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墨書 Inktalez
The people around us laughed even harder at the monk's words.
But I didn't laugh; I understood the meaning behind them. The last time I went home, I had encountered this brat on the same train. At that time, I was in a dire situation, and I thought he was a fraud. However, after experiencing the incident with the Lotus Yin Marriage, I realized he was not a fraud.
I patted the brat on the head and said, "Nonsense, am I a ghost? Come here."
The brat jumped down from his seat. He was just over one meter tall, even shorter than Guo Jingming. He wore a long and thick string of prayer beads around his neck and sat across from me, sighing. "Ah, everyone is drunk while I alone am awake. I used to struggle to understand Qu Yuan's sorrow, but now, I truly feel it."
The people around us laughed even harder at this.
I chuckled too and asked, "Monk, what’s your name?"
"Abstaining from Lust!" The monk shot me an annoyed glare.
I quickly replied, "I know your Dharma name is Abstaining from Lust, but calling you Master of Restraint sounds rather unpleasant for a brat like you. What’s your secular name?"
The monk looked at me, his eyes rolling slightly. "If you buy me two packs of Spicy Strips, I'll tell you."
I was speechless upon hearing this; last time he ate Spicy Strips, he ended up with an upset stomach. I couldn't believe he wanted them again.
"There are no Spicy Strips for sale right now; it's not mealtime yet," I said.
"Yes there are! The dining car is right behind us; they have them and they're delicious," the brat pointed toward the dining car with an eager smile.
After all, he was still childlike at heart.
I went to the dining car and bought two packs of Spicy Strips, handing them to the monk.
As he munched on the Spicy Strips, he chatted with me. This brat spoke so eloquently that it felt like talking to an adult; often he would throw in philosophical quotes or insights about life.
"Now can you tell me your name?" I asked.
The monk wiped his mouth, which was covered in chili oil, and said, “Yang Gou Dan.”
“Yang... Dog Egg?” I was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter. “You monks also like to come up with such vulgar names? I’m truly amazed.”
“Who’s being vulgar! You’re the one without culture!” Yang Gou Dan was very angry, so much so that he stopped eating Spicy Strips. He exclaimed loudly, “My name means living precariously but without regrets! Forget it, forget it; you lack life experience and can’t communicate.”
I chuckled and chatted a bit more with Yang Gou Dan. In truth, I regarded him as a child, but I knew that he must have some skills. Just the fact that he had managed to sneak away from the Shaolin Temple was impressive enough.
Soon, I learned about Yang Gou Dan’s situation. This brat had secretly run away from the Shaolin Temple because his master wanted to arrange a marriage for him and insisted that he renounce his monkhood. He wasn’t suited to be a monk; being one would bring great disaster to the Shaolin Temple.
This was originally a great opportunity for him—avoiding the troubles of dating and the fate of being single—but Yang Gou Dan disagreed. In a fit of anger, he sneaked down the mountain to travel around the country. However, he didn’t have much money left, and after spending it all, he thought about fortune-telling to earn some cash. Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention, and he was treated as a fraud.
With no money left, Yang Gou Dan could only live on the train. He wandered around on this train, sometimes fortune-telling for a little money and other times begging for food in the dining car. The train staff saw his plight and didn’t kick him off.
Knowing about Yang Gou Dan’s situation, I decided to take him in for now. I had become an orphan without a home; having a monk as company wouldn’t be too bad.
“Alright, you can come back to my dormitory for now. Once I contact your master, I’ll send you back,” I said.
When Yang Gou Dan heard this, he disagreed. “That won’t do! Women are trouble; they’re disasters in disguise. I’d rather die than go back.”
“...You just don’t understand the good in women,” I replied helplessly. “Then you can stay here for now; return when you feel like it.”
Not long after, Yang Gou Dan complained of a stomachache and insisted on going to the restroom. I was really at my wit's end with him; it was one thing to love Spicy Strips, but why did he have to run to the toilet every time he ate them?
After running back and forth three times, Yang Gou Dan finally felt better, but it was time to get off the train.
I took Yang Gou Dan onto the bus, where people pointed at him curiously. Even I felt overwhelmed by it all, so I bought him a set of children’s clothing along with a cap; that made things much better.
In the afternoon, I returned to school and entered the dormitory.
There were four beds in the dormitory, but only Chi Xiang and I lived there. This was mainly because my major was Traditional Chinese Medicine at Donghai University, which was quite obscure. Out of forty students enrolled in this program, everyone except me had been transferred in from other majors. The planned enrollment was forty students, but in reality, only just over twenty reported for this major. Thus, our four-person dormitory had two empty beds since two of our roommates didn’t come to school.
My only roommate was Chi Xiang.
Chi Xiang was what one might call a rich second generation, with a family fortune of several million. While not an enormous amount, it was certainly enough for him. As for his name, when Xiang was still innocent, Chi Xiang took pride in it, thinking he resembled Liu Xiang in some way. However, as people began to jokingly say "Go eat shit," Chi Xiang's confidence crumbled, and he would snap at anyone who called his name.
