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墨書 Inktalez
Chapter 6: The Beauty's Tragic Fate
I didn't know what was wrong, but I felt a bit restless today, my eyelids twitching incessantly. When she went out, Peng Yan casually asked, "Where's Mi?" I replied without thinking, "She went out with them."
"Oh."
After a while, Fatty went to deliver something to the Funeral Home, leaving me alone again. I had three Orders left to complete, and all of them required the Funeral Home's capabilities and conditions to calculate. Handling it wasn't a problem; it saved me from spending on the ceremonial aspects and cut down on a lot of hassle.
A grand ceremony would require an Honor Guard, with music and festivities, which is typically reserved for joyous occasions or funerals.
I was at the Counter, calculating away, when I suddenly realized two hours had passed. Stretching my back and lifting my gaze, I was startled.
Someone was standing by the Counter without me noticing.
It was a woman. She appeared plump, giving her a somewhat bulky appearance, and her height seemed slightly diminished due to her weight.
"Is there something you need, miss?"
The woman remained silent, her head bowed in a way that made me uncomfortable. Her fingers traced patterns on the glass Counter with a red marker—something Fatty used to color the Paper Man's lips.
"Miss, can't you speak?"
She put down the marker but still didn't lift her head and turned to leave.
This woman was truly strange, and I felt like I had seen this kind of behavior somewhere before.
"Big sister..." The woman did not turn to look at me and walked straight out. I had long since shouted for the canvas sunshade to be taken down, but he was too lazy to check or dismantle it. I warned him again and again that the sunshade was truly a nuisance. As the woman stepped back and turned around, I noticed a distinct tire mark on her back. She walked quickly, so fast that when I chased after her, she had already disappeared.
The street was bustling with people—men and women, old and young—but I could not find the short, plump woman with the tire mark on her back.
How strange, I thought. Baymax!
Perhaps it was a false illusion; it had been happening a lot lately. Frustrated, I turned around and suddenly remembered what she had drawn on the glass counter earlier. I hurried over to take a look.
On the glass counter were two blood-red characters: Help me.
It was clear—help me, not save me.
This meant she was not human.
So who was she?
I rubbed my eyes and looked toward the entrance in the distance. Across from our Ma Wu Funeral Home was another funeral home. The proprietress there was quite formidable; if anyone offended her, she could stand in the street with her hands on her hips and scold you for hours.
Right now, that proprietress was playing Mahjong, just like the other funeral home owner next door who was engaged in gambling.
Next door to us used to be just a bridge; there were no shops.
I didn’t know when a building had been constructed on the other side of the bridge. It went up quickly, and soon they were putting up prefabricated panels and setting off firecrackers to celebrate. We even joined in with a share of congratulatory gifts. The new house was filled with rows of brand-new electric bicycles and small electric motorcycles.
The one selling the cars was a beautiful girl, a bit exaggerated in her appearance. She dressed fashionably and revealingly, with her prominent features drawing the most attention. I noticed several men coming to buy cars, not even looking at the vehicles but instead staring at her.
This was the Electric Bike Shop.
The owner of the Electric Bike Shop was a nice guy, friendly with everyone. At first, I didn't know his name. After sharing a meal together, he introduced himself: "Brother, my surname is Xie, just call me Xie Baili. I've traveled all over to get to this place, and it's all thanks to the support of the neighbors. If you ever need anything from me, just shout. But don't come by too often; you do your thing as long as Deadbeat likes it." That’s when I learned his name was Xie Baili.
True to his name, he really was that way. After that, I didn’t visit the Electric Bike Shop again.
Other neighbors didn’t think much of Xie Baili; they were focused on their own shops, especially that girl with the prominent backside.
I was actually looking for that short, plump woman who had gone missing when I accidentally saw Xie Baili in the shop talking to the young salesgirl. While they were chatting, he suddenly pinched her backside hard; surprisingly, she didn’t get angry but instead playfully tugged at his ear.
Strangely enough, I had never seen the owner’s wife.
Could that young woman be the owner’s wife? They seemed to have quite an age difference. Moreover, whenever the owner wasn’t around, she was constantly on the phone, deeply engrossed in conversation with someone.
Just as I was lost in thought, my phone rang abruptly. It was Qin Jian calling.
“Lao Qin, are you drunk and asking me to be your designated driver?”
“Ma Qi, no. Mi is in trouble.”
“Don’t joke around; isn’t Mi with you guys?”
"Yes, when she came out just now, she saw a kite, the Eagle Kite. A child was holding it. When she saw a car coming, she went to save the child, and as a result... the child was saved... she... she was thrown over a meter high by the car before falling down. Now she's in the hospital fighting for her life. You need to come quickly."
"I can't believe this. How could this happen?" Mi, please don't let anything happen to you. Mi, wait for me! I shouted and rushed into the street without a second thought. I heard someone calling out; it was Fatty and Peng Yan returning. I ignored them and hailed a cab, heading straight for the hospital.
If you keep having the same dream over and over, you need to be on guard. I've had several dreams where Mi chases after the kite, and I chase after Mi, only to lose her.
Mi lay in the morgue, her face pale as snow, her eyes half-opened, and her slightly parted lips seemed to have so much to say to me.
I cradled her head, ignoring their attempts to stop me, and pressed my lips deeply against hers, which felt cold.
"Mi... ah... it's my fault that you died..." My grandfather said I had a pure Yang fate that wasn't suited for marriage because my destiny was too strong and would bring harm to my loved ones.
It was my disbelief in my grandfather's divination that led me to think that fate was in my own hands; all those sayings about destiny being hard to defy were nonsense. I wanted to be my own master. I curled up outside the morgue while Qin Jian, Chi Xinrong, and later Fatty along with the family of the child Mi saved tried to comfort me. I couldn't hear them.
"Ma Qi, you can't do this. Mi wouldn't want to see you like this."
Chi Xinrong tried to pull me away, but I exploded in anger, baring my teeth like an animal as I roared, "It's all your fault! You witch! If it weren't for you, how could Mi have gotten into trouble?" With Mi gone, my world collapsed around me—despair and helplessness consumed me. I stumbled outside; the cold wind stung my face painfully. I walked into a liquor store and ordered a pound of Lao Bai Gan.
I had never drunk so heavily before, especially not something as spicy as Lao Bai Gan that burned going down.
I hid away from everyone, unwilling to see anyone, including Qin Jian. They were looking for me, worried that I might die—didn't they care that Mi might be dead?
Mi's parents would come looking for me to settle accounts.
My tears had run dry. In this world, I had only one relative left. Thinking of the sorrow, I took another deep swig of alcohol. The only way to numb myself was through the embrace of liquor.
I drank and drank, losing track of time. Suddenly, a pair of cool hands brushed against my forehead, and a familiar voice rang in my ears.
"Brother Qi, why are you drinking?"
At the sound of that voice, I jumped up in shock, unable to believe my eyes as I grasped her hands tightly. "Mi, Mi, is that really you? I'm not dreaming, am I?"
"Brother Qi, you're not dreaming. I'm fine. Stop drinking; let's go back."
"Are you really okay?" I thought of Morgue and pressed my lips against hers—cold and unfeeling. Everything that had happened surged back; the kite dream had taken my Mi away from me. I was afraid to open my eyes, fearing that what I saw would be an illusion born from longing.
But no, this was her spirit.
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