A chilling wind blows, a ghostly aura pervades, spider lilies bloom in the underworld, and I sit alone

Chapter 17

"I asked you what you think is the most delicious?!" The old man interrupted Guisheng's incoherent ramblings.

"Me?! I think the noodles my mom cooked when I was little were the best!"

"Haha! That's completely irrelevant! I mean, with your chef's instincts, what..."

Can you make the best flavor? For example, bear paws, shark fins, dog meat... and so on.

"Ah. Tofu! It can absorb all flavors and even neutralize its own bean flavor."

Then, express other flavors in your own way...

"Hahahaha—" The old man suddenly looked up and burst into laughter, startling Guisheng, who stood there dumbfounded.

Standing there, unsure what to do. "Good, good, well said! I like you!" the old man said.

He moved the wheelchair forward a bit, patted Guisheng on the shoulder, and said, "Come on, find a chair and sit down. Let's take it slow."

"Take your time." The old man turned and winked at the burly man behind him. The burly man understood and moved a bundle...

A chair was placed next to the old man. The old man pulled Guisheng down to sit.

"How about working for me? I'll make you the head chef, and I'll pay you three times as much as you do here."

"Huh?!" Guisheng was stunned, not expecting this outcome.

"You don't need to be busy usually, just cook for me. It's very relaxed, and you can even do your own thing."

Something you enjoy. How about it? Come give it a try. It's better than being a waiter like you are now!

Guisheng considered for a moment, looked into the old man's eyes, and said sincerely, "Thank you, sir."

You flatter me, but I like it this way. I enjoy cooking for many people. Besides, I can learn here.

I've seen many different things. I want to stay here.

"You won't listen to reason, so you'll have to suffer the consequences!" The burly man behind the old man frowned and stepped forward.

Bu glared fiercely at Guisheng.

"Hey, barbarian, don't do this. I respect his choice." The old man grinned.

It sounded like a sneer, "You'll come looking for me one day! Barbarian, let's go!"

The barbarian pushed the old man outside.

Guisheng looked at them and opened his mouth, wanting to ask why, but then stopped himself.

Suddenly, the old man raised his hand, and the car stopped. The old man turned and stared at Guisheng, very slowly...

Slowly, he said, "Let me tell you what the most delicious thing in the world is," the old man squinted his eyes,

A greedy glint appeared in his eyes. "It's—human flesh! Especially children's flesh!" He then...

The boy then pushed the old man away from the restaurant.

Guisheng stood there, gazing in the direction the old man had gone, speechless for a long, long time…

---Bifengke

Reply [112]: Taotie--3

Part Four: The Living Dead

The night was pitch black.

Dark alley.

A tiny flame flickered and died, casting a dim, dark silhouette.

A woman appeared at the end of the alley, seemingly quite drunk, staggering as she walked. The air...

The air was thick with the smell of cheap rouge mixed with the stench of smoke and alcohol, making one want to vomit.

Staggering, the woman seemed to bump into someone. Her eyes, blurry with drunkenness, squinted...

He chuckled to himself, "Sir, would you like to play? It's very... cheap! 100 yuan..."

"Oh, that's good!" A pungent smell of alcohol wafted towards the shadowy figure. The shadow stretched out a hand.

She was very fair-skinned and delicate, with neatly trimmed nails. He patted the woman's face and then touched her entire body.

The skeleton nodded, gesturing for the woman to follow him. The two figures, one in front of the other, gradually disappeared from view.

Not in a dark alley...

After that incident, Guisheng gained the boss's appreciation and was promoted to head chef, living a comfortable life.

He was quite relaxed. Much later, the shop's gossipmonger, Xiao Liang, told him that the old man was very powerful.

He even wields considerable influence throughout China; otherwise, why would the boss be so eager to curry favor with him?

The implication was that Guisheng was being ungrateful. Guisheng, however, didn't seem to mind, simply letting it go with a smile.

It's over now.

That day, Xiao Liang ran over early in the morning with a newspaper, shouting, "Look everyone, big news!"

"Big news! Bloody violence and thrills! Come and see!" Gui Sheng didn't pay any attention and remained seated.

"This Xiao Liang, he may not be good at much else, but he's got a knack for making news, like the story of Aunt Wang's chicken going missing."

Even the disappearance of Grandpa Li's wine gourd could be turned into an epic, heart-wrenching heroic tale.

Big news in his eyes?! Pshaw, forget it!

Seeing that no one was paying attention to him, Xiao Liang got angry and picked up the newspaper to read: "According to this newspaper, yesterday morning at 8..."

At that time, a female corpse was found in the bamboo forest of XX Park in the western suburbs. Only the skeleton was left at the scene, and there was no flesh on the body.

Preliminary forensic examination suggests that the victim was skinned alive in the early hours of yesterday morning…

"What?! What?! Really?! Are you kidding me?" The crowd surged forward in an instant.

"Let me see, let me see..."

"Ah! Look what's written here, the female corpse's flesh, heart, and eyes are all gone, and moreover, she..."

"His brain isn't dead yet! Wow! Isn't that a living dead?!"

"Forensic experts are trying to identify the suspect by analyzing the woman's brainwaves..."

"Wow! Science is getting more and more advanced these days; they can even decipher brainwaves!"...

Guisheng rushed over, and the first thing he saw was a woman's head, her hair mixed with blood and disheveled.

Her once plump cheeks were now just two bloody holes, and her eyes seemed like two bottomless pits.

The black holes stared straight at the crowd. Guisheng froze, as if he had been sucked into those two black holes.

I couldn't even hear what other people were saying...

"From a chef's perspective, this must have been done by a very skilled butcher."

Look at this swordsmanship, the angle at which the knife is used…

"Hey! The police haven't even said anything, and you've already drawn conclusions. Why don't you become a policeman?!"

"I'm telling you, it was done by a psychopath! Maybe even a serial killer!"

"Huh?! Don't scare me!"

Just as they were having a lively conversation, the boss walked in and yelled, "What are you doing if you're not working?!"

Everyone scattered in a flash.

The boss smiled and said, "Guisheng, come out for a moment, someone is looking for you!"

"Huh?!" Guisheng exclaimed as if waking from a dream. "Okay! Coming!"

---Bifengke

Reply [113]: Taotie--4

Part 5: Pets

Guisheng went outside and found the barbarian standing there quietly waiting for him. "What do you want?"

"What's wrong?!" Guisheng asked, somewhat puzzled.

The barbarian didn't say anything, but took out a package from his pocket and handed it to Guisheng.

“What is this? I can’t accept it!” Guisheng said firmly.

The barbarian looked up at Guisheng coldly, his eyes full of disdain. "The old man told me to give this to you!"

After saying that, he turned and left.

Guisheng opened his mouth to call out to him, but unable to resist his curiosity, he opened the paper package. A...

A white silk handkerchief fell out, embroidered with two mandarin ducks, so lifelike they seemed to be swimming in the water.

Leisurely and carefree. Although it has yellowed a bit due to its age, "it can't be wrong," Guisheng said.

Her eyes welled up with tears. "There's no mistake, the embroidery, the stitches—it must be Mother, it must be Mother!"

Guisheng grabbed the handkerchief and hugged it tightly to his chest. "Why is Mother's handkerchief with him?"

"Where's Mother?! Where is Mother?!" Guisheng's heart was in turmoil. "No, I have to go find her, I have to..."