Chapter 219: 219
Lanterns with the chinese character for at hung from the ceiling. The simple wooden tables were painted dark red. Unrecognizable bugs crawled between the cracks in the ground. The sll of at assaulted one’s senses. Han Fei stood at the door and his instinct told him that the shop was not safe.
From the outside, the dumpling shop looked unassuming but once Han Fei stepped through the door, he realized the interior was much larger than he anticipated. The haphazardly arranged tables still had food residue and oil stains visible on them. The empty tables looked like they had just been vacated and the servers still hadn’t had the chance to clean them. Han Fei looked around and took in the other custors. The other custors though did not show much interest in Han Fei. Their focus was fully on the food. They shovelled the food into their gullets like they had been starving for days.
“This way please.” Standing at the door, Han Fei who hesitated about his next step, suddenly was greeted by a man’s voice. Han Fei turned to the voice and saw a man wearing a pig’s mask walk out from the curtain that supposedly led to the kitchen. He was carrying a large tray that had 3 lidded bowls. The delicious sll wafted out from underneath the bowls. “Please take a seat. What would you like to eat?”
The man served the 3 bowls to a table occupied by a single custor. The custor directly pulled the lids off and used his bare hands to grab at the food inside the bowls. He engorged himself on the food. Based on the large stomach that looked like it was about to burst and the towers of empty bowls on the table, the custor appeared to be here for a long ti already.
“I’m sorry but do you mind if I ask you a question?” Han Fei halted at the front door. His heart shivered, staring at the man in the pig’s mask. While Weep and Drake did not give off any alarm, it did not an that there wasn’t any danger, it might simply an that their senses were disrupted by so other influences.
“There’s always ti for questions after you have so food in you. I’m sure you must be hungry already!” The man pulled out an oily rag to clean the table. Han Fei took a seat that was close to the front door. Han Fei couldn’t help but perceive a more sinister aning behind the man’s words. The man in the pig’s man sounded welcoming and kind but he gave off the presence of an executioner. A butcher would carry the sll of blood and fat around them after working in a slaughterhouse for a long ti; it was the sa thing with an executioner. The only difference was the forr worked with animals while the latter with humans.
“The nu is on the wall. Do have a look.” The man stood beside Han Fei. Being scrutinized by the strange face, Han Fei was discomforted. He felt like it was not a pair of human eyes that stared at him from behind the mask.
“Then, I’ll have a bowl of fresh at dumplings.” Han Fei pointed at the recomnded item.
“Just 1 bowl?” The man did not leave. His eyes wandered to the urn Han Fei was holding, “1 bowl might not be enough.”
“We’ll just try 1 bowl for now. We’ll order more if we like the taste.” Han Fei answered without a shift to his expression even though his heart was shaking. The man managed to identify the spirits inside the urn.
“Alright then.” The man nodded agreeably. He gave the table another wipe with the rag. “One mont.” He placed a thermos before Han Fei. “You can find an assortnt of tea leaves at the front counter. But I’m afraid you’ll have to prepare them yourself.” Then he turned to shout at the direction of the kitchen, “One bowl of fresh at dumplings please!”
After the man in the mask left, Han Fei hurriedly opened the urn to communicate with Drake. But when he saw what was happening inside the urn, Han Fei noticed how awful the situation was. Han Fei rely felt pangs of hunger but the spirits inside the urn had taken bites out of their own bodies. Their last shred of rationality was grinded down by the tornt of hunger. Their eyes were mad with gluttonous desire.
‘This shop is cursed!’ Tearing at their own bodies, the spirits desperately needed to eat. They had to consu to remain sane. Their current state reminded Han Fei of Xu Qin at the verge of madness. Last ti when Xu Qin exhausted all of her power, and the curses exploded all over her body, she had to consu all the food inside her ho before she returned to normal. ‘If I stay here any longer, I’m afraid they will start to go after one another.’
Lingering Spirits were made from pain and despair, it was already hard for them to remain sane. This situation was basically driving them to go mad. Hunger was the elent that could most easily evoke malice and madness. When one was extrely hungry, one could do anything. Han Fei stood up and prepared to leave when the front door was shoved open.
A chill wind dispersed the sll of at inside the shop. A middle-aged man with pale face and long hair stepped into the store. He wore a pure black shirt, the shirt appeared to be weaved out of hair. The shirt carried strange patterns which upon closer inspection would reveal themselves as human faces.
‘Things can’t be that coincidental, right?’ The middle-aged man was carrying a blood-stained wooden case. He had a horrid stench about him. The sll was a mixture of perfu and decomposition. After he entered the shop, the man found a random table to sit. Then he opened the wooden case. Instantly the sll of at was overwheld by the sll of blood. The custor close to him even stopped to glance dumbly at the middle-aged man. The latter did not seem to mind all the attention. When the worker in the pig’s mask ca out from the back kitchen, the middle-aged man reached into the case and took out a human head.
“Is this him?” The worker studied the head. His pig’s mask was morphing with minute expression, it looked like he was smiling. “Close but no cigar.”
Hearing that answer, the middle-aged man tossed the head harshly back into the case. “Who the hell is the butcher? This was already the 4th one. To get this, I was even targeted by that mad woman.”
“She’s still not dead?”
“No, but she’ll be soon.” The middle-aged man said darkly. With hatred in his eyes, he took out a table knife from the wooden case. “I’ve swiped one of her knives from her. Her curse is not complete anymore.” The pale finger was nicked by the blade and blood leaked out. However, the middle-aged man did not let go, if anything, he gripped the knife tighter. “There is nothing more that I hate more than curses!”
“Don’t be mad, how about you eat sothing to calm down?” The worker suggested kindly.
“You’re not going to get that easily. Your at here…” The middle-aged man halted when he saw the dangerous glint in the worker’s eyes. Instead, he closed the wooden case and headed towards the door. The worker did not stop him and returned to the kitchen. “Such a difficult custor.”
The middle-aged man escaped from the dumpling shop. Han Fei followed closely behind him. To be honest, the middle-aged man already noticed Han Fei when he first stepped into the shop. The young man made him feel uncomfortable but he could not place his finger on the reason why. Turning into a smaller alley, the middle-aged man stopped when he realized Han Fei was still trailing behind him.
“This should be the first ti we’ve t, yes?” The middle-aged man turned to stare at Han Fei. His voice was cutting and cold.
“Uncle, I have so questions for you.” Han Fei’s eyes fixated on the wooden case. “Where did you get the table knife that you took out in the shop earlier?”
“I pulled it out from a dead person.” The middle-aged man sensed a few more presences in the alley with them and he was not delighted by it.
“My friends are at the brink of insanity, I can’t promise what they might do next, so I’d advise you to answer my questions honestly while we can still communicate reasonably. Let’s not do anything that any of us might regret.” Han Fei stared at the man’s face. His face was scarily devoid of expression.
“Move away, I’m going ho.” The man with long hair gripped the wooden case tighter. He did not look like he was going to cooperate. He glared back at Han Fei.
“Sorry, can’t do that. If you don’t give us a satisfactory explanation, the only place you’re going tonight is inside this small container.” The giant black anaconda slithered into the ghost tattoo as Han Fei took out the red paper doll from his inventory.
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