.

Precisely because someone was watching him,

Precisely because someone cared about him,

That was why he came back,

He needed an explanation,

An explanation for the people who cared about him,

At the same time, an explanation for himself.

Walking up the steps,

Arriving in front of the door,

He didn't knock,

This was his home, he had the key.

The moment the key was inserted into the lock,

The faceless woman's long hair suddenly fluttered,

The little loli stood up straight like a little adult,

The talismans on the foreheads of all the ghost messengers in the two rows of chairs instantly dissipated,

Everyone collectively opened their eyes,

Looking towards the door!

"Creak..."

The door was pushed open from the outside.

The little loli looked at the person outside the door and smiled:

"I finally caught you."

The man shook his head slightly, indicating that she was wrong,

Correcting:

"No,

It's me,

I'm back."