When I walked in, Chi Xiang was sitting in his underwear, engrossed in a video game.
"Hey, Song Fei, you're back," Chi Xiang said without taking his eyes off the screen. In a fit of excitement, he wildly moved the mouse and shouted, "What the hell! Dema is such an idiot; charge forward already! What the hell! I’m dead! I’m just a Frost Mage here taking the big hit—damn it..."
I dropped my backpack on the bed. "Brother Xiang, let me introduce you to a new friend."
"Is it a guy or a girl?" Chi Xiang asked, lounging with his legs crossed while waiting for his hero to respawn.
"You still need women? You’ve already made advances on every decent girl in our dorm. Dog Egg, come in!" I called toward the door.
When Chi Xiang saw a brat walk in, he paused for a moment and exclaimed, "Your... kid? He’s grown so big!"
"Get lost!" I kicked Chi Xiang lightly.
Yang Gou Dan entered the dorm and sighed at the pigsty-like state of the room. "Born at the wrong time, fate is cruel; I guess I’ll just have to make do."
Hearing Yang Gou Dan's words made Chi Xiang laugh. "Is this Dog Egg from your village? Seems pretty educated. Hey, brat, who named you Dog Egg?"
Yang Gou Dan sighed again. "No culture here; I'm just scraping by, hoping to live without regrets like a hermit. Unlike you, Eat Shit—oh well, you’ve eaten yourself silly."
"What the hell! You dare call me Eat Shit? I'll take you down, brat!" Chi Xiang lunged at Yang Gou Dan and lifted him up.
Yang Gou Dan struggled and shouted loudly, "If you’re so tough, let’s have a ghost-catching contest! Buddha knows I can beat you with just one finger; put me down!"
"Buddha? I’ll blow your mind today," Chi Xiang said as he pinned Yang Gou Dan onto the bed.
Watching the two of them mess around eased much of my earlier disappointment. I lay back on my bed and contemplated what lay ahead.
Since my father had already decided against letting me return home—believing I was a disaster—I wouldn’t go back. However, I always wanted to understand my origins: why I had been buried in a grave, why I could see ghosts, and why I wasn’t afraid of corpse poison.
Wait a minute—there were too many questions swirling in my mind.
However, I still needed to continue studying here; this was my future livelihood and the foundation of my existence.
As I was lost in thought, my phone rang.
I pulled out my old phone and saw that it was a call from Sister Yun. Sister Yun's real name was Wang Yun, and she was my boss. The Blue Mood Cafe at the school gate was her establishment. Since I started college, I had been working part-time at that café.
My parents had never given me any living expenses, so having a part-time job was crucial for me. In fact, after Wang Yun learned about my background, she took good care of me. She paid me fifteen yuan an hour, which was quite high for Donghai City.
I answered the call, "Sister Yun."
"Have you come back yet?" Sister Yun asked on the other end of the line.
"Yeah, I just got to the dorm," I replied.
"Great! If you don't have any classes, come over. I'm feeling a bit unwell; could you help me watch the shop?"
"Sure, I'll be there right away."
I hung up the phone, washed my face, and got ready to head out.
Chi Xiang was rubbing Yang Gou Dan's bald head, asking him if it hurt when he burned his scar.
I knew that although Chi Xiang looked carefree, he was actually a good person. "Brother Xiang, take care of Dog Egg; I need to go work at Sister Yun's shop."
Chi Xiang wiped his mouth and said, "Hey, Fei Ge, why don't you stay in the dorm? I'll go work for you. I won't take any pay; just give me a chance to talk to Wang Yun. Hehe, the last time I saw Wang Yun, she looked so sexy in those black stockings. If you get a chance, could you sneak a pair back for me?"
"Beast!" I exclaimed.
Yang Gou Dan chimed in with a "Pervert."
I ignored Chi Xiang and grabbed a jacket before heading out. But to be honest, Wang Yun was indeed quite attractive; at twenty-seven years old, she looked like she was still in her twenties and didn't have a boyfriend. Many guys from our school would often visit the café just to see Wang Yun, even if they thought the coffee tasted somewhat like cat poop.
When I arrived at the Blue Mood Cafe, I saw Wang Yun; her face looked a bit pale.
"Sister Yun, are you feeling cold?" I asked.
Wang Yun shook her head. "I don't know. I've been feeling dizzy and a bit dazed lately. But it's fine. How are things at home?"
I nodded, not saying much.
Wang Yun smiled at me. "That's good to hear. I'm going to take a nap now, so you can keep an eye on the shop."
"Okay."
Wang Yun smiled again, stuck out her tongue to lick her lips, then turned around and swayed her hips as she walked away.
I was taken aback, watching Wang Yun. That smile from Sister Yun just now felt so strange.
